Monday, January 11, 2010
!!! Cover art for the new book !!!
Aha ha HA ha ha ha ha! I got you again, Kat! I was going to call this entry "Rok Pandemie, or, I Think I See A Pattern Developing Here"... but honestly, messing with Kat's mind is just too sweet. ;)
This is the cover for the Czech edition of Plague Year, which I'm told is due out in February. Love the gas mask. Love the byline above the title. Love it love it love it. I think the whole concept has a stark, metallic feel almost like a Terminator movie poster, nicely offset by the caution grid across the bottom and the blood red biohazard symbol. Nicely done, BBArt! Also, the book is in hard cover, which is what every paperback writer dreams about. Wow.
Labels: Czech Republic, PLAGUE YEAR, Rok pandemie, teasing Kat
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The Coolest Thing I've Seen All Week
Check this out. Bottom of the page. Yes, he's serious. Bradley at Book Lovers is a mad, mad dreamer... but it is one hell of a book! Autographed, too!
Labels: PLAGUE YEAR
Thursday, April 2, 2009
A Nice Set Of Legs
Some good news today. My editor tells me Plague Year went to its fourth printing two months ago. Awesome! We're still an exploding helicopter and an Angelina Jolie from the big leagues of bestsellerdom, but, hey, a fourth edition for a first novel paperback original ain't no snail boogers, neither. Color me happy.
Labels: fourth edition, PLAGUE YEAR
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
In the meanwhile...
...and because I've been a very busy duck lately, buried in final edits of PLAGUE ZONE, I thought I'd post this YouTube clip about where-did-you-get-your-ideas for the first two PLAGUE novels in case you missed it.
I am *very* excited about PLAGUE ZONE. This book is bigger, better, and even more cutthroat than the first two, lightning-paced and chock full of action, surprises, romance, and big concepts.
That's right. I'm writing my own blurbs now. ;)
I am *very* excited about PLAGUE ZONE. This book is bigger, better, and even more cutthroat than the first two, lightning-paced and chock full of action, surprises, romance, and big concepts.
That's right. I'm writing my own blurbs now. ;)
Labels: Plague War, PLAGUE YEAR, the writing life, YouTube
Thursday, December 18, 2008
High Praise Indeed
It's been REALLY busy. The holidays. A cold. A book that just won't STOP because the final action scene is unbelievably AWESOME.
I wasn't going to post about this, but, at the encouragement of my ever-curious buddy Lou Anders, here we go. Following is my email to Lou. I'll try to get around to posting the photos mentioned within tomorrow? Gotta work. More soon!
Hey, Lou, here's an interesting twist. You know not all of the critics and bloggers were thumbs-up about Plague Year -- in fact, there was one memorable rant declaring it a “steaming pile of liberal propaganda,” which is obvious, I guess, since one hero is Latino and another is Jewish -- but, for the most part, reaction was positive. Plague Year is in its third printing. It's sold film rights, audio rights, and major foreign deals.
(Yeah, I’m feeling defensive.)
It’s a brutal book, though, with something to offend everyone. Sex. Violence. Non-white people. You name it.
I’ve always wondered where the hate mail was. Plenty of people have written nasty or at least unenthusiastic things about the book. That's what the net is for, right? But it was never aimed directly at me. Yesterday that email finally showed up.
Dear Jeff:
Regarding your novel Plague Year I was not incredibly impressed. The concept was interesting, however, it was written in a grocery store thriller style. However, as you can see in the attached files, our canine review team thoroughly enjoyed your book. Thank your for the trial copy, and we regret that we will not be able to send it back to you.
You gotta like the informal, size-me-down greeting, the pompous howevers, and the regal use of “we.” Also the “thank your.”
There were two attachments. I didn’t open them, because that just seemed safe, but I assume they were playing fetch with the book or, you know, maybe it had been artfully arranged alongside a nice long dog turd or something.
Three things make me curious.
First, I can account for all of the review copies I mailed out, and this lady wasn’t one of the recipients. The folks at Ace were good about sending review copies to almost anyone who asked, but I can’t imagine that even a self-proclaimed, self-important “book critic” would act this petty. So I have to think this business about a trial copy (?) is pretentious, delusional, or at least oddly-worded. She means she won’t buy any more? Golly.
Second, of course, the big joke is that having my books carried by drug and grocery stores is EXACTLY my goal. “Grocery store thriller style” is high praise. I picture this person as a frustrated would-be Author Of Deep Literature, but, if so, why was she reading Plague Year to begin with? No one would mistake the burning white cover as belonging to profound fiction. For Pete’s sake, the tagline is “The next breath you take will kill you.” It’s entertainment.
