Blogomancer

By popular demand: The print version of Bone Shop is available at Lulu.com. Just in time for the holidays! It will appear at Amazon.com, etc. eventually, though I understand it'll take 6 to 8 weeks to show up there. In the meantime, you can buy it at Lulu.

It's a bit pricy, which is a shame, but the high per-unit costs for Print on Demand publishing, combined with the profit margin required by online retailers, makes the high price a necessity. If you buy it from Amazon, I'll make under 90 cents per copy; I'll make rather more from Lulu, so I don't object if you buy it there. Unfortunately, it's a requirement that items sold via the Lulu Marketplace be sold at the same price (or higher) than the other online retailers, so I can't offer it any cheaper. But, hey, you can always read the whole thing for free. The print version is the same pocket-sized paperback as the other books in the series, so it'll sit next to them nicely on the shelf. And I think it came out quite well. The cover's below.

Here's the cover. (I may do variant covers, if I feel sufficiently motivated.)

Bone Shop is available for the Kindle. So everyone who asked me to do that -- go buy it!

The final chapter.

Chapter 18

In which endings, of a sort, are attained.

Chapter 18 notes: Trivia and authorial blather

The penultimate chapter!

Chapter 17

In which Marla faces a monster, loses things and finds things, and runs for office.

Plus the usual notes and such.

Yesterday I had an awesome writing day. Did about 1500 words of freelance reviewing, and then -- in a couple of sessions at the keyboard -- another 8,000 words on Bone Shop...

And I finished the thing. It turned out to be a short novel, about 65,000 words long total. I'll post the final two chapters, one on Monday the 19th, the last on Monday the 26th. I felt rather wrung out when it was done, but I'm happy with it. I've been waiting to write some of those final scenes since I first started writing Bone Shop. And I fulfilled my goal of writing a story that takes Marla from a teenage runaway to the new chief sorcerer of Felport. It's a period in Marla's life I may return to for short fiction -- there are lots of cool stories from those years I didn't have time or space to tell in this format.

But anyway: it's my 12th finished novel! And my sixth published novel. The rest are either trunk books (my first four) or else currently on submission to publishers. Though I feel strange saying this book was "published" when I did the whole thing myself. Then again, the book has paid as well as a sale to a small press would have, so I'm not complaining. Thanks to everyone who's supported the book with publicity or donations. And if you've been holding off on donating, well, there are only two weeks left!

There are plans to do a downloadable audiobook version (details are pending, I'll let y'all know), and I'm thinking of putting together a print version, as many people have said they'd like to have it on the shelf. I can do the interior layout and publish it via Lulu.com or something, but I'm a bit stumped when it comes to cover art. I can't afford to pay an artist like the amazing Dan Dos Santos (who did the Bantam covers), which is a shame. Really, I can't afford to pay anybody. So it may be a simple typographic cover, or something with weird public domain art... I dunno. I'll think about it. I'll try to have it ready by Christmas.

Now that Bone Shop is done... what am I going to do with all my free time?

Guess I'll write some short stories.

Chapter 16

In which Marla goes swimming, takes flight, and investigates a murder.

Plus the usual notes and such.

Chapter 15

In which Marla faces a killer, loses some flesh and bone, and finds hope.

Plus the usual notes and such.

Chapter 14

In which our heroine encounters blood, guts, and obligations.

Plus the usual notes and such.

Chapter 13

In which a god is summoned, love is professed, and lives are snuffed out.

Plus the usual notes and such.

Chapter 12

In which Marla leaves the nest, and Artie's old obsession returns.

Plus the usual notes and such.

Chapter 11 of Bone Shop is here!

In which Marla -- and there's no nice way to put this -- rips off a little boy's jaw.

Plus the usual notes and such.

Chapter 10 of Bone Shop is here!

People leave, and time passes, and Marla finds a cloak. Plus the usual notes on process and behind the scenes musings.

Chapter 9 of Bone Shop is here!

A sorcerers' council, a meeting between rivals, broken promises, and things that claim to be angels. Plus the usual notes on process and behind the scenes musings.

Chapter 8 of Bone Shop is live!
Dirty soliloquies, girl talk, and the hint of larger things to come. Plus the usual notes on process and behind the scenes musings.

Chapter 7 of Bone Shop is live!

This is my favorite chapter yet. Fighting and sex and milestones and promises. Plus the usual notes on process and behind the scenes whingeing.

The sixth chapter of my serial novella Bone Shop is online now! Plus some notes on the chapter, which would've been more extensive if I hadn't been writing them late late last night.

Read, enjoy, and donate if you can spare it.

If this is Monday, then that must mean...

Chapter Five of Bone Shop is live!

In which Marla learns about penis thieves, phantom limbs, and how some things are better for insects than people.

I also posted Chapter 5 notes, but they contain spoilers for this chapter, so read it after.

And, as always, if you like what you read, tell your friends, and if you've got the money, tip your writer.

Got the bad news this morning that my publisher won't be doing more books in my Marla Mason series. Crappy economy plus okay-but-not-great sales made them decide to end the series.

I'm pretty depressed.

I don't blame them; from a numbers point of view, they did what they had to. Times are tough. And, hey, I got to write four books in this series -- more than many writers get. (Sorry about the cliffhangerish ending in Spell Games, though, which was meant to set up for the next book... I wrote it when a fifth book seemed much more likely!)

We will, of course, see if other publishers are interested in picking up the series, though that's always a dicey proposition. I may end up writing the book anyway and self-publishing or doing a fundable thing or a serial publication or something. I don't know. I'm gonna give myself a few days to be depressed, then I'll figure things out as various options exhaust themselves.

If nothing else, I'll just write some other novel. It's what I do.

In the meantime, there's still Bone Shop, my serial prequel novella about Marla. And if nothing else I'll keep writing short stories about her, because she's fun, and I love her, even though she's prickly and short-tempered and sometimes kinda mean. I hope you'll all keep reading about her too.

And because life is weird, I sold a story this morning to a top-tier market where I've never had work appear before, so at least I got some good news today to offset the bad.

Chatper 4 of Bone Shop is live! As this week's author notes (best read after the chapter itself) reveal, I almost failed to get this update ready in time because life intervened. Strenuously. But, it's here, and I'm quite happy with it. Hope you all like it too!

And if you have complaints for the management or enthusiastic praises or cockeyed conspiracy theories, feel free to air them on the new Bone Shop forum.

Chapter 3 of Bone Shop is live! Marla gets a knife, and does some stabbing, and meets some people who will be very important to her.

I also have author notes, as usual, for anybody who wants to see how the sausage is made.

Thanks to all who've donated and promoted the novella. It's a big help.