Category Archives: Newsletters

Newsletters

Newsletter #89

Posted on December 1, 2015 by admin

NEWSLETTER #89 December 1, 2015 Dear People, Lots of news this time around. Most important to me is that I’ve started plotting the next novel, a completely different space opera for Tor. It’s early days yet, but the business is … Continue reading →

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Newsletter #88

Posted on October 1, 2015 by admin

NEWSLETTER 88: October 1, 2015 Dear People, First, this is late (we’re starting a new two-month schedule with it) because of timing rather than anything really bad. I went to England at the end of August, and my webmaster Karen … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged England, John Lambshead, Robert E Howard | Comments Off

Newsletter #87

Posted on July 7, 2015 by admin

Newsletter 87: July 7, 2015 Dear People, I continue to chunk forward on DEATH’S BRIGHT DAY, the next RCN space opera. I’m at over 80K as I write this. I’ll have more to say about this at the end of … Continue reading →

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Newsletter #86

Posted on May 6, 2015 by admin

NEWSLETTER 86: May 5, 2015 Dear People, Death’s Bright Day, the next RCN space opera, is chunking along. I’m at 37.4K this morning (but am taking a break to write this newsletter). I trimmed the plot before I started; now … Continue reading →

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Newsletter #85

Posted on March 6, 2015 by admin

NEWSLETTER 85: March 6, 2015 Dear People, I have a complete plot for the next RCN space opera. Furthermore, I have a title: Into Death’s Bright Day. I’m going to give the plot another pass to smooth things out so … Continue reading →

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Newsletter #84

Posted on January 6, 2015 by admin

NEWSLETTER 84: January 6, 2015 Dear People, Happy New Year, all of you. I hope that you’re doing well and that 2015 goes well for you, whatever that means in your terms. Things with me are fine. I said in … Continue reading →

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Newsletter #83

Posted on November 3, 2014 by admin

NEWSLETTER 83: November 3, 2014 Dear People, I’m between projects now, so I’m spinning my wheels wildly. This is the same thing each time so I’m not complaining…. Well, heck, maybe I am complaining. Nobody drafted me into this job. … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Hammer's Slammers, Kirby McCauley, RCN Series | Comments Off

Newsletter #82

Posted on September 2, 2014 by admin

Newsletter 82: September 2, 2014 Dear People, I finished! I finished Air and Darkness! Free at last! Well, it certainly felt like that. This one was slower going than most. I continued to get daily wordage, but it wasn’t as … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Air and Darkness, Audible.com, Facebook Fan Page, General Series, Vietnam War, Yard work | Comments Off

Newsletter #81

Posted on July 11, 2014 by admin

NEWSLETTER 81: July 11, 2014 Dear People, All is well, but I don’t have much to say. This is a placeholder just to assure people that I haven’t died or given up writing or been kidnapped by white slavers. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Air and Darkness, Beach, Into the Hinterlands, Into the Maelstrom | Comments Off

Newsletter #80

Posted on May 2, 2014 by admin

NEWSLETTER 80: May 2, 2014 Dear People, Air and Darkness, the last of the four Books of the Elements fantasies for Tor, proceeds. As usual, it isn’t rocketing along, but I’m making steady progress. And grumping a lot because I’m … Continue reading →

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Newsletter #79

Posted on March 4, 2014 by admin

NEWSLETTER 79: March 4, 2014 Dear People, I’m beavering away at Air and Darkness, the final Book of the Elements for Tor. I’m in the middle of chapter four. Things are falling into place bit by bit, as they do. … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Depression, Eric Flint, General Series, Steve Stirling, Tony Daniel, Writing | Comments Off

Newsletter #78

Posted on January 13, 2014 by admin

NEWSLETTER # 78: January 13, 2014 Dear People, I have a rough plot for Air and Darkness! And I’m about halfway through polishing and expanding it, though there’s a lot of work to go before I start writing… but writing … Continue reading →

