Over lunch, I tweeted out a handful of short comics reviews from recent books I’ve read. Here’s a Storify of those reviews, and some links below to help find the books:
Tor.com has revealed the covers for February 2016 Tor.com Publishing titles, including The Absconded Ambassador (Genrenauts Episode 2), as well as books by Mary Robinette Kowal and Tim Lebbon.
Go forth, and bask in the awesomeness, then come back for some thoughts from me on the series style for Genrenauts.
When Irene Gallo at Tor.com asked for some notes on what I’d like to see for covers for the Genrenauts series, I had one primary goal, and some suggestions of how to achieve it.
More than anything, I wanted a strong series style for the covers. By that I mean that if you put the covers next to one another on a screen, or the covers showed up in ebook retailers together, they’d be unmistakably, instantaneously recognizable as being in the same series. I wanted each cover to give some of the character of the individual story, as well, rather than just using an identical cover and only changing the lettering or something. What Peter Lutjen has done threads the needle brilliantly – each episode has individual touches, but the series style is incredibly strong, which is both visually delightful and should be very useful, especially in online retailers, where the books clearly belong together even when viewed as thumbnails.
In each cover, the central image in the circle at the bottom of the image represents the genre being represented by presenting the ‘hat’ that the Genrenauts wear in that region – a Stetson for The Shootout Solution, a Western, and then a classic astronaut’s hat for The Absconded Ambassador, a Science Fiction in the Babylon 5/Deep Space 9 mold.
One of the ways I suggested that we might achieve strong series styling was to have a consistent design element – the Genrenauts Logo. Irene and Peter took that idea and delivered in a way I didn’t expect but absolutely love – the series shows off a classic Radio Serial-style planet, accentuated by the GENRENAUTS lettering.
I also love the little accents. The bar at the top indicates each book’s episode # (again referencing the TV format which has been present every step of the way for me). And the planet has a different object orbiting in each episode, further signaling the genre – a bullet for Western and a rocket ship for Science Fiction.
The combination of typography and design conveys the sense of playing with familiar structures, of looking back and referencing different media and how they shaped storytelling, which applies perfectly to Genrenauts. Where the Ree Reyes series focused on geekdom in specific, Genrenauts examines storytelling more broadly.
I couldn’t be happier with these covers, and am incredibly excited to get them, and the books they represent, into your hands.
The fine folks at Tor.com are hosting a giveaway for three signed galleys of The Shootout Solution – Genrenauts Episode 1. If you win, you’ll get the book most of a month early!
I’m very pleased to share the news that Macmillan Entertainment is going to be representing Genrenauts for TV/Film rights. This is not an option sale – it’s the equivalent of when I partnered with Jon Cassir at CAA a couple of years back for him to represent Geekomancy for media rights. This means that Macmillan Entertainment is sending the book out to producers, production companies, etc. and serving as my advocate in offers for film/TV rights.
I had a good chat with Brendan Deneen, the head at Macmillan Entertainment when we were talking about a partnership, and he totally gets Genrenauts and what makes it tick, including a lot of my biggest influences. I’m very excited to see what comes next.
And as a reminder, you can pre-order Genrenauts: The Shootout Solution right now in trade paperback, ebook, and audiobook. November 17th is getting very close now. I can’t wait to introduce you all to Leah, King, and the whole Genrenauts team.
If you’re heading to NYCC this week, here’s where you can find me doing official-type things! I’ll also be walking the show floor, attending panels, and scouring artists’ alley all weekend. Ping me on Twitter if you want to meet up!
Thursday, Oct 8th
Signing!
2pm – Booth #1828
In-booth signing with fellow Pocket author Kristi Charish. S&S is providing rare bound galley copies of GEEKOMANCY which we’ll have for me to sign and send home with readers.
