Myth, the Universe, and Everything

I missed noticing a new review of Into the Reach posted on Amazon in mid-March, but there it is! Departure is, as yet, unreviewed (anywhere). If you're a reviewer or blogger and would like to review Departure, and are willing to post a short review on amazon as well, I do have some (limited) press copies available. Let me know if you're interested!

There's also a copy of Into the Reach available on amazon for only six dollars--quite a steal. Departure is still nominally available at amazon with the "one copy left" tag line. I actually suspect they put that tag up when they have more than one left, but who knows?

In other news, while driving home from the Berkshires of Massachusetts last night, I passed by Hobbomock, the Sleeping Giant. I have a feeling I'll be getting very familiar with that route over the next few months.

It amused me today that with so many posts lately about Writer's Block (jenlyn_b had a great comments conversation about it in her blog this week) on the blogs I read, it was pertinent that today's Dork Tower also mentioned it.

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I don't know if I've mentioned it here yet or not, but Departure is sort of available on Amazon. It was available earlier this week with a four-to-six week shipping (which I thought was odd), and today when I checked, there was one copy available with the note that they were reordering. So either they got through the first shipment from my publisher extremely quickly (exiting!) or they've mucked something up in the process (sad).

At any rate, if you've been looking for it, it is appearing sporadically, if you search under Alana Abbott. Into the Reach shows up there as well and periodically has copies available.

It sounds like the most reliable thing to do is go to your local game store and buy there. Not only does it support gaming (hurrah!), but it means Alliance (the distributor) thinks I'm important. Sort of.

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As a note, I'm procrastinating instead of writing my novel. Does anyone have particular motivation strategies to help get excited about a writing project that just seems to be dragging along? I've seen plenty of really good suggestions for writer's block (I used jenlyn_b's "BIC" method earlier today), but none for pep talking.

Off to try to write another ten pages before e-mailing my editor.

The rush of the holidays is finally over, and though things are not quite back to normal (I am still in dire need of a two week vacation), I'm getting back on track on several of the writing assignments that got shoved off to the side while shopping for presents, parties, gatherings with family, and company came to the fore. I had a lovely visit with my friend Fallon just after New Year's, completely unscheduled, and she gave me a copy of the Ramayana that she'd purchased during her semester in India. It's certainly the classiest book I received this year (India obviously takes book publishing seriously, as a book may cost a full week's wages for some people in the rural areas, from what Fallon was telling me), and I'm looking forward to reading it!

Other notable books that came to me during the holidays:
Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson mistborn
Fruits Basket 15 (because manga is one of my weaknesses)
Sorcerers and Secretaries by Amy Kim Ganter

I also have a shared Barnes and Noble gift card left to spend (which was, for a household that usually gets and gives a lot of books, more common this year than actual print), so I'll add to the list then.

What I'm looking forward to receiving is my promo copies of Departure, which should be coming any day now. In fact, if you're interested in ordering Departure from the publisher, it's possible you could get a copy before my promo copies arrive! It was listed as available starting January 2nd, only in paperback. The hardcovers haven't been printed yet.

Departure features another great cover by Lindsay Archer, but no interiors for this print run. It's a much longer book, which was part of the reason for this decision, as was Lindsay's schedule, which had several conflicts, and my publisher decided he'd rather not get a second artist to do interior. (I'm glad that's what he decided--it wouldn't be the same without Lindsay's work!) There is some talk of releasing a "special edition" with interior prints some time in the future, but whether or not that will happen, who knows?

In the mean time, start keeping an eye out (and asking local booksellers) for both Into the Reach and Departure, which should have much wider availability starting this month. Rumor has it that Barnes and Noble has already ordered 750 copies of Into the Reach, which they will make available to their customers mid-month.

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The other big news from this end of the world is that I got my first fan letter. So, Matt, if you're out there reading this--thanks! You'll be hearing from me via a return letter in the near future. :)

Having just caught up on various live journals, I paused to pay attention to Neil Gaiman's recent mention of Library Thing's UnSuggester. The idea is that they'll run some mathematical scan to see what books owned by Library Thing members are *unlikely* to be owned by Library Thing members who own other books. Hopefully that makes more sense when you read it than when I just typed it.

