Happy New Year. Hope all has been well for all of you during this holiday season. Winter has not yet arrived in our part of Pennsylvania due to an utter absence of snow. As someone who grew up in Northern New York, where winter lasts roughly from Labor Day to Memorial Day, this is a nice change of pace! 

Upcoming Conventions. I will be attending MarsCon and StellarCon. When not participating in the various panels, I should be found in the Dealers' Room chit-chatting and encouraging unsuspecting con attendees to sign up for my newsletter and perhaps purchase a novel or two. Stop in to say "Hello" if you are in the area! 

MarsCon. January 11-13, 2002. Williamsburg, VA.

StellarCon. March 15-17, 2002. Greensboro, NC. This year's StellarCon will feature Star Wars novelists Mike Stackpole, Timothy Zahn and Aaron Allston, all pretty neat gentlemen.

Profile in Central Pennsylvania Magazine! I was recently interviewed for a profile in Central Pennsylvania magazine that will discuss my previous work on Star Wars as well as relate my experiences in the challenging world of self-publishing. The article will see print this Spring.

The New Novels! It's getting close to publication time for the next two Outlaw Galaxy novels. These books will be upgraded to a comic book-style format, featuring a full-color glossy cover with newsprint interior.

Outlaw Galaxy 2: Fugitive Among the Stars. The book was streaming along nicely, but is still in need of some revisions, so I moved the ship date back to early 2002. Fugitive Among the Stars features Trip and his friend Johnnie O. Just imagine the trouble these two can get into when given scooters and left unsupervised during a vacation....

Outlaw Galaxy 3: The Warriors of Brinik-Ros. Set for release in a couple of months, this book features a completely new cast of characters and is actually the first in a two-novel series. The second novel, tentatively titled Revolution on Brinik-Ros, should be released later this year.

In recent weeks, I've also put together a couple of shorter works. One is a ten-chapter novelette featuring a young Frontier Ranger's first tour of duty. It is in final editing now and will most likely be published as a stand-alone "sampler story" retailing for $1 when I visit schools, conventions, and book stores. (Final pricing for mail order will be higher due to postage costs and the processing fees associated with accepting credit cards. Sorry, gang.) 

School Events: Meet the Author! I've just put together a presentation aimed at schools called "The Imagination Forge." During the short program, I show students how to analyze other stories and write their own science fiction and fantasy works. I also do "Meet the Author" sessions in schools, either during regular classes or in the school library for students in study hall. Both programs are free of charge!

If you would be interested in having me visit your school for one of these programs, please have your school librarian or a teacher email me: bill@billsmithbooks.com!

See you next month!

Bill

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