Third, why go to such effort in the first place? I don’t think I know this person, so why get personal?
How about some perspective, man? ;>
...to which Lou replied "I say you post the pictures on your website. I wish my detractors were so creative. Dude, you should be proud!"
Hee hee.
I wasn't going to post about this, but, at the encouragement of my ever-curious buddy Lou Anders, here we go. Following is my email to Lou. I'll try to get around to posting the photos mentioned within tomorrow? Gotta work. More soon!
Hey, Lou, here's an interesting twist. You know not all of the critics and bloggers were thumbs-up about Plague Year -- in fact, there was one memorable rant declaring it a “steaming pile of liberal propaganda,” which is obvious, I guess, since one hero is Latino and another is Jewish -- but, for the most part, reaction was positive. Plague Year is in its third printing. It's sold film rights, audio rights, and major foreign deals.
(Yeah, I’m feeling defensive.)
It’s a brutal book, though, with something to offend everyone. Sex. Violence. Non-white people. You name it.
I’ve always wondered where the hate mail was. Plenty of people have written nasty or at least unenthusiastic things about the book. That's what the net is for, right? But it was never aimed directly at me. Yesterday that email finally showed up.
Dear Jeff:
Regarding your novel Plague Year I was not incredibly impressed. The concept was interesting, however, it was written in a grocery store thriller style. However, as you can see in the attached files, our canine review team thoroughly enjoyed your book. Thank your for the trial copy, and we regret that we will not be able to send it back to you.
You gotta like the informal, size-me-down greeting, the pompous howevers, and the regal use of “we.” Also the “thank your.”
There were two attachments. I didn’t open them, because that just seemed safe, but I assume they were playing fetch with the book or, you know, maybe it had been artfully arranged alongside a nice long dog turd or something.
Three things make me curious.
First, I can account for all of the review copies I mailed out, and this lady wasn’t one of the recipients. The folks at Ace were good about sending review copies to almost anyone who asked, but I can’t imagine that even a self-proclaimed, self-important “book critic” would act this petty. So I have to think this business about a trial copy (?) is pretentious, delusional, or at least oddly-worded. She means she won’t buy any more? Golly.
Second, of course, the big joke is that having my books carried by drug and grocery stores is EXACTLY my goal. “Grocery store thriller style” is high praise. I picture this person as a frustrated would-be Author Of Deep Literature, but, if so, why was she reading Plague Year to begin with? No one would mistake the burning white cover as belonging to profound fiction. For Pete’s sake, the tagline is “The next breath you take will kill you.” It’s entertainment.
Third, why go to such effort in the first place? I don’t think I know this person, so why get personal?
How about some perspective, man? ;>
...to which Lou replied "I say you post the pictures on your website. I wish my detractors were so creative. Dude, you should be proud!"
Hee hee.
Labels: fan mail, hate mail, PLAGUE YEAR, the writing life
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Language Lessons
Hot off the presses is this mock-up of the Romanian cover for Plague Year, which I'm told is translated accurately as Anul Molimei. The tagline is "Breathe... and you die!" Very, very cool.In fact, I'm going to go so far as to say that I think this is the strongest cover I've ever had. Sure, I've only published two books so far, but with foreign editions, this makes five covers. And this one rocks! I love the color scheme and the artwork. There's a nice mainstream thriller feel to it.
In other exciting news, my Romanian editor says he's going to give the second book its original title, War Day. That's Ziua Razboiului to you, of course. ;)
Anul Molimei is slated for March 2009.
Labels: Anul Molimei, Millennium Press, PLAGUE YEAR, Romanian edition
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Mailbag Q&A: And Now A Word From Towelie…
…or, Jeff Bares All Without Losing His Pants! For you cultureless heathens who don’t already know, Towelie is the intelligent super towel developed by the military in South Park. He’s also fond of bong hits. Hence the dull, bloodshot eyes and one of his catch phrases: “I’ve got no idea what’s going on.”
My buddy Joe Jordan, a fellow writer and Writers of the Future winner who is currently far away in the paradise known as Afghanistan, was among several folks who’ve asked about the foreign deals for the Plague novels, how it all works, what’s the money like, and whether or not Diana’s quitting her job and we’re buying a pair of Porsches.
Well, no. Even worse, sometimes I feel like Towelie. I have no idea what’s going on.
