Category Archives: Writing

Last week was pretty busy, both in terms of day-job and book stuff, so I apologize for not writing sooner. Both The Daedalus Incident and The Enceladus Crisis have done very well in the two-plus weeks since the second book launched — better, in fact, than Daedalus did when it launched last August. And the $1.99 ebook deal for The Enceladus Crisis was very cool, launching the book into the top 100 for SF/F on Amazon and elsewhere.

And so for that, thank you! A lot of people picked up both books over the past month or so, and I greatly appreciate it. I hope you’re enjoying them. And thanks, too, to everyone who posted on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, etc. Every bit helps. My daughter’s 529 thanks you, too.

Only one tidbit of book stuff to report, though a very nice one. On the group author blog Novelocity, author Beth Cato said her favorite opening line from a novel was from….The Daedalus Incident: 

“Mars is supposed to be dead, just a big hunk of cold rock hanging in space.”

To be anybody’s favorite opening line is high praise indeed, especially in a blog post with so many other great openers, so thanks, Beth! By the way, Beth’s novel, The Clockwork Dagger, is out in September. Since it’s obvious she has great literary taste, I suggest checking it out.

I’ve spent my long weekend thus far making great strides on The Venusian Gambit, the third and (as far as I know) final book in the Daedalus series. Of course, it is indeed Memorial Day tomorrow, and it’s worth reflecting on the sacrifices others have made to keep us safe. So to those who have served, and to the families of those who were lost…thank you.

#SFWApro

A couple of new items today. The first: I’m interviewed over at the Qwillery, a most excellent book blog, about writing The Enceladus Crisis and what comes next after that. I talk a bit about Napoleon as a character, as well as the research that went into book two of the Daedalus series. Check it out.

Also, there’s a new review of Enceladus up at Joe’s Geek Fest, another most excellent book blog. Joe Frazier, a fellow Firefly fan (which makes him awesome), had this to say about the book:

Mr. Martinez set a high bar for himself in his debut novel; could his sophomore effort live up to the expectations it established? It has and then some. His characters and their relationships are even more fully flushed out, his dialog, description of action (Ilove the first battle scene) and overall handling of the narrative is, if anything, tighter and better…I once again am slightly embarrassed at having waxed rhapsodic over another Michael J. Martinez book, but I cannot help myself. It’s that good. Do yourself a favor and get the book (and audiobook).

I really cannot argue with any of that. Click here for the full review. Thank you, Joe, for the very kind words!

And as a reminder, the ebook edition of The Enceladus Crisis can still be had for $1.99 for a limited time. You can get the sale price at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo Books. Many thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about the sale, and to all the folks who have rated and reviewed The Enceladus Crisis on Amazon, Goodreads and elsewhere.

#SFWApro

All right, then. It’s starting to get exciting.

The Enceladus Crisis lands on May 6, full of sailing-ships-in-space action and pan-dimensional shenanigans. Plus Saturn. I’m excited to see it out there and, judging by the reviews, I think it’s going to go well.

You’ll start to see me pop up on a variety of sites in the coming weeks, so I apologize in advance if you get a little me-fatigue. It happens, even to me. But I’ve got a nice variety of stuff coming, not simply just “hey, I wrote a book” posts and whatnot.

And I’ll be on podcasts too, starting with the Skiffy and Fanty Show’s Torture Cinema, which I record Friday. I supported the show’s fundraiser for WorldCon, and won the opportunity to name the next film to get the Torture Cinema treatment. Being a jerk, I gave them Highlander II: The Quickening. But I’ll be right there with them. It should be fun.

Continue reading →

While I was heading back home after our sojourn in Reykjavik — literally, I may have been off the coast of Greenland — Amazing Stories ran a review of The Enceladus Crisis that included very nice things. Reviewer Matt Mitrovich, who also runs the Alternate History Weekly Update, said:

Martinez’s writing style improved dramatically since the last book and I look forward to seeing how it will continue to evolve in the next book…. It was a great adventure tale that combined elements of a spy thriller with that of a space opera, with a bittersweet ending reminiscent to The Empire Strikes Back. I recommend Enceladus, and the series as a whole.

Thanks, Matt! I was especially encouraged by his comment on the writing. I’m still relatively new when it comes to fiction, so signs of improvement are most certainly a good thing.

Also worth noting: if you’re a member of Goodreads, you can enter The Enceladus Crisis giveaway there. We have 10 copies of the book up for grabs. The giveaway ends on May 6, which also happens to be the book’s release day. So go forth and enter!

Finally, I spotted The Enceladus Crisis on Apple’s iBookstore. It also includes a chance to download a sample of the book, and a decent sized one at that. So if you’re an Apple ebook customer, or just want to peek at the sample, check it out!

#SFWApro