October Questions

Why don’t you or your publisher set up an email list to notify people when a new book of yours comes out? I have missed the release on a few and happen to run across them months later.

While such a listing would certainly be beneficial, the simple answer is that my publisher isn’t about to take on the scope of such a project, since Tor would then have to do it for all authors or anger all those for whom Tor didn’t do that. I simply do not have the time and resources for that, not if I’m to continue writing books. I do post the release of new books here on my website, and I maintain a listing of all my books available in print there, but attempting to run mass emails is not in the cards, I fear.
 
Why am I always hungry when I read your books.  There are meals in each story.  Are you a chef?
Although I am not a chef, I’m a fairly good cook, and I’m married to a woman who is an excellent cook [when she’s not being an excellent lyric soprano and opera director].  This situation has necessitated our having to undertake far more exercise than either one of us envisioned when we were married many years ago.  I won’t claim to have fixed every single meal that has appeared in my books, but the vast majority of them, or something similar, have appeared on our table, except for those few requiring ingredients unavailable in our world.  The other reason for all the meals in the books is that, in most cultures, meals are one of the few places where people have time to talk and discuss matters.

4 thoughts on “October Questions”

  1. Ryan Jackson says:

    I know you’ve already said it’s an idea that’s possible but not in the near future, but I’d like to forward my voice as someone who’d love to buy a cookbook of these recipes.

  2. John Lord says:

    Hi,

    Hoping to be helpful, the person who would like to know when you have a new book, could use the http://www.changedetection.com/ website to monitor any specific page on your website to get automatically notified when it changes, as it might when you add a new book. Tor wouldn’t have to do anything. Mr Modesitt wouldn’t have to do any more than he already does. And the reader would get the desired emails. 🙂

    Love all the books and the way they (hopefully) make readers THINK. I also agree with the many sociological views expressed, also (but then I grew up reading R.A.Heinlein.)

  3. Alan says:

    Of note, Random House has a setup on their website which lets you view the authors they are publishing. Whenever one of them has a release coming out, they will conact you via e-mail to inform you of this. You select which authors you wish to be contacted about. Provide them with your information and an automated program takes care of the rest.

    Each publisher handles this differently. If you don’t like that system, here is an article that provides five services which will send you alerts: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-websites-alert-book-lovers-book-releases/

    Happy reading! 🙂

  4. Mike Conlon says:

    Mr. Modesitt,

    I for one am glad that you include the elements of life that many other authors leave out, such as the details of preparing food and eating. As a retired Navy “squid,” a Corpsman who deployed with both Marines and Soldiers, I find the attention to the details of primitive life add a great deal of realism. Many who have only existed in the “first world” cannot appreciate the value of a fire, light, or warm food-even if it is monotonously the same for weeks.

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