Dear friends,
If you’ve always wanted a postcard from Martin, here’s your chance! Either contribute, or, if you’ve already contributed at $15+, spread the word, over at
www.indiegogo.com/enemies-endure?a=528325
Let’s see if we can hit the $7000 stretch goal in the next 2 days, which is around what it’ll take to make me believe the final stretch goal will be possible ^_^
Best wishes,
Jenna
This is exciting! And I hadn’t mentioned it here! But I will! Now!
So, listen. Listen.
Listen:
A while back I started on what was going to be my happiest and best project ever, a series of “Hitherby Dragons” novels, not related stories like Enemies Endure but the heart of the thing; only the publisher I was working with flaked hard and the artist I was working with flaked hard and suddenly I was sitting there holding one and a half of the favorite books of mine I’ve ever written and nothing to do with it.
And ’cause I’m pretty easy to throw into despair; and because it’s a short novel and not a full novel and so hard to throw into regular publication channels; and because pulling together my current RPG project is the most genuinely incredible amount of work I’ve ever had to do on anything, I wound up just kind of sitting on this thing.
But you guys have restored my faith.
So . . . over on my Indiegogo, I added a stretch goal.
I don’t know if we’re going to get there, OK? I mean, it’s more than twice my original goal. And on the other side of that I haven’t finished researching prices on covers yet, I’m still talking to people, so maybe I’ll turn around after that and I’ll laugh because I’ll have to push on quite a ways past that to get my dream covers, or I won’t need quite that much! I’d feel really goofy about that either way!
But I love you all, and you have given me some faith here, so I’ll tell you what. At $5000 I’m going to release that first short novel, Jack o’Lantern Girl, and introduce people who maybe aren’t so much into reading fiction blogs to the story of Hitherby Dragons; and tell those of you who are into reading fiction blogs a lot more about what happened on the firewood world; and move finishing the second book, Firewood Boy, up a lot higher on my priority queue;
And, of course, include Jack o’Lantern Girl in the list of books available at the $5 level plus.
It is here!
If I hit the target, then I’ll value this funding method, and be able to produce better gaming material and more nicely-produced books in the future.
If I go over the target, I’ll know that people are interested in fiction from me as well as gaming material.
If I go way over the target, I’ll probably get back to Hitherby.
However, even if you’d rather I focused on gaming stuff, don’t be too scared to contribute; a rising tide of not worrying about meals and having usable chairs and such lifts all project-boats. ^_^
Note that Nobilis: Antithesis 1i is now available in PDF, ePub, and softcover.
Also Enemies Endure has started to move at a fair clip!
Lo!
The site books.hitherby.com exists!
I have Hitherby-related novels to serialize, you see. Only, so far they’re all from chapters 1 and 2, so I can’t use the imago. It would be Wrong.
The serialization starts on the 29th and will get interesting around the 3rd. I expect the current project to run for about two years. Posts will be frequent but short.
This shouldn’t interfere with Hitherby per se. I mean, Hitherby is currently stalled, obviously, but this shouldn’t decrease the likelihood of Hitherby returning and may increase it.
Best wishes,
Jenna
I’m going to be starting the online serialization of a ~170,000 word Hitherby-related project shortly. Target is end of this month. However, I have things I need to do first that I can’t do while there’s construction across the street, and I don’t know how long that will go on or how functional I’ll still be when it stops. Still, if we are optimistic, assume that you’ll be seeing some cool stuff starting shortly before September.
Best wishes,
Jenna
I have a new novel coming relatively soon—I’ve just finished the “junk whole sections and revise whole characters” stage of editing and am moving on to the “read over and over again, tweaking paragraphs, sentences, and words as I go” stage.
This is Enemies Endure.
It’s a ~163,000 word Hitherby legend from late chapter 2 and early chapter 3; it’s mostly new content, but some key parts are revised versions of existing legends.
I’m still making decisions on how exactly I’m going to proceed—things like:
* will I serialize it or just release it in ePub/createSpace form?
