Michael J. Martinez

Author: Michael J. Martinez

  • It’s time for Phoenix Comicon! Here’s where I’ll be!

    I had a blast at last year’s Phoenix Comicon, and I’m really looking forward to this year. I’ve got a lot of cool stuff going on, and if you’re going to be there, I hope you’ll get a chance to say hi.

    Here’s my schedule of events for this year, which is also on my fancy-pants guest page. Chances are, I’ll have an ARC of MJ-12: Inception on me at any one of these, so keep an eye open for giveaways!

    Panel/Event Schedule

    Tonight, 7 p.m. — Elevengeddon at the Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale! I’ll be joined by something like 19 other authors for a mega-SF/F signing spectacle at one of the best independent bookstores in the country. Here’s the event listing and address. It’s the ultimate SF/F convergence. BE THERE.

    Thursday, 1:30 p.m. — Trope Talks: Comedy Relief, North 128B. This panel will discuss the role of the comedic sidekick in stories, and how they’re more than just the funny guy in the room. With Scott Sigler and Yvonne Navarro.

    Friday, 3 p.m —  Building a Believable World: The Deets, North 129A. Let’s drill down into worldbuilding with some pretty awesome authors, including Bradley Beaulieu, Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Shannon Messenger and Victoria V.E. Schwab.

    Friday, 6 p.m. — The Lighter Side of Sci-Fi, North 128A. Why so serious? This panel takes a look at more optimistic views of the genre. With Alexandra Olivia, Greg van Eekhout, Howard Tayler, Jody Lynn Nye and Suzanne Young.

    Saturday, 10:30 a.m. — Crossing the Streams: Genre Splicing, North 128A. Obviously, this is kind of my sweet spot. Let’s put genres in a blender and see what happens. With Adam Christopher, Aprilynne Pike, Neo Edmund and Yvonne Navarro.

    Saturday, 4 p.m. — Bioskeletons, Neurotransmitters, Synthesia: Medical Science in Sci-Fi, North 127C. Let’s talk about futuristic medicine in a panel organized by the fantastic folks at Geeky Giving!

    Saturday, 6 p.m. — Drinks with Authors, North 120. Come see authors in their natural habitat, i.e. near the bar. This informal hangout is one of my favorite things, and there will be raffles to benefit Kids Need to Read. Come say hi, drink drinks and maybe win something — all for a great cause.

    Sunday, 1:30 p.m. — World Building: Are We Still Talking About This? An interesting take on world-building with this panel; we’re being asked when it gets to be too much, or when it matters less. With Greg van Eekhout, John Peck/Jack Heckel and Sarah Remy.

    Signing Schedule

    And in addition to all these fun panels, I’ll be doing signings at the con as well. A bunch in fact. To wit:

    Thursday, 3 p.m. — Signing Lounge, North 127AB. There’s a lounge? Are there drinks? I’m hanging out with Becky Chambers, Jamie Wyman, Jason Hough, Michael Kogge, Patrick Hemstreet, Sarah Remy and Yvonne Navarro.

    Thursday, 6 p.m. — Exhibitor Hall Signing. There’s also the signings in the big hall, too. With Becky Chambers, Greg van Eekhout, Jason Hough, Michael Kogge, Patrick Hemstreet and Sarah Remy.

    Friday, noon — Exhibitor Hall Signing. Once more, with feeling! With Alexandra Olivia, Austin Aslan, Michael Kogge and Shannon Messenger.

    Friday, 4:30 p.m. — Signing Lounge, North 127AB. Lounging about, apparently, with Bradley Beaulieu, Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Holly Jennings, Jason Hough, Michael Kogge, Shannon Messenger and Weston Ochse.

    Saturday, noon — Signing Lounge, North 127AB. At this point, we’ll probably be crooning ’70s lounge music. And we’ll be doing it with Aprilynne Pike, Bradley Beaulieu, Christina Henry, Leanna Renee Hieber, Neo Edmund, Patrick Hemstreet, Sam Sykes, Sarah Remy and Victoria V.E. Schwab.

    Saturday, 1:30 p.m. — Exhibitor Hall Signing. Really, you will not want for signing opportunities. With Alexandra Olivia, Neo Edmund and Jason Hough (who will likely be quite sick of me by this point).

    Sunday, noon — Exhibitor Hall Signing. This will be your last chance to get something signed by me. Not that you haven’t had ample opportunity. With Alexandra Olivia, Alyssa Wong (whose short stories are amazing and wonderful), the incomparable Kevin Hearne and Patrick Hemstreet (who will also be sick of me by this point).

