Wow, it’s been a while, huh? Sorry about that. A veritable Sahara of news since May, really. But now I have something to announce, so gather close, you lot!
First order of business is The Ace Of Skulls. I’m a quarter way through and it’s all going very nicely, thank you. However, I think it’s probably now time to let you know that this will be the last of the Tales Of The Ketty Jay. No, put down your knives/poison canisters/thermite detonators, this is for your own good, you know! I always intended that the KJ series was going to be a series of standalones with an overarching story that I could draw to a close in one book. In the planning of this book I came to realise that I’ve just about reached the limit in that sense. There’s already so much stuff to tie up after three books. Either this series was going to metamorphosise into a much more sprawling tale, and risk rambling off into infinity, or I could close it down while I still have it under control and while I can still deliver a book with the necessary pace and verve to keep all you hungry KJ fans happy right till the final page. So I plumped for the latter. I’d rather leave you with four good books than three good, three medium and one that leaves you with a nasty taste in your mouth like you just chewed on a piece of rancid biltong. At least this way you’ll get a proper ending and you won’t go all Mass Effect 3 on my ass (incidentally, the ending to that series was fine, don’t know what all the fuss was about…)
Secondly, some crazy exciting weird news. Broken Sky is coming to ebook! And I’m doing it myself! Eep.
So here’s the story. Scholastic didn’t want to republish Broken Sky so they weren’t willing to put it out in ebook form, and therefore the rights for the books came back to me. However, Broken Sky was written so long ago that I didn’t even have Word at the time and I lost all the original files. Scholastic rather kindly provided me the pdfs of the books to work off, and I converted them to ebook formats and then started going through them to sort out the inevitable formatting errors that arose.
However…
Well, I’d gone about half a paragraph before I was like ‘Ooh, that’s not a very clever sentence. Would make more sense if I just changed it around a bit. There.’ And then three lines on I was like ‘Wait a minute, I just used that word. Better change it.’ And then a bit further and I was like ‘Man, this bit doesn’t even make sense’ and… well, you see what’s happened. Thirteen years on, I like to think I’m a bit of a better writer than I was back then, and I just couldn’t resist the urge to start editing them. And like Ripley with Newt, now I’ve made a clean spot, I have to do the rest.
Now don’t worry, I’m not going all George Lucas on ‘em. The story, characters, all of that are just where you left ‘em. All I’m doing is tidying up the grammar, making sentences clearer, getting rid of repetition and redundant parts, all that boring stuff. It is taking me ages, but I think it’s worth it, as I still have a warm glowy place in my heart for Broken Sky. Think of this as Broken Sky Remastered rather than a director’s cut.
Anyway, I am now entering the strange world of self-publishing, where few published authors have bothered dared to tread. I’m still a bit hazy as to what I’ll do with it once I’ve finished polishing it up, and it is gonna take a good while to go through all the books since I’m busy working on The Ace Of Skulls, but eventually I plan to release them in Kindle format and ePub for all other e-readers. Really, my primary concern is that I don’t want these books to go out of print. Because they’re ace. And that’s final 
Watch this space, as ever…
I’m already suffering separation anxiety from the crew. I’ll try to keep my Harkinsism under control (“OhgodwhatamIgonnadonow?Whatifsomeonedies!Ican’thandlethiskindofpressure!PUTMEINTHEFIRECROWINEEDTOSHOOTSOMETHING!”) Kinda bittersweet, loving them so much and wanting all the answers.
And, sweet baby Jesus, das good. I ALMOST want to buy an eReader.
…. Almost.
whoa
Will the ebook be available in US and Canada?
Hey Chris, glad to hear the fourth Ketty Jay is going well. Sorry to hear this will be the last book. I am really loving them, but I’m sure I will enjoy whatever you move onto yet! Also, I trust your judgement about when it is time to end. But still, sad day.
I’ve not read Broken Sky yet so I will definitely pick up the ebook. You promise that Han will still shoot first after your editing though?
I have the Broken Sky series printed in three books, but knowing you’ve edited them a little makes me want to take a look! I don’t have a Kindle though, I’m rather behind the times. Maybe one day! I still remember first coming across the series in the local library when I was at school… So many people had borrowed it that it was in a real mess, and when I took it home, the cover fell off. I was horrified! XD
Looking forward to the last KJ book (though I will be sad to see it end). I’ve seen no sign of my copy of The Iron Jackal since my cousin borrowed it months back… I want to read it again.
