Black Halo is Done

Yes.  Black Halo, second book in The Aeons’ Gate Trilogy, is done.  It has just returned from my outstanding editor, Lou Anders, with a glowing review and a death threat (the third one he’s sent me, I believe).  You can expect it roughly around March/April of 2011, be you American or British.  But you might be wondering: if it’s done, why so long until it comes out?  Well, there’s a few reasons for that.

See, authors have their own language, a language chiefly designed to throw angry editors and inquisitive readers off our trail.  In this particular language, the word “done” has several different meanings.  And while it might earn me the ire of my fellow authors to break this special code, I will translate a small portion of this language for you as we explore the various phases of done.

“It’s done” : “I know how everything fits.  What?  No, I haven’t written it yet.  I’m actually not even halfway.  But I know how it ends…unless it changes.  Anyway, I certainly know how everything happens…unless I get a better idea for it toward the end.  But trust me, it’s pretty much solid and will definitely meet the deadline unless I have to rewrite everything to make it fit this great scene that I know absolutely has to happen right the hell now.”

“It’s done” : “Okay, I wrote everything down.  This is how it’s all going to work.  I’m extremely, 100% satisfied with how this whole thing turned out.  It’s great.  It’s fantastic.  It’s complete…now, to rewrite it.”

“It’s done” : “Off to the editors!  I’m sure they’ll love it…unless they don’t.  Oh wait, it’s back.  They love it, except for this part.  That’s great.  That’s perfect.  Wait, that’s the part that took me three months to write.  Oh well.  As they say: ‘kill your babies.’  What?  What do you mean ‘who says that?’  EVERYONE says that.  It’s…it’s a writer thing that we say.  All the time.  Look, it’s not weird, it’s just a metaphor for not becoming so attached to a scene that you can’t bear to see it hacked to pieces and recrafted as some shambling abomination, pieced together from the souls of a thousand different scenes like some horrific golem of flesh and words, always crying out for death and decrying the belief of a merciful God that refuses to grant him any peace…what was I talking about?”

“It’s DONE” : “After many fine, furious trips to the editors, the manuscript has returned as a lean, mean, fantasy genre machine.  It’s outstanding.  It’s incredible.  It’s proof positive that I’m in the right business, that I was meant to be a writer.  It’s…oh, hey, it’s back from the copy editor.  Let’s take a look…wait, I misspelled ‘ridiculous.’  Wait, how many times did I use the word ‘thunder?’  Holy shit, did I really describe a kiss as ‘two sharpeis straining to discover the function of a toothbrush?’  WHAT MADE ME THINK I COULD DO THIS?”

“And…it’s done” : “There.  It’s gone.  The cover is in.  The editing is done.  It’s out of my hands now.  Fly well, little book, and bring much suffering to my enemies.”

“I’m done” : Last two words the author shrieks over the phone to his editor before his bookie’s enforcers break down the door and snap his neck at his desk.  Typically followed by a call to the Gollancz Salvage Crew to go out and see if his brain can’t be preserved and later put in Joe Abercrombie’s body, as we did when Richard Morgan died…shit, that part was supposed to be a secret.

Anyway, Black Halo is currently at the third stage of that.  This week is all about getting edits done and sending it off.  Granted, my fate is in the publisher’s hands, but we might just see it released a little earlier if we get it done on time.

So, what can you expect from Black Halo?  I think a lot of people will be pleased with how it turned out.

Those people that loved Tome of the Undergates’ violence, characterization and fury will find it vastly improved in this series.  The combat is more intense and we go ever deeper into the minds and the secrets of the characters as their pasts return to them.  What do I mean by that?  Seven-foot tall, xenophobic, long-eared, green-skinned headhunters advise Kataria on her love life while quietly crunching on frogs that they believe will make their blood venomous.  Yeah.

Those people that had problems with Tome of the Undergates’ pacing and anger will also find a much smoother, much swifter experience in Black Halo. The action is more intense, yet paced evenly so that we’re rarely in the same scene for an overly long time.  I think a lot of people will enjoy this.

Anyway, keep an eye out for it!  Of course, this probably means more to you if you’re in the United Kingdom or Australia.  If you’re in America, you’re still waiting for Tome of the Undergates’ September release!  But trust me, the wait’s worth it on both counts.