News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #165…
A belated welcome to 2019! I’m not suspicious. I was born in an even year, married in an odd year, and our kids were born in even years. 2019 will bring what it will…and I wish all of you a safe, prosperous, and happy next twelve months. Thanks for being readers.
Publishing in 2018. Two articles about publishing caught my interest in the NY Times over the holidays. The first covered the expiration of copyrights. Some classics and many old books will be losing their copyrights. That mainly affects publishers and deceased authors’ estates, but it’s a warning that nothing in this business is permanent. Copyrights are long duration for a reason, but they’re not permanent.
The second article spoke to production problems. It wasn’t about the Times having printing and delivery problems or the hacking of press installations on the West Coast that affected West Coast newspapers as well as West Coast editions of the Times and Wall Street Journal. It seems that Big Five publishers had problems with keeping up with demand for popular books over the holidays. Maybe that helped indie authors and small presses whose offerings have to compete with the NYC conglomerates. I always ask for books for my gifts, and the production shortages didn’t seem to bother friends and relatives working off my wish list. What about you?
All that said, 2018 was a great year for readers. When the stats come out, I bet more good books and good authors were published in 2018 than in previous years. It’s a reader’s market, so make the most of it. I know I will.
Speaking of books and authors…. For those who don’t know. I also review books. I do my official reviewing at Bookpleasures.com, but you will also find reviews archived in the “Book Reviews” and “Mini-Reviews of Books” categories of my blog. You’ll also find many author interviews archived in the “Interviews” category. Drop by and check them out: https://stevenmmoore.com/blog. You might find some books that tickle your fancies.
New books. I managed to squeeze in Goin’ the Extra Mile before the 2019 ball dropped in Times Square. It’s #3 in the “Mary Jo Melendez Mysteries.” The U.S. created the MECHs (“Mechanically Enhanced Cybernetic Humans”), the Russians stole them, and now the Chinese kidnap Mary Jo and her family to get them. (Ebook only, from Carrick Publishing, available on Amazon and Smashwords.)
The Last Humans, my post-apocalyptic thriller, will be published by Black Opal Books sometime in 2019. Ex-USN and LA Sheriff’s forensic diver Penny Castro surfaces from a dive to find the apocalypse. The reader can follow her adventures as she struggles to survive and protect her adopted family. Thanks to Black Opal for making Penny’s story available to the reading public. Coming soon!
Son of Thunder, the sequel to Rembrandt’s Angel, has been accepted for publication by Penmore Press. Thanks to them too. Esther Brookstone, now ex-Scotland Yard Inspector from the Art and Antiques Division, and Bastiann van Coevorden, still an Interpol agent, meet the Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli and the disciple St. John the Divine, and there’s no time travel! You’ll also find out how the romance between Esther and Bastiann evolves.
Free fiction, anyone? I now make a habit of offering my short fiction free to my readers. (I never know whether a tale will become a short story, novella, or novel.) See the list of free PDF downloads on my “Free Stuff & Contests” web page. Just follow the directions to download the items that interest you. I just added Pasodobles in a Quantum Stringscape, Volume Two, a collection of many short fiction pieces. (Volume one is available as an inexpensive ebook on Amazon.)
Have questions? Or even you just want to say hello? You can use the contact page at this website or send me an email to steve@stevenmmoore.com. I love to hear from readers and fellow authors.
That’s all, folks! Happy New Year to you and yours.
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Comments are always welcome.
The Secret Lab and The Secret of the Urns, YA sci-fi mysteries from A. B. Carolan. Shashibala Garcia and the other Fearsome Four kids on the International Space Station in the future try to discover the origins of a mutant cat. They discover a lot more. Asako Kobayashi wants to study the natives of Hard Fist. But first she has to convince the humans on this satellite of a Jupiter-like planet that those natives aren’t inferior to humans, as well as solve the mystery of the natives’ past. Available in ebook format from Amazon and Smashwords and all the latter’s retail affiliates (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.) and in print format from Amazon.
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
January 21st, 2019 at 9:36 am
Interesting! My wife, both sons and I were all born in even years. So was my sister (she was December and I was January so we’re only 2 years apart for a little over a month) and my mom. What does it mean? (Probably nothing!)
It’s hard to tear my eyes away from the spectacle in our nation’s capital. When the president of 30% of the people can’t find a way to reopen the government as every other president did, it’s bad. I think it is affecting payments and processing of stuff for my office, too. Indirectly of course, but things seem slow and my accountant says it’s likely a trickle-down effect of the shutdown affecting other businesses.
Looking forward to Son Of Thunder.
January 21st, 2019 at 10:38 am
Hiya Scott!
I wouldn’t make much about even and odd years. Even leap years are curious artifacts from the evolution of our calendars (historian Steve speaking).
Inre the shutdown, the administration doesn’t emphasize with those people who live from paycheck to paycheck (meaning they don’t give a rat’s ass). While they might eventually receive back pay, there will also be government contractors who won’t. And there’s that trickle-down effect that’s just bad for the economy in general. Many on the border don’t want to lose property when the government takes it by eminent domain for Trump’s wall. Lots of problems the administration ignores.
Let’s hope we live through this mess!
r/Steve