This is more of a personal note than anything so feel free to ignore it if you wish. Just over a year ago, I posted a chapter of the serialized novelization of the Eerithian saga of the years 1413-1432. It wasn't the end of the tale but it was close and I mentioned that I was in the process of rewriting the ending to make it more satisfactory to me. Well, as I was doing that, about a week before I was to post the Canto of Dust, Opus Two, the world became a little skewed (September, 2001--I think we all remember the details) and I found myself abruptly uninterested in working on military fiction. (Some of you may remember that I write for a living. I didn't quit, just switched to work on some other projects in less intense genres.) So be it. Time passes and I've been reviewing the revised outline for the last four chapters and, if I may say so myself, it's a good story and it should be finished. I should also add that, behind the scenes, there are a lot of people out there who have been bugging me to see the end and I do truly appreciate the support. I've rolled up my sleeves and went back to the work. CoD,2 should be finished in about a week (depending on my editor) and I expect to have the entire juggernaut wrapped up before Christmas. This leads me to my real point. It has come up in discussion that the narrative is so large that, to print the entire thing out or make a copy of it is a major and expensive process. The suggestion was made that I look into self-publishing the entire work, when complete, in a Print On Demand arrangement. The recent improvements in POD technology have made it such that the cost to me would not be overly prohibitive (though not cheap) and a paperback copy could be ordered for around six bucks (American). I've given this a lot of thought and I think I'd really like to do this. I would, of course, cover all the POD costs and obviously it wouldn't be a money-making endeavor but that's not the point. It would be good exposure for the game, a convenient copy of the narrative for those who wanted it at a low price, and the story is enjoyable and self-contained. Obviously, I will not pursue this any further without the blessings of Juuso and the folks at Phoenix but I wanted to put the idea out there. If no one screams NO, I'll need everyone's help to make sure that I have all the names of the people who helped bring all of this shared world together so I can give appropriate credit because, even though I did the writing, this has definitely been a group effort. I'd really like to hear what everyone has to say. M. Keaton ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