* will I focus on getting the ePub out or the print form out?
* will I kickstart, stick with stuff I can do myself, or both?
Once it’s out, then I’ll be taking the Unclean Legacy off sale, and possibly having a sale on Fable of the Swan. Or … not!
This is also a reminder that Unclean Legacy is currently available in print form from CreateSpace (see sidebar), and that there is a forthcoming Nobilis supplement:
Nobilis:Antithesis
minibook 1i, a Diary of Deceivers
(176pp, currently written, edited, mostly laid out, and about … 80%? art-complete?)
Because apparently when I sit down to just write a little bit about Deceivers, literally aiming for a 32-page supplement to dump out there for .99, a beautiful 176-page book is what happens. It’s actually going to be awesome; it’s just kind of goofy how unexpected it was. ^_^
More details on that as they come in.
Best wishes,
Jenna
Hi!
I’ve contributed a short story to Fighting for Gwen, because …
Well, a lot of reasons. Mostly, Elizabeth was really kind to me on a few occasions, and Shreyas too. Plus, Gwen sounds awesome.
I just heard back that (a) I am pointing at the correct link to publicize; and (b) that my story is going out on the 30th of this month. So there you are!
It’s called the Prince’s Rule, it’s a pretty awesome fairy-tale romp, and I guess that the cheapest way to get it is to donate $10 to what will eventually turn either into helping the Sampats or helping autistic people in general, which should get you at least three other stories by other people too.
**
In other news: I can’t get a copy to look it over myself right now, so I don’t want to do a serious sales push until I hear back from someone who bought it, but https://www.createspace.com/3753902 is An Unclean Legacy in print form.
Best wishes,
Jenna
On Monday I am releasing a new book: Fable of the Swan. It’ll appear on DriveThruFiction, the Kindle store, and Smashwords; some of those versions might sneak through as early as “in the next few minutes or hours.” I don’t know!
Here’s the summary:
**
A world fell into the void. It put down roots there.
Somewhere in that world is Town. Its main urban center is Horizon, all overbuilt and Gothic. That’s where Principal Entropy keeps his School. He’s God or the Devil, the stories say, although they’re a bit ambiguous on which.
I started School about 5 years ago. I’ve known Kseniya pretty much that whole time—a foot taller than me, stronger than all the boys, with the blood of giants and magicians coming down to her from both sides. I didn’t meet most of the others until a year or two later—not Vanessa, who wanders the basements like a spirit in a wan white dress; not Giselle, who’s something of a fiend for checkers; not Mikhael, who does chemistry for Lee Scathing and is a bona fide Christian; and certainly not Elya, who I can’t actually remember but who probably was nice.
Mom was a scientist—I mean, ordinary science, I mean, clean science, not the other stuff. I don’t have as much to remember Dad or Desmond by.
This is the story of my first kiss, how I was struck by a dodgeball and achieved enlightenment, and how and why I plan to turn into a brass cephalopodan war machine and rip up Death.
I’m kind of the boring one, though; it’s really rather more about my friends.
Fable of the Swan is the first book in the “Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine” transmedia project, with more books and RPG products forthcoming from Jenna Katerin Moran and Eos Press.
**
I’m also putting An Unclean Legacy on sale for a bit—ideally until my next book release—at $.99. If you’ve been curious, now’s a good time to pick it up!
I’ll add a link to all this on the sidebar soon.
Best wishes,
Jenna
I am not yet in a position to restart Hitherby or decide if it should be restarted.
However.
I wanted to let you know that my next novel, “Fable of the Swan,” the first piece of the Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine transmedia project, should be ready for electronic release soon—roughly a week.
After that I’ll be picking up some scattered strands of my life, possibly including Hitherby.
“Fable of the Swan” has thematic connections to Fable of the Lamb, so you may want to reread that. Actually you may want to reread that anyway; it’s one of my favorite Hitherbies, although it’s full of spoilers if you haven’t read the rest. ^_^