I am sooooo overjoyed that you're going to publish Lamb. I've abandoned (for now) Eleanor Anstruther's beautiful story *Fallout* and I'm pleading with James Worth to bring his planned serial out in a one-hit format, because I cannot deal with serial formats. I get lost, impatient, I like to read anything I engage with in one single session, I get lost when I have to shift around and - because none of us are unique - I know I won't be the only one feeling this way. My fave thing here is finding fiction authors. What I would love best is a direct relationship with the producer, where I PayPal (or whatever) a tenner to you, and you email me a PDF of your novel. I don't care about title, cover art, none of it - I'm here to read good writing and a 20 page free opener or taster is enough for me to know if I'll want to buy your book. I'm not finding many authors doing this yet. Looking forward to Lamb - as a single-session read. Even better if we can cut middle-persons and I can buy it directly from you!
Who knows? If I were the father of an assembly line, there would be a never-ending stream of little Staffordshire terrier puppies! Cruella would have a field day.....
This is all really exciting Troy — great to see the strides you've made with the Lamb serial novel as you head towards the final chapters, and wonderful to hear about your literary expansions and upcoming projects. Congratulations on all of it!
So much awesome stuff to look forward to over here. It’s wonderful to see Troy.
I was also pleased to find out that Troy Ford is your pen name. Michael Edward is a pen name too (shhh) but my real name is so similar it’s almost cheeky. Maybe I’ll write a post about it all one day.
Mum's the word...🤫 I've been told that pen names are becoming somewhat radioactive, and that some agents and publishers will automatically reject authors who use them, so I've been on the fence for a minute about whether to keep using it or not. We'll see how it all unfolds. Thanks Michael!!
haha omg I thought you knew when we had that little snafu with our interview! 😅 Well anyway, cat's out of the closet, so to speak ;) Thank you my dear, can't wait to see you at the wrap party - I'll be sending out a save the date/time in next post. 💜
No that’s what I’m saying. I did. But I didn’t think you wanted it out. So for a second I thought it was another snafu. And I was like, No!!! I caught up pretty quickly though.
Thanks for this great update. It's great to hear about the exciting things ahead for Lamb, they are well-deserved and will be well received. While I have no book in my future I still look forward to The Road To Published because I appreciate the perspective of a regular person who is doing it and I'll be sure to spread the word about your editorial work.
So lovely to be on this ride with you Mr. Troy! (Love hearing that this is your pen name. I also love the Mr.) I think I’ve been with Lamb from day one and it’s thrilling to hear how you’ve grown with these characters over the past year. Excited for your wrap party, I’ll be there with bells on. 👏
On impulse, I joined your Goodreads book club, which is probably a mistake, lol. I already have too many books on my reading pile, I'm about to be crushed under it!
I can’t remember how I first found your newsletter, but I’m so very glad that I did! Your posts are inspiring, eloquent, educational, and often over my intellectual capacity 😂
And thank you for the Two Birds mention! Michele and I are so pleased to be working with you and I hope the synergies continue to grow.
Love this Troy! The poster too is gorgeous, were you able to get one? i’m excited to get to your audio version because I know I have missed chapters and because I’m in LA. I’m always driving so I need things to listen to! Congrats on everything, this is very exciting!
Oh good, should have them all up in the next week or two.
They do a good job on the posters every year. This year's looks a little like a baby Kong turned sideways? I'm not sure if they sell the posters officially, I've never seen them but one or two shops around town seem to have some old ones available for purchase, maybe they are knock-offs? Thanks D! 💜
Wow, this is a brilliant post for positioning you and your platform, Troy! So many great ideas here. I’m so happy to see this kind of momentum for you.
We have a winner folks! Terry Freedman guessed correctly and won the 1 Year Paid Subscription: Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Congrats Terry!
I am sooooo overjoyed that you're going to publish Lamb. I've abandoned (for now) Eleanor Anstruther's beautiful story *Fallout* and I'm pleading with James Worth to bring his planned serial out in a one-hit format, because I cannot deal with serial formats. I get lost, impatient, I like to read anything I engage with in one single session, I get lost when I have to shift around and - because none of us are unique - I know I won't be the only one feeling this way. My fave thing here is finding fiction authors. What I would love best is a direct relationship with the producer, where I PayPal (or whatever) a tenner to you, and you email me a PDF of your novel. I don't care about title, cover art, none of it - I'm here to read good writing and a 20 page free opener or taster is enough for me to know if I'll want to buy your book. I'm not finding many authors doing this yet. Looking forward to Lamb - as a single-session read. Even better if we can cut middle-persons and I can buy it directly from you!
