Announcements Galore
Happy New Year!
It has been a very, *very* eventful year so far, here at the CEMurphy.net household (and you must keep reading until the end, because I’m saving the best bit for last!).
First, if not precisely foremost, I’ve switched CEMurphy.net over to blogging software, so it’s now actually possible to leave comments there to chat with me. (I’ve also just noticed that the comments are unreadable. Will fix that in a minute here…there. Fixed.)
Second, I’ve posted a teaser for HOUSE OF CARDS, second in the Negotiator Trilogy, which is due out in March 2008. That teaser is available here.
Third, I was interviewed by the League of Reluctant Adults a few weeks ago. The League is discussing HEART OF STONE as their January Book Club book. If you’d like to participate, go hang out there over the next few weeks. :)
Fourth (it never ends!): I’ve received the cover for THE QUEEN’S BASTARD, which is due out in May 2008. I luff it! Check it out!
Fifth, and finally!
I am *utterly* delighted to announce that I have sold my pet project, “TAKE A CHANCE”, the comic book I’ve been working on over the last three years. TAKE A CHANCE is the story of a woman who loses her son to gang violence and turns vigilante to save other children, and will be produced by Ernst Dabel and Les Dabel of the Dabel Brothers (dabelbrothers.com — for those who are also Jim Butcher fans, these are the guys producing the Dresden Files comic!)
The first issue ought to be on the shelves in May, we hope, and I am just *beside* myself with excitement over this whole thing. This is the culmination of years worth of work and hope, and I hope you’ll all find yourselves rushing out to the comic shop to buy copies. *grin*
So again, happy new year to all! I hope 2008 treats you well!
January 8th, 2008 at 1:15 am
I am awaiting my copy of Heart of Stone to arrive in the mail! Of course I thought it was part of the Walker Papers when I bought it. Oops! I am sure I will be just as thrilled with it as those though!
I even got my friend hooked on the Urban Shaman series as well and we’ve both posted reviews on our book blogs. :)
Looking forward to your comic book and other series! Keep them coming!! :)
January 8th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
No, sorry! HEART OF STONE is the first in a new trilogy, but on the plus side, the whole trilogy will be out by the end of the year! So you don’t have to wait long, and then the next Walker Papers will be out in 2009. :)
Hooray for friends being hooked on my books! Thank you so much. That kind of word of mouth recommendation does more for writers than anything else. I appreciate it to no end.
-Catie
January 8th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Many congrats on all the wonderful developments, especially the comic book, ma’am. That’s enough to tingle the toes of any long-time reader. I’ll look forward to seeing it.
Peace,
- curiosity.
P.S. As a note on the comment box, the text lines over run the designated text area making it hard to check comments for spelling errors and such. Just a head’s up. - c.
January 8th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
WOW! Just found your site (courtesy of the back of Urban Shaman). Read all three of the Walker Papers (can’t get hold of the Novella over here :(), and my mum is currently finishing Coyote Dreams. Just noticed the date you’ve got for the next Walker Papers book, and I am gutted. It will be months before it comes out over here, maybe even a year.
*sigh* Will just have to try and find your other books to tide me over till then :)
Thanks so much for writing such AMAZING books! Can’t wait to start reading the next one :D
D
January 9th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Hi Catie, I heard through some artist friends that you might still be looking for an artist for your comic. If you are I’m interested in having a go. You can check out some of my work at http://richcarrie.blogspot.com/
best Rich
January 10th, 2008 at 5:38 am
Hi Catie
Just discovered your blog and wanted to leave a quick comment.
I’ve been a fan of your writing ever since I first picked up ‘Urban Shaman’ - I can remember thinking (as a Pagan who’s done some shamanic training in the past) that whoever wrote the book had either had at least *some* training themselves, or both knew someone who had AND knew the right questions to ask when they did their research. Plus, of course, I thoroughly love Jo’s grouchy, down-to-earth narrative voice; and Gary’s always been a favourite character too (OK, gonna stop now before I exceed the comment size fangirling about everything I liked in the trilogy).
I’m thrilled to see that there’s another Walker Papers book in the works; and meanwhile, Heart of Stone is sitting on my reading pile (which has grown as tall as I am, I kid you not!), making puppy-eyes at me and insisting on being next in line after I finish my current book.
Blessings and thanks for a great read!
Starfire
January 10th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Hey, Starfire–
I did a heck of a lot of research before I started the Walker Papers. :) It was some of the most absolutely fascinating reading I’ve ever done, and I’ve been fairly astonished at the responses I’ve gotten from people who are shamans or who have some shamanic training. I really thought I’d be finding myself saying, “Look, guys, it’s just a book…” but people have responded in very much the same positive way you’ve done. That makes me really happy. I feel like I did something right! Yay! :)
Rich–
I’ll send you an email later today. :)
curiosity–
comment box all fixed! (I only noticed it when I made my first comment. Oops.)
