Update – The Parting of the Ways
To anyone who follows publishing closely, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. But to my more casual readers, it will likely be a shock.
My publisher, Curiosity Quills Press, has fallen on very hard times. I have been unpaid for several periods now, and most employees of the company have quit due to nonpayment, as well. The house has not been providing me or other authors support, marketing, or even basic communication for some time. It’s been hard, and I’ve been waiting hopefully for things to get better once again before going ahead with the publication of the fourth and final book, but it’s grown worse and worse every day.
My agent and I have decided that the best way forward is to part ways with them before we risk losing the opportunity to keep the rights to The Faraday Files, while they’re still holding together enough to grant us the return of those rights.
I don’t do this lightly, and it’s a really hard choice for me to make. CQ was an amazing company when I joined them for the release of my first book, and they helped make The Deathsniffer’s Assistant the broad success that it was. It’s with a heavy heart that I walk away from them, and I wouldn’t do it if I thought there was any other way.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Unfortunately, for now, it means two main things.
1. The final Faraday Files book, The Spiritbinder’s Key, is now indefinitely delayed. IT WILL COME OUT! Make no mistake! The book is fully written and I promise you all, you will get to see the end of Olivia and Chris’s story. I’m so proud of it and would never hold the book back for longer than I have to! However, we don’t know what form that release will take, just yet. I’d love to see these books with a bigger house with wider reach, so that even more people will be able to see and appreciate these characters who are so, so dear to me. If that isn’t possible, we will be moving to self-publication. It will just take some time to discern which of these two routes is the best for us, and I will let you all know immediately as soon as there is any news!
2. The previous three books will not be available for purchase for the unspecified future. This was what really hurt when making this decision, because my books being unavailable is a brutally hard thing for me to deal with, and it breaks my heart. Like with The Spiritbinder’s Key, what happens next will depend on a variety of factors, but, in the end, the books WILL BE AVAILABLE AGAIN. This is not a permanent situation.
WHAT DO I DO IF I WANT YOUR BOOKS RIGHT NOW?
The one bit of good news for the availabilty of the Faraday Files is that my deal with Tantor for the audiobook of The Deathsniffer’s Assistant is not tied to my former arrangement with Curiosity Quills Press, so there’s still an opportunity to get ahold of it! If you want to read or gift a copy of the book, it’s available on Audible and on the Tantor site. All proceeds from sales will be going to Tantor, my agency, and me, so don’t worry about your money being lost to my old publisher. TDA is the only book in the series available in audio, unfortunately, so there’s no way to read the second and third, but hey, it’s something.
I’ll say it again — this was not easy. My main focus has always been the availability of my books, the ability to share the stories I have inside of me with readers who care. I know this is terrible news for all of you. It is for me, too. I wish I could give more firm estimates of what will happen next, but right now, it’s as much a mystery to me as it is to you. I just ask that you bear with me and keep a candle lit for Chris and Olivia and everyone else. One way or the other, they’ll be back soon — I promise.
