~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Created: 01 March 1998 Version: 1.0 Modified: 25 June 1998 Version: 1.1 Modified: 05 September 1998 Version: 1.2 Modified: 15 October 1998 Version: 1.3 Modified: 26 November 1999 Version: 1.4 Modified: 07 February 2001 Version: 1.5 Queen of Angels Limited Editions FAQ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Compiled by Ray Lee (RayLee (at) iName.com) Modifed by David Silberstein (davids (at) kithrup.com) ~ Table of Contents *** (!) and ~!~ denote sections with substantive changes. Sections with stylistic changes are left for the reader to find. ~~ General (!) 0. META: What's new since last time? 1. META: Is this information accurate? (!) 2. I need a DKM fix. What're my chances? 3. Queen of Angels? Who the heck is Queen of Angels? 4. Forget the other stuff, what books are they reprinting? 5. How can I order them? 6. Is Mr. Moran still alive? 7. Is he ever going to write another CT novel? 8. What about _AI War_? (!) 9. Outside of QoA, does he have a publisher yet? ~~ _Terminal Freedom_ 10. What is _TF_? 11. How does this fit in with the Continuing Time? 12. How much is it? 13. Is it signed? Numbered? 14. Are there copies left? ~~ _Emerald Eyes/The Star/The Long Run_ 15. Wait, aren't these two (three?) separate books? 16. Okay, so what else is in this edition? 17. Changes? Whaddaya mean there's changes? 18. How much is it? (!) 19. Will this be signed and numbered too? (!) 20. How many copies are there? (!) 21. I want to make sure I get a copy, how can I do this? ~~ Ordering/Shipping 22. Should I send in my money now? 23. How and where and to whom should I send my order? 24. I've sent my money, but haven't heard anything. What up? 25. Not only have I not heard anything, but my check was deposited! 26. Can I get this shipped some other way than UPS? 27. I'm fed up, it's taking too long. Can I get my money back? ~~ Things to be aware of 28. The Life and Times of Dan Moran 29. Did Trent walk through the wall? 30. Other resources ~~ General ~!~ 0. META: What's new since last time? Most of the updates pertain to _EE/tLR_ and its availability. ~~~ 1. META: Is this information accurate? To the best of my knowledge, yes. Some of it is dated, but at the time of writing was the best information available. It goes without saying (and yet I'm still typing...) that Daniel Keys Moran retains the right to change any of the details detailed herein, but chances are that the final information will bear more than a passing family resemblance to the info below. Experience has shown, painfully enough, that any errors found are mine and mine alone. For information on how to flog me via email (and thus correct such behavior for future generations' benefit), scroll to the bottom. ~!~ 2. I need a DKM fix. What're my chances? Decent. Have you heard that _Emerald Eyes_ has been reprinted with _The Long Run_ in a special edition hardcover? This special edition book was put out by Queen of Angels Publications. (And there's also rumors about stuff being e-published. See below....) ~~~ 3. Queen of Angels? Who the heck is Queen of Angels? Dan Moran has formed a company with Karl J. Martin, a professional artist (and likely other nice things, too), to enable them to pursue their own projects, as well as earn some cash doing outside work doing computer animation and the like. The company, Queen of Angels Productions, LLC. has its own web site at -- you guessed it -- http://www.QueenOfAngels.com/ . It contains little regarding QoA proper, but does have a nice little piece on How Amy Moved To California. Consider it background material to flesh out section 28 below. On QoA itself, they are pursuing Trent The Uncatchable, so to speak. TTU is a six-season animated television series based on the Trent cycle. The pilot is called _The Star_, has both been scripted and written as a short story (yep, the one in the middle of the _EE_ and _tLR_ limited edition). According to DKM, the pilot will be made; the only issue at this point is time. [DKM, 12 May '98] While one of the original goals of QoA was provide a channel for self- publishing, this has now changed. Self-publishing was the best way DKM could get the books into the hands of readers two years ago, but this may not be true any more. Major booksellers such as Barnes and Noble have publicly announced their commitment to print-on-demand, and indications are that it would be a better way to go for small volume work. Nothing, however, has been decided. For large volume work, see section 9. ~~~ 4. Forget the other stuff, what books are they reprinting? Well, besides _Terminal Freedom_ which is a never-before-published book jointly written with his sister Jodi Moran, on his list right now is a combined edition of _Emerald Eyes_ and _The Long Run_; more on this below. ~~~ 5. How can I order them? See the _EE/tLR_ and the Ordering/Shipping sections below. ~~~ 6. Is Mr. Moran still alive? "Daniel Keys Moran is alive, no matter what anyone says. And handsome, too." Or put another way, despite the best efforts of motorcycling, left turns on busy streets, and chicken pox and bronchitis, yes. See the Life and Times of Dan