I mentioned a while back that I hated making my Faust series readers wait an entire year between books, due to the way my 2016 publishing schedule ended up. So I got the idea to do a shorter piece in the meantime, a side-story to tide folks over until then.
Managing the time to get it done, that was harder, but I'm pleased to say that final edits on the novella -- The White Gold Score -- are complete. It runs about 46,000 words and takes place between The Long Way Down and Redemption Song, telling the story of one of Daniel's side-jobs: how the exorcism of a ghost from a casino penthouse leads to a tangled web of music moguls, murder, and a whole lot of cocaine. Oh, and Daniel teaches Caitlin his rules for the perfect burglary.
As a side story it pretty much stands alone and doesn't tie in with the overarching plot or connect to the Harmony Black series (though a couple of new characters are introduced, at least one of whom will be coming back in the next full-size book at the end of the year). Speaking of that full-size book, it has a title -- The Castle Doctrine -- and I'm hard at work on it right now. Let's face it, I know a few folks were "meh" about The Killing Floor Blues (either not liking the setting, or how the supporting cast was absent for most of the story), so believe me, I'm gonna do everything I can to knock the next book out of the park and put a smile on your face.
Now as for this novella...here's the thing. I was working the other day, thinking about the amazing outpouring of support I've received from you all, and all the new readers who have found me since the new year (and all the ones who've hung in there from day one), and just feeling incredibly grateful. And I said to myself, "Self? How do I thank them?"
And I replied -- because when you live alone with a cat, talking to yourself is a thing that just happens all the time -- "Well, obviously, you give this new release to 'em for free. Duh."
And that's the deal. The White Gold Score goes live on Amazon on Monday (you can check it out here), but you can grab it right now, totally free, at this link (that's a Dropbox -- click it, then choose "download"). There is a catch: you'll need to know how to load that .MOBI file onto your reader or reading app of choice, and that's something I can't help with (too many devices and too many apps to even count at this point), but if you can do that, you're ready to rock. That Dropbox link will stay live until late Sunday night (Central US time); I've got a 200-gig download cap per day, which should be plenty, but if the link dies we'll figure something out.
And that's the deal! Some fast, fun, free weekend reading for you. If you like it, maybe consider buying a copy later or leaving a review (the better my numbers, the better the chance one of the producers who are considering optioning the film/TV rights for the series actually puts a deal on the table), or baking me cookies*.
(* do not do this. I'm trying to lose a couple of pounds before a research trip in April. Cookies are my enemy right now.)
Oh: there won't be a print version of The White Gold Score, since it clocks in under 200 pages, but there will be an audio version, and Adam Verner's starting work on it shortly.
That's it for me. I'll talk to you at the end of April, just in time for the second Harmony Black release! In the meantime, I'm taking this weekend off. Just the weekend, though.
(UPDATE: If the link gives you issues, give it an hour and try again -- apparently Dropbox gets overwhelmed when a lot of people click a public link at once, and a lot of people are currently clicking at once. I'm learning new things today!)