Tag Archives: Enceladus Crisis

June 10, 2015 · 5:30 pm

Yes, there’s a gay character in the Daedalus series

They say, of course, that one should not respond to bad reviews, and I wholeheartedly believe this to be correct. Nonetheless, a recent reader review — on a site that will go unnamed and unlinked here — asked a question:

Is it absolutely necessary to make a gay character these days!? They’re 3% of the population!

The reviewer in question left a four-star rating, which was lovely and greatly appreciated, so this was by no means a bad review. And since the question was asked, I’m inclined to provide an answer. (Note: Very mild spoilers for The Enceladus Crisis and The Venusian Gambit below.)

I’m going to assume that the character in question is Maj. Gen. Maria Diaz, USAF, 22nd century commander of the DAEDALUS task force. She started off as a colonel in command of a backwater Mars base in The Daedalus Incident, then (quite appropriately) found herself promoted to lead DAEDALUS’ efforts to study interdimensional rifts and, as needed, defend against further incursions.

And yes, she’s gay.

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under Books, Writing

Tagged as Daedalus Incident, Enceladus Crisis, Venusian Gambit

May 26, 2015 · 10:00 am

A look at outlining in Excel

With the release of The Venusian Gambit, I’ve been doing a fair amount of stuff, including a guest post on the writing process at Chuck Wendig’s Terribleminds, as well as a Reddit AMA on r/Fantasy. And a question came up in both places: What’s with this Excel outlining you keep talking about?

Well, it’s a long answer, but I figured I’d give it a go. I use Excel to outline my novels in a far more complete, intensive way — more like a storyboard, really. I can include not just what happens, but to whom it happens, why, their reactions, the effect on the setting, etc. I found Excel useful because my books tend to have some complexity to them — different dimensions, multiple POV characters, lots of moving parts — and it helps me keep things straight. Plus, I like being able to storyboard a scene before writing it because I’ve spent two decades writing to spec, and that’s what works for me — even if I create the spec.

OK, let’s see what one of these outlines looks like. Continue reading →

6 Comments

Filed under Writing

Tagged as Enceladus Crisis, Venusian Gambit

May 18, 2015 · 5:45 pm

New interview at SFFWorld, and what’s next at the Qwillery (with giveaway!)

Couple of new items came out today in the parade of all things having to do with The Venusian Gambit.

Over at SFFWorld, Dag Rambraut interviewed me about the series, publishing and writing — there was a great question about sensibility in writing that particularly caught my attention. When I first started, I tended to err on the side of characters making sensible decisions. While characters should, of course, behave according to their personalities and internal logic, the demands of the story often call for a bit more mayhem. Striking that balance is one of many things I’ve learned to do. Check out the full interview here.

And over at the Qwillery, I wrote a guest post on wrapping up the Daedalus series, and what might be next. I’ve had a few folks remark that they’re sad the series is over — which, really, warms my black writer’s heart to no small degree — but for me, it’s kind of been over now for a few months. So I got to riff a bit on what that means, and what’s next. Here’s the post; my thanks to Sally and the gang for having me on.

Speaking of the Qwillery, they’re giving away a signed copy of The Enceladus Crisis as part of that post; you have until May 28 to enter, so get clicking!

Finally, for those attending Phoenix Comicon, I wanted to point out that the now-traditional Drinks With Authors is a go. It’s happening Saturday, May 30, at 6 p.m. at the Sheraton in the Valley of the Sun room — which is possibly the best name a room could possibly have. There will be door prizes and raffles (including, perhaps, some books by yours truly), with all proceeds to benefit the Kids Need to Read charity. Come see authors in their natural habitat — i.e. where drinks are served — and help kids get books. No brainer, right?

#SFWApro

Just 24 hours to go to bid on signed copies of the Daedalus trilogy

We’re down to the wire in the Con or Bust charity auction, which wraps up on Sunday, May 3, at 4 p.m. EDT. Thus, as of this writing, you have just 24 hours to bid on a complete Daedalus trilogy, including The Venusian Gambit, all signed by yours truly and shipped to your very door.

