Monster Hunter International, Second Edition

by Larry Correia

  Don started reading MHI at work and ended up printing off the whole thing to take home. He contacted me the next day, told me I shouldn’t self-publish—it was already too late—and that this book would be a perfect fit for Baen Books. He asked if he could send it on to Toni Weisskopf, the publisher there. I figured it was worth a shot, even though I’d never heard back from Baen after submitting to their slush pile (Years later they searched the Baen offices for that original manuscript submission, but it was never found. Apparently it had disappeared into the great Postal Vortex).

  My self-published MHI came out and sold surprisingly well. Uncle Hugo’s ordered several cases and sold out fast. Luckily for me, that bookstore was the one picked for the Entertainment Weekly bestseller list that month, so all of a sudden my little self-published novel wound up on a national bestseller list. That was certainly unexpected.

  Then Toni Weisskopf read MHI, really liked it, and offered me a contract. Achievement unlocked! Since Baen published most of my favorite books anyway that was a no brainer. Looking at my bookshelves, there were a whole lot of Baen books already on it, and the very first sci-fi novel I had ever purchased with my own money when I was young was Fanglith by John Dalmas, by you guessed it, Baen Books.

  We discontinued the self-published MHI, and there would be nothing available until the Baen version came out in a year. This led to a very happy series of events that I never saw coming. All of the people who bought my original self-published book then told all of their friends how much they liked it, only when they went to get a copy for themselves they found out they couldn’t have it anymore. Nothing makes an American want something like being told they can’t have it. The original MHIs started going for crazy prices on eBay. Word continued to spread, so by the time the Baen book released there was a huge crowd waiting for it.

  Our first print run sold out in less than a week. Toni ran another print run. It sold out immediately too. Baen asked for a sequel. My fans loved the book and had told everybody about it. For a new author, that was really humbling.

  That was in 2009. It has been hopping ever since. The Monster Hunter series now includes Monster Hunter Vendetta, Monster Hunter Alpha, Monster Hunter Legion, and Monster Hunter Nemesis is coming out this summer. I have an alternate history, fantasy trilogy called the Grimnoir Chronicles, consisting of Hard Magic, Spellbound, and Warbound. And that online fiction serial I mentioned earlier, Mike Kupari turned that into a thriller series which so far has Dead Six and Swords of Exodus.

  It has been a crazy ride. The main thing I’ve learned is that I’ve got the best fans in the business.

  Larry Correia

  Yard Moose Mountain, Utah

  2/24/2014

  About the Author

  Larry Correia is hopelessly addicted to two things: guns and B-horror movies. He lists his occupations: gun dealer, firearms instructor, accountant, and writer, and was until recently part owner of a company specializing in firearms and movie props. He shoots competitively and is a certified concealed weapons instructor. Larry resides in Utah with his very patient wife and family. He has also designed a special patch for the agents of Monster Hunter International, Inc. As he puts it, "If you don't look good while you're killing stuff, then you're not really a monster hunter."