A little 2016 preview

The new series comes out this year!

I think everyone should be well and truly recovered from the holidays and such, so I figured it was a good time to let you know what you can expect out of me in the coming year, words-wise. And it’s going to be pretty cool.

Obviously, the Big Thing™ will be the release of MJ-12: Inception in September. This is the very first volume in the MAJESTIC-12 series of fantastical Cold War spy thrillers, because that kind of genre-blending is how I roll.

Now, the conspiracy theory states that MAJESTIC-12 is a cabal of government honchos hiding proof of extraterrestrial life from the general populace in order to leverage alien technology on behalf of the United States military. I’m taking that historical theory and running with it, but in very, very different directions. So you’ll see a lot of action and adventure, some truly fantastical elements, a decent dollop of mystery and suspense, and a couple of big question marks in MJ-12: Inception that’ll hopefully have you coming back for more.

So that’s out in September in hardcover. Where do things stand with it now?

Right now, I’m going through Cory Allyn’s edits and suggestions on my draft. Just as I hope I’ve gotten better as a writer over the past several years, I can say with certainty that Cory continues to be well ahead of me. Great stuff.
Starting some time in March, you’ll see our series website, MJ-12.net, come to life. We’ll be teasing the book though various write-ups and tidbits about my version of this particular conspiracy. Should be fun. I’ll also be giving this here blog/site a new coat of paint come August, most likely.
The MJ-12: Inception cover…oh, God, the cover looks so awesome and I totally want to share it with you, but it’s not ready yet. But we’re working on it. And as with the last two Daedalus trilogy novels, they’re taking my feedback into account, which is lovely.
We have our first excerpt from MJ-12: Inception ready to go in March. Where will said excerpt appear? I’m sorry, but you’re not cleared for that yet.

Of course, as we get closer to the release date, I’ll have a lot more going on, both online and off. I hope to update MJ-12.net regularly throughout the spring and summer, of course, and I’ll be talking about it wherever I go. And where, you ask, am I going?

Phoenix Comicon! June 2-5 in Phoenix, Ariz. I had a great time last year, looking forward to another geek-out in the desert with 80,000 of my closest friends.
DragonCon! Sept. 2-5 in Atlanta, Ga. This’ll be my third year running, and with the launch of MJ-12: Inception so close to the con, I imagine I’ll have a lot of swag and goodies in store.
New York Comic Con! Oct. 6-9 in New York City. I admit, I don’t know if I’ll have anything here beyond just showing up to enjoy, but I’m working on it. NYCC is a tough nut to crack for some reason.

That’s all I have confirmed for now, but it’s quite possible I may do a smaller con or two this year to support the new series. I’m also hoping to do something of a launch event in whatever city or cities I find myself on launch day, and some bookstore appearances whenever I can wrangle them. As always, check back here regularly.

What else? Well, just this week I turned in my Geeky Giving novelette, “Mind Flight,” which should be in the March story bundle if all goes well. Geeky Giving, if you’ll recall, is a fundraiser for the Barrow Neurological Foundation in Arizona. For $5 a month, or $25 for six months, you get a heap of exclusive short stories, with the money going toward neurological research. I’m particularly proud of “Mind Flight,” as it’s my first real foray into straight-up science-fiction, and MilSF at that. I think it turned out swimmingly, and I can’t wait for you guys to read it.

I’m also hoping to write a few more shorts this year. I had three short stories released in 2015 — one online, two in anthologies — and I wouldn’t mind having one or two more out there. It’s a nice way to explore new areas, stretch some new muscles, have fun without committing to an entire novel.

But I am, in fact, committed to another novel, the second MAJESTIC-12 book. So when I’m not revising MJ-12: Inception, I’m starting to research and outline book two, which is called MJ-12:…something. Don’t know yet. I know when and where the book is set, and I know the major historical events involved and, generally, the cast of characters involved. I have some of the plot points and character beats developed, and will probably start in on my Excel outline in a few weeks. Once I do that, maybe I’ll know what comes after the MJ-12: bit.

So that’s it. Kind of busy, and that’s just the authoring part. Obviously, my wife and daughter come first, followed rather closely by the day-job that puts food in their bellies and a roof over their heads. But I managed to release one novel, write another, and get a bunch of shorts done last year. So I’ll try to do it again in 2016.

Oh, one more thing. You may not have seen the very last of the Daedalus trilogy.

*grins like an idiot*

Don’t freak — it’s still a trilogy, not a tetralogy or anything. But we’ll have a bit of news next month, and if you’re a fan of the series, I’m gonna need your help. Stay tuned.

#SFWApro