Before I actually took the plunge and wrote a novel, I had assumed rather naively that fiction didn’t require a lot of intensive research. And sure, compared to the nonfiction books I’ve written, Spacebuckler doesn’t exactly require footnotes or citations. That said, I found myself researching all kinds of crazy stuff for the book. Such as…. (more…)
Author: Michael J. Martinez
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The long and winding narrator
A ripping good yarn…with a really chatty narrator If something can be said in five words, trust a Spaniard to say it in five pages.
I’m half-Spanish, so I feel somewhat allowed to make such a sweeping and likely incorrect judgment about the greats of Spanish-language literature. But if you’ve read folks like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Miguel de Unamuno or even Cervantes himself, you know what I’m talking about. The tradition of narration in Spanish literature is just very different from what English readers are used to.
I mention this because I’m reading The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma, an up-and-coming Spanish author. The Map of Time is one heck of a ride, a Victorian science-fiction work that hews closely to the traditions of Jules Verne without going headlong into steampunk territory. And one of the things that sets this book apart is the narration. (more…)
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Hey, authors! What about traditional media?
Remember newspapers? They're still quite useful. Authors have to do self-promotion. I get that. You’re reading some of it RIGHT NOW. (How very meta.) Yet most advice to authors on this topic has to do with electronic social media. There’s very little advice about going to traditional media outlets with your story.
Now, I may be biased, having spent many years of my youth working for Old Media. And let’s be clear: Even with all my contacts and experience, it’s unlikely I’ll be featured in The New York Times or on NPR. (At least, not right away.) But millions of people still get their news and info from smaller traditional outlets, and I know I’m planning to take advantage of that. (more…)
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The first capital of the United States (of Ganymede?)
Earth or Ganymede? You decide. Last weekend, we took my daughter to my in-laws’ house for a sleepover with her cousins, and that left Kate and I some time to revisit Philadelphia’s historic center. It was also the first time I returned to Philly since setting part of my novel in an alternative version of the city.
My Philadelphia is set in 1779, but more importantly, it’s set on the Jovian moon of Ganymede. Instead of crossing the Atlantic to get to the New World, my characters cross the Void to get to a plethora of New Worlds. Hence, sailing ships in space.
So here are a few pictures of the real Philadelphia, along with a few snippets of the book, to try to give you a feel for what I’m up to. For me, it’s fun to see how the first capital of the United States of Ganymede measures up to today’s city. Oh, and as a bit of stage setting, Lt. Thomas Weatherby of HMS Daedalus and his colleagues are visiting the city under unusual circumstances, to say the least. (more…)
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Inspiration in the New West
“Go West, young man,” wrote Horace Greeley in 1865. One hundred and forty-six years later, I took his advice, and I’m glad I did.My family and I went to visit my cousin and her family (thanks, guys!) in Colorado over the Independence Day weekend. My wife, Kate, does a much better job of talking about our travels over on her blog, so for a more complete download, click over to her site.
As for me, well, I’ve seen mountains on a number of continents, but few measure up to the way the Rockies jut upward from the plains, an imposing wall of stone that probably prompted early American settlers to say, “Whoa, those are big. I don’t want to cross those. Let’s just put Denver here.” I never quite bought into the whole romantic notion of the Old West, but I have to say, the New West did a great job of putting my writer-brain to work. (more…)
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Getting close to submission time
Today I had the distinct and totally awesome pleasure of meeting my literary agent, Sara Megibow of the Nelson Literary Agency, in person for the first time. She’s an absolute joy, and our lunch merely confirmed that I made a great choice in querying her agency. Not only does she know her stuff, but she’s a genuine, utterly wonderful person. I totally get why her other authors are so proud to be on Team Megibow.
We had a great lunch, and Sara gave me and my wife a lot of insight into why she chose to represent Spacebuckler and how the submission process will shake out.
Submissions. To actual publishers. (more…)
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Ride forth, Napoleon!
"Able was I, ere I saw Elba…able to ride right around it!." Just a short update, which is fitting given the subject at right. (Actually, Napoleon Bonaparte was of average height for the time; the British papers portrayed him as diminutive.)
Anyway. I’ve been wanting this particular t-shirt for quite some time, and lo, I finally ordered it. Should all go well, I plan to wear it for the debut of my second book. Ambitious, I know, because the first hasn’t even been submitted to publishers yet. (But soon! And then I’ll be a wreck while I await word on it.) But the second book — currently being pounded out in very rough, first-draft form — might have something to do with Old Boney.
The book won’t have him on a bicycle, of course.
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I don’t want to talk about it
"It's the Romulans! Quick! We need to talk this out rationally before we act!." Picture this: The U.S.S. Enterprise (D) is facing some sort of massive problem that threatens the existence of the ship, crew and Life As We Know It. The legendary Jean-Luc Picard stands up from the captain’s chair, stares into the viewscreen and gives a fateful order.
“Conference,” he intones.
And everyone files out off the bridge — in the middle of a crisis — and heads back to the conference room, with its plush chairs and lovely views of space. Everyone sits down and begins to share information. Data expounds, Worf says something crochety, the counselor lady gets all new-agey, and Picard then makes a command decision. It’s all very civilized. If cappuccinos weren’t involved, they should’ve been. (more…)
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It’s not always easier the second time around
A book review in The New York Times on Saturday caught my eye — not because of the book, but because of what the reviewer had to say about second novels:It’s hard to think of a less privileged creation than the second novel. When we admire a writer’s debut, it’s like falling in love across a crowded room; we are seduced by a part that we have mistaken for the whole. And when the follow-up reveals, as it must, a more complex picture than we at first believed we saw, our feelings are mixed.
I find that, for the writer, the feelings when writing that second novel are equally mixed, if not more so. (more…)
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I write, therefore I revise
Get used to this image. If you write, you Last week, I packed off the fifth version of Spacebuckler to my awesome and always-upbeat agent, Sara Megibow. In celebration, I thought I’d blog about what revisions mean to a would-be novelist like myself. (Actually, in terms of celebration, I had a Brooklyn Lager. But you get the idea.)
It took me roughly five months or so to pound out the first draft of my book. And naturally, being all kinds of green and uninformed, I got out the red pen, gave it a line edit and declared it finished. And yes, I still managed to get an agent, despite this severe but blessedly temporary case of shortsightedness. Anywya, Sara responded to my partial manuscript in August of last year, declaring the idea compelling, but the plotting far less so. She agreed to read a revision. And thus began versions two thorough five. She offered to rep me after version four. (more…)