Well, this is a crap way to start my morning
The Kitty Jay crew is a perfection and a rarity in this day and age and you’re cutting them loose? I shall go into a life-long hibernation after the fourth book as my sign of protest and support for the characters and you shall feel guilty for not releasing any more books and will write moar! BWAHAHA! *coughsplatter*
… Rarity. What a good word. Love starting out my morning seeing a good word in a sentence. Gotta say that aloud. Rarity.
And don’t be sad, Katya, that just means he can start a new series. I’ve yet to find one of his that’s a disappointment, really, and books are made to be reread. And hoarded. And repurchased when the old ones fall apart.
Hmm. Wise words there, Blunderbess, wise words.
Roll on the new series! *superhero pose*
having a new post to read is always good news. having it filled with news that broken sky is coming back and with a face-lift, is incredible. This is the series that made me want to be a writer.
Sad news that the ketty jay will be ending, but i totally agree that it’s better to have four amazing books than to run it in to the ground (which frankly your not possible of doing).
Broken Sky remastered? Looks like it’s time to re-read my favorite book series!
Thanks for your comments, all.
@ James – Yes, it’ll be available in the US & Canada. Even if you can’t buy it from Amazon for some reason, you’ll be able to download it directly from this website.
@ Ryan – Han will always shoot first! No, like I said, I’m not touching the plot or changing any scenes or anything like that, even if I think some bits could be improved. Just hunting down misplaced clauses, rogue semicolons and tidying up sentence structure.
Anyone who doesn’t have an ebook, you can still read it on your computer, but then your eyes would end up like salad eggs so I wouldn’t recommend it.
Ah. I do like stories with endings, and I find that finite stories with a definite destination are always more appealing than comics or series that just keep going. That being said, I hate that Ketty Jay is ending. Hate hate hate.
[...] http://www.chriswooding.com/broken-sky-ebux-redux/ [...]
A new message! It’s something nice to find, especially with news on the KJ series! So one final book, exciting but that’s going to be some challenge. I can think of a dozen questions I’d love to have answered within the next book about the story, and that’s without going into the stories behind say the centuary knights (which seem exciting enough for a stand alone book/series of their own) or how things conclude between the awakeners and the arch-duke. Saying that, given the level of atifice that’s put into your plots and knowing so much will be concluded, TAOS is going to be immensely satisfing for any reader. Having to wait a year and a half will be an acute sufferance for such a satisfaction, but alas that’s the nature of good literature.
Have you thought about taking KJ to the silver screen? This genre is wanting of late for something like this (especially after executives took firefly out behind the shed and shot it) they’re even bringing back Red Dwarf ths year (not the same but it shares alot of the same target demografic)
Oh! and finally bought a copy of The Fade, so looking forward to sitting down with it.
P.S. Any chance you’ll be attending the World Fantasy Convention in 2013? thinking about getting tickets since they’re being held in Brighton!
Have I thought about taking KJ to the silver screen? To quote Joe Abercrombie (oh God, he’d love it if he knew I was quoting him…) that’s like asking if I’ve thought about winning the lottery. It’s not really up to me.
World Fantasy Con, yes, I shall very likely be there, as a spectator/barfly if not as a participant.
Cool! I’ve just bought my Ticket. You’re the second author I’ve had a tentative maybe but likely from that isn’t already signed up so there’s a best and worst case scenario that goes from great to frickin’ mind blowing…
I’d definitely treat you to a drink. Sky’s the limit. Oh, wait… I’m both poor and stuck in America without a passport.
…
Does the sky suddenly look a lot smaller to anyone else?
Well like they say, all super fantastic things that make your life worth living must come to an end. I’ve already read The Black Lung Captain and The Iron Jakal twice just to get my fill of the KJ crew. I do have a couple request please: make the Ace of Skulls really long and if possible…..can you give it kinda a happy ending? I’ve fallen in love with the caracters and I would cry if one of them died and it would be really nice if ONE of them had luck with their love. Except Harkins. Him and Jez is…weird. Maybe she can have Slag since he likes her now. I’m not one for happy endings (I mean that’s why I read your books) but just this time would be really for (lack of a better word) nice.
damn olympics made me make a stupid mistake with brackets in last sentance. dammit dammit dammit >_<
I was only kidding and knew you were keeping the plot the same
I agree with Richard that the Century Knights are strong enough to support a spin-off by the way.
