Lilith Saintcrow

Well, I finished the zombies-and-cowboy trunk novel last night. At least the zero draft. It weighs in at 65K, which is a little large for a zero draft, and means it’ll be closer to 80 after I revise it into a reasonable first draft. That’s not going to happen for a while, though, since I’m going right back to proof pages for Bannon & Clare (due the first week of 2012, I weep for my sleep schedule) and another round of revision on the new YA (after the first of the year) plus the drop-dead date for starting the zero draft of the next Bannon & Clare is New Year’s Day. Begin the year as you mean to go on, I guess.

So last night, sweating and excited, I typed finis at the end of DAMNATION. There’s a sheriff with a hidden past, a schoolmarm with a secret, a gold claim, and zombies. Lots of zombies, and some bonus vampire action. I need to go back and layer in a lot of stuff now that I know the shape of the finished work, and it may be a crappy trunk novel nobody will ever buy, but at least it is no longer a crappy unfinished trunk novel nobody will ever buy. Plus, it features a death by skillet and the immortal line “He ain’t gettin any fresher.” Also, horses, and a group of “frails”–saloon whores–who want to learn to read and figure so they can open their own fancy houses OR stop being cheated by the saloon manager.

…Yeah, I had fun.

I am also thinking of getting bids for help in putting some of the SquirrelTerror saga into, say, a nice thin trade paperback. It would need editing and copyediting, and perhaps an index, and I’m sure I would want to add some footnotes. And a map. So editing, CE, and formatting/design. I’m not sure if it would be viable; I’d probably spend more on the editor than I’d ever make on the damn thing, but it would please me. At the moment, it’s just a thought.

I have further decided I’m not going to run until next Monday. I’m told that every once in a while you have to stop beating on the flesh and give it a slight rest so you can shock it more effectively when you restart. I am sure my body will appreciate this, though the rest of me will be cranky.

And that is all the news that is fit for something, I guess, or at least all the news I can give right now. Next year promises to be very exciting. Maybe another trunk novel will fall out of my head?

*shakes Magic 8 Ball*

Ask again later? What kind of crap is that?

Over and out!

Weren’t we just here, where I tell you how nervous release days make me? It seems like we were just here. *blinks*

I am proud and happy (as well as knocking knees with fear) to tell you that Reckoning, the fifth and final in the Strange Angels series, is officially released!

Nobody expected Dru Anderson to survive this long. Not Graves. Not Christophe. Not even Dru. She’s battled killer zombies, jealous djamphirs, and bloodthirsty suckers straight out of her worst nightmares. But now that Dru has bloomed into a full-fledged svetocha – rare, beautiful, and toxic to all vampires – the worst is yet to come.

Now available at Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, BooksAMillion, Powell’s, the Book Depository, and Amazon!

I am sad to be saying goodbye to Dru. From the first moment I saw her standing in her kitchen, staring at the back door while a zombie’s fleshless finger tapped against the glass, I’ve known that she would grow up and continue on. It’s very bittersweet, but I’m proud of her. She’s learned a lot along the way, and through it all she’s remained that same smart, driven, incredibly loyal girl. Growing up is never easy–it’s even less easy when there’s vampires looking to tear your head off and betrayal lurking around every corner.

But I think she’s done just fine, and I’m glad she has exactly the right ending.

Now I’m going to go be a puddle of frayed release-day nerves. See you around.

By now most of you have already heard of the e-book launch of the Hedgewitch Queen.

Vianne di Rocancheil is a lady waiting at the Court of Arquitaine, where she studies her books, watches for intrigue, and shepherds her foolhardy Princesse through the glittering whirl. Court is a sometimes-unpleasant waltz, especially for the unwary, but Vianne treads its measured steps well.

A Queen can do no less.

It’s up for preorder at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and will be released on pretty much all ebook platforms as well. I am incredibly excited about it, I love this story. It’s very different than anything I’ve ever had published before.

There has been some…speculation, let’s say, about why it’s ebook-only. First of all, this doesn’t mean it won’t be in paper later–you can let the publisher know if you’d like that! They’re listening, believe me. They chose this book to start their ebook only line for a variety of reasons, very few of which have been shared with me; your thoughts and opinions, dear Reader, are very important to them.

Second, this book is not being released in ebook-only because it’s “unsellable.” (To those who suggested it, well. Yeah. Whatever.) You have got to realize I have multiple series on the shelves as of this year, and at least as many unpublished manuscripts as published works. Five or six of the unpubs are trunk novels that nobody will ever see. The others haven’t made it out because cannibalising my career by releasing a flood is so not in my best interests. So my agent tells me, and this is one of the things I trust her on.

