Category Archives: Publishing

May 10, 2016 · 5:30 pm

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!

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May 9, 2016 · 10:00 am

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.

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April 29, 2016 · 5:45 pm

The Enceladus Crisis comes out in paperback May 10!

TEC-cover-mmpgApril’s been a very busy month, and I haven’t given the blog it’s due. And I’ve been remiss in mentioning that The Enceladus Crisis will be released in mass-market paperback on May 10, which is super exciting for me and, hopefully, a new opportunity for readers to explore the Daedalus trilogy.

The Enceladus Crisis picks up where The Daedalus Incident left off — two years after the strange quakes on Mars that plagued our heroes in the 22nd century, and nearly twenty years after a young Lt. Thomas Weatherby unraveled the mysteries of Cagliostro’s insidious plot. There’s more twists and turns in this one, new and exotic locations, and the peril — oh, the peril! It’s not an easy time for anyone in this book.

The paperback release, in addition to being easier to carry around and cheaper (ebook prices have already started to come down), also includes a new excerpt from MJ-12: Inception, the first book in the MAJESTIC-12 series of paranormal Cold War spy thrillers out in hardcover this September.

The first excerpt, in The Daedalus Incident paperback, introduced readers to a young Army officer named Frank Lodge as he navigated a particularly harrowing situation in Berlin in the aftermath of World War II. The excerpt in Enceladus introduces Danny Wallace, a Navy man investigating something very unusual in Hiroshima three months after the city was leveled by the world’s first atomic weapon.

And yes, there will be a third, all-new excerpt of MJ-12: Inception released with The Venusian Gambit paperback in July.

I’m quite excited and very gratified at how The Daedalus Incident sold in paperback — thank you, readers! And the support the series has been getting on social media has been pretty awesome. I don’t have plans to run a contest for The Enceladus Crisis at the moment — there’s been too much other stuff to do — but any shout-outs on social media, and any reviews you care to place on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads and the like, is greatly appreciated.

MJ12_FinalAs for other things, I’m busy preparing to draft MJ-12: Shadows (working title), the second MAJESTIC-12 novel. It was a tougher nut to crack since the world of the Variants has expanded quite a bit, but I worked through a bunch of stuff this month and have the whole thing mapped out, as is my wont before I start the actual writing. It feels like I’m a bit behind in the process, likely because I’ve been busy with day-job things, but when I look at the calendar, I feel quite good about where I am.

Advance reader copies (ARCs) of MJ-12: Inception have been printed, and I’m eagerly awaiting my stash. The cover is beautiful, and the interior design is absolutely gorgeous. (I may have mentioned that before, but it bears repeating. Gorgeous.) I’ll also be getting digital ARCs soon for reviewers and the like. It’s a real thing that’s happening, and I’m pretty stoked.

I’m also getting excited for Phoenix Comicon during the first weekend of June. Not 100% sure on panels yet, though I know I’m doing something with Geeky Giving as well as a panel on humorous sidekicks, plus there’s the Elevengeddon signing at the Poisoned Pen and the Drinks with Authors charity thing. I’m bringing some MJ-12: Inception ARCs as well — if you’re going, watch my Twitter feed carefully if you want one.

So that’s what I got going on. I promise to be far more entertaining on the blog in May.

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April 27, 2016 · 6:30 pm

Some thoughts on the Hugos

So for the second year running, the Hugo Awards nominations have been dominated by a slate created by a right-wing demagogue. And thus, for the second year running, numerous works across the literary and political spectrum have been ignored in favor of…what, exactly, I’m not sure, but it’s messy and strange.

I generally have no issue with anyone who wants to broaden the reach of the Hugos. Nominations are made by the folks who have purchased WorldCon memberships, and for $50, you can go ahead and nominate without attending (as I did this year). Historically, it’s been a small pool of voters, and a somewhat homogenous pool at that.

Getting more people involved in SF/F’s preeminent award is, generally speaking, a good thing. There’s a lot of great stuff published each year, and most of it doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. And yes, that goes for ray-guns-and-rockets sci-fi as well as more literary endeavors. It should really be about the love of the story, and allowing folks from all walks of life to get involved, no matter their politics or background. It’s one of the reasons I support Con or Bust, for example.

