Hey everybody! I’m feeling a little bit between a rock and a hard place lately. I’m running out of time to get the book 10 bonus story done in time to have books ready for Intervention (and maybe even Dragon*Con) and things keep getting in the way (like my daughter being home sick the majority of the week and I didn’t even have to run any emergency filler, how cool am I?). Even though I know I’m going to suffer some slings and arrows over this, I think I need to slow the pace of the story down and limit myself to only a few panels of art a day Maybe for the next two weeks? So I’m apologizing ahead of time. The bonus story is coming out awesome, BTW!

UPDATE 7/19/10: I had a major breakthrough on scripting the last bits of the bonus story for book 10! I may already be too late to have it ready for Dragon*Con and Intervention but I'm gonna try! (and that may mean random emergency filler for the next few weeks). This is probably going to be the greatest and longest 'bonus story' I have ever done.

UPDATE 7/25/10: Well, CRAP! The reality of the situation is no matter what I do, I won't have Book 10 done in time for Intervention and Dragon*Con. :( It kinda bums me out, but then again as long as I get the book done soon, most of you guys will be picking it up online anywho! It just would have been real nice.
BUT I shall carry on with the book 10 bonus story AS IF I was still going to have it ready in time for Intervention and Dragon*Con.

I had a great time at ConQuesT thanks a lot to Margene and John and so many other pleasant people I met. It really felt like a family there, and it was nifty to be a part of that family for a few days. And since my parents and brother live not too far from Kansas City, I was able to spend time with my family as well! But I had to keep the two families apart as much as possible. You can't cross the streams!

I made a new friend in the author Michael Swanwick. It turns out he's not only a winner of five Hugo awards, a Nebula award, three Chikorita awards, a Blue Herring, and the 1993 Bronze Medal for Synchronized Jotting, he's also a daily reader of the strip! So I, of course, demanded an award from him, at which point he folded a business card into an origami version of his favorite Sluggy Freelance character (frog) and gave me the first official Michael Swanwick Award, thus I now have 5 Hugo Awards through osmosis, Huzzah!

After a day of meeting and greeting at the 'booth', and gabbing at some of the most enjoyable panels I've been on (Run for your lives! Poison Birds! Long story, never mind, moving on!) it was nice to kick back with some Pale Jimmy, probably the best "home brew" I've ever had. Jimmy? Please send more! And its always a good time when Baen is represented (Toni is Nifty)! And I'm enjoying my Peri Charlifu Norse-Runic Butter Dish. Although the Viking butter I put in it has already sailed to the fridge to conquer the low-fat sour cream. The cream doesn't stand a chance.

There are just so many earnestly nice people at ConQuesT, it was a complete pleasure. I hope to stop back in some day soon!

Upcoming Convention Schedule:

Dragon*Con
Sept 3-6 2010
Atlanta, Georgia
UPDATE: I'm IN and so excited that I just can't hide it...*

Intervention
Sept 10-12 2010
Washington DC

(This is a brandy-new convention that needs our support and fully has mine!)

Ubercon
Nov 5th-7th 2010
Edison, NJ

I'm already down for next years Liberty Con 24 in 2011!
(Why am I plugging this so early? Because I want too!!!)

So here's some details about what I'm doing for the week of April 26th. I've got a whole week of artwork already in the queue, and I'm blowing the dust off some very old files and turning them into a book. Book 10, specifically. Oh yes, I have a title. Oh yes I do!

Book 10 provides some interesting challenges. It's loaded with strangely  formatted strips, MITDOP Saturdays, and guest and filler weeks alike. I'm trying to target around 128 pages per book, so some non-canon weeks and days may get dropped. Anything not created by me will be out unless I get written consent to have it put in. But the heart of the book will be true.

As far as brand new bonus content in book 10, I'm on the fence. I had a loose script for a bonus story called "the Queen of Diamonds," but I'm only giving myself a week and I know I need to create some new art, a cover, and a few other nibly-bits for the book as well as the layouts. I don't want to slow down or turn this into another "Sluggy Project That Never Goes Anywhere™". So we'll see how fast I can move.

The first thing I want to address is the Megatome question. "Why book 10 and not Megatome 4?" There are two reasons for this. First off, the price point on the Megatomes is high for most. If I can get into the rhythm of putting together the files for these books, I can catch up and hopefully produce a steady stream of smaller books that'll help supplement Defenders membership to keep the comic alive until the end of the last story without getting bogged down. Second off, we still have a lot of Book 9s left and have ran out of books 7 and 8. My new publishing system will allow me to reproduce books 7 and 8, instead of eating book 9 to produce Megatome 3.

What's my new publishing system? I'm going to hopefully go with Print-on-Demand, and I have a couple of options which service to use. This means when you order a book, it'll be created on the spot for you.

Is there better options for printing and publishing these books? Maybe a better publishing deal where I can create Megatomes cheaply enough? Definitely. And since I retain full publishing rights, when that perfect situation occurs, I'll have the files all ready to go to press. But in the meantime you don't have to wait to get your hands on the last seven-years-plus of Sluggy content, and I don't have to wait to give it to you. This makes me happy. And since I've been down since December, I can use the happy!

Defenders who can't Log In:
Luckily I've gotten very few notes from Defenders having trouble logging in (less than ten in fact, once we fixed the case-sensitive issue). Unfortunately until rit gets me administrative controls over Defenders accounts I can't fix the ones who do. And new Defenders are running into trouble too. So if you run into trouble email me at:
defendersfix@sluggy.com
and as soon as rit gets me administration, I am on your case (in a good way)!

Shiny New Sluggy:
We rolled out the new site a month ago (I know, it feels like yesterday) but we're still having occasional issues. If you spot a bug of some kind you can report a ticket to us. We've set up a bug / issue tracking system, go here: http://sluggy.lighthouseapp.com/projects/34258-emergency-pants/tickets/new
To report a ticket; it just requires a free account. Thanks to everyone who have already submitted tickets. And yes, we all want weekly mode back! ;)

Become a Defender! Help Support the Strip
This page has all the details but I also wanted to mention “The Sampire” Defenders-Only Comic Book is going fantastically, with a new page every weekend! I’m having a lot of fun with this story, and I hope it shows.

Being a Defender isn’t only about bonus content, it’s also about saying thanks for the years of entertainment this strip has provided you. And it gives me the gift of continuing to provide it for at least a few more years to come, for everyone! Just fill out the registration form, and you’ll be taken to a page where you can pay via Credit Card (link on the bottom left) or via Paypal. Your account should be activated almost immediately!* Checks and Money Orders can be sent to: Sluggy Freelance, LLC PO Box 453, Denville, NJ 07834 Please include a valid contact email with the check, and please allow 3 weeks* for account activation! (I can’t get out to my PO Box every day and personal checks take time to clear.)

Donate! When I started my last “New Defenders Drive” I was surprised how many people simply wanted to donate completely separate from Defenders Membership so I set one up! If you do go this route please donate at least $5 otherwise I' won't see much of the money due to processing fees.

*IMPORTANT: Once you’ve paid, (and waited the three weeks if paying by check or money order) if you can’t access Defenders content or log in for any reason contact me via our email-form and we’ll take care of you! We’ve noticed sometimes the Paypal payments and automatic membership activation don’t synch up, and I don’t want anybody left out!