Paksworld

Your support got me on the New York Times Bestseller List (extended, at #29.)  My agent called just as I was leaving for rehearsal (or I’d have posted a thank you right away.)

First week sales for Kings of the North were slightly ahead of Oath of Fealty, even with so many Borders stores closed that used to be reliable sellers for me.  E-book sales were up 20-25% over last year; hardcover sales were down (expected, with the loss of those Borders sales) but on balance, it’s running a little ahead.

So thank you all, very, very much for your early support.

My agent also told me that Oath was nominated for a Gemmell Award (as were the books of several other writers he represents) for best fantasy novel, and cover art on some of the others for best cover art.  (Best fantasy novel nominees are here.

So all in all an exciting day, and it’s thanks to you people (and readers who haven’t found this place yet.)

A “work” version of the map for Kings of the North is now up on the Paksworld website maps page, here.    I don’t have time to do a prettified antiqued version right now, so this is for those who bought the book in a format that did not include the map.

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Book IV called me back today with a vengeance, and I’ve done the first substantial work since finishing the Great Race.  Over 1500 words.    A plot-bomb of sorts that’s been burning a hole in my typing fingers since the fever went down.   However, it’s a major, MAJOR spoiler so I can’t talk about it.

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Diana Wynne Jones died (of lung cancer, the stories say.)    For reasons that aren’t really that important, she’s another YA author whose work I first ran into as an over-40s adult, and immediately fell for, and sought after, and read and re-read.   Her books made me laugh, scowl, worry…I don’t remember if I ever actually cried while reading one, but my breath came short and I had to turn pages really fast sometimes.    That, to me, is one of the signs of a good book–as being re-readable many times is another.   Her books were certainly re-readable.

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As mentioned, I’m incredibly busy right now, and do not have time to answer many questions or all comments.    I must spend at least two hours a day on the music.   More if I’m still having problems by Saturday.   Orchestra rehearsals start next week and I will have rehearsals Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and then the performance Saturday and two services to sing Sunday.  Plus the rest of the things that must be done, including writing-business stuff, home stuff, and work on the new book.

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This topic is for spoilers.  All spoilers go here. Comments to this topic may contain spoilers.   Comments to other topics may not contain spoilers and will be deleted if they do.  If you do not want any spoilers,  do not look at comments to this topic.  They are likely to be brimful of spoilers.

I opened the SpoilerSpace playroom early because someone erred and I realize it’s really hard for many people to know if what they said was a spoiler.   And what seemed like a spoiler to someone waiting for their copy to arrive or their library to get an acquisition cataloged may not seem like a spoiler at all to the person who’s just finished the book.   When in doubt…put it here.

I have a bunch of writing-business chores to do ASAP,  so I’m trusting you to play nicely in the SpoilerSpace sandbox.   As I have time, I will be by to answer questions–unless the answers would be spoilers for the next books.

After hanging about reading posts and comments and tweets and email about arrivals for longer than I meant to (Daylight Savings Time–for weeks I can’t use light to judge time of day, and my old computer refuses to stay on the right time even when I reset it…it will flip over in April sometime), I didn’t have time to zip in and out of the city.  Instead, I called bookstores and planned a two-day set of shelf-stock signings.    Things did not go as planned right from the get-go, but I did manage to hit bookstores in three towns,  though the one copy of Kings in one store was bought twenty minutes before I got there.

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Where I am, that is, it’s two minutes past midnight.   (And now I’m supposed to go to sleep…!!!  Like that’s going to happen before I get past the it’s here, it’s here!! buzz.)

Outside, the leopard frogs in the water garden are making their low-pitched mating calls, and a cool breeze is blowing in the window beside me.   There’s a gecko on the  window-screen hoping some moth will come to the light and become dinner.    The wind in the trees is has changed its sound because the trees are beginning to leaf out and also have seeds (oak pollen’s high right now but doesn’t bother me.)   The frogs just stopped calling…I suspect something’s out there near the pond (most likely cat or raccoon–we have both around at night.)

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The first arrivals I heard of were actually last week, in Sweden and then in The Netherlands.   But several more showed up today, including one in my state, Texas (S.Z.  in Houston emailed  that he’d bought one in a bookstore.)   By authorial decree (picture me holding up a fancy scroll and reading from it)  I hereby declare that arrival notices are not spoilers, even though they may add to the frustration of those who haven’t yet received their copy.

That’s selfish, by the way, because I want to hear more about where the books are, and report the distribution stuff to my agent.  So if you don’t want to, don’t, but if you do, you’ll be contributing to the knowledge base.

Since everyone appears to be enjoying the background material (I wasn’t sure you would),  and the tractor isn’t here yet, I’ll throw in some more tidbits to tide you over until tomorrow.   Or the next day.  Nothing should be spoilerish for Kings or the books following…some outcropped in the original books and some didn’t.   (And I don’t promise that there’s nothing new in background that might outcrop in this book or the next.)

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