The Master of Verona

FALCONER release date - Mach II

When I reported that Amazon was pre-ordering VOICE OF THE FALCONER for this Fall, I said that the date would change. Well, it has.

The official release date for FALCONER is June 28, 2009.

It's amusing that I learn this not from St. Martin's Press, but from Amazon.com. By the by, you can no longer pre-order the novel (which makes me wonder what happens to all the orders already placed?), only sign up for an e-mail.

Sorry to all the folks who got excited at a November release date, but I did warn you. The book is finished and complete but unedited, and lacking art and internals, to say nothing of ARCs and advance plugs. Those things take about a year, I'm told, so the new date is likely to be the right one. We'll see.

On a side note, I got back from seeing The Dark Knight on Saturday to find a package from SMP containing a mock-up of the paperback cover for THE MASTER OF VERONA. It's just lovely. I especially like the spine, which on the hardcover was nearly illegible. The art department has recified that error, and now the title sings a siren song from the stacks.

More soon, I promise. There's a great deal of wonderful nonsense in my life. The only trouble is that, with a two year-old son and a newborn daughter, any time I have to write is spent, you know - writing. There's very little of my brain left over for blogging. But, like the Cylons, I have a plan... 

Wooster article

I think I forgot to put this up when it was posted. I went over to Wooster, OH to do a little stage combat workshop, as well as a book-signing and lecture on acting professionally. While there, I did an interview, and a month later it was posted on the Wooster site. Voila.

AuthorBuzz #10 - Final Winner!

And the final winner in the AuthorBuzz contest is:

Melody C*******r in Spokane Valley, WA!

Congratulations all. Some books are en route, the rest leave within the next 24 hours.

Thank you, every one, for participating in the give-away. For those who did not win, I hope you'll consider picking up THE MASTER OF VERONA in your local bookstore. Cheers all, and have a wonderful holiday.

DB

AuthorBuzz #9 - The Penultimate Winner

The ninth winner of the AuthorBuzz/Dear Reader promotional giveaway of THE MASTER OF VERONA is:

Angela B***t in Green Valley, AZ!

Congratulations, Angela. If there's any special dedication, let me know before I send it off tomorrow.

DB

AuthorBuzz #8 - Eighth Winner

The eighth winner of the AuthorBuzz/Dear Reader promotional giveaway of THE MASTER OF VERONA is:

P. H***n in NJ!

Congratulations, P. If there's any special dedication, let me know today before I send it off.

Two to go!

AuthorBuzz #6 & 7 - More Winners

Okay, sorry AuthorBuzz readers – I took a personal day yesterday. Jan had a matinee of Romeo & Juliet, so I had Dash all day. Then, last night when I told myself I was going to post the AuthorBuzz results, I got distracted by the prescreener for the final two episodes of Dexter (yes, I know how it ends!).

So today is a two-fer:

Phyllis S*******l in

Iowa

Linda R*****n in NY

Ladies, please let me know if there’s a personal note you would like. Everybody, thanks for playing, and more tomorrow! Got three left to give away!

DB 

MJ Rose - Hand Yelling MV

MJ Rose is a bestselling author and the genius behind AuthorBuzz. She was excited enough about THE MASTER OF VERONA to put a post up at her blog, Buzz, Balls, & Hype. She's one of the industry's major players, and you can only imagine how gratified I am to have her good opinion.

AuthorBuzz #5 - Fifth Winner

The fifth winner of the AuthorBuzz/Dear Reader promotional giveaway of THE MASTER OF VERONA is:

N. C*****s in SF!

Congratulations, N. If there's any special dedication, let me know today before I send it off.

There will be a brief break in the contest for weekend festivities. One of the two theatre companies I am an official member of is partaking of a fundraiser tomorrow night, and I am listed as a director for some of the entertainment. In this instance, I'm a little allergic to the term (borrowing a phrase from my friend Steve Pickering, who is acting in the pieces), because it's Steve's show and I'm just an outside eye. Oh, and I suggested two of the short pieces he's going to perform, but that's only because he and I share similar tastes in sick and twisted humor.

So, there will be other posts this weekend that I can prefab, then on Monday I will resume the drawings. Cheers!

DB

AuthorBuzz #4 - Fourth Winner

The fourth winner of the AuthorBuzz/Dear Reader promotional giveaway of THE MASTER OF VERONA is:

Scott A****o in VT!

Congratulations, Scott. If there's any special dedication, let me know today before I send it off.

Yesterday I finished Chapter 11 of FORTUNE'S FOOL, and did a little editing on VOICE OF THE FALCONER (books 3 and 2, respectively). Then, after putting Dash to bed, Jan and I watched the final three episodes of Heroes (thank you TiVO). They're more enjoyable when watched back to back - like a good novel, there are several storylines running alongside each other. But sometimes an hour-long format isn't the greatest delivery system. Watching three in a row is the best way to get invested.

The writing often makes me cringe (Peter can walk thru walls and melt metal - why is he straining to tear off a safe door he could manage much more easily?), but the overall fun of the show keeps me coming back. If only they could hire Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, and Brian Michael Bendis to pen episodes, this show would rule.

Meanwhile, my treadmill movie this morning was After The Thin Man. Now there's great dialogue!

Cheers, and more tomorrow.

DB

AuthorBuzz #3 - Third Winner

The third winner of the AuthorBuzz/Dear Reader promotional giveaway of THE MASTER OF VERONA is:

AnneMarie D*R***r

Congratulations, AnneMarie. If there's any special dedication, let me know today before I send it off.

Meanwhile...

It's been a long time since I had a solid 6,000+ word day. But today was one of those days. I finished Chapter 10 of Fortune's Fool and moved on to Chapter 11, most of which is already done (non-linear writing makes for headaches, and a lot of fill-in-the-blanks later, but you gotta go where the words lead you).

I tend to create 2,000-4,000 words in an average writing day. My best was during the first draft of THE MASTER OF VERONA, when words were coming faster than I could type and I had a week of 10,000 word days. But that was seven years ago, before Dash, and before the complete fragmenting of my brain.

Anyway, more books to give away tomorrow! (and tomorrow, and tomorrow)

DB