Moran section below. ~~~ 7. Is he ever going to write another CT novel? Yes. In fact, it still looks like he wants to write all of 'em, and then some. From DKM, 01 February '98: "I invented these character and this story when I was 13 -- that was 22 years ago. You'd have to put a stake through my heart, cut my head off and bury me at the crossroads to get me to walk away from this." Beyond that, all indications are that he looks forward to the day he can become a full-time writer as much -- if not more -- than we do. ~~~ 8. What about _AI War_? Continuing the quote from above: "That said, there are real commercial issues involved here -- the numbers Last Dancer shipped, the money Bantam wants to shake free AI War -- that make this a non-trivial business proposition." Meaning, so far DKM has successfully purchased the rights back for _tAB_, _EE_, _tLR_, and _tLD_; in short, his previously-published backlist from Bantam. As for _AI War_ DKM has stated that it's his intention to retrieve it also, and pursue its publication. From DKM, 7th of August '98: "As to AI War ... that's a bigger project. I need to raise a big chunk of money for that one. If I can't raise the money (I think I can) I'll try selling it to a major publisher. [...] There will probably not be an AI War limited ed. ... absent some outcry from readers. My impression is that people are really waiting for the story, not for a special ed." ~!~ 9. Outside of QoA, does he have a publisher yet? "No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his friend." No greater love hath the publishing industry than that for a series. When a stand-alone book comes out from an author, that book's sales a strong for a while, then taper off. When a new book in an on-going universe comes out from that same author, all of his books' sales take a rise. The authors know this, the editors know this, and most importantly the publishing industry knows this, too. Daniel Keys Moran's series is perhaps the single most ambitious project that has ever hit the shelves of bookstores. It has variety, it has depth, and a snarky sense of humor. Beyond all that (or perhaps beneath), it has a common backdrop linking all the books together. So. There have been major publishers, such as Del Rey, looking at taking his works on, and it seems pretty likely that a mutually satisfactory agreement will eventually be reached. Other than trying to find a long-term home for _AI War_ and his previously published titles, the rights to publish _Lord November_ may be put up for auction by DKM's agent. There is no solid word on this though (heck, there isn't even any squishy word on this), so don't go looking for _LN_ in stores any time soon. If you're trying to score some of his older works, this may soon be possible. DKM is trying his hand at e-publishing (see http://www.quietvision.com) [Here's a posting from DKM, 21 August 2000] "Sean Fagan registered DanielKeysMoran.com, .net, and .org for me the other day. I've been working on the DKM website this weekend. Here are three of the things that will be on it: 1. Free access to every piece of short fiction I've ever written, published or unpublished and in some cases unfinished, if in unfinished state they're readable and enjoyable (IMHO, of course.) [...] 2. The Encyclopedia of the Continuing Time, as a web-enabled database application. It's currently a SQL Server DB with a visual basic front end; moving it to the web as an ASP app shouldn't take much effort. This will be a subset of the database, covering published works only. 3. My quotes database. This is minor, but I still get people asking for reposts of that occasionally." And later, [from an e-mail posted 16 November 2000] he wrote: "I'm contracting with a company called QuietVision to bring tAB, EE, tLR, and tLD back into print. I'm going to typeset them and do covers, they're going to publish & make them available through Barnes & Nobles, Crown, all the major book chains, as well as directly through QuietVision off their website. This won't affect the availability of the books as downloads off the DanielKeysMoran.com website. Those will still go up (and off QuietVision as well -- they're doing electronic versions.)" ~~ _Terminal Freedom_ ~~~ 10. What is _TF_? _Terminal Freedom_ is a (science) fiction novel written by Daniel Keys Moran and his sister Jodi Moran. After that it gets a little difficult to explain. The best I'll attempt is that it's a really wild ride, with a lot of humor and action. Better descriptions -- and the first three chapters -- are located under http://www.kithrup.com/dkm/dkmfic/tf/ . ~~~ 11. How does this fit in with the Continuing Time? It's not part of the Continuing Time universe itself; you'll recognize no characters or background in the book as from the CT. For What It's Worth, it is part of the Great Wheel of Existence, and set in the L.A. area to boot. ~~~ 12. How much is it? QoA was selling it for $35. Now, it's whatever you can get it for -- see Section 14 below as to why. More details in the Ordering/Shipping section below. ~~~ 13. Is it signed? Numbered? Yes, and yes. Numbered as ###/500. Well, okay, it's not really numbered