I have an update for those of you patiently (or IMpatiently!) waiting for the Archibald Lox physical editions.

First of all, as I suspected, it hasn't been possible to release them at the start of October. My cover designer has been extremely busy with other work, so I'm still waiting for him to get back to me with the new bindup design for the Volume 1 book, plus the re-jigged covers for the paperbacks of Books 1, 2 and 3. And then I need to have proof copies sent to me, so that I can check that everything is OK before making them available for sale. I'm now aiming for a late-October release -- the "official" date is, of course, October 31st, but if I can release them a bit sooner than that, I will. There's also a small chance I might have to push the date back a bit further, if it takes longer than normal for the proofs to ship to me, but hopefully that's not going to be an issue.

Anyway, here's some other info to keep you ticking over while the wait continues. First, as I said in the September issue of the Shanville Monthly, I'm going to be releasing the three books of Volume 1 as individual paperbacks, for those of you who want to collect them in that format. I don't recommend it -- for a start, it's more expensive -- but if you REALLY want to, then they will be on sale, but only on Amazon. The price will be around the $21 mark for all three books, or the local equivalent in other countries.

I'm going to be releasing the Volume 1 bindup edition both through Amazon and Ingrams. It will be called Archibald Lox Volume One - The Missing Princess. Ingrams are a distributor who supply loads of book stores and libraries, so if you want to buy the book through Barnes & Noble or Waterstones or wherever, you should be able to go into your local store and ask them to order it in for you. (I don't think stores will be ordering copies to stack on their shelves -- I suspect it will be demand and supply only.) The cheapest way to buy it is going to be through Amazon, where it will be priced about $16 or the equivalent in other countries. If you buy the Ingrams edition through a different store, it will cost about $21. (The editions will be pretty much exactly the same -- the only reason I'm using Ingrams for other stores is that it allows me to sell through Amazon at a much lower price.) The paperback bindup will also be available to libraries through Ingrams, so if you want to get it through your local library, they should be able to order in a copy for you, if they're so inclined -- the more of you that ask, the more likely they are to order...

Finally, there will also be a hardback edition of the bindup, on sale exclusively through Ingrams to stores other than Amazon, plus libraries. To keep costs down, it won't have a dustcover -- the Volume 1 paperback cover will be printed on the hardback cover. I've mainly produced this for the library and school market, as I know many librarians and teachers prefer hardbacks to paperbacks, as they're more durable. But, if you really want to treat yourself (or have someone else buy it FOR you as a treat!) you will be able to order it through any book store that deals with Ingrams. The hardback will cost an eye-watering $30 -- sorry, but that was as cheap as I could bring it in at.

For anyone who's curious, I make pretty much the same royalties from any of the various editions, so it makes no difference to me which one you plump for. My advice, if you're happy reading ebooks, is to buy it that way (oh, I'll also be releasing the Volume 1 bindup as an ebook -- it will be the same price as if you buy/bought the three individual titles), as it can be yours for $5. If you prefer a book you can hold and smell and lob at burglers, then the paperback bindup through Amazon would be my call. Buy hey ,YOU'RE the boss!!! :-)

(And look, I imagine a few of you will want to buy ALL the various editions. You're more than welcome to, and my bank balance will thank you if you do, but honestly, I'm not trying to nudge you that way. As a rule, I don't like it when companies release multiple editions of a work -- comics are notorious for it -- so I feel very uneasy going down that route. I didn't really want to do it, but at the end of the day, I wanted to give everyone the option of buying the book in the format that most suits them. But buying it in ONE format is really the most I want to ask of anyone, so, y'know, if you want to buy them all for YOUR sake, fine, I won't try to stop you, but please don't feel like you have to do it for MY sake...)