    So yeah. Seriously, if you’re having trouble finding me, you’re obviously slacking something fierce.

    You can also follow me on Twitter to see what I’m up to and, perchance, have another crack at free books. I’ll have the aforementioned MJ-12: Inception ARCs, but also a couple sets of the Daedalus trilogy to give away, and I’ll have a ton of bookmarkts for you too. Because I’m nice like that.

    Hope to see you in Phoenix!

    #SFWApro

  • Elevengeddon! Tomorrow night at the Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale!

    If you like SF/F books and are less than a half-day’s journey from beautiful Scottsdale, Ariz., you are officially out of excuses — Elevengeddon is coming to the Poisoned Pen tomorrow night, and you need to be there.

    Why? Because while the -geddon was officially set at Eleven, we now have twenty-one authors descending on this hapless bookstore. The event kicks off on June 1 at 7 p.m. at the Poisoned Pen, 4014 N. Goldwater Blvd, Scottsdale, Ariz. Here’s the calendar listing. And as for that aforementioned twenty-one authors, they are:

    That’s s a veritable flock, a slew, a plethora, a bar tab full of authors. A critical mass of science-fictional and fantastical awesomeness crammed into one bookstore. How could you not be there?

    It’s gonna be huge — the store is already expecting at least 300 people, if not more. In order to keep things moving, the Poisoned Pen is going to issue wristbands for folks so they can get folks in and out of there. They’ll start handing out wristbands at 6 p.m., and each wristband will get you 45 minutes in the store to have your books signed. (i.e. the first batch of folks go from 7-7:45 p.m., the next batch is 7:45-8:30 p.m., etc.) That way, nobody has to wait around forever in line. Get your wristband, and then go grab a bite to eat or something until it’s your time.

    That said, we’re not going to leave anybody hanging. You want books signed? We’ll sign your books, no matter how long it takes. Fans are awesome, and we appreciate you immensely.

    Also, it should be noted that Pat and Brandon will only be signing three books per person. Otherwise, their hands will just fall off, and then they couldn’t type any more books for you.

    So if you’re in town for Phoenix Comicon, or if you live in the area, or you feel like taking last-minute road-trips, head on over to the Poisoned Pen tomorrow night!

     

    #SFWApro

  • Let’s talk about professionalism

    You know, it’s OK not to like how things go sometimes. It’s perfectly fine, and even justified at times, to feel like the publishing industry sucks. Frustrations abound, and there’s no avoiding them. Even once you get an agent, get a publisher, get a book on a shelf, the life of the professional writer can be suffused with all manner of indignities, large and small.

    Here’s the thing, though: Every industry can suck. Every profession has frustrations and indignities. Things can, and will, go sideways in any job, at any time. This is not somehow unique to writing/authoring/fictioning.

    So what do you do? You channel Mark Watney from The Martian, man. You smile, hunker down, work the problem and find solutions. And you do it with grace, good humor and professionalism. And if you need to go outside to your rover…er, car…close the doors and windows and scream obscenities into the windshield, go for it.

    The vast, vast majority of writers and industry professionals I’ve met, befriended and/or worked with are consummate professionals; this is not a post laden with subtext, aimed at an individual or group. But every now and again, one sees someone’s veneer of professionalism crack, either online or off, and the results are never pretty.

    I’ve held down a day job for all but two months of my 23 years as a professional journalist and writer. I’ve made my share of mistakes, and I’d like to think I’ve learned from them. And, obviously, I have some thoughts on keeping up your professional demeanor. So here we go.  (more…)

  • Con or Bust auctions now open! Bid to win a signed ARC of MJ-12: Inception!

    MJ12_FinalWant a super-early copy of MJ-12: Inception, months before it releases? Want to help awesome people attend SF/F conventions when they might not otherwise be able to go? Now’s your chance.

    The annual Con or Bust auctions open today, and I have an advance reader copy (ARC) of MJ-12: Inception  up for bid. (Signed, of course!) Bidding starts at $15, and you have until Sunday, June 5 at 4 p.m. EDT to place your bid.

    Con or Bust is a wonderful organization that helps people of color attend cons around the globe. If you’ve been to some of the smaller SF/F conventions, you’ve probably noticed that there isn’t a heap of diversity. Charities like this help. SF/F is all about seeing the world through different perspectives, after all, and I firmly believe our cons should have different perspectives and a diversity of backgrounds represented as well.

