Newsletter #27 mailed out 1 May 2005
Dear People,
Promptly on finishing the seventh Isles novel, The Fortress of Glass, I got to work plotting an RCN novel. (My working title is a tag from a Tennyson poem, ‘In Sunless Gulfs’ which is quite fitting. The gulfs aren’t those of space, by the way, but rather those at 3 am.) Things were going quite well. I got some interesting perspectives from Dionysius of Halicarnassus on political events in Central Italy at the beginning of the 5th century bc. I was considering them in the light of both the American and Spanish civil wars-
At the moment I dropped everything, not my favorite practice, to write a Hammer story for a tsunami relief anthology. I’d met one of the editors-she works for Ingram’s, the huge book distributor. When she asked if I’d contribute something, I said sure. It’s a small thing to do, and I need two more uncollected stories for the Night Shade volumes (about which more later).
I meant, “After you’ve sold the idea to a publisher.” Apparently other people didn’t have that mental proviso, however, because three weeks ago I got a note saying that they had nine stories in with three more coming in April; how was mine doing? Mine wasn’t, of course, but it did: I shipped it off yesterday, The Day of Glory, at 10.3K. I think by now the editors actually have a contract (from Tor) in hand, but that’s somebody else’s problem.
Let me emphasize: a lot of the writers in this anthology are bigger names than I am. They’re not wannabes, they’re major professionals who’re more trusting of the way publishing works than I am. I stand chastened for my cynicism.
I’m now back to plotting. The theme I’m working around this time is tyranny, by which I mean tyranny in its ancient sense. Was Coriolanus (the real man, not the fictional Patrician of Livy, Dionysius, and Shakespeare) actually plotting to do what Aristodemus had done in Cumae a few years earlier?
Occasionally reviewers comment on the arcane politics of my novels. I don’t make it up, people: I just think about what the historical data means. Sometimes I wish that this was a more common practice at high levels of government, but... well, I’m just telling stories, right?
I’ve gotten in the correction pages on The Fortress of Glass which is vaguely planned for Spring release. I’ll let you know more when I know more myself. Tor may do a low-priced edition of Lord of the Isles to coincide with launch of the new one (itself the first of The Crown of the Isles, a three-book story arc), and I’m going to suggest that we put Lord up in the Baen Free Library.
Parenthetically, writing a fantasy whose title begins with Fortress wasn’t the smartest move for somebody who’s written an SF thriller whose title is Fortress. Sorry. With Robert E Howard, everything was Black. Still, the Castle of Glass (The Fortalice of Glass? The Glass Redoubt?) just didn’t have the same ring.
The Night Shade Complete Hammer’s Slammers project proceeds, though the first book may be delayed. That isn’t a surprise-I was partner in a small press; believe me, I know about delays-but the reason was unexpected. Night Shade has gotten a distribution agreement with Diamond, the major comics distributor, which won’t be fully operational till September. They may delay release of volume one of the Hammer series till then to take advantage of the new deal. Everything is still in flux. I’m looking forward to the books.
The Way to Glory is, however, out as a Baen hc as planned. Steve Hickman really outdid himself on the cover painting of this one. I haven’t yet seen a copy of The Enchanter Completed, a pb edited by Harry Turtledove, with my Sprague deCamp pastiche A Land of Romance, but it should be out momentarily.
There may eventually be bookmarks for The Way to Glory, but what I have at the moment are oversized (7”x5”) postcards. I am therefore instituting the first ever David Drake Postcard Offer. Anyone who sends me an address label and a 37-cent stamp (they’re too big to go on 23 cents) will get a postcard with the cover to The Way to Glory on one side and the other three covers miniaturized with a certain amount of advertising matter on the back. I’ll sign it over my name, the way I would the title page of a book. [PO Box 904, Chapel Hill NC 27514]
I would appreciate self-stick labels and stamps, but I’ll manage with whatever you send. (Assuming this is something people actually want.)
As I know to my sorrow from many questions through the FAQ form on my website, there have been serious problems with the way Tor (actually a subcontractor used by Tor) has handled audio rights on the Isles series. There is no audio version of Master of the Cauldron. Tom Doherty, in disgust, reverted all audio rights to me in a major policy change. I didn’t ask for or expect this result, but it’s been very frustrating being screwed over by incompetents whose faces change but whose IQs do not rise.
Eric Flint is completing The Dance of Time, the sixth and concluding book of the Belisarius series. It’s going well and will be a great weight off his mind and mine both. I would expect it to be scheduled very quickly after completion, but that’s not in our hands.
On the website I’ve added commentary on The Square Deal [http://david-drake.com/deal.html]. I may get around to writing up some of the newer books-I guess I ought to, as a marketing ploy if nothing else; but marketing has never been a major purpose of the website. At core I’m an antiquarian. I guess that comes out in what I discuss.
Also new to the site are pictures from Shevacon and from Millennicon. Sort of a balloon theme to them, oddly enough. [linked from http://david-drake.com/news.html]
Besides my convention appearances already up on the site, my wife and I are planning to hike in Yosemite in August. I hope to do a signing at Borderlands Books in San Francisco, probably on August 17th. I’ll give more details when I have them, but that’ll be my first signing on the West Coast since... I guess the Northwest Book Fair quite a number of years ago.
Recently Karen Zimmerman, my wonderful webmaster, ran a stats program to determine what search strings people used to reach the website. She may shortly put up a little section on that (maybe even with pie chart), but a number of things struck me on a cursory glance. A plurality and possibly a majority of those arriving at the site are looking for me or some work of mine. The next largest group, however, are people looking for Ovid and particularly for a translation of Amores. I’ve apparently become a pony for second-year Latin students. That makes me feel good.
There were also several folks looking for The Chickens, an anonymous poem that I put under Early Influences. (I’d memorized it long before I could read.) I’m glad it’s there for others who want to reread it. (My friend Rana Van Name gave me the copy of The Golden Book of Verse I now have, replacing the one from my childhood.)
Now, back to thinking about ancient history and space opera....
All best,
Dave Drake
david-drake.com
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