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Wild Wolf to publish my dark heroic fantasy novel, RHONE
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Congrats, John!!! That is an awesome cover. Make sure you let us know when it is out & where we can get it.
Thanks much, Jim. Glad you like the cover as much I do. Wild Wolf is waiting for me to finish some word tweaks in their version of the manuscript so the onus is on me to wrap it up asap. (edit) Heard from Wild Wolf today. I had it backward on the release format. Wild Wolf will publish in trade paperback initially, with option for e-book.
Showing the wonderful cover properly is one thing the ebook reader won't do well. Still, I can look at it on the computer. I'll have to look around for more of Fussey's stuff too. I love cover art.
I'll have to defer to you there, as I don't have an e-reader yet. I read .pdf's off the computer and still prefer paper-in-hand over that. You'd think they'd have the pixels set for good cover images but maybe that conflicts with keeping the glare down? With you on cover art. Love it. Done well, it draws the mind to the story without giving it all away.
Heard from Wild Wolf today. I had it backward on the release format. Wild Wolf will publish in trade paperback initially, with option for e-book.
I have the Sony PRS-505 e-reader, a Xmas present from the family. The e-paper screen only does B&W, 256 gray scale. Not great for pictures, although it will show them. There are two advantages to the e-paper; easy on the eyes since there is no backlight & easy on the battery since once the screen is drawn, it uses no more power. I generally charge my reader once a week, but have gone 2 weeks without a problem.My main reason for getting one is that I hate reading books at the computer & most of my documentation for work is now in PDF format. Much of it runs 500 pages or more. I may need to print out 10 - 20 pages for notes, but any more is just a waste.
I wondered about the release order. I recently read an article by another author who made the point that e-books are more expensive than I thought they should be because they're done after the hard copy. I was surprised by that, but he said the formatting for the book is carried over to the e-book.
Interesting. I do know that by the end of the day, the backlight of the computer really hammers my eyes. Asylett Press is due to release the print version of my medical thriller soon, and they did send different galleys for me to proof from the previously-released e-book, but I've no real idea of what the cost difference is as it pertains to the formatting.
John, I think the backlight is an age thing. No one under 40 seems bugged by it. As I get older, the problem gets worse.That's not my only problem with reading at a computer, though. Posture is my big issue. When I read for any length of time, I relax & slump over my desk. If I get engrossed, I might come back to reality an hour later & attempt to move - only to find that everything has stiffened or broken. Another age related problem. I've thought about getting one of those balls to sit on as that makes you sit straight to balance. Slouch & you fall off.
Agreed about the age thing. I'll be 45 this year, and have ridden this computer craze from infancy to current days as a computer programmer and writer. I don't need glasses yet but it's only a matter of a little more time.I get the same way with sitting too long at the 'puter. Wife's a physical therapist so she'll correct me now and then. Breaks are essential. Really, the computer has overtaken the television as far as meaningful entertainment, but at some point in the evening I just can't look at the puter anymore.
Word from Wild Wolf Publishing is a late April 2010 release date scheduled for RHONE. Here's the front and back covers in a .jpg:
Congratulations, John! We wish you all the best with this project.
Thanks so much, Werner. You know how weird the publishing world is. If all it took was to write, eh? We'll see what happens.
Way to go, John! I've got a backlog of books by friends to by, including more than one in this group, but I just may have to move yours up a few notches based on your description. Of course, that great cover doesn't hurt, either. You couldn't have better sources of inspiration. I wonder if Karl might have written something along these lines as the final chapter in his Kane tales if he'd lived longer. Sounds like a good read. Times have been hard here, with the problems of the economy compounded by the merging of two hospitals, leaving many in the medical field unable to find work. But I had an encouraging interview last week, so maybe, at last, I can catch up on my reading. And I'm glad it will come out in paper first. I just don't find reading on a monitor pleasant, somehow.
