Category Archives: Events

July 7, 2014 · 4:34 pm

Going offline this week

Even though I’m freshly returned from my beer/bike/book adventures in Colorado, I’m off once again this week, this time for a retreat as part of my day job. It’s up in Idaho, and I do believe cell coverage will be spotty at best. So if you’re looking for me here or on Twitter, or you’ve sent me an e-mail, well…I’ll get back to you Friday-ish, most likely.

A few things before I go: My thanks once again to the awesome people at Boulder Book Store, and everyone who came out, for a great event last week with Sara Megibow and I. We had a good crowd and good questions about publishing, and I signed many books and met new fans. Thank you, one and all.

And if you missed me in Boulder, you can catch me in a few weeks in San Francisco. I’ll be doing a reading/signing/Q&A at Borderlands Books on Saturday, July 26 at 3 p.m. PDT. I’ll bring bookmarks. It’ll be fun.

Finally, I expect to show up on a couple of fresh podcasts soon, and although I don’t have direct links, I figured I’d throw them out there. I did a roundtable on Skiffy and Fanty where we dissected the first season of BBC’s Sherlock. (I generally love the show, others less so.) And I did a quick interview on the Reading and Writing Podcast, where I discussed my books and how they came to be. Totally unsure as to the exact dates for these, so keep an eye out.

Of course, if I’m able to get a signal out in the sticks, I might have a few fun Tweets or posts later this week. But otherwise, I’ll be back at you on the weekend. Have fun and be kind to one another.

#SFWApro

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July 3, 2014 · 10:20 am

Notes from the Rockies

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon in Colorado.

If you’ve been following my Twitter feed at all, you’ve probably noticed I’ve been in Colorado this week, and also that I’ve been having fun. If you haven’t been following that, I’ll do my best to catch you up.

I’m here visiting family, including my 4-month-old first-cousin-once-removed, who is now tied with my daughter for Cutest Baby Ever and don’t you dare tell me otherwise. This being Colorado, there’s also been hiking and biking and a goodly amount of beer, including a tasting of 22 different beers on Tuesday as part of a bike-tour of various Fort Collins breweries. Thankfully, tastings are in tiny glasses, which means over several hours, I wasn’t unduly wrecked.

Author and agent: Talking books in Boulder.

Last night’s discussion and Q&A at Boulder Book Store with my agent, Sara Megibow, went really well. Ben and the rest of the store crew were awesome. We had a great crowd and lots of good questions about the writing life and publishing and getting your stuff out there in to the big wide world. I also saw a lot of copies of The Daedalus Incident and The Enceladus Crisis head out the door, so thank you to everyone who bought them, and for supporting a fantastic independent bookstore as well.

And speaking of that support, Boulder Book Store still has autographed copies of both my books in stock, so if you’re around the Denver-Boulder-Fort Collins area, go grab a copy!

The fermenters at Walnut Brewery, full of great beer.

Knowing that I’m both a beer aficionado and a home-brewer, Sara arranged a tour of Walnut Brewery‘s brewhouse before the signing last night. Brewmaster Rodney Taylor himself took us around the brewpub’s facilities, explaining his process and how he comes up with Walnut’s excellent brews. Rod has a pretty sweet 14-barrel brewhouse going, and he’s very into the art of brewing. It was a huge treat for me to see it. Many thanks to Rod for taking the time, and Sara for making it happen.

So yeah, when you’re done picking up my books at Boulder Book Store, go down the block and around the corner and have one of Rod’s beers (and some excellent food, too) at the Walnut Brewery!

#SFWApro

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July 1, 2014 · 10:57 am

A new excerpt of The Enceladus Crisis out today in Apex Magazine

Happy July! And given that it’s the first Tuesday of the month, today is when Apex Magazine comes out with their newest monthly issue. In this month’s issue 62, you can catch a brand new excerpt from The Enceladus Crisis in there, full of late 18th century sailing ship action. I don’t think this bit of the book has been put out there yet, so enjoy!

And do check out the rest of the magazine, which has brand new stories from Laura Davy, Victor Fernando R. Ocampo, Gillian Conahan and others. Plus poetry, interviews, essays and more. Apex is a 2014 Hugo nominee for best semiprozine, after all, so you know it’s good. You can buy individual copies on Kindle or Nook, or via the Apex site and at Weightless Books. Or you could subscribe, which is a great deal and supports a great magazine and darn it, just makes you a better person thanks to all the great, thoughtful fiction and commentary you’ll be reading.

Many thanks to Apex for the opportunity. Keep on being awesome.

While I’m here, a reminder: Tomorrow (July 2) at 7:30 p.m., I’ll be at Boulder Book Store with my agent, Sara Megibow, to talk about my books, getting them published, and a variety of other writing-and-publishing things. There’s a $5 voucher to attend, but you get to use it as a coupon to buy books at the store, including The Enceladus Crisis. So if you’re around, say, Colorado, and you want to come out, I’d love to see you! Here’s the event page with all the details.