Here's an example, which I did as a test in response to Neil Gaiman's comment that people who own his books are unlikely to own books about Christianity. I plugged in Dark Night of the Soul, by St. John of the Cross, and got the following result. Of the 71 titles listed, I have either read or own 41 one of them. (Granted, some of what I've read I do not own, which is not the statistic they're measuring, and some of them I own I have not read, but that is a statistic they're measuring, so I believe it evens out.)

I think Library Thing is a great idea, but don't have time nor patience that would be required to log all my books, so it seems my status as a statistical anomaly will go unchanged.

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I wish I had news on Departure for all of you, as it was supposed to be released this weekend, but alas, I don't. Or that I could tell you that both Amazon and Barnes and Noble were carrying Into the Reach before the holidays, but it looks like mid-January is the best we'll be able to do.

I did find a fun review online the other day though. Hurrah for google!

Here's a look at Steampunk Musha from The RPG Site.
Matt from Flames Rising was kind enough to post his review of Into the Reach in the comments of a recent entry here, but I forgot to actually post it on my page. Here it is.

There are also some comments about Into the Reach in forums, but those aren't full reviews, so I won't post them here. They're largely nice, though, which is a good feeling.

No word on whether Jewel Staite read the novel yet, but maybe someday we'll hear...

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Edit: Oh! I almost forgot. After the review from the good folks over at RPG Blog, I checked out a novel by David Gemmel, Legend, due to the favorable comparison. I finally finished it last week (after it spent some time in my library pile) and I have to say it blew me away. I'm truly honored that his name came up in a review of my novel. We just bought another of his books, so I'll be reading that soon, as well. If you haven't read David Gemmell, do yourself a favor and put him on your reading list.

Now that Departure: The Final Edit (subtitle is a joke, just to be clear) is in the hands of the fabulous Shawn Merwin, I'm trying to catch up on assorted other projects, including reading what everyone has been doing lately on their livejournals. This is a particularly good one that I had previously missed from amieroserotruck: A haiku review of Dragons of Autumn Twilight. It's just awesome.

In other news, shanna_s has proposed January as an alternate NaNoWriMo month, as it has no holidays in it and you could even use novel writing as a resolution! She's still calling for folks who are interested to drop her a comment, and she may actually organize a whole support-group style community. Since I'm looking to start a novel after book three is done and my other current projects are wrapped up, this may indeed be a good way to stay inspired. Or get inspired. Either way.

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So, now that novel two is handed off, what are my plans? Well, novel three should be in progress more than it is (I do have ten pages, but then took a break to go back to editing, which was perhaps Not My Best Plan). I also have contributions to get done for a pantheon book for White Silver, a reference assignment, and my last issue of Literature Community News. They've discontinued the newsletter next year, so Arielle Kesweder (co-owner of Virgil & Beatrice with me) and I are considering doing something similar on our currently sort of abandoned Web site. The idea is to post news, reviews, and stuff librarians and booksellers can use. We'll see what it eventually becomes (or if it, like our last efforts to post regular reviews, falls by the wayside).

I'll definitely keep things posted here when that eventually comes about!

I've had the priveledge to work with some really exceptional editors since I started as a writer. Jim Person, the editor I work with at Thomson Gale on newsletter articles is wonderful; he cleans up the writing in such a way that I sound like myself, but I sound like the best possible version of myself. Basically, he makes me look good.

I was discussing today with my novel editor, Shawn Merwin, how I've been going through his edits and thinking, "Why didn't I write it like that the first time?" Though the question was rhetorical, he responded with a great quote from Philip Roth's novel The Ghostwriter.

