I’ve been flinging this news around under the radar for a while via offline channels, and dropping hints about it in online channels. Now, though, the time has come to make a formal announcement!
Ladies and gentlemen, my high fantasy trilogy, The Dove, the Rook, and the Hawk, will be published starting in 2013 by Carina Press!
This, O Internets, was the other half of the Big Writing News I’ve had this year (the first half of which was the news that I am now represented by Miriam Kriss of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency)! I’ve been sitting on this as long as I have, to give things time to mature enough that it’s clear that we’ll be moving forward. And now that things have done, here you go! How excited am I? SERIOUSLY EXCITED.
Here are various important questions about this deal, and their answers!
You said something earlier this year about a pen name! Does this mean you’re using one?
Yes! The Dove, the Rook, and the Hawk will be published under the name Angela Highland. The main reason for this is that while my actual name is certainly unique, it’s also difficult to spell correctly. In particular, the apostrophe, coupled with the fact that the T that comes after it is actually lowercase, has always been a problem for me and Dara. Many, many automated systems take one look at “Korra’ti” and promptly explode, mangling the name in the process.
Also, even people who have known Dara and me all our adult lives have issues spelling our name. So it is the consensus of my agent, my new editors at Carina, and myself that using a more user-friendly surname will be wiser in general, when it comes to attracting new readers.
With that in mind, my official writing site will continue to be accessible via angelakorrati.com, but the domain name angelahighland.com is also now live and redirects to angelakorrati.com as well. I have development plans in progress for a new site, and when that goes live, I’ll be flipping the domains around and making angelahighland.com the canonical one.
Where did you get the name Highland from?
It’s my original surname! It seemed a fairly safe and obvious choice, especially given that I have yet to find a single active author using that as a name.
When will the first book be out?
Book 1 of the trilogy is currently slated for release in April 2013, with Books 2 and 3 to be scheduled as I can deliver them.
While its current working title remains Lament of the Dove, you should all expect a different final title. One of the issues that got brought up by my beta readers surfaced again when Carina made me the formal offer, which is to say, the term ‘Lament’ no longer really fits Faanshi’s character arc. So we’ll be swapping that out for a better word. More on this as events warrant.
If you’re going to be published via Carina, does this mean you will be in digital form only?
Yes, for the time being. Carina is primarily a digital imprint, though a few of their best-selling titles have been released in paperback. Note however that those titles to date have been romance titles. To the best of my knowledge, whether or not my trilogy hits print will depend upon how well it sells. So if you have a vested interest in seeing Faanshi, Julian, and Kestar in print as well as electronic format, this is me asking you in advance to be prepared to encourage everybody within range to buy the books!
Carina is however a Significant Deal when it comes to ebooks. They’ve been around a couple years now, and since they have the muscle of Harlequin’s marketing engine behind them, this means I will reliably be on all major ebook-selling sites and that my reach to online audiences will be considerably extended! Which is awesome, ’cause I suck at marketing. *^_^*;;
Did you say romance? Wait, why did you sell a fantasy trilogy to a romance publisher?
Because Carina actually publishes all genres. Their fantasy selection is so far pretty small, but I’m very eager to add to that list, and I encourage all of you to consider giving all of their fantasy and science fiction titles a chance, so’s to encourage them to do more!
Also, much of their SF/F does have a foot in romance in general–you’ll notice that several of their titles have a strong romantic plot to them as well. This actually fits in with what I write, i.e., fantasy with romantic elements. (And later, as I’m able to pursue other stories bubbling around in my brain, SF with romantic elements as well.)
What does this mean for the works you’re doing for your Kickstarter?
As I have already apprised all of my Kickstarter backers, this will slow me down somewhat delivering Bone Walker and the two scheduled novellas to people who supported that project. However, this does not, repeat, NOT mean I am abandoning those works. I’m hoping to be able to still deliver the remaining works involved with the Kickstarter by the end of this year, and will be working on them as much as I can in between doing the edits on Lament through the rest of this summer and fall.
The Warder universe works will continue to be published under the name Angela Korra’ti. Which means that yes, I’m going to have two active pen names at the same time. Think of them as alternate universe versions of me. Or perhaps different regenerations! (However, it’s safe to assume that both versions of me are raving fangirls for Newfoundland and Quebecois music!)
What else can you tell us?
Oh, I’m sure there will be more news to come, but for right now these are the high points! I am looking hugely and I mean HUGELY forward to having Faanshi, Kestar, and Julian take their places alongside Kendis and Christopher’s crowd, so that you all can see their stories as well!
Those of you who RPed with me on AetherMUSH back in the day will certainly recall that Faanshi and Julian were my primary characters there. They have been heavily altered for this storyline, but that they’ve stayed with me all this time and demanded I give them a proper story is a testament to the strength of the environment in which they were born. Y’all may rest assured that Aether, and in particular Astra Poyser, will figure prominently in the Acknowledgements and Dedication sections of these books!
And that’s it for the time being! So if anyone has questions I haven’t covered here, drop me a comment and let me know!
