April 26, 2020
Second Edition
Thick As Thieves came out a few years ago. I’m rather fond of that one. Crime and fantasy are not strangers. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser met during a robbery. Conan’s rap sheet would fill an entire scroll. Heists instigated a number of his adventures. Even Bilbo acted the burglar. There are plenty more examples. But I may have added a novel element by filtering a sword-and-sorcery story through the sensibilities of Elmore Leonard. I hope I succeeded.
The reason I bring this up, is that the rights have reverted. I hadn’t been aware that the publisher closed up shop. Other writers received the notice, officially returning publishing rights. Perhaps the message directed to me fell afoul of the Spam filter. Perhaps it went to a defunct email address. Perhaps I inadvertently deleted it. I don’t know. The point is, Thick As Thieves is mine once more and I’ve decided to put it out myself.
This, of course, means work. I’ve already commissioned a cover. I hope you’ll like it. Once I see the final version I might provide an advance peek. I’ve got to format the book for print and digital in multiple formats. I’m not looking forward to that, though I’ve taken the initial steps. We’ll see how well I comprehend instructional books and videos. Then there’s marketing, my old nemesis. Just thinking about it makes me reconsider, makes me want to shop it around again. But, no. I shall stay resolute, see this thing through myself. So (fingers crossed) look out for the second edition of Thick As Thieves sometime in May.