Category Archives: Publishing

July 12, 2016 · 6:00 pm

The Venusian Gambit launches today in mass market paperback!

As is now tradition, I went to a bookstore — this time, the Barnes & Noble on 5th Avenue in Manhattan — to sign a new release: The Venusian Gambit, officially out today in mass-market paperback! Never really gets old to see one’s books in a store.

(In fact, there are signed copies of Gambit as well as The Daedalus Incident at that very store now, if you happen to be around midtown!)

The Venusian Gambit wraps up the Daedalus trilogy with an epic clash between the forces of the Martian warlord Althotas (and his dupe, Napoleon) and the combined efforts of now-Admiral Thomas Weatherby and Commander Shaila Jain. Plus, as you might discern from the cover, there are aliens and zombies and a mech.

You might also take note of the snippet of the starred review from Publishers Weekly, which was really very wonderful. It’s available now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Books-A-Million,Kobo, iTunes, and Google Play.

In addition to getting Gambit in a less expensive and cumbersome format, you’ll also get a brand-new excerpt from MJ-12: Inception in the back. This one deals with a young woman named Maggie Dubinsky, a former schoolteacher whose sudden Enhancement became far too burdensome to bear. Yet despite her fears and scars, the agents of MAJESTIC-12 have nonetheless sought her out for recruitment….

Very excited to see Gambit out in the wilds again, and doubly so for everyone to read just a bit more about MJ-12: Inception. The new paranormal Cold War spy series kicks off Sept. 6 in hardcover; you can pre-order it at  from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Mysterious Galaxy, Borderlands Books, Apple iBookstore and/or through your local bookstore via Indie Bound.

#SFWApro

2 Comments

Filed under Books, Publishing, Writing

Tagged as , , , ,

July 7, 2016 · 5:45 pm

Advance praise for MJ-12: Inception

MJ12_FinalMJ-12: Inception is two months away from release, but as I mentioned before, we’ve kept busy with all kinds of behind-the-scenes work that goes into a book launch. And today, I get to show you some of the fruits of that work in the form of some really, really amazing advance praise for the book.

Seriously, you guys. Some of this stuff left me pretty speechless. Ready? Here we go:

“The Cold War becomes even more chilling as super-powered Americans are trained to become super-spies in Martinez’s new alternate-history thriller. It’s morally-complex, intense, and so steeped in the 1940s, you can smell the cigarette smoke.” —Beth Cato, author of Breath of Earth and The Clockwork Dagger

Beth Cato is an amazing writer and a lovely person besides, and her Breath of Earth was an absolute joy to read. She knows her historical fantasy and has the Nebula nomination to prove it.

“X-Men meets Mission: Impossible. Martinez takes a concept as simple as ‘Super spies that are actually super’ and comes away with a hit. Filled with compelling, well-rounded characters, MJ-12 is my new favorite spy series.” —Michael R. Underwood, author of Geekomancy and the Genrenauts series

Mike Underwood knows a thing or two about mashing genres together. His Geekomancy was incredibly fun, and the Genrenauts series even more so. He also has fine taste in beer.

“A heady blend of super-spies and superpowers, MJ-12: Inception is Cold War-era science fiction done right. A taut thriller, and skillfully evocative.” —New York Times bestselling author Chris Roberson

I’ve not actually met Chris, but his Firewalk is a really cool mashup of police procedural and zombie outbreak. Plus, he co-created iZombie, which makes him inherently awesome.

So all three of those will be on the back cover of MJ-12: Inception, along with some snippets of reviews from a couple of major sites that I can’t talk about quite yet because I don’t want to steal their thunder. But we saved the following bit for the front cover:

“A smart look at a Cold War in many ways even colder and scarier and deadlier than the one we barely survived.” —New York Times bestselling author Harry Turtledove

Harry Turtledove, you guys! Harry is the absolute grandmaster of alternate history; from Guns of the South to his new Hot War  books, he’s created some of the best alt-history ever written. He’s also immensely gracious and kind, a true gentleman. I met him in San Antonio three years ago, and was just amazed at how friendly and approachable he was. I am deeply grateful for his kind words.

