Category Archives: Writing

Yamada Monogatari: To Break the Demon Gate – Update

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Yamada_BTG_cover-V06b-PrimeI’ve reviewed and responded to the copyedit of To Break the Demon Gate, my editor at Prime has responded to my response, everything’s approved, and I have a copy of the final text. Bio, dedication, and the Suggested Reading List (end matter) are all turned in. Once the final cover design is completed it’s off to the printers. I don’t anticipate any change to the cover art, but there’s lettering to look at back cover copy and such to lay out, none of which, thank goodness, is up to me. So everything looks good for the December (official) release. There will be review copies of course, probably electronic, but at the moment I don’t know when these will be ready.

I still anticipate the PS Publishing edition to be out before the American edition, I just have no idea when. It may still happen this month, but I have no solid information on that. I’ll be sure to announce as soon as it’s available. I will point out that there will be a few textual differences between the editions, mostly minor, but they won’t be identical, not even counting the differences between American and British usage.

Yamada Monogatari: To Edit the Demon Gate

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Yamada_BTG_cover-V06b-PrimeI just received the copyedited manuscript for To Break the Demon Gate. Not a huge deal in itself. More like one of those pesky background details that have to be sorted before you get a chance to actually, you know, read it. But a marker of progress on the way to the eventual release. I’d like to thank Paula Guran in advance for doing her best to catch my quirks and writerly tiks before the rest of you see them, thus saving me endless embarrassment.

Now, if only I could get her to volunteer to screen the installments of Power’s Shadow before they go live…

Beneath Ceaseless Skies #150

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Scott Andrews has published his 150th issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies today, including my own “The Manor of Lost Time.”   This from Scott’s own description of the issue:

“BCS #150 is out today! A special double-issue, in honor of our 150th issue.

It includes “The Manor of Lost Time,” a story of demonic imprisonment by Richard Parks, author of the Lord Yamada tales, and “The Inked Many,” a novelette by Adam Callaway set in the Ars Lacuna world of strange ink and writings that has been featured in his many other BCS stories.

Plus “The Black Waters of Lethe,” a short piece of maddening isolation by Oliver Buckram, and “The Unborn God,” a tale of strange discovery and quest by returning BCS author Stephen Case.”

There’s lots more, including a giveaway of Brandon Sanderson’s hardcover novella “The Emperor’s Soul” (a Hugo winner) and a reprint of my “In the Palace of the Jade Lion” from issue #100. That’s become one of my favorites of my own stories, not that this should influence you or anything. And sometimes I think the characters in “The Manor of Lost Time” deserve their own book, but that’s further down the road. Regardless, check out the issue. Tthere’s a lot there for any lover of adventure fantasy.

Edited to Add: A couple of times lately I’ve gotten anonymous comments on the blog. Nothing abusive, and I know sometimes there are legitimate reasons for keeping your identity on the down-low. I don’t mind, and I’ll respond to those comments indirectly where appropriate. But I can’t clear anonymous posting for public display on this blog for obvious reasons. Thanks for your understanding.

Yamada Monogatari: To Break the Demon Gate

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Yamada_BTG_cover-V06b-PrimeOkay, those of you who follow me on Facebook will have seen this already, but that was a shared post from the publisher and wouldn’t display properly here. Now I have my own copy and can show the probably final cover for the US edition of Yamada Monogatari: To Break the Demon Gate. That’s actually the link for pre-orders, and if you follow it you’ll see the original (and temporary) cover, which the publisher hasn’t yet updated on Azon but no doubt will real soon now. I don’t have any updates on the UK edition still (I hope) slated for this month, but the US edition is firm for December as the official date, meaning it’ll probably be ready sometime in November. Regardless, this is the second Lord Yamada book but the first Lord Yamada Novel. I hope to have an announcement on the status of the second Yamada novel before too much longer.

Here’s the blurb for To Break the Demon Gate:

“Yamada no Goji is a minor nobleman of ancient Japan who has lost everything-except a single purpose: keep a promise to the woman he loved. In order to fulfill his vow, all he has to do is fight a horde of demons and monsters, bargain with a few ghosts, outwit the sinister schemers of the emperor’s court, find a way to defeat an assassin who cannot be seen, heard, or touched-and change the course of history. Fortunately, Yamada specializes in achieving the seemingly impossible, so he is sure in some way to succeed . . . if he doesn’t drink himself into oblivion first.”

Oxford, Mississippi

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RowanOak-Approach

A week ago Wednesday was Carol’s and my anniversary, so we decided to take a day trip up to Oxford, MS, primarily to take a couple more things off my bucket list—visit Square Books in downtown Oxford and, what the heck, make a pilgrimage to William Faulkner’s beloved home, Rowan Oak. Two more things off our list of things to do before/if we leave the state.

Square Books is one of those places that people tend to moan the disappearance of, except so far I can tell, local independent bookstores are doing just fine. The ones I know have been around for decades and show every sign of being around for decades more. The only picture of the actual store I have has Carol in it, and I’ve been threatened with bodily harm if I post it, so I won’t. I’ll just say that the place is a bibliophile’s dream, and it left me a bit depressed. I’m still working out why.

After that it was off to Rowan Oak. I do see why he loved the place—the grounds are lovely, the house was at once grand and still homey. I know you’ve all heard the story of the time Faulkner was in Hollywood and finally told his bosses he needed to work from home, he couldn’t concentrate in his studio office. So they said fine, assuming he meant his rented digs in Hollywood, but of course he meant Rowan Oak, and he was on the next train out of there.

Faulkner-BedroomFaulkner-Office-MantelFaulkner-Wall-Notes

I haven’t taken too many pictures, because all I had was a camera phone with really crappy battery life, the light was poor, and the battery was dying even as I got these few. Most won’t need explanation, but I did get one shot of the walls of Faulkner’s home office. Apparently he had the habit of writing blocks of continuity/daily notes on the walls. The shot was hard to get, but you might be able to see a little bit.

The last shot is just of a really old and mystical osage orange growing in front of (and I feel weird even saying it) the servants’ quarters. In some ways Faulkner’s world seems hundreds of years in the past, but it wasn’t that long ago. What’s the adage? “The past isn’t gone. It isn’t even the past.”

Note: My apologies to anyone who gets this twice. I was having problems with the pictures and had to redo the whole thing to get them to display properly.

Faulkner-Osage-Orange