Speaking of Colorado, it really is nice here. Exhibit A:

That was from a great hike in the Rocky Mountain National Park. Today, it’s bikes-and-breweries touring here in Fort Collins. If you follow me on Twitter or Untappd, you may see a lot of beer-related stuff today. You’ve been warned. (And don’t worry…if you see me logging a dozen beers today, it’s because I’m doing small tastings, not because I’m torturing my liver!)

#SFWApro

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June 30, 2014 · 9:30 am

Come see me Wednesday at Boulder Book Store!

Just a quick reminder: Awesome-agent Sara Megibow and I are doing a panel on publishing a debut novel this Wednesday, July 2, at 7:30 p.m. at Boulder Book Store in beautiful Boulder, Colo. The event page is here. Sara and I have near-perfect banter, along with excellent jazz-hands technique, so this will totally be worth the $5 voucher to get in. (And the voucher is good for use in buying The Enceladus Crisis any time, or anything at the store on the night of the event.)

Seriously, though, I think if you’re interested at all in the publishing process, this will be helpful. I’ll also be doing a reading from Enceladus and taking questions about the books, and Sara will be taking pitches from would-be authors after the event. Plus you’re supporting a great indie bookseller. So you have so very many reasons to attend. Plus, did I mention jazz hands?

Hope to see you there!

#SFWApro

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May 31, 2014 · 4:59 pm

A great new Enceladus review, and good times at BEA

I wanted to talk a bit about my experience at Book Expo America over the past few days, but before I do that, I’m quite happy to link up to a great review of The Enceladus Crisis by Abhinav Jain, a.k.a. Shadowhawk. He reviewed The Daedalus Incident for The Founding Fields (read it here), and had this to say about the sequel:

Everything that was great about The Daedalus Incident makes a comeback in this novel and it is all better than before…. I wanted a rock-solid story and I got it. I wanted some awesome characters, whether heroes or villains and I got that. I wanted to see an exploration of both the realities and their particular quirks that have developed and I got that. … Michael has clearly improved his craft going from his debut to his first sequel, and it is a change that I approve of wholeheartedly, both as a reader and a blogger.

You can read the whole review here at Shadowhawk’s Shade. Many thanks to Abhinav for the very kind words.

I also got a lot of kind words at Book Expo America.

Continue reading →

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Filed under Beer, Books, Events, Geek, Publishing, Writing

May 28, 2014 · 6:00 pm

Where I’ll be at Book Expo America

The huge book fest that is Book Expo America is underway in New York, and I’ll be there both Thursday and Friday with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. I’m signing and chatting on Thursday at 4 p.m. and on Friday at 11 a.m. at the SFWA booth, #2561. I’ll have some flyers and, FedEx willing, some cool bookmarks to give away. If you’re really lucky, you might even score a copy of The Daedalus Incident and/or The Enceladus Crisis.

I’ll also be hanging around the show after lunch on Thursday and all day on Friday. Some of that time will be spent volunteering at the SFWA booth, and some of that will be in meetings or catching up with fellow authors. If you’re there and want to say hi, just ping me on Twitter at @mikemartinez72.

I’ll also point out that SFWA has a heap of great authors signing at the booth on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Click here for the full schedule.Hope to see you there!

And as a reminder, you have until Monday, June 2 at 11:59 p.m. CDT to sign up for the Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing newsletter for a chance to win copies of both my books. Click here to enter, because free books are cool.

#SFWApro

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May 13, 2014 · 6:00 pm

From BEA to DragonCon, here’s where I’ll be this summer

Neither Skyhorse/Night Shade nor I have the budget to do an official book tour. But as it turns out, this is going to be a busy travel summer for me anyway, largely due to personal and day-job trips. So I set up a few signings and such that might put me in your neighborhood.

If you want to come out and hear me talk about The Enceladus Crisis and The Daedalus Incident and get some books signed (and maybe score a very pretty bookmark while you’re at it), here’s where I’ll be:

Book Expo America, New York City, May 29-30: I’ll be at Book Expo America to help out with The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America booth. And there will be two signings: Thursday, May 29 at 4 p.m., and Friday, May 30 at 11 a.m., both at the SFWA booth. If you’re going, feel free to Tweet me at @mikemartinez72 if you want to say hi.

Boulder Book Store, Boulder, Colo., July 2, 7:30 p.m.: This is a double-bill, as I’ll be joined by my most excellent literary agent, Sara Megibow, as we discuss not only my work, but the ins and outs of getting a debut novel published. Vouchers for the event cost $5, but the voucher will be good for $5 off your purchase at the store that evening, or $5 off my book anytime. I promise, we’ll make it worth your fiver. Here’s the event page.

Borderlands Books, San Francisco, July 26, 3 p.m.: Just confirmed that I’ll be doing reading, Q&A and signing at this most excellent independent SF/F bookstore in the heart of San Francisco. Plus, they have an awesome cat, Ripley. If there’s demand, we’ll make this a double-bill with me and the cat.

Science Fiction Association of Bergen County (N.J.), TBD, August 9: Still trying to firm up the location, but it’s looking like the Barnes & Noble in Hackensack, N.J., may be the place. It’s a great group of fans and writers. Definitely looking forward to hanging with my locals. I’ll update this in future posts as it gets closer.