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Newsletter #77

Posted on November 3, 2013 by admin

NEWSLETTER #77: November 3, 2013 Dear People, Two months ago I said I had a direction on the plot for Air and Darkness, the final novel in the Books of the Elements fantasy series for Tor. The plotting has proceeded, … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Education | Comments Off

Newsletter #76

Posted on August 31, 2013 by admin

DRAKE NEWSLETTER 76: September 1, 2013 Dear People, MONSTERS OF THE EARTH, the third of my Books of the Elements, is out from Tor. The Donato cover painting and the production treatment are just as good as they have been … Continue reading →

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Newsletter #75

Posted on July 9, 2013 by admin

NEWSLETTER 75: July 8, 2013 Dear People, I’m exhausted. In the past two months I’ve finished the rough of The Sea Without a Shore, the next RCN space opera, at 123,020 words; and I’ve spent two weeks in Italy. (I’ll … Continue reading →

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Newsletter #74

Posted on April 15, 2013 by admin

NEWSLETTER 74: April 15, 2013 Dear People, This is a trifle early, but Jo (my wife) and I are going off to Italy at the end of the month for two weeks with a couple we’ve known for about 40 … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Eric Flint, The Heretic, The Sea Without a Short, Tony Daniel, Transgalactic | Comments Off

Newsletter #73

Posted on March 6, 2013 by admin

NEWSLETTER 73: March 5, 2013 Dear People, I am chunking ahead on the next RCN (Leary/Mundy) space opera, THE SEA WITHOUT A SHORE. More accurately, for the past couple days I’ve been slogging through mental mud on the novel, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged "Birds of Prey' March, Baen, Circle City Bookstore, Copy editing, Haffner Press, Manly Wade Wellman, Rudyard Kipling | Comments Off

Newsletter #72

Posted on January 6, 2013 by admin

NEWSLETTER 72: January 6, 2013 Dear People, The big news from my viewpoint is that I’ve completed a plot outline for the next RCN (Leary/Mundy) space opera. My working title is The Sea Without a Shore, from The Barrel Organ … Continue reading →

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Newsletter #71

Posted on November 6, 2012 by admin

NEWSLETTER 71: November 6, 2012 Dear People, I fully intended when I wrote the immediately previous newsletter (70) to simply relax for a month. Believe me, I needed it. But my main form of relaxation is to read stuff, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Audible.com, Britt Taylor Collins, Bull Spec, Classics, Edward Bradley, Night & Demons, Oscar Wilde, Plotting, Ralph Henry Barbour | Comments Off

Newsletter #70

Posted on September 18, 2012 by admin

NEWSLETTER 70: September 18, 2012 Dear People, I finished the novel! The title is now MONSTERS OF THE EARTH. I changed the title at the last moment from Demons from the Earth because I realized that though there were demons, … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Blackhorse, Classics, Depression, Monsters of the Earth, Ovid, Slavery, Vietnam | Comments Off

Newsletter #69

Posted on July 16, 2012 by admin

NEWSLETTER 69: July 16, 2012 Dear People, This is late, not because anything awful has happened, but because I’ve been dropping stitches. Lots of stitches. The big news in this period is that we’ve gotten a Certificate of Occupancy for … Continue reading →

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Newsletter #68

Posted on May 15, 2012 by admin

NEWSLETTER 68: May 15, 2012 Dear People, The third of the Books of the Elements fantasy series for Tor, DEMONS FROM THE EARTH (or another title that has Earth, and probably Demons, in it somewhere), is chunking along happily. More … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Balefires, Duke Law School, From the Heart of Darkness, Monsters of the Earth, Night & Demons, Vietnam War, Working | Comments Off

Newsletter #67

Posted on March 5, 2012 by admin

NEWSLETTER 67: March 5, 2012 Dear People, I’m hard at work on the next Tor fantasy, Demons from the Earth; the third of the Books of the Elements. When I first start writing a novel, that’s always the big news … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Frances Wellman, Graphic novel, Heroic fantasy, Into the Hinterlands, Jacob Weisman, Manly Wade Wellman, Monsters of the Earth, Newt Gingrich, Road of Danger, Sword and sorcery, Team Yankee, Window of Opportunity | Comments Off