Saturday, Oct 10th
Books to Movies Wishlist
4pm – Room A101
The Martian. Foundation. American Gods. Redshirts: So many iconic SFF novels are finally scheduled to hit the big screen, thanks to the rabid fandom of recent dramatizations of Game of Thrones, Outlander, The Hunger Games, Divergent. But what’s on the big screen wish list of this Panel of bestselling speculative fiction superstars? They all agree that the obvious franchises have been done already – and now, they want to discuss with NYCC Attendees what lesser-know/cult fave titles should invade theaters and march into cable programming! Join us for a nerdy-fun discussion about which science fiction and fantasy must-reads would really make celluloid magic!
Panel:
Charlie Jane Anders
Christopher Golden
Chuck Wendig
Jennifer Armentrout
Clay Griffith
Susan Griffith
Michael R. Underwood (Moderator)
Post-Panel Signing
5:15pm-6:15pm WORD Bookstore 1-B
Come and get books signed by the panelists, and me! We’ll have a very small # of the left-over Geekomancy galleys for people at this signing.
Hi all! One of the best things about being a writer in Baltimore is that the city’s book festival every fall. SFWA runs an entire mini-convention throughout the festival, and I’ll be there this weekend (as well as splitting my time with the Baltimore Comic-Con, checking in with my comics friends).
Here’s where you can find me at the book festival:
Friday, September 25th
11am – The Revolution Will Be Science Fictional and Fantastic
What to read in SF/F and where to find it! Our panel looks at the latest trends in SF/F and the books people are talking about this year.
Emmie Mears, Cat Rambo, Fran Wilde, Michael R. Underwood
12pm – Comics! Science Fiction! Fantasy!
POW! BAM! See how comics, science fiction, and fantasy inform each other. Are superhero stories fantasy, science fiction, or both? Which non-superhero SF/F comics should you be reading? What’s up with novels about superheroes? From Saga to Ms. Marvel to Kavalier & Clay, our panel will discuss it all.
Bill Campbell, Anne Gray, Cat Rambo, Michael R. Underwood
1pm – Reading Group 1 – Superheroes, SF, and Action!
Sit down and discover your new favorite author! Four writers, one hour.
DH Aire, Tom Doyle, Cat Rambo, Michael R. Underwood
Saturday, September 26th
12pm – Dangerous Voices Variety Hour
A fast-paced quiz show in the vein of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me! brought to you by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. Win free books and learn things you never knew about your favorite authors.
Tobias S. Buckell, Sarah Pinsker, Michael R. Underwood, Diana Peterfreund
6pm – Meet The Authors Social
Rub elbows with your new favorite science fiction and fantasy authors at this annual event.
All the Attending Authors
Here’s a map of the festival:
The fine folks at Ukazoo will be handling book sales, and I’ll be bringing some swag for my various books, current and upcoming. See you there!
Hexomancy has been out in the world for one week, and I’m quite happy at the sales #s so far. Thank you so much to the folks who pre-ordered, spread the word, and so on.
This was a special book for me – I wrote it in just over a month, thanks to an improved outlining process and getting into a great writing rhythm. I had a ton of ideas of what I wanted to happen in the book, and I knew the characters really well, so I was able to let loose during the drafting process.
Here’s a recap of my latest PROMONADO activity:
The first review round-up from last week.
I shared my Favorite Pop-Culture Geeks over at SF Signal.
Kingdom of Evil Podcast – I talk about book publicity/promotion
Last Chance Salon Podcast – Writing! Star Wars! Laughter!
Reader Mari live-tweeted her reading of HEXOMANCY and it was amazing. There are some substantial spoilers involved, so be forewarned.
“Hexomancy hits all my sweet spots for good crunchy urban fantasy fiction, with laugh out loud snark-studded dialogue, just the right amount of nostalgic callbacks to things geeks of all genre-spheres will love, and crisply paced prose that moves the story forward at downhill-on-black-ice-slope’s pace.”
If you haven’t picked up your copy of Hexomancy, here’s a handy page with an index of the various ebook retailers.
