Publisher's Note
Publisher’s Note: Bring on the Holidays!
Last week felt like Christmas in my house.
We’ve been redecorating our house (after spending so much more time in it during the pandemic), and after painting, the second-biggest change we made was to order two large pieces of furniture: an entryway organization unit and a media center.
I ordered them in February, and because of the massive supply chain disruptions, they just arrived last week. But they’re here!
It’s amazing what a difference the right furniture makes. We have one long windowless wall on our main floor that stretches from the front door to the back deck, and I’ve long struggled with the best way to use that space while also providing separation for the living and dining areas.
The space finally feels finished. It only took me 16 years
It felt like Christmas at the office, too, but for a totally different reason.
Publisher’s Note: What a Mystery!
Did you know that we have several first-in-series ebooks available for free? One of those is Kill Game, the first novel in USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith’s Cold Poker Gang series.
If you love puzzle mystery novels, complicated cold cases, and detectives tackling the most twisted crimes, you’ll want to take this opportunity to introduce yourself to USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith’s Cold Poker Gang. Smith takes you into the world of his acclaimed novel Dead Money with a series focused around a group of retired Las Vegas detectives playing poker and solving cold cases.
Publisher’s Note: Heading into Fall
Fall arrives this week, and our busiest season is already in full swing!
Our Kickstarter for Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s new Fey novel ended last week, and we’re so grateful to all of the backers. What a fantastic showing of support for the first new Fey novel in 22 years!
If you missed the Kickstarter, but still want to get the book, never fear. The book publishes wide in February, and the ebook is already available for preorder here.
Publisher’s Note: A Royal Influence
I cried last week when Queen Elizabeth II died. And my heart goes out to those of you for whom she played a much larger role. She was a very strong woman. We will not likely see her equal again.
Despite the United States declaring its independence from the English monarchy 246 years ago, we remain captivated by the royal family and its workings. I know more about the royal family that I do about the families of some US presidents.
The British royal history also sometimes inspires US writers in their fiction. As it does with Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Fey series and the people of Blue Isle.
If you’ve read the series, this probably won’t surprise you. But if you haven’t, there’s never been a better time to start.
The Brand New Fey Novel Kickstarter, featuring the first new Fey novel in 22 years, has been hugely successful, and you still have a few days left to join in on the fun.
Publisher’s Note: The First Fey Novel in 22 Years!
Happy Labor Day! The WMG staff is off today, but tomorrow is such an exciting day, I couldn’t wait to tell you about it! Our Brand New Fey Novel Kickstarter launches at noon on Tuesday, Sept. 6. The first new Fey novel in 22 years! Are we excited? Yes. We. Are! That...
Publisher’s Note: Book Covers as Art
Of all the many hats I wear as publisher, my favorite one is cover designer. That’s an unusual hat for a publisher to wear, in fact, but I’ve never been called “usual.”
A cover designer is different than a cover artist. I don’t create cover art. I find it. I might modify it or enhance it. But as a cover designer, I curate together the best piece of art I can find to represent the book and its genre and pair it with the fonts that pair best to the genre, and voila! Pretty cover.
But sometimes, I have a really important book that I just can’t find the right art for. Or I’m looking for something specific. This usually happens for a series of books. That makes it harder. Because series branding is very important, and it starts with the cover.
That’s when I turn to the artists.
Publisher’s Note: Back to School for All
I’ve been having a wonderful time in Savannah, and my daughter, Nola, has been learning all sorts of new things. Like how to drive a golf cart. And swing a golf club. And how to catch fish by using cat food as bait (the cat would approve if she got to eat the fish afterward).
It’s a great way to close out the summer before she starts seventh grade.
Junior high. Where did the time go?
Publisher’s Note: Crimes and also Space Adventures
Well, I was home for a week and now I’m traveling again. I’m making up for the lost travel time due to brain surgery, then the pandemic and the lost pet year.
This time, I’m in Savannah, Georgia, visiting my father and stepmother with my daughter, Nola. We haven’t seen my dad since he flew out for my aforementioned brain surgery in March of 2019.
I’m lucky. I can work from anywhere. Have laptop, will travel, so to speak. The freedom to do that would have seemed like science fiction when I was growing up. Heck, even when I was in grad school.
It’s weird because it has felt the past few years like we’ve been living in an alternate reality. But it also feels in some ways like we’re reliving history, too.
Publisher’s Note: A Humble New Bundle
I’m back in the office after two weeks of adventuring. To briefly recap: I flew to Gunnison, Colorado, for a week of teaching at Western Colorado University with Kevin J. Anderson and Mark Leslie Lefebvre, and then my family drove out to Gunnison to meet up with me.
From Gunnison, we drove to New Mexico, where we spent two days exploring Santa Fe. Then, we traveled west, stopping for a night in Sedona, Arizona, on our way to San Luis Obispo, California. From SLO, we took Route 1 up the California coast to Monterey and then headed inland to Sonoma. We took Highway 101 home from there, through the redwood forests of northern California and up the coast all the way home to Lincoln City, Oregon.
It was a lovely trip full of many adventures.
Publisher’s Note: It Would be a Crime to Miss This
I’m traveling again this week. This time, I’m on the gorgeous mountain campus of Western Colorado University, where I’m a Lecturer in Publishing for Western’s Graduate Program in Creative Writing.
I’m a lifelong learner, and I love being on a college campus. The energy that courses through them is palpable. You can just feel all the brain cells firing.
I love being able to share my knowledge with graduate students. Degrees in publishing are relatively new, so it’s an exciting field to be teaching.
And it’s an extension of the teaching I’ve been doing for a decade, but to professionals rather than graduate students, through the workshops and lectures we offer at WMG.