Wow. Just . . . wow.

Do y'all have any idea how gratifying it is to know that your fans are actually bitching that you aren't writing fast enough?  Really?  It's freaking amazing.  And a little scary.

But when an actual argument breaks out, and someone invokes Gaiman's Martin Isn't Your Bitch?  

I feel like I just won a freakin' Hugo.  Thank you!  I needed that distraction.

So, you folks do deserve an update for your patience, which is very much appreciated.  Magelord is in the final stages, but it's been in the final stages for a while now.  I'm just as impatient as you are, and even more frustrated.  It's largely a matter of time.  Unfortunately our family crisis has become an enormous time-sink, and once the lawyers got involved . . .

Still, I find writing - especially the Spellmonger stuff - enormously therapeutic.  So I've been working, when I can find the time, on both finishing up Warmage (and no one wants it done more than I) and finishing the second short story.  Indeed, I'm hoping to have it done, edited, formatted, and up by the end of this weekend.  Note I said "hope" - our crisis is still very fluid, so my time gets unexpectedly hacked quite often.

The title of the short is "The River Mists Of Talry".  It features Tyndal, before he arrived on the scene in Warmage, hiding out with Minalan's parents, protecting Alya.  It's also the first Spellmonger fiction to be told in third-person, instead of first-person.  It should fill in a few more gaps and explore Tyndal's character a bit more.

Oh, and he loses his virginity.  Just to keep things interesting.

In addition to the Spellmonger series, I actually had an attack of Space Viking a few weeks back that moved Trask's Odyssey forward a bit.  I'm eager to get to work on that one, too, and since I now have a running start on Knights Magi, it's looking like it will probably get done by this summer.

So when will Magelord be out?  Not before the end of April . . . but (finger's crossed) likely before the end of May.  It's already half-edited, so we're really down to the details at this point.  I just want to get it right.

Thanks for holding on, there, folks.  I'll try to make it worth it.

Update

Yes, I have another family crisis, this one a pretty big one.  But I'm nearly through with Magelord, and inadvertently wrote about 20,000 words of Knights Magi while I was at it.  No firm release date yet, but Real Soon Now.  You'll probably see the next short story soon, though.

The Rumors Of My Hiatus Have Been Greatly Exaggerated...

First of all, apologies for not updating more frequently.  I know that there's a rumor going around that I'm "in hiatus", but actually I'm writing my fool ass off, about 15,000 words a day on average.  Things have gotten a little complicated, however, so let me catch you up.

Over the last six months I've been in the hospital twice, and I've had no less than four family members likewise go in for various procedures.  My father has unfortunately been left crippled, and I had to take time out to deal with that, as well as my own illness.

The upshot is that I'm a little behind on my writing schedule -- obviously -- but not too much.  That is, Super Secret Project #2 had to take priority, Super Secret Project #1 got bumped up, and Magelord, alas, fell behind.  But not too much behind.  Instead of an early-winter release, it will be more like midwinter at the soonest.  In fact, the first chapters started coming back from the editor this week, so it's possible I can have the thing done by end of January, gods willing.  After that I'll finish Trask's Odyssey, or so I've planned.  Mice and men, and all that.

Magelord is looking bigger than I thought, and twice now I've had to split off chunks of the narrative to inform future projects.  But the whole thing should be pretty good, I hope.  Price will remain consistent with the other books.

But I wanted to give y'all something in the meantime, so here is the first of three planned shorts in the Spellmonger universe, Victory Soup.  It should be released on Kindle within the next 24 hours, a 25,000 short story for a mere $.99.  Hopefully that will keep you satisfied while I bang out the rest of this thing.

Thanks again for the notes of encouragement and the threats of violence if I don't finish the book.  Both have their place in my inspiration.  And I'll try to update a little more frequently now that I'm out of the weeds.

Hope you are all having a lovely holiday season!

Terry

New Interview of me up over at ThaddeustheSixth: PLUS BONUS

Really decent interview, can be found here: http://thaddeusthesixth.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/interview-with-terry-mancour-author-of.html


Oh, and there's an excerpt from Magelord there too, if you're interested . . .

Carry on.

Big Milestone!

Over the Easter weekend, my total sales numbers for the last 12 months hit 15,000.  Most of that was Spellmonger, followed by Warmage, with the Space Viking stuff doing consistantly modest but still respectable sales.

Thank you all, very, very much.

I'm deep into writing Magelord now, and have simultaneously cranked out about 8 chapters of Trask's Odyssey, as well as gotten representation for a series by one of my pseudonyms, plus made dramatic headway on Secret Projects #1 and #2.  My fiendish plans are coming to fruition!

All I need is my own lair . . .


This would do.  And it's FSBO, in my neighborhood (roughly) and in my price-range (if I ignore several major compelling factors).  So now I have a reason to write lots, fast, and good, and keep y'all entertained.  If I could say that my fantasy writing allowed me to purchase my very own castle/writing studio . . . I mean, how cool is that? 

And the ultimate irony is, of course, that Magelord is about Minalan's attempt to fix up a nearly ruined old castle.  The gods are telling me something here.  What do y'all think?  Should I indulge in this mad mid-life crisis?  Or should I let prudence and wisdom rule the day?

For One Brief Shining Moment, I Outsold The Lord Of The Rings

Okay, I know it's just an ephemeral quirk of the electronic marketplace, but I found this over in the Kindle Epic Fantasy list, and had a critical nerd attack . . . you have no idea what kind of professional ego blast it is to see this:

I mean . . . total geekgasm.  It's silly, I know, it's just a list, but as a writer how can you not enjoy it at some visceral level?

Unfortunately, it's making me want to go ahead and knock out Magelord, when I have Secret Project #1 and Trask's Odyssey to complete before I hit the next Spellmonger novel.  But dang, if it keeps selling this well, I might have to move things around.

More narcissistic, self-gratifying ego-stroking as events warrant.  That is all.

Warmage selling . . . a lot.

It's six days into February, and so far it's been selling over 100 copies a day.

Thank you.

And this is a pleasant, affirming sight for any author:

That's pretty sweet by any standard.  First page of Epic Fantasy.  Righteous.

EDIT: Um, I just hit #750.  Wow.