Now I’m thinking about a BBC version of Ketty Jay in the vein of Doctor Who/Merlin/Sherlock/Dirk Gently. I would definitely give up both my Birthday and Christmas presents for such a wonderous happening.
Yo there!
I wanted to write sooner but all I typed then was something like “bawww noooo whyyyy”. So here’s a more eloquent and grown-up comment (haha, I wish): That is sad news. I really like the characters and the world the story is set in. I will be pretty heartbroken when I’ve read the final words of that (soon to be) tetralogy. But I can fully understand the decision! Lest it grows and mutates into something so monstrous and confusing that no one will really like it anymore – better stop while it’s still good and enjoyable.
Just don’t … erm, kill anyone off just because it’s the final volume. Don’t go all Joss Whedon on us. >_> *wimp*
But the world is so vast and there is so much to explore – is there any chance that there might be some sort of spin-off set in the same universe? (Unless of course book four ends with a meteor hitting the planet and destroying everything in a giant explosion. Then there might be not enough left to write about.)
I look forward to reading The Ace of Skulls. I am sure it’s a fitting and satisfying ending for this great series.
And! I shall buy those ebook-BSky-editions! *_* I’m just sad I cannot put’em on my shelf next to the others. ;D Will they include the drawings as well?
Hey you,
I couldn’t possibly give away the details of the meteor that’s going to crash and destroy all of – DAMMIT. Well, I guess assuming the entire world isn’t obliterated then you can never say never about a same-universe spin-off, but I don’t know. I’m not big on spin-offs in general; I’d rather just make up something new. Anyway, I’m not thinking any further than the end of Bk 4 for now. As to killing people off, you’ll have to wait and see. I do have form in the old killing-off-major-characters stakes, as you know *heartless cackle*
The BSky editions won’t include the drawings, sadly, as Scholastic own the copyright and they won’t let me use them. It’s nothing personal, just a blanket company policy they have. They’ll also need to have different covers, for the same reason, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it…
Your KJ characters have held a special fondness with me more than any other characters I can think of from the many books I’ve read over recent years. Instead of being bummed about the series not going on forever (of course we all want to be selfish and have something good last forever) I’m just going to thank you for all your time and talent in giving us the KJ series and ending it on a high note. It’s already a treasured part of my book collection. I’m looking forward to your e-book redux and will continue to look for notes on your upcoming books.
Just have to say, I’m really happy with the KJ-Books I’ve read so far (#1 and #2). I’m really looking forward for book #3 when it’s translated into German – because my English is not good enough for these dialoges full of black humour and the whimsical story twists (=Books for Adults). But I have to give your YA books (I didn’t know) e.g. The Broken Sky ebook a try.
Sorry for any mistakes…
Loved the Fade, enjoyed the Weavers trilogy, Ketty J brilliant, not happy the 4th is the last though ,thank you Chris , have been a sci fi / fantasy nut for years i have really enjoyed your work for years , i am 66 years young ,thank from Trev in OZ .
Damn. Yours is the best series I’ve read in years and I’m already hungry for more. There’ll be a big Ketty Jay shaped hole in my universe after The Ace of Skulls, but I respect your reasons for finishing it then.
Oh my, I am so sad to read that the Ace of Skulls will be the last one. I have really loved your books. I’m trying to say something accurate to express how I feel about it but unfortunately my english is too poor, so let’s just say that you grabbed me in your story like it hardly ever happend to me and when you let me out I had this smile that was crossing my head from an ear to the other and my head was full of epic images.
Yet I understand why you want to stop, and I guess it is for the best. Still, if one day you come with a great idea for a new Tale, I hope you will use it anyway. It would be a pity not to.
I have one question to ask. I am a roleplaying gamemaster for my friends and I think it could be really fun to bring them in your universe and make them have the same kind of adventures your characters did, playing another crew in a small aircraft and so on. When I read your first book my first thought was “Wow, this would make an amazing roleplaying universe”. Are you in some way opposed to that ? Have you ever thought of it ? And if you allow it, is there a map of Vardia available somewhere ?