So there you have it. I’ve been floored by the response so far. MJ-12: Inception is definitely a departure from my Daedalus trilogy and this kind of reception is so very gratifying. My thanks to Beth, Mike, Chris and Harry for all their support; it means so much to have these great words coming from authors I respect and admire.

MJ-12: Inception comes out Sept. 6 and is available for pre-order from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Mysterious Galaxy,Borderlands Books, and/or through your local bookstore via Indie Bound. You can also pre-order your Kindle, Nook and Apple iBook editions, too. Audio and other e-book offerings still to come!

#SFWApro

Leave a comment

Filed under Books, Publishing, Writing

Tagged as

June 28, 2016 · 6:00 pm

The calm before the storm

MJ12_FinalIt’s been quiet here on the blog because, well, there hasn’t been too much to report, really. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy — quite the contrary. You just haven’t seen the results yet.

MJ-12: Inception comes out in just over two months. (Have you pre-ordered it yet? It totally helps when you do. Check out Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Mysterious Galaxy,Borderlands Books, and Indie Bound.) So when I’m not day-jobbing, spending time with the family and writing the next MJ-12 book, I’m laying some serious groundwork for September.

What’s that entail? Well, we have some blurbs from fellow scribes that are pretty amazing and humbling and just wow, for starters. It’s always a little awkward to ask folks for a blurb, but always gratifying when they send you something lovely and thoughtful. So I’ve been gathering those. Also got some sneak-peeks at reviews, too, which are likewise gratifying. More on those soon.

Then there’s guest posts, interviews and podcasts and all that good stuff. Already have some stuff lined up in that regard, including a magazine piece that I’m pretty excited about. (Magazine as in newsstand, national circulation magazine, which is pretty sweet.) Lining that up takes some doing. I’m trying to schedule everything neatly so that A) I’m writing and/or saying something compelling, and B) I don’t unduly repeat myself.

Then there’s DragonCon! Yes, I’ll be attending again, because it’s just plain fun. But it’s also the weekend before launch, so we’re trying to pull out the stops and do some fun things. We’re working to have MJ-12: Inception available to the booksellers in the vendor hall so folks at the con can buy it before the Sept. 6 release date. I’ve been working with Doctor Q, the Alternate History track director, to come up with some nifty panel ideas, too. And there will be giveways and swag. It will be majestic. 

And finally, I’ve lined up a pretty nice launch night event. Since the venue hasn’t announced it yet, I’m holding my powder. But I’m pretty excited about it.

So yeah, that’s kind of what’s been going on. This is my fourth (oh wow fourth) release, and some of this has become standard operating procedure. But this is a new series, too, so we’re working really hard to make it something special. It’s kind of like making a first impression all over again. Fingers crossed!

Oh, and it’s most certainly worth mentioning that The Venusian Gambit lands next week in mass-market paperback, with a whole new MJ-12: Inception excerpt inside. And there’s a couple of short story announcements waiting in the wings too.

Wish I could say more; there’s some stuff coming that I can’t wait to tell you about. Soon!

#SFWApro

Leave a comment

Filed under Books, Events, Publishing

Tagged as , ,

June 20, 2016 · 5:45 pm

MJ-12: Inception on PW’s list of Fall 2016 titles; e-book pre-orders now available!

MJ12_FinalSo here’s a nifty little news item: MJ-12: Inception is on Publishers Weekly‘s list of Fall 2016 announcements for science fiction, fantasy and horror. There are, of course, hundreds of titles slated to be released this fall, but this particular list is pretty much just the lead titles and notables for each publishing house.

Needless to say, I’m quite happy to be there.

Also, it turns out that Night Shade Books is announcing a first printing of 20,000 copies which…whoa, boy, that’s a lot of copies. Honestly, it’s daunting as all get out, because that’s a whole lot of books with my name on them. But apparently, it also means that they’ve been doing a great job of wrangling initial orders from booksellers, too. So it’s also encouraging.

