Hugh Howey

Bestselling author of Wool and other books. Currently sailing around the world.

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Update on Third Shift

Well, I finally got an angry email about Third Shift. A reader has threatened to leave me for another writer. From what I hear, D.J. Molles’s The Remaining series is equally as good as Wool and Shift. You all might want to check them out. (I am!)

The word counters, sadly, only show the progress of my first draft. Hence this update. I am a third of the way through my final revision before the manuscript goes out to editors and beta readers. I expect to be done by Monday (working through the weekend). Once I get back the suggestions and corrections, I’ll incorporate those and be ready to publish. The version you all get from me will then be cleaned up even further for the UK and US releases from Random House and Simon and Schuster, so feel free to wait for these superior versions (I would!)

Cool, you clicked after the break! Okay, the plan is to have Third Shift out by the end of January. And if you all knew what my days were like right now, you’d be impressed. I sure am. Impressed and terrified. And now for those of you who clicked through, here’s a peek at the cover for Third Shift. I think it’s Mike Tabor’s best work yet:

Click here to see the full spread! (The back is just as purty!)

50 replies to “Update on Third Shift”

Wow! Great cover. I almost missed the kitty. Who brings a cat to a Political convention?

Can’t wait for the next ride.

Like you I almost missed the kitty. Downloaded the whole thing then enlarged it . Found the kitty on the back cover on the stairs.

So Hugh, what’s with the kitty’s? ;-)

It is Solo’s companion, Cat or Friend or Somebody. I don’t know but I have a dog and three cats, so thank you so much for the cat.

Thanks Hugh,

I can’t hardly wait for Thrid Shift!

Thanks again for keeping us posted, it’s something we really appreciate.

Props to Mr. Tabor for another great cover. Can’t wait for this Thanh to come out. Keep grinding Hugh! Will we be able to pre-order the book for kindles?

I have to admit, I’ve been reading other authors…
It’s not like I’ve been to any of those author/reader key parties, but I’ve experimented some…

Seriously, though, that is an awesome cover. It works as an eBook cover but the detail is still there when you zoom in. I’m not sure what to think of that cat, though. It may connect with the story somehow, but it seems slightly odd. It probably doesn’t matter, since I’d buy the book even if it had a hundred cat faces on it…

Fooey on the ranters and angry emailers, what have they contributed to the world besides angst?
Hugh, I just discovered your books 3 months ago and devoured the Wool series and await Third Shift with baited breath. You’re one of my favorite new authors! Keep up the good work. I’m so glad to hear that your self publishing has led to mainstream contracts success as well. Write on!

Oh, the email was meant in jest. As was the blog post. But I do hope it gets some eyeballs to this other author. I can’t write fast enough to please you people, so spreading the love to other indies is my way of stalling!

By Post Author

Hey, no fair stalling! I just chanced onto Wool two weeks ago and just finished Second Shift this evening. It’s hard to wait even until tomorrow for the next installment. Looking forward to the end of January.

I haven’t (obviously) read Third Shift yet, and I’m already thinking about that unmoving 14% at Wool 9.
In fact, I removed that thought from my first comment :)

But as long as you don’t take 5 years between books, I think it’s fine.
“You are, still, only human” :)

That is great news, been climbing the walls since Second Shift. Great work, love the Wool and Shift series. I gave out copies of the Wool Omnibus for holidays and everybody loves them. Well Done!

Speaking of other books I just finished ‘Life as we knew it’ by Susan Beth Pfeffer, it’s a post apoch book about how a family deals with the winter after the end of the world. Sorta of.
And ‘The Last Policeman’ by Ben H Winters about a police detective that’s determined to solve his first murder case regardless of the impending doom of the world.

Also I just found about the release of ‘The End: Visions of the Apocalypse’ with your story ‘Executable’ in it. Thanks for that!

Huh… I’m not apocalypse obsessed at least I didn’t think I was.

James Patterson *snort*
Thanks for the update, Hugh. I’ve turned a bunch of new readers on to WOOL at my new scifi/fantasy critque group. (I was flabbergasted they’d not heard of you.) Now the group has to be strongly moderated to keep it from becoming a Hugh Howey book club instead of a crrit group -lol!
I’ll pass along the update!

Hmmm, I post about The Remaining on the forums, and next thing I know it’s in the blog post.

I think my next forum post will be about how Hugh Howey should send me a free signed copy of WOOL. And also about how WOOL shouldn’t end until there’s at least 30 books.

I’m glad that you posted this note explaining to us all, why third shift has “not mooved” since mid december. I was getting the jitters. so I have been reeding the Molly Fyde saga to tide me over, but I fear that I will finish it tomorrow.. May have to chek this J. D. Molles guy out.
.. How about a little tease to tide us all over?
Looking forward to you finishing the wool/shift/sand storry, so I can read it all in one go :-D

Thank you for your commitment to both your fans and this series. The pace you are pumping these out is incredible. I have honestly never anticipated a book release as much as I have the Wool and Shift installments. Can’t wait ’til the Third Shift release.