And if you’ve read Hexomancy, please consider leaving an honest review on the various retailer sites. They have a big impact on discovery, helping readers decide if it’s a book for them.
Bonus! If you’re attending the Baltimore Book Festival this week, come to my panels or swing by during the meet-and-greet to say hello!
Hexomancy is here, but several folks have already read it, thanks to the wonders of NetGalley. And lucky for me, they seem to be loving the book, which makes my geeky heart soar. It means a lot to me that people are still reading and reviewing the series four books in, since it’s often very hard to get reviews of books after the first in the series.
Michael Underwood scores full points for a perfect hit with Hexomancy, drawing (at least the first cycle) of the Ree Reyes series (which include Geekomancy and Celebromancy along with the novella, Attack the Geek) to a full-on fun while satisfying ending. You know those episode-ending scenes around the table of Serenity from Firefly? There is a sense of camaraderie, coming home with people and life seeming to fit (even with chaos around the corner). That’s what Hexomancy is for me.
Brainfluff gives some love to the series’ lead:
Ree is an engaging, likeable heroine, with an interesting backstory. She is a ‘glass half full’ lass, rather than the tortured, angsty type, so the overall tone is fairly upbeat despite the various disasters and mayhem that befalls them. I enjoyed her positive energetic outlook and the buzz of the bar, Grognard’s, where she works as a waitress is effectively captured. That said, it isn’t all a bundle of laughs. Underwood handles the building threat well, and the action scenes whip through with plenty of tension – more so, because he isn’t afraid of offing significant characters. There was also a couple of pleasing story twists I didn’t see coming.
James at Fragile Muse loves the fun and calls out one of the primary influences of the series:
First and foremost, these books are FUN! Michael Underwood wears his geek cred on his sleeve, much like Ernest Cline who wrote Ready Player One and Armada. However, instead of just dropping geek references, he weaves our shared love of all these properties, characters and culture into the fabric of the engine which drives Ree’s powers.
There’s nothing quite like this series. The rules are well defined, the characters are interesting, and the utter truckload of geeky nostalgia plows through me like the power of the dark side. Or is that Hexomancy? Hmm.
And the fine folks at Talk Supe say they Loved It:
Hexomancy was a satisfying and exciting conclusion to the first arc of Ree Reyes. There are new things that come up, when a door closes, another one opens…I’m really looking forward to reading what’s next for our adorable heroine.
In addition to squeeing over reviews, I’ve been making the promotional rounds to support Hexomancy. Here’s the first batch of fun:
If you’re planning to buy Hexomancy and haven’t done so already, please consider picking it up this week. First week sales are an important indicator to a book’s publisher, and it helps drive momentum and discovery. Also, if you’ve already read the book, please consider leaving a review on the ebook retailers (as many as you care to cross-post to), as those also drive discovery.
And if you’ve done all of the above (my heroes!) and are hungry for more, don’t fret! Genrenauts: The Shootout Solution is only 2 months and 2 days away, and is specifically designed to be fun for Ree Reyes readers while also being totally their own thing.
At long last, Hexomancy has arrived!
It’s been over a year since Attack the Geek, the last Ree Reyes story, was released, and now Hexomancy closes out the first story arc of the Ree Reyes universe.
If you’re not familiar with the Ree Reyes stories, check out this series summary I wrote for XOXO After Dark to see if it catches your fancy.
For long-running readers, here’s what you can expect from Hexomancy: More Lucretia, more Drake, more Eastwood and Grognard, but also more of the Rhyming Ladies, and plots from the first three books to come back around for a reckoning. Expect Eastwood’s history to figure in a big way, and as always, there’s more of the patented Ree Reyes series pop-culture references, geeky jokes, and energetic action-adventure storytelling.
I’m really proud of Hexomancy – I think it’s the best novel I’ve written to-date, in terms of pacing, action, characterization, and interpersonal relationships. I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Click here for links to ebook retailers to get your copy now.
Until next time, Geek on!