March 3rd, 2000

March 3, 2000

Posted at 6:30 PM by Jack Chalker

Not as much to report this cycle. They didn’t send me a useable cover for GHOST OF THE WELL OF SOULS so I can’t post it, but you should look for it the end of this month. It wraps the saga started in SEA IS FULL OF STARS and also most likely the Well World saga at Del Rey, which has now taken MIDNIGHT AT THE WELL OF SOULS out of print after 23 straight years (and it paid royalties every year!) and has indicated it has no more interest in it or anything else by me, period. I suspect this will last until there’s a change of management there. They have also indicated that I must get the last book on the old contract to them by April 1 or forget it, and they can do that one, so I’m working hard. I hope I make it. MOREAU FACTOR has gone back to press 3 times to fill orders (they printed very, very few, not enough to fill bookstore orders!) but they’re not impressed. It’s a sad end to a great relationship. We DO hope to get most of the old stuff back in print. Some will be repackaged and sold by other publishers, and the rest will most likely go the Instant Print/Lightning Print route, where you won’t see them on the stands but they will be available as a special order in trade paperback format from any bookstore, brick and mortar or online. One way or another we’ll have MIDNIGHT up again in a year, promise.

In the meantime, we got the jacket—yes, jacket—for Volume I of the Three Kings from Baen. It’s a nice Eggleton. Whether we’ll be doing more hardcovers will depend on how this sells, but if you want a hardcover of the 3 KINGS advance order it as soon as you can, even right now. I don’t think they are doing many—it’s an experiment. They will, of course, do the book later in mass market. So far I have a great relationship with Baen as a company and it’s run by old friends, but sales will still tell the story. That’s your part of the job. The hb price is very reasonable—$22 US, $32.50 CDN.

Our convention schedule for 2000 is firming up. Not many, and no Guest of Honor invites, but we will be at Balticon in Baltimore Easter weekend, at Midwestcon in Cincinatti the end of June, at Rivercon (the last one) the end of July in Louisville, at the World SF Convention in Chicago over Labor Day weekend, and Philcon in Philadelphia in November. Others may be added as time and money permits.

My thanks to all those who sent best wishes when my wife was hospitalized with severe viral pneumonia. We almost lost her, but she is now home and regaining strength and free of the disease itself. Again, thanks for the cards and email. jlc

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