Ask the Authors (Fandemonium)

[Elizabeth Christensen]

Is this all that’s been announced so far? That only covers the next six weeks or so and nothing beyond. Does Fandemonium hope to continue with the same schedule?

I guess I’m hooked on these books and stories! I want to thank the authors again for producing such great entertainment. I can’t wait to find out what’s next!

I'll second Karen -- we definitely appreciate the interest! I can't speak for Fandemonium, but my understanding is that the schedule will continue in a pretty similar fashion. There are certainly new books in the works, but the specific titles and release schedule are probably still in flux.

(Beth can read minds, BTW).

Only when great ones think alike, naturally.

[KarenMiller]

Ooh! I just saw on the site that the SG-1 books are now also available to be shipped from the US and for a relatively reasonable price.

It is exciting! My first listing on Amazon.com -- watch me turning cartwheels!

I believe the plan is to have them available in regular US bookstores asap, which is also very exciting.

[Cinc1]

My book will be a bit later than the 15th, due to delays with cover approval. It's at the printer now, though, so should be ready pretty soon! I'm all excited ...

As far as the rest of the schedule is concerned, if you check out the website

http://www.stargatenovels.com

you'll see the schedule.

Thanks so much for your enthusiasm, I know all the authors really really appreciate it!

Thanks Karen!

The website is where I got the 15th for your book (and they still have Exogenesis listed for August, but we know that's been moved to October). Looking forward to more...

~ Mike

[Elite Anubis Guard]

The website isn't that reliable as it doesn't get updated much but considering how much pressure the folks at Fandemonium must be under due to running this extremely popular line, I think that's understandable lol.

I've also been wondering how you decide which way to structure your stories. I've been reading Halycon and it felt like an omnibus with 3 different stories while others have been more linear for the most part but with underlying connections. I was wondering just how you decided.

Ya know, it's wierd. I write myself, *nods at signature* and even when I'm watching TV or reading, I can't help but wonder how and why the authors did this or that even when I write scripts myself. Lol wierd.

[Cinc1]

It is exciting! My first listing on Amazon.com -- watch me turning cartwheels!

I believe the plan is to have them available in regular US bookstores asap, which is also very exciting.

I’m glad to hear that the books should soon be in wider distribution – the more outlets the better!

For myself, I think I’ll keep ordering them direct from the publisher. I kind of like the idea of all the money going to Fandemonium instead of half going to a distributor. Just my small way of saying thanks for such a fantastic product.

~ Mike

[KarenMiller]

I’m glad to hear that the books should soon be in wider distribution – the more outlets the better!

For myself, I think I’ll keep ordering them direct from the publisher. I kind of like the idea of all the money going to Fandemonium instead of half going to a distributor. Just my small way of saying thanks for such a fantastic product.

~ Mike

Wow. That's really terrific, a great vote of confidence. Thanks.

I can also say that Alliances is now at the printer and will be available in early Oct. A very slight delay, but there was a hold up with the cover approval.

Wheee! I'm getting all hippy hoppy now ...

[Gate Geek]

I’m glad to hear that the books should soon be in wider distribution – the more outlets the better!

For myself, I think I’ll keep ordering them direct from the publisher. I kind of like the idea of all the money going to Fandemonium instead of half going to a distributor. Just my small way of saying thanks for such a fantastic product.

~ Mike

I'm with you on that one Cinc1! I order everything direct from Fandemonium. They truly are an absolute pleasure to do business with.

KarenMiller - Glad to hear that Alliances is at the printers!
With your book now being available in early October, do you know if it will push back the release of Exogenesis? I hope not!!! I need lots of reading material!!

[KarenMiller]

KarenMiller - Glad to hear that Alliances is at the printers!
With your book now being available in early October, do you know if it will push back the release of Exogenesis? I hope not!!! I need lots of reading material!!

I'm not aware of any delay there, each project is an individual case, with its own peculiar set of potential hiccups.

Sonny and Beth will have a better idea, though.

[sonny1]

Thanks everyone for the interest, without you guys we wouldn't be doing this, so it is much appreciated. It's also great that so many of you are purchasing from Fandemonium, as the distribution costs can be quite high.

