You should totally buy it.

It’s no secret that Myke and I have been friends a long time. Heck. I remember back in 1991, when he spelled his name M-i-k-e like a normal person.

Yeah, yeah. Like I should talk…

Anyway, Myke and I have a long history of kicking each other’s asses editorially (and with weapons). I met Myke briefly while we were in High School. It was the early 90′s, and we both had crazy heavy metal hair. We didn’t really become friends until college, where we played a lot of Dungeons & Dragons (For those who speak fluent geek, we played Edition 2.0 which evolved into 2.5, Forgotten Realms setting) together.

I’ve spoken before about how Dungeons & Dragons has made me a better storyteller. I used to run friggin’ EPIC games, where I would take the map of Faerun in the Forgotten Realms, pick a spot that hadn’t been explored in any of the novels or boxed sets, and write up a huge, complex story set in that obscure place. I would create plots, sub-plots, characters, backstories, twists, turns, and emotional motivations.

Then my players, Myke included, would just go in and kill everything. And I would have to toss aside my careful plans and dance like a motherfucker to keep up with them, and more importantly, keep them going in the direction I intended. They would deliberately seek out loopholes in my storytelling and try to game the system, or just ignore the boring “talky” parts and get down to dicing and dividing treasure.

Because there are two parts to storytelling: What you want to say, and what your audience is going to hear. Sadly, the two are almost never the same, and the purpose, after all, is to entertain an audience, yourself included.

A year or so later, Myke ran a game, and I gleefully fucked with his the same damn way.

We were also preparing for the pain of rejection letters by ritualistically hitting each other with bamboo swords:

Fast forward to 1998. I have moved to Brooklyn and he to DC. We don’t talk much anymore. Myke tell me he’s been working on a fantasy novel. I say, “Huh. Me too.” I sent him whatever shit project I was working on at the time, and he sends me the first draft of a book called “Latent”.

It would later be renamed, “Control Point.”

In the ensuing 15 years we have relentlessly broken each other’s books, finding tiny weak spots and driving knives into them, forcing each other to improve our craft and pass the other’s gauntlet. We would cover each other’s work in red ink, and call each other saying, “Nice try. Here are the parts that suck, here’s WHY they suck, and here’s my suggestions on how to fix them.”

So there are a lot of Myke’s ideas in my work. The Krasian Watchers, for instance, are laddermen on his suggestion. There are also a lot of my ideas in Myke’s work. For instance, he wanted to call the water sorcerers in Control Point “aquamancers”. I told him tying them forever to the lamest of all superheroes was a bad idea, and suggested he go with “hydromancers”. True story.

Sometimes, we would argue:

So believe me when I say, I couldn’t be more excited about this launch if it was my own book. Because in some small way, it is.

This is not to say that Myke doesn’t deserve all the credit for how awesome Control Point is. The man works obsessively and ruthlessly to make ever second of his books riveting.

Seriously. Stop reading this and go read his reviews. There’s like a million of them already, and they’re all glowing.

Control Point is a military fantasy story set in an alternate version of our modern world where magic ebbs and wanes over the course of every thousand years, much like the waxing and waning of the moon. When it waxes, people with latent magic ability suddenly manifest incredible powers.

They are then drafted, broken down, and trained to fight America’s enemies in the Supernatural Operations Corps. They’re the lucky ones. Those who manifest prohibited powers like necromancy (zombies) are shot in the head.

Lt. Oscar Britton starts as a ‘normal’ human, serving the army in hunting down magical fugitives. That is, until he manifests a prohibited magic himself, and overnight becomes Public Enemy #1.

The fun starts there, and doesn’t stop till the end.

Oh, and I’ve read the sequel, Fortress Frontier. It is even better.

If you want to hear us discuss writing and our history of alpha reading, you can check out our recent podcast interview with The Functional Nerds.

Here is a different sort of entry to the Fan Art Contest: a fan fiction sent in by Polish fan Andrzej.

Hello.

