Stone of Remembrance

February, 2008

Welcome to the first issue of my mailing list newsletter for 2008, intended to provide you with information about my work, my website www.walterhunt.com, and my activities and appearances.

Books Update

The Dark Wing is now in its fourth printing in paperback.

It has also appeared in Russian language and is available at Ozon and Books.ru. Thanks to vorchun for passing this information on to me.

The Dark Wing is now out in Taschenbuch-Format (paperback) in Germany under the title “Die Dunkle Schwinge”, and can be ordered from amazon.de.

The Dark Path is now in its second printing in paperback.

The Dark Path is now out in Taschenbuch-Format (paperback) in Germany under the title “Der Dunkle Pfad”, and can be preordered from amazon.de.

The Dark Ascent is now out in mass-market paperback.

The Dark Ascent is now out in Taschenbuch-Format (paperback) in Germany under the title “Der Dunkle Stern”, and can be ordered from amazon.de.

The Dark Crusade is now out in mass-market paperback.

The Dark Crusade is now out in Taschenbuch-Format (paperback) in Germany under the title “Der Dunkle Kreuzzug”. It can be ordered from amazon.de.

A Song In Stone will appear in hardcover in November 2008.

No ordering info yet.

Stone of Remembrance

My weblog Stone of Remembrance is going strong. You don’t need to register to offer comment, but due to recent spamming I’ve enabled moderation on the blog, so all comments must be approved before they appear. I cordially invite all of you to join, comment, and participate.

I’m looking into the possibility of releasing a podcast version of Sword and Sun, but that project is in a preliminary stage. I’ll keep you informed of progress through the newsletter and on the blog.

My blog also shows the current top ten games in my Boardgamegeek collection; I’ve gone through the process of entering it into the Geek – process of entering it into the Geek – and with over 500 games entered we’re still way short.

I’ve not had a chance to blog much recently, but hope to rememdy that soon – lots of commitments in my life right now.

Projects in the Dark Wing Universe

We’re still on hiatus, and my creative energies have been focused elsewhere. Still, I appreciate the mail I receive – especially when folks say, “where’s the next book?” I have to answer that it’s in the hands of Tor Books to decide, but that I’ve not abandoned it. Thank you for all of your support and input.

New Writing Projects

“A Song In Stone”, my new novel to be published in November 2008, begins with a premise that was suggested by the guide who showed me Rosslyn Chapel. This structure, a confection of sculpture and artistry, is an unfinished part of a larger church originally built in the fifteenth century. It has fascinated historians and mystics for centuries; it is even the final location in “The DaVinci Code”. When my guide showed it to me, he pointed to a part of the interior and told me that the sculpture there was a complex, undecoded piece of music. The light went on . . . and now it’s a novel. The majority of the book is set in Middle Ages France and Spain, and (among other things) reveals the linkage between Gothic architecture and polyphonic music. The blurb hasn’t been written and the editing for publication hasn’t begun, but I believe that it is a significant piece of writing for me, worthy of my readers.

A Song In Stone is finished and I will have advance reading copies soon. Along with the next book (see “Also . . .” below) there may be more possiblities for this

I hope you’ll enjoy this book as much as I did, and that it will find a place on your shelf with my other work. I’ve been putting support material on the blog under the title “A Song In Stone”.

Also . . .

I will also be writing a shared-world work for hire for WotC to be published in 2009. This book is a Gothic horror novel set in Paris in 1885 and will be lots of fun to write. I’ve finished eight chapters so far. Last newsletter I mentioned Sigmund Freud as being in the background – right now I’m learning all about Montmartre and Aristide Bruant. And – though it isn’t coming as a surprise – I can’t read French.

The Colonial Project

Currently on hiatus. More when I know it.

Upcoming Appearances

2008

I will be at Boskone in Boston, MA, February 15-17, 2008. David Weber will be the author guest of honor.

I will be in Minnesota to participate in a week-long seminar at a local high school, concentrating on alternate history (and learning to write well!) and will thus be in attendance at Marscon in Bloomington, MN, February 29 – March 2, 2008. This is my fifth visit to this very fun con. Naomi Kritzer will be the author guest of honor.

I have been invited to the following conventions:

• Lunacon in March
• Balticon in May
• BayCon in May
• Hypericon in June

I do not expect to be at Lunacon, and have declined Hypericon (with regrets, as it was a personal invitation). I haven’t decided my plans for Memorial Day yet but will have done so by the next newsletter.

Denver has won the right to host the 2008 Worldcon. It will take place August 6-10, 2008 at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in Denver. We’ve bought our memberships already and look forward to our first visit to Colorado.

2009

I will be the Author Guest of Honor at Arisia in January 2009. I’m already up on the 2009 Arisia website – I’m really looking forward to it.

I will be the International Guest of Honor at Dortcon in Dortmund, Germany in March 2009. This invitation was something of a surprise, but since my books are out in German (and I speak the language), it should be a good con for me. Hope some of my German fans (which I do seem to have!) will come.

Montréal has won the 2009 bid during the Worldcon in Yokahama. We will be in attendance, as we presupported the bid.

Worldcon Bids

I need to sell a lot of books to be able to attend the proposed Australia Worldcon in 2010, but would really like to go. After the 2007 Worldcon this bid will step it up, and there’ll be some competition on planet. We’ll see.

According to Chaz Baden’s page there’s only one announced bid for 2011 – Seattle – and only one for 2012, Chicago (as I reported on my blog a couple of months ago.) At LA Con I recall seeing a table for a Worldcon in Washington, DC for 2010 or later, but can’t find any information on it.

Recent Travels

I was at Arisia 2008 and had a great time visiting with friends, doing panels, and talking books and writing. Arisia also hosted a CHIP (CHild Identification Program), sponsored by the Massachusetts Grand Lodge of Masons and directed by the able Mr. Ross Schacher, my friend and Masonic Brother. It was a very good deed and was good for public relations for the Masons – but it was done out of a sense of service.

Website Updates

I will have an excerpt from A Song In Stone up soon on the web site. Promise.

Yahoo Mailing List

Some local fans have set up a Yahoo mailing list for my writing. As I say at public appearances – you can ask any question you like (just be prepared for me to answer as I please.) I hope you’ll join the list and be a part of an interactive discussion.

What I’m Reading

I read the Economist, a weekly news magazine. You should too.

As reported earlier, I’ve just joined the jury for the Philip K. Dick Award, which makes me a Dick Judge. So I’ll be reading quite a lot over the next several months.

Final Thoughts

Thanks to everyone for their continued encouragement and support. Having a chance to write professionally means I get to do what I truly love, and I hope you will always feel that your confidence in me is well-placed. Keep reading, and keep in touch.

Feel free to forward this to anyone who might be interested.

Content © 2008, Walter H. Hunt.