Newsletter #66

Posted on January 5, 2012 by admin

NEWSLETTER 66: January 5, 2012 Dear People, Jeepers, a new year yet again. I hope you all–and all of us–have a good one. I’m at work on the plot for my next Tor fantasy, which at the moment I’m calling … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Bull Spec, eBooks, Essays, Manly Wade Wellman, Military service, Plotting, Robert Heinlein | Comments Off

Holiday Greetings 2011

Posted on December 16, 2011 by admin

Happy Very Non-Denominational Holidays from Dave

Posted in Newsletters, Photos | Tagged Christmas, Holidays, Mistletoe | Comments Off

Newsletter #65

Posted on November 7, 2011 by admin

NEWSLETTER 65: November 7, 2011 Dear People, I’ve finished the plot for Into the Maelstrom, which will be the sequel to Into the Hinterlands when John Lambshead writes it next year. (Next year isn’t nearly as far away as I … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Birds of Prey, Cecelia Holland, Con*Stellation, George Washington, Into the Maelstrom, Joe Haldeman, Loose Cannon, Monsters of the Earth, NC State Fair, Ovid, Plotting, PTSD, Sam Kennedy, San Diego Zoo, Veterans, Voyage Across the Stars, World Fantasy Con | Comments Off

Newsletter #64

Posted on September 7, 2011 by admin

NEWSLETTER 64: September 7, 2011 Dear People, INTO THE HINTERLANDS, the space opera which John Lambshead wrote from my outline, should be out by the time you read this. I’m ridiculously pleased with the book. John’s style is nothing like … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Friends, Glenn Knight, Into the Hinterlands, Into the Maelstrom, Jennie Faries, John Lambshead, Loose Cannon, Marketing, Monsters of the Earth, The Galaxy Project | Comments Off

Newsletter #63

Posted on July 4, 2011 by admin

NEWSLETTER 63: July 4, 2011 Dear People, I have written a(nother) novel! The Road of Danger, the latest RCN (Leary/Mundy) space opera went off to Baen Books at 124,889 words. For the moment it feels good, but I’ll shortly start … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Astounding, Barry Malzberg, Dave Seeley, Donato, F&SF, Galaxy, Into the Maelstrom, John Lambshead, Military SF, Steve Hickman, The Citizen Series, The Galaxy Project, The Road of Danger, Vietnam War | Comments Off

Newsletter #62

Posted on May 6, 2011 by admin

Dear People, I am in the stage now in which the current book (this time it’s The Road of Danger, the next Leary/Mundy space opera) moves forward about as steadily as Juggernaut’s Carriage. The process is about that graceful also, … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Audible.com, Barry Malzberg, Hammer's Slammers, Into the Hinterlands, Motorcycles, The Books of the Elements, The Road of Danger, Writing | Comments Off

Newsletter #61

Posted on March 3, 2011 by admin

Dear People, In the immediately previous newsletter I said that I’d finished my rough plot for The Road of Danger (the next RCN space opera). The book is now at 32K and rising at the usual steady rate. This is … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged General Series, Into the Hinterlands, Jerzy Kosinski, The Road of Danger | Comments Off

Newsletter #60

Posted on January 13, 2011 by admin

Dear People, I have a rough plot outline for the next RCN space opera, The Road of Danger. (The title is from a poem by A E Housman.) Whee! A rough plot may not seem very exciting to other people, … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Christof Harper, Donato, Into the Hinterlands, John Lambshead, John Squires, Knives, Like the Man Said, Out of the Waters, Ovid, Plotting, The Road of Danger | Comments Off

