June 23, 2006
Part I:
I received and signed and sent winging toward my publisher, two contracts for books #3 and #4 in the Derek Stillwater series. Yes, this seems ever so slightly preemptive, since book #1, The Devil's Pitchfork, hasn't hit the shelves yet, but due to a seemingly innocent question on the part of my editor, we ended up in contract negotiations, and voila, book contracts.

This is: A. Bad, because we had nothing to negotiate with since the first book had not hit the market and we had no track record to even reference in terms of sales, so it was pretty much a take it or leave it kind of thing.

B. Good, because it shows Midnight Ink has faith in the writer and the series and were willing to commit to books out till around the end of 2008 for a series that hadn't been reviewed or read or bought yet. That suggests they like the books and the author, which is a very good thing, and they doubled the advanced, which from a statistical point of view is kind of impressive, even though the advance probably won't clear what I spend on marketing.

C. Great, because, hey, a big part of this gig is just getting published regularly, and my previous books were undercut by lack of follow-through, and hopefully with a Derek Stillwater novel coming out every 9 to 12 months, we'll build up a readership.

Overall? Hey, I'm happy.


Part II:
As I've mentioned before, my oldest son Ian wants to be a writer. He's currently working on a lengthy tome that seems like X Men Go to Middle School, in which he, his brother and many of their friends are mutants with various "skills." My son's mutation makes him a "water bender," able to bend water to his own desires, as well as allowing him to breathe underwater. In one scene he and his fellow mutants are hanging out at the local pool and Ian is sitting at the bottom "meditating," when he starts coughing and choking. His fellow mutants ask him what's the matter. He shouts:

"Somebody peed in the pool!"

Hey, the boy's got talent.

Best,
Mark Terry