But this particular silliness isn’t about letting newcomers express their love of stories. It’s about getting a bunch of people to lock-step their nominations in order to crowd out others — and then, apparently, laugh and crow about it. In common parlance, it’s a dick move.

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April 12, 2016 · 8:33 pm

Officially heading to Phoenix Comicon this June!

I loved being a guest at Phoenix Comicon last year. The panels were a huge amount of fun, I met a lot of fans, I had a blast hanging out with my fellow authors and more fans, and if I may be mercenary for a moment, I saw a lot of my books get sold.

So yeah, of course I asked to go back. And the most excellent folks at PHXCC agreed to invite me again. So look out Phoenix…I am coming for your tacos and craft beer once more, from June 2-5 to be exact.

Scheduling? Dunno yet. I’m sure there will be panels. No doubt there will be signings, and I’m hoping that the crew at Mysterious Galaxy will be there selling books again. I’ll certainly talk about the Daedalus trilogy, especially with The Enceladus Crisis out in paperback just weeks before the con.

I’ll also be talking about MAJESTIC-12 and MJ-12: Inception. And if all goes well, I’ll have some swag. I’m thinking pin-back buttons, but I’m open to suggestions. Maybe I’ll do a Twitter poll. Oh, and thanks to the good people at Night Shade Books, I’ll have a bunch of advance copies of MJ-12: Inception to give away to those I deem worthy. (I am not, in fact, super-picky on this front. Just be enthusiastic.)

And finally, I do believe the folks at Geeky Giving will be doing something interesting out there. Not sure what, but…I’d keep an eye out.

If you’re anywhere near Phoenix after Memorial Day — or simply enjoy a great road trip — I hope you’ll think about heading to the con. It’s pretty darn awesome. Hope to see you there!

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April 5, 2016 · 6:15 pm

Some website housekeeping and a word about pre-orders

As you can see, I’ve done a bit of work on the site this week. The new cover for MJ-12: Inception provided a pretty nifty new banner up top, for one, and that cover is now to the right of this post as well. Because, darn it, it’s just that pretty.

I’ve also cleaned up the MAJESTIC-12 series page and given MJ-12: Inception its very own page as well. The series page may have a hint or two as to the book I’m writing right now — MJ-12:Inception‘s sequel — and it’s worth noting that the book page itself has links to all of the pre-orders I could find.

(Note: Pre-orders are super-important. The more pre-orders that come in, the more booksellers are likely to stock and promote the book, and those orders count toward first-week sales as well, which also gets booksellers on board. So if you like my work and are of a mind to check out MJ-12: Inception, I would be pleased as punch if you considered pre-ordering from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Indie Bound or your friendly neighborhood bookseller.)

I would also encourage you to keep your eye on MJ-12.net in the coming days and weeks. I imagine you’ll find some pretty nifty stuff crop up there as well.

All that said, what you’re seeing here is temporary. Come August, it’s my fervent hope and dream to completely redesign this here site so that it has a proper landing page and some spiffier graphics and menus. I’ll be four books into my writing career by late summer, so I think it’s time to step up.

Happy reading!

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April 1, 2016 · 6:30 pm

Revealed! The cover of MJ-12: Inception!

Been sitting on this for a little while now, waiting impatiently to share it with you. Now I can, and it’s very gratifying indeed.

The Barnes & Noble SF & Fantasy Blog had the exclusive cover reveal of MJ-12: Inception earlier today. I may be biased, but dang, this thing is gorgeous.

MJ12_Final

 

I think it really captures that Cold War thriller feel, while still giving a great hint as to the paranormal aspects of the story.  The good folks at Night Shade Books really did a fantastic job, and really let me have a lot of input on the design as we went along. Not every author gets to do that, and I’m mighty grateful for it.

I also got to see some pages today that are going to look amazing. Not to give too much away, but in the fine tradition of MAJESTIC-12 conspiracy theorists, we have some “official government documents” (which were totally made up by me, except for one) scattered throughout the book. They look incredibly real, and they’re going to make for fun reading.

My thanks to Joel over at the B&N SF&F Blog for hosting the cover today, and everyone at NSB for all the hard work. This most excellent art will grace the cover of MJ-12: Inception when it launches in hardcover on Sept. 6. And you can pre-order at B&N as well as at Amazon if you so choose!

