Dan Moren

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The Caledonian Gambit

  • Cover of the Year, shirts of January

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    Well, this year isn’t off to a bad start.

    First up, a big thanks to everybody who voted for The Caledonian Gambit’s cover over at The Qwillery’s Cover of the Year poll. There was some stiff competition from Sara O. Thompson’s Muddy Waters, complete with a lengthy teeter-tottering for first place, but I’m happy to say that we emerged from the scrum victorious, carried aloft on a ceremonial book cover. Or, well, the little bar on our results was just a little bit longer anyway. Anyway, that’s amazing and flattering, but full credit must go to cover artist Sebastien Hue and cover designer Rain Saukas, who did phenomenal jobs putting the whole thing together. The best that I can hope for is that it means you can judge my book by its cover. (And once again, I’m ever thankful that the folks at Talos didn’t opt to use my original cover design).

    Secondly, you might remember in my last post that I was going on a bit about my lateral move into apparel. Well, the response was simply fantastic: almost 90 people ordered shirts! Far more than I’d anticipated, but fortunately the good folks at Cotton Bureau were well up to the challenge. Orders are going out now, and hopefully everybody who ordered one should receive it in the next week or so.

    If you missed out on this run of shirts, you can still register your interest at Cotton Bureau, and they’ll let you know when it’s available to order again. Next time around, I’ll also probably make the Illyrican Empire option available as well, and maybe some new color options for the Commonwealth version too.

    Thanks again to those who decided that they wouldn’t mind walking around with a logo from my book emblazoned on their chest—truly, the highest honor. I look forward to seeing one in the wild at some point; then, I’ll know I’ve really made it. If you do have one and wear it some place I might see it—say, one of my upcoming appearances—who knows? Maybe I’ll have a special surprise for you.

    Finally, I’m at work on a few projects that I’m hopeful you’ll all enjoy, though most of them are early days. If you’re looking for a good book to read in the meantime, let me point you towards the excellent techno-thriller The Exphoria Code by my good friend Antony Johnston, whose name you might know from a little movie called Atomic Blonde. It’s a ripping good read, as you’d expect from him.

  • Getting shirty

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    Over the past few months, I’ve had great fun sending out free signed bookplates and handing out stickers emblazoned with the insignia of the Commonwealth of Independent Systems and the Illyrican Empire, the two major factions from The Caledonian Gambit. Between those and the stamps I had made for signings, it’s a fun way to bring a little personalization and depth to the story. But I wanted to take things a step further, so I’m pleased to announce that I’m selling my first t-shirt.

    The Commonwealth of Independent Systems shirt is now available for a limited time from Cotton Bureau, in one of three colors: a royal (canonical) blue, an indigo, and a military green. The campaign runs for two weeks, wrapping up on January 16 at 8pm EST, so make sure to place your orders before then. (And read on for how to enter to win a free shirt!)

    For you Illyrican fans out there, I haven’t forgotten about you. I’m considering doing an Illyrican shirt later on, depending on how sales of the Commonwealth shirt goes, but I opted to start with this one because in sending out bookplates, the Commonwealth versions were requested twice as much as the Illyrican. But here’s a sneak peek at what an Illyrican shirt will probably look like.

    I’m also offering a chance for one lucky person to win a free Commonwealth shirt! All you have to do to get a chance to win is subscribe to my very infrequent mailing list by entering your email address in the form below.

    I know, I know: giving away your email is a precious commodity these days. I understand completely. But I solemnly swear that the only thing you’ll get is a pretty rare email from me letting you know about announcements related to my writing and appearances. That’s it. Nobody else gets your email, and I won’t abuse the power. So you’ve got nothing to lose and a possible t-shirt to win!

    I’ll pick a winner from everybody who’s subscribed to the mailing list as of January 16, 9 a.m. EST, so if you’ve already signed up, you’re automatically entered. (That also gives me time to contact the winner and for you to still buy a shirt if you didn’t win.) Good luck!

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  • Audiobook, signed bookplates, and reviews

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    Hey friends! It’s been a couple weeks since The Caledonian Gambit officially hit shelves, and I’ve got a couple of fun pieces of news to share with you, my nearest and dearest pals.

    Audiobook

    A lot of people have asked if an audiobook version of TCG is coming. Good news: It is! Tantor Media is producing it, it’s scheduled to come out on July 20. Narrator Rob Grgach has already proved worth his weight in gold by catching a little math error in the text.1

    The CD version of the audiobook is already up for pre-order on Amazon, but I have it on good authority that a downloadable version will also be available and, as Tantor’s other titles are on Audible, I would presume it should be available there as well. More information as I get it, but if you’ve been waiting for the audiobook version, rest assured it’s on its way.

    Signed bookplates

    I got to sign a couple more books at WWDC this past week, but I’ve also had a lot of questions about where people can get signed copies. Unfortunately, right now, unless you’re in the Boston area (or someplace else that I’m visiting), you’re kind of out of luck. Currently, I don’t have any other plans for signings, but I’ll update my appearances page if they arise.

