I got the red-inked manuscript for book two back today, along with five pages of notes from Janet Blagg, super-editor extraordinaire. And what did I find tucked in the padded envelope with this slab of work? A pristine, new, 3cm thick, real live, dead-set gorgeous copy of Hal Spacejock! 393 pages of my blood, sweat and tears, printed on natural, recyclable paper from wood grown in sustainable forests and lovingly bound in a cover designed by Adrienne Zuvela using Les Petersen's terrific artwork.
This isn't a wishy-washy tome of slender dimensions, it's a thud-worthy novel of hand-to-hand combat proportions. If I was stuck in the trenches, I'd want a couple of these protecting MY vitals from stray bullets, I can tell you. Hopefully the vast majority of the book-buying public will agree, and with a bit of luck Hal Spacejock will hit the counters in army surplus stores across the nation. Hey, if I had to light a cooking fire in a hurry, I know what I'd choose!
Simon Haynes is the author of the Hal Spacejock and Hal Junior series (Amazon / Smashwords / other formats)
3 comments:
That's great, Simon. I can imagine how excited you are. I'm still some months away from getting a physical copy of my novel in my grubby little hands....
Somehow, holding the actual book makes it all seem true. I've had a few setbacks over the years with good old Hal, so scepticism was the order of the day. Publisher falling over, legal hassles, some other book with identical content - I could imagine any or all of them popping out of nowhere and destroying my dream at the last minute.
Never mind, it's one step closer now... There's even a time and place for the launch ;-)
I can only imagine. Right now, my best manuscript is in the hands of an agent so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Some day I hope to be holding my own.
Enjoy the moment. You earned it!
-- F
Post a Comment