Sorry, bad pun. The ARC (advanced reading copy) for A Darkness Forged in Fire arrives the middle of this month. In essence, this is the book in first pages, bound in trade paperback format with a draft of the cover. It’s aimed primarily for reviewers, blurbers, store accounts and subrights and as such notes among other things marketing, publicity and co-op plans. As it’s not the final version they stamp “Not Final Version” and “Do Not Quote From This Version” and various other warnings on the cover. By sending them out in February the hope is that reviewers get enough time to read and write up their review to coincide with the pub date in July. Of course, you hope the review is positive, but that’s a subjective decision made by the reader. ARCs also go to certain buyers at major chains and stores/people of note/sway in the field with the hopes that they read it, like it, and then champion it. I sound like Obama, but it’s all about hope. If you can get a few people behind it, this can lead to a bigger buy by one of the chains. That can in turn spur the other chains to do the same and things build from there.