It's time once again for the annual Year's End Author Letter for 2009, courtesy of yours truly. I think I missed doing this last year for whatever reason, but that was an aberration and shouldn't happen again. Not with Shawn minding the store, anyway. The purpose of this letter is to look back on the year at large and ahead to next year and maybe even a little beyond that, considering all things BrooksBooks. It is particularly important this year, as we are in the midst of an economic downturn which is affecting all aspects of our lives, especialy books and book-related materials. This will be even more apparent when you read the rest of this letter.

So let's begin.

This is where I am with writing books as of this moment. There are 32 books in print, including both the movie adaptations for Star Wars: Phantom Menace and my non-fiction book on writing and the writer's life, Sometimes the Magic Works. The past several years have been devoted to the first three books in the pre-Shannara series, which is intended to run somewhere around 10 books, and will take us historically in the world of the Shannara from the time of the Great Wars to the formation of the First Council of Druids. This year's book was a stand-alone set in the Magic Kingdom series called A Princess of Landover. There is room for a sequel to this book, and I will probably write it sometime down the road, although not very soon.

Next up for 2010 and 2011 are the next two books after the Genesis of Shannara series. The current series title is Legends of Shannara, which is being used to help keep track of where the sets of books fall in the over-all series. I'm not thrilled with this, but I understand the reasoning. This is one of those publishing calls, and we will have to wait and see sometime around February where this is going. The first book is already written, and I will be half way through the second by the first of the year. The title of the first is Bearers of the Black Staff. The title to the second is still under consideration, although I have made up my mind. Since I am ahead of schedule even for me, this might impact release dates for new books somewhere down the road, but once more we will have to wait and see.

After that, beginning in Spring 2010, I will be writing three new books in the future of the Shannara world, which will take place sometime after the conclusion of the events of the books in High Druid of Shannara. The storyline is a work in progress, so I don't think I will talk about it just yet.

Other book news includes the following. Del Rey will release an omnibus edition of the High Druid books sometime in the next couple of years. We also have a deal in the works with Subterranean Press to do an illustrated version of Indomitable, the story I first wrote for Legends II some years ago. Should be interesting to see what they do with this project.

Movie-wise, as always, it's mostly smoke and mirrors. I could tell you a lot of stuff, but I couldn't guarantee that any of it's true. So rather than make claims that might not prove out, I will stick to what I know for sure. The Magic Kingdom series is still under option over at Universal, but the company has once again suffered a change of leadership and that has pretty much brought things to a halt. As of a month ago, we still did not have a script or a major figure on any level attached to the project. The option runs out sometime in late April. Either something of note will happen before then or Universal will pick up the option and continue to hold the rights until something does happen or they will drop the option and I will have to decide whether to take it out again or sit on it. So to speak.

Meanwhile, over at Warner Brothers, the option on the Shannara series is still in effect, but it has less than a year to go, too. Mike Newell, who was signed on to direct in the beginning, has moved on. So at present we have no director and no script. Hmmm. Guess we will see if anything is going to happen there next year, as well. Same options as with Magic Kingdom.

When I know something more about movie rights, I will put it up on the website, good or bad. There are some other developments in the works, but I don't think I am ready to talk about them just yet. Perhaps before the end of next year, that will change. Be patient. Do I say that a lot or what?

Your faithful Web Druid (and mine) continues to do his usual outstanding work on the site. He welcomes your comments and suggestions, as do I. We try to make the site user friendly and informative. We intend to continue the Ask Terry venue and if we think of anything else that will interest you, we will add that, as well.

I turned 65 this year. Hard to accept when you still feel 25 inside. Of course, that's how it is, if you don't let go of your inner child. That's not likely to happen with me, not ever. New ideas for stories continue to come at a faster pace than I can write them out. I don't expect to ever retire from this job. I love it too much.

So, Happy Holidays and A Joyous New Year. Let's remember to be kind to others and to do what we can to set a good example. See you right here in 2010.

Magic Always,