I forgot to mention in my last post that Clark Ink has purchased the file archives for Cry, Wolf from Xlibris Corporation. Once they arrive, work on the second edition can resume. :)

As October 4 is less than a week away, I am less sure that the Metrognomes hardback will make that particular sale date. The files rescued from the damaged flash drive have yet to arrive, and at least one key element is going to be on that disk. I will keep you posted as things develop. Rest assured, the hardback is coming!

The roller coaster ride continues! While I can't say anything specific just yet, I did want to give some sort of an update. Right now, the primary focus is on getting a hardback release of Metrognomes published. I wrote about all of the different ways that this may happen a couple of posts ago. At this point, I can tell you that a tentative decision has been made, and we are waiting for one last element to come in before making any definitive announcement. I remain hopeful that the hardback will still be released during the first week of October, but no promises.

The same decision had been made regarding the "cancelled" eBook release of The Great Debate, though this project remains tabled until time allows us to get back to it.

It is also once again looking like individual issues of The Chronicles of Nightfire, Texas could make their way to book stores. We're still in a wait and see place with this one. A lot of what happens with future projects will depend on how well things go with the hardback release of Metrognomes.

One of those future projects involves as yet unpublished haiku. Haiku #112 was posted on the Web site on the 20th, and it is the last haiku planned for such a release. As for the rest of them, you'll just have to wait and see...but not for very long. More after the specifics of Metrognomes in hardback are announced!

It's been a roller coaster of a week! I've gone from excited about upcoming projects, to frustrated, to extremely hopeful and teetering on the verge of utter excitement! If all goes well, this should be an exciting final quarter of 2010!

Meanwhile, Haiku #111 was finally posted yesterday, and I wrote #119. I know...what about #113-118? Well, I wrote those this morning, along with #120, and an extra one, for another purpose (similar to the series' title haiku). However, after #112, no more haiku are intended to be published directly to the Web site. Of course, how all depends, but you will be seeing these latest haiku!

So...things are always changing in the publishing business. :P

I talked to the folks who published The Great Debate and Metrognomes: The Shaman's Apprentice today, and the eBook edition of The Great Debate is definitely off, while a decision has yet to be made about the Metrognomes hardback.

The Chronicles of Nightfire, Texas will also not likely be making its way to physical book stores in serial form any time soon, due to the cost of producing each episode. Don't worry though, I am always looking into new ways of doing things! And the new editions will still be released. They will just continue to be offered as exclusives over the Internet.

As for The Great Debate, my contract allows me to shop it to other publishers, or even to format and publish it myself, as I do with my short fiction, which would require a great deal more work on my part, but may be the direction I choose to take with it, as far as getting an eBook out there. Right now, I'm just looking into my options. The current publishers were only interested in doing an eBook version, under certain conditions that Clark Ink was not willing to explore at this time. Basically, an eBook of the current version of the book is what they shot down. If we're going to have to do an all-out second edition in every format in order to do an eBook, then I want to take a little more time with it and make it worth doing. It's something I'd kept in the back of my mind since the book was first released. I'd wanted the interior illustrations in color, but that wasn't a possibility seven years ago. This is something that we may be looking into now, but it wouldn't be ready for a release any time in 2010 and wasn't in the plans at all in any official capacity, so I can't say when or even if it's going to happen. But I will keep you posted if anything new develops.

The Metrognomes hardback is still being talked about, and is almost sure to happen. It just won't be as simple as originally intended. The current publishers want to reformat the trade paperback and the eBook into new editions to coincide with the hardback release. I want to see a hardback release of the current edition. The current publisher is open to going either way with it, but they have their preference, and I have mine. I may also take a third route with the hardback release that would take a lot more time and hard work. Still, I am hopeful the announced release date will hold. Again, I'll keep you posted.

Tripod.com seems to be having more trouble today, and as a result, the new haiku has not yet been published. Keep checking back, because if we can get it to work, we will. Meanwhile, I am already at work on the new Web site.

Peace!

