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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.)
What do writers think about very, very early on the morning of launch day? Among other things, all the stuff they had planned to do to get ready for this that didn’t get done (the new business cards with the cover shot from Kings? Didn’t get that done. All the updates of the summer travel schedule that should be on the websites by now…aren’t. And how weird it is to have “the new book” (the one just out), the new new book (the one now in production and the new, new, new book (the one being written) all vying for attention at the same time. Kings expects me to devote at least a week to its birth (I’m sorry, Kings, I have other responsibilities as well.) Crisis of Vision needs its front matter. Book IV, which is also refusing to give me a title, is tapping its foot impatiently because I’m not spending hours a day first-drafting it. How much of it can I write in April, before the copy edits come in for review from Crisis of Vision, in May? Will the copy edits be a joy (wonderful CE caught my typos, noticed a continuity error, etc.) or a disaster (awful CE decided to rewrite the book to own idea of what it should’ve been)??? How long after Kings comes out can I–should I–start posting minimalist snippets from Crisis? How will I fit the rest of the first-drafting of Book IV and the hard thinking it’s going to take to pull this all to a good conclusion in Book V, into the spaces between travel & appearances?
Adding to the scatterbrain effect is the weather and the rapid growth of plants hoping to make it to flower and seed before the full weight of summer heat minus water kills them. When it’s the vegetable garden plants, and the native shrubs and trees, this is one thing. When it’s the non-native weeds, their abundance and rapid growth are truly alarming…”But…but…but…there was nothing here last week…how did this thing get knee high to a giraffe and covered with spiny leaves so fast?” Never mind that it happens every spring and I should know by now. Many but not all the peas have found the chicken wire and are clinging to it. As the person who is very fond of fresh edible-pod peas, I’m watching their progress closely. Likewise the potato plants, now all showing a bulge of greenery. Carrots, radishes, lettuce: all up now. And Bombadil the tractor is promised for tomorrow. And the St. John Passion concert is April 2, and the Texas Library Association meeting is April 15 and…so on.
I can’t tell you how heartening it is to have heard from those of you who got the book early and have read it and are telling me you like it. So maybe I can go to sleep now (eyes are really beginning to say “Enough staring at lighted computer monitor…go to BED.” Thanks to all of you for being around on this journey, and I hope you stick around for the rest of it.
Comment by Amanda — March 22, 2011 @ 12:24 am
I think a good night’s sleep will help with your “scatterbrain” dilemma. Always does me a lot of good!
Book is shipped from Amazon so I can only go to bed now and hope it is on my door step when I awaken.
Must hold off on reading it all today as I have 3+ hours of sitting with nothing to do on Wednesday with access to nothing but a good book!
Comment by Chris in South Jersey — March 22, 2011 @ 3:01 am
I got it!! I preordered it via Apple’s iBooks and just downloaded it. That’s the good news. The bad news is I have so much prep work for an upcoming quilt show this weekend that the earliest I’ll be able to delve into it is Sunday night. Ah, sweet anticipation.
Comment by elizabeth — March 22, 2011 @ 6:35 am
I’m glad you’ve got it, Chris, and sorry you’re having to wait to read it.
Comment by PocketGoddess — March 22, 2011 @ 7:08 am
I read several chapters last night and am positively bleary-eyed, but happy. 🙂
I’m not the only one either–I tweeted a line from the second chapter about 1AM, and another reader retweeted immediately. I bet there are a lot of Elizabeth Moon fans out there who are sleepy this morning (if they’re into ebooks) or will be sleepy tomorrow morning (if they’re into the hardcover thing).
Do you ever do “ask me a question” posts? There are a couple of niggling little things that bother me–they have nothing to do with the plot, but they stop me to wonder every time I encounter them in your works:
1) Are there any particular rituals associated with the dawn? (Remembering Pak’s fear she wouldn’t know when dawn came, early in the first book, and a few other things here and there)
2) Sunrising and sunsetting I get, for example, but which is summer-side and which is winter-side?
Comment by Kerry (aka Trouble) — March 22, 2011 @ 8:52 am
Ready to cry – mine has NOT shipped yet. 🙁
Comment by elizabeth — March 22, 2011 @ 8:58 am
So sorry, Kerry. I hope it suddenly surprises you. (I’ve sometimes received things that said they were shipping the next day.)
Comment by elizabeth — March 22, 2011 @ 9:04 am
I’ve done posts on questions people have asked, but haven’t done specific “ask me a question” posts. Good idea.
Right now I’m realizing I’ve spent all morning (since 7) online or eating breakfast and I need to get on the road to the city to sign shelf stock. So only brief answers to yours: a) many of the groups have dawn rituals (and all do for the big four: Midwinter, Midsummer, the Eveners) but they vary, and b) summer-side (or summerwards) is south and winter-side (or winterwards) is north.
Comment by tuppenny — March 22, 2011 @ 9:27 am
My kindle copy shared breakfast with me and went to the mechanics for the 60000 mile check. Unfortunately they finished in less time than they had projected so I had less reading time. Auntie Dorrin has just arrived, and inspected the well….. If I pick up the book to finished the chapter the entire day will be lost.
