The above image isYamada Monogatari: Troubled Spirits sitting at #15 in the Fantasy Anthologies & Short Stories category on Azon last night, just behind Brandon Sanderson. It was top 100 in a few other categories at the time. It’s since dropped a few points to #28, but still top 100.
Not too shabby. Thanks to everyone who made it happen!
Today the paperback proof copy of Troubled Spirits arrived, just in time for Halloween. I was fairly certain I’d gotten the book into presentable form as an actual, physical object, and so far I haven’t found any egregious errors. I did have some concerns about the gutter margins, but they look fine.
Frankly, I’m amazed to get it right the first time. Regardless, and unless I stumble upon something awful, the pb should be available within a few hours. I’ll include the link once I have one.
Yesterday First Reader and I went to cast our early votes. It was a Sunday, and according to the poll workers, they had been busy. I’ll take that as a good sign.
And we’re now live! Links below:
Now that the contracts are signed I see no reason to keep anything secret. Paula Guran has picked up “The Fox’s Daughter” from Beneath Ceaseless Skies #344 for the first issue of her new Year’s Best Fantasy series from Pyr Books. It’s nice to be working with Paula again. She was my line/copy editor for most of the Yamada Monogatari series when I was with Prime Books.
There have been a lot of YBF series over the years, and I’ve managed to appear in a few, but this is the first in a while. I remember the David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer Year’s Bests fondly, so it’s great to see a new one getting started. I’ll put up links as soon as Paula’s is out and I hope it does well. The field always benefits from a diversity of sources.
What is probably/maybe/I’m not really sure next to last Yamada story, “The Fox’s Daughter,” will go live at Beneath Ceaseless Skies on December 2nd. At which time this link which now points to issue #343 will show the first December issue which is #344. There is one more Yamada already written after this one, but I’m saving it for the eventual new Yamada collection which I am tentatively scheduling for December of next year.
“So whatsamaddawidyou? Can’t you just keep writing Yamada stories if you want to?”
It doesn’t work that way, at least not for me. The Yamada series always had a story arc, completed with The Emperor in Shadow. Frankly, the last few Yamada stories in BCS were a surprise to me. In hindsight, I was tidying up. That, I believe, is done now.
And, yes, I’ve been wrong before.
I’m not happy about it, but I do believe it’s the right thing to do, and will hold this truth come what may.
Unless another Yamada story kicks me in the butt. Never say never.
I’m pleased to say I’ve just sold a new Yamada story to Beneath Ceaseless Skies, “The Fox’s Daughter.” It mostly concerns what happens when circumstances force Lady Kuzunoha to entrust her daughter Kimiko to Yamada’s family temporarily. Yamada has quite a bit of experience with kitsune, but less so with the sullen teenager equivalent. Fortunately, Tagako-hime is there to pick up the slack. All that said, Yamada will still have his hands full sorting out one Kimiko-induced crisis after another.
This makes the third new Yamada story following the events of The Emperor in Shadow, after “Uzumaki of the Lake” in BCS #300 and “A Minor Exorcism,” the latter of which should be out from BCS in the next few months. There’s actually a fourth already written, a flash piece I plan to expand and include as an original in the eventual new Yamada collection. After that, who knows. I’ll be sure to post when “The Fox’s Daughter” is scheduled.
It’s easy to tell that the first book in the series, Demon Hunter, is out of print now in pb, considering that the only sources listing it are selling it for $47 and “new” copies for $128. Well, they can list it for whatever they want, I suppose, but I can’t imagine they’re selling very many.
And before anyone asks, yes, I’m still working on the concluding volume of The Laws of Power series. It’s just not the only thing I’m working on.
Richard Parks 