Writefest Schedule!

Posted on April 18, 2022 by Michael R. Underwood

I’m appearing virtually on panels for this year’s Writefest, a multi-genre conference run by Writespace. Find out how to register here.

You can see me on panels across the weekend:

Saturday April 30th
9am EDT
Podcasting: How Audio Can Grow Your Writing Career
Michael R. Underwood • Marshall Ryan Maresca • Meg Hafdal • Michael DeLuca

1pm EDT
The Query Letter: How to Land an Agent
Michael R. Underwood • Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam • Valerie Valdes • Cassandra Rose Clarke • Kate Pentecost

Sunday May 1st
6pm EDT
Worldbuilding: When Is Your World a Character?
Sean Morrissey Carroll • Georgina Key • Michael R. Underwood • Marshall Ryan Maresca • Valerie Valdes

The Summer of Ree!

Posted on April 15, 2022 by Michael R. Underwood

After a hiatus where the rights reverted to me but I wasn’t able to work on them, the Ree Reyes books are returning this summer with new covers AND publishing in paperback for the first time!

Here you can see the first of the new covers, this one for Geekomancy!

I absolutely love this new cover. The giant d20-as-magical orb makes me so happy.

PLUS, the Deranged Doctor Design team also created an animated version of the cover:

I’m still working with people on production of the ebook and print versions, but when they are done, I will let everyone know the re-release date and share the pre-order information. Plus, there will be new cover reveals for the other books soon!

Flights of Foundry schedule

Posted on April 7, 2022 by Michael R. Underwood

This weekend I’m attending Flights of Foundry, presenting on panels and teaching a workshop. Flights of Foundry bills itself as “The world’s biggest multi-disciplinary, round the clock, international virtual convention” with guests of honor such as L. D. Lewis, Jana Bianchi, and Tobias Buckell, an intensive workshops series, and activities to fill the whole weekend, there’s something for everyone and more than you’ll make it to.”

Registration is donation-based, so you can attend whatever your economic circumstances!

My schedule (all times EDT)

Friday
3pm – Reimagining TTRPGS
9pm – Workshop – Power & Politics in Worldbuilding

Saturday
9pm – Building an Actual Play Podcast

Sunday
3pm – Synchronized Storytelling: Collaboration and Co-writing

Fractal Spire series premiere tonight!

Posted on February 6, 2022 by Michael R. Underwood

Tonight Speculate! (the actual play show I co-host with Brandon O’Brien and Gregory A. Wilson) is kicking off a new series called “Fractal Spire”, playing Girl by Moonlight, a Forged in the Dark RPG forthcoming from Evil Hat Productions.

In Fractal Spire, a group of dream travelers in a dystopian world fight both the State and a sentient dream conspiracy. After losing their leader and the person that bound their group together, the remaining four must find a way to patch up their wounded hearts and fight on, together.

Watch the series premiere of “Fractal Spire” Sunday, Feb 6th at 7pm EST at Twitch.tv/ArvanEleron.

If you can’t make the live broadcast, the video will show up at Youtube.com/Arvaneleron 24 hours later. Each episode will be available in this YouTube playlist, and will come to the Speculate! podcast feed later on in smaller chunks.

Virtual WorldCon schedule!

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Michael R. Underwood

I’ve decided to attend Worldcon virtually this year, given *waves hands at state of the pandemic*. I’m hoping to go down to DC for some very limited in-person socializing and meetings, but that’s still TBD.

But thanks to the programming team, I do have a full suite of programming:

All times EST (Eastern Standard/Eastern US time)

Wednesday
7pm – Breaking a Story, Hollywood Style (Older – Virtual)

Thursday
4pm – Building an Urban Fantasy (Older – Virtual)

Friday
2:30 pm – The Best Video Games of the Last Ten Years (Older – Virtual)

Saturday
5:30 pm – New TV: From Foundation to Squid Game & Beyond (Older – Virtual)

Listen to Born to the Blade for Free!

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Michael R. Underwood

Born to the Blade series cover, by Will Stahle

Born to the Blade, the magic swordplay + diplomacy series I created for Realm and co-wrote with Marie Brennan, Cassandra Khaw, and Malka Older, is now available on all podcast platforms!

When it was released, it was only available to buy or to subscribers at Realm (formerly Serial Box), but now the series is being released as a weekly podcast to listen for free (supported by ads).

I’m very proud of the work we did on Born to the Blade and I’m excited for this chance for it to find a new audience thanks to a very low barrier to entry for listeners. Two episodes are live right now, with new episodes coming every Friday.

You can find Born to the Blade on Apple Podcasts here and (hopefully) by title on all other podcast platforms!

