The Lost Steersman is up, but oddly not linked
Apparently Amazon did not recognize that the new paperback version of The Lost Steersman is a new paperback version of the previously-existing Kindle version, and I had to go tell them! If you’ve been looking for it, you might not have found it merely by asking Amazon to show you all the books by Rosemary Kirstein.  The fix should take in a day or so, but in the meatime, here’s a handy link!
Also, searching for “The Lost Steersman” will get you there. Apparently this linking process is less automatic than I had assumed.  I do believe I had to do that for The Outskirter’s Secret as well.
Meanwhile, I’m waiting for the physical proof copy of The Language of Power. It should be here on Wednesday, and I’m almost certain that there will be no issues, and I’ll be able to approve it to go live that day! The assistance of my voluteers has made working on that book far less angst-ridden than on the previous. Many errors that would have slipped by my bleary eyes were spotted by the volunteers.
Yikes, I’m beat. That’s way too much time spent publishing and not enough time spent writing! But it’s done.
In celebration I’m heading to Boskone tomorrow — not as a participant but as a mere attendant, where I shall delight in hearing fascinating panels, and engaging in conversations with intelligent people. I’ve been sort of locked in a box lately, and I must get out into the world!
I did get out last weekend for a day, when Sabine and I, with our pals Rob and Jan Walker, participated in an escape room adventure at Mystified in Mystic, CT. It was great fun! This particular outfit has a real steam-punk mentality that we appreciated.
Also: in between iterations of corrections and cover-creation, I’ve diverted and amused myself with Jo Walton’s latest book, a collection of her short works.
I have written exactly two short stories, but have ambitions to write more of them. I find Jo’s collection to be a particularly nice set of examples of the different forms that short works can take. There are linked vingnettes, structured stories, short-shorts, fictional musings, fictional correspondences, and my personal favorite, “Escape to Other Worlds with Science Fiction,” (read it for free on Tor.com) which I have no idea what to call, but which is deeply clever and well-executed.
In the introduction, she does some explaining about what she believes does and does not contsitute an actual story, and when an idea is best for a story rather than an novel — but I’m going to have to have some deep discussions with her when I see her next, because I don’t quite agree, I think… I love her idea of “mode”, but the “weight” of the ending… ? Hm. She might be using “weight” not to mean importance, but something else…
Must go now or I’ll be up too late to get out early to hit the road!
February 18th, 2018 at 7:28 am
Rosemary, I seem to remember you said a while ago there was going to be an installment of “The Big Idea” on Jon Scalzi’s blog at some point. Did I miss it? is it still planned?
February 19th, 2018 at 9:37 pm
Michael —
Nope, that was never planned… you might be thinking of the times I got into his Holiday Shopping Guide, where people are encouraged to submit comments touting their books and art, thus piggybacking on his immense blog readership. Both times I did it, I got a very good bump in sales!
On the other hand, I believe that “The Big Idea” promotions are only open to new books, not reprints, so I’ve never considered it.