Quick update: On Thursday, the 9th, Haiku #110 was posted a few days late. Why? Because it's been a crazy week, and I kept forgetting what day it was. :) I'm back on top of things now, as far as my sanity is concerned...for the most part.

Also on Thursday, we announced the forthcoming Metrognomes: 2011 calendar and print editions of the eBooks The Chronicles of Nightfire, Texas #13 "The Mines of Sangra Dios" and The Legends of Nod #1 "The Dragons of Nod." From this point on, the plan is to have print editions of all future eBooks available exclusively through GlennSladeClarkJr.com. For that, you may thank the Great Web Site Crash of 2010, as it shall come to be known in my future biographies. :) Also, issue 19 of The Chronicles of Nightfire, Texas was announced, and a re-issue of #1 in eBook and paperback formats was announced. We have a new logo, and a plan that includes having the Chronicles available through physical book stores in the months to come, which is why we will be redesigning and re-releasing the entire series through issue 13 over a period of as many months. The new design and logo will debut with issue 14. #16-19 will be an all new four-part story arch. It doesn't have a sub title right now, but I can tell you racism is the key ingredient. Our heroes will be up against the forces of the KKK, and the mystery will be who the people are under the white sheets. Could get pretty intense.

The release schedule has been getting tweaked, and should get majorly rearranged at least one more time before things start falling into place.

The folks over at WeRecoverData.com have recovered my files. Today, I have to pick twenty or thirty files for them to run an integrity test on. (The most crucial files) Then they should have it sent to me pretty quickly thereafter. Many of the above release announcements are the result of this news.

Monday, we'll be back on track, with Haiku #111. See you then! :)

I'm back!

So everything's been in absolute chaos for the past several days. If you've been keeping up with me on FaceBook, then you know why. If not, then here's a quick series of excerpts that should bring you up to speed:

August 20

So...I'm having a nightmarish day...

My Web site, representing my life's work, simply vanished today. It was there this morning. Then, about half an hour ago, nothing. I logged in to edit it, and they said I had not yet built a Web site. The tripod site wouldn't give me number to call, because they said I'm not a paying member...but I pay a bill for my URL every month!!! So I sent in an e-mail, and they said they'd MAYBE get back to me in 72 hours...

With computer crashes and damaged disks over the years, some of my work may have existed ONLY on that Web site! I am so devastated right now! I can't even put the horror of all this into words!


August 21, Part I

Day 2 since my Web site...11 years of work...vanished without explanation. The reality is hitting me a little bit harder today. I am devastated.

August 21, Part II

(In response to a comment on Part I) It's not a free service. I own my URL outright and pay a monthly bill for use of the Tripod software. I've checked all the junk mail folders...everything. There was no notice. There was no problem with the automatic bank draft. It is just gone. I contacted them, but only received an automated response. Supposedly they'll get back to me by Thursday. But things are looking up. I've found all of my published short fiction in some form or another off of the site, so I can rebuild. It will just take time. Lots of time. Thanks to everyone for all the love!

August 21, Part III

Still burned...but things are looking up. All of my short fiction exists, either in eBooks that people have downloaded and saved, or those exclusive print editions that I so foolishly discontinued a couple years ago. Guess what's coming back when I rebuild! And of course, all three of my books remain in print. Now I just hope I can get access to my URL without having to go with another one.

August 21, Part IV

As for Tripod/Lycos...we are through. If they can get my site back up, fine, but I'm just going to copy all of the files then and move my URL to another host. There's one I've been looking at for years that allows me more creative freedom, while at the same time costing less. I built a site for someone else with it a few years back. Very nice.

August 21, Part V

I'm going to use Facebook to prove to myself that I'm still in business. Here's my merchandise shop, which is another site I pay for that was only linked to my main site. Web site exclusive print editions of all but two of my short fiction eBooks can still be ordered here, as well as T-shirts, posters, mugs, a baby bib......and a werewolf Christmas tree ornament!

