I forget to mention sometimes that I write novels. And I’ve been doing so since 2001. The first three with a traditional publisher, and the following five as an independent author through e-publishing with Amazon and Smashwords.
I’m pleased to say that I’ve been offered and accepted an initial deal with Baen Books, an aggressively independent imprint under Simon & Schuster. Baen is the publisher that invented the military science-fiction genre, and continues to dominate the field with heavyweights like David Weber, Robert Heinlein, John Ringo, David Drake, and Jerry Pournelle; they also dominate the “gunfighter urban fantasy” genre with bestselling authors like Larry Correia.
So I’m proud to be among such a crowd — and feel right at home!
I was asked why I “gave up” indie publishing; for the record, I haven’t. I’ll continue to publish my crime/thriller indie titles (for the time being, Baen may take some or all of those on down the road) for my loyal readership via Amazon and Smashwords. I like the autonomy of independent publishing. But going into a new (for me) genre, even though it’s the genre I grew up reading, I thought it best to partner with a top-flight publisher and top-shelf editor, Jim Minz, who I knew from a long night of drinking many years ago when we were both young. Thanks for letting me miss the train back to DC, Jim!
The new book is a parnormal urban fantasy; the pitch line is: “Jim Butcher’s DRESDEN FILES meets Larry Correia’s MONSTER-HUNTERS.” Pretty accurate, I think, and WAY FUN to write. It’s about shamanism, demons, gunfighting, love, sex, guns, heroism, betrayal, sex, guns, paranormal military special operations, the war between Good and Evil, sex, guns…did I mention sex and guns?
Stay tuned for snippets as we go along. Since this is a “real book” it’s tentatively scheduled for sometime in Fall 2014; however, Baen, who was THE early adapter for e-books, will be releasing a “E-ARC” or electronic advanced reading copy sometime probably in the spring or early summer. Maybe earlier. It’s traditional publishing. It takes time.
I’ll be releasing some stories from the related universe through the usual channels on Amazon and Smashwords, as well as more books in the WYLDE series.
Thanks for reading and sticking with me through all the crazy ride that the last fourteen years have been!
www.baen.com