I hope it is not too late to join the fan art contest that was announced on
your web page. I’ve seen some of the entries you posted on the website and
I doubted that I had any kind of a chance but I used my own creativity and
ideas and created a short piece of writing within the world of the Warded
Man.

I hope to see a Polish translation of the next book as soon as it can be.

Best wishes

Andrzej

Thank you for entering! I love the idea for creating a journal format for a messenger to use. Very realistic! Great work, Andrzej.

A Messenger’s Journal

332 AR Day 1

The first night on the road is always the worst one, especially after such a long brake as I had. This time I have to go to Krasia with a bunch of letters from the Euchor, I don’t suppose they will be glad to see me once more. As much disrespect they have for other people staying at night behind their houses wards, they maybe do not hate the Messengers but they call us as all others by the name chin. I don’t know how long will the travel from Miln take but I suppose it might take a long five weeks in one way. The corelings are once again rising, this night will be as always, lonely from one point of view and occupied from the other one. I better get a good nights sleep while I am not disturbed too much by the explosions of magic.

332 AR Day 10

The journey is going quite smoothly. I had a few short stops in smaller villages but nothing that took more then just one night in a bed. As always I double checked both the outer and the inner ring of wards protecting the camp with my horse and the carriage, and the inner ring protecting my own campfire and sleeping place. It has been a few days since I heard or seen the rock demons, but I suppose there are some of them close to my camp, like they were hunting me and trying to see if I ever make the mistake of not checking my runes. I know this might seem weird but I have a strange feeling about the lack of those big bastards.

332 AR Day 12

I just knew it, the rock demons came last night and tried to break through the outer ring, but I always keep it well polished so the wards keep their full power. I always hated those big beasts, the sole knowledge that those live just outside of Miln makes the people of Fort Miln shake their legs in fear. To tell the truth I fell worried of their sudden come back, but at the same time I feel relived, at least now I know they are there waiting for me to make even the smallest mistake. There is at the least three of them, but there can be more outside of my field of vision. Hope I can get a good night sleep.

332 AR Day 20

This is getting worse with every night, I feel like I’m going nuts. Today while I was rushing through the woods I nearly thought I’ve seen a demon in the daylight, but it was not the usual tree demon or fire demon, this seemed to be more human like but with a gigantic head. I don’t know if I’m imagining things or not, but it would seem that I do. A coreling during the day time? I never even thought that would be possible, but how could it survive? No there is no chance for this to be happening. I really need to get some more sleep then yesterday.

332 AR Day 21

I don’t know what is happening as of late, for the past five years of me working as a Messenger I never seen the demons act so strange as they did yesterday. But it was not only the demons, I nearly crossed the outer ring, but I have no idea what happened with me! I never did something so reckless as this, not even when I tried to protect the cargo from some thieves. I really need to get some sleep today, if not I’ll need to get some more of those herbs.

332 AR Day 29

When I finally got to the desert I somewhat felt relieved by the thought that I would never see those damned rock demons, but on the other hand I had the smaller sand demons to deal with. Even if smaller then the rock demons and much weaker, they attack in packs making them even more annoying, but the past few nights I felt that I was attracting them to me, or to the letters I had with me. I don’t know what is happening and right now I think that if this keeps up I’ll become insane.

332 AR Day 30

This is going to be a journey longer then it should have been, I should have already passed the oasis on the way to Krasia but I have not seen it yet and this makes me feel nervous. The worst thing that can happen is me getting lost in the middle of this damned desert. During the days it is too hot to think, and my water and food supplies are getting really low. I need to find that oasis and fast so I won’t die. Right now I’m not even thinking about the order from the Euchor.

332 AR Day 35

This request is just getting worse and worse, with getting really low on my water supplies I stepped out of the outer circle at night. I got wounded really badly, those might be my last words, the demons are roaring and I feel the fever coming to me. I think I can see somebody and the wound is burning me, one of those sand demons hit my left leg with its claws and nearly tore it off. I feel the very loss of blood made me too weak to fight off the fever. I need to get some sleep, my eyelids are very heavy and I feel sleepy.

