A handful of quick news items

Thought I’d give you folks a few updates on various and sundry things surrounding The Daedalus Incident. No, I don’t have an ironclad launch date yet, but things on the Skyhorse/Start deal front look good.  And that’s all I can say on that. So, moving on:

I’m writing over at SFSignal today, participating in a rather epic mind meld on the literary appeal of gods, goddesses and myths. Not only is the subject matter epic to begin with, but I’m sharing the stage with a lot of great folks, including Mike Underwood, Chuck Wendig, Chris Lites and Christopher Garcia. Lots of interesting stuff in there; you should check it out. Big shout out to Paul Weimer for including me in such august company.

While I’m here, I really want to give a hearty thanks to everyone at the Hugo Award-winning SFSignal — Paul, JP Frantz, Patrick Hester, Regan Wolfrom and especially John DeNardo — for all the support and interest. They’ve been awesome. If you’re a SF/F fan and haven’t bookmarked SFSignal…man, I can’t even contemplate that. Just go do it.

Also, I got confirmation from Steve Feldberg over at Audible that the audiobook of The Daedalus Incident is primed to go whenever the ebook hits the market, likely around early July at this point. I’ll post a link as soon as I see one. Also, the audiobook has two narrators, Kristin Kalbli and Bernard Clark, which I find quite cool. In retrospect, given the two different protagonists in two different settings, having dual narrators makes sense. It just never occurred to me that someone would actually want to do that. So, yeah…very excited. Thank you to Steve, Kristin, Bernard and the rest of the Audible crew. Can’t wait to have a listen!

Finally, just today I received my official invitation to be part of the programming at LoneStarCon3, also known as the 71st annual WorldCon. So that means I’m headed to San Antonio, Texas, over Labor Day weekend! If you’re heading to WorldCon, come on out to hear me talk about writing and Daedalus and other assorted topics. No, I don’t know which panels yet, or with whom I might converse, but I’ll be sure to announce it here when I get more details. Plus, word is that some of the Night Shade authors may do a little shindig for folks in attendance, so stay tuned.

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The Gravity of the Affair: Part III

Time for another installment of The Gravity of the Affair, the tie-in novella set in the universe of The Daedalus Incident! When last we left Lt. Horatio Nelson, post-captain of the brig HMS Badger, he had just failed in his attempt to take a larger, mysterious vessel in the Void off Europa. Now he must face the consequences….

***

…I fear there is little more to say than this, Uncle. I feel as though I have done my duty to England in this matter. The deaths are most unfortunate, and weigh upon me heavily, as I know without doubt they do upon every commander in the Service. The aggression against our settlements upon Ganymede should not go unanswered, however, and I did my utmost to provide something of an answer, despite the odds.

I feel that, when all is said and done, I will be vindicated in this, and resume command of my ship, or another, in due course. Given your support of me and my career, I simply wished to keep you informed should you hear of this matter or, worse, any number of ill-informed rumours surrounding it.

I continue to pray for your good health and well-being.

Yours,

Horatio.

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More from the Nebulas, plus the Daedalus audiobook!

It takes a lot for me to feel like the little guy. I’m over six feet tall and not exactly waifish. Professionally, I’ve held my own conducting interviews with politicians and CEOs for many, many years. I’ve had Steve Ballmer yelling at me a bare foot away from my face, and broke down in laughter with Jeff Bezos after a particularly fun grilling.

But here, at the Nebula Awards Weekend, I was most certainly the little guy. And it was pretty cool.

As part of my volunteer duties, I helped babysit the press room. And there was a moment yesterday where I’m sitting there while Sword & Laser interviewed the legendary (and truly wonderful) Gene Wolfe, with Nebula nominee Kim Stanley Robinson listening intently nearby, and John Scalzi and Mary Robinette Kowal hovering by the door, also eavesdropping.

And I’m just this newbie, you know? I don’t fanboy much, but it was a great moment.

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Updates from Nebula Awards Weekend

Hello from San Jose! I’m here for the Nebula Awards Weekend, and it’s already been a lot of fun. I’m continually impressed by how welcoming folks have been to the new kid on the block.

Since I’m helping out a bit with the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America’s publicity efforts this weekend, I was invited to join a small group of folks for dinner last night with SFWA Grand Masters Connie Willis and Gene Wolfe. Both are amazing writers, but perhaps more importantly, they’re just lovely people to be around. It was an honor to meet them both. They then went on to do great readings and an interesting discussion at SF in SF here.

As it turns out, The Daedalus Incident is a known quantity around here, and people seem quite interested in it, which is really gratifying to see. I mean, one person said, “Oh, you’re the guy with the book in limbo.” Yes, yes I am. But you HAVE heard of it. So that’s something, right?

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Library Journal names Daedalus SF/F debut of the month!

I admit, this floored me.

The Daedalus Incident has been named the science fiction/fantasy debut of the month by the folks at Library Journal, complete with a starred review. Their verdict:

Martinez’s debut is a triumph of genre-blending, as steampunk adventure merges with modern space opera. With a cast of superbly drawn characters, Martinez’s title is a mesmerizing tale of two universes that briefly cross paths, leaving both worlds forever changed.

I have no words for this one, other than thank you, Library Journal. Just…wow.

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The Gravity of the Affair: Part II

Prepare for battle under Jupiter’s fiery red eye….

Welcome to the next installment of The Gravity of the Affair, the novella set in the historical fantasy setting of The Daedalus Incident. In Part I, posted last week, we were introduced to a young post-captain by the name of Horatio Nelson, in command of the 12-gun brig HMS Badger. Nelson had left Europa in pursuit of another vessel, and we pick up the story with him and his ship in the Void, looking for his quarry.

***

Turning to his glass, Nelson scanned the horizon, knowing full well that the sharp-eyed lookouts would spot the other vessel first. But it gave him something to do. And now that the Badger was out within the Void, there was much more to see. Jupiter waxed gibbous in this part of the Jovian system, and treated the eye to brilliant ribbons of orange and salmon, along with its famed fiery red eye. To starboard, Io burned like a tiny cinder in the blackness, while Ganymede to starboard was a lovely blue-white spark—one that now burned with the fires of revolution. It was there that thirteen British colonies—more than three quarters of the land held by the Crown on that moon—had rebelled against the rightful authority of the Crown, and word was that the French might involve themselves in the matter, as the French often did when they were unwelcome.

Nelson hoped to see Ganymedean colors upon the vessel he pursued, for that would give him free rein in his course, allowing him to take or destroy the “Ganny” vessel. Were she French, the matter would grow complicated quickly.

Lt. Edwards seemed to have his own mental calculus with regard to their prey. “Captain, a word?” he said, his back to the crew and his voice whispered in Nelson’s ear.

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Updates, travel and musings

This is gonna be one of those blog posts made up of stuff that’s too long for Tweets, but too short to warrant their own separate posts.

First off, no official word yet on the Skyhorse/Start purchase of Night Shade Books’ assets. There’s not a heap I’m comfortable saying publicly, other than I remain encouraged by developments. While a bit of uncertainty remains, I expect it’s more a question of when than if at this point.

Folks who have pre-ordered The Daedalus Incident on Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble may have noted that the release date has been changed from May 7 to June 11. This was news to me, and I’m not sure if that’s the official date or if it’s just a placeholder. Some pre-order customers at Amazon got e-mails updating them, others have not. Either way, you can still pre-order the book, and it’ll show up on or shortly after the official release date…whenever that is.

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