Okay this is more than one question… sorry
. And sorry if there are any mistakes (I’m sure it’s the case), english is not my native language (but reading the Tales of the Ketty Jay has improved it).
Thank you again for all the fun !
Mara
Hey, no way! That’s not right, that is just not right at all. The Ketty Jay series is the only series that i’ve followed in years. No, you have to reconsider, you have to at least go back to your original plan for another two or three books to tie it all in together properly. You might be concerned that you can’t maintain the pace for 2 or 3 more books, but it would be worse to rush it, cram everything into a single one, not give everything the space and treatment it deserves and then, as a result, leave a bad taste in the mouth of your slightly obsessive and neurotic fans. Chris, don’t do it mate, i’m beggin’ you; think of the fans……oh the humanity of it all, think of your fans……………….!!!!!
@ Michael – Why thank you, that’s very gracious. Here’s hoping it does end on a high note
@ Mara – I do have a map of Vardia but not anything I can post up. It may or may not make an appearance in the Ace of Skulls, I haven’t decided yet. As to the RP, I can’t see any reason why you couldn’t GM a game in the KJ universe with your friends, if that’s what you’re asking?
@ Christopher – Um, tying it up with one book WAS the original plan. There’s only so far you can string out a character arc before it becomes repetitious and boring. Last thing I want is for people just to get sick of it. Always leave ‘em wanting more, that’s what some famous person said once. I’ve seen way too many TV shows and books series that I loved turn to dross because they’d milked the story dry but not, alas, the punters. Gonna do my best not to be responsible for one of those. Just trust me, huh? I know what I’m doing.
I know, i know, i should just have a bit of faith! But you going to wrap up the frey & trinica story, Malvery’s redemption, Crake’s romantic pretensions with a Century Knight and if he can ever get Bess back, the impending war with them rotdamned Sammies, Silo and Murthian liberation, the resident half demon and her issues about her eventual fate, the demon’s themselves and where they fit in, the Azryx and their story, will Harkins ever chill out, will Pinn ever…….well, you know, be whatever it is that Pinn is going to be: and so on!!!! One more book to wrap all this up? I think there would be two books in that don’t you? Any less and it coyld seem ‘hasty, don’t you think? Sigh, up to you but you have created something brilliant that so many people enjoy but it feels like we’re just getting started. Don’twrap it up just yet. My two cents worth anyway.
Don’t trust him, Christopher. He doesn’t actually know what he’s doing. :I He just wants us to THINK he does.
Hello again,
Okay, so a television series might be out of your hands, just thought I’d ask to see if you were opposed to the idea (as some authors can be) or whether there might be something in the works your agent was actively pursuing. Didn’t mean to get everyone excited =P
SO another question that again might be out of your control but I’d love to know: Will there be a Limited Edition copy of the KJ books much in the same vein as many of your contemporaries? Perhaps including a copy of Maps, a few illustrations and signed by yourself. I’d Love of one those!
Hope your enjoying the olympics! (they’re brilliant I’m enjoying them way more than I thought I would!)
Hello,
Thanks a lot for the effort, I live in Paris, and it is next to impossible to find a copy of Broken Sky here! If you release it as an ebook I could read it in Kindle and that would be perfect! I have read all the books when I was younger and I loved the series, especially the Anime influenze… I hope to read it once again someday.
I some-what agree with Christopher in the way that I hope you can cram everything into The Ace of Skulls. Oh and Blunderbess, here I thought you were best buddies with Chris, now you’re kinda insulting him….not that I don’t agree with you XP
This is terribly disappointing news. Thankfully I just got all of the books in hardback for my library. I am looking forward to seeing where the fourth book takes things and will be sad to see the adventures come to an end.
Regadless of the end, you should be extremely proud of the beginning and know that they have been excellent stories, told with just the right touch of humor and drama and that is why we will all miss these characters.
@ Richard – Limited Editions are also beyond my control, they tend to be done by small presses and so the presses choose which books they want to do a special edition of. Nobody’s asked me yet!