332 AR Day 36

This is it, I woke up with the demons surrounding the inner circle, looking for any weak points in the barrier. I slept through the whole day out in the sun, I feel my whole body burning. The wound on my leg started to smell really bad, and now I know I must be imagining things, a demon that is smaller then the sand demons is looking at what is happening really close behind. Ah the pain, it is overwhelming. I don’t know what will become of me, but if anybody finds this journal, say my wife in Miln, Cathrine, that I love her.

332 AR Day 37

The sun is going down, it is getting darker and darker and the mist started to appear, this is it. The runes have been covered by sand, I had no strength to move and to try to clear them off. I can barely hold my quill while writing those last words, the very same demon I described about sixteen days ago, I can see it. It is staring at me, at my head. The terrible pain, now even my head feels like it will explode, the claws, the burning feeling on my hea.

Bloody stains remain on this last page of a Messengers journal, found about a hundred years after his death in the desert when people tried to establish a new way to reach fort Krasia. Found by chance by a group of travelers who were exploring the desert. The whole camp has been found only by chance when they saw a piece of wood protruding from the sand, they found the remains of a dead person with what seemed to be a piece of skull missing from the top.

I realize I’ve been promising this post for a very long time. Frankly, I’ve been putting it off because it was causing me a bit of anxiety. I needed to focus on actually writing the book, rather than writing about the book. Thankfully, Meg has really stepped up and kept the blog running in the meantime, posting all the amazing things people send in.

But it’s the start of a new year, and I want to set the record straight as I move into the home stretch, so let’s get right to it…

Not a Trilogy!

First off, the Demon Cycle is not a trilogy. The third book, The Daylight War, will NOT end the series. It was always intended to be a series of five books. A quintet.

This is a confusing point, though, because the series was widely marketed as a trilogy in the early days. It’s an understandable error that isn’t really anyone’s fault, but one that has caused me an ongoing headache these past years.

When I initially sold The Warded Man to Del Rey, they asked about my plans for sequels. I did a treatment for the series showing the full story arc. That treatment was for five books. I noted that while the arcs for all the main characters would resolve in the fifth book, I might continue to write further stories set in the same world with different characters or at different time periods (like The Great Bazaar and Brayan’s Gold).

But I was also realistic, and at the end of my presentation, I noted that if I HAD to close it out in three books, I theoretically could, but really didn’t wanna.

Del Rey hedged their bets (a totally fair move on their part), offering to buy the first three books and see how it went. Several other markets, like the UK, Australia, France, Germany, Poland, etc., quickly followed suit and bought three books as well.

Happily—and thanks especially to you, my fans—the series took off and I never had to worry about what I might need to do to force the story into three books. However, since the initial contracts in so many countries matched the length of the original Del Rey contract, the book media and some internal marketing teams assumed (not unreasonably) it was to be a trilogy. It was widely reported as such with the viral speed of the internet, and has caused wildfires I’ve been trying to extinguish ever since.

I have since signed contracts in the US and UK for another three full novels after The Daylight War. The first two if these will be the final books of the original quintet. The last will be a standalone novel set in the same world with some shared characters. It is plotted out already and I think it will be a kickass book that will appeal to both fans of the series and new readers.

But even with six books to spread out into, the Demon Cycle has grown with the telling. I don’t think this is a bad thing. However, instead of changing my five book plan, I have started doing some spinoff books for the more standalone storylines. These are not necessary to enjoy the main series, but do expand the world and give insights into the characters and their motivations.

In between writing The Warded Man and The Desert Spear, I wrote a novella for Subterranean Press about Arlen during his pre-warded Messenger days called The Great Bazaar. It was meant to appeal new readers, introducing them to my world, while also giving those who had read Warded Man a great bridge into Desert Spear. It also had some deleted scenes from The Warded Man along with my reflections on the writing process that caused them to be cut, a Krasian dictionary and ward grimoire.

