Eagles Over the Kennebec

As you may or may not know, Bob, June is quite the month for Lee and Miller.

On June 1, Double Vision -- 29 short works by Steve Miller, Sharon Lee, and Sharon Lee and Steve Miller -- will publish.  This is an electronic edition (with some added editorial material) of SRM Publisher, Ltd's 2009 trade paperback.

Double Vision is available for preorder now from All of the Usual Suspects.  On June 1, it will be available for download from those Same Vendors and also from Baen.com

Here's a Universal Link, to preorder Double Vision, provided as a courtesy.

As if that weren't enough good news for the beginning of any month, Ribbon Dance, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, the 26th novel in the Liaden Universe® (never mind what Amazon says; Amazon is Incredibly Confused about . . . something), sequel to Trader's Leap!  publishes in hardcover and in ebook editions on June 4.

Here you have some Buying Decisions to make.  If you would like a signed copy of Ribbon Dance, you may order that from Uncle Hugo's SF Bookstore, here and now.

If you prefer an unsigned hardcover, or an ebook, you may preorder from your favorite bookstore.  One June 4, Baen.com will join the list of vendors from which the  Ribbon Dance ebook edition may be purchased.

I'm sorry not to be able to provide audiobook enthusiasts with any news of their preferred format.  We've been asking -- by which I mean Madame the Agent has been asking -- but we haven't received an answer.  As soon as I know anything about an audio edition, be sure that I'll shout it from the rooftops.

Looking ahead a bit, the Plan B mass market anniversary edition with the awesome new cover by Sam Kennedy will drop on September 24.  It, too, may be preordered from your favorite bookstore.

And that ends today's segment of Shameless Self-Promotion.  Please feel free to share this widely.

Helpful people can stop writing to me to explain that Due Diligence has not yet published to the Baen website.  It will appear there eventually and it's not really worth getting your t-shirts in a twist over.

SO!

Let's play a new game.

Why not write to me when Due Diligence is available on the Baen website?  That way, those who like to check back often can continue to do so, and I don't have to open a whole buncha emails telling me the same thing, of which I am already informed.  Win-Win, as they say.

Everyone on for the new rules?

Cool.

Go!

Due Diligence: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 24 has been published to the Usual Suspects (including but not limited to: Baen ebooks, Kobo, BN, Apple, Amazon) and will be available for sale as the Various Ghods of Indie Publishing will.

Novella "Due Diligence" is Lee & Miller's 81st fiction collaboration.

Here's the teaser:

When Clan Korval knows your name. . .

Abandoned on a strange port by a scam gone bad, his license to pilot rescinded, and his pockets very much to let, Fer Gun pen'Uldra was teetering between trouble, more trouble, and bad trouble. Cornered in a cheap bar by a too-knowledgeable stranger with an unlikely offer, Fer Gun realized having no money and no license might be the least of his troubles. Clan Korval knew his name and that proposal was hard to refuse. . .

And, just to refresh your memory, the cover:

The last bundle of five Pinbeam Books titles has gone up for sale today at Baen ebooks.  Here's your link.

The November bundle includes:
Master Walk, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Surfside, Archers Beach #4, by Sharon Lee
The Gift of Magic, Archers Beach #5, by Sharon Lee
Spell Bound, Archers Beach #6, by Sharon Lee
TimeRags, by Steve Miller

You may also buy each title separately, if you prefer.

Pinbeam Books (that's me and Steve), the granddaughter of SRM Publisher, has signed a distribution agreement with Baen ebooks.  The first five books are now available here,  either as a bundle, or separately.

October and November will each see the release of five more books, which ought to catch everyone up.

The catalog has not yet been undated to include links to Baen; that will be done as time and attention allow.

Here's the link to Pinbeam Books.

Those following along at home will recall that, last week, it was discovered by an Alert Reader that Amazon had taken The Crystal Variation, an omnibus of novels Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon, and Balance of Trade, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, published by Baen Books off sale.  We alerted Baen.  Baen's Speaker To Amazon found that Amazon had identified 144 "spelling errors."  Until those "spelling errors" were corrected the book could not be sold.

Baen forwarded the list to us, and we identified -- wait for it -- THREE incidences of Actual Misspelled Words (the rest were made-up scifi words, and most of them were "cermacrete"), four instances of missing commas (which Amazon had not pinpointed as errors), and one instance of two words that were smushed together.

Yeah, that's it.  Amazon pulled our omnibus, without notice, for containing three spelling errors across a 1200-page book.

The Crystal Variation is now back on sale at Amazon, thanks to speedy work on Baen's part, for getting those errors fixed, and the book re-up-loaded in record time.

So, that.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Amazon had likewise taken Courier Run, Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 18,  by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, published by Pinbeam Books (aka Sharon Lee and Steve Miller) off-sale, without warning, for four spelling errors and two bad line breaks. These errors were represented as having been reported by a reader who found them "distracting."

