That time again already? Honestly, it’s been a slow couple of months. Lot of tedious administrative stuff to do, and I’ve been grinding away in a rather unsatisfactory manner on the new book, but I’m trying not to worry too much about it and let it take as long as it takes. If there’s one lesson I’ve learned it’s that you won’t always feel happy with a first draft, but there’s nothing that can’t be fixed, revised, or for that matter cut or replaced when you’ve finished your first pass and you can see the shape of the whole thing in front of you. So try not to hyperventilate when a given day’s work doesn’t rock the world…
US and UK covers are out there in the world now. I’ve been signing a bunch of signature sheets for the US and I’ll probably be heading to the distributor in Oxford to sign a couple of thousand for the UK. Hard to believe that The Wisdom of Crowds is going to be getting out into the bookshops in less than 3 months. Seems only yesterday A Little Hatred was meeting the readers. I was looking forward to heading up to London in the middle of July for a first meeting in a year or two with the publisher, but sadly it’s been commuted to Zoom. Still hoping to be doing in person events in September, but the way things are with the pandemic at the moment nothing can be certain…
10 comments so far
Can’t wait for the Wisdom of Crowds!
I was wondering: are”the Devils” supposed to be the first book of a new series, or it’s a stand-alone?
Oh God, I’m so curious. What is the new project going to be all about? Is it going to be fantasy, sci-fi, horror? You can tell me, hey! Your secret is safe with me, honest.
Dearest Joe, would you care to confide the much-anticipated word count of the final trilogy book?
I’ll be happy if I can count the words.
Joe, really appreciate how up front you are about the highs and lows and the glacial mechanics of the writing process – an inspiration to us wannabe turd polishers everywhere.
I had you and Steven Pacey (and via him Shivers, Rikke, and Isern) in my living room last September on Zoom. That was great fun. Some more of that would be great. I’ll do one of those cheese and pineapple pieces on sticks party hedgehog foil-covered potato thingies this time, alright?
Hi Joe, thanks for the words of wisdom (seriously, no pun intended) about not stressing out over a single day’s events etc. Hits home in these stressful times, for sure.
Us readers likewise can’t really wrap our heads around the fact that this new trilogy is almost done with! Feels like yesterday that we were getting insanely hyped about A Little Hatred finally being announced on this website.
Fingers crossed on in-person events for you in the Fall but either way, will be sprinting (read: doing a mild jog and gripping my side, what with the COVID pounds we’ve put on recently) to the nearest bookstore in a few months time to see what new turns and twists you’re taking us on in Wisdom of Crowds.
Open the gates, bring back the demons. This is The First Law. Break it. This is the way. This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, not with a whimper, but with desire and fire.
Mr. Abercrombie,
It’s exciting to hear you’re working on a new book. I’ll have to read through your blog to see what I’ve missed since my last visit. Say one thing for writing, say revision is a sure thing.
I’ve just pre-ordered both the hardback and audio–Pacey does some great work with your work and your characters. September is my birthday month, so a signed copy will be handled by my wife to complete the collection.
That said, I hope to see you across the pond at some point and to have some books signed in person. But, as you’ve mentioned, the sword of Damocles is hovering over everyone’s plans due to the pandemic.
Now that the book is nearing release, how are the chances shaping up for doing talks/book signings?
El lunes me sumergiré en tu trilogía La primera ley, espero engancharme a tu mundo!!! Terminando de leer el segundo libro de Chung Kuo, solo hay dos traducidos al castellano. Saludos desde Canarias.
So excited to see you’re writing a new book. The First Law series is phenomenal and I can’t to see what you do in a high fantasy setting (Vampires, Werewolves and Elves). Can’t wait to hear about that so I have something to look forward to after Wisdom of Crowds.