    This is my fourth year offering up my work for auction, and I hope you’ll consider bidding on MJ-12: Inception or any of the other fantastic auction items. Go forth and bid!

    #SFWApro

  • Beer O’Clock: An introduction

    Who says SF/F and beer don’t go together? Ommegang’s Seven Kingdoms from its Game of Thrones series.

    Beer O’Clock is a new thing I’m trying on the blog, because I do happen to like a good pint now and then, and because the Venn diagram between SF/F fans and beer aficionados is bigger than you think. Every now and then, I’ll blog about different styles of beer, homebrewing, stuff I’ve liked, whatever I think is fun and educational. Enjoy!

    As of this writing, my Untappd account tells me I’ve sampled 608 distinct beers since I signed up in January of 2014. I’ve always liked a quality pint, but it’s really only since adopting Untappd that I started spreading my wings more, trying new things.

    Yet even before then, I imagine I’ve tried at least 300+ more than that since I became of legal drinking age. I’m also an occasional homebrewer, I’ve taken classes with Garrett Oliver — the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery and the editor of The Oxford Companion to Beer — and I was on the homebrewing panel at DragonCon last year. If I already didn’t have too many hobbies, I’d consider getting my Cicerone certification just for kicks.

    But why, you might ask? Why all this enthusiasm for something that comes in a can and is most commonly associated with rowdy sports fans and public intoxication?

    (more…)

  • Who are you writing for?

    TDI-mmpb-coverWhen The Daedalus Incident was being prepped for release in early 2013, there was some confusion as to where it should be shelved within the multitude of sub-genres of science fiction and fantasy. It certainly has some steampunk elements to it, though there’s a very evident lack of steam. Historical fantasy? Sure, though there’s no over “magic” in it. Space opera? Certainly possible, though the 22nd century stuff was distinctly science-based.

    When I was writing it, I didn’t care. I knew what I wanted to do, and I did it. The result borrowed from several subgenres (hard SF, military SF, historical fantasy, space opera, steampunk…to name a few) and, I’d like to think, resulted in something greater than the sum of the parts.

    Had I thought more about the book-buying marketplace, I might’ve slimmed it down somewhat. Indeed, one potential publisher back in 2012 had thought that cutting the 22nd century stuff altogether might make it more marketable. I tried it, edited it down and it was OK, but I’m glad it didn’t happen in the end. The Daedalus Incident and its sequels are exactly the stories I wanted to tell.

    Publishers tend to think in taglines — “police procedural with zombies,” for example, or “Heinlein-esque military SF with humor.” Even the forthcoming MAJESTIC-12 series can be summed up with “paranormal Cold War spy thrillers” or “X-Men meets James Bond.” But the Daedalus trilogy really didn’t lend itself well to that kind of summation. Even my standard go-to tagline, “Napoleonic Era space opera,” only captures half of the equation.

    The other side of this is the “what’s hot” trend. Dystopian YA? Thanks, Hunger Games. It’s practically its own subgenre. Vampires are so over, though urban fantasy still has a plethora of mythic beasties and monsters wandering the darkened streets of the 21st century. Steampunk marches on, dominating the alt-history section of the bookstore. Some publishers are looking for the next big space opera, or grimdark fantasy like Game of Thrones, or near-future cyber-thriller.

    What’s a writer to do?

    (more…)

  • Interior book design matters a lot

    MJ12_FinalI’ve raved a few times on Twitter about the interior design of MJ-12: Inception, but I think it deserves an entire blog post — if only to highlight the immense amount of work that goes into publishing a book.

    I think page design is very underrated. Yes, we all go crazy for covers, because covers are essentially the best advertisement a book can have. But the interior design really can have an impact on the reading experience. Most of the time, that’s subtle — chapter headings, font choices, etc. Occasionally, it can drastically affect how the story is consumed.

    MJ-12: Inception boasts a number of “found” documents. These are teletypes, memos, transcripts, etc., that serve to deepen the story and, let’s face it, put a really interesting gloss on what might other be some inefficient or difficult exposition. These aren’t found by the characters in the book — they’re written by those characters, among others. I wanted the reader to feel like they’re in the middle of the espionage game, secret documents included.

