The year 2012 is just dawning on the horizon filled for Laura and I with new and, in may ways, life changing possibilities. In the past I have contented myself with ‘resolutions’ but given the scope of the changes in my life and the new directions that writing is taking, I think ‘New Years Revolutions’ is more appropriate of an approach to this upcoming year.

So, for all of our friends out there looking toward what this new year will bring, here are a few of the ‘revolutions’ which we will be engaging in over the next year.

Knights of the Red Band:

This is our most exciting news for the new year. Laura and I are pleased to announce an agreement with DAW books regarding a new fantasy series we will be developing and writing called ‘Knights of the Red Band.’ This is the story of a world of eternal daylight and eternal night, where humanity lives on the dusky ‘red band’ separating the two. When an ancient evil rises to retake the world it once enslaved, a group of young, idealistic warriors is recruited into a revered and legendary order of Knighthood. But they soon discover that the reality of war is very different from the stories they were raised on … and that the question of right and wrong may be more difficult to answer than they believe. The great thing about this new trilogy is that YOU will be able to follow its development from the very beginning through its completion. We already have a website and facebook page set up for the project and will be posting to both at each stage of the novels development. From initial concept through final release, you’ll have a ringside seat at our creative process.

Lakota Dragon’s War:

Laura and I are also excited to be launching this new online series this summer. In addition to our Dragons Bard series of fantasy subscription novels, we will be opening our new series of steam-punk novels set in the American West exclusively in ebook format. You can read more about the history and background of this new series … and even build your own life-sized  replica ‘Lightening Gun’ at our exclusive Lakota Dragons Website.

Scribe’s Forge Changes:

We will be making some important changes to our Scribe’s Forge Online Writing Seminars.

• SEMINARS PRICE INCREASE: The one you need to be most aware of is that there will be a MAJOR price increase coming on January 6th. If you have been contemplating getting into the seminars, I would highly recommend doing so before the increase — which will be tripling our current prices for a years access to our seminars.
•  WORKSHOPS DISCONTINUED: The Writing Workshops will also be discontinued at that time to allow me time to address my very heavy writing schedule next year. We will be reworking our workshop system through the coming year.
• SCRIBES FORGE PUBLISHING CHANGES: We will also be changing our Scribe’s Forge Publishing program; instead of advising you on how to set up your website, we have determined it is more time and cost effective for us to set up the website for you as a turn-key system. Yes, this means that you can have your own web-publishing website, fully functional, designed and implemented by us that allows you to publish your own serial novels online in the same way as our Dragonsbard series. Additionally, we will be offering Scribe’s Forge Ebook Translation services that will take your text and will not only convert it into the most popular of ebook formats, but do so with advanced layout styling that sets your book professionally above the crowd.

 Visit our Scribe’s Forge website for details of these changes.

But Wait, There’s More Revolution to come:

Don’t forget the following FANTASTIC events we are anticipating this year:

• DRAKIS III: BLOOD OF THE EMPEROR will be released this summer.
• “WAYNE OF GOTHAM”, my upcoming Batman novel is scheduled for release this May.
• DRAGONSBARD: BLACKSHORE will be released this spring to our subscribers AND we will be taking subscriptions for our final Dragonsbard novel: Moredale later this year.
• DRAGONSBARD: EVENTIDE is scheduled for its first mass-market release this summer as well.

We have our conventions, our newsletter and will be looking at introducing our own ‘video channel’ of quick writing advice in the coming months.

So join us in our New Years Revolution! We look forward to quite an exciting year.

Join the forum discussion on this post

I have begun work at last on my ‘Batman’ novel for Harper Collins. It is currently entitled ‘Wayne of Gotham’ and we now have a Facebook page set up for the project so that we can update you on its progress. Come join us there, like us, and we’ll keep you in the loop as the book is being written.

It begins with young Thomas Wayne, the moody and resentful son of Patrick Wayne, descending into the caverns below the ancestral manor … and relishing the killing of bats. It ends with a final trip to a fateful alley behind a theater.

Tracy Hickman and Fantasy Flight Games are pleased to announce ‘Fireborn: Embers of Atlantis’ — a new novel by Tracy Hickman

“We are going to preserve life,” Tsanya snapped. “Your lives and those of our own race. We have found a way to graft the souls of dragons and Seelie into the race of men.”

Powerful scions walk the streets of modern London, oblivious to their true nature. Unknowingly, they carry within them the spirits of reincarnated dragons from an age of high fantasy. As magic begins to emerge once more in the 21st century, long-dormant memories begin to flood the minds of these scions, reminding them of their mystical heritage.

