Jamie
asked
Scott Hawkins:
Any chance of a short story or novella that takes place in the after life, and from Margaret's point of view? Or maybe featuring one of the other librarians? Maybe the twins? The book was such a fantastic read, I'll admit I'm really just hoping for more of anything in the universe. It boggles my mind that this was a first book!
Scott Hawkins
Hey Jamie,
Hmm. Interesting idea.
Let me open by saying that I too would like to go back to librarian land. Writing that book was probably the most fun I've ever had, period. A lot of days it was like the floor dropped out from under me.
HOWEVER, I'm not completely sure I can pull it off, and I really don't want to churn out follow-ups that don't work. Sometimes it's better to leave well enough alone, you know?
So, here's where I'm at. Right now it's Feb. 1, 2016. I've got a short story on my hard drive that's sort of a followup to Mount Char. It's longish (~20,000 words), it's got the folks you'd expect to see. The problem is, it's just not very good.
I want to take another whack at it before releasing it onto the world, but right now I'm up to my neck in an unrelated book. I'm hoping to have that done in a couple of weeks. When the novel is done I'll take a look at polishing the short story.
If and when I get the short story sorted out, I'll put a link on my web site, announce it on Twitter / FB / Goodreads /etc. The short story will be a freebie.
Longer term--the idea about a series of short stories per librarian is interesting. Hmm. Margaret in particular. I've also got a couple ideas for a followup novel (maybe two) but, again, I don't want to put something out there if they're just going to come limping off the page. If I'd known Mount Char was going to get such a good reception I would have given more thought to sequels.
Anyway, probably not the answer you were looking for, but it's the best I've got. On the plus side, I do think the new book is turning out pretty fun.
While you're waiting, have you seen Bone Tomahawk? Great, great movie, and kind of in the vein of Mount Char. (So, like, lots of one-liners, but also a very dark storyline.) Highly recommended.
Hmm. Interesting idea.
Let me open by saying that I too would like to go back to librarian land. Writing that book was probably the most fun I've ever had, period. A lot of days it was like the floor dropped out from under me.
HOWEVER, I'm not completely sure I can pull it off, and I really don't want to churn out follow-ups that don't work. Sometimes it's better to leave well enough alone, you know?
So, here's where I'm at. Right now it's Feb. 1, 2016. I've got a short story on my hard drive that's sort of a followup to Mount Char. It's longish (~20,000 words), it's got the folks you'd expect to see. The problem is, it's just not very good.
I want to take another whack at it before releasing it onto the world, but right now I'm up to my neck in an unrelated book. I'm hoping to have that done in a couple of weeks. When the novel is done I'll take a look at polishing the short story.
If and when I get the short story sorted out, I'll put a link on my web site, announce it on Twitter / FB / Goodreads /etc. The short story will be a freebie.
Longer term--the idea about a series of short stories per librarian is interesting. Hmm. Margaret in particular. I've also got a couple ideas for a followup novel (maybe two) but, again, I don't want to put something out there if they're just going to come limping off the page. If I'd known Mount Char was going to get such a good reception I would have given more thought to sequels.
Anyway, probably not the answer you were looking for, but it's the best I've got. On the plus side, I do think the new book is turning out pretty fun.
While you're waiting, have you seen Bone Tomahawk? Great, great movie, and kind of in the vein of Mount Char. (So, like, lots of one-liners, but also a very dark storyline.) Highly recommended.
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