Tag Archives: MJ-12: Inception

January 29, 2016 · 4:30 pm

MJ-12: Inception now listed on Goodreads, up for pre-order on Amazon

The funny thing is, we’re still working on the edits to MJ-12: Inception. Regardless, you can now add the first MAJESTIC-12 thriller to your Goodreads “want to read” pile and, if you’re feeling particularly inspired, get your Amazon pre-order in today.

I know, right? I’m mostly just bemused to find these pages so early. But hey, feel free to make use of them.

I should note that the Sept. 6, 2016, release date is correct but should be treated as tentative this far out. I definitely feel like we’ll make that with plenty of room to spare, but Night Shade Books could move that around if the need arises on its end.

And no, there’s no cover yet. I did receive this little logo here, which is cool. But I’ve seen the full cover drafts and, man, let me tell you, it’s going to be amazing. Just a great old-school thriller cover with some neat paranormal elements to it.

Meanwhile, I’ll be tinkering with MJ-12.net in the coming days and weeks. Right now, it’s very much a placeholder, but I’m hoping to add some content that will get folks excited about seeing super-powered espionage agents duke it out during the Cold War. Be sure to look out for excerpts of MJ-12: Inception in the Daedalus trilogy mass-market paperbacks this spring and summer, too.

#SFWApro

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January 27, 2016 · 3:00 pm

The Daedalus trilogy is coming to mass-market paperback!

The new paperback cover! Click to embiggen!

It’s hard to believe that The Daedalus Incident first set sail back in August of 2013, and it’s been a heck of a journey. Best part of all — it’s not over yet!

I’m super excited to report that Night Shade Books is re-releasing the trilogy — The Daedalus Incident, The Enceladus Crisis and The Venusian Gambit — in mass-market paperback this year. For those not wholly conversant in publisher-speak, the books will come out in the smaller paperback format you’ve seen at the bookstore.

But wait, there’s more. Each paperback will have an exclusive excerpt from the forthcoming MJ-12: Inception, the paranormal Cold War spy-fi novel that’s kicking off the MAJESTIC-12 series this September. And yes, that’s a different excerpt for each paperback title, for added genre-blending goodness.

I’m stoked about this because it’ll give folks another opportunity to explore the Known Worlds of the Daedalus trilogy — and a cheaper opportunity at that — while also hopefully getting people excited about MJ-12: Inception too.

Here’s how it’ll work:

Back cover with MJ-12 teaser! Click to enlargenate!

The Daedalus Incident is coming out mid-March, with The Enceladus Crisis coming in mid-May and The Venusian Gambit finishing up in July. It looks like we’re going for a $7.99 list price, but I don’t know how Amazon or others will ultimately list it. (Here’s Daedalus, Enceladus and Gambit on Amazon — expect those release dates to change slightly. I’ll be posting more sales links as I find them.)

I expect the price of the e-books to be adjusted as well, though I can’t say for certain because there’s some serious dark alchemy that goes into e-book pricing that I just don’t grasp. I also expect that if you’ve already purchased the e-books for the trilogy, you’ll be able to re-download the books after the paperback launch to get your hands on the MJ-12: Inception excerpts. I honestly can’t say how this affects Audible prices, but since a lot of that is on a subscription model anyway, I don’t know how much of an impact you’ll see there.

We’ve tweaked the covers for each book, though the stellar artwork by Sparth (Daedalus) and Lauren Saint-Onge (Enceladus and Gambit) will remain completely intact, because they are awesome in every way. We thought about including bonus materials based on the trilogy, but most of that material has already been featured on the blog and elsewhere; we ultimately decided that the MJ-12: Inception teasers would be a lot more fresh and fun.

And since we’re effectively reducing the price of the Daedalus trilogy, I thought I’d do the same with The Gravity of the Affair, the tie-in novella we produced back in December 2013. I mean, it’s not horribly expensive now at $2.99, but I’m going to go ahead and make it free, starting in mid-February. (Mostly free, I should add — B&N won’t let you drop it below 99 cents for some reason, but most other book vendors allow for freebies. Again, dark alchemy!)

Finally, I’m going to launch a contest where you can get your hands on a signed copy of The Daedalus Incident paperback and an early galley or ARC of MJ-12: Inception. Still working through the details at the moment, but it’ll involve you lovely people spreading the word about these fine books through social media and leaving reviews and whatnot. Expect more on that by early next week.

It’s great to see these books getting out there once more, and that’s largely due to all the wonderful people who’ve read and enjoyed them over the past couple years. My thanks to you, dear readers, for being so very, very awesome.

Sail on!

#SFWApro

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January 11, 2016 · 10:00 am

A little 2016 preview

The new series comes out this year!

I think everyone should be well and truly recovered from the holidays and such, so I figured it was a good time to let you know what you can expect out of me in the coming year, words-wise. And it’s going to be pretty cool.

Obviously, the Big Thing™ will be the release of MJ-12: Inception in September. This is the very first volume in the MAJESTIC-12 series of fantastical Cold War spy thrillers, because that kind of genre-blending is how I roll.