Thank you so much for that feedback, Caroline! I'm going to send you a DM with a few private thoughts on the subject. 💜
Who knows? If I were the father of an assembly line, there would be a never-ending stream of little Staffordshire terrier puppies! Cruella would have a field day.....
Horraaaaaay for all these awesome news and developments! So happy and proud of you, my friend, and always look forward to your amazing work.
Thank you my dear, you've been here from the start and seen all the twists and turns (not that going straight was ever an option... ;) xo
Hahahaha. Very punny ;-). <3
This is all really exciting Troy — great to see the strides you've made with the Lamb serial novel as you head towards the final chapters, and wonderful to hear about your literary expansions and upcoming projects. Congratulations on all of it!
Thanks Jeff! The most important thing is I'm having fun - the hardest work I've ever loved. :)
So much awesome stuff to look forward to over here. It’s wonderful to see Troy.
I was also pleased to find out that Troy Ford is your pen name. Michael Edward is a pen name too (shhh) but my real name is so similar it’s almost cheeky. Maybe I’ll write a post about it all one day.
Thanks Troy :)
Mum's the word...🤫 I've been told that pen names are becoming somewhat radioactive, and that some agents and publishers will automatically reject authors who use them, so I've been on the fence for a minute about whether to keep using it or not. We'll see how it all unfolds. Thanks Michael!!
Hmmm, I didn’t know that. And it certainly does throw into question using a pen name...
Thanks for keeping me in the loop, Troy :)
It will definitely be a chapter in “The Road to Published” :)
Brilliant! Absolutely LOVE this (re)introduction and everything you have going on. And of course you, my friend!
Can’t wait for the wrap party and everything else!
PS. I have to tell you that I clicked over to Two Birds before finishing the post and seeing that you’d revealed the pen name and gasped. 😂
haha omg I thought you knew when we had that little snafu with our interview! 😅 Well anyway, cat's out of the closet, so to speak ;) Thank you my dear, can't wait to see you at the wrap party - I'll be sending out a save the date/time in next post. 💜
No that’s what I’m saying. I did. But I didn’t think you wanted it out. So for a second I thought it was another snafu. And I was like, No!!! I caught up pretty quickly though.
oh right! yeah no i thought it was past time to just let people know and tell the story of how it came to be…
Thanks for this great update. It's great to hear about the exciting things ahead for Lamb, they are well-deserved and will be well received. While I have no book in my future I still look forward to The Road To Published because I appreciate the perspective of a regular person who is doing it and I'll be sure to spread the word about your editorial work.
Onward to another great year!
Thank you my dear - and you never know, personally I think everyone has a book in them... ;) xo
So lovely to be on this ride with you Mr. Troy! (Love hearing that this is your pen name. I also love the Mr.) I think I’ve been with Lamb from day one and it’s thrilling to hear how you’ve grown with these characters over the past year. Excited for your wrap party, I’ll be there with bells on. 👏
Yay! I'll be glad to have you there! The challenge will be getting Europe, America and Australia all together at the same time. 🩷
On impulse, I joined your Goodreads book club, which is probably a mistake, lol. I already have too many books on my reading pile, I'm about to be crushed under it!
haha Careful there, Book Jenga can be a killer. Don't worry, you can just read the posts and check them off your list. 😉 Thanks Martine!
Wup, no, retract that. God Knows by Joseph Heller.
Good guess but no - I'll mention it in next week's post. Thanks for playing Reda! :)
Lord Knows!
I can’t remember how I first found your newsletter, but I’m so very glad that I did! Your posts are inspiring, eloquent, educational, and often over my intellectual capacity 😂
And thank you for the Two Birds mention! Michele and I are so pleased to be working with you and I hope the synergies continue to grow.
You are very welcome, so nice to be part of the flock. 🤍🐤😉
Love this Troy! The poster too is gorgeous, were you able to get one? i’m excited to get to your audio version because I know I have missed chapters and because I’m in LA. I’m always driving so I need things to listen to! Congrats on everything, this is very exciting!
Oh good, should have them all up in the next week or two.
They do a good job on the posters every year. This year's looks a little like a baby Kong turned sideways? I'm not sure if they sell the posters officially, I've never seen them but one or two shops around town seem to have some old ones available for purchase, maybe they are knock-offs? Thanks D! 💜
Wow, this is a brilliant post for positioning you and your platform, Troy! So many great ideas here. I’m so happy to see this kind of momentum for you.
Thank you so much, Ben - for everything. 💙
An excellent look ahead, Troy! I'm looking forward to reading more of your work.
Glad to have you along for the ride, Jeffrey - and right back at you. Delightful to be a member of the English Republic of Letters. 🩷