DragonCon, Atlanta, Aug. 29-Sept. 1: This is the big one. I’m very much looking forward to the insanity. The panels and appearances and such haven’t been scheduled yet, so more on this as it comes in.

Unfortunately, I won’t be attending SFWA’s Nebula Awards Weekend or WorldCon in London this year. In addition to Colorado, San Francisco and Atlanta, I also have to go to Idaho and St. Louis for work this summer, and we already did Iceland this year. (Check out Kate’s take on that awesome trip.) So frankly, that’s a bucket-load of travel, and lines had to be drawn.

So there you go: New York, Colorado, San Francisco, New Jersey and Atlanta. If you’re around any of those places, come on out and say hello!

#SFWApro

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April 24, 2014 · 6:30 pm

Going live with Skiffy and Fanty this Friday night

Now we’re working without a net. Live podcasting, people. It’s happening.

I’ll be a guest on the latest edition of Skiffy and Fanty‘s Torture Cinema this Friday at 10 p.m. EDT, and it’ll be done live via Google+ hangout. Stop by and enjoy us being silly, tipsy and generally disreputable while we dissect Highlander II: The Quickening in all its awful glory.

I was given the opportunity to choose the Torture Cinema entry by virtue of donating to S&F’s WorldCon fundraiser, and I took the “torture” bit to heart, as HIghlander II is a paragon of bad filmmaking. Seriously, it’s possibly the worst SF/F sequel ever, and certainly one of the worst overall films of all time.

And then Shaun invited me on to participate, probably to get back at me for picking it in the first place. I suppose that’s only fair.

Anyway, RSVP for the Google+ hangout and join us tomorrow night. The commenting function will be on, so you can comment and ask questions. And if you’re so inclined, stop by the fundraiser to help Skiffy and Fanty go to WorldCon. They’re nominated for a Hugo, and it’d be nice if they were there to pick it up in case they win.

#SFWApro

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March 13, 2014 · 5:30 pm

It’s official: I’m going to DragonCon this year!

I’ve never been to DragonCon, but I hear tell it’s a pretty big to-do. Something on the order of 50,000 people show up to geek out over, well, pretty much everything worth geeking out over.

And this year, I’ll be there, too.

The organizers have named me an attending professional for this year’s convention, held over Labor Day weekend in Atlanta. That means I get to go (on a comped badge, no less) and participate in programming, panels and such. And I get to see what all the hoopla is all about.

This year’s con will feature lots of TV stars from great SF/F shows, along with a lot of comic creators, video gamers and, of course, authors. My personal goals will include getting selfies with Ron Glass (Firefly) and Grant Wilson (Ghost Hunters). And I’m looking forward to seeing author folk like E.C. Myers, Kevin Hearne, Lee Martindale and Gene Wolfe again.

Honestly, it’s a huge convention, and I’m just this guy with a couple books, you know? But the nice thing is that they have programming tracks dedicated to book lovers, including one in Alternate History that I’m looking forward to. I’m hoping that I can reach some new fans and maybe spread the word about The Daedalus Incident and The Enceladus Crisis a bit more than I might otherwise.

So if you’re heading to DragonCon this year, be sure to come find me!

#SFWApro

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February 1, 2014 · 10:12 am

The Gravity of the Affair out in audio, another Daedalus review, and convention planning

Very happy to report that Audible has officially released The Gravity of the Affair in audiobook, and for the super-low price of $2.99. It’s a nice, trim two-hour reading by Bernard Clark, the same fellow who read the Weatherby sections of The Daedalus Incident audiobook. Check it out! And if you bought the Gravity ebook from Amazon, you can read along or automatically synch between the two, which is pretty cool. We do indeed live in the The Future.

I’m also happy that The Daedalus Incident continues to garner positive reviews and notice. The Qwillery — that great resource for news and reviews of debut SF/F works — published Trinitytwo’s review yesterday. Her verdict:

I thought this book was unique in many ways and I can honestly say it was my pleasure to read. I am looking forward to reading The Enceladus Crisis and The Gravity of the Affair. Michael J. Martinez has created a sci fi adventure that is just too good to miss, so make sure you don’t!

You can read the whole review here. Many thanks to Trinitytwo and Sally “Qwill” for all they’ve done for debut genre authors!

Meantime, I’m starting to figure out my convention schedule for the coming year. I can say with certainty that I’ll be at Lunacon, up in Rye, N.Y., on March 14-16. That’s pretty much the closest con to my house, making it a no-brainer. The list of program participants is impressive, and while they haven’t released panel info yet, I’ve seen some preliminary stuff, and it ought to be awesome. So come on out to Lunacon and say hi!

After that, I’m looking into BaltiCon in late May, and then really trying to figure out what I want to do for a summer convention. As much as I’d love to go to WorldCon in London, I’m having a hard time with the costs of it all. Whereas, if I hit GenCon in Indy or DragonCon in Atlanta, I may find new audiences and cheaper flights. (I’m already spoken for the weekend of CONvergence, so that’s out.)

If anybody has any thoughts as to a good summer con, throw it out there in the comments!

#SFWApro