Wildside press just sent me the proof for the reissue of my novel Central Heat. Last I heard, it was due to come out this month, although I suspect it may be February. For now, I'll be spending my time reading the proof rather than working on Time and the Soldier.
For this reissue, I made some significant changes from the version that was published by Ace Books. More accurately, I returned the novel to its original, brilliant form, which Ace insisted on changing. They cut it a bit for length, and they wanted me to tell the story in a more linear fashion. Originally, it jumped back and forth in time, but Ace said that would confuse readers. Now it jumps back and forth again.
I also created a cover for the reissue and sent that to Wildside, but I haven't heard if they plan to use that or if they're coming up with one of their own. Once I have the final cover, whatever that is, I'll replace the simple Web page in the link above with one that includes the original Ace cover and the new Wildside one (and maybe my proposed one, too), along with a couple of chapters from the book.
4 comments:
David,
It's a rare thing indeed for an author to get the opportunity to release a director's cut. Very, very cool. I can't wait to see the finished product!
Chris,
It's been nice to be able to do this via Wildside. I restored a few things on my previous issues, but those were fairly small. I also got the chance to correct the wording here and there. This is the first case where the changes are major.
The Ace editor may well have been write to insist that I redo the story in chronological order. I wasn't happy about that, but the author isn't always the best judge of such things. Too close to the story and knows it too well.
Put me down for a pre-order, David. Great premise.
btw, read more on your day job. Had similar experiences, though I've lost jobs during both presidential terms. Your quote, "During my months of unemployment, I accomplished surprisingly little." rang true. When I was between, it was difficult to write knowing I wasn't pulling my share.
Looking forward to seeing the new cover of Central Heat soon. Can I order a signed copy somehow?
John,
Thanks. I don't know when it will show up on Amazon or the Wildside Books site. I suppose I could help by finishing reading the proof. (Jeez! Work, work, work!)
There isn't any way to order a signed copy that I know of. The simplest way might be for you to send me an address, and then I could mail you a signed sticky label to put in the book. Not as real looking as an actual autograph, but it is one way of doing it.
When I first started writing seriously, I was working at a demanding job, doing most of the childcare for a toddler, and exercising regularly. I still wrote vast quantities. When I was unemployed, with no duties other than job hunting, I wrote nothing. It's very sad in retrospect.
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