Yours truly,
John Mayer
Well hey John,Thanks for the good words. You know how much I admire KEW's work ... I'd like to think he'd find RHONE entertaining, and perhaps recognize some of the inspiration his writing has had on it.
Hadn't seen you post for a while so figured you'd been busy. Sorry to hear about the daunting job front. The economy is weighing on many of us. Hanging by a thread is better than not having, but also comes with its own baggage to deal with.
Best to you in landing that position, or another favorable one soon. Regular paychecks lead to socking aside a little mad money for the fun stuff.
RHONE starting to rise from the mists of Amazon.http://www.amazon.com/Rhone-John-Karr...
Mars has a hero that will defy both god and man ...
Josh at W & D Books has posted the first review of Rhone on his site, and I have commented.http://www.wdbooks.net/2/post/2010/04...
Rhone's first review!
Well, John, that’s the harshest bit of high praise I’ve seen. But the upshot was, you’re in the reviewer’s top ten list, top five if you get a good proofreader. Typos can be very distracting, and they are not limited to small press outfits. I’ve got a couple of good proofreaders – pros – that I turn to from time to time. Of course, every time you tweak your work just a bit it seems as though new typos manage to sneak into the entire work. And, in the old days, even after the author had laboriously read the galleys through three times typos would still manage to show up in the printed piece.
Looking forward to reading as soon as I come up with some cash. Still no luck in my job search. (Hell, I might as well have stayed an artist.) Do you, perhaps, send out autograph plates to insert?
Hey John,Thanks for taking a peek. Yeah, had to take the good with the bad on that one. Valid criticism of typos. Wild Wolf and I did what we could could do within limitations, including time for me. I was damn tired of it withering away on my mind's shelf ...
Another couple reviewers have it. I'm curious to see their verdicts.
Job front still bites. A friend of mine with fine credentials was rejected recently, 'fair skills but overall not strong enough.'
Good luck with it. Enough casts are bound to land a fish at some point.
Excuse my ignorance, but what is an autograph plate?
I don’t if autograph plate is the proper term, but it’s simply a sticker with the autograph of the author to be pasted within his book, either individually or en masse. Wagner’s authors and artists autographed the Carcosa books in that way. Of course, Wellman was right there so could have autographed them in the usual fashion, but Coye couldn’t have done so, so the both autographed their volumes by way of pate-in stickers, rather like the ex libris stickers that were once popular.Looks like my age is working against me. I had one recruiter who was very enthusiastic, who said my scores on the medical quiz they gave me were equivalent to one employee with twelve years clinical experience. Then they asked for my birth date so they could do a background check... That was the end of it. I’m not sure if it’s the age or the background check that putting the quietus on me. My “criminal record” is laughably innocuous – now – but there’s a certain “Held for Investigation” thing that probably is non-reassuring that I’d like to get expunged somehow.
Got it on the label thing. No, don't have those. Good luck on the job front.
Fantasy Book Critic Mihir Wanchoo has an overall favorable review of Rhone: http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com...
This is all very favourable. I'm also interested in Wild Wolf as publishers. Although I don't really "do" fantasy (my idea of reverse mirror is jonothan courtney grimwood) my Lestrade novels set in an alternative Edwardian Steampunk England my be up their street. Do you have contact details, preferably with an editor's name, or is that last bit just too cheeky.I also think your use of reviewing sites is admirable. Did you initiate this or was it the company?
Hey Roger,Thanks for your post.
Wild Wolf is interested in dark fiction, not necessarily fantasy, though an alternative England sounds like a form of fantasy to me.
Since WW doesn't have editor names on their site, I don't feel comfortable 'outing' them, but can tell you they will get back to you in time on your submission.
http://wildwolfpublishing.com/submiss...
To submit your work email the submissions team at submissions@wildwolfpublishing.com
As for review sites, yeah I hit a few of them. The big boys don't accept subs from writers pubbed via small publishers so my hat's off to Fantasy Book Critic for giving little fish like me a bit of exposure.