August 21, Part VI

Here's a link to buy my first novel Cry, Wolf in trade paperback at Amazon. It's also still available in hardback. But I don't think you should buy it, since the publishers raised the price so high. I'm planning to publish a second edition early next year under my own label, and I'm adding a prologue. Again, just proving to myself that my work still exists after the death of my Web site.

August 21, Part VII

Here's my book of short stories, The Great Debate, in trade paperback. It too is also still available in hardback. If you happen to read this one, we should talk. The four stories are an allegory, very cryptic, VERY dark. If you don't quite get it, you might not understand what I'm saying about God and the church here. I wrote my early darker fiction for God's sheep outside of the church, the ones the church has turned away, and that is still an important ministry for me.

August 21, Part VIII

Now here's my latest and my favorite! The most fun I ever had writing a novel. Metrognomes: The Shaman's Apprentice. Anyone can read this, and we can discuss it just because I LOVE discussing it! :) It's the first of five novels in a series to come, and the hardback edition will be published later this year. :)

This is also the only one of my three books that currently has an eBook edition. I'll send a link to anyone who'd prefer the electronic format! AND two prequel short stories can be found in print at my merchandise shop, which I linked to a few posts ago. Music of the Metrognomes is the first, and the second is called Worse Than a Gremlin.

August 21, Part IX

Feeling much better now. My current blogs still exist too, since they were linked to the main Web site and not actually a part of it. I'll dig up links to those in a while. Right now, I'm thirsty...sign of life. :)

August 21, Part X

(In response to a comment on Part I, suggesting this catastrophe may turn out to be a good thing) I'm already thinking you're right. I didn't realize how weirdly compartmentalized my "cyber life" was until I started posting my author stuff on FB. I'm already thinking, long road ahead, but its a fresh start, and it has made more people aware that I'm a writer, which is good. Not sure why I've kept part of me that so sectioned off.

August 22

Things continue to look up in what is looking more and more to be an exciting fresh start! Found my phone charger, phone works again, found the damaged disk I've been wanting to send in to have the data extracted from, and posting my writing stuff on Facebook has been absolutely reinvigorating! I love people. :D

August 24

So...planning out the new Web site for my writing has allowed me an incredible amount of creative freedom, and my brilliant ideas have gotten quite ambitious! I can't do it the way I envision it all by myself, however. I'm going to have to call in some talent. Fortunately for me, I have a number of very talented friends. :)

August 30

So...my Web site's back, just as suddenly as it vanished, only now it's covered in ads for tripod, identifying it as a free Web site...which...it's...NOT! The battle is partly won. Now on to to victory...and I'm still building a new Web site.

AND...the damaged flash drive with all of my writing files went in to the doctor today. They'll give me a prognosis by tomorrow afternoon. This whole experience has been so...course altering. I see it now as a new beginning. :)

September 1, Part I

Lycos took all of their pop-up ads and banners down from my restored Web site, when I finally got someone on the phone and they were able to return me to my paying Web master status. Whew! Now...back to building the NEW Web site! :D

September 1, Part II

(In response to a friend's comment) Yes! All the old stuff is back! After much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. I'm still planning to rebuild the site with another host, but now it's not as urgent, and I can take a little more time to indulge my creativity with the new site. :)

***

So now you're up to speed, and I'll add the latest chapter of the saga right here. Yesterday the folks at WeRecoverData.com called and said the data would all be recovered by September 9. I was so happy, I got a little weak in the knees. My dad's been handling that business for me, since their Dallas office is right down the road from his apartment. That news was the most exciting text message I've ever received! :)

So today, I'm back in business on the Internet. I posted the understandably delayed haiku #108 and #109. I also wrote #112, which popped in my head while showering one day this week.

At this point, assuming they mail the CD with recovered files on the 9th, I'm planning to get my big projects back on track starting September 14. I'll have the lost chapters of The Chronicles of Nightfire, Texas back...the second Nod story I was working on...The Penny Dreadful serial I was working on (Not even sure how many chapters I'd written)...as well as EVERYTHING else! I am SO excited! This is going to be a tremendous year to come!!!