For one thing, remember, I’m still very new at this. For another, keep in mind that publishing is insane. I’m not going to get into specific numbers because I’m long way from being enough of big shot that I can wow y’all with lots of zeros, but here’s what I do know so far:
My advance from Ace was modest to say the least, but it earned out immediately. We saw a decent royalty check after the first accounting period, which wasn’t even a full six months, and we’ll be seeing another royalty check again shortly. Why? They got behind the book in a good way: embossing on the cover, some ads, and, most importantly, Plague Year really was a “mass market” mass market paperback. The initial print-run was solid and, for the first month, they had me on front-of-store display towers and tables in the major chains. Possibly even better, I was in airports and bus stations. The book went to a second print run to meet demand and by now, I’m pleased to report, we’re into a third edition.
By comparison, my German advance was hefty indeed. Partly that was because it was for three books, rather than one-by-one as Ace is doing, and you get half of the money for each title up front. Partly that was also because they’re paying in Euros, and some of the checks converted at upwards of 1.6 dollars per Euro. Shazam. The weird part to me is that the print run there was non-hefty. Of course, Germany and Austria are a much smaller market than North America, and my editor at Piper Verlag tells me that our run was quite good for a first novel by a foreign author… but I can’t see how they’re going to earn their money back. Not immediately. Possibly their business model isn’t so tightly screwed down as the American one, which seems to be make-or-break right out of the gates. The Europeans are wiser and calmer, and I have to assume they know what they’re doing. I write. They publish. That’s how it works. But I worry a bit.
Here’s where it gets extra strange.
The advance from my Spanish publisher was minimal. Neither I nor my agents expected anything more than a nice trade paperback release from Minotauro, just one book among several. We never even heard anything about when it would be published. What happened, of course, in the industry terminology, is that they went completely ape shit. The print run was fantastic for a first-time foreign author, in that gorgeous hard cover, with a promotion campaign that beats anything I’ve ever heard of. If my American publishers were duplicating that effort, we’d be millionaires.
So I have no idea what’s going on.
The only people who have shown any sense to date are the Romanians, bless ‘em. Small country… small advance… a small print run is planned… but with HUGE enthusiasm. My editor there loves what he’s doing and he’s going to play the books to the hilt, and I admire that in a big way.
Does that answer any questions or just open us up to more???
Labels: La Plaga, NANO, PLAGUE YEAR, the writing life
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Bombshell Number Two
More good news from the Carlson household. This may not be quite as exciting as a film option, but we're fired up because it implies a pattern! You know, one foreign book deal could be an accident. Two is a coincidence. But three might very well be a trend... ;)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Carlson’s “Book Trailer” Leads To Two-Book Deal In Eastern Europe
Just ahead of the publication of his second novel, sci fi thriller Plague War, author Jeff Carlson and two friends released a “book trailer” entitled 4 Minutes Above 10,000 Feet. Shot in the Sierra mountains, this short film can only be described as Alive meets The Blair Witch Project meets the new Andromeda Strain.
With moderately high production values and starring Carlson himself alternating between roles as the narrator and as a survivor caught in his own books, the trailer quickly garnered attention at genre and mainstream web sites such as boingboing, GalleyCat, and io9.com, as well as popular blogs such as those of Joseph Mallozi (television’s Stargate: Atlantis) and top literary agent Nathan Bransford.
“This trailer is really exceptional,” remarked New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson. “I can just see many publishers convincing themselves that something like this would cost $100,000 or more. It’s great work, and I’ll bet [Carlson’s publisher] is dazzled… and confused! They must be thinking ‘Wow, how did he do that!?’”
Among other spectacular visuals and action sequences, the four-minute trailer features computer generated imagery of a smoking space shuttle roaring over Carlson’s head as he stands on a desolate mountaintop, having just escaped the microscopic nanotechnology featured in his novels Plague Year and its new sequel, Plague War, published by Ace/Penguin in North America.
According to Carlson, however, “The most unusual part about our short film must be that my total out-of-pocket costs were less than four hundred dollars, nearly all of which went to my web guy to convert the original file and build a Flash player for it on my site, which, in retrospect, was unnecessary. The YouTube version looks surprisingly sharp, especially if you click on the ‘Watch In High Quality’ tab.
“Next time I'll skip the fancy Flash player and go YouTube all the way, with the original QuickTime file also available on my site for the purists.”
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Carlson added, ”It cost me a tank of gas to drive to the Sierras and back, and Adad and Chuck were paid in sandwiches, Pepsi, and chips, plus we had to license two songs for the soundtrack. That was it. Of course, I’m fortunate that the real mastermind, Adad Warda, is a childhood friend of my wife's, a film student turned pro who was delighted just to tackle the challenge of it.”
