NASFIC Schedule

This weekend is online NASFIC, and they’ve pulled together a schedule for an online con very quickly. I’m very happy to be a participant on a couple of panels as well as doing a reading. Attendance is totally free – find out how to join in on the fun here.

All three of my programming items are on Friday the 21st (all times EDT):

5pm
COVID-FX: Selling Your Wares – How has the pandemic affected our SF/F professionals and creatives who’ve relied on foot traffic to sell their wares? Join our panel as they share impact stories and strategies.
Panelists: Alison Scott, Michael R. Underwood, Valerie Estelle Frankel, Wendy Van Camp

7pm
Librarians, Booksellers, Collectors, Oh My! – Panelists discuss the different roles that librarians, booksellers, and collectors play in keeping science fiction alive.
Panelists: Isabel Schechter, Merav Hofman, Michael R. Underwood, Misha Stone, Sarah Loch

8pm
Reading: Michael R. Underwood – I will read from ANNIHILATION ARIA, my found-family space opera adventure.

ARIA audiobook pub day!

The audiobook for Annihilation Aria, published by Dreamscape Media and performed by Chris Andrew Ciulla and Caitlin Kelly, is now available!

You can get the audiobook as a digital download, mp3 CD, and as a traditional audio CD.

It’s available on:

Audible
Bookshop.org
Barnes & Noble
Apple

and more!

Here’s the first chapter as an excerpt to whet your appetite!

And if you’ve already read Annihilation Aria, please consider writing a short, honest review at your retailer of choice and/or Goodreads! Reviews help readers decide which books are and aren’t for them and makes it more likely that Aria will find readers that will enjoy it. 🙂

Cover of Annihilation Aria by Michael R. Underwood. A spherical spaceship flies through the rubble of a ruined planet and toward a golden temple.

Annihilation Aria Week One in Review

Annihilation Aria has been out in the world for one week now, and it’s been a fabulous whirlwind. I started writing Aria in the spring of 2015, and worked on it on and off for several years before making the final revisions and selling it in 2018.

The book’s road to publication has been longer than most (the longest for me being Shield & Crocus, which started as a short story at Clarion West in 2007 and published as a novel in 2014). I’m so glad to have the book out in the world, and especially to have something fun and diverting and hopeful to offer during this ludicrous hurricane of a year.

Annihilation Aria is available on AmazonBarnes & NobleBookshopKoboAppleIndiebound, and wherever else books are sold. The audiobook edition (digital audio, CD, and mp3 CD) will release this Friday the 31st.

Cover of Annihilation Aria by Michael R. Underwood. A spherical spaceship flies through the rubble of a ruined planet and toward a golden temple.

Here’s a quick roundup of all of the activity from the last week. There was a lot, and it’s easy to miss things given how hectic life is right now for a lot of people.

My Favorite Bit essay at Mary Robinette Kowal’s blog.
The Big Idea essay at John Scalzi’s blog (whatever.scalzi.com).
Launch day chat with Gregory A. Wilson (from Twitch.tv/ArvanEleron).
Guest Post at Cat Rambo’s blog.
What I Love About Annihilation Aria (by Aria’s editor Kaelyn Considine).
Ask Me Anything at r/Fantasy on Reddit (concluded).
Live Reading & Interview with Parvus Publisher Colin Coyle.

Cover of Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes.

This Wednesday (tomorrow) I have an online reading & discussion with fellow author Valerie Valdes (Chilling Effect, Prime Deceptions), hosted by The Ivy Bookshop. Starts at 6:30pm Eastern Daylight Time. If you haven’t already bought your paperback of Annihilation Aria, please consider getting a copy from The Ivy in appreciation of their support!

And *next* Wednesday, I have an AMA at r/Books on Reddit, kicking off at 1pm EDT.

In the weeks following, we’ll be continuing the Blades in the Dark miniseries “The Case of the Cindered Seal” at Twitch.tv/ArvanEleron as well as (hopefully) some other actual play excitement.

And as a reminder – if you’ve already read the book, please consider writing a short, honest review at your retailer of choice (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.). Reviews help readers decide whether a book is right for them and allow the book to better find its way into the hands of the folx that will most enjoy it!

Thanks to everyone that has bought, read, tweeted about, and/or Annihilation Aria already – you helped make this last week an amazing and exciting time, and I’m very eager to see the book continue to make its way in the world.