Thst's brilliant, John, thanks a million.Roger
Briefly, finished _Rhone_ recently and it’s a great read. Unlike most novels of various genres I’ve read lately, which tend to start with a clever premise and then wander about that central notion till they collapse of exhaustion, _Rhone_ actually gets better as it goes along. That trend presages great things for the sequel.
Sounds excellent and has reaffirmed my intention to submit DARK STEAM to Wild Wolf now that I've edited the first eight chapters of the (completed) first draft to my satisafaction. I will clear my e-mail correspondence and check it out todayRoger
John wrote: "Briefly, finished _Rhone_ recently and it’s a great read. Unlike most novels of various genres I’ve read lately, which tend to start with a clever premise and then wander about that central notion ..."John, thanks much for the good words. High praise, coming from a guy who hung out with one of my inspirations, Karl Edward Wagner.
Rhone is getting polished now by an outside editor to get ready for an electronic release since Wild Wolf wasn't leaning ebook when we signed the contract. The newly edited version will serve as ebook and for WWP's second edition of Rhone, likely in another month.
Roger wrote: "Sounds excellent and has reaffirmed my intention to submit DARK STEAM to Wild Wolf now that I've edited the first eight chapters of the (completed) first draft to my satisafaction. I will clear my..."Roger, all the best on your DARK STEAM.
Great, John. Another edit couldn’t hurt. There WERE, as you warned, a few typos, though I’ve seen much worse, The most obtrusive were the use of homonyms for other words; just found that a few places. Also, to my ear, “sunk,” for example, as past tense of “sink” sounds strange, probably because of my age, “sank” being the word I’d use, though I know it’s not incorrect (now). Anyhow, as I said, I’ve seen a lot worse, including in paperbacks from the 60’s and 70’s. And not EVERY book MERITS a second edition of any kind, so congrats.
Yours truly,
John Mayer
Thanks again for giving Rhone a go, John.
A Kindle version of Rhone is now available. Only $.99 ... at least for a little while. http://www.amazon.com/RHONE-The-Marsi...
If you don't have a Kindle, I've set Rhone up as a freebie for a while over at Smashwords, where reading from .pdf (or other electronic format) is a decent alternative. http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
Thanks, John. I grabbed it, but I am so far behind on my reading... I will try to get to ASAP, though.
Hey thanks Jim. I know what you mean about being behind on the reading ... same here. So much to read, so little time (for now). I've got this Robert E. Howard Omnibus edition that I'm only 3% into, though it's great reading Conan on the Kindle.
2/16/2010 -- Signed publishing contract with Wild Wolf Publishing http://wildwolfpublishing.com/default... for my dark heroic fantasy novel, RHONE.
Very cool cover design by artist Peter C. Fussey for Wild Wolf, conceptually based on the rough I created below but rendered light-years more compelling!
About RHONE:
Fantasy could use a dangerous hero who is willing to defy both god and man to accomplish his goals. RHONE is heroic fantasy, set on the planet Mars before all life is blown away during Rhone's final battle with a god gone mad. Apocalyptic, yes. But there's an upside that involves Earth ...
Rhone is an ex-soldier of mixed blood, more man than demon but with reserves of hellish power. He has led a peaceful life as a fisherman since his soldiering days and is raising a daughter, Enna. He arrives home one day to find Enna murdered -- or so he believes. What begins then is Rhone's manipulation by Ducain, a demigod determined to rule the heavens. After avenging his daughter's death, Rhone grieves and isolates himself in the mountains. Ducain tells him his daughter's soul is locked in purgatory but can be retrieved ... and if Rhone also frees the titan who once defied the king of gods, Enna will live again.
The story is a long-form blend (approx. 120,000 words) inspired by legendary writers Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, Karl Edward Wagner and Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Wild Wolf will publish in trade paperback initially, with option for e-book.