This summer sees the re-publishing of The Secret War series,
beginning with the first novel, The
Secret War, first published by Pan Macmillan/Tor in the UK ,
Goldmann (Random House) in Germany ,
and La Factoria de Ideas in Spain .
After an absence of several months from e-book lists
worldwide (while the English language rights were reverted) the first book is
being re-published in e-book form by the Thirst eDition Fiction Project. But
with a difference.
The original book has been revised, re-edited, and in places
even re-written. What started out as a simple job of tidying up typos has
become much more. I’m a different writer to the one who submitted the original
book way back in 2005, a
better writter you might say, and this was an opportunity to apply what I’ve
learned since then to make the book a much tighter read than it was, in preparation
for plans ahead.
So what we’ve been doing is “building a better Secret War”
for its publication this year. We’ve been removing the continuity errors,
factual mistakes, and generally making the book read so much better. The story
is unchanged as are the characters, but they’ll be a few surprises for those
who have read the original.
I am aware that there might be a few irate readers who have
bought the original and could feel aggrieved at having to buy it again, but do
not despair, the changes aren’t massive and certainly do not warrant buying the
book again if you are happy with the paperback or hardback on your shelves… But
if you are curious about the changes,
you’ll only have to fork out a couple of quid for the e-book.
As part of the bookselling ethos of Thirst eDition Fiction,
I’ve agreed to re-publish The Secret War
for no more than £1.99, a bargain compared to the prices of before. (Unfortunately
there are no plans to publish the new edition as a paperback or hardback unless
there is a demand for it.)
And there’s more news
too...
The re-publishing of The
Secret War will pave the way for a new Secret War novel under the working
title of The Blood on the Seine, a
book set before the events of The Hoard
of Mhorrer (which is also being re-published in the coming months). The Blood on the Seine will be a William
Saxon novel, a historical thriller through the streets of 19th
century Paris , featuring vampires,
demons, the Rassis Cult and plenty of swashbuckling adventure and pyrotechnics.
The details are pretty vague at the moment as there’s only a synopsis for the
book and I have yet to sit down to write it – but it is scheduled to be written
after the summer with a publication date of around 2013/2014.
As always, once there is more news, I’ll be posting it here,
but also check the Thirst eDition Fiction website for news on these books and
others from the stable (I can recommend them all!)
Best wishes
Matt