Online Stores: Chance for the Future | Hope for Tomorrow | Faith in the Past


This Issue: Online Community | Events | Online Stores | Chance for the Future | Hope for Tomorrow | Faith in the Past | Upcoming Projects

 

November 3 , 2002

When one owns a rear wheel drive car during a snowy Colorado winter, one finds oneself not going as many places as one might normally go. Such is my experience this weekend. And the extra time indoors has given me quite the opportunity to do some things that I should be doing as it is. So this month's Update is packed with quite a bit of news.

First off, the really big news: The trade paperback edition of Faith in the Past is out. While it hasn't yet been widely released to bookstores or online retailers, it is available online from the publisher. Click here to order your copy today.

The other big news: Well, you'll just have to keep on reading. Won't you?

 

Chance Encounters | iU Sci-Fi & Fantasy Community | PaulCarhart.com

Chance Encounters is dead. Long live Chance Encounters.

The online author community that this newsletter derived its name from is no more. While I believe it is still up and able to be accessed, the community's host has stated in no uncertain terms that it will come down sometime after November 1 and it certainly will no longer be supported on a technical basis after that point.

However, all relevent content from that community has been moved to the new iU Sci-Fi & Fantasy Community. I've also recently written several new articles that have gone up at that community as well, so there's much content to sift through. Plus, there's discussion boards where you can start your own threads and you can even participate in discussions about each article. Please, stop on by. I'd love to make you a part of it.

In addition to most of the articles that I had posted at Chance Encounters, some new articles written specifically for this community include:

Exploring Amazing Worlds

Sci-Fi Goes Mainstream?

Science Fiction and Fantasy

Using Time Travel as a Storytelling Device

Expect new articles with increased frequency. The new community's posting process is much easier and I've been writing on my Palm now, so it's mostly a matter of copying and pasting (with a little spell check done in between) to get new articles up.

You may have also noticed the new website design at www.paulcarhart.com. If you haven't yet been to the new site, I encourage you to check it out. I've figured out a way to feature all three Fairlight books together. I've also got a WIP (works in progress) sidebar and a section for features at the bottom. I'm also utilizing a pop-up window navigational model that I developed to get you to where you need to go as quickly as possible without ever leaving the main author page. I hope you like it. I do.

 

Events

Now that the release dates for the various editions of FITP have been more or less solidified, I'm finally getting around to lining up some events. I've got some interest from an independent bookseller in town and I'm still talking to others.

While this may not qualify as an event or signing in the strict sense, I thought I would mention that I have been selected to be a volunteer at the next Pikes Peak Writers Conference here in Colorado Springs. It's a great opportunity for me to learn more as well as rub elbows with some great talent. I strongly encourage any writers to attend the conference. I attended the conference last year and my "wrap up" article can be found in the Article Library at the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Community.

More on both issues later.

 

Online Stores

New products have arrived:
3" x 5" vinyl stickers are now available for all three books. These stickers are perfect for any ocassion. They're printed using water and UV resistant inks, which means no fading in the sun or bleeding in the rain. Retro lunch boxes for all three books have also been added just for fun. And, to reflect the colder season, ski caps for each book have also been added to the stores.

And don't forget the fleece pull-over jackets and fleece vests that were recently added for each store. They'll make perfect Christmas gifts!

CFTF Online Store: http://www.cafepress.com/cftf_store
HFT Online Store: http://www.cafepress.com/cftf_store
FITP Online Store: http://www.cafepress.com/cftf_store

Don't forget to stop by the new Faith in the Past store!
To coincide with the upcoming release of Faith in the Past (see below), there's now a new FITP online store, which features artwork and logos from the upcoming third book in the series. This is the first place you'll be able to see how it all fits in with the other two books and the only place you can get the coolest wall clock ever to be created by man (in my humble opinion). I've got one in my office! Don't you want one too?

There are now online stores for each Fairlight book. Some products from the three stores overlap (caps, shirts, etc.), but others do not so make sure you check out all of the stores before making all of your buying decisions. Each store also includes links to the other stores in the introductory paragraph and the shopping carts are shared. So buy what you want from the different stores as you go and check out only once.

What's that? You want to visit the FITP Online Store? Then click here!

Click to order now!
UPDATE: THIS CLOCK IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

 

Chance for the Future & Hope for Tomorrow

Sometimes a character just won't die...
If you've been missing Nik Tavarone after reading Hope for Tomorrow, never fear. He's back in the new novel, Faith in the Past. He even made it onto the cover of the new book! Not only do we get to see how he and Chance met for the first time in that book, but there's also an awful lot of Nik to go around this holiday season.

