All right, I've had a chance to get back from vacation and unpack and get back into life (well, almost). And first among my many chores is to make a proper announcement that Cogwheel Press recently acquired English language publishing rights to Discovering Ren. In the words of Dr. Seuss, this is really big news, and that's why I'm bothering telling you so.

The world of publishing is in upheaval, I'm told, just as the recording industry went through a period of change nearly ten years ago. As I understand it, what's happening is that the twentieth century model is rapidly disintegrating as media distribution channels proliferate, and some new and interesting stuff is being built. Cogwheel Press is exactly one of those interesting new enterprises - small, targeted at specific markets, with low overhead and DIY distribution and marketing. In other words, niche audiences who might like a particular sub-sub-genre - oh, say, dark urban fantasy with a Christian worldview (wink) - will have access to good quality fiction at prices they're willing to pay. Under the "old" model (which really isn't that old, maybe 60 or 70 years at most) they'd get nothing. Zip. Nada. Why? Because a book that this audience would read and enjoy won't sell a guaranteed 10,000 copies, and the "traditional" publishers can't afford to take a chance on it.

Once upon a time, a small press meant "small time." Something to be not proud of. And that's really weird, because nobody today would say that Charles Dickens, for example, is a small-time author. The immortal Mr. Dickens published his own books in his own magazines, created for expressly that purpose. A few years back, someone who emulated his business model would be looked down upon. Today, we'd say he was entrepreneurial. 

How times change. I'm really excited to be part of the new/old publishing model. Please do go check out the other titles Cogwheel has to offer, and happy reading!

I'm happy (thrilled in fact) to announce that Cogwheel Press has acquired publishing rights to Discovering Ren. Release date TBD, hopefully late fall 2012. Please check out & purchase some of their other great titles!

I've hated May and October for a while now. They're the busiest months of the year, worse even than the holidays. Seems like every grant deadline, every report, every school activity, every exhibit opening, just everything takes place in one of those months. 

I finished May and was hoping to return to sanity, but June has been, if anything, worse. I won't bore you to pieces with all the deadlines I've got that are backing up, but suffice it to say, I've got enough work to do to keep me busy 24/7 for quite a while. Bleck.

I was starting to feel very sorry for myself on Monday last, when somehow I had simultaneously double-booked myself and failed to record both appointments in my calendar (Siri, what happened? I wish I could blame you, but I'm sure it was my muddled brain). I managed to sort that out, and was recuperating the next day, when my helpful little iPhone bleeped to tell me that a member of my writing group had updated her status. "Whatever," I thought, but I looked anyway (how easy it is to be distracted from a grant report!) and was horrified. Long story short, she and her husband crashed their motorcycle on Sunday, and while she came away with a sprained knee, he had broken his neck, shoulder, and some ribs. Miraculously, he survived, and was airlifted to ICU. Right now it looks like he didn't damage his spinal cord, thank God, but at very best he's facing months and months of recovery and may never work again (he's a police captain).

So, no more feeling sorry for myself. My deadlines are bad, but not deadly. My entire life wasn't turned upside down in an instant. My friend would change places with me in an instant, I'm sure. The months of waiting to hear back from publishers are nothing, just nothing, compared to the uncertainty she's facing. All I can do to help her is pray and be a friend, and that's really the best thing, anyway. I'm not perfect, and I'll still feel frustrated and overworked, but hopefully the ne

So, a few days ago (Memorial Day, in fact), I woke up around 5 a.m. with the entire opening of sequel #2 in my head. I mean, everything: character names, plot, action, details, even the actual words. It was like having the book read to me. Since then, I've been going to bed each night and waking up with the story playing like a private movie complete with narration.