    This is a document in the book — but Night Shade didn’t create it. It’s the “official” MAJESTIC-12 authorization memo from Harry S. Truman himself. I put “official” in quotes because, despite what certain corners of the Internet believe, the MAJESTIC-12 conspiracy theory remains as fictional as MJ-12: Inception, and this is widely considered to be fake. Anyway, here it is:  (more…)

  • Let’s talk about authors and marketing

    I’ve seen it online time and time again — authors who feel conflicted about the promotional aspects of their job as authors.

    “But wait!” you say. (Because I know you would.) “Authors write books! Promotional stuff isn’t part of the job!”

    Siddown, Skippy. Welcome to 2016. Like it or not, marketing and promotions are absolutely part of the job, whether or not you want to do it or like doing it. Traditional publishers are stretched thin, and publicists are fantastic people who are overworked and underpaid. So you have to shoulder some of that.

    I think we all have a natural reticence when it comes to marketing our work. It feels like bragging, and most of us are self-aware enough, most of the time, to recognize that bragging is poor form, Donald Trump notwithstanding. Also, outright bragging about yourself isn’t going to win you support, also Donald Trump notwithstanding. (That man is a dumpster fire in a human suit. And he’s doing well in spite of, not because of, his incessant bragging and frighteningly needy shtick. But I digress.)

    Anyway, you know what? You wrote a book. That’s a pretty impressive achievement! Even counting the surge of self-published authors, those who have written and published books still represent far less than 1% of the general population. You did a cool thing there! And you should feel good about it. You beat the odds! It’s on a shelf! Heck, I’m still excited to see my book on a shelf in a store. And because of my name, it’s shelved next to George R.R. Martin’s stuff, which is always a nice plus. Talk about discoverability.

    Look, the fact remains that, even if you’re published by a traditional publisher, you still have to do the publicity stuff. That means you’ll write up a heap of blog posts for various sites, answer interview questions via e-mail, do a bunch of podcasts and generally talk a lot about yourself and your book.

    So what do you say?  (more…)

  • Sail on! The Enceladus Crisis launches today in paperback!

    Very, very excited to see The Enceladus Crisis out there in paperback today. And as is my tradition, I stopped by the local Barnes & Noble in Hackensack, N.J., to sign copies. They now have both The Daedalus Incident and The Enceladus Crisis in stock, and signed!

    enceladus-launchday

    In addition to detailing the ongoing adventures of now-Captain Thomas Weatherby in 1798, and now-Lt. Cmdr. Shaila Jain in 2134, the paperback edition also has a brand-new, never-before-seen excerpt of MJ-12: Inception in the back. This one followed U.S. Navy Lt. Danny Wallace as he explores the stark, horrible destruction of Hiroshma after World War II. And he finds something utterly surreal there.

    Here’s a peek at the first page.

    enceladus-excerpt

    The third book of the Daedalus trilogy, The Venusian Gambit, is set to go July 5. And yes, you’ll get another excerpt there as well. MJ-12: Inception is due out in hardcover from Night Shade Books on September 6. If you’re attending Phoenix Comicon, I’ll have some advance copies to give away, so come say hi!

    My thanks, as always, goes out to the fine folks at Night Shade Books for continuing to support the Daedalus trilogy with these new releases, as well as to super-agent Sara Megibow and all the folks who have read and enjoyed these books. You all rock!

    #SFWApro

  • A care package from Night Shade Books

    The whole notion of having a book come out only really solidifies when I get the first copies. Until then, it’s almost an intellectual exercise, largely conducted via Word files and e-mail. At first, it’s just a story. Then it gets a cover, and interior design, and finally printed copies. A slow evolution from the imagination to reality.

    And MJ-12: Inception just got real, y’all.

    Two of these are already gone — one to a contest winner, another for the Con or Bust auctions that start later this month. Some will certainly come with me to Phoenix Comicon, which kicks off June 1. I’ll certainly keep one for myself, at least until the final hardcovers arrive some time in August.

    There are more of these out there, of course. The folks attending the Nebula Awards in Chicago this coming weekend may find a copy in their swag bags. Some of my fellow authors will be getting them sent directly, either out of general courtesy or specific requests for blurbs. And the major media outlets also get a copy in that never-ending windmill-tilt that is mainstream media outreach.

    I have ebook files as well; if you’re a reviewer and you’ve not heard from either myself or Night Shade Books lately, then by all means reach out. It’s also up over at Edelweiss, the book-reviewer storehouse of awesomeness.

    Of course, there’ll be a lot more happening as we get closer to the September 6 release date. But now that these have arrived at the homestead, the writing of this book is very much done. Now we’ll be focusing on letting the world know it exists.

    #SFWApro