rolanni: (Alliance of Equals art by David Mattingl)
rolanni ([personal profile] rolanni) wrote2016-07-14 08:25 pm

She let fly with an iron toe, and kicked him back to Buffalo

Let's do the bragging first, and get that out of the way.

Last week, Alliance of Equals by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller hit Number 3 in the list of bestselling science fiction hardcovers, and! it was also Number 8 on the All Science Fiction list.

Thank you all very much.  This would not have happened without you!

Steve and I have been working on putting together a new Echapbook.  It is currently title-less, but will contain two novelettes, one old and one new.  The "old" story is "Chimera," which was published to Baen.com in March 2015.  The "new" story is "Friend of a Friend."  Both stories take place on Surebleak.  An author's introduction will also be included.

Speaking of Echapbooks!  Over the next couple weeks, in my Abundant Spare Time(tm), I will be removing our Pinbeam Books chapbooks from the Smashwords store.  There may be a Small Period of Readjustment as I set up distribution through Draft2Digital, but eventually the books will be back in the iStore, Kobo, and everywhere else.  Amazon and BN listings will not be impacted.

Amazon reader reviews for Alliance of Equals as of this writing number 48!  Only 152 more needed to reach our goal of 200 reader reviews!  Go, Team Liad!

Also!  For those who pre-order 'waaaaaaaaaay out from Amazon -- The Gathering Edge, to be published in May 2017, is now available for pre-order.  We hope, but do not yet know (because, c'mon -- eleven months out?) that the Uncle will once again conspire with us to offer signed and/or signed and personalized copies for pre-order sometime much closer to the publication date.

And, remember!  Steve and I will be talking books and signing them, too, at the Children's Book Cellar, 52 Main Street, Waterville, this Saturday, July 16, at 2 pm. Hope to see you all there!

I was editing today, and I want to assure you that I had Expert assistance.

Cat editors hard at work July 14 2016###

An' if he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, he'd do 'til something lethal came along.

Today's blog title brought to you by Pete Seeger by way of Bruce Springsteen, "Erie Canal."  Here's your link.

[identity profile] bandicoot.livejournal.com 2016-07-15 01:14 am (UTC)(link)
Too bad they won't take pre-orders for MMPs. Let's see - I guess that would be two years out ;/ Oh, well. I'm sure I'll remember.

[identity profile] amm-me.livejournal.com 2016-07-15 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
You had so much help that I am surprised that there was room for you.

Did you have to get a bigger desk when you filled the Cat Farm with Maine Coons?

[identity profile] rolanni.livejournal.com 2016-07-15 12:37 pm (UTC)(link)
The Dining Room Table became my desk under Mozart's supervision.

*thinks*

A Mozart and Hexapuma collaboration, in fact.

Prior to that, I had an *ancient* Sauder "computer desk" made of particle board. It had a slide-out drawer/flat surface and kepboard dock. Pre-Hex, Mozart would sleep on the drawer part, head hanging over the edge, so he could Observe the keyboard. Eventually, the drawer became dangerously tilted, and was in danger of simply separating from the desk.

Also, the Sauder desk was very cramped, which was the reason that I put on the requisition form to justify a new desk. I wanted something with lots of flat space, because the (damned) telephone and wireless router have to live on my desk, on account of Reasons, and I (foolishly) thought I would also have room for the printer.

What I had room for, of course, was two coon cats at once, my computer, an adding machine and -- bonus! -- a clear view of the papers I'm was working on, because Hex was a gentleman and would sit on top of the CPU and LOOM over the screen like a vulture.

Here's a picture of Hex, looming:

Image

The Uncle

[identity profile] ireneha.livejournal.com 2016-07-15 12:11 pm (UTC)(link)
I got my copy of ALIANCE earlier this week. It's on the pile of "to be read" books - but this is really a re-re-read, as I read my ebook as it came from Baen.

I'm anxiously waiting for the new echapbook. I'll be downloading from Barnes & Noble

I also picked up the first two Kushner books that you told me to order... in one of your Blogs.
Started reading the first last night.

[identity profile] rolanni.livejournal.com 2016-07-15 12:38 pm (UTC)(link)
I just finished my first re-read of Swordspoint in a couple years, and was pleased to find that it held up very well. Half-was through the "sequel" -- Privilege of the Sword, then I'll be in new territory with The Fall of Kings.

Enjoy!

[identity profile] ohlibn.livejournal.com 2016-07-15 05:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh my! What a magnificent animal Hex was! What is that color of cat called, please? (We've only ever had Very Small Tigers - usually around 8 pounds; they find and adopt us - but friends have Very Large Maine coons of the 35 pounds-and-up variety, and I love them)

[identity profile] rolanni.livejournal.com 2016-07-15 05:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Thirty-five pounds is a lynx. Our guys come in at around the 15-18 pound mark.

I believe Hexapuma was "officially" a "silver tabby."

[identity profile] ohlibn.livejournal.com 2016-07-15 06:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you!