We’re lining up a lot of cool stuff for the weeks running up to the book’s Sept. 6 launch. There will be giveaways. I’ll be doing a number of cool things at DragonCon. There will be a launch-night reading somewhere completely awesome. And I know the good folks at Night Shade are working their tails off to line up even more. You can’t stop the signal.

If you’re so inclined, pre-orders are an excellent way to help boost the signal. If you’re likely to buy the book anyway — or just curious enough to part with a few bucks — I’d wholeheartedly encourage you to pre-order MJ-12: Inception from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Mysterious Galaxy, Borderlands Books, and/or through your local bookstore via Indie Bound. You can also just ask; booksellers are awesome like that.

You can also preorder your Kindle, Nook and Apple iBook editions, too. As with most pre-orders, you can expect the prices to come down a bit as we get closer to launch, so don’t let the early sticker-shock stop you. Amazon, B&N and others will adjust your tab accordingly.

So why are pre-orders important? The more folks who chime in now with orders, the more booksellers are likely to stock up as the launch gets closer. And all those pre-orders count toward first-week sales, which further prompts booksellers to adjust inventories and promote the book more. (And yes, pre-orders also count toward the first-week sales used to calculate the bestseller lists, but…baby steps, man. That’s some cart-before-horse stuff right there.)

Long story short, if you like my books and/or want to check out MJ-12: Inception, then your pre-orders are greatly appreciated.

Finally, here’s another fun little tidbit. I was on a panel at Phoenix Comicon called “Trope Talk: Comedic Relief” with Scott Sigler and Yvonne Navarro — and thanks to Scott and his handy digital recorder, you can now listen in. Here’s the link. It’s like being there, but without the 117-degree temps outside. (And, sadly, without getting to see Scott’s dead-on impression of a dinosaur in the bar that evening. Alas.)  I’m slightly chagrined at all the “umm”s I have in there, but hopefully it’s not too egregious. Enjoy!

#SFWApro

2 Comments

Filed under Books, Events, Publishing, Writing

Tagged as ,

June 15, 2016 · 5:30 pm

Yes, I actually read the reviews

TDI-mmpb-coverWhile on a panel with other authors at Phoenix Comicon, an audience member asked us whether we read the reviews of our works. At least half of the authors there said no. And I totally get that — kindness and constructive criticism is in short supply on the Internet. It can be hard to read how all your hard work resulted in someone despising the book.

I piped up and said yes, I do read reviews. I don’t really seek them out, but when they’re brought to my attention via Twitter or Google alerts, I’ll give ’em a read. I’ll also occasionally look at what folks are saying when I link to Goodreads or Amazon.

Am I a glutton for punishment? Maybe. But then, I’ve been writing professionally for 23 years now, in one form or another. I used to be a journalist, and I’ve been taken to task not only by editors, but by the people I wrote about. I’ve had to defend my work repeatedly. It tends to give one a thick skin.

Yes, I’ve received negative reviews. I’ve had my ability to form coherent sentences called into question. I’ve been accused of crimes against the English language. There have been a few folks who considered the publication of my fiction yet another indication of the death knell of my publisher, or even the entire publishing industry. There have been screeds.

And you know what? All right then. I hope the screed made the reviewer feel better. Catharsis is good.

I’m really, really fortunate that my works have been generally well received — 4 stars or better on Amazon, at least 3.5 or better on Goodreads, with 4- and 5-star ratings well outnumbering the 1- and 2-star reviews. I got a couple starred reviews from major publishing sites. At this point, I’m reasonably confident that I can write enjoyable fiction.

That said, I certainly notice common threads in reviews, and there have been some dings that I’ve no doubt earned. And that’s actually helpful — that’s something I can take away and learn from, and I have. That could be one of the reasons that The Venusian Gambit was the best reviewed book in the Daedalus trilogy, and that early word on MJ-12: Inception has been really positive. I want to get better as a writer, and feedback helps.

