Monthly Archives: July 2013

July 30, 2013 · 9:00 am

Writer-mind tackles technology

Sorry, gang — no new fiction this week because, well, The Gravity of the Affair wrapped up in 12 installments. If you missed it, click on the title and see what all the fuss was about, because it won’t be up on here forever. The novella is also a great primer for some of what you’ll find in The Daedalus Incident, which is coming in print and audiobook in just two weeks. (It’s already available on Kindle, Nook and Kobo, by the way.)

The Gravity novella does a great job of introducing the whole notion of sailing ships in space, one of two settings in The Daedalus Incident. The other setting is a 22nd century Martian mining colony, which prompted a lot of thought and writer-mind imagining about what our technology might look like in a century.

That kind of technological prognostication wasn’t easy. In fact, if you and I are still around in a century (hey, you never know), I imagine we’d find that the book was wrong on a lot of fronts. Technology often evolves in ways we can’t imagine — and we evolve right around with it. Just look at this article, in which desktop computer makers bemoan the growth of tablet computing and struggle to keep up with changing times.

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July 25, 2013 · 9:33 am

Signed copies of Daedalus available at Housing Works Bookstore in NYC

Want to buy a print copy of The Daedalus Incident nearly three weeks before its Aug. 13 release? If you live in New York City — or want it bad enough to travel — you can do just that.

Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in SoHo hosted the Tor.com 5th anniversary bash last night. It was my first time there, and let me tell you, it’s an outstanding bookstore. Plus, all the inventory is donated, and the proceeds go to helping combat the dual crises of homelessness and AIDS.

Since the awesome Skyhorse Publishing crew was on hand with some fresh-from-the-printer copies of the book, we decided to donate two signed copies to the store. They’re there now, so if you want them, go and buy them! You’ll get a signed copy of the book super early, and you’ll support a great cause.

Also, thanks to the folks at Tor.com for hosting a great birthday bash. It was a lot of fun meeting so many great authors, publishers and SF/F fans.

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July 24, 2013 · 3:57 pm

Interview at Alternate History Weekly Update

Just a quick note here. Matt over at Alternate History Weekly Update was kind enough to have me on for an interview, in which I talk about the enduring interest in our planetary neighbor, Mars, as well as where The Daedalus Incident falls along the spectrum of alternate history, historical fantasy and steampunk. Matt asked some very interesting questions and runs a pretty nifty site, so check it out.

As a reminder, the Shindig virtual event scheduled for tonight has been rescheduled for Aug. 27 at 9 p.m. EDT. You can RSVP now, and you’ll be sent a reminder closer to the date.

Finally, I got my first-run print copy of the book today, courtesy of the new Night Shade team at Skyhorse Publishing. It’s so very, very shiny. It’ll be in bookstores Aug. 13, so don’t forget to pre-order online, or ask your local bookseller to order it for you! (There are some handy ordering links on this page.)

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July 22, 2013 · 1:58 pm

Shindig reading postponed to Aug. 27

Sorry to reschedule on you, folks, but a couple things came up, and I’m pushing back my virtual reading and Q&A from this Wednesday to next month, Tuesday, Aug. 27, at 9 p.m. EDT. You can still RSVP here, and you’ll get a handy e-mail reminder a day or two before the event.

I think this will work out better for everyone, since those folks waiting for the print release of The Daedalus Incident (coming Aug. 13) will have a chance to at least start in on the book. And there will be more press and stuff coming out between now and then, so more folks may get a chance to attend.

So there you go. Your Wednesday night is yours once more. I’ll see you (via computer) in August. Of course, I have lots of other stuff coming in the weeks ahead, so be sure to check out the events calendar on the right side of this page for more.
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July 20, 2013 · 3:45 pm

Now I understand writing retreats

My wife Kate and I had the chance to take a few days off on our own in the wilds of the Adirondacks and Vermont. We were, of course, grateful for the fact that we weren’t home; the weather was, by all accounts, unbearably hot. But it was still pretty warm up north, so while our mornings were fun and active (canoeing and bike riding), our afternoons were spent writing.

And man, more than 12,000 words later, I totally get that writing retreat thing.

Not that I didn’t really get it before, but I’ve always been of a mind to write whenever and however I can. An hour here, a half-hour there. It does add up. But such stretches of unscheduled time…it’s kind of amazing what you can do. We didn’t really plan it as a writing retreat, per se; it was merely one of many pleasant outcomes of the trip. We both got a lot accomplished, and still felt wholly relaxed and rejuvenated.

I’m still going to stick to my guns when it comes to writing time. Just write — whenever, however, and for however long you can. But if you can indeed carve out time in a big way, it seriously rocks.

I know, seems like a no-brainer. Maybe I’m just slow.

Anyway, here’s a few book-related tidbits for you:

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July 17, 2013 · 10:25 am

Civilian Reader interview, plus more events!

Stefan over at Civilian Reader has an eclectic mix of genre stuff on his site, all of which is fun and awesome. He has great taste, which makes me doubly excited to be interviewed there today. There’s some new tidbits in there, so be sure to surf on over and check it out.