“I turn sentences around. That’s my life. I write a sentence and then I turn it around. Then I look at it and I turn it around again. Then I have lunch. Then I come back in and write another sentence. Then I have tea and turn the new sentence around. Then I read the two sentences over and turn them both around. Then I lie down on the sofa and think. Then I get up and throw them out and start from the beginning. And if I knock off from this routine for as long as a day, I’m frantic with boredom and a sense of waste.”

Worrying about the sentences, while important, is secondary to telling the story. When you have a good editor you can trust, you'll come out glowing on the other side. I'm feeling very lucky at the moment.

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Alas, my writing is not going as well as going over the other edits. It occurs to me that I should have realized when I didn't turn in the final for Departure (the novel currently being edited) until the first week of September that a November 15 deadline for the third novel was going to be challenging to say the least. But no, I had to keep taking on other assignments...

Someday, perhaps, I will learn.

Currently Reading A Bit of Rock by Robert Beers, which you can preview in its chapter-by-chapter version at Baeg Tobar. The other novels, alas, have to wait.
Currently Watching Heroes. I know people are complaining about the build up and about how the plot hasn't really solidified yet (although progress was just made tonight), but it doesn't bother me. I'm loving all this character development and not having any idea what's really going on. It's good stuff.

Last week, I spent most of my time fighting off a wretched flu and migraine like bug; being online, where things blink pretty colors and the light shifts on the screen was not high on my priority list of things to do. Despite that, I've been working on an assortment of small projects as I get started on novel number three (which now has a new title: Regaining Home). Departure is out with my editor, and we'll be doing a quick turn around on the edited version so that the book can publish the day after Thanksgiving. The speed of the print on demand process astonishes me.

In the mean time, I've finally had some time to work on Baeg Tobar, Living Kalamar, and assorted other projects. Baeg Tobar has launched a new Web comic over the past few weeks and launches another this coming Monday. It's a really exciting time for the site, so if you haven't checked it out, please pop over to Baeg Tobar and see what we're up to. It's a fantasy world with developing technology, magic that flows like a current through the world, and an empire just about ready to tumble. The stories are well worth reading.

And to that end, here's our latest press release!



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Alana Abbott Head Editor
alana@baegtobar.com


BAEG TOBAR TO LAUNCH “THE BROKEN MANTLE” WEB COMIC

October 2, 2006 (Blue Springs, MO) – Baeg Tobar (www.baegtobar.com), a premiere online, shared world community of creators of fiction and art, is pleased to announce the launch of their newest Web comic. Unlike most Web comics, “The Broken Mantle” features not only regularly updated panels, but sections of prose accompanied by a splash page of art. This hybrid of prose and comic is a new format for the Baeg Tobar site. The story, developed by writer Daniel Tyler Gooden, tells of a mechanical man’s search for an ancient city and a veteran explorer’s hope to find his way home from the lost continent on which he finds himself trapped. Illustrator Rick Hershey, founder of Empty Room Studios and creator of Steampunk Musha RPG, and colorist Ramiro Diaz Legaspe provide the illustrations. “The Broken Mantle” updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, beginning on October 9th, 2006.

“My favorite storyline has always been of the fallen empire,” said Gooden. “This type of story has too many incredible possibilities not to get excited about writing it. I'm glad to be given the chance by Baeg Tobar.”

Hershey also expressed his enthusiasm for working on the project. “After reading Daniel's script and having the chance to get Ramiro to color my lines, I was hooked. So far, I’m enjoying every minute of it.”

“The Broken Mantle” joins Web comics “The Fall of Pileaus” and “Stoneteller” on the Baeg Tobar Web site. These are the newest projects for the Baeg Tobar site, which currently hosts six serial novels that are updated with new chapters once a month.

Please direct any questions to alana@baegtobar.com.

Baeg Tobar is a world brought to life by a dedicated and diverse community of artists and writers. It is a free Web site (www.baegtobar.com) that brings innovative fantasy literature to online readers searching for high quality material set in a unique new world. Baeg Tobar is affiliated with Empty Room Studios, provider of high quality illustration and writing services for the creative needs of both large and small publishing companies.
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