I would never fault a fellow scribe for avoiding reviews. Folks aren’t kind sometimes, and having one’s parentage or even existence called into question ain’t a walk in the park. And some of those reviews are by no means reasonable or warranted — fellow beard-o Chuck Wendig was heartily thrashed in some quarters for Star Wars: Aftermath because folks were furious that the old Expanded Universe novels were consigned to non-canon status. It’s not like Chuck forced Disney to do that, y’all. (I shudder to think of what he would actually do with that kind of power.)

He was also ripped into for introducing a gay character into Star Wars, which the worst sort of mean-spirited, specious criticism. It’s 2016, people. Honestly, it’s about time we saw LGBTQ+ folks represented in popular fiction, and I’m proud to call the guy who brought the rainbow to a Galaxy Far Far Away a friend.

Anyway, I digress. I read the reviews, good or bad. The good ones are a nice little ego boost, and give me a nice hit of writer fuel to tackle the next book. The bad ones? Eh. I’ve had Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, rant at me over something or other — and he was six inches from my face. And he was eating at the time. If I could stand my ground then — and I did — I’m pretty OK with someone not liking my books.

And speaking of reviews: I saw a couple that were pretty nifty keen. Rob Bedford reviewed The Enceladus Crisis over at SFFWorld and had some really nice things to say about it. And a fine person named Magilla Gurilla (how awesome is that nom du plume?) over at The Veteran Gamer “absolutely recommended” The Daedalus Incident. Glad you folks liked the books. And I’m glad I read your reviews!

#SFWApro

Leave a comment

Filed under Books, Publishing, Writing

Tagged as , , , , ,

June 14, 2016 · 5:45 pm

The Venusian Gambit coming in paperback next month; The Gravity of the Affair still free to download!

It’s past time to bug you good people about the upcoming mass-market paperback release of The Venusian Gambit, which is due to hit stores July 11. (I thought it was July 5, but Amazon says otherwise. So.)

I admit, Gambit was my favorite of the three Daedalus books to write. By the time I started in on Gambit in 2014, I knew the characters and the worlds very well, and I very much enjoyed seeing this saga come to a rousing conclusion. I got to end this story exactly how I wanted to, with lots of great pulpy goodness and interdimensional hijinks.

And to my great delight, Publishers Weekly felt the same way, giving the book a starred review. I’m still kind of stunned by that. It’s pretty nifty for a book that has mech-suited astronauts fighting side by side with Venusian aliens and 19th century Englishmen against French zombies created with alchemy.

If that last sentence didn’t convince you to pick it up next month, I should also point out that the new paperback edition has an all-new, exclusive excerpt of MJ-12: Inception tucked in the back. This bit introduces you to Maggie, a troubled young woman who’s manifested a very powerful ability — one that bring people to their knees with a thought.

July 11, you guys. The mass-market paperback is already up for pre-order at Amazon, and I’ll be mentioning other sites as they become available. And yes, I expect Amazon will reduce the Kindle price as well once the paperback is released.

gravitycover-hiresI also want to point out that my e-novella, The Gravity of the Affair, remains free to download at Amazon, Kobo, iTunes, Google Play and elsewhere. (Barnes & Noble has it at 99 cents, for obscure and strange business reasons; don’t blame me.) I wrote it back in 2013 as a kind of introduction to the world of the Daedalus trilogy, but it remains a complete, stand-alone story. So if you’re curious about this whole sailing-ships-in-space thing, or just haven’t read it yet, it doesn’t get much better than free!

#SFWApro

Leave a comment

Filed under Books, Publishing

Tagged as , ,

May 27, 2016 · 5:00 pm

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.  Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Publishing

Tagged as

May 19, 2016 · 5:30 pm

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?

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under Publishing, Writing

Tagged as , , ,

May 13, 2016 · 5:45 pm

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:  Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Books, Publishing, Writing

Tagged as ,

May 11, 2016 · 5:00 pm

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?  Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Books, Publishing

Tagged as