Green light for CURSE

ByJohn Brown

I just got word from my editor, and we’ve finally been able to agree on the outline!

Let us rejoice.

It took far longer than I’d planned. But I’m happy to move forward. I’ll finish up a couple of things I’m working on right now with the thriller and then begin production next week. I’m estimating I’m going to have to write about 130k worth of new material, which is basically enough to fill a normal novel. If I’m diligent, I can average about 7,500 words a week. That’s not super fast, but I do have a day job. So my initial target for delivering it is September 1st.

It then goes into the publisher machine. I’ll know in the fall what the release date will be.

This will also give me some extra time to develop the premise of the thriller. I hoped to have a rough outline by this point, at the very least the story problem. But it’s not quite there yet. So this will give me a little more cooking time. I’m still hoping to finish BOTH before the end of the year. At least two novels a year. That’s the goal.

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  • Release Dates for the Novels

    ByJohn Brown

    BTW, I talked to Stacy Hague-Hill today and got the release and due dates.

    Book 1
    Revisions due May 15th, 2008
    Final due July 1, 2008
    Hardcover release Sept 2009
    Paperback release Aug 2010

    She said because it’s my first novel and because it’s a trilogy they want to make sure they properly lay the groundwork, getting cover quotes, working up excitement, etc. And that’s why there’s such a space between the contract, final delivery date, and HC release. Although the schedule repeats for every book. On the one hand, I wish they were coming out on a 9 month schedule. On the other hand, I think my focus should be making these three books the very best they can be. And this gives me the time. Besides, there will be a HC release and then a paperback and so each book will get two pulses each year. Although the paperback is released usually right before the second book comes out.

    Book 2
    Draft due Feb 2009
    Final due July 1, 2009
    Hardcover release Sept 2010
    Paperback release Aug 2011

    Book 3
    Draft due Feb 2010
    Final due July 1, 2010
    Hardcover release Sep 2011
    Paperback release Aug 2012? Not sure.

    That’s a ways out there. Holy cow.

    2011?

    I haven’t planned anything out that far into the future since college and that wasn’t really planning but a lifestyle (grin).

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  • New business cards

    ByJohn Brown

    Devon Dorrity, who helped me put together my covers, just helped me put together some business cards. I’m pretty excited about them. I’m biased, but I think they look awesome.

    Servant

    John-Brown-Servant-Business-Card

    Curse

    John-Brown-Curse-Business-Card

    Raveler

    John-Brown-Raveler-Business-Card-Front

    You can see here a mockup of how they’ll look. That bit on the back is the Blacksword Books logo.

    John-Brown-Raveler-Business-Card-Mockup

    I’m not sure about the one for Bad Penny. Devon liked it. Any opinions?

    John-Brown-Bad-Penny-Business-Card-Mockup

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  • Servant of a Dark God Tour & Release Updates

    ByJohn Brown

    I will be doing a book tour this Fall. Many of the events will be with David Farland (Runelords) and Larry Correia (Monster Hunters International). Here’s the list so far. I will be making updates as we get closer.

    Trade Show: Friday & Saturday, September 25-26, Denver, CO

    Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Trade Show at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Denver International Airport More

    Book Signing & Panel Discussion: Saturday, October 10, Salt Lake City, UT

    Sugarhouse Barnes & Noble, will include panel and multiple  SF/Fantasy authors.

    Official Book Release Day: Tuesday, October 13, North America & UK

    Yea!

    In truth it’s not a firm, fast day. The books will begin shipping from the warehouses in late September, so your bookstore may have the books a bit earlier.

    Book Signing: Thursday, October 15, Seattle, WA

    University Books, Seattle, WA
    4326 University Way N.E.
    Seattle, WA 98105
    206.634.3400

    Book Signing: Friday, October 16, Redmond, WA

    Borders, Redmond, WA
    Redmond Town Center
    16549 N.E. 74th St.
    Redmond, WA, 98052
    425.869.1907 (Near Microsoft Campus)

    Book Signing: Saturday, October 17, Beaverton, OR

    Powell’s Books, Beaverton, OR
    3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd.
    Beaverton, OR 97005
    503.228.4651

    X96 radio and book giveaways: Monday – Saturday, October 19-24, Utah and streaming online

    Starting on Monday, October 19th and running all week long, X96 will be doing book giveaways of Servant of a Dark God. Listen to the morning Radio From Hell program (Gina, Bill, & Kerry), Kerry Jackson’s Geek Show, and Todd Nuke ‘Ems afternoon shows.

    Book Signing: Thursday, October 22, Logan, UT

    Logan Borders, 6-8pm
    435-787-0678

    Book Signing: Friday, October 23, Orem, UT

    Orem Barnes and Noble, 4-6pm

    Book Signing: Saturday, October 24, Layton, UT

    Layton Barnes & Noble, 12-2pm

    Book Signing: Saturday, October 24, West Jordan, UT

    West Jordan Barnes & Noble, 3-5pm

    Book Signing: Thursday, October 29, Mountain View, CA

    Books Inc., Mountain View, CA
    301 Castro St.
    Mountain View, CA 94041
    650.428.1234

    Book Signing: Friday, October 30, Fairfield or Half-Moon Bay, CA

    Bay Book Company in Half-Moon Bay

    Or

    Barnes & Noble, Fairfield, CA
    1600 Gateway Boulevard
    Fairfield, CA 94533
    707.435.0484

     We’ll also be hooking up with editors at World Fantasy in San Jose.

