DS9 BOOKS: Unity, Prophecy and Change, and beyond...
Re:
The Star Trek Books BBS (David Henderson)
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2003 21:44:47 GMT
From: Marco Palmieri
Okay, I've put this off long enough. Time to get real. For those of you who are into the new DS9 novels, I have both Good News and---yes, you guessed it---Bad News.
First, THE BAD NEWS.
I'm sorry to have to report that UNITY is being delayed again. The truth is, quite simply, that it isn't finished yet, and it won't be ready to publish in April as the author and I had hoped back when I announced the first postponement. Instead, it will publish in November, 2003, and will close out our DS9 tenth anniversary celebration rather than opening it as originally planned.
There are several reasons for these delays, which I was reluctant to discuss earlier because they involve some personal issues, but the author and I have agreed that those of you looking forward to UNITY deserve to know the truth.
First, the project was started late. Author S.D. Perry (or Danelle, as she likes to be called) was ready to dive into UNITY right after she finished Rising Son almost a year ago. Unfortunately, she was delayed by my inability to devote adequate attention to the project while I worked on Mission: Gamma, which by itself was a long and complex series to edit.
But even though we got off to a late start, UNITY could have actually made its original January, '03 pub date, if not for two wonderful but complicating coincidences.
The first was that my wife became pregnant.
The second was that Danelle became pregnant.
What are the odds, right?
So...There we were, each with children on the way and both experiencing a work slowdown because of our changing circumstances. That's when we decided to move the book to April '03, giving, we thought, the extra time Danelle would need to wrap things up before her baby was due.
But you know kids---sometimes they catch you by surprise.
Danelle's baby was born a month earlier than expected, and before she could finish work on the novel. I'm happy to report that baby and mother were both fine despite the premature delivery, but it shattered any hope we had of getting UNITY out in April, especially when my wife gave birth not long after.
That brings us to where we are now. Danelle is adjusting to motherhood, and has eased back into writing. My attention is no longer as divided as it had been. In short, UNITY is at last slowly being completed, and you can now look forward to reading it in November.
That strikes me as a good place to segue into...
THE GOOD NEWS
I'm happy to be able to announce the tentative list of contributors to this year's previously announced Deep Space Nine anniversary anthology, PROPHECY AND CHANGE:
Christopher L. Bennett (SCE: Aftermath); Elizabeth Braswell (first published Star Trek story); Keith R.A. Decandido (DS9: Demons of Air and Darkness); Heather Jarman (DS9: This Gray Spirit); Jeffrey Lang (DS9: Abyss); Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels (DS9: Cathedral); Una McCormack (first published Star Trek story); Terri Osborne (first published Star Trek story); Andrew J. Robinson (DS9: A Stitch in Time); Kevin G. Summers (DS9: "Isolation Ward 4," from Strange New Worlds IV)
Remember, this contributor list is still tentative and subject to change. As already announced, the stories in this collection will span the entire of length of DS9's seven television seasons, and beyond. PROPHECY AND CHANGE will be published in September.
MORE GOOD NEWS
I'm also pleased to announce that the post-finale Deep Space Nine novels will continue beyond UNITY. As part of the continuing effort to diversify this line of fiction, 2004 will see the publication of WORLDS OF DEEP SPACE NINE, a staggered miniseries of three double novels focusing on the different planets and peoples showcased in the DS9 saga. Each standalone story will immerse readers in a different alien culture while at the same time tying directly into the continuing storyline of the post-finale DS9 novels.
Utilizing a different author for each story, the books will each contain two novellas (similar to THE BADLANDS and THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD), focusing on two worlds in each volume. The civilizations visited in these stories will include Bajor, Cardassia, The Dominion, Ferenginar, Trill, and Andor, with emphasis on established characters connected to those cultures.
Although an exact schedule for WORLDS OF DEEP SPACE NINE is still to be determined, the current plan is to publish one volume approximately every three or four months beginning in 2004. Contributing authors to be announced.
And maybe I'll even manage to publish them on time.
Marco
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