Back to work, word monkey!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the books. When I saw ‘Second Shift’ was complete, I RACED through the rest of Steven King’s 11/22/63 so I could get to it.

I’m excited for more, but am fighting the inclination to believe that you are a writing superhero. Quality AND quantity? You’re awesome.

The Remaining is an entertaining read, but Wool tops it, by a huge amount, on my list of favorite books (Bradbury beats you, but that’s hardly fair. Bradbury beats *everybody*).

Which is great! No disrespect intended toward Mr. Molles, certainly. In fact, I’m working my way through the 2nd book in his series right now. :)

I am sorry, but I tried to read The Remaining and it sucks. I do not like it. It is written by a weapons export, so all the gun references are going over my head. (I just never got into guns) Your books are much easier to read. I couldn’t even get through the first book.

If anything I found The Remaining to be a very easy read. very meat and potatoes writing.

Hugh has much more extensive and masterful prose, which is a good thing, but I find D.J. Molles writing to be very good in a very simple and I think easy to read style.

Of course I get every gun reference, just from being an avid gamer :D

Hey Hugh,
Just wanted to pass this along: I loaned my copy of the WOOL Ombnibus to my father a short while back. Spoke to him on the phone yesterday and he told me: “That book you loaned me to read is a bad book’. Somewhat shocked, I asked why he said that. His reply: “Because I couldn’t put it down!”

I’m still working my way through the Omnibus (ebook edition), so maybe by the time I get done with that, I will be ready to read Third Shift. GREAT cover art, by the way. Really stunning.

Is Mike related to Jeffrey Tambor the actor? :-)

Awesome, beautiful cover work, and sighhhhh of relief that Third Sift is just around the corner. And what flavor of high-octane coffee is that you’re drinking? Sure must be some good stuff to have you cranking out these fab stories so furiously :-) Its one thing to be a fan of an author, but I believe that its pride that I’m feeling. You do the genre justice and I’m thrilled to have discovered your gorgeous talent!

Anything worth waiting for is worth waiting for! Shame on anyone who rushes a writer. I want nothing more then to read everything Wool but really? Hate mail? I did purchase The Remaining before reading this post and I have yet to start it. I will read quite a few books this year and no one will hear a peep out of me because I’m greatful that there are so many writers producing such imaginative stories for me to enjoy. Thank God for variety.
PS – Absolute cat lover here can’t wait to see how a feline winds up on the cover. Maybe a survivor at the fall of silo 17?

You are indeed a very clever guy. I’ve read all of your stuff and the only one I couldn’t get on with was the Molly books. How does one become a beta reader ?

I enjoyed The Remaining, although the first book was not as good as the next two. Regardless, it can’t compare to the Wool series- a fun read, but not the classic that Wool represents. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the update Hugh. Very much looking forward to Pact. Thanks for working so hard to get us this great stuff.

Hey, I just finished re-reading the first six Wool books and I bought the seventh two minutes ago on my kindle. I went into Barnes and Nobles because I wanted to get my bf a hard copy for a Christmas present, and they had to have one printed and mailed to me, which I thought was crazy, but also kind of cool. Thank you for being an author, and for creating such an amazing book. I’m happy to hear that Wool may soon be available in hardcover, it is definitely worth the extra money. Just wanted you to know how appreciated your work is! :) ~Michelle~

Hugh, I think you are fibbing about that kitty! We’ll find out, won’t we? ;) Can’t wait for the end of January!

And I think the back cover would look great as a piece of art hanging on my wall. LOVE IT!

WOOL was my first Kindle purchase, followed by everything else you have written, Mr. Howey. Loved each book, and both the WOOL and the Bern Saga series rank among my all time favorites. Third Shift is a day one purchase, of course.

That said, kindle recommendations (based on your work) have led me to find an amalgum of great authors, D.J. Molles included. The Remaining was basically an impulse purchase waiting out I, Zombie. Since you mentioned it here I have to weigh in and say that I love the Remaining series and the second and third entries each improve upon the last. Yes, it is a “typical” zombie book in many ways, much talk of guns and the plot centers on survival tactics, and I do believe the author is ex-military and his expertise shows. If the reader is anti-military or anti-gun, they may find themselves at odds with the main character. Maybe not. For everyone else, I would urge you to check it out. Especially if you are looking for something to read while eagerly awaiting Third Shift. Hugh’s spot at the top isn’t at stake, WOOL stands alone, but Mr. Molles is indeed very talented and worth a sampling at the very least.

I was very said to discover that Molles is not avaliable on from Barnes and Noble, nor does he have a website :(

DJ Molles writes a great series. I would also recommend Shawn Chesser and Joseph Talluto as pretty good self publishers who make me interested in their characters. Nothing beats Wool so far though!

It’s funny that you mentioned D.J. Molles’s The Remaining series. I think the first two books of that series were the last things I read before Wool Omnibus. I enjoyed The Remaining but I loved Wool. I’ve started several others reading the series (Wool) and am so excited to see the success you are having with it.

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