    Book Signing: Thursday, November 12, San Diego, CA

    Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA
    7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
    Suite #302
    San Diego, CA 92111
    858.268.4747

    Book Signing: Friday, November 13, Torrance, CA

    Borders
    3700 Torrance Blvd
    Torrance, CA 90503
    Phone: 310.540.7000

    Book Signing: Saturday, November 14, Los Angeles, CA area

    Locations TBD

    Book Signings & Possible School Visits: Thursday – Saturday, November 19 –  21, Phoenix-Mesa, AZ area

    Locations TBD

    Book Signings & Possible School Visits: Thursday – Saturday, December 3-5, Denver, CO area

    Locations TBD (this one is still iffy with my schedule)

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  • Awful Intent Cover Reveal

    ByJohn Brown

    For Awful Intent, I looked around at different cover design shops and decided to use Damonza. I sent over the brief, and we began. What I needed was a cover in the same style of Bad Penny. A match. I also told Grady, the designer, that if he did something new with Bad Penny, I might consider it.

    He sent back these.

    PennyB  Intent1

    Intent2  Intent3B

    I loved what he did with Bad Penny. But it was nowhere near what we’d done with the original. And none of the others matched either. And that was a problem. I need all of the covers in the series to look like siblings.

    We went back and forth with a number of iterations. Then decided to focus on Bad Penny.

    Penny2B  Penny6B

    Penny7  Penny8

    And then I realized that I was falling prey to shiny object syndrome. It’s the bane of my life. There were all sorts of great ways to approach the cover, but I had already spent hours sorting through all that with the Bad Penny original. And the cover must be doing okay, because we sold lots of copies last year. I decided for everyone’s sanity to stick with the original decisions and parameters. That meant:

    • Bold, action-thriller colors
    • High contrast
    • Big fonts
    • Some texture
    • And some small element over top

    But I was still having a hard time clarifying in my mind something that was eluding me. Luckily I was in Cedar City for the Shakespeare Festival at the time and having lunch with Dixon and Linda Leavitt. Dixon pointed out that I was waffling between a literal and symbolic approach. Once he said that, I could see exactly what he meant. For example, the Bad Penny in the first batch was painted on a board. It was more realistic. The red Awful Intent was more symbolic. He also pointed out that I had used a small element in the original. With that clarity, we went back to work.

    I’m very pleased with the finals (BTW, I’ll be tweaking the text above my name in Awful Intent; so that one isn’t final-final yet).

    BadPennyAwfulIntentFinal

    I think they say action thriller loud and clear and will easily stand out in a line-up.

     

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8 Comments

  1. Finally! Ive been anxiously awaiting this since I put down Servant of a Dark God over a year ago. Glad you could work it all out! I do have a question, what do you mean by “story problem”? Is it the overall problem you try to solve in a book, or can there be multiple story problems in a book? I really like to come up with plots to books Id like to write, and I seem to be good at coming up with a big problem Id like my characters to solve, but I struggle with the details. When I say the details I mean the little things in between that get the dominoes to fall so to speak. Im interested in how you get going, because I seem to just get frustrated. I really like to write, but Id like to not butt heads with myself every time I try to plot things out.

  2. I am so excited. For the last few months my wife and I have been having this conversation.
    Me: Have you pre-ordered CoaDG yet?
    Wife: No.
    Me: Why not?
    Wife: I don’t know let’s look it up on Amazon.
    Me: Huh? I can’t seem to find it anywhere.
    Wife: Oh yeah, remember on his blog he said it was going to be a massive rewrite?
    Me: Oh, I guess we will have to check next month.

    I expect we will continue having this conversation monthly until we get the book. Then our conversation will be . . .
    Me: Have you pre-ordered CoaDG yet?
    Wife: We got it last week and you’ve read it twice already.
    Me: Sorry, just force of habit. So, Have you pre-ordered DGG yet?

  4. @ Matt, It’s nice to know I’ve been included in your monthly routine. First step to world domination–check (grin)

    @ Mike, it’s a good question. It’s true stories can and do have tons of “problems.” I’m talking about the main story problem, the premise. Go on over to the On Writing section and read the first essay in the Suspense series for all the details of what I’m talking about.

    @ Jon, hope all is well up north.

  7. Congrats! I can’t wait follow the soon-to-be steady stream of good news. As the red bar starts moving (red, of course, representing all your blood, sweat and typing) I’m looking forward to priming the pump and rereading Servant.

    Taylor Finch

  8. Taylor,

    Ha! I knew there was a subliminal reason why I made that red! Now I know 🙂

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