Third, I’m getting asked, “But I thought you hated ebooks!” an awful lot. Guys, I don’t hate e-books. I prefer paper, and will until the day I die. Perhaps I’m in a minority, but I don’t think so, and it’s too early to tell. But there is something I hate with a flaming, unholy passion.

I hate e-piracy. (This is not news.) That was one of my reservations about accepting the offer to have Vianne and Tristan’s stories published in this manner. Thankfully, I’ve reached a point in my career where I could take a chance. Frankly, I’m not depending on Hedgewitch to pay my bills. (Other books, please God please, can do that.) A lot of authors do not have that luxury. This is why e-piracy means less of those things you love–because when an artist starts taking a look at the risks involved in that platform, they may choose not to go there.

All that aside, I’m very, very excited and happy. I’m glad to be able to offer my Readers a little something different, and I hope they like it.

Also, did you see the projected cover for The Iron Wyrm Affair, due out in early 2013? It’s not final yet, mind you. But here. Feast thine eyes, my chickadees.

Archibald Clare is a detective of truly uncanny abilities—a mentath, capable of feats of deduction and logic that border on the supernatural. He is also abruptly, uniquely, the only unregistered mentath left alive in Londoninium. Someone has murdered the others and, if not for the timely intervention of the Prime sorceress Emma Bannon, there would have been no one left to stop… whatever is coming.

The game is afoot…

Guys, I love this book. I had such an incredibly fun time writing it–muttering about clockwork rats, logic engines, and Victoriana until everyone was ready to heave an antique or two at me. Again, it’s something new and different, and I’m hoping you guys will like it.

Book two of Bannon & Clare is bubbling in my brainpan as I type. (Along with the head cold, but that’s another blog post.) Incidentally, since I am currently suffering the last vestiges of a Cold From Hell, now would be a really good time for the Fairy of Website Work to come fluttering down and update my Books pages for me…

…oh, wait, there is no Fairy of Website Work.

Damn. Guess I’ll have to do it myself.

Tune in next week for the continuing tale of Squirrel!Neo, plus the exciting saga of Phred and Miss B!

Attention Selene and Nikolai fans! The story of Selene’s return to Saint City, Just Ask, is now available in the Mammoth Book of Hot Romance! I hope you like it.

Also, I’ve updated the FAQ, the Strange Angels page, and the Jill Kismet page. Preorder information for Reckoning and Angel Town is now live on those pages.

A lot of you are asking me about audiobooks, especially for the Kismet series. I do not know when or if specific books will be released on audio. I’m sorry, I just don’t know.

I’m still sore and hobbling from the fall I took earlier this week, so that’s about all she wrote. (Literally. Ha ha. I kill me.) I’m gonna go take some ibuprofen and brace myself for climbing.

It is just way too bright and sunny today. And it’s a good thing I’m damn stubborn, or I would have quit after three miles today and not had that awesome endorphin-kick runner’s high. Not to mention the drift of honeysuckle, the cheerful “good morning”s from other runners–I content myself with a “Morning!” in return, because I can’t be cheerful while struggling to stay upright and moving. I would have also missed having the shaded park all to myself for a few glorious circuits. That was nice.

So, announcements!

* If you’ve ever wondered how Selene returned to Saint City, you can read the brand-new Selene and Nikolai story, Just Ask in the upcoming Mammoth Book of Hot Romance.

* Also upcoming is Reckoning, the final book in the Strange Angels series. The end of August will see a bindup of bboks one and two, Strange Angels and Betrayals with an all-new, lovely cover.

* November will also see the final Jill Kismet book, Angel Town.

* You can now buy all five of the Dante Valentine novels in one smoking-hot omnibus. (Personal demon not included, sorry.) Also, Graphic Audio has released parts one and two of Working For The Devil, I believe part 1 of Dead Man Rising is also available.

* I will be attending SpoCon in August. Not quite sure what my schedule will look like, but I’ll be there on panels etc. I will also be at the Cedar Hills Crossing Powells annual SF/F Authorfest in ?November?, more details on that as it gets closer.

* There’s an interview with me up over at the Gatekeeper’s Post.

* I can’t really talk about this yet, but it’s up on Amazon. Tempty tempty.

* A big “welcome home” shout-out to TP, back from the wilds of Europe. *evil wink*

…I’m sure there’s something I’ve forgotten, but I haven’t even finished my coffee yet, so forgive me. Off I go to find a name that means “a hunter” for a wooden garden-boy. He wants Calhoun, but I’m not sure he should have it. He’s not the protagonist, so he doesn’t really get what he wants as far as names.

Damn characters. Over and out.