Yes, the book was orphaned. Sorry it happened to you but it is not uncommon at all, with all the corporate buyouts and editor shuffling.

Oh, yeah. I edited a ms. for somebody who'd gotten a $500K advance ... well, that's what was promised but only a small portion was doled out because the publisher canceled ... the guy was making an ass out of himself boasting, bragging, trying to promo his second book, which was only a concept, before the first one was in final edits. The guy had an ideal platform too -- reporter for a major newspaper with a part-time gig on national TV.

But yeah, he was a walking red flag, and I can only assume that the publisher decided he was too much trouble and they didn't want him on the roster.

BTW, the guy never paid me for the edit.