I love that little book. After writing The Desert Spear, I wrote a second novella entitled Brayan’s Gold, gorgeously illustrated by Lauren K Cannon, about Arlen’s first (extremely dangerous) Messenger run. Again it was meant for both fans of the series and new readers.

These novellas have gone on to be translated into German, Polish, and French, most of them released in 2011. All are beautiful, illustrated editions that are a great fix between the novels. The original Subterranean Press books are pretty rare and expensive now, but easily available as eBooks in both the US & UK, and a new UK edition combining them both into one book will be printed this year.

I intend to continue writing one novella between each novel. The next, Mudboy, will have a storyline that introduces a wholly new character. It started as part of Daylight War, but got too big for its britches. It’s already mostly written.

The full Demon Cycle bibliography now looks like this:

Novel Quintet:

Book One: The Warded Man (First published 2008)

Book Two: The Desert Spear (First published 2010)

Book Three: The Daylight War (Forthcoming)

Book Four: The Forest Fortress (Forthcoming, working title subject to change)

Book Five: The Core (Forthcoming, working title subject to change)

These five books will close the storylines for Arlen, Jardir, Rojer, Leesha, Renna, Inevera, Abban, etc.

Standalone Novel:

Book Six: Tibbet’s Brook (Forthcoming, working title subject to change)

This book will mostly be about Selia Barren from Tibbet’s Brook, showing her life story and how it affects her decisions in the present as she contends with corelings, Krasians, and the growing power of Southwatch, all while wrestling the demons of her own past. It is mostly plotted and I am very psyched to write it.

Standalone Novellas:

The Great Bazaar (First Published 2010)

Brayan’s Gold (First Published 2011)

Mudboy (Forthcoming)

Others TBD

Pub Date

The next thing I would like to clarify is the publication date. As of this moment, The Daylight War will probably be out February 4, 2013.

This 2013 date has been rumored for some time, and prompted a lot of “Say it ain’t so!” messages from fans via facebook, twitter, email, and the like. I know it comes from a place of enjoyment for my work, and the VAST majority of messages have had a tone of excitement and exuberance that brings joy to my heart. But on some occasions, the exhortations have been… ruder, implying that I should be doing nothing but sitting chained to my desk cranking out manuscripts.

It is fair for people to be annoyed about the current pub date, as the book was briefly available for pre-order on several major bookseller sites with a release date of Spring of 2012, leading many to set their hopes on that date. The shift of almost a year is a pretty big one. Even now, I say “probably” for the 2013 date because in publishing few things are set in stone. Several countries are trying to coordinate a worldwide release date, and it can be a complex thing.

Especially when the author misses their deadline.

Ahem.

Oh, I have my excuses. Early this year my part-time assistant (deservedly) went on to a full time publishing job, leaving me with a lot of administrative work that ate away at my writing time. Around the same time I also had major shoulder surgery that left my arm in a sling for months. I’m told it went well and I will be back to full strength without pain at some point, but six months out I’m still only at 75%, and prolonged or strenuous use leaves me in a lot of pain.

And I spend a lot of time with my three year old daughter Cassie. I know I could put her in daycare or hire a sitter as many people do, but these years before she starts going to school all the time are precious, and I don’t want her to ever feel like daddy didn’t have time for her. We do arts and crafts and build marble runs and train sets. We practice her reading and watch Pixar movies. We argue about what she wants for dinner, bathtime and bedtime. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

But also, in fairness to me, the deadline was not realistic. When I first sold the books, there was pressure from the publishers to turn in a book every year. At the time, I naively told them I could do that, because even though it took me seven years to write The Warded Man, I did that writing part time. Now I would be full time, and should have the sequel out much more quickly.

Eh. Not so much.

I’ve talked about this before. My writing process is a very slow, meticulous one, and sometimes it requires me to stop and unravel a story knot before I can continue. Whether this method is right for everyone is debatable, but it is what works best for me to deliver a level of quality I am satisfied with. I take a lot of pride in my books, and don’t want to knock them out half-assed. I ended up delivering The Desert Spear close to a year later than originally promised, and The Daylight War has proven to be much the same.