Holiday Greetings 2010

Posted on December 20, 2010 by admin

Happy Holidays (your choice) From Dave

Posted in Newsletters, Photos | Tagged Christmas, Flying pig, Holidays, Mistletoe, Nandina | Comments Off

Newsletter #59

Posted on November 10, 2010 by admin

Dear People, Just as I predicted in Newsletter 58, I’m completely wrung out. Most of that is connected with the one major thing in this newsletter: I completed OUT OF THE WATERS, the second (of four) fantasies in my new … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Dave Seeley, Fortress, Into the Hinterlands, John Lambshead, Loose Cannon, Out of the Waters, Skyripper, World Fantasy Con | Comments Off

Newsletter #58

Posted on September 6, 2010 by admin

Dear People, I’m completely wrung out, but I’m going to be even more exhausted soon. I finished the rough draft of OUT OF THE WATERS, the second fantasy in the new Tor series at 154,384 words and have just completed … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Dr Syn, Dymchurch, England, Out of the Waters, Politically correct, Radio panel, Travel, Yard work | Comments Off

Greetings from England

Posted on August 6, 2010 by admin

Posted in Newsletters, Photos | Tagged England, Travel | Comments Off

Newsletter #57

Posted on June 8, 2010 by admin

Dear People, The most exciting news this time has very little to do with me. I am therefore turning the stage over to my webmaster, Karen Zimmerman: The new web site is up at http://david-drake.com. Our very simple original web … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Ali Zimmerman, Baen, Blog, Cover art, Donato, Fortress, Karen Zimmerman, Military service, PTSD, Richard Blumenthal, Skyripper, Steve Hickman, The Legions of Fire, Tor, Vietnam War, Web site | Comments Off

Newsletter #56

Posted on April 2, 2010 by admin

Dear People, I’m in the middle of the third chapter of MONSTERS OF THE SEAS, the second (of four) novels in my new fantasy series for Tor. It’s moving along at the usual comfortable rate… which as usual isn’t nearly … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Baen, Horror, Military SF, Out of the Waters, Publishing, Series, Tor, Web site | Comments Off

Newsletter #55

Posted on February 1, 2010 by admin

Dear People, I’m going to start with something positive: I’ve now seen a cover comp for THE LEGIONS OF FIRE, the first of four books in my new fantasy series, due from Tor as a May, 2010, hardcover. I’d seen … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged C Bruce Hunter, Carce, Donato, Karl Wagner, Kurt Miller, Matthew Peterson, The Gods Return, The Legions of Fire, What Distant Deeps | Comments Off

Newsletter #54

Posted on December 3, 2009 by admin

Dear People, Quite a lot has been happening. First and foremost in my mind, I turned in WHAT DISTANT DEEPS, the latest RCN (Leary/Mundy) space opera, to Baen Books the day after I got back from World Fantasy Con. I’d … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Cover art, Donato, In the Stormy Red Sky, Jennie Faries, Motorcycles, Out of the Waters, Rick Kleffel, Steve Hickman, The Complete Hammer's Slammers, The Legions of Fire, Travis Heermann, Vietnam War, What Distant Deeps, World Fantasy Con | Comments Off

Newsletter #53

Posted on October 8, 2009 by admin

Dear People, WHAT DISTANT DEEPS, the next RCN (Leary/Mundy) space opera, isn’t quite finished. It’s coming along fine and I’ve got well over 100K words in draft–but it just flat isn’t done. I’ll be a lot happier when it’s finished. … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Con*Stellation, Isles Series, Lance Larka, Photos, Roger Brownell, The Complete Hammer's Slammers, Travel, Vietnam War, Web site, What Distant Deeps, Writing | Comments Off

Newsletter #52

Posted on August 6, 2009 by admin

Dear People, In the most recent newsletter I said that I’d just started the rough draft of the next RCN space opera, WHAT DISTANT DEEPS. I now have a hair under 60K in draft. As usual, I’m very depressed about … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Balefires, Cover art, Karen Zimmerman, Kurt Miller, Mark Van Name, Mongoose, The Complete Hammer's Slammers, Vietnam War, What Distant Deeps, Wikipedia, Writing | Comments Off