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March 30, 2016 · 5:45 pm

Learning from rejection

Now that The Daedalus Incident is out in mass-market paperback — nearly three years after it first launched in trade paperback and became a Library Journal SF/F debut of the month — I’m going to give the wayback machine a spin and talk about how the book was rejected…several times over.

Rejection is an inevitable consequence of seeking publication. A would-be debut author going the traditional publishing route has to first find a literary agent who gets what the author is trying to do and determines that, yes, said author has the chops to pull it off. Then it’s a question of finding an editor at a publishing house who feels the same way.

So yes, The Daedalus Incident was rejected repeatedly. Now, I only queried six agents, five of whom rejected my query letters, before the incomparable Sara Megibow worked with me to whip it into shape. But once that happened, the book then got rejected by several publishing houses before I ended up getting two offers, one of which was from Night Shade Books, my eventual publisher.

I recently went through all the “passes” Sara forwarded to me (thanks to the magic of Google mail), and I was really struck at how few common threads there were. So I thought I’d share some of the feedback I got.

Please note that I’m not doing this out of spite, nor do I have any sort of revenge mentality going on here. I’ve been really fortunate in my career to date. I’m just hoping that folks going through the process of getting published might find this useful. Others may find it interesting to peek behind the curtain to see how things get done. These are all anonymous, and I’m never going to tell anybody who said what. So don’t ask.

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March 15, 2016 · 9:30 am

The Daedalus Incident out today in mass-market paperback!

TDI-mmpb-coverThe Daedalus Incident sails again! This time, in a more affordable, compact format. What’s not to love?

Very excited to see my novel debut out there again, and I hope this new, less expensive format will introduce the Known Worlds to a whole heap of new readers. What’s more, the paperback features Chapter 1 of MJ-12: Inception at the end, a teaser for the launch of the new MAJESTIC-12 series coming in hardcover this September.

So not only do we get to see Thomas Weatherby and Shaila Jain in an encore, we’re also introduced to Lt. Frank Lodge, U.S. Army, as he patrols occupied Berlin in 1945 — and finds something that will not only change his life forever, but alter the course of the future Cold War.

The mass-market paperback edition of The Daedalus Incident can be found online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, Borderlands Books, Mysterious Galaxy, The Poisoned Pen and at many fine bookstores across the country. (Want to shop indie and local? Check out the book’s Indie Bound page, and be sure to ask your local bookseller to order it if it’s not in stock.)

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March 9, 2016 · 5:00 pm

The business side of writing is not your enemy

 

Nobody can afford to treat money this way.

I have a meeting tomorrow with my agent and my Night Shade Books publicist, and we’re going to be talking about all the things we’ll be doing to launch MJ-12: Inception and, in doing so, introduce the MAJESTIC-12 series to the world. Why am I taking the time for this, rather than spending it on either A) the edits to said book; B) the outline of MJ-12 book two, or C) almost anything else?

For one, my involvement in marketing and publicity is a necessary thing. My publicist is great and hard working and all that stuff, but I’m just one title out of many she’ll be working on. And it will indeed fall to me to write the guest posts, respond to the interview questions, do the podcasts, etc. So of course I want a say in what those things are. If I didn’t do those things, they would not be done. Period.

Second, this isn’t my first rodeo. It’s my fourth, in fact, in terms of books. I have a ton of contacts, I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. We authors do occasionally talk business and swap ideas, and I know by now where folks have had success with free books or swag, giveaways, etc. As a corollary to this, my day job is in marketing communications, so there’s experience there too. I know my way around a marketing plan.

And finally, I generally take an active interest in the business side of things. I’m a former Wall Street reporter, after all, so business topics don’t scare me. I’ve learned how book sales and distribution work, why MJ-12: Inception is better off coming out in hardcover rather than paperback, how bookstores determine which books are face-out and which ones are on end-caps and tables (i.e. publishers pay for placement), and who makes what money when.

I am frequently amused by those authors, both would-be and established, who say they don’t pay attention to the business side of writing. It’s usually in the context of not wanting to sully themselves with something gauche (an exaggeration here, mind you), a lack of time to commit to it, or a discomfort with the notion of promoting yourself and your work though business channels.

I am here today to tell you, dear reader, that it is not gauche, that you need to make the time, and that your own best advocate is you. The business side does not equate to the Dark Side, with artistry and self-expression being the de facto Light Side. If you want to be an author, you need to accept the business side as a thing not only that you have to do, but something worth doing well.

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