Eagles Over the Kennebec

Thanks to those who wrote to let me know that neither Carousel Tides nor The Agent Gambit appears in the Webscriptions list for September 2010.

This is because. . .

*drrrrrummmmmrrrrrrolllllll*

The schedule has been adjusted.

Carousel Tides is scheduled for November 2010

and!

Rolanni has been introduced into the Mysteries of the Simon & Schuster Publication Year, in which there are no "quarters" but "seasons," which means that:

The Agent Gambit is scheduled for January 2011

Not only was Web of the Trident never published, it was never written. Therefore, no -- we have no plans to publish it via Webscriptions or through any other medium. Also -- and this seems very, very difficult for readers to understand, so it must be a Writer Thing with which we can only ask you to have patience -- because Web was being (not) written during the (very traumatic and very expensive (and I'm not just talking about money, here)) meltdown of Meisha Merlin, it's unlikely to ever be written. It has Terrible Associations and Bad Karma splattered all over it; I can't even bear to think about opening the file.

This is an "uncounted" cost of the MM disaster - and another reason why books are not like widgets.

We are very sorry to disappoint the legions of Gem's readers, and hope that some of them, at least, can find solace and even satisfaction in the newer Lee and Miller works that have been, and will be, coming out from Baen and from SRM, Publisher.

For those who work better from a list, below are the Lee and Miller books and novels that have been published since 2007:

SRM Publisher, Ltd
Liaden Universe® Companion Number One
Liaden Universe® Companion Number Two
Dragon Tide: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 13
Eidolon: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 14
Double Vision
Misfits: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 15
Halfling Moon: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 16 (the 2009 Yule chapbook, coming in late November)
Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 17 (the 2010 Yule chapbook, not yet titled. Or written)

Baen Books
Duainfey (Fey Duology #1)
Longeye (Fey Duology #2)
Fledgling
Saltation (April 2010)
The Dragon Variation (omnibus reprint, June 2010)
Mouse and Dragon (June 2010)
Carousel Tides (September 2010)
The Agent Gambit (omnibus reprint, September 2010)
Korval's Game (omnibus, December 2010?)
The Crystal Variation (omnibus, March 2011?)
Ghost Ship (late 2011)

In the previous thread, keristor says: I assume that the seven books are Fledgling, Saltation, Mouse and Dragon (is that the official title now?) and the Omnibi, or have I missed something else?

To which I responded: I'm going to take this to the top of another thread. It's very possible that I've missed something myself, so we'll throw it open to the Group Mind.

So, here you are, Group Mind. Check my math. Am I missing any titles?

The seven Baen titles coming out between Now and December 2010 (so far as we know At The Moment):

Fledgling(hc)
(Fledgling mmp)
Saltation
The Dragon Variation (omnibus)
Mouse and Dragon
The Agent Gambit (omnibus)
Carousel Tides
Korval's Game (omnibus)
The Crystal Variation (omnibus)

Hmm...we may actually spill over into early 2011...

All titles coming out between Now and December 2010 (or early 2011) (so far as we know At The Moment):

Fledgling (hc)
Adventures in the Liaden Universe® 15: Misfits
Adventures in the Liaden Universe® 16 (the 2009 Yule chapbook, not yet titled. Or written)
Flucht nach Lytaxin
(Fledgling mmp)
Saltation
The Dragon Variation (omnibus)
Mouse and Dragon
The Agent Gambit (omnibus)
Carousel Tides
Korval's Game (omnibus)
Adventures in the Liaden Universe® 17 (the 2010 Yule chapbook, not yet titled. Or written)
The Crystal Variation (omnibus)


Edited to add: #17 to the list. That's 15 novels! I think I need to lie down. No, wait. I think I need to make lunch...

The stuff I couldn't tell you about?

Well!

Now I can tell you.

First, a little background: Earlier in the year, Ace announced that it would be reprinting ten (10!) Liaden Universe® novels in mass market format. Agent of Change and Conflict of Honors were, in fact, reprinted. It was then that the chains said that they didn't want no stinkin' reprints -- and Ace pulled the eight remaining novels from the publication schedule.

There was No Joy in Mudville, nor in Central Maine, nor yet, in Solcintra.

But! In the background, unbeknownst to you, though knownst to us, arcaedia, aka Madame the Agent, was working both hard and smart, with the result that Ace reverted the reprint rights to The Authors. Which meant the books were now free to be marketed Elsewhere.

With the result that. . .

Baen Books has acquired reprint rights to ten Liaden Universe® novels, to be published en omnibi, as follows:

Omnibus One: Local Custom, Scout's Progress, Conflict of Honors
Omnibus Two: Agent of Change, Carpe Diem
Omnibus Three: Plan B, I Dare
Omnibus Four: Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon, Balance of Trade

Omnibus titles and publication dates TBA.

There! Now wasn't that worth waiting for?

As reported elsewhere.

Attention: Subscribers to Fledgling and Saltation, Fans of Theo Waitley, Friends of Liad, and All the Ships at Sea

Now it can be told.

Baen Books will be publishing the dead tree edition of Fledgling and, when it’s ready, Saltation. That’s the short form and it is Wonderful News Indeed.

The slightly longer form is that subscribers to Fledgling and/or Saltation will receive their books as promised. Baen will supply a portion of our advance in books, enough to cover the subscriptions, which we’ll sign and mail from the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory – that’s 1,200 volumes for Fledgling, and up to 1,000 Saltations.

The rest of the books will go into Baen’s regular distribution channel and will be available from your favorite bookstore. For those who prefer ebooks, both novels will be available through Baen Webscriptions.

As with any negotiation, there was some give-and-take involved. Part of this negotiation revolved around the form in which the books will be published. There exists the possibility – the language is in the contract – that Baen will decide not to publish a trade paper edition. If they make that decision, then subscribers will receive hardcovers.

Publication dates are not yet in hand; as soon as we have them, we’ll shout them from the rooftops. We did want to give this wonderful news to everyone who supported us and our work as soon as we were certain ourselves.

We’re very grateful to Toni Weisskopf at Baen, and to Jenn Jackson, our agent, who both did master class piloting in order to bring this one safely to port.

For those who have been awaiting this moment with -- patience, that's it. Patience.

For those who have been awaiting this moment with patience, then: The Liaden Universe® Big Bang is now listed on the Webscriptions site.

Also, we hear from a Loyal Minion at Jim Baen's Universe that fifty Friends of Liad bought subscriptions to the magazine since Misfits went up, on July 6. The JBU staffs thanks y'all gratefully. As we do.

Coming in late? You may read, right now, free of charge, the first half of "Misfits" (aka, the story of the weatherman and what became of him), from the above link. You don't have to subscribe, or even register, to do this. Under this plan, however, you don't get to read the rest of story until December, when the magazine comes out, and may be purchased from Jim Baen's Universe.

And in other news -- we got cover flats for the Ace edition of Crystal Dragon today. Yummy. I'll post a scan RSN. But first, I need to do some work.