Not Done Yet: Sci-fi Stories of Wisdom and Fury is out and available everywhere books are sold! It’s been a long road for this first of my short story collections. Last week I finally got my proof copy of the hardcover in the mail, and let me tell you, I love it! The pages feel great. The cover turned out fantastic. It’s a book that I’ll be proud to bring to conventions and shows for years to come.
Only people who order the hardcover are going to be able to see the secret inside cover, which I’m actually also proud of. Those of you who ordered hardcovers of Grandfather Ghost or Grandfather Guardian know what I’m talking about. The paperback (out in a month) won’t have that, but it has its own cool printing quirks. Hey, if I’m going to publish my own stuff, I get to add a little bit of artistry to every step in the process, don’t I?
The stories of Not Done Yet first came to be when I decided to write Grandfather Anonymous. I wanted more experience writing older characters. Their motivations, their ideas, their priorities. I wrote a lot of stories about people worried about their legacies and people concerned about the world they’re leaving for their families. It isn’t all that different from writing other characters, but there’s something powerful about writing people who know they’re getting up there in years. Maybe their bodies aren’t what they used to be. Maybe they’re starting to doubt their own minds. It doesn’t mean they have less to say or that they don’t have stories to tell. Sometimes it means that the world they’re fighting for isn’t one they’ll get to live in. It’s something we don’t see enough of in sci-fi and fantasy.
And, of course, this book has a few appearances from my other series. We have Ajay Andersen visiting the Butcher of Wabasha Street, and if you know anything about the Wabasha Street Caves, I’m sure you’ll be curious where this is going (probably not where you think). There are also two stories from the Metal and Men series, one featuring an older J.D. and one with the enigmatic Gwendolyn Hatch.
Mostly, this is a collection of previously unpublished works alongside stories that have been published but are no longer easy to find. I’m thrilled to usher them out into the world again, and I hope many of you will enjoy these stories as much as I do.
You’re never too old to change the future.
A resident of a nursing home discovers something strange when he orchestrates his escape heist. A mother must decide what to do when four copies of her son return from the Duplication War. An elderly villain writes one last letter to her superhero daughter.
Fourteen stories of justice, beauty, and innovation that prove you don’t need to be young to be ambitious. Too old to make a difference?
Step aside, kid. We’re Not Done Yet.