Answering several questions simultaneously, we each of us approach the stories as we see fit. There’s no one hard and fast rule about our narrative style. I've only written one novel to date that uses a linear narrative, and that was Ark Ship. All my Stargate titles have action going on in two, three or even four places simultaneously. This is particularly true of The Chosen, more so in Exogenesis (due out, as far as we currently know, toward the end of October). In Exogenesis, what starts out as a simple underwater recovery trip sparks events that quickly develop three, then four organically linked plot threads. By that I mean the stories don’t simply run parallel to one another. Every piece of action that takes place in one thread has a profound ripple effect (or more accurately, a tidal wave effect) on the other plot threads, so that the stories, although taking place in different locations and with different characters, are constantly together. That’s commonly seen in Stargate scripts. However, it’s just one technique among many. There is no right or wrong way to execute a story; it’s just whatever works best for that story. Exogenesis *required* multiple plot threads to work. The Stargate novel I’m currently working on is far more linear, because the overall story is non linear. I know that sounds like a contradiction, hence the title (I can’t reveal that because MGM have yet to approve it), but it comes down to what works for each story and each writers’ narrative style. And since the writers are such a diverse bunch, you'll see a different style used for each title. The only 'rules', aside from basic novel writing rules, are that we stick to canon or get MGM approval to move in directions that expand on canon (Furlings and Quetzalcoatl in City of the Gods).

I, for one, think this is the best part, because it allows us as writers to have fun and be creative, and gives readers a wider range of styles to enjoy rather than a standardized and ulitmately, predictable format.

Sonny

[sonny1]

Hi all,

I've just added the prologue and first chapter of Stargate Atlantis Exogenesis to my website (click on my addie below)

I was a guest at a Brisbane convention over the weekend, and had the great pleasure of spending time with Keir Dullea ('Open the pod bay doors, Hal') and Gary Lockwood (who was also in the pilot of Star Trek). On Sunday night we all went off to see a digitally remastered screening of 2001 A Space Odyssey. Of the interesting conversations we had - okay, I'll be honest, it was more me sitting in fascination while they swapped stories about their incredible lives - Gary and Keir both mentioned something that to me is at the very heart of SF: the influence that it can have on people's lives. They have met many people in the 38 years since 2001 was released, whose lives were so profoundly influenced by the movie that they altered their career choices. At least two became astronauts.
Art inspiring life, indeed.
If you haven't seen 2001, go out and hire the DVD. It is still a quasi-religious experience even after all this time.

[Elizabeth Christensen]

I've just added the prologue and first chapter of Stargate Atlantis Exogenesis to my website (click on my addie below)

And because I'm lazy, I swiped the HTML from Sonny's site, and thus the excerpt from Exo is up on my site as well. My husband (who actually does most of the webmaster work) dubbed it "Exocerpt." Because we're weird like that.

At long last, the book's release isn't far off ...

[sonny1]

Thank you Beth!

My own fault. I should know not to be drinking diet coke when reading one of your posts. James is now responsible for coke up the nose and across my keyboard. You do realise that Exocerpt is now the new title of my thesis?
I swear, I'm gonna get kicked out of uni.

Sonny

And because I'm lazy, I swiped the HTML from Sonny's site, and thus the excerpt from Exo is up on my site as well. My husband (who actually does most of the webmaster work) dubbed it "Exocerpt." Because we're weird like that.

At long last, the book's release isn't far off ...

[Gate Geek]

SQUEE!!!! Excellent "exocerpt" of Exogenesis Sonny and Elizabeth. OMG! I want the book NOW!! The prologue has me very intrigued and now I'm desperate to see how this story unfolds! You guys rock.

Can't wait till its published!!!

[Elite Anubis Guard]

That certainly sounds interesting. Can't wait.

[Elizabeth Christensen]

Thank you Beth!

My own fault. I should know not to be drinking diet coke when reading one of your posts. James is now responsible for coke up the nose and across my keyboard. You do realise that Exocerpt is now the new title of my thesis?
I swear, I'm gonna get kicked out of uni.

Sonny

<snicker> We aim to please. James has been pretty smug ever since I called him over to read the last couple of posts.

He was also pleased to see that the exocerpt rated a "squee." (Of course, so was I; thanks, GG!)

Somebody mentioned somewhere (in the Halcyon thread, maybe?) being bummed out that there weren't always preview excerpts of upcoming books in the current books. The (likely) reason for that is the fact that a manuscript isn't fully complete until it's been vetted by MGM, and those approvals don't always happen all that far in advance. And it takes time to set everything up for printing.

The manuscript for Exo just got MGM's thumbs-up fairly recently, hence we were able to post the prologue and first chapter, but I'm guessing it wasn't early enough to slip into the back of Alliances. <shrug> The constraints of the business.