Annihilation Aria is here!

The day long-awaited has finally come! Annihilation Aria aka [REDACTED NOVEL] is live and ready to purchase in ebook and paperback formats. The audiobook from Dreamscape Media will follow soon on July 31st.

Annihilation Aria is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, Kobo, Apple, Indiebound, and more!

Here’s what people have said about Annihilation Aria so far!

“[A] bright and exciting space opera […] Underwood’s prose is brisk and funny without ever sacrificing his skilled sf world building. Highly recommended for fans of action-packed space opera and anyone else looking for a fun and fast-paced read.”

—Booklist, Starred Review

“This fantastically fun series launch harkens back to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy[…] The interpersonal dynamics are delightful, however familiar they may be, and the tightly constructed world, cinematic fight scenes, and ambitious scope combine to evoke a sense of wonder. This is a rollicking good time.”

—Publishers Weekly

“This is pure space opera, wild and wacky and silly and strange, high-stakes and deeply personal all at once. I could not be happier to have read this book. Recommended for fans of AXIOM by Tim Pratt, TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE (the RPG) published by R. Talsorian Games, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (Marvel Studios), and KILLJOYS (SYFY Channel).”

—Seanan McGuire, author of the
October Daye and InCryptid series

“Underwood takes us for an intense ride through a cacophony of alien civilizations in conflict. This is an exuberant space opera that dares us to lose ourselves in battle songs and nonstop action. I can’t sing its praises enough!”

—TJ Berry, author of SPACE UNICORN BLUES
and FIVE UNICORN FLUSH

“Fast, fun, inventive! ANNIHILATION ARIA is a wild, delightful ride for fans of explosive space fantasy like Thor: Ragnarok.”

—Valerie Valdes, author of CHILLING EFFECT

“If the characters of The Mummy had been transported onto the Millennium Falcon, ARIA would be the result—a rollicking space opera, both literary and musical, with a diverse cast and strong relationships.”

—Gregory A. Wilson, author of GRAYSHADE

“Annihilation Aria is a classic 80s science-fiction novel with all those troublesome sexist bits stripped off. It’s got that simplified, pulp, curl-under-the-covers reading that reminds me of being a kid, wolfing down exciting adventures.”

— Ferrett Steinmetz, Nebula Award nominee and author of AUTOMATIC RELOAD and THE SOL MAJESTIC

Here’s a quick overview of some events/activities I’m doing to promote the book over the next few weeks!

July 21st (today!)
GMing a Star Wars actual play session at Twitch.tv/ArvanEleron at 10am EDT (postponed)
My Favorite Bit essay at Mary Robinette Kowal’s blog
The Big Idea essay at John Scalzi’s blog (whatever.scalzi.com)
Guest Post at Cat Rambo’s blog.

July 22nd
Ask Me Anything at r/Fantasy on Reddit (all day)

July 24th
Live reading from Annihilation Aria at 9pm EDT (details forthcoming)

July 29th
Online event with Valerie Valdes, hosted by The Ivy Bookshop (6:30pm EDT)

August 5th
Ask Me Anything at r/Books on Reddit (all day)

A note about the future of this setting: Annihilation Aria is listed as Book One of a series, but it will be a stand-alone unless there are enough sales to justify a sequel.

If you want more books in the series, please tell your friends and fellow readers that might enjoy it!

I’m very proud of it and can’t wait to see it find a readership and bring some respite to people during this uncannily trying year.

One week (and a day) until ANNIHILATION ARIA blasts off!

We’re just eight days away from the release of ANNIHILATION ARIA! I sold the book back in the fall of 2018, so it’s been a long time coming.

You can read the first three chapters at Tor.com. https://www.tor.com/2020/07/09/read-the-first-three-chapters-of-michael-r-underwoods-annihilation-aria/

Pre-order your copy from your favorite local bookstore or via Bookshop.org and support indie bookstores, who could especially use the help given how many are still closed to in-store browsing or only doing mail-order.

If you pre-order, not only will you get the book as soon as possible, you’ll also help tell bookstores that there is more demand for a book, which then tells the distributor and the publisher that there is more demand, which means that they are more likely to be able to put additional resources into promoting the book.