    However! If it’s simply an autograph and not my scintillating company that you crave, I’m more than happy to oblige. I’ve had some very attractive bookplates printed, and I’m more than happy to sign one and send it to you for the low low cost of absolutely nothing—I’ll even personalize it for you! Just head over to this form (the password is sabaea) and fill out your name, address, and any personalization you’d like.

    I’m offering two different styles of bookplates to choose from—Commonwealth and Imperium—and I’ll accommodate all requests as long as supplies last. The bookplates are adhesive, so you can stick ’em in your book if you want, but you certainly don’t have to—it’s yours to do with as you please!2

    A few other things are cooking on this front, so stay tuned.

    Reviews

    Finally, just close it out, a huge thanks to everybody who’s taken the time to leave a review or a rating of The Caledonian Gambit on Amazon, Goodreads, and the iBookstore. I really appreciate it. If you like the book and want to read more, this is one of the best (and, let’s be honest, easiest) ways to show your support! Other great options include telling your friends, telling your local bookstores, and telling random people on the street. But whatever you’re comfortable with, really.

    If you’ve read the book and enjoyed it, but haven’t yet had time to leave a review, no worries—there’s still time! Even a short sentence or two is all it takes. Plus it helps ensure that there may very well be more to come in the continuing adventures of these characters. On which topic, I hope to have more to say…soon…

    1. Whoops! Thanks, Rob!↩

    2. Well, I mean, don’t copy my signature and sell it. Rules and laws apply, etc, etc.↩

  • Ratings, giveaway, cover battle, and more

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    It’s less than a week before The Caledonian Gambit is out there in the wild 1, so it seemed like a good time to let you know what’s going on in the run-up to the book’s official release.

    Ratings and Reviews

    First of all, a huge thanks to everybody who has preordered the book. You folks are all champs, and I really appreciate the support. This is something I’ve been working hard on for years, and I’m about as excited as a cat chasing a laser pointer that it’s about to happen.

    If I may ask one last favor of you fine people: once you’ve read the book, if you like it, please tell the world.2 Tweet about it, tell your friends, climb up to the local rooftops and scream about it3, whatever.

    If you’re looking for a slightly easier way to share your fondness for the book, Goodreads and Amazon both make it pretty easy to rate books, and if you have time to leave a review—even a short one such as “I really enjoyed this book!”—that’s a huge help. If you’d like to write more, by all means, go nuts. But reviews might help other people decide to check it out, and that means I get to keep writing books, which, I think we’ll all agree, is the best thing for everybody right now: you, me, America.

    Goodreads Giveaway

    Speaking of Goodreads, just in case you’ve been holding off on pre-ordering the book, you have an opportunity to win your very own paperback edition from Goodreads. My publisher is giving away copies of The Caledonian Gambit to five lucky entrants! (As of this writing, amazingly, 193 people have entered. So you still have better than a 1-in-40 chance, which is way more likely than winning the lottery, and, honestly, comes with fewer long-term downsides.) The contest runs through May 25, so you’ve still got time to drop your name in the hat.

    Qwillery Poll

    Looking for other fun ways to support the book? The Caledonian Gambit is facing off in the Debut Author Challenge Cover Wars for May over at The Qwillery. We’ve got a pretty solid lead currently, but I don’t want to get cocky. If you haven’t yet taken a few seconds to register your vote, hit that link above and tell them how pretty you think the cover is.

    Reading/Q&A/signing on 6/1

    Boston-area people, if you’re looking for a chance to hear me read from the book, get your copy signed, and may even have your questions answered, good news! Thursday, June 1, at 7pm I’ll be at Newtonville Books in Newton Center, just a stone’s throw away from where I grew up. There’s a Facebook event to register your interest, if that’s your jam, but it’s not required, so feel free to drop by and say hi.

    Signed copies

    As long as we’re on the topic of signed copies, I’ve had a lot of people asking about how to have me scribble in their copy. At present, the only surefire way is to be in the Boston area, which is where I’m likely to hold most events. I’ll also be attending Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose early next month, so if you’re at the Relay FM meetup or some of the other events happening that week, just find me. (Or if you’re in the area but not at those events, shoot me a tweet and we’ll figure something out.)

    I’m working on a way to accommodate those of you who aren’t in the Boston area, but I’m not quite ready to share that yet. When I am, you can be sure that I’ll let you know. If you want to be among the first to get the details, remember you can always sign up for my super low volume mailing list from the front page.

    Thanks again for all your support. We’re in the home stretch here, so hold on tight.

    1. Excepting all those copies of the paperback that Amazon has already shipped, anyway, so thanks, Amazon!.↩

    2. If you didn’t like it, maybe just write an angry screed and post it on your refrigerator.↩

    3. My legal counsel advises me that I should not tell you to do this.↩