Hi Chris. I checked out the forum for the first time and I read that Malice was inspired by a creepy conversation with some dude on a Tube train? Would you mind elaborating on that? I mean I am truly curious now since Malice is my second favourite book.(next to the KJ books)
Does this mean that the Broken Sky series will be writing only, like the eBook version of Abraham Lincoln- Vampire Hunter? Aww… That’s not nice of Scholastic! As for taking it to the silver screen, can I have a part? Please? ^_^
Half of me admires you for leaving the series on a high and the other half curses you for making us leave the crew after too few stories!
So if Darian Frey and Mal Reynolds got in a fist fight… who would win?
Well, as long as he isn’t getting booted in the face or kicked in the nuts by a girl, I’m pretty sure Frey would win…
Any news on Broken Sky makes me sooo happy. Remastered? So sweet. Already have 1-7 of the American Scholastic edition and the trilogy re-release, so why not add the digital version too?! Can’t wait.
PS – I was going through Wooding Withdrawal after finishing TBP, so I finally started The Fade. Just awesome stuff!
Chris,
Do you think you will write new stories in the KJ world? I think that as much as many as anyone likes the crew, it’s not hard to imagine a character’s story running out of steam, especially for an author. As a reader I often get the ‘okay this was the main character in book one, but now it’s book seven and the character hasn’t grown in a while’ feeling while reading genre fiction. I agree that you should end on a high note.
So back to my question, would you write more stories for the world with different characters? I guess it will depend on whether you feel there is a story there for you to tell, but what I am really asking is have you ruled it out? Personally I love the world, and would happily read any more explorations of it, even if any KJ characters don’t make a cameo.
I am sure you have other great stories and worlds to build, but with the KJ books you really captured my imagination.
Got The Braided Path omnibus in the mail, at long last. Mein gott. It doubles as a book / weightlifting equippment. It’s daunting just to LOOK at the thing.
… *cracks knuckles* dis gon be guud. C:<
I’m so excited for this. I’ve been trying to find these books for a long time because they’re my favorite but no one ever has them. =D
OH. MY. GOD. I am so excited for the remastered Broken Sky! BS (oooh…maybe I’ll avoid using the abbreviation…) was the first of your work I read, and it is to this day the series for which I have the most love and affection. It is what solidified my faith in the power of fantasy and scifi.
That said, going back to them after reading Braided Path, I could definitely see how far you have come. I can’t imagine how exciting it must be to actually get to go back and polish your old work and actually get to put it out there! I’m sure many authors long for this opportunity! I’m so excited for you, and I’m so excited for me, and when I get to re-visit one of my most beloved tales in brand shiny new packaging!
Also, I think you’re making the right call with the Ketty Jay series, as I really can’t stand rambly series’ that never seem to get anything significant done. I’m sure you would have held it together longer than most, but I’m really pumped to see how you bring this story to a crescendo while it’s still going full-strength. I know it will be amazing, and when I finish it, I will have changed my mind about being happy you’re ending it.
Acgkjh, yes, very excited about everything. In fact I startled my boyfriend with my excited outcry when I read about Broken Sky. I need to start coming here more often again, so I get such exciting news more promptly…
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^Malvery, get off the Internet. You’re drunk. :I
Chris,
Long ago, during a deployment to Afghanistan, I scanned a lot of different books and bought whatever sounded interesting, letting them rot away together for the long stretch of time before I actually sat down and started reading. Recently, while scanning for a new book to read in this digital pile of things I’d bought long ago, I came across a book.
Retribution Falls.
I felt steam punk was a good way to go for the time, so I started reading…and didn’t stop until 3 AM the next morning. After a few hours of sleep, I woke up, and to my joy discovered I had already bought The Black Lung Captain as well. I just finished that a few hours away, and was ready for more…but ALAS! Iron Jackal wasn’t there. “No problem,” I thought, “I can just hop on Barnes and Noble and pick it up.”
Wrong! Looking around, I’m finding it hard to find your books, physical or Nook. Reading reviews and summaries has me VERY curious about The Weavers of Saramyr….but I won’t lie, I want more of the crew of the Ketty Jay. And with it already published, Iron Jackal just seems to be…taunting me.
Do you have a preferred vendor for books? Is there anywhere a sad American man like me can find an autographed copy of anything, even a napkin? I’ve come to appreciate your work, and hope you can give me the info I need to get more of it.
Yours,
Anthony Snow
Sad, Bookless American Boy (…Boy might not be accurate, I’m in my twenties.)