Yesterday, I fixed the two misspellings, recompiled the book and re-uploaded it to Amazon.

This morning, I have in my mailbox a communication from Amazon, stating that copyright is important to them, and that I must, in five days, provide proof that I have the right to publish Courier Run, Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 18.  The acceptable proofs are:

Acceptable documentation includes:

- A contract or statement from the author or publisher verifying you
 retain publishing rights
- An e-mail from the address listed on the official author or
 agent’s website
- For authors using a pseudonym, copyright registration or statement
 of pseudonym use

If you publish books for which you do not hold the publishing rights,
your account may be terminated.

So, a letter has been written to Amazon, explaining the situation to them for at least the second, and possibly the third, time since we've been doing business -- in the five years during which we've been doing business -- together.  Though "together" may not exactly be the word I want, here.

As of this writing, I believe that Amazon will sell you a copy of Courier Run, Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 18.  There is a Quality Issues Reported Hazard Triangle just below the title.  The drop-down for that reads:

Customers reported Quality Issues with this eBook.  This eBook has
TYPOS
The publisher has been notified to correct these issues.

. . .so I'm guessing it's not the amended file they're selling.

# # #

In less-fraught news, Steve and I took yesterday off to travel into Waterville to attend the Very First Screening of "Kubo and the Two Strings."  This is a very beautiful movie (we saw the 2-D version); the animation was amazing. The story itself is short on plot, though the writers/directors have an Absolute Mastery of Emotional Manipulation.  I recommend it for the animation alone, and for the overall sweetness of tone.  I came away from the movie feeling (briefly) peaceful and content.  So -- C+.

# # #

For those who have been following the New Box Project.  I offer the following short photo essay:

Trooper still prefers the red basket:

Sprite is thinking about the new box:

. . .which has already received the Belle Seal of Approval:

Observant readers will note that the floofy towel has been removed from the New Box. The floofy towel was Not a Proper Use.  So I was told.

# # #

Today, I work.  And probably do the laundry, because the life of a writer is unremittingly glamorous.

Everybody have a good weekend!

The comments are also worth mining.

One expected check arrived today, which was a Good Thing, also a check that I hadn't been expecting.  This leaves three outstanding checks, and I very much hope that today's delivery has broken the streak.

I really do think that's all the news that's fit to print.  This blog will be the main blog until we can get back into sharonleewriter.com. Also -- yes, I am aware that the Pinbeam Books catalog page has not been update, and I'm just as frustrated by that as you are.  We'll all just have to practice patience.

A reminder about this blog -- you must be a member of LJ, signed in to LJ to comment.  The settings are inconvenient, I know (and no, I don't expect you to open an LJ account just so you can comment here) but they are also necessary to cut down on the Really Incredible Amount of spam that was coming through.

Everybody have a good weekend.

So, yesterday, Steve and I drove down to Old Orchard Beach, and took a walk through the shallows before the ozone levels (seen as a pink haze prowling in from beyond Wood Island Light, eating the shoreline as it came) got too high.  The beach was super crowded with people having a good time, which was nice to see. Also, I got sunburned, so it was all good.

In the way of such things, once we were out of the house, we had very little inclination to speed back to the house, so we turned left instead of right, taking Routes 9 and 1 down to Wells, which was likewise crowded, and eventually turned right on a road wending northward.  We did stop at Borealis Breads in Wells to take on, well -- bread; and at the Bull and Claw to partake of really excellent fish 'n chips, before getting serious about the trip back home.

While we were at the ocean, a Severe Thunderstorm Watch came across the phones (we live in Maine; we have Weather here, not climate, so you've gotta kind of keep an eye on it).  We debated staying down ocean-side a few hours longer to watch the storm in, but eventually decided against, and continued the northward journey.

One of the things that struck me forcibly downcoast was the number of businesses advertising for help.  Not just seasonal businesses -- though there were plenty of them needing help -- but grocery stores, and pharmacies, hardware stores, year-round bakeries, and such.  It's tempting to move south, just for the work.  Mind you, none of those jobs would cover the rent in-or-near a resort town, and you'd spend more in gas than the job's worth, if you came in from any distance.

Ah, well.  Guess I'll stay right here.

We arrived home, alert to the need to leap up at any moment to Batten the Hatches -- the Waterville-Winslow megapolis also being on the watch for Severe Thunderstorms, and possible tornadoes (!)  We heard thunder; we saw (a lot) of lightning; the wind came up in a satisfactory manner, but --

The storm passed us by.  A glance at the interactive weather map showed that it had dumped rain half-a-mile away, but our house had, like, a little weather-repellent dome over it, and we were dry.

Half-an-hour later another cell passed over, announcing its presence by striking and exploding a tree somewhere in the Very Near Vicinity of the Cat Farm.  The wind screamed, rain came down in sheets. . .

