As is now tradition, I’m posting the acknowledgements from The Venusian Gambit here on the blog. This is my way of saying thanks to all the awesome folks who helped me put this book — and the entire series — out there for you to read. And if I missed anybody, I apologize! The more I do this, the more I realize just how many folks it takes to do this stuff, and I’m immensely grateful to everyone who had a hand in it.
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Thomas Weatherby has been with me now for more than 12 years, though it was only in the last four that his story was finally put to the page. With The Venusian Gambit, the adventure that started in The Daedalus Incident and continued in The Enceladus Crisis is now complete. I think it turned out pretty darn well – better than I could’ve hoped when I first dared to write that first novel – and I’m very gratified with how this trilogy has been received. And for that, I have you, the reader, to thank first and foremost.
Thank you for letting me tell this story to its conclusion. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Finishing this book, and this trilogy, was immensely satisfying – and bittersweet. Saying goodbye is never easy, but I’d like to think that these characters had a good run. I’ll miss them, but it’s time to let them go, and to see what other challenges there are for me as a writer.
There’s another reason why I’m a little melancholy about wrapping up this series. Those of you who pay attention to such things may have noticed that The Enceladus Crisis was dedicated to my mother, and that this book has been dedicated to her memory. Mary Ann Martinez passed away on July 26, 2014, after a long battle with cancer. She fought to the last, and even in the midst of her fight, her encouragement and her pride in this work was a source of inspiration. I thanked her before she passed, but I’m doing so again here. It’s only fitting.
As you might imagine, finishing this book over the summer and fall of 2014 was a difficult task, but one made easier with the help and support of so many family and friends. My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of them, and especially to my aunt and uncle, Edee and John Butnor; my cousins John, Courtney and Ashby; my aunt Joan Butnor; my mother’s amazing friends Sheila Mann and Ruth Bolton; and, of course, to my dear friends Karl Isselhardt, John LeMaire and Drew Montgomery.
I also want to thank everyone at my day job, managers and colleagues alike, for such immense support and compassion over the past year – and for all their encouragement in this literary effort since the beginning. You’re all fantastic.
The folks at Skyhorse/Night Shade Books are among the finest people I’ve worked with in over two decades as a writer, and their support and understanding during the summer and fall is doubly appreciated. Cory Allyn’s effort may be unseen in this book, but his fingerprints are all over it, and it’s a better work because of him. Thanks also go to Jason Katzman and Lauren Burnstein for all their hard work and general awesomeness.
I’ve thanked Sara Megibow before, but I’m going to do it again. She’s a great agent and someone I’m proud to call friend. Never has there been a better advocate for an author.
My thanks also go to the SF/F community at large: authors, reviewers and fans alike. Authors such as Jason M. Hough, Michael R. Underwood, Django Wexler, Beth Cato, Chuck Wendig, Mary Robinette Kowal and so many others have been a source of encouragement and welcome. Thanks also to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America for their staunch advocacy on behalf of writers – and for being such a great tribe of geeks.
This book wouldn’t have received any attention without the reviewers who took the time to read and opine, and the news sites who thought my work worthy of attention. Thank you to John DeNardo and Paul “PrinceJvstin” Weimer of SF Signal, Stefan Raets of Tor.com, Charlie Jane Anders of io9, James Floyd Kelly of GeekDad, Dan Hanks, Abhinav Jain, Sally “Qwill” and Tracy “Trinitytwo” of the Qwillery, Matt Mitrovich, Caleb Flanagan, Joe Frazier, Feliza Casano, Luther M. Siler and so many others I’m probably failing to mention here.
I have fans! That’s been mindblowing – and such a wonderful thing. To everyone who reviewed my books on places like Goodreads and Amazon, to the folks who sought me out to say hello at conventions and events, and to those who took the time to write fan mail – it means so very, very much to me.
Finally, there’s my amazing daughter Anna, who once again took my author photo and continues to be a source of inspiration and love. She also sat through the World Fantasy Convention in D.C. this past November with good grace and a lot of patience. I’m so proud to be her dad.
And then there’s my wife Kate. I don’t think this book would even be here without her unflagging support and love over the past year. She continues to make our lives together the best sort of adventure. I love you.
The Daedalus trilogy is concluded. I look forward to seeing what happens next.
Michael j. Martinez
#SFWApro
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Michael J. Martinez 