June 07, 2016

This will probably be the last post on this site…

Well, at least as you see it now!  So much has been going on that I wanted to bring things up to date, and talk about the future.

First, THE FAR EMPTY has a (tentative) release date of June 07, 2016. In fact, it’s already up for pre-order on Amazon.  The cover isn’t there yet, but it’s almost done. I’ve seen the most recent iteration and it’s amazing. I can’t wait to get it out there. It’s very striking, and I think it will “brand” the Big Bend series in a wholly memorable way.

Second, the sequel to TFE is done and everyone at Putnam is happy with it. We’ll be doing some trimming, because it’s l…o…n…g, but they think it’s in great shape and really pushes the series forward. I’ve already loosely plotted what a Book 3 would look like, while also trying to finish another, stand-alone book I’ve had in the wings for a while. I’m not sure when or where that one will see the light of day, but I’m determined to get it done before I start working on Big Bend Book 3 and the promotional push for TFE gets underway.

Third (and related to promotion), will be the “retirement” of this site in its current form, where it will be replaced by a more professionally-focused author site. This blog/platform has served me incredibly well over the last couple of years, but I need something a little different to support the roll-out of the book. Fortunately, I’ve already got some great folks working on that, and in conjunction with the cover reveal for TFE (or shortly thereafter) there will be a whole new website here. I’ll still maintain some space to throw out my thoughts on things as they crop up, but since I’ve never been a blogger in the traditional sense, that won’t be the primary focus.

Around a year ago this time, I first signed my contract with Putnam. Since then, I’ve renamed, revised and edited THE FAR EMPTY, completed the sequel, traveled to New York to meet my editors and the publicity/marketing team, and started the slow process of turning what had been a hobby into (hopefully) a future career. I’ve learned that publishing is a lot of waiting, punctuated by a whirlwind of work, but throughout it all, it’s been  a wonderfully collaborative process. With the support of my agent and editor and the entire creative team at my publisher  — all of whom have spent so much time gearing up to make my book a success — there’s not been a single bad day over the entire year. If I never publish another book again, no one can take these past 365 days from me.

And the first seven months of next year will be another amazing time as well, right up until that one day — June 7.

I hope you’ll stick around until then.

JTS