Now, the conspiracy theory states that MAJESTIC-12 is a cabal of government honchos hiding proof of extraterrestrial life from the general populace in order to leverage alien technology on behalf of the United States military. I’m taking that historical theory and running with it, but in very, very different directions. So you’ll see a lot of action and adventure, some truly fantastical elements, a decent dollop of mystery and suspense, and a couple of big question marks in MJ-12: Inception that’ll hopefully have you coming back for more.

So that’s out in September in hardcover. Where do things stand with it now? Continue reading →

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Tagged as Daedalus Incident, DragonCon, Geeky Giving, MAJESTIC-12, MJ-12: Inception, Phoenix Comicon

November 17, 2015 · 5:45 pm

Update on stuff and sundry things

I think I’ve exhausted myself of any and all Weighty Topics I care to address on the blog these days. (Note: There are many, many Weighty Topics to discuss in the world, generally speaking. What I choose to talk about here is an exceedingly thin slice of that.) So I figured I’d give you some updates on what’s going on with writing and such. The fun stuff.

First off, MJ-12: Inception remains with editor Cory Allyn in his Maine editing bunker. No word if there’s a moose involved. I haven’t received any emails with “WTF were you thinking” as the subject line, so I’m encouraged. The nice thing is, we’re still months away from release — building in some lag-time between The Venusian Gambit and MJ-12: Inception was a smart thing to do. Whatever I need to do, it won’t be a scramble to get it done. This is a good thing.

We’ve been doing some metadata and catalog stuff in the meantime, the kind of stuff you’ll see on Amazon pages, in publisher catalogs or on the back of ARCs. There’s also bits and pieces of business ponderings, and some neat opportunities to preview the first MAJESTIC-12 novel this spring, even beyond the planned build-out of MJ-12.net. More on that when it’s ready.

I’m also writing my short story for Geeky Giving, which is due in January but I’m hoping to finish by Christmas, if only to have the holidays off. Plus, Cory will emerge from the bunker any minute now with edits, and I wouldn’t mind having this story done before tackling the novel, lest I mix my neuroscience with my espionage.

And finally, there’s five days left on the Worldbuilders critique auction. Right now, that critique of 25,000 of your words is a steal. It won’t be cheap forever, since these things tend to ramp up at the end, but I imagine it’ll still be more reasonably priced than Pat Rothfuss’ critique, largely because I am not Pat Rothfuss. (However, I’m apparently pretty good at critiquing, if the kind words of past bidders are any indication.)

Remember, if you get priced out of the auction, you can still chip in $10 or more and be entered to win a critique by me, and others, as part of the WriMos for Worldbuilders lottery.

And that’s all I got. Family’s fine, day job is busy as usual leading up to the holidays. I clean the chicken coop on weekends and putter around with words when I can. It’s all good.

#SFWApro

Depicting historical figures in alt-history or historical fantasy

I’m proud to call Scott Reintgen a fan of my work, prouder still to have talked to his high school English class about writing, and even prouder to call him an authorial colleague now that his YA trilogy has found a home. Scott is good people.

So when he asks me a question, I do my best to answer. Over on Twitter this morning, Scott asked me:

@mikemartinez72 Did you have any rules for depicting historical figures in alternative universes? About to dabble and I'm double-checking.

— Scott Reintgen (@Scott_Thought) November 12, 2015

I gave some thoughts off the top of my head on Twitter (while riding into work on the beautiful New Jersey Turnpike), but I thought the topic was a good one, and worthy of more than 140-character answers. So here we go.

First off, I’m not a fan of rules, per se, when it comes to writing. If you can make it work, do it, with the caveat that any rule-breaking you do is hard, and you’ll fail many times before you find your way. But that said, when I wrote the Daedalus trilogy and MJ-12: Inception, I certainly had some guardrails keeping me on a certain path when it came to historical figures.

These worked for me, maybe they’ll work for you. Maybe they won’t. It’s all good. Continue reading →

MJ-12: Inception slated for Sept. 2016…in hardcover!

Some MAJESTIC-12 news to pass along. Night Shade Books has tentatively slated MJ-12: Inception, the first volume in my Cold War spy-fi series, for a September 2016 release. And what’s more — it’s coming out in hardcover!

I’ll admit to a little trepidation with regards to a hardcover launch, because they’re generally more expensive — and thus the ebooks will be a few bucks more, too. But the fine, upstanding sales folks at Night Shade believe hardcover will give the book the best shot to succeed, and they’re the experts.

So I’m just gonna be sure this sucker is very much worth your money. And I’ll also admit, I’m kind of stoked to see a book of mine in hardcover, with a dust jacket and everything. It’s all so very literary.

I’m putting the “tentative” next to the September 2016 release date because these things tend to be in flux at this stage. I can tell you with certainty that MJ-12: Inception will be Night Shade’s lead title for Fall 2016, though, and that’s pretty exciting. Having it as the lead title, and in hardcover, is a big deal for them, and me.

