What's in a Week - Vol. 49
A two-book deal, imprint updates, what I watched and read and more...
July started off with a bang even before the 4th! Read on...
Two-Book Deal Announcement
Probably the biggest news this first week of July was my signing of a two-book deal, for both the sequel and the prequel for my multi award-nominated novel, The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern. Read all about these two upcoming books on my blog!
Anthology I'm In Arrives
Meanwhile, I got my contributor copy and a few others I bought of the VERY limited edition (only 200 copies) anthology, Moving Across the Landscape in Search of an Idea, out now via Air & Nothingness Press. Each story has incredibly long titles and footnotes! Also it's a trip to share a table of contents with Scott Edelman. Buy your copy while you can!
Anthology Update!
In case you missed the news, my husband Gareth L. Powell and I are building our own publishing imprint! Our first book is a cross-genre anthology. Announced authors : Adrian Tchaikovsky, Cynthia Pelayo, Ai Jiang, T.L. Huchu, Paul Cornell, Bonnie Burton, David Quantick, Eugen Bacon, Peter McLean, Ren Hutchings, Renan Bernardo, Greg van Eekhout, Pedro Iniguez, KC Grifant, Jonathan Maberry, Dennis K. Crosby, D.K. Stone, Sarah L. Miles, J.L. Worrad, Antony Johnston, Mya Duong, Helen Glynn Jones, Alice James, Khan Wong, Kali Wallace, Stark Holborn, Laurel Hightower, Gemma Amor, and Lizbeth Myles!
....and we have another to announce soon! We are nearing completion of the roster.
As of July 7, the book cover is complete, the website imagery and most of its content are in place, and we will debut all of this in mid July (soon!!). The cover artist also pulled some elements of the book design out so I can make stickers from them. We have also made our first MSWL (manuscript wish list) for literary agents, for standalone works.
We are crowdfunding this endeavor for our cross-genre anthology (tentatively publishing February 11, 2025). Currently, we are 43% funded! You can help us reach our fundraising goal. Read more at this link below. Rewards for your donations start from $5 on up, higher tiers offer books, and still higher tiers include classes from both me and Gareth and other perks!
Money donated goes directly to paying our authors and for expenses in the making of the book.
It also ensures we can make more anthologies, because I have several themed ones in the works! We will also publish novels, novellas, novelettes, and more.
Do follow me at Ko-fi above to receive updates on our publishing imprint and the anthology! And thank you for spreading the word.
I'm Going to San Diego Comic-Con!
I'll be on a panel at San Diego Comic-Con, the biggest fandom convention in the U.S., in late July this year! I can share that the panel is called "It All Starts with a Word". From the moderator: "This panel will be about how to start writing the novel that's in your head, what challenges you can expect, the best advice on how to push through them, and dispelling some of the myths and misconceptions about publishers and agents, peppered with some stories and anecdotes from the trenches."
More details as I can share them. The programming schedule should be up around July 8.
My Interview of KC Grifant!
This week, I interviewed fellow author KC Grifant, who is also one of our anthology authors! This was just a terrific talk about writing Weird West stories, horror, and more. Watch the interview:
On the Screen
I finished A Gentleman in Moscow, on Amazon Prime, a fictional story set in a real and quite fascinating hotel in Russia. It is based on the 2016 book by Amor Towles. Taking place over a span of time in which volatile changes swept the country and eastern Europe, it follows the account of a count! Forgive my pun. It's me, after all. A gentleman without a true title anymore, Count Rostov (played wonderfully by Ewan McGregor) is imprisoned in the luxe Hotel Metropol. He meets many interesting people, and watches his old world fall away while he grapples with the headwinds of the new. I loved this show. It made me smile and cry.
Okay, but the biggest delight in recent memory? The new film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, available to stream from Legendary Pictures. An absolutely ridiculous film; I loved it. Read my review and go grab your popcorn:
On the Page
I'm continuing Dan Simmons' The Terror. I also am reviewing two ARCs (advance reader copies) for a couple of book releases later in the year. I'll share what they are soon.
Writing Update
Obviously the two-book deal news above led to an instant reorganzation for my writing priorities! The Secret of the Sapphire Sentinel and The Dawn of Dusk and Twilight are already underway. The first (sequel to The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern) is due January 2025. The second is due December 2025. But you know me: I write fast, and I have other books in the pipeline I need to get out the door. I am, however, writing both of these books a bit concurrently because the prequel will be an adult, NOT young adult, book that I need to make sure I build consistency with the two YA books for the history and world-building. But the primary emphasis will be finishing Sentinel first.
I've now got my dragon fantasy on submission by myself to about a dozen publishers, and I may have news soon. Fingers crossed.
Atacama update: My publisher has sent early review copies of my 2025 thriller/horror/sci-fi book Atacama (out May 13, 2025 from Sley House Publishing) to select authors to get blurb quotes for the book. This weekend, I received a rave from one of the authors who's currently reading it, saying it's my best book yet. So I'm stoked about that!
We announced the cover artist for Atacama as well: Chris Panatier, who is also an author! You can see Chris's magnificent work here:
I believe the cover art for Doomflower (out April 8, 2025 from Encyclopocalypse Publications) and book edits start soon as well.
The Week Ahead
Today, I'm hosting and art and writing session on Zoom, something I may host regularly. Gareth will be there as well. I'm looking forward to this chill-vibes session of getting creative work done with a quiet group!
Just wrapped up a podcast interview yesterday, and I think that may air this coming week.
My web design team is putting the finishing touches on our imprint website, so I'm looking forward to seeing the final masterpiece.
Otherwise, my goals for the week are: science writing work (I'm covering vacation season illnesses this time!), artwork, writing on the sequel, short story submissions, and trying to stay cool in this heat.
Hope you all have a fabulous week ahead.
Write on!
Jendia