A high definition version of the short film can be found on Carlson’s web site at www.jverse.com. It is also readily accessible on YouTube
Carlson was asked if there will be another such trailer?
“Absolutely,” he said. “It was a lot of fun to act out parts of the book, and we’re already scripting our follow-up for next summer.”
As a marketing device, the short film seems to be working. In its various formats, 4 Minutes Above 10,000 Feet has been viewed more than 20,000 times. Carlson has also been interviewed about his novels and the making of the trailer by radio stations as far from home as Florida and, much farther, New Zealand. Perhaps more impressive, within three days of the trailer’s release, Carlson’s agents were contacted by a senior editor with Millennium Press in eastern Europe who had seen the trailer. Negotiations on a two-book deal were finalized this week for translation into Romanian.
Plague Year and Plague War have already sold in Spain, where “La Plaga” is currently the lead hardcover from Minotauro, backed a massive promotion campaign, including newspaper ads, radio clips, and gas masks and yellow biohazard tape on book store floor stands and in window displays. Minotauro is also distributing the book in Columbia and Peru, and plans further releases across South America.
In Germany, the entire trilogy went to Piper Verlag in best bid auction for a “significant” deal in high five figures.
Plague Year is also available on CD from Recorded Books, as narrated by stage actor Richard Ferrone. Film rights for the novel were optioned last week by award-winning producer James McNally of Seven Seas Jim.
Readers can find free excerpts of both Plague Year and Plague War at Carlson’s web site along with tour dates, blog, videos and more, including a mind-croggling sci fi trivia contest in which winners will be allowed to name a character after themselves or a friend in one of Carlson’s upcoming novels.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Carlson’s “Book Trailer” Leads To Two-Book Deal In Eastern Europe
Just ahead of the publication of his second novel, sci fi thriller Plague War, author Jeff Carlson and two friends released a “book trailer” entitled 4 Minutes Above 10,000 Feet. Shot in the Sierra mountains, this short film can only be described as Alive meets The Blair Witch Project meets the new Andromeda Strain.
With moderately high production values and starring Carlson himself alternating between roles as the narrator and as a survivor caught in his own books, the trailer quickly garnered attention at genre and mainstream web sites such as boingboing, GalleyCat, and io9.com, as well as popular blogs such as those of Joseph Mallozi (television’s Stargate: Atlantis) and top literary agent Nathan Bransford.
“This trailer is really exceptional,” remarked New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson. “I can just see many publishers convincing themselves that something like this would cost $100,000 or more. It’s great work, and I’ll bet [Carlson’s publisher] is dazzled… and confused! They must be thinking ‘Wow, how did he do that!?’”
Among other spectacular visuals and action sequences, the four-minute trailer features computer generated imagery of a smoking space shuttle roaring over Carlson’s head as he stands on a desolate mountaintop, having just escaped the microscopic nanotechnology featured in his novels Plague Year and its new sequel, Plague War, published by Ace/Penguin in North America.
According to Carlson, however, “The most unusual part about our short film must be that my total out-of-pocket costs were less than four hundred dollars, nearly all of which went to my web guy to convert the original file and build a Flash player for it on my site, which, in retrospect, was unnecessary. The YouTube version looks surprisingly sharp, especially if you click on the ‘Watch In High Quality’ tab.
“Next time I'll skip the fancy Flash player and go YouTube all the way, with the original QuickTime file also available on my site for the purists.”
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Carlson added, ”It cost me a tank of gas to drive to the Sierras and back, and Adad and Chuck were paid in sandwiches, Pepsi, and chips, plus we had to license two songs for the soundtrack. That was it. Of course, I’m fortunate that the real mastermind, Adad Warda, is a childhood friend of my wife's, a film student turned pro who was delighted just to tackle the challenge of it.”
A high definition version of the short film can be found on Carlson’s web site at www.jverse.com. It is also readily accessible on YouTube
Carlson was asked if there will be another such trailer?
“Absolutely,” he said. “It was a lot of fun to act out parts of the book, and we’re already scripting our follow-up for next summer.”
As a marketing device, the short film seems to be working. In its various formats, 4 Minutes Above 10,000 Feet has been viewed more than 20,000 times. Carlson has also been interviewed about his novels and the making of the trailer by radio stations as far from home as Florida and, much farther, New Zealand. Perhaps more impressive, within three days of the trailer’s release, Carlson’s agents were contacted by a senior editor with Millennium Press in eastern Europe who had seen the trailer. Negotiations on a two-book deal were finalized this week for translation into Romanian.
