The Deixis Press Weekly - Issue #34
This has been very much a winding-down week, ahead of the half term. I have made myself a list of notes for work to resume upon my return to my desk. Next week will all just be me reading for the First Novel Prize (which I mentioned last week). In case you missed it, if you’ve got a completed MS and you’ve never been traditionally published, why not check it out?
Monday, 7 February
Bit concerning to see they’re just throwing books in the sea these days. But seriously, though, have a look at that article for a brief intro to publishing’s supply chain issues aka “why is that book so wet expensive?”
And even if you do manage to buy a book, it turns out you’ll face serious problems in other ways:
Yikes!
No, I still haven’t done Jessica’s edits! But my living room is clean, I’ve put away all of the children’s board games, and dinner is in the slow cooker! And I wrote a whole work-related email. And tonight I’ll get some important files sorted out for Richard Gadz. So I haven’t lost all steam just yet.
Tuesday, 8 February
Genevieve got her author’s copies of Chocolate Cake for Imaginary Lives today.
Very gratifying. And if you don’t believe me that it’s a good book, why not look at what the actual Colman Andrews has to say:
Wednesday, 9 February
Today the paperback proofs of The Transfer Problem by Adam Saint finally arrived from the printer, which means I can now order review copies. In case you have forgotten:
A GLOBAL BANK IS HIDING A DARK SECRET
An artificial intelligence algorithm has been secretly implanted into its computer system…
A TERRIFYING NEW ADVANCE IN TECHNOLOGY
…but this aggressive and highly sensitive AI is good: so good that it bankrupts the entire world economy.
A frighteningly realistic new thriller, The Transfer Problem is an adrenaline-fueled mystery that takes readers to the heart of a dark world. Ethan, an introverted banker with a traumatic past, falls in love with Anna, an enigmatic scientist with whom he shares an academic interest in the philosophy of existence and consciousness. But with the reappearance of Ethan’s rogue brother Robert - a hacker who is forbidden from using technology - the hypothetical turns all too real: Robert convinces Ethan to let Anna transfer a conscious mind into Ethan’s trading algorithms.
But when Anna’s experiment goes well - too well, in fact, with world-altering consequences - Ethan finds himself on the run, searching for answers to Anna’s mysterious past and looking desperately for a way to give humanity its future back.
With nail-biting action and smart, technical themes, The Transfer Problem asks what it means to exist, to be real, and to be human. But it also asks an even bigger question: how far would you go to avenge yourself?
You guys, if you like thrillers, THIS is going to be a fantastic summer read for you. Adam is a smart guy who knows the technology he is writing about, so it’s great if you’re techy—but even if you’re not, this is such a fun read.
There’s a slight hitch in the Deixis get-along: Adam’s agent is currently selling The Transfer Problem separately to the Amerian market, which is huge for him (and for us), but it does mean that I am limiting its release to the world outside North America. So if you’re USian or Canadian, you’ll have to wait a little longer. But I advise the rest of you to get it and read it now, before Matt Damon finds it and casts himself as Ethan.
As ever, you can pre-order at the press website, or from Amazon, or by walking into your local bookshop and actually talking to one of your fellow mortals.
Thursday, 10 February
I have to sort out proper Business stuff—accounts, royalties, whatever statutory requirements I’ve got hanging over me, a contract for my agreement with Adam’s US agent—and this is not my area. Consequently, instead of being able to focus on this stuff, or to be able to forget it until I’m back from holiday and focus on other stuff today, I’m simply a mess. I did get some books parceled up and out to the post office, so I won’t call it a total loss.
Friday, 11 February
Finally, I shoved everything else away that’s stopping me from doing Jess’s edits and just . . . did them. I mean, I was always going to. Part of the problem, I think, is that finishing the edits on this book has been like when you can feel that you’re only 20 pages or so from the end of a book that you love, so you don’t read the read of it for 6 months because you don’t want the story to stop. Once these edits are done, the book can get packaged up and go out into the world and then it won’t be mine anymore. (Not that it’s mine. But it is, a bit.)
There are a couple of things I absolutely must finish tonight, but the big job is done.
Aaaaand that’s a wrap! I’ll see you on Friday 25 Feb (or thereabouts).
Yours,
Angel