Operation Countdown!

We are at 52 days and counting, for the launch of The Reefs of Time! You can tell by the countdown timer I’ve installed on the front page of my website. I’m taking this seriously! This is rocket science. Also, alien science, with a side of quantum entanglement, on a scale that no human scientist would know how to do. (But those alien scientists: They’re pretty smart. If you don’t believe me, take a ride in one of their n-space ships. Basically, 0 to 60 [parsecs] in three imaginary seconds.)

I decided I needed a name for this project. It’s not just a launch of Reefs, and not just a launch of Crucible. It’s also a relaunch of all the earlier books in the series—in print, not just in ebook. I got tired of calling it “my book launch mega-shoot-me-now-project,” or whatever phrase sprang to mind at any given time. As of today, it’s Operation Countdown! Our motto: Launch or Die!

Here’s where we are in the countdown:

Uncorrected (but still pretty good) eARCs, or ebook advance reading copies, ready — Check!
Reefs proofread and corrected and formatted for print — Check!
Reefs cover finished — Check!
First print proofs ordered from Amazon — Check!
First print proofs from Ingram… um, still vaporware. Soon! Soon!
First review-copy eARCs sent out to Publishers Weekly and Locus — Check!
Review-copy print ARCs sent out to other publications… Soon!
Review eARCs available through NetGalley to qualified reviewers — June 1 — Check!
Various promotional activities underway (Bookbub promotion, coasters, flyers, ads, other stuff) — getting there! Marathon, not a sprint!
Crucible proofread, and corrections and formatting… In progress!
Crucible cover art — In progress!
New print editions of four previous books… in progress, but not very far along. Hope springs eternal.

Can I stop now? (That’s actually just the highlights. I could keep going, but you get the idea.) By the way, that image up there is the full wraparound cover for the print edition, gorgeous art by Chris Howard and smackdown type design by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff. Click on the image to see it bigger and clearer. It’s in CMYK format, which is for print. The colors are a bit exaggerated on a screen.

Launch at 52 days and counting. What’s that gokat doing on the launch gantry??

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