Plague Year and Plague War have already sold in Spain, where “La Plaga” is currently the lead hardcover from Minotauro, backed a massive promotion campaign, including newspaper ads, radio clips, and gas masks and yellow biohazard tape on book store floor stands and in window displays. Minotauro is also distributing the book in Columbia and Peru, and plans further releases across South America.
In Germany, the entire trilogy went to Piper Verlag in best bid auction for a “significant” deal in high five figures.
Plague Year is also available on CD from Recorded Books, as narrated by stage actor Richard Ferrone. Film rights for the novel were optioned last week by award-winning producer James McNally of Seven Seas Jim.
Readers can find free excerpts of both Plague Year and Plague War at Carlson’s web site along with tour dates, blog, videos and more, including a mind-croggling sci fi trivia contest in which winners will be allowed to name a character after themselves or a friend in one of Carlson’s upcoming novels.
Labels: 4 Minutes Above 10000 Feet, book trailer, Millennium Press, Plague War, PLAGUE YEAR, Romanian publisher
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Bombshell Number One
That’s right. I said “Number one.” Which implies… more? Bwah ha HA ha ha ha ha! But this will have to hold us for now. Stay tuned.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Seven Seas Jim takes on ‘Plague Year’
Feature version of Carlson's sci fi thriller planned
Jim McNally of Seven Seas Jim is producing a feature version of Jeff Carlson’s high concept thriller “Plague Year.”
The novel, which is currently the lead hard cover from European publisher Minotauro in Spain and has also seen major releases in North America and in Germany, is about a medical nanotechnology that breaks loose and devours all warm-blooded life below 10,000 feet elevation.
“Plague Year” is the first of a planned trilogy published by Ace/Penguin in the U.S. and Canada. “Plague Year” was released last summer and its sequel, “Plague War,” appeared this August. Carlson’s other works include more than a dozen short stories such as the award-winning novelette “The Frozen Sky” and an upcoming adventure novel in collaboration with New York Times bestselling author David Brin.
Of “Plague Year,” McNally said, “It’s the unusual concept that spoke to me first, but ultimately the characters in this story are who really grabbed me—their grit and their resourcefulness in the face of ever-mounting odds.”
Film rights were secured via Vince Gerardis of the Created By Agency in a “nice” option against a mid-six figure pickup.
Jim McNally was vice president at LifeSize Entertainment, an international sales company and domestic distributor of over 50 specialty titles such as Academy Award Nominee "Zus and Zo," Spirit Award Nominee "Oasis," Kim Ki Duk's "Time" and Venice film festival award winner "Khadak." McNally is also the producer and editor of the feature films "Sleepover" and "Fear House." He envisions "Plague Year" as a post-apocalyptic summer blockbuster.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Seven Seas Jim takes on ‘Plague Year’
Feature version of Carlson's sci fi thriller planned
Jim McNally of Seven Seas Jim is producing a feature version of Jeff Carlson’s high concept thriller “Plague Year.”
The novel, which is currently the lead hard cover from European publisher Minotauro in Spain and has also seen major releases in North America and in Germany, is about a medical nanotechnology that breaks loose and devours all warm-blooded life below 10,000 feet elevation.
“Plague Year” is the first of a planned trilogy published by Ace/Penguin in the U.S. and Canada. “Plague Year” was released last summer and its sequel, “Plague War,” appeared this August. Carlson’s other works include more than a dozen short stories such as the award-winning novelette “The Frozen Sky” and an upcoming adventure novel in collaboration with New York Times bestselling author David Brin.
Of “Plague Year,” McNally said, “It’s the unusual concept that spoke to me first, but ultimately the characters in this story are who really grabbed me—their grit and their resourcefulness in the face of ever-mounting odds.”
Film rights were secured via Vince Gerardis of the Created By Agency in a “nice” option against a mid-six figure pickup.
Jim McNally was vice president at LifeSize Entertainment, an international sales company and domestic distributor of over 50 specialty titles such as Academy Award Nominee "Zus and Zo," Spirit Award Nominee "Oasis," Kim Ki Duk's "Time" and Venice film festival award winner "Khadak." McNally is also the producer and editor of the feature films "Sleepover" and "Fear House." He envisions "Plague Year" as a post-apocalyptic summer blockbuster.
Labels: Film rights, Hollywood, PLAGUE YEAR, Seven Seas Jim
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