-Catie
January 11th, 2008 at 12:20 am
Hey, just wondering about the long wait between the Walker books. I know you’ve got a bunch of other books getting published, but why did the other books get bumped ahead of the series that you’d established first? Just curious, not criticizing. ;-p
Oh! And I’ve been wondering, with the delay between the Walker books… does that mean there’s going to be a fair amount of time passed in Jo’s world as well? I’ve been sort of wondering if maybe you’ve been taking a break from her world so that she can take a break in her world. Just thinking of the interesting possibilities, ya know?
-mares
p.s. I feel sad about how things ended in Coyote Dreams (sad and excited in relation to her new job prospects).
January 11th, 2008 at 9:25 am
Well, one series sold to another publisher (The Inheritors’ Cycle, which is the QUEEN’S BASTARD series), and to everyone’s surprise Luna (who publish the Walker Papers) decided they wanted to pick up the Negotiator trilogy. Those were the reasons on the publication end.
On *my* side of things, I very much did not want to be caught being a one-trick pony. Getting the Negotiator and Inheritors books out there early in my career helps to establish that I can do more than one thing, and that’s important to me as a writer. Also, the Walker Papers are intended to be a 9 book series, and the idea of writing nothing but Jo for nine years, much as I love her, was horrifying. :)
Storytelling-wise, there’s a fairly natural break at the end of COYOTE DREAMS, ’cause Jo’s made that big decision and she’s grown up a lot (I think!) over the course of the first three books. So it seemed like a good time to step out with something else, particularly since my publisher wanted to put the whole Negotiator trilogy out within a year. That means the delay between WP 3 and 4 is comparatively brief, and it gives me a chance to stretch my wings a little.
The next Walker Papers takes place at Halloween of the same year the first three books are set in. :)
-Catie
January 19th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Ms. Murphy,
I picked up URBAN SHAMAN on a whim while wandering the bookstore today. Just wanted to say: I read it in 3 hours, got up with a stiff neck and a full bladder, and immediately called the nearest bookstores to reserve the next in the series. Thunderbird Falls and Coyote Dreams are now on my coffee table, and I’m looking forward to falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning wondering what’ll happen to Joanne Walker in the next installment.
I *loved* URBAN SHAMAN. Keep them coming!!
January 19th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
*beams* I’m glad you enjoyed it! Don’t forget to see if you can find WINTER MOON, which has a novella that goes between SHAMAN and THUNDERBIRD chronologically. :)
-Catie
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:34 am
Hi! I just wanna say how much I enjoy your books! The Walker Papers series is hilarious and interesting, and I couldn’t believe Joanne got into not one, but TWO chick fights in the third volume.
But I have a question about Heart of Stone. Did the Disney animated series Gargoyles provide any of the inspiration for Alban? I was having such a great time imagining him as Goliath because I freaking love that character from the show and they seemed so similar, especially the hooking-the-wings-over-the-shoulders-in-front-of-him thing and all that vulnerable masculinity.
Well I can’t wait to get my hands on House of Cards in a few months. Any chance for some sort of tour to SF?
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:14 am
Hey, Grace!
*bahahaha* :) I totally enjoyed writing the chick fights in that book. That was so fun. :)
OF COURSE ALBAN WASN’T INSPIRED BY GOLIATH IN ANY WAY WHAT COULD YOU BE TALKING ABOUT GARGOYLES THERE’S A SHOW CALLED GARGOYLES GOSH I NEVER HEARD OF THAT IS IT ANY GOOD OH GOSH IT’S DISNEY I’D HATE TO BE INSPIRED BY ANYTHING DISNEY THEY MIGHT SUE ME GOOD THING I NEVER HEARD OF IT *cute innocent blinking*
(Actually, Alban’s wings fold behind his shoulders, not in front, deliberately so it wasn’t quite so Goliath-y, but I sort of feared the scene you’re referring to would automatically bring the Goliath fold to mind, and it’s probably not written sharply enough to make it Obviously Different. :))
*wibble* If the stars align (and when I say “stars” I mean “finances”), I’ll be at the Romance Writers of America convention in late July/early august in San Francisco this year. I’ll keep people posted on my location as I know it. :)
-Catie
January 24th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Thanks for all your good writing. Immortal Beloved was better than the books they actually published on Highlander - if they had not stopped publishing, you would have had a bestseller!!!
Your other work is great and I look forward to the Queen’s Bastard.
Patty
January 24th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Hey, Patty–
IMMORTAL BELOVED is still one of my favorite books I’ve written. I do wish they’d still been publishing them, but oh well. Maybe someday I’ll have such a big famous name as a writer I’ll be able to convince them to let me publish it, and the other two Methos novels I’d like to write, just on the strength of my name. :)
I’m glad you’re enjoying the books! Thanks for stopping by. :)
-Catie
February 18th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Just finished Queen’s Bastard. Wow! Since I was reading an ARC I hadn’t seen the cover until I went to your web site. Looks fabulous. Can’t wait for the second book even though I know it’s not going to be out until 2009.