The Revelation Of Project: Redacted
Social media can be a scary place, sometimes.
But it can also be a wonderland. Because without social media, I wouldn’t know so many amazing writers. I would have never spoken on stage at Margaret Atwood’s birthday. I would never get into a cold war of kale-related tweets with John Scalzi. I would never have gotten Lar deSouza to draw me on a wyvern with a jetpack:
Or me on the Jaws boat with Scott Lynch, Sam Sykes, and the aforementioned Scalzi:
I sometimes just wish for things on Twitter, and they happen. I say, that book looks neat, and then that book, which is months before publication, shows up at my door.
I know. This is supremely privileged. Not everybody can just shake Twitter and make cool stuff fall out, I do recognize this — but I’ve also seen it happen with so many others, too, whether it’s writers asking for critiques or when fans of authors get to meet and engage with those authors.
Social media can be really, really cool.
Which leads me to:
Project: Redacted.
On September 4th, 2014, I wrote this tweet.
On September 4th, 2015, this book comes out.
Which means that [REDACTED] has been revealed as not the PERFECT STRANGERS officially-sanctioned novelization that I’ve been talking about on Twitter (though one day I will write BALKI’S DAY OF BLOOD, you betcha), but rather revealed as:
STAR WARS: AFTERMATH.
*silent joyful screaming*
(News at StarWars.com. Featuring more info and thoughts from Yours Truly.)
I am writing an official Star Wars novel.
I am writing the first (newly) canonical novel set after Return of the Jedi.
I cannot feel my legs, and I have been drunkenly pirouetting wildly around the house for months, making lightsaber sounds and forcing my four-year-old on a steady regimen of Star Warsy goodness. I am geeking out hardcore over here. I now join the ranks of my homie, Kevin Hearne (who by the way just made the NYT bestseller list with Heir to the Jedi).
The opening crawl for Aftermath, should you care (and I can say no more):
Journey to The Force Awakens.
The second Death Star is destroyed. The Emperor and his powerful enforcer, Darth Vader, are rumored to be dead. The Galactic Empire is in chaos.
Across the galaxy, some systems celebrate, while in others Imperial factions tighten their grip. Optimism and fear reign side by side.
And while the Rebel Alliance engages the fractured forces of the Empire, a lone Rebel scout uncovers a secret Imperial meeting. . . .
March 17, 2015 @ 3:48 PM
Wut.
*runs around like a demented chicken in anticipation*
March 17, 2015 @ 3:49 PM
NOW I AM GEEKING OUT THIS IS AWESOME AND I CAN’T WAIT AND OH BY THE WAY CONGRATULATIONS AND GREAT COVER
March 17, 2015 @ 3:50 PM
So I guess the big question is: How much of your you-ness did you suppress to write a family-friendly space saga story?
March 17, 2015 @ 3:50 PM
*ACTUAL SCREAMING*
March 17, 2015 @ 3:50 PM
WOW. Congratulations, Chuck. That’s fan-fucking-tastic. May the Force be with you!
March 17, 2015 @ 3:52 PM
Great news, really pleased for you.
March 17, 2015 @ 3:53 PM
Holy crap, man. Words fail me. Congrats. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 17, 2015 @ 3:53 PM
MOTHER OF FUCK I AM BUYING THIS THE DAY IT HITS SHELVES. PLEASE TELL ME THAT THERE IS AN UNTOLD ASPECT OF THE FORCE BEST DESCRIBED AS “WENDIG SNARK.” PLEASE.
March 17, 2015 @ 3:54 PM
DAMN DUDE! Congrats 😀
March 17, 2015 @ 3:55 PM
Holy sweet mother of all Jedi Mind Tricks! Congratulations!
I’m buying this, oh, yes, indeed…..
March 17, 2015 @ 3:57 PM
Man, after doing so much, for so many (I mean, you help a lot of people with this blog, on a daily basis), I really can’t express how happy I am for you. Congratulations. Make us proud (I have no doubt you will). This is just too awesome!
March 17, 2015 @ 3:59 PM
Duh! Can’t believe I forgot this, but where do we pre-order?
March 17, 2015 @ 4:04 PM
Didn’t I see that shark dancing at half-time last Super Bowl?
March 17, 2015 @ 4:28 PM
Ah, found it. Just had to calm down enough to look in the right place. So you were four when you saw Empire? I was twenty-two, and I remember going with my first true love, Karen. We’d been dating about three months, and both of us actually watched the movie, as opposed to the stuff we normally did at the theater. Those were the days…
March 17, 2015 @ 4:03 PM
*Jumps with joy*
March 17, 2015 @ 4:04 PM
Congrats, Chuck! Couldn’t happen to a weirder, wilder, more-deserving guy. 😉
March 17, 2015 @ 4:08 PM
That is totally too cool for words!
March 17, 2015 @ 4:09 PM
WOW! Congratulations!!! *does funky nerd dance in your honor*
March 17, 2015 @ 4:10 PM
Wow! Congratulations! Can’t wait to read it!
March 17, 2015 @ 4:15 PM
Fucking awesome.