That said, I have gotten my focus back, and am knocking out Daylight War chapters left and right these last few months. I am finishing up chapter 19 out of an estimated 27, and I expect to deliver it to the publishers in the early spring, so they will have plenty of time for editing and making sure everything is ready for the ’13 release while I get a head start on book four.

I am getting faster, I think. Warded Man took me seven years. Desert Spear took three. Daylight War is looking closer to two. I don’t know that I’ll ever do a book a year, but I hope you’ll have a shorter wait for the 4th book than for the 3rd.

I can assure you, though, The Daylight War will be worth the wait. Here are a couple of previews:

First up, the excerpt from Inevera’s storyline that was included with the eBooks and UK paperback of The Desert Spear is now live on the Excisions page! Throughout The Desert Spear, Inevera’s motivations, and what she really saw in the alagai hora she cast, remained a mystery. The Daylight War takes you back into her childhood to see her humble beginnings. Read it here.

Next, my spontaneous reading at NY Comic-Con this year, where I gave a peek into Arlen’s newly leveled up powers, and how he and Renna are getting on after the… incident:

I have a question I would love to ask Pete!

I have a best friend who is sending letters to agents to try and help him publish his first book.

We would LOVE to know how many rejections Pete got BEFORE he got accepted by an agent?

Thank you so much!

Nazgul!

Hey Nazgul,

I would like to preface my answer by saying that the number of rejections one receives is in some ways irrelevant. The experience is different for everyone. I know of (rare) great books rejected by most everyone under the sun that went on to be bestsellers, and (common) awful books that stubborn authors continued to try and sell even when it should have become apparent they were sullying their good name.

Sometimes you have to give a ship up as lost, go back to the shipyard and build a better one. It’s important for a writer to be self-aware enough to take criticism constructively, use it to  improve one’s craft, but also to know which elements are subjective opinions of agents/editors and which are real flaws they need to work on.

I did most of my rejecting all by myself. I started writing novels at 17, and between then and the time I was 32 I wrote 4.5 novels, all of which I showed my friends but never submitted to publishers or agents. Why? Because I felt my writing wasn’t good enough to even show anyone. It wasn’t until I met Joshua Bilmes (my now-agent) at a SFWA party and he lectured me on the perils of self-rejection that I sent in my first manuscript to him.

He promptly rejected it.

In retrospect, he was right to do so. The book was not at a pro level. I sent in two other books after that, both of which were rejected as well (as they should have been). At that point, a rare and wonderful thing happened. Joshua took me out for coffee, and went through one of the manuscripts in detail with me, telling me where it was strong and where it was weak. He said I had a lot of promise, and gave me a book called Writing to Sell by Scott Meredith and told me to read it, then go back and fix the first book I sent him. I did, throwing out 60% of that book and spending a year rewriting it before resubmission.

That book was The Painted Man, and he agreed to represent it immediately. It was rejected by three major publishers before the others started bidding on it.

So that’s my story. Others will vary.

Good luck to your friend! Writing is a long road, and lonely at times, but it can be rewarding as hell.

Some of you may remember the Cosplay Contest. In it, I promised a ton of great prizes, including silver necklaces from Fotini Designs for the first runners up and a grand prize wherein I would commission an original painting by Lauren K Cannon of the winner in a fantasy setting as the character in their cosplay.

There were some AWESOME entries. Frankly, they were all awesome. Picking the first prize winners was almost painful.

Picking the grand prize winner was not.

I thought it would be, but then Margherita sent in her Damajah cosplay, and it was so stunning that none could deny she had it in the bag. Last week in San Diego I was hanging out with Arthur, who I was sure was going to win (dude shaved his head for it), and even he admitted there was only one choice for the grand once M dropped the bomb:

And so, without further ado, the Grand Prize, Margherita as Inevera, strolling through the halls of Sharik Hora, clearly up to no good:

And a closeup of the face:

Margherita, you’ll be   getting a signed print in the mail soon. Thank you again for your amazing entry and all the hard work that you and your friends did to make it happen.