Paksworld

Evidently Book V is over its snit.   I did not sleep much last night (memory of the previous night’s scorpion sting meant that any noise in the house translated into “There’s a scorpion” and so did any “feeling” on my skin) but the reward for insomnia was a massive download of intuitive stuff for Book V.

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There I was, writing away on Book V,  when something popped up that solved a mystery.   This should not be spoilerish, more like background material that we just haven’t seen yet.    It was clear all along that there were more gnome princedoms than Aldonfulk and Gnarrinfulk, but those were the only ones who had inpinged on the story so far.    My attempt to figure out where they were and who they were had foundered.   Until today.

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Back at work on Book V, which is being a sulky book right now and kicking in harness…I left it alone too long right after starting it, which it resented.    So it’s presenting me with pages of….to be brutally honest…not very interesting stuff.  Not even background that I need,  just a sort of Bookly protest at being ignored.  “You weren’t here, and this happened while you weren’t here, so you have to write it all before I’ll let you hear the good stuff.”

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I spend the “awake but not up” portion of the very early morning thinking about an idea I had yesterday for Book V.    All along I’ve had a particular vision of what happens when Mmmph and Ummph meet.  It’s been stable through the other books, but I had a bright idea.   What if Rrrmph and Mmmph were connected?  What if Rrrmph wanted to do A and Mmmph wanted to do B, and then Ummph never met Mmmph in the same circumstances…???

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My agent just called to let me know that according to BookScan (does not cover all sales points, but enough to be useful)  the hardcover sales of Echoes in its first week in the marketplace were 180 higher than Kings last year.   The actual hardcover sales will be some higher (and this is only for US sales, as far as I know.)    He also said it was unusual to have any sales figures run higher than last year’s.    No word yet on e-sales.

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Editor emailed this morning to let me know Echoes has gone back to print another 3000 copies.  I don’t think I’ve ever had a hardcover sent back to print that fast before.   Very happy dance of writer.   Wowza and all that.

And it’s you folks–the readers–who have made the book popular enough for this to be needed.  THANK YOU.    Read the rest of this entry »

Am I still excited on Launch Days?   You bet!   Excited and worried all at once.    I always worry.    Part of the game.

Here, the sun is shining, high clouds diluting its warmth, and spring is springing out of the ground thanks to the rain Friday night and Saturday.     I hope those of you who ordered the e-book are finding it on your readers this morning, and those of you who have it in transit by mail or waiting for you at the store have good weather for the pickup or delivery.   And time to read.

I’ve got stuff stacked up to do today (including stay by the phone so the people from the hotel can reach me…idiot writer left her traveling music in the hotel room)  and I will get to comments (answering them, that is) as other things allow.

I got back from San Antonio in good shape–the weather going down qualified as Interesting, and the weather coming back easily made the category Delightful.  The Toe is much better.    The FYE Conference was fascinating, and I met a lot of people from colleges and universities all over the country.  Random House sends a big team promoting its “common read” and “FYE read” books.    A small group of writers are given exposure to the faculty and staff who choose the books for freshmen to read, or the whole college to read.   Since The Speed of Dark has been used that way, I’m now on their radar.  I was the only fiction writer (of five) and the only woman.   Felt kind of odd, and very unlike an SF convention (where were the Klingons??   Well…there were Romulans on Star Trek on TV last night) but I had fun.

And tomorrow is the Big Day.  My Silver Book Anniversary (so to speak.)    Among the other writers were National Book Award winners  (wow!) but I had them outnumbered, if not surrounded.     Tired now, and waiting to hear back from the hotel if they found what I left in the room (and I haven’t left anything in a hotel room in…um…I can’t think when was the last time.)   Worst is that it was my favorite writing-on-a-trip collection of music–all classical.  Bach, Stanford, Mozart, Beethoven, Elgar, etc.

If you look at the US weather map, there’s a big red blot over North Texas (headed for Oklahoma I think) with a “tail” that extends across Central Texas and angles across Mexico.  The big red blot used to be on top of Central Texas.   It’s full of thunder and lightning and rain and little lumps of hail.   It thunder-bumped most of the night, and every time I relaxed into deep sleep because the noise was only rain (Yay rain!)  another embedded lump of noise and flashing lights woke me up.

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My UK editor wants an essay for their blogsite.  I’m working on it.  I’ve been working on it since it was assigned.   It should’ve been easy; I thought it would be easy.  It’s not.  And it’s even a topic I suggested.   In the weird way that Lifestuff and Writerstuff sometimes intertwine, it got tangled in a discussion here, a discussion elsewhere, and my original thoughts on the matter.

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