Meantime, if you look on the right hand side of this page, you’ll see there’s been some changes to the events calendar. It seems that the audiobook of The Daedalus Incident will now release the same day as print, on August 13. On the bright side, I’ve seen that if you’ve already purchased the Kindle version, Amazon may cut you a deal on the audiobook. (For me, it’s showing $3.99, which is a steal.) Something to think about, folks…!

I’ve also added a reading at Singularity & Co. in September, arranged by the good folks at Skyhorse. Singularity is a great bookstore, dedicated to all things SF/F. It’s fun to visit, so be sure to come out and see me!

And remember to RSVP for my virtual reading and Q&A on Wednesday, July 24, at 9 p.m. EDT. It’s free to participate, and if you show up, I’ll drop a brand new excerpt of The Daedalus Incident on you. I may even talk about what comes next, since I’ve been writing up a storm this week while on vacation.
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July 14, 2013 · 3:34 pm

Interview at the Qwillery, plus a Shindig on July 24!

Sally over at The Qwillery was one of the very first book bloggers to reach out to me regarding The Daedalus Incident, and I remember the excitement I had that someone actually wanted to talk to me about my writing…quickly followed by a certain concern about whether I had anything noteworthy to say.

Like just about everybody in the SF/F community, Sally was incredibly patient with me as my publisher changed hands and The Daedalus Incident got a new release date. (Kindle, Nook and Kobo now! Aug. 13 in print!) So it’s a real pleasure for me today to link to my official 2013 Debut Author Challenge interview over on The Qwillery today. Sally does such a great job highlighting debut authors and deserves a hearty round of applause for helping the newbies as we get our writing careers underway. Thanks, Sally!

I also wanted to take the chance to remind folks that I’m doing a live, virtual reading and Q&A via Shindig Event on Wednesday, July 24 at 9 p.m. EDT. It’s pretty simple to check this out. Just click on the event page and then click on the RSVP button. Easy as that. The Shindig folks will then remind you of the event closer to the date. On the 24th, you can log in and see/hear me read a brand new excerpt of The Daedalus Incident (yes, it’ll be exclusive to the event), and ask me questions.

Best part? It’s free of charge to attend, so stop on by and say hi!

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July 13, 2013 · 9:13 am

Music of the spheres: The Daedalus playlist

I had a blast doing the #sffwrtcht (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Chat) on Twitter Tuesday night. The transcript is already up at the #sffwrtcht site, and I’ve seen previous chats posted on other blogs as well, including SFSignal. (Hey, it’s SFSignal’s 10th anniversary! Well done and congrats!)

One of the questions from the chat asked whether I listened to music as I wrote. I don’t, actually. I’m quite accustomed to writing in any number of environments, from mellow to chaotic — so much so that I tune out all too easily, as my wife can attest. (“Mike. MIKE. I’m talking to you.” It’s a blessing for a writer, but a curse in many other ways.) Music is just one more thing to tune out.

That said, I draw inspiration from music, and when I’m pondering writerly things, I find music helps. In fact, there have been a number of pieces that informed The Daedalus Incident. Here’s some of them. (Note that this will probably expose my somewhat dated musical tastes to snark. So be it. I like what I like!)

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July 9, 2013 · 5:13 pm

New interview, plus #SFFWRTCHT tomorrow!

Today I’m the subject of an interview with author Heather McCorkle on her blog. We talk about The Daedalus Incident, and I get off on a little tangent regarding writing rituals. I mention a goat. It’s fun, promise.

As a reminder, I’m the guest on Bryan Thomas Schmidt’s #SFFWRTCHT on Twitter this Tuesday night at 9 p.m. EDT. I’ll likely talk about Daedalus, perhaps some on The Gravity of the Affair, and answer whatever questions you like. I promise not to spoil either work too badly, or at least highlight it when I might. (Of course, if you click here and scroll to the bottom, you’ll find plenty of purchase links in case you want to read up before tomorrow!) Either follow me on Twitter or follow the hashtag tomorrow night.

Finally, I wanted to point to a guest post over on A Dribble of Ink by fellow Night Shade author J.M. McDermott. In it, he talks about his experiences with Night Shade, as well as his hopes for Skyhorse. It’s really good and rather poignant. Give it a read.

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July 4, 2013 · 10:51 am

Kirkus picks Daedalus, and a guest post on world-building

I’m very stoked to see that The Daedalus Incident made Kirkus Reviews’ highlights and top picks for SF/F in July, especially with so many other excellent books out there right now. Kirkus notes:

If you like history, check out The Daedalus Incident by Michael J. Martinez, a gripping historical fantasy adventure which combines the late-18^th-century Age of Sail with space travel. Think of it as Master & Commander…in spaaace!

The extra A’s totally make that blurb. Many thanks to Kirkus and to John DeNardo, who also runs the Hugo-winning site SFSignal.

Also today, I’m a special guest up at the Irish writing site writing.ie, talking about world-building in speculative fiction. I discuss how I used basic journalism questions — who, what, when, where and why — to flesh out the worlds of The Daedalus Incident.

Writing.ie is also doing a giveaway of The Daedalus Incident along with the guest post — click here to enter, though I suspect this giveaway would be better suited to folks in Europe than here in the U.S., given that I haven’t done an overseas giveaway yet. For folks in America, I’m currently running a Goodreads giveaway of two signed copies, so be sure to enter!

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