Welcome to the world of Fireborn.

Ethan Gallows knows things about his world. He knows there is magic, and he knows he has nothing to do with it. Yet when he is sent on the seemingly menial job of filming a museum curator’s antique art collection in London, Ethan discovers that he has much more to learn.

After witnessing a violent display of sorcery, ancient memories come rushing back to Ethan – memories seen through the eyes of a dragon. With minions of the Taint now seeking him for their own twisted purposes, Ethan must put his trust in Sojourner – a woman claiming to be a draconic scion. Could he really be a dragon of old, or is this some sort of fanatic conspiracy? There’s only one way for Ethan to find out.

Embers of Atlantis is the first novel based on the acclaimed Fireborn roleplaying game setting. Written by New York Times bestselling author Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance Chronicles), Embers of Atlantis introduces readers to a modern world faced with the sudden emergence of magic.

Tracy Hickman took the time to share some insights into his experience writing Embers of Atlantis:

“I’ve been working with dragons for nearly all of my professional life and was, I’ll admit, getting a bit too comfortable with them. Fireborn shakes the dust off of those dragons of the ancient past and brings them roaring into our own times, driving magic into our familiar surroundings with explosive force and twisting everything familiar into new shapes that are both compelling and horrifying. Writing ‘Embers of Atlantis’ was like hanging onto the dragon’s tail – a thrilling ride from first to last. I’ve personally walked the streets of London, the fields of Normandy and climbed the stairs of Mont Saint Michel. Now with this novel I’ve been able to return to those places and see them in a new and very strange light; where animated corpses run through the Trafalgar Square, dreadful demons lurk in the Chunnel and zombie Nazi’s are refighting the Second World War. What a delight to come to my friends of traditional fantasy with something so exciting, fresh and unhinged.”

Back in the 1990′s, Laura came to me with a scene she had imagined that would simply not leave her alone. She came to me with it, described it’s dark image to me and asked me what it meant. I then told her that I knew the rest of the story around that scene — and told it to her on the spot. In that moment, that story become my own obsession.

The story was published as ‘The Immortals’ — and become for me one of the most important journeys which I would take personally into writing. It first saw print in 1996.

Now, I am pleased to announce our own Kindle version of this story available right now from Amazon.com. This new version was crafted by my own hand, includes the original artwork and the cover created by myself.

It represents the second of our titles to be put on Amazon.com — the first being our special edition of the first Dragon’s Bard novel: Eventide. Eventide is crafted from the exact text as the exclusive, limited-edition printing that we did just a few months ago for collectors. We know you’ll enjoy both these books.

Now for your Nook…

For all our Nook and iPad friends … we are pleased to announce that Eventide is now also available on Barnes & Nobel in Nookbook epub format.

This means that the book is now available as an ebook both at Barnes & Nobel and at Amazon.com in both formats. We hope that you’ll take time and visit both sites … leave a review of the book … and pick up your own ebook copy if you wish for $9.95 US.

We’re doing our best to get this story to you in as beautiful a form as possible. Let us know if you have any problems with either rendition of Eventide.

Now you could be reading Eventide in less than a minute…

Laura and I are pleased to announce that our first novel in the Dragon’s Bard series — Eventide — is now available at Amazon.com for their Kindle ebook device. This edition is taken from the original text files of the exclusive hardback first-edition printing. I formatted this edition personally and both Laura and I are very pleased not only with the resulting look of this ebook but that we can now make available this wonderful story to more people around the globe.

We are also looking into other formats and will let you know when they are available … but for now you can enjoy the original first edition either on your Kindle or on your PC using their free Kindle software.

And, of course, we will be starting our journey into the second book — Blackshore — this January. Subscribers to this second novel will experience the full range of the creation of this novel from early concept development through execution and publishing, many will even find their suggested characters appearing in the final book as they become part of the creative process — and, after reading the chapters as they are written — receive their own signed and numbered hardback copy of the finished book in the fall from our private printing.

Get instant access to the exclusive website and be in on the experience from the beginning … early subscription rates are still available for a limited time.

A Special Invitation…

Available nowhere else! New York Times Best-selling author Tracy Hickman with his wife and partner Laura Hickman, world-renown fantasy authors for over a quarter of a century are writing a fantasy novel exclusively by subscription only!