This is the first charity gig where I’ve been able to offer all three books, which makes it pretty special to me. And the proceeds of this auction help people of color attend SF/F conventions around the country. People of color are sadly underrepresented at most of the cons I’ve been to — though the bigger the con, the better the representation — and we’re all the better for it when we share what we love with as wide a range of people as possible. So, I’m in, and I hope you are too.

To bid, just put your dollar amount in the comments section of this page. Should you win, the auction administrators will put us together so I can sign your books — personalized if you so choose — and send them out to you.

There’s a heap of other cool stuff up for bid as well, so I urge you to surf through and see what strikes your geeky fancy. In addition, you can donate directly to Con or Bust. Recently, a generous soul has offered to match donations made directly, so good karma on you if you help out that way. Find out more about the donations and match here.

That’s enough blog-reading for now; you have some bidding to do. Go forth, good luck, and thanks in advance for contributing!

#SFWApro

The Venusian Gambit is at my house

And the circle is now complete. It’s a very lovely thing to see.

Just dropped off by UPS: THE VENUSIAN GAMBIT in the house! pic.twitter.com/xNOgW7qiMj

— Michael J. Martinez (@mikemartinez72) April 23, 2015

And I couldn't resist taking this one. The complete trilogy, done.

What? I'm OK. Just something in my eye. SHUT UP. pic.twitter.com/mQXUQ03MkM

— Michael J. Martinez (@mikemartinez72) April 23, 2015

To be fair, I didn’t get all that teary-eyed, but there was definitely some warm fuzzies happening. This is the first time I’ve had all three books together on my shelf, and it’s a great feeling. The Venusian Gambit comes out on May 5, and I hope it looks just as spiffy on your shelves as well. Or on your e-reader. Whatever works for you.

#SFWApro

1 Comment

Filed under Books

Tagged as Daedalus Incident, Enceladus Crisis, Venusian Gambit

April 20, 2015 · 10:00 am

Con or Bust auctions start today! Bid on a signed Daedalus trilogy!

As promised, this is your reminder that bidding is now open in Con or Bust‘s charity auction. And that one of the auction items is the complete Daedalus trilogy, including the forthcoming The Venusian Gambit, all signed. Heck, let’s even say signed and dedicated if you so choose.

You have until midnight on Sunday, May 3, to get your bids in. We’re starting off at $25, which is a pretty solid discount off the cover price for all three books. So get in there and get your bids placed! And while you’re at it, check out the other items up for auction, too. You may yet see a bid or two from me on some of these. They’re that awesome.

#SFWApro

Signed copies of the entire Daedalus trilogy up for auction to benefit Con or Bust

I freakin’ love the fact that this whole author thing allows me to meaningfully contribute to great charities. I’ve helped to raise over a grand for various charities over the past two years, which fills me with warm fuzzy karma. And it’s fantastic to see so many great people donate to awesome causes.

So let’s do it again, shall we?

Con or Bust is a great charity that helps people of color attend SF/F conventions. I think promoting diversity in fandom is very much a worthwhile endeavor, as speculative fiction has historically been about embracing differences and exploring a wide variety of perspectives. We need more of it.

This is my third time participating in the annual Con or Bust auctions, and now that the Daedalus trilogy is finished, I’m proud to offer up signed copies of all three books — The Daedalus Incident, The Enceladus Crisis and The Venusian Gambit — for auction this year.

The auction page is here. Bidding will start at $25, and I hope it goes through the roof. You can start bidding on Monday, April 20; bidding ends Sunday, May 3. Yes, I’ll remind you again when we’re up and running, but it’s never too early to begin saving up your pennies.

And yes, this includes The Venusian Gambit, which is due out May 5. With shipping, you probably won’t get it before the release date, but you’ll probably have the very first signed copy. (Well, one that isn’t an ARC.) That’s gotta be worth a few bucks, right?

Be sure to check out the other Con or Bust auctions as well. There’s a lot of great stuff there, and it’s all for a good cause. Let’s keep making SF/F the kind of welcoming, inclusive community we want it to be.

#SFWApro