Saint Nik
To celebrate the season, the release of Faith in the Past and just the plain and simple fact that there's a cool new website at www.paulcarhart.com, a brand new short story featuring Nik Tavarone and Faith will debut on my website on December 2, 2002. The story is called Saint Nik. It has a holiday theme and takes place right after the events in Faith in the Past. This story has never been revealed and will be exclusive to my website. I hope you'll come back by for a read. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Riot Act
Also, Riot Act, another short story featuring Nik Tavarone, will be featured in an upcoming anthology of sci-fi and fantasy short fiction. The title and cover art are still being finalized. Although each contributing author has done his or her best to make sure the stories have been edited for content, the current status of the project is that it is going through one more editor in its compiled state before going to the publisher.

Riot Act tells the story of Nik's internment in a cleansing camp and the events that ultimately lead him to join up with Chance and the resistance. Unlike Taking Chances, which was made into a booklet and distributed at my author events and signings, Riot Act has not yet been made available to my readers. It'll be exclusive to this collection, so you'll want to get yourself a copy of this anthology when it releases. You'll also be able to check out a lot of other great modern speculative fiction voices at the same time. I'm excited about this opportunity to be included with many of my peers in this collection.

 

Faith in the Past

Get your copy today!
The trade paperback edition of Faith in the Past is now available directly from the publisher's website. And guess what? The cover price is one dollar less than the other two books! Only $19.95! I couldn't have been more surprised or pleased by that news.

Special Hardcover Collectors Edition of Faith in the Past
The wide release of Faith in the Past will be available in trade paperback format, as are the other two Fairlight novels. Currently this paperback version is available only from the publisher but it should hit the other online retailers over the next two or three weeks.

However, a special hardcover Collectors Edition will also be available exclusively through the publisher. I'll likely have a few copies to sign as well. The cover price of the hardcover Collectors Edition wll be $29.95. I'm expecting the hardcover edition of the book to be available online in the first week of December. While I know it's close, if you plan now and order as soon as it's available, I believe it may still arrive in time for Christmas.

A Special Thanks...
To all of you who wrote such nice things about me and my work. I really appreciated all the kind words. Some of it was originally to find its way onto the book jacket for the hardcover release of FITP. Unfortunately, it was decided that additional synopsis copy should go there instead. So readers quotes won't be on the hardcover edition of the book. I say this not to discourage you from purchasing a hardcover edition but I don't want you to buy one expecting your quote to be there and then not find it there. Still, all is not lost. I've included a lot of what was sent to me on the website under "Press & Reviews" in the top nav bar on the new homepage.

And Another Thing...
Although I haven't yet fully looked into it, I'm also considering setting up my own online book store at PaulCarhart.com so I can sign books from my own stock and get them out to my readers in one fell swoop. In the past, the only way I've been able to do this (other than through book signings) is to have readers buy their book somewhere, pay to ship it to me so I can sign it and then pay to have it shipped back to them. What a hassle! So I'm looking into some alternatives, especially with the hardcover version of FITP on the way. Whatever happens, you'll hear about it here first.

ISBNs for each version of the book are as follows:

Faith in the Past Wide Release Trade Paperback Edition ISBN: 0-595-25385-7
Faith in the Past Hardcover Collectors Edition ISBN: 0-595-65140-2

Website
The new site is up and running. I'm quite pleased with how everything has been compressed into one page. It's got a sort of a newsmag feel to it, but I'm okay with that. The info is there and easily updated. Instead of having to design a new site every time a book comes out, this site can be fairly easily updated. I like that. It gives me more time to spend on my girlfriend... or at least more time to write the next book.

 

Upcoming Projects

The new website design is designed to feature much of this information in the sidebar on the homepage. So, rather than continue to remind you what each project is, this section of the Update will merely be a status report.

One of the Girls
Chapter one is finished. I expect to write chapter two next week and get into full swing by the end of November.

Travel Tips for Every Day
All of the tips have been gathered and I'm probably halfway through
with fleshing it out.

The Crockett Chronicles
Chris and I have drawn a line in the sand. We're not going to let any new Crockett exploits derail us from writing the stories we've already mapped up. Anything new will have to go into a sequel or second edition of this book.

Life is But a Dream
I hate to leave this one this far down on the list, especially since I've got some potential agent interest. However, with all the other projects on my plate, I have little choice. I'd like to sit down and write the whole thing, but I'll probably put it into a proposal at this point so I can shop it around.

Faith Restored
I actually wrote the first part of chapter one already, hoping I might include something from this book as a teaser in FITP. However, I didn't want to get tied to what I wrote, especially since I probably won't even get around to plotting or writing Faith Restored until next summer. However, the story for FR is tied very tightly to FITP so I don't expect it to languish very long.

 

God bless and thanks again for your support and readership!


Paul M. Carhart
Author, The Fairlight Novels