Dragon’s Bard is an ambitious new project created especially for you by Laura and me. Dragon’s Bard is a series of fantasy novels which we will present directly to you in serial form. Here is how it works…

For less than you would spend on two dates to the movies, you can own something unique. When you subscribe to Dragon’s Bard: Eventide you will receive:

• A new chapter each week! You can look forward to watching the story unfold each week as you receive a download file containing the edited and formatted text of a new chapter written exclusively for our subscribers.
• Private Updates and Insights: What are the challenges and rewards of writing a serialization of a novel? Gain insights into the process through special communiques from the authors via an exclusive ‘subscribers’ only website and forum.
• … And the signed & numbered limited-edition hardback publication of the book! When the book subscription is complete, you will receive your own hardback, limited-edition copy of the book — each one numbered and signed personally by the authors!

This subscription offering is the first of three separate subscriptions which will complete this series. We have prepaid and five-installment subscription plans for both United States and International subscribers. (The only difference between Domestic U.S. plans and International plans are the shipping costs of the book at the end of the subscription.)

Subscribers to this first book will have a priority opportunity to acquire positions in later book subscriptions in this series, thus insuring that when you subscribe now will be able to acquire the complete three-book set.

Order now … once the subscription is sold out this offer will be closed.

The first book, Eventide, will begin with one chapter per week over twenty-plus weeks beginning June 5th. Our plan is to have the finished hardback book in your hands by Christmas — making Eventide a unique holiday gift as well. This subscription is LIMITED … we have a cap on the number of books we can produce, sign and ship. This means that the book you receive at the end of the subscription will be highly collectible — a unique memento of our journey together.

In some ways this is a very old idea brought into a new medium. Charles Dickens wrote his books in a ‘serial’ format very much like this and, if he were alive today, I think this is how he might be writing again. So, we will ‘write like the Dickens’ and produce a unique gift for you. We think YOU should become our publisher and that we should right directly for YOU.

Join us for Eventide … and own a unique gift of fantasy.

Early this morning, I woke up with the last few chapters of ‘Song of the Dragon’ waiting for me. Reading through this story again got me excited yet again about this story of Drakis — an insignificant slave of the mighty Rhonas elven empire and his amazing flight toward a destiny that he wants desperately to avoid.

The Rhonas Imperium rules the known world with an iron, elven fist. It’s slaves are kept in thrall through nightly House Devotions — a magical process where every bad memory from the day is repressed and replaced by pleasant ones. The elven wars of conquest are even fought by ‘Impress Warriors’ — slave soldiers trained to forget everything but their devotion to the Imperial Will. But when the spell in Drakis’ Master’s house is shattered — he and his fellow warriors are suddenly and catastrophically brought to remember the terrible treatment they have received under the sadistic house master — and are soon on the run from imperial forces who are desperate to enslave him once again.

Once again I was thrilled with the characters of this journey: Soen, the elven Inquisitor of the Iblisi who is hunting the fleeing slaves and, in turn, is being hunted by his own Order; Jugar the Dwarven Jester whose truth is far darker and more sinister than anyone suspects; Ethis the Chimerian who can change his form in unexpected way … Mala, Urulani, Belag the Manticore and the mysterious Lyric. It’s been a delight to visit with them again.

So I’m excited to get this book back to the publisher tomorrow and bring this wonderful journey one step closer to you!

I am currently chained to the first-draft galleys of the first book in my upcoming ‘Drakis’ series. It’s titled ‘Song of the Dragon’ and will be coming out this July.

Before that can happen, however, I have to make the big push through the final editorial process. Part of that is going through the galley proofs of the actual pages and making any necessary corrections. At this stage, such things largely boil down to a missing word here and there, duplicate quotation marks and whether something should be in italics or not.

However, I have to admit that as tedious as this process sounds, I am actually enjoying reading this book for the umpteenth time. The action is fabulous, the characters intriguing and the scope epic. I can hardly wait for you to join me on this new journey!

We just got word of our Booklist review for Dragonships 2: Secret of the Dragon. Here’s what they had to say about the book which is premiering on March 13th:

“The second volume in a classic war-of-the-gods saga proves Weis and Hickman’s total mastery of elements including hero Skylan—not totally admirable even if he is on the side of the old gods—and some exceedingly fine dragons, both living and absent, if not dead. Skylan’s quest for the Five Bones of the Dragon, the key to the war’s outcome, proceeds at a breathtaking pace, with plenty of action and conflict in a world intelligently drawing from old Norse mythology, some of the best action tales ever written. And the ending here is an unblushing cliff-hanger. Enjoy.”

— Roland Green

We hope you will enjoy this new installment in our viking odyssey.