Who wants to vacuum and pay bills when a wonderful world is waiting.
Comment by Genko — March 22, 2011 @ 10:48 am
Guess I’d better call my women-owned bookstore to see if the book is in (or when they expect it). I pre-ordered, and hoped they would e-mail me, but I dont think I can wait. I don’t have time to read for a few days either, but I suspect it will cut into my sleep time at least some.
Comment by Genko — March 22, 2011 @ 10:50 am
Oh, I meant to say I can’t imagine how you juggle all of these books in their different phases. I’m very impressed that you manage at all. Not to mention living on land that needs its own attention. I’m very grateful that you do all of this, as I enjoy the books — reading and re-reading — immensely.
Comment by Merewen — March 22, 2011 @ 11:20 am
I keep sneaking on here during work because really, all I want to be doing is reading the book, and since I can’t have books or especially an e-reader with me at work, this is the next best thing. Tonight is going to be a loooong night because in between reading Kings I have to read a chapter of my Ancient Greece textbook. Since the textbook isn’t nearly as exciting as the shiny new e-book, finding the discipline to get that chapter read will be much more difficult than losing myself in Kings will be. I only read it for a couple hours this morning as I got ready, but I’m already seven chapters in.
Comment by Skyehaven — March 22, 2011 @ 11:32 am
I downloaded my ebook first thing this morning and am several (maybe 5?) chapters in. Why, oh why, do employers want people to work on release days??
Comment by David R Campbell — March 22, 2011 @ 11:46 am
UPS Says mine is “Out for Delivery”. I guess I’ll have to wait until I get home from work.
Comment by Merewen — March 22, 2011 @ 1:29 pm
Skyhaven, I wanted to take leave today, but we have a huge military unit inspection coming up, so I have to stay at work and go over pointless records instead to make sure we have everything in order.
Comment by Adam Baker — March 22, 2011 @ 3:00 pm
Got off work early this afternoon, and went and picked my copy up at Books A Million. Called them 3 times today to see if my book was there. They finally called to say it was there when I was half way there, haha.
Comment by Lauren — March 22, 2011 @ 4:52 pm
It was very nice to wake up this morning and find Kings downloaded and waiting on my Kindle. And all my plans for the morning went right out the window.
Comment by Carolyn Rau — March 22, 2011 @ 5:49 pm
Got mine today from Nicolas Books in Ann Arbor – I reserved it yesterday so there wasn’t any out to see! But I wasn’t leaving mine there either. So far,through CH 23, really good. Will finish tonight and start the reread tomorrow to catch what I missed the first time.
Thank you!
Comment by Douglas — March 22, 2011 @ 8:45 pm
Finished it! Let’s see that’s about 17 hours straight since midnight last night. Really pleased I didn’t have to wait for the audio to show up on ITunes. Some of the voices were… different. I definitely enjoyed this book more then the first one.
Comment by Kerry (aka Trouble) — March 22, 2011 @ 10:12 pm
At 10:55 pm I finally got an email telling me it has been shipped. Grrrrr. Wonder when it will get here.
Comment by Kathleen — March 23, 2011 @ 5:16 am
Even though my local Borders said they had no stock there were 3-4 copies in the store that the staff found. One of them is at home with me now and partially read. I’ll be up late a couple of more nights finishing it for the first time. I’m enjoying.
And a belated thanks for the answer on the release date question.
Comment by Rachel — March 23, 2011 @ 11:21 am
I was able to track down a copy at the local B&N yesterday (yeah!), but since I hosted a dinner party last night with guests who didn’t leave until after 11 I didn’t get to start reading it yet. I’m going to a steampunk film viewing tonight with a friend, so I won’t get a chance to start reading it until tomorrow! (sadness)
And no, I don’t have the self-control to read for just a little while. If I start, I won’t be putting it down until I’m done and I need to be able to think at work this week. ~Sigh~ Soon my precious, soon.
Comment by Tina Black — March 23, 2011 @ 6:23 pm
Mine just arrived from Amazon. It’s 3/23 — not bad.
Comment by APJ — March 24, 2011 @ 1:09 pm
Woo and may i add a Hoo!!!!!
I had been late to order my Kings copy, but i got it today!!!! Yay!! i’m ready to indulge!!!
Thank you Mrs. Moon for sharing these stories with the world!!
Comment by Teri Soles — March 25, 2011 @ 11:41 am
I picked up my copy today at my local library here in Alberta – it came in from a branch 600 km away! Yay for library consortiums, and being able to reserve a book once it’s on order. I very much enjoy your work, and look forward to reading this one sometime this weekend.
Comment by elizabeth — March 25, 2011 @ 12:02 pm
Teri: How wonderful that your library system was so efficient!!
APJ: Glad yours arrived, and you’re very welcome.
Tina: And yours arrived too–whoopee!
Rachel: Maybe delay makes the heart grow fonder–at any rate you have it! Hope the dinner party was fun.
Kathleen: Good for the staff for hunting.