Posts Tagged ‘Promises Broken’

Two books on a “Best of ’09” list

I was excited to discover this morning that two of my novels made it onto the “Best of ’09” list of prolific SF/F review site SciFiChick.com.

In the tie-ins category, The 4400: Promises Broken shares a three-way split with Keith R.A. DeCandido’s Star Trek: A Singular Destiny Bill Leisner’s Losing the Peace and the novelization of Star Trek (2009) by Alan Dean Foster.

Nearer and dearer to my heart, however, my original urban fantasy The Calling made the list in the category of Series Debut/Standalone, sharing that honor with Death’s Daughter by Amber Benson.

Boo-yah!

ETA: Apologies to Keith for getting his hopes up only to dash them on the rocks of reality; I should know better than to post so early in the morning when I haven’t yet had coffee.

Review of The 4400: Promises Broken

I was pleased to log on today to find waiting for me SciFiChick’s review of my novel The 4400: Promises Broken. Long story short: she dug it.  😀

Here are what I think of as the “money quotes” —

“David Mack and Pocket Books have finally given fans of the show the resolution we have been waiting for since its untimely cancellation.”

“With all of the characters we’ve come to know and love, Mack has skillfully rendered each with believability and soul. The story is gripping and fast-paced, with a climatic ending that no 4400 fan should miss.”

Sweet. I hope that fans of The 4400 share Angela’s appreciation for Promises Broken.

Big News Day

Lots of news today!

First, check out Sci Fi Chick’s review of The Calling on her web site! The money quotes:

“The supporting characters are vivid and mysterious. … [T]here are several twists to the story, with some revelations at the end that leave it open-ended for a sequel. Here’s hoping!”

“The Calling is an exciting, dark and suspenseful urban fantasy tale. Fast-paced and thrilling, this is definitely one of my favorite original novels of the year. This is a must read for urban fantasy fans.”

Second, I’ve added pages, descriptions, and cover art on my web site for three upcoming books — The 4400: Promises Broken, Star Trek Vanguard: Precipice, and the expanded edition of Star Trek Mirror Universe: The Sorrows of Empire.

Look for more news in a couple of weeks, after Shore Leave!

Three Books, No Waiting

Sometimes in the life of a freelance writer, all of one’s projects seem remote and abstract. Even if you are focused on the one you are currently drafting, you are half aware of the others lingering in various stages of completion.

At other times, everything collides.

For me, today is an example of the latter. Though I am in a mad scramble to finish my ms. for Star Trek Vanguard: Precipice by April 15 (having negotiated a deadline extension today with Madam Editor), I now must also review and return the copy edited ms. of The 4400: Promises Broken and the first-pass pages of my first original novel, The Calling, by March 25.

Write one novel while editing two others: this is the nature of the job. Oh, well — I knew the job was dangerous when I took it.

Back to work now. If I don’t return phone calls or e-mails in a timely fashion this month, now you know why….

Irons in and out of the fire…

DONE: The 75,000-word polished manuscript for The 4400: Promises Broken has been submitted to my editor.

NEXT: I have a couple of days before I pick up the copy edited pages of The Calling for final changes. Between now and then, I plan to read A Case of Conscience by James Blish.

If all goes well, I will have the copy edit of The Calling finished and returned to my editor by January 21.

THEN: I shall start drafting my next installment of the Star Trek Vanguard saga, Precipice.

I have until the end of March to finish that manuscript. Then it’s copy edits on Promises Broken, and on to the expansion of The Sorrows of Empire, due by the end of May.

After that … here there be monsters (but no paying gigs). Keep your fingers crossed, amigos. Rough sailing ahead.

Manuscript in da house!

I am pleased to report that as of today, I have completed my first draft of The 4400: Promises Broken.

The novel clocks in at roughly 75,000 words — lean and mean, considering the epic scope of the story I set out to tell within its pages. Set after the show’s cliffhanger final episode (and following up on the events of Greg Cox’s upcoming post-finale novel The 4400: Welcome to Promise City), Promises Broken is intended to serve as a sort of grand finale to the saga of The 4400.

The spell-check is done. The title page, dedication, and epigraph are in place. The acknowledgments and “about the author” pages are written and tacked on to the end. Now I think I’ll take a few hours off, get a shower, make dinner for my wife when she gets home, and have a beer to celebrate.

I’ll be spending the weekend reading through the manuscript and doing some very fast polishing. On Monday, the ms. goes to madam editor. Then I will take a couple of days to read my just-arrived copy of A Case of Conscience by James Blish.

On Wednesday, I will pick up the copy edited manuscript of The Calling and begin making my final revisions to that tale. My thanks to all of you reading this who have provided me feedback on the rough draft; to those of you who still haven’t done so, you have until Wednesday to get me your input. (You know who you are…)

Now, if you’ll excuse me, my ice-cold Spaten awaits…