I know we live in a fun filled world where facts are liquid and all news is fake, but we don’t really. Facts are facts and news stories can be sourced for accuracy. Normally this would apply to politics but, apparently, my newsletters are fair game too. So, I’m going to take a minute to try and set some records straight.
Try. I’m not sure how successful I’ll be. But one must try, mustn’t one?
For those who follow me on social media, the previous rant makes perfect sense. For those who don’t, context clues should help you follow along. However, some background will help either way. Over the last couple of weeks I have been noting how Azoth Khem Publishing has been reworking and repackaging my books. Part of their motivation has come from the fact major film studios have started sniffing around. This is an understandable development. In the six years since book one of the original trilogy was released it has been a steady seller, released in multiple markets, and has small (but mighty) fan clubs in England, Germany, and Japan. There’s also a nice lady in India who thinks it’s the bomb. But, circling back to the film companies, they have been nice enough to provide written critiques and summaries for us to use.
And that led to a unique problem. Their vision of what it should be was better than what the book actually was. As noted by the sales and the fans, it didn’t suck, but it could go to the next level. And now, after months of hard work, heavy drinking, and loud swearing, we’re there. The Brittle Riders: Book One (Second Edition) is out and it’s amazing. With brand new art by Ian Bristow, forty some additional pages, and edits so tight you could bounce quarters off them.
However, and this is why we can’t have nice things, to some people all of this proved (PROVED I TELL YOU) nefarious things were afoot.
Here’s a link to the reviews and comments in question. So, away we go.
- Just because someone famous said something nice about the book doesn’t mean they stole it, own the copyright, or anything else. It just means they liked the book.
- Shopping for a film deal, and even generating initial interest, is not the same as having someone cut a check for millions of dollars. We’re all still eating Ramen over here.
- Yes, we are updating our ISBNs. We are doing this to better track each second edition as it comes out. This is not some weird tax scam. I don’t even know how that would work and am sure I’d rather not find out.
- And, finally, for the kazillionth time, the reason I’m not shopping SPLCE: HIT BIT TECHNOLOGY is because it’s not mine to shop. It’s owned, one hundred percent, by ©Watchdog Entertainment®, LLC. They hired me to write a script and a book, and I did that. If you’ll allow me a moment of hubris, I think I did a hell of a job. That book has garnered awards and killer reviews from all around the world. But, just because I did my job well doesn’t give me any extra rights. That’s not how anything works.
Hopefully this straightens things out. If not, it will provide an easy to point to article once its gets posted on my blog. That way there can be no questions. It will be public and set in stone. After that I got nothing.
Until next week, stay safe and sane.
