Greetings Picklesversians,
It’s the Ides of September, and I have some big news…
The ebook of Artificial Selection is out now at Amazon!
Yay!
If you pick up a copy, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
But that’s not all I’ve got to tell you about today. Read on for:
- A launch timeline for the paperback, hardback, and audiobook formats,
- An upgrade to the second edition of Beware the Ides of April, the prequel to Artificial Selection,
- Reader feedback,
- a map of what Britain and Ireland will look like after the Melt (based on real geographical data),
- and a few reflections from me as I come to the end of this four-month writing sabbatical.
Onwards!
Launch timeline
Here’s a quick guide to when you can expect the other formats of Artificial Selection to become available.
Ebook: Out now! It’s currently only available from Amazon, but that may change as time goes on.
Paperback: By the Ides of October (aka the 15th).
Special fancy jacketed hardback: Also by the Ides of October (aka the 15th). If you’re keen on beautiful books, this will be the format for you. (I’ve received the first proof copy and it’s as shiny as it is mesmerising!)
Audiobook: Late November. The casting has taken place, and I’m very excited to tell you who the voice actor’s going to be… but I’ll wait until the contract has been signed. For now I’ll just say she’s got a lot of experience with audiobook narration and she’s hugely talented.
These dates may change a little if anything happens that’s outside of my control, but all being well, they’ll be correct. As members of the Picklesverse, you will, of course, be the first to know when new formats are available.
Updated prequel
To celebrate the launch of Artificial Selection, I’ve produced a second edition of the prequel short story Beware the Ides of April. As a subscriber to the Picklesverse emails, this is an exclusive just for you.
So, what’s changed?
Well, the ebook itself has nicer formatting. (I’m now using fancy software to create my books.) I also had the story professionally copyedited, which led to some minor changes to the wording in places. And it also contains… the map! (More on that below.)
So, if you haven’t had a chance to read the prequel yet, there’s never been a better time.
An exclusive audiobook version of this new edition of the prequel is also coming soon (with the same production schedule as Artificial Selection).
You’d beta believe it!
I want to take a moment to send out a massive thank-you to everyone who read a pre-launch copy of Artificial Selection and sent me their feedback. Their insightful comments have helped immensely.
I’ve mentioned all of these “beta readers” in the acknowledgements, and thanked them individually, but it doesn’t hurt to do it again. Sending my huge gratitude to Amanda Lloyd, Chris Edgoose, Glyn Hughes, Clare Williams, Robert Williams, Roy Allan, and Dan Frost. You’re my heroes!
Here are a few anonymised quotations from their feedback:
“I was intrigued from the outset and felt compelled to read on and find out the answers.”
“Had a feeling of being in a classic mystery with a PI. Although set in the future in an interesting landscape. Sort of feels like there is hope for the future if we can solve some AI and tech challenges.”
“A great sci-fi book with a flawed protagonist that you can really root for. It’s written in a pacy and breezy style that keeps you turning the page. It has a great sense of humour, without being ‘comic’. … It’s about a future where a lot has gone wrong, but where there is optimism about the future … At its heart it’s a story about the relationships between people and how their beliefs and their emotions can shape how they behave to others. It has a cracking mystery at its centre too.”
“What I like about the premise is that it is very ‘now’ and zeitgeisty. Humans working for the AI which looks after us is a weird scenario and it’s fun reading it play out.”
The map was created by, and used with the permission of, the conservationist Neahga Leonard. Neahga used the geographical data sources listed below to show what this region would really look like if all of Earth’s sea ice and glaciers were to melt, causing sea levels to rise by around seventy metres. I then adapted the map to add the relevant novel-related labels.
Interesting stuff… but my house is underwater!
Map data sources:
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2022). ETOPO 2022 15 Arc-Second Global Relief Model. https://doi.org/10.25921/fd45-gt74. Accessed August 21, 2024.
Natural Earth Data. (2009). 10m Bathymetry. Accessed September 3, 2018.
Some reflections…
As the sun sets on my four-month sabbatical, I’d like to share a few thoughts about the experience.
I’m outrageously grateful to have had this time to do what I love. I’m a vastly happier and healthier person than I was four months ago and (at the risk of spewing forth a terrible cliche) I’ve learned a lot, not just about writing, but about myself. It was certainly the most expensive birthday present I’ve ever given myself, but after sixteen years of working full-time I’m glad to have had the opportunity to take this break. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and one of the most joyful experiences I’ve ever had.
I say “break”. I’ve actually been working very hard! But writing and editing and publishing don’t feel like work to me. They feel more like those (comparatively rare) occasions when I give in to my deep-seated primal urge to gorge myself on chocolate chip muffins (aka they’re delicious and satisfying and extremely pleasurable with no negative consequences whatsoever, except that I had to pay someone for the muffins because I can’t cook. Or bake… It’s bake, isn’t it, with muffins? This is the extent of my lack of knowledge on the subject).
Anyway, I could probably summarise the biggest lesson I’ve learned as: “always do the thing.” Meaning, if there’s something you’ve always wanted to do, and not doing it is making you unhappy, and you have the opportunity to do it…
Do it!
(This thought sponsored by Nike.)
The exception would be if the thing that makes you happy is something really sinister, like gambling, or tormenting ducks, or becoming a supervillain. Then I’d say get some counselling instead.
Anyway, now it’s time for me to say goodbye to my sabbatical and hello to a new chapter as a juggler (of writing and work… I’m not running away to join the circus. Perhaps that’s an idea for my next sabbatical).
That’s all from me for this month. I hope all’s well in your own personal universes.
Until the Ides,
Marianne
