Strangeways

1/19/08 EDIT - Check out the new and updated pre-order information page, with couponic convenience!

For those of you who've been reading along (and the preview isn't over just yet--we've got more pages of the opening chapter, and a few surprises after that), if you're interested in pre-ordering the book with your favorite Direct Market retailer, be sure to give them this information.

JAN083670 F STRANGEWAYS MURDER MOON GN

That's the Diamond code for the book, and it'll ensure that you get your copy when it ships at the end of March. I'm afraid you won't be able to depend on your store having it unless you pre-order. I'm a new writer, Luis and the other artists are unknown in the US, and while I have some fine guest artists (Guy Davis, Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá) and Steve Lieber providing the striking cover art, the original graphic novel is something of a risky format.

Well, it's less risky than doing an initial run of single issues believe it or not, as the classic model for indie books without an established audience goes something like: optimistically high numbers for the first issue, a substantial drop for the second and the third one really gets hit once retailers can adjust their orders down, having seen the actual audience. Diamond requires a minimum dollar value in order to be interested in carrying any particular book, and I don't blame them. It's significantly harder to hit that minimum based on the returns from single issues (but then it's just as hard to get folks to gamble on a higher price tag for the whole story instead of buying the book piecemeal in monthly form.)

Which is why I'm doing this preview in the first place. The hope is that you'll all be intrigued enough to keep reading once the preview runs out. Strangeways: Murder Moon tops out at 144 pages, of which say 25 or so will be in the preview.

I'll also be running advertisement in places like RUE MORGUE, as well as spreading out some ad dollars online. And if anyone's willing to listen, I'm willing to jaw at them regarding the book. I suspect there'll be a fair bit of that in the coming weeks, and then again when the book actually ships.

So, once again, for those interested, remember: JAN083670 F STRANGEWAYS MURDER MOON GN is your ticket to a shiny, brand-new copy of Strangeways: Murder Moon come March. I'll be putting together an order coupon for folks to cut out and print out, saving the troublesome step of memorizing some arcane string of numbers. Hey, if Warren Ellis can do it for his new books, I can be bothered to do it for mine.