Archive for the ‘The Daughter Star’ Category
Here it is at last, the cover for THE SEEKER STAR (Grayline Sisters #2)!
The big reveal happened yesterday over at The Book Smugglers. They’re also hosting a giveaway of the first Grayline Sisters book, THE DAUGHTER STAR, so go check it out and enter!
A post about endings, and updates
Posted on: July 9, 2014
Recently I wrote about finishing the first draft of the final book of the Grayline Sisters trilogy, and how that felt. I had no idea I’d be making another post like it so soon after.
I finished the second draft of WAKING GIFTS (Extrahumans #4) last week. It was an excruciating effort–I basically rebuilt the story from the ground up because what I’d originally put down simply wasn’t working. I changed just about everything about the book, including the title (it was originally THE GIFT OF GREAT YIA, then THE BELLS OF VALEN, and now WAKING GIFTS). I think it’s pretty decent. I know I can turn it into something good. So at some point, this book will exist, and you’ll get to read all about what happens when Jill gets everything she thinks she wants (hint: nothing good).
And then that will be the end of the Extrahumans series.
There are several reasons for this, some about business, some personal. Mainly, though, this is a decision that grew out of the story.
I’d originally planned on five books, but at some point I realized that the plans I’d had for the fifth book were not particularly workable, and not actually about the characters we’ve been following.
Worse, it had nothing to do with Penny. Basically, even though she is the main character in only one of the books, Extrahumans is at it’s very heart the story of Penny Silverwing, her friends, her family, her lovers, and her transformation from who she is at the beginning of BROKEN to who she becomes by the end of WAKING GIFTS. Penny drives the stories and ties them all together, and she’s at the center of the extended “family” of characters. Her arc, after this story, is done.
This story also completes the arcs of many of the other characters, such as Jill (obviously), Emily, Sky Ranger, and Felipe. It also does provide some answers to some of the big questions that the series has been asking, and wraps up some of the larger, overarching storylines.
So this is a good place to end it. I thought about ending it with THE SPARK, but there were simply too many unanswered questions. I don’t feel that way about this book. This is a good end point.
Now, that doesn’t mean that this will be the last story in this universe, and that this is the last we’ll ever hear of these particular characters. There is so much left to tell! But this particular series will end with book 4, and I’m happy with that.
I am so grateful to all of you who’ve been sticking with this series. I know WAKING GIFTS has been a long time in coming compared to the first three. I hope I can make it worth your while!
So, on to the updates!
THE SEEKER STAR (Grayline Sisters #2) – Hoping to have a cover reveal for you real soon. Plans are that it’ll be out late this year, but I don’t have a date yet.
WAKING GIFTS (Extrahumans #4) – Second draft finished. I’d like to send this to the publisher by the end of the year.
THE FALLEN STAR (Grayline Sisters #3) – First draft done, doing a few edits here and there.
Short stories: WAR STORIES has been sent out to Kickstarter backers! My story “The Radio” is in the first section. It is a very, very cool anthology from Apex which you should check out when it goes on general sale in the fall. I should also have another short story out either late this year or early next year, we’ll see.
Lastly, I’m going to be at Readercon this Friday–if you’re there, say hi!
That’s all for now!
Hugo Eligibility Post
Posted on: March 6, 2014
There’s about a month left for Hugo voters to nominate works for the 2014 Hugo Awards, so I thought I’d remind everyone what works of mine or works I’m in that are eligible!
Best novel: THE DAUGHTER STAR
Best related work: QUEERS DIG TIME LORDS
It would be extra cool if QUEERS DIG TIME LORDS got some recognition, it is a fantastic collection of amazing voices.
So there you go!
Two new guest posts are up!
I’m over at Bastard Books today with a guest post about what starting a new series was like, and how it’s different from the EXTRAHUMANS series.
I’m also over at Fantasy Book Critic with a lengthy post about the universe of the book. If you want to know about ternary star systems and tidal-locked planets, this is your post!
Thanks to Bastard Books and Mihir at Fantasy Book Critic for hosting me today.
It’s been a great release day so far! Thanks to everyone who’s made it a memorable one. This new series is off to a fantastic start.
If you want to read more about the evolution of this book, check out this guest post over at the incomparable M. Fenn’s place! A taste:
The first draft started out being a fun, silly kind of space adventure, and I didn’t take it entirely seriously. I remember writing at the time that I was writing a Jenny Starpepper Mystery (or a kind of pulp adventure novel. It makes sense if you’ve seen the movie Paul. Why haven’t you seen this movie? Go see this movie! It’s like a love letter to SFF fandom, and it has Sigourney Weaver).
There’s also another review up! Check out what Everett Maroon, who I had the honor of being in the Topside Press COLLECTION with, has to say about the book on his site. An excerpt:
Nobody writes a sullen woman like Susan Jane Bigelow.
Darn right.
More tomorrow!
DAUGHTER STAR release day!
Posted on: May 28, 2013
Today’s the day! THE DAUGHTER STAR officially releases today!
You can pick it up at:
The Candlemark and Gleam store
Amazon
and
Barnes & Noble
I was checking out Amazon tonight because I’m obsessive about book release days and huh. THAT doesn’t look right.
To be fair, this isn’t the first time someone’s gotten this wrong. The very first review of DAUGHTER STAR had this wrong, and THAT was a national, print publication. I pity some poor librarian somewhere trying to find it and failing, because the name is wrong.
Sarah Jane Bigelow and I will be eternally fighting inside a tunnel between dimensions if anyone needs us.
— Susan Jane Bigelow (@whateversusan) May 27, 2013
I had a few moments of panic on Twitter but got over it quickly as soon as I figured out how to submit changes to Amazon. They asked for proof, which I ably found on the Kindle edition of the book’s product page. Which was fine!
Frankly, I blame this guy:
A Universe Full of Women
Posted on: May 22, 2013
I’ve got a guest post up at Emma Newman’s site today, all about the mainly-female cast of THE DAUGHTER STAR and writing women-centered science fiction.
It’s one week until THE DAUGHTER STAR releases, and I’ve got guest posts going up in a bunch of different places! Today I’m talking about the book over at Catherine Lundoff’s “Dwelling in Probabilities.” Check it out to find more about the beginnings of the book, including what in the world a “pace book” is!
Finally, you can pre-order the print version of THE DAUGHTER STAR! Click the image below or follow this link.
We do pre-orders through Kickstarter. Why? Glad you asked!
1. Big places like Amazon don’t let small presses like Candlemark & Gleam do pre-orders, so they’ve had to find novel ways to let people pre-order a book.
2. Kickstarter does help C&G raise the money needed to cover a print run; that’s the goal amount. Anything over that is icing on the cake.
3. Buying is pretty easy since Kickstarter can work with your Amazon account.
4. There are cool goodies involved as bonuses! You can get a signed book, an exclusive short story, and some tea! Yes, tea. They’ve whipped up a tea concoction which resembles “ochopo”, a tea that everyone in Marta Grayline’s home country drinks constantly. I really can’t wait to taste it myself, it sounds tasty!
Want to get in on the fun? Pre-order THE DAUGHTER STAR today!
The Extrahuman Union 