Right now, MJ-12: Inception is in the hands of my awesome editor Cory Allyn, who’s hunkering down with it in his Maine editing bunker as we speak. I’ve asked him to pull no punches — we have the time to make this book rock, and he’s a great editor who I know will make it better. (Pro tip: That’s what editors do. Listen to them.)

I feel like there’s a point of clarification that needs to be made about the series. The real-life MAJESTIC-12 conspiracy theory deals with the alleged government cover-up of extraterrestrial activity on Earth, starting with the Roswell incident in 1947. From what you’ve seen thus far, especially here, there’s very little mention of aliens or Roswell. This is not a mistake. Doing a straight-up “MAJESTIC-12 is aliens” take would be boring. So if you’re looking for the Greys and flying saucers, they won’t be there.

But what will be there is pretty cool, if I may be immodest for a moment. I’m suborning the MAJESTIC-12 mythos, and many of the historical figures involved, for my own ends. I promise, we’re gonna make it a fun ride.

Finally, you may have noticed that MJ-12.net no longer directs back to this site, but to a different one altogether. For now, what you’re seeing there is a placeholder. Come spring, we’ll be putting some teasers and samplers up there to whet your appetites.

The Variants are coming. And the Cold War will never be the same.

#SFWApro

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October 22, 2015 · 6:00 pm

New MAJESTIC-12 tidbits: An interview with Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing

Robert Junker of Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing wanted the first crack at me after we announced the new MAJESTIC-12 series earlier this month. Due to the vagaries of fate and fortune, he missed it by a day, but the interview is live here and now if you want to grab a look and find out a bit more about the new books.

In the interview, I talked about some of the historical research I did for the project, a bit about characters and a few other things that may be of interest. No beer references this time, but I’m sure to make it up to you down the road, I promise.

My thanks to Robert and AiSFP for the interview!

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New podcast interview: Hanging out with TJ Redig on Scrivener’s Soapbox

Just a quick note: I did a interview recently with author and podcaster TJ Redig, proprietor of the Scrivener’s Soapbox podcast, which is now live and available for your listening pleasure. In it, I discuss the Daedalus trilogy, my short fiction, and the upcoming MAJESTIC-12 series. We also talk about homebrewing, and I am duly chastened for not upgrading my brewery game beyond the basics.

It was a fun interview, and if you’re interested, there’s some new MAJESTIC-12 tidbits in there that haven’t been revealed anywhere else. I also had a cold when I did this one, so I apologize for coughing in your ear from time to time. If memory serves, there’s also an awkward pause where I had to hit mute so I could give my wife some money for our daughter’s lunch for the week.

Real life, man. Raw and unfiltered.

My thanks to TJ for having me on. You can listen to it right here on this site, surf on over to TJ’s site, or head to iTunes and download it.

#SFWApro

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Tagged as Cthulhu Fhtagn!, Daedalus Incident, Enceladus Crisis, MAJESTIC-12, MJ-12: Inception, Pathfinder, UFO4, Venusian Gambit

October 13, 2015 · 5:30 pm

Cryptic photos revealed: A MAJESTIC-12 image gallery

Long-time readers of this blog will have noticed a spate of unusual photos, posted without explanation since April, that teased…something. With the MAJESTIC-12 series officially announced, I can safely say that these photos are hints as to the first book, MJ-12: Inception, due out next fall.

And as promised, here’s the explanation of what they are.

Area 51

This is indeed the famed Area 51, located in Groom Lake, Nevada. The super-secret military facility started simply as a reserve Army Air Force base called Indian Springs during World War II, and in our history, it became a testing ground for a wide variety of classified aircraft projects, including the Lockheed U-2 spy plane and the F-117 Stealth Fighter.

It’s also a part of UFO lore, being the secret base where the government allegedly houses and reverse-engineers alien technology. In MJ-12: Inception, Area 51 is…well, it’s in the book, and that’s all I’m saying about that. Continue reading →

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October 12, 2015 · 5:45 pm

Guest post at Locus Magazine: Leaving one series, starting another

It’s been pretty heartening to have folks ask me about the further adventures of Thomas Weatherby, Shaila Jain and the rest of the Daedalus trilogy crew — there are fans, and they like the stories. This is truly awesome and humbling.

And while one never says never, I do feel that the story that wrapped up in The Venusian Gambit was a good end-point, which is why we announced last week that I’ve been working on a new series: MAJESTIC-12.

That doesn’t mean I won’t miss Weatherby and Shaila, though.

I had the privilege of posting at Locus Magazine’s Roundtable blog today about what it’s like to wrap one series and start another. It’s from a very writer-centric point of view, as you can imagine, and to my surprise, it reads a bit more wistful than I thought.

But that said, I’m excited about the first book in the MAJESTIC-12 series, MJ-12: Inception, which I handed in to my editors on Friday. (Woot!) And the Locus post drops a few more details on that series, so surf on over and check it out.

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