Sharon Lee and Steve Miller announced that they are affected by the sudden closure of Meisha Merlin Publishing. “As we are… unlikely… to ever see royalties from bookstore sales of Meisha Merlin books, and since we have this Big Pile of Books in the basement, we’d ask that folks please consider buying from us first. If you want the money from your purchase to support and encourage the authors, this is the Numero Uno Very Best Way to be sure this happens.”
The web site, where they list various editions of several titles—including Balance of Trade, Crystal Dragon, Crystal Soldier, Low Port, Partners in Necessity, Plan B, and The Tomorrow Log—is at this link. They note that they have various quantities, ranging from dozens to hundreds, because they were paid in part in books.
The closure also affects Web of the Trident, which was scheduled for hardcover release last month, as well as the scheduled follow-on to Balance of Trade. Both have been canceled, and future publication rests in the hands of their agent, Jennifer Jackson of the Donald Maass Literary Agency.
Lee and Miller also want to emphasize that the request to seek them out first for purchases applies only to Meisha Merling titles. “By all means feel free to purchase electronic copies via Baen Webscriptions and mass market editions from Ace.”
We assume there are other authors in similar situations, and will report on them as they come forward.