as 'hash hash hash slash 500', but I think you know what I mean. ~~~ 14. Are there copies left? All copies of _Terminal Freedom_ from QoA are officially sold out. However, reports are surfacing that copies are occasionally available on eBay and book search services (see, for example, http://www.abebooks.com/ or http://www.bibliofind.com/ ). ~~ _Emerald Eyes/The Star/The Long Run_ ~~~ 15. Wait, aren't these two (three?) separate books? Yes, _EE_ and _tLR_ were and still are, but since the material in _EE_ is the thematic backdrop for _tLR_, for the special edition they've been combined into an omnibus Just This Once. ~~~ 16. Okay, so what else is in this edition? Other than _Emerald Eyes_ and _The Long Run_, there is a short story where Trent meets Reverend Andy for the first time. Quoting DKM: "UNTITLED. A short story I still don't have a title for, currently under the working title of "December 20-21, 2067" -- where Trent meets Reverend Andy. The story's completed and I rather like it." The story he mentions has been entitled _The Star_, and is the basis for the pilot episode of _Trent The Uncatchable_, mentioned above. So other than _EE_ and _tLR_ incorporating the changes he's been meaning to make, I think that covers it. ~~~ 17. Changes? Whaddaya mean there's changes? Letting the man speak for himself: "Emerald Eyes. Slightly rewritten -- no major new scenes, but a lot of scene tightening and (on a sentence by sentence basis) Many Words Omitted, a couple of scenes that now make me cringe cleaned up somewhat. All broadly good things. [...] The Long Run. No substantial changes here -- some minor word tinkering from the original edition, but no scenes omitted or added. (Lots of "he was doing" and "she was saying" turned into "he did," "she said." Flow issues -- which for a novel that flows like this one, may help. But you probably won't notice the changes unless you compare line by line.)" ~~~ 18. How much is it? DKM: "The book's going to be $45; shipping will be UPS this time, and will be $3 a copy, $2 per copy thereafter," for U.S. orders [DKM, 07 Aug '98]. And: "To clarify a question, this is $45 for _both_ EE and tLR," and _tS_, of course. (It's a combined edition, you see; one hardbound book at roughly 500 pages.) Note that this doesn't include the 8.25% sales tax, for those who live in California. Letting DKM do the math for me, we have: "If you live in the state of California, I must charge you sales tax. Sales tax is $3.71 per book." From the 8.25% rate for his county, which applies to all orders coming from California, despite whatever your local sales tax rate may be. Continuing: "In California: 1 copy ~ $51.71 2 copies ~ $102.42 (i.e., an extra $50.71 per book.) Out of California: 1 copy ~ $48.00 2 copies ~ $95.00 (i.e., an extra $47 per book.)" And: "For orders to be shipped outside of the United States, shipping is $5 for the first copy, $2 for each successive copy. (U.S. dollars, of course.) [...] Payment is by check or money order only. Cash will be returned." More details in the Ordering/Shipping section below. ~!~ 19. Will this be signed and numbered too? Yes, signed and numbered this time as ###/1000 (even though there *are* only 500 - see below). ~!~ 20. How many copies are there? Only 500 copies were printed. Originally, it was planned that another 500 would be printed after the first run sold out, but that changed when Dan announced in Aug 2000 that there would NOT be a second print run. As for when, the books are printed, stacked, and waiting for your order. ~!~ 21. I want to make sure I get a copy, how can I do this? Order now, and you'll get one. As of February 2001, there are less than 15 left. ~~ Ordering/Shipping ~~~ 22. Should I send in my money now? Damn straight. (That's a 'yes', BTW, for those not familiar with American slang.) ~!~ 23. How and where and to whom should I send my order? Send your order via plain vanilla U.S. Postal Service. "Please DO NOT under any circumstances send registered/certified etc. mail -- anything that requires me to stand in line to pick it up." [DKM, 07 Aug '98] "Payment is by check or money order only. Cash will be returned. If you'd like to purchase a copy of Emerald Eyes / The Long Run, make out your check to: Daniel Keys Moran" [DKM, 07 Aug '98] SEND your check to: Queen of Angels Publications P.O. Box 5020 Woodland Hills, CA 91365 Please indicate on your check or money order that you are purchasing X copies of "Emerald Eyes/The Long Run. Also: "Please make sure to indicate WHERE YOU WANT THE BOOK SENT unless it's the same as the address on the check." ~~~ 24. I've sent my money, but haven't heard anything. What up? Anecdotal evidence shows that orders are dealt with in batches about once a month. So, give it about that long before you start worrying that the postal worker is a closet DKM fan. For What It's Worth, he has a good track record on dealing with orders -- 500 copies of _Terminal Freedom_ and none lost. Quite likely everything sent to him is still in the queue. In a few cases, some books sent out have been returned to him marked as undeliverable. When that happens, messages go out on the continuing-time list to try to track down the new addresses for the people. See section 30 below for how to sign up for the continuing-time list, in case you're worried that your order might be one of the lost ones. If you are having real troubles tracking down your book, you can send a message to ALS (at) QueenOfAngels.com to ask about it. 