Five minutes later, it was all done, gone, and on its way to Skowhegan, where it apparently did wreak some mischief.  And, yes, there was at least one tornado briefly on the ground, in Caribou, 'way up in The County.

Today, it is much cooler, and the air is clean.  We're enjoying it while we can.  Tomorrow, they same, Summer's Back.

# # #

To the Very Best of My Knowledge, Sleeping with the Enemy, Adventures in the Liaden Universe Number 22, has now been published to all of the usual subjects, including BN, Kobo, the iStore, and Amazon.

No, I am afraid we will not be producing a paper chapbook, like in the "old days."  These days are demonstrably, and perhaps sadly, not the "old days;" postage rates have gone crazy, our very reliable printer of many years has retired, and his son has merged the business with another out of Portland, and closed the shop up here.  Also, Steve is not able anymore to do the physical lifting and schlepping and whatnot, and I never could.  So -- no paper edition.  Possibly, the stories in Sleeping will be collected in a Liaden Constellation sometime in the next couple years.

Thank you for your understanding.

# # #

As I type, Alliance of Equals rejoices in 90! reader reviews on Amazon.  That's. . .terrific.  Only 110 more to reach our 200-review milestone.  You guys rock.

# # #

I don't know if I reported here that, earlier in the season, the Cat Garden was the victim of an error produced by one of our lawn guy's guys.  The error took out one whole corner of flowers, with the exception of some coneflowers, which have valiantly bloomed over the killing field in memory of better days.  I was out inspecting just a little while ago and, honestly?  It looks like next year -- or the year after, at most -- the whole garden will be taken over by the dragon flowers (snapdragons to you folks down south).

Which is good.  Hummingbirds and butterflies both like the dragon flowers, though they bloom late in the season, rather than early.  So, if the garden is not now According to Plan, at least it is staying true to its raison de'etre.

Though I do kinda miss the yarrow and (most of) the coneflowers.

Well.  I think that catches us all up.

Everybody stay cool.

Today's blog title is courtesy of John Masefield, "Sea Fever," known to children everywhere as, "I must go down to the sea again."  Here's your link.

Woke up early because the power went out (and came back on before the generator could engage).  Guess everybody was running their A/C and fans against yesterday's heat wave.

Steve made omelettes for breakfast, after which we moved on to working on the chapbook until it was time to head out to Children's Book Cellar and our signing.

Driving in, we realized that the event could very easily go until 4:00 and we had neglected to eat lunch, which was -- as nearly everything can be made to be -- an excuse to stop at Dairy Queen on the way in to Waterville, in order to purchase milkshakes to sustain us in our Time of Fame.

This involved some unanticipated delay, since there appeared to be a hazing going on at the College Avenue Dairy Queen, which left one newbie on duty at a very busy counter, while four of his colleagues lounged in the back room.

Still, milkshakes were achieved, and we arrived Exactly on Time at Children's Book Cellar, to find a Mighty Crowd awaiting us, including Carolyn Smith and her husband, from Stoneham, Massachusetts, and our own James Hetley, down from Bangor, as well as some local folk.  We had a blast, and hoping our audience had the same.  Thanks to everyone who came to see us, and for Ellen Richmond and the Children's Book Cellar for hosting us!

After our event, we hit the grocery store, returned home, and got with the ebook one! more! time!

On that front, I am pleased to report that Sleeping with the Enemy is now "publishing" at Amazon, and BN.  Expect to see the title on sale somewhere in the next 24 to 48 hours.

EDITED TO ADD:  The book is on sale NOW at Amazon.  Here's your link.

Draft2Digital will be uploading the book to its vendors (Kobo, iBooks, Inktera, Scribd, 24Symbols, and Tolino) on its usual schedule.  Remember!  You will not be able to purchase this title through Smashwords.

Tomorrow, it's back to the manuscript.  Monday may possibly be an Ocean Day.  We shall see.

In the meanwhile, it's still hot, though not so much as yesterday.  We hold out some hope of rain tomorrow, which will be, so they (They) say, cooler than today.  Monday, however, we're right back into the frying pan, and looking to stay there awhile.

As of this writing, there are 77 reader reviews of Alliance of Equals on Amazon!  Go, you guys!  Only 123 'til we hit 200!

Speaking of Alliance -- if you've read the book and want to talk about it, there is a spoiler thread here.  Please do feel free to make use of it.

And now?  I believe I see the cabana boy in the distance, bearing a bottle and a corkscrew.

Everybody stay happy.

The electronic advance reading copy (aka, the one with the (most) mistakes in it) of Alliance of Equals, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, the 19th novel-length adventure in the Liaden Universe®!

. . .is now available for sale via download.

Here's your link

I trust you all know what to do.

On a related note, I've got a side bet going with Belle, who doesn't think we can sell more than 500 copies of the ARC.  O, cat of little faith.  Sprite, on the other paw, thinks we can earn out the advance on eARC sales.  Of course, Sprite's still a little unclear on the whole Base Ten thing...