When I first put The Night Watchman up as an ebook, I was clueless. CLUELESS. With my publisher's help, the book appeared as a complete trilogy - all three volumes (and nary an edit in sight, except those I did myself.)
My publisher created a cute cover for me - an eerie little blue train with my name and the title of the book. The image seemed to garner a lot of attention; the edition sold well and my publisher and I were both happy.
But print trembled on the horizon. I knew we would have to go to the next level and put the book in paperback. Here is the thing:
YOU CANNOT PUT ALL THREE PORTIONS OF A TRILOGY IN ONE VOLUME OF A PAPERBACK.
Well, that's not quite true. You can do it if you're Steven King - Hello, The Stand?! Over 400K words? - but when you are shipping the book yourself, not so much.
So, my publisher and I decided to split the book after the second volume of the piece. A new cover was created - the one that is currently up, with the cool, steampunk train. (This cover, by the way, was done by my very talented sister.)
The first portion of the book - the one that will now be The Night Watchman Express - was sent in for copious edits and a thorough revamping. The manuscript was formatted by my best friend, who is also a cover artist.
And I got a new cover. This new one was designed by J. J. Makins, the author of The King of Egypt, and she did a terrific job. My friend who did the script format then realized the concept with graphics.
I hope to reveal the cover to you when my book does go up as a paperback (any day now.) I'm really, really happy with the way the script and the cover turned out.
So what have we learned here?
1. Most importantly: Write in printable chunks.
2. Also very important: It really does take a village to print a book. Thank you to J. Darroll Hall, Lesley West, Lisa Daly, Pame Albacete, J.J. Makins, and all involved.
3. The Night Watchman Express is no longer going to be all three volumes. The ebook will switch to two halves in a few days. If you want to get the entire trilogy - buy it now!
4. The second half of the book, Devil's Kitchen, will go up as an ebook as soon as I get another of those cover thingies.
5. I'm also rolling out a third volume, The Lamplighter's Special - and, ditto on the cover thingy.
The final cover for TNWE will be revealed shortly - watch this space!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Before and After Irene
We had to prepare for the approaching storm. Patio furniture lurked outside, spiky with metal legs that could impale something during hundred mile an hour winds. Umbrellas could be turned into weapons. Trashcans could become true dirty bombs.
It was Friday night, and the air was still warm from the day. My daughter ran in front of us, laughing in the dark, leaving a darker trail in the grass. She insisted on lugging chairs by herself, lifting them over the grass to the garage. My husband and I brought the heavy, cast iron tables.
The trees were motionless. I knew that within 24 hours their branches would whip around, tossed by Irene. I helped my husband carry a huge box filled with pool toys, as well as an inflatable slide. We planned to put it all back after the storm.
After we finished, all three of us panted, dripping with sweat. We looked at the pool, shining turquoise with the underwater light. It was already ten o'clock, an impossible hour for my daughter.
We went in, got dressed into bathing suits, and went into the water. It was chilly, but it felt wonderful after lugging furniture around. Giant leaf bugs saw the light and plunged into the water. We had already stashed the skimmer - it could become an airborne spear during a hurricane, after all - so I rescued them with my cupped hands.
My husband did a cannonball and soaked us with his spray. My daughter laughed again - a high-pitched, delighted sound.
Drenched from the swim, we went back into the house. We toweled off and got into pajamas. I made popcorn and the daughter watched a few minutes of a movie.
I had the feeling that the weather was changing. After the hurricane the end of summer would be here. Why did it take me so long to run out into a summer night, watching my kid run around in the dark?
It was Friday night, and the air was still warm from the day. My daughter ran in front of us, laughing in the dark, leaving a darker trail in the grass. She insisted on lugging chairs by herself, lifting them over the grass to the garage. My husband and I brought the heavy, cast iron tables.
The trees were motionless. I knew that within 24 hours their branches would whip around, tossed by Irene. I helped my husband carry a huge box filled with pool toys, as well as an inflatable slide. We planned to put it all back after the storm.
After we finished, all three of us panted, dripping with sweat. We looked at the pool, shining turquoise with the underwater light. It was already ten o'clock, an impossible hour for my daughter.
We went in, got dressed into bathing suits, and went into the water. It was chilly, but it felt wonderful after lugging furniture around. Giant leaf bugs saw the light and plunged into the water. We had already stashed the skimmer - it could become an airborne spear during a hurricane, after all - so I rescued them with my cupped hands.
My husband did a cannonball and soaked us with his spray. My daughter laughed again - a high-pitched, delighted sound.
Drenched from the swim, we went back into the house. We toweled off and got into pajamas. I made popcorn and the daughter watched a few minutes of a movie.
I had the feeling that the weather was changing. After the hurricane the end of summer would be here. Why did it take me so long to run out into a summer night, watching my kid run around in the dark?
Monday, August 22, 2011
Scary Carnival Rides
It's nearing the end of summer. Time to reflect back on some of the thrilling, scary rides I've taken with my family this year.
I'm a big roller coaster fan. This year my daughter went on El Toro for the first time ever. It's the largest wooden roller coaster in the world, and let me tell you - it is amazing. From the first drop to the final twists, that is one thrilling ride.
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| El Toro |
Of course, we live right down the street from Kingda Ka, the tallest ride in the world at a drop of 418 feet. We can see it from our house. Yeah, it's that huge. My kid isn't big enough to ride it yet, but she's making big plans. She and her friends have high-heel flip-flops picked out so they can make that cutoff and ride it, as well as Superman, Batman, Bizarro, and Green Lantern.
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| Kingda Ka |
There are other amazing rides in the world. Here are a few:
The Eejanaika roller coaster, which means “ain’t it great?” in Japanese. During the ride your seat is rotating either forward or backward in a full 360-degree controlled spin.
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| Eejanaika - One day I WILL ride this! |
The Oblivion in Staffordshire, England: The first drop is at an angle of 88.8 degrees - just enough to actually keep the wheels on the track. Oblivion reaches a top speed of 68 miles and drops passengers into that dark hole in the ground from 180 feet.
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| There's the drop into that hole in the ground. Whee! |
But I know that none of these are the most dangerous ride in the world. That honor is reserved for It's a Small World, After All, where I fell on my butt in a puddle of water racing to get into the boat with my family. It was raining, and I was wearing flip-flops.
We did the ride, and then we decided to do it again, because we loved it so much. As we raced back, I yelled, "Hey! Watch out for a puddle of water right around here - Woah!" Yes, I fell on my ass - FOR THE SECOND TIME. IN A ROW.
Oblivion? Kingda Ka? El Toro? Pshaw - all thrill wannabes. The most dangerous ride in the world is the one with those singing puppets.
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