'ALS' is Amy Stout-Moran's mailbox (Dan's better half who is handling the shipping of books and whatnot), and should be used only for inquiries about missing books or orders. ~~~ 25. Not only have I not heard anything, but my check was deposited! Checks and money orders have a lifespan. After a certain amount of time (60 days for many checks, and 30 days for money orders) the certificate to draw upon your funds reverts to being just so much paper with ink on it. So, if you've sent a check and it's been a while, your check may have been deposited to avoid expiration and double the work on everyone's part. ~~~ 26. Can I get this shipped some other way than UPS? _TF_ was shipped via the U.S. Postal Service, and I have to say that I was really impressed. He sent off the copies at 5:30pm, and the book arrived in my hot little hands the *next day*. Admittedly, we both live in California, but still. Anyway, the only reason I mention that is that copies of _TF_ may still be shipping out via the Post Office, but DKM has stated that future shipments (ie. _EE/tS/tLR_) will go out by UPS. If you live outside the country, costs will be $5.00 shipping for the first copy, and $2.00 for each copy thereafter. All other costs are the same. DKM has stated that he *may* be able to work something else out in terms of FedEx or AirBorne or UPS for the out-of-country list members, but the prices might not be the same. ~~~ 27. I'm fed up, it's taking too long. Can I get my money back? (For those of you coming late to the dance, you can safely ignore this section -- it only applies to those who ordered _EE/tLR_ before it was printed.) From DKM: "If you're really feeling upset, I'm sorry. You can cancel your order; you can request a refund and I will send you one as promptly as I'm able -- more promptly than I've answered e-mail, surely. One fellow requested a refund; I sent him a check the next day" [DKM, 21 Aug '98]. ~~ Things to be aware of ~~~ 28. The Life and Times of Dan Moran In at least partial defense for why the limited editions took so much time to get to press (and for _TF_ orders to be processed), he's recently gotten married, he and his new wife then got pregnant together, he's moved, he's been in more than one accident involving modern transportation, and he's getting over having both the chickenpox and bronchitis and the same time. Beyond that there are other personal issues indirectly involving him that have heavily impacted upon his time. Most of these things have blown over by now, so Quantum Willing and the river don't rise, things should be smoother sailing from here on out. Ghu knows he's built up enough karma for the next year or two. ~~~ 29. Did Trent walk through the wall? Well, I think tha--wait! You were trying to trick me into talking about the books themselves! Sorry, this FAQ is purely meta-Moran. Anything other than questions regarding the limited editions and Mr. Moran's publishing schedule should be directed to the list itself, where many friendly people will gladly pick you -- er, your question, that is -- apart. ~~~ 30. Other resources There is a very low-volume Continuing Time announcements list that carries important information regarding DKM's works. It's a subset of the continuing-time list, so if you are signed up to the continuing-time (at) ralf.org list, you're already automatically receiving posts sent to the ct-announce list. For those who aren't, you can receive information detailing how to sign up for the ct-announce or continuing-time lists by sending an email to "ct-announce-request (at) ralf.org" with a blank subject line, and message body of "help". The short version on signing up is: send a message to continuing-time-request (at) ralf.org, with an empty subject line, and the text "subscribe" (no quotes) in the body. The continuing-time list itself is also low volume, averaging about two messages a day. It is the best way to keep up to date on the status of your orders (should something bad happen), and what may be happening with future books. Other than that, if you're at all interested in DKM's work, you should visit the web site maintained by David Silberstein, Sean Eric Fagan, et al. at http://www.kithrup.com/dkm/ . Updates come through regularly, and there's a lot of neat material maintained online (including some material from Jodi Moran, as well). If you aren't interested in DKM's work, then why are you reading this FAQ? ~~~ ~~ ~~~~ ~~ Regarding this FAQ: Questions, comments, corrections, clarifications, criticisms, or anything else starting with the 'k' sound should be directed to myself at RayLee (at) iName.com. Things starting with other letters are welcome, too. Messages with "flog" in the subject line will be printed out, cut into little strips, bound to a stick, and used to administer corrections to the author of this FAQ. Ray B. Lee