March 17, 2015 @ 4:15 PM
Congrats!
March 17, 2015 @ 4:21 PM
wow, congrats, you do deserve it.Still Wow,
March 17, 2015 @ 4:24 PM
Congratulations! Hello? Damn. He’s way up there on cloud nine. Haaaalllllooooo?
March 17, 2015 @ 4:27 PM
That’s not fantastic — it’s FUCKING FANTASTIC!! Congratulations, Chuck! Well done, YOU!
March 17, 2015 @ 4:27 PM
Holy cow, how awesome!! Congrats!!
March 17, 2015 @ 4:39 PM
So did you get to see/read the script to The Force Awakens in order to set it up?
March 17, 2015 @ 4:40 PM
Wow that’s cool! I will have to pick that up!
March 17, 2015 @ 4:43 PM
Congrats!! That’s fantastic.
March 17, 2015 @ 4:56 PM
Dude, that is super cool. Color me jealous. Congratulations.
March 17, 2015 @ 4:57 PM
Damn, that is beyond cool. Huzzah!!
March 17, 2015 @ 4:58 PM
Also, the pic of you riding the wyvern is epic.
March 17, 2015 @ 5:08 PM
Wow, that’s excellent. Congratulations!! I’ll definitely grab a copy.
March 17, 2015 @ 5:13 PM
Just seen this on G+ (The famous ghosttown) and I am crying with joy. I’d like to say right here and now how much I enjoyed the book, because once I’ve actually read it I will be too sad that it’s over to type.
March 17, 2015 @ 5:15 PM
Congrats! I love your writing & I LOVE Star Wars!!!! I’m beside myself with joy. Can’t wait to read your book!
March 17, 2015 @ 5:18 PM
A mundo congrats to you, meester Wendig! You’re always showing the rest of us how it’s done, lol. You really earned it. And an inspiration to us all!
March 17, 2015 @ 5:32 PM
Awesome! The internet is like falling into the Fae world and you just battled magic mist babies and snarky elves and found the freakin’ golden fleece (and what’s THAT doing with elves in the first place?). Congrats! Always good to see happy (and inspiring) news XD
March 17, 2015 @ 5:35 PM
I tried squeezing Twitter for a Stargate novel, but they said no (in truth, I wasn’t surprised given what I wanted to write).
That said, congratulations on it working for you,
March 17, 2015 @ 6:52 PM
This truly made me LOL, Misa!
March 17, 2015 @ 6:03 PM
Congratulations good sir. And May The Force Be With You!!
March 17, 2015 @ 6:05 PM
Your awesomeness just rubbed off on me a tiny bit. I’ve submitted exactly one story to your blog, but feel it gives me just a modicum of officially-licensed Star Warsness simply for knowing your work pre-dream project. Canonical, dude! let me just say that again: CAN-fuckin-ONICAL. Supreme congrats on this.
March 17, 2015 @ 6:10 PM
At the risk of destroying the magic, can I ask whether this opportunity came about as a direct result of your Jedi mind trick on Twitter, or whether it would have happened regardless. What role did social media play, and how much was a result of the hard work you’ve done over the years in establishing yourself as a unique voice in fiction (and non-fiction)?
I Got Old Today-And Accepted a Writing Challenge | Allison M. Monroe
March 17, 2015 @ 6:20 PM
[…] So, what’s the point of this rant? Well, it’s my blog and I can rant if I want. But seriously, there is a point. And that is, just as I was thinking about how old I was and lamenting that yes, I may have the career I want but I still haven’t done what I want with my writing (get published, become insanely popular, get movies made based on my books, all that jazz) I came across this tweet from Chuck Wendig. […]
March 17, 2015 @ 6:42 PM
As a big fan of the old EU, I’m very glad authors like you are on the ground floor of building another one. I’ll anticipate September 4th with barely-suppressed excitement.
March 17, 2015 @ 6:44 PM
You are now my hero. It used to be Hugh Howey. Now it is you.
March 17, 2015 @ 6:52 PM
I had to read this twice to make sure I wasn’t dreaming it up. Now I probably have to pinch someone,too. How freaking awesome is this? Not only is it great news for you, but it’s pretty damn fine for the rest of us, too!
March 17, 2015 @ 7:23 PM
SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!
March 17, 2015 @ 7:24 PM
Chuck – you’re the man.
March 17, 2015 @ 7:42 PM
So what you are really saying is that you are a Jedi and Twitter is the Force?
March 17, 2015 @ 7:48 PM
So excited to hear this news! The only disappointment is that I have to wait until September to read the book.
March 17, 2015 @ 7:53 PM
I’m not that much into star wars, but I can’t wait to read this!
March 17, 2015 @ 8:04 PM
Holy moly, that’s so exciting — congratulations!!!
March 17, 2015 @ 8:16 PM
Awesome!! Congrats!! I’m a BIG Star Wars fan!!
March 17, 2015 @ 8:37 PM
Congratulations!
March 17, 2015 @ 8:40 PM
Big news homeboy. Congrats.