Some people only ever work on one story at a time. They begin a story, and they stay with it until it is done. Sometimes they even outline, so they know exactly where a story is headed from the time they write the first word. I'm not one of them.
As of the release of Wyvernhail, I will have published nine novels. I publish one a year. Frankly, I cannot do more than that; the editing takes too long. If I pushed it, and tried to publish more often, I wouldn't have time to do anything new- and I am always doing something new.
My "In Progress" folder on my computer contains over fifty stories, all in various stages of completion. Beyond that, I have about two dozen "finished" novels, ranging from sloppy first drafts to revised versions nearly ready for submission to Random House. I begin many more novels than I ever finish, and I finish many more novels than I will ever decide to publish. However, all these stories join my world (or, more accurately, worlds; not all of them take place in Nyeusigrube), and so I speak often even of those I do not intend to publish.
This section contains information on some of those other stories. Some of them, like All Just Glass, I am seriously considering publishing at some point. Others will probably never see the light of day. In all cases, quotes and excerpts are of rough drafts, not final copies. They are not perfect. They may not even be recognizable, if I further revise the work for publication some day. So why am I letting you read about them? The answer is three-fold:
For my readers, who simply want to know more. I owe my career to you, so I try to be nice now and then.
For all the people who do not live inside my brain and know every one of my hundreds of characters, and who ask questions like "WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??" when I casually toss about names and titles never included in the published works.
For writers. Many of you ask for advice. One of the things I always tell you is "Just write it. It doesn't have to be perfect the first time." So, here I'll show to you... my first drafts aren't perfect, either.
All that having been said, they may be rough drafts, but they all still belong to me. Don't steal, or I may have to hunt you down, but otherwise you are welcome to discuss and comment. I'll encourage you toward the message boards *points to the link in the header*.
On the left side of every page in this section, you will see a list of links. The "Works in Progress" link goes back to this page. Titles (All Just Glass, Tiger Eyes, etc) will bring you to sections about individual books; most of these are stories closer to being finished and some are likely to be in line for publication. "Familiar Scenes" will link to chapters, like a chapter from Black Flame (Aubrey's book), that in one way or another add to one of the published books - ie, scenes from other characters' points of view, or scenes that take place between published chapters, or before or after the published book begins or ends. "Others" is exactly what it sounds like - a page for notes on books that don't get whole sections, but which I talk about enough to justify explaining a little.
If I say something like "You will not be getting excerpts of this book" or "this book is written for an adult audience" or "I will not be adding further details" or something along those lines, kindly take me at my word. I mean it. "I'm still working on this" or "Comments are welcome" mean that comments, questions, encouragement, and badgering to keep working are all welcome. "Don't harass me about this" means what it says. Thank you for respecting these wishes.
And to get a Frequently Asked Question out of the way... most of these books aren't even finished in first draft form. None of them are under contract. So it's no use asking me when they're going to be released; I simply do not know. Sorry!
Enjoy.
yours,
ahar