Newsletter #51

Posted on June 6, 2009 by admin

Dear People, I intended to start this newsletter by saying that I’d completed the plot of the next RCN space opera and am at work on it. Those things are true (we’ll get back to them), but in my mind … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Baen, BEA, Belisarius, Blake Edwards, Eric Flint, Flames of Twilight, In the Stormy Red Sky, Kay McCauley, Patriots, Plotting, Radio shows, Travel, What Distant Deeps | Comments Off

Newsletter #50

Posted on April 4, 2009 by admin

Dear People, I turned in THE LEGIONS OF FIRE not quite a month ago–140,845 words including the front matter. I’m overall pleased with the novel, the first of a four-book fantasy series for Tor, but the thing that pleases me … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Blog, Correspondence, Essays, Facebook, Interviews, Museums, Stephen Euin Cobb, The Flames of Sunset, The Legions of Fire | Comments Off

Newsletter #49

Posted on February 9, 2009 by admin

Dear People, Well, I haven’t completed the rough draft of THE LEGIONS OF FIRE, the start of my new fantasy series for Tor, but I’m close. And I’m darned consistent: two months ago I had about 60K; now I’ve got … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Audible.com, Balefires, Belisarius, Carcosa, Jennie Faries, Mark Geston, Mur Lafferty, Steve Hickman, The Legions of Fire, Vietnam War | Comments Off

Newsletter #48

Posted on December 6, 2008 by admin

Dear People, I’m well into (about 60K) the rough draft of THE LEGIONS OF FIRE. This is the first book of the new fantasy series for Tor. When asked, I picked The Books of the Elements as the series title … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged August Derleth, Cons, Crown of the Isles Trilogy, Donato, In the Stormy Red Sky, Isles Series, Mark Van Name, Postcards, The Gods Return, The Legions of Fire, Writing | Comments Off

Newsletter #47

Posted on October 4, 2008 by admin

Dear People, Folks frequently ask me how long it takes to write a novel. (People ask me a lot of questions that presumably seem simpler from the outside than they do to me.) The answer depends on a lot of … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Audible.com, Belisarius, Conjecture, Cons, Interviews, Isles Series, Jim Baen, Museums, Plotting, The Legions of Fire, Writing | Comments Off

Newsletter #46

Posted on August 3, 2008 by admin

Dear People, Foof. I _did_ finish IN THE STORMY RED SKY, the latest RCN (Leary/Mundy) space opera, as I said in #45 that I hoped to do soon. Usually by the time I’m three-quarters of the way through the rough … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Audible.com, Barry Malzberg, Easton Press, In the Stormy Red Sky, Mark Geston, Other Times Than Peace, Plotting, Tom Doherty, When the Tide Rises | Comments Off

Newsletter #45

Posted on June 6, 2008 by admin

Dear People, The major news item is that while I haven’t yet finished IN THE STORMY RED SKY, the next RCN (Leary/Mundy) space opera, I’m getting darned close. As I write this I’m in the midst of the climactic battle, … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged A Grand Tour, Audible.com, Belisarius, Brandon Sanderson, Crown of the Isles Trilogy, Easton Press, Hammer's Slammers, Harriet McDougal, In the Stormy Red Sky, Military SF, Mongoose, Patrick O'Brian, Robert Jordan | Comments Off

Newsletter #44

Posted on April 5, 2008 by admin

Dear People, Baen Books sent me copies of WHEN THE TIDE RISES just before newsletter 43 came out, so by now it’s thoroughly on sale. This is the latest RCN (Leary/Mundy) space opera, and it’s a lovely production. The splendid … Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters | Tagged Balefires, Barry Malzberg, Belisarius, Ben Bova, Carcosa, Cons, Hugo Awards, Isles Series, Mark Geston, OmegaCon, RCN Series | Comments Off

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