Streaming on Twitch!

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Michael R. Underwood

Promotional Image for Twitch.tv/TurboTango

I’ve relaunched my channel “TurboTango” on Twitch, which I’m hoping to use to stream both video games and some future TTRPG actual play.

In last Sunday’s re-launch stream, I played a run on Trials of Fire, a fantasy post-apocalyptic roguelike deckbuilder. It’s a recent favorite of mine, and I’ll be playing the game again (with a new scenario) this Sunday!

My current streaming schedule is as follows:

Wednesdays and Sundays, 1-4pm EDT – Games With Mike (Video games, mostly roguelikes and/or deckbuilders)

To get reminders when the streams go live, you can follow my page at Twitch.tv/TurboTango and turn on notifications.

BaltiCon Schedule

Posted on May 19, 2021 by Michael R. Underwood

BaltiCon will be all-digital again this year, and I’m happy to be on some programming, including a great focus on ttrpgs and gaming this year.

Here’s my schedule:

Saturday, May 29th

1pm – Mount Washington
Love the Setting, Hate the System

Lisa Padol, Christiana Ellis, Michael R. Underwood, Daniel M Ford, Adam Beaton

What are your options when you love the setting of a particular game, but the rules don’t fit with what you want to run? Let’s talk about system hacks, house rules, game conversions, setting-agnostic rulesets, and when to move on to something else.

4pm – Pride of Baltimore
Good First-Time RPGs (that aren’t D&D)

Christiana Ellis (moderator), Lisa Padol, Jennifer R. Povey, Michael R. Underwood, dave ring

Are you interested in trying role-playing games, but want to try something with simpler rules, more focus on narrative, or in a different genre? We’ll discuss great newbie-friendly RPGs that explore the range of playstyles and stories at the gaming table.

Sunday, May 30th

10am – Watertable
What Makes Video Games Genre?

Bugsy Bryant (moderator), Tee Morris, Michael R. Underwood, Phoebe Barton, Adam Beaton

Video games frequently tap into an audience’s love of science fiction and fantasy, but too often don’t go beyond superficial genre trappings (alien invasions, magical combat, etc.). What are the games that successfully engage with SFF ideas and themes through story and gameplay mechanics, and how can creators further develop genre storytelling in games?

2:30pm – Mount Washington
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier

L. Penelope (moderator), Michael R. Underwood, Devin Randall, Mary Fan, Nicole Givens Kurtz

Marvel Studios has been pushing boundaries and navigating into uncharted territories with their Disney+ series, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is no exception, touching on everything from systemic racism to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to fan privilege. How has the series worked with MCU canon as it explores the direction of Captain America in a post-Rogers world? What themes does the series share with WandaVision, and what might the future hold for Sam and Bucky?

Flights of Foundry schedule

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Michael R. Underwood

Here’s my (light) schedule for FLIGHTS OF FOUNDRY this weekend.

All times EDT:

Saturday, April 17th
3:30-3:50pm – Michael R. Underwood Reading

I’ll be reading from Annihilation Aria or maybe from the latest Genrenauts novella!

Sunday, April 18th
3:00 to 3:50pm – Branching into Multiple Media

Claire Rousseau, Brandon O’Brien, Michael R. Underwood, Moderated by RJ Theodore
For writers interested in branching out from their starting point, whatever that might be, panelists will share their experiences and advice about moving between short and long form prose, video, podcasting, novels, live-streaming, poetry, games writing, and a variety of non-fiction writing options.

The discussion will examine the motivations for switching it up or adding to their portfolios, from supplementing income to the quest for creative satisfaction.

Upcoming Class on Action Scenes

Posted on March 29, 2021 by Michael R. Underwood

Next month I am teaching a new class with Cat Rambo’s “Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers.” This one is about action scenes and emotional storytelling.

The class will be held on April 8th at 1 pm Pacific (4 pm Eastern) Daylight Time. The class will be two hours long and costs $99 USD ($79 if you have taken other classes at the Rambo Academy before).

Here’s the course description:

Characterization and the emotional arc of a novel don’t step aside when the blasters start firing or people start throwing punches. The best action storytelling uses chases, misadventure, and fight scenes to foreground emotion, to show characters making big choices based on their feelings. Instead, the best action stories include the audience in the emotional rollercoaster of the characters. This class will talk through techniques for using action scenes to advance the plot and the emotional journey of your characters and how to make sure that the scenes are far more than choreography and flashy explosions.

Sign up to take the class here.

This class draws heavily on the experiences I had writing Annihilation Aria and what I’ve learned as a reader in the past few years as well as through analysis of some of my favorite action scenes in media over the past decade.