My promotional efforts have already started to ramp up, with guest posts, podcast appearances, and more. Here’s a quick round-up of what I’ve been up to lately:

Writing From a Trope Wish List at The Qwillery.

On the Functional Nerds podcast.

Playing in “The Case of the Cindered Seal” actual play miniseries for Speculate at Twitch.tv/ArvanEleron.

In the next few weeks, I’ll have a lot more, including AMAs at two different subreddits, panel appearances this weekend for JulyCon, running a Scum & Villainy actual play miniseries, guest posts around the SFF blog-o-sphere, and more. This is my first book release since 2016, so I am trying to pull out all of the stops, even with the weirdness of launching a book during a global pandemic.

You can find more info on ARIA and pre-ordering here.

Booklist calls ANNIHILATION ARIA “a bright and exciting space opera” in a *starred* review!

In my first starred review, Booklist (run by the American Library Association) had some very nice things to say about ANNIHILATION ARIA!

An especially nice excerpt from the review:

Underwood’s prose is brisk and funny without ever sacrificing his skilled sf world building. Highly recommended for fans of action-packed space opera and anyone else looking for a fun and fast-paced read.

What’s a starred review, you ask? According to Booklist, “a star is assigned by Booklist editors to indicate that the title is exceptional in its genre or format.” Pretty cool!

If you want to blast off for adventure with the book that has now earned praise from reviewers at Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and Black Gate Magazine, pre-order your copy in paperback, ebook, or audio and board the Kettle on July 21st!

ANNIHILATION ARIA cover image

“This is a rollicking good time” – Publishers Weekly on ANNIHILATION ARIA

The fine folks at Publishers Weekly have reviewed ANNIHILATION ARIA in the March 30th issue.

My favorite pull-quote is, as expressed in the title: “This is a rollicking good time.”

But the last few lines are pretty good overall:

The interpersonal dynamics are delightful, however familiar they may be, and the tightly constructed world, cinematic fight scenes, and ambitious scope combine to evoke a sense of wonder. This is a rollicking good time.

As a reminder, ANNIHILATION ARIA blasts off in ebook, paperback, and audio this July 21st!

Cover for Annihilation Aria by Michael R. Underwood. Art by Tom Edwards

Art by Tom Edwards

ANNIHILATION ARIA release date change

After consulting with the folks at Parvus Press, we’ve decided to move the publication date of ANNIHILATION ARIA to July 21st, 2020.

 

With so many bookstores temporarily closed due to the pandemic, and other related businesses shut down or slowed, it wasn’t viable to try to release the book in May. So as much as it saddens me that we’ll have to wait another couple of months for the book to get out into the world, I hope this delay means that it will be safer and easier to get the book in print as well as ebook and audio when it releases later this summer.

 

In the meantime, I am working with Parvus on promotional plans, including some especially fun plans that I think will work very well even in this weird new reality we’ve found ourselves occupying. I hope that later this year, if not in July, it will be safe to gather enough to have an in-person event to support the book and connect with readers, but I’d rather everyone be safe and am fine mostly promoting the book online through blogs, video events, etc.

 

And if you haven’t pre-ordered your copy, you can do that here:
Paperback:
Ebook
Audio

Baltimore Book Fest schedule

Hi all! I’ll be appearing at the Baltimore Book Festival this weekend alongside a bunch of fabulous authors.

The full books schedule is here

The Ivy Bookshop will be selling books by attending authors, so you can find some new favorite reads and meet amazing authors.

Please note that the SFWA activities are taking place at the USM Columbus Center on Pratt St. rather than the Rash Field location from the past few years.

 

Here’s my schedule:

Friday, November 1

3pm – Success and Goals for Writers
Elektra Hammond, K.M. Szpara, Michael R. Underwood

7pm – Genre-Bending
Lara Elena Donnelly, Jeffrey Ford, Bob Proehl, Michael R. Underwood, Donna Glee Williams, Sherri Cook Woosley

Sunday, November 3

12 noon – Sandman to Saga: Great Comics & Graphic Novels for Adults
Bill Campbell, Scott Edelman, Michael R. Underwood, Alison Wilgus

1pm – Book Signing with Sarah Pinsker and Michael R. Underwood

2pm – Steampunk, Zombies, & Other Glorious Falsehoods
Leanna Renee Hieber, Justina Ireland, Jon Skovron, Michael R. Underwood