New York Comic-Con Schedule

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.

Baltimore Book Festival schedule

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:

BBF15_Map - SFWA

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 Week One

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.

Mari also reviewed the book.

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.

Hexomancy cover

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 Review Roundup

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.

Hexomancy cover

Joe’s Geek Fest says:

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.

Brad K. Horner says:

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:

I was the first-ever guest interviewed on Last Chance Salon Podcast (how cool!), talking about my writing journey, the Ree Reyes books, Force Friday, and more.

Over at Literary Escapism, I reflect on changes in the world of geekdom and pop culture since Geekomancy was released in the summer of 2012.

And if you’re on the fence about the books or your memory is foggy about what’s happened before Hexomancy, I gave an introduction and summary of the series at XOXO After Dark.

 

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.

Hexomancy is here!

 

 

 

Hexomancy cover

 

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!

The Flurry Before The Storm

Hi folks! I know it’s supposed to be the calm before the storm, but sometimes I get too excited.

I wanted to give you all a heads-up that coming into next week, I’m going to be quite active with promotion for Hexomancy, the fourth Ree Reyes book, and that promo will eventually give way to promotion for Genrenauts: The Shootout Solution.

Hexomancy coverShootout Solution cover

But first, here’s a bit of catch-up of what I’ve been up to over the last month:

At GenCon, Wesley Chu (now a John W. Campbell Award-winner) and I talked with Greg Wilson and Brad Beaulieu of Speculate! The Podcast For Writers, Readers, and Fans) about our publishing journeys, as the start of a new series of episodes.

Then I turned the mic and interviewed Greg and Brad on their journeys so far, their podcasting, hobbies, and life balance.

Tor.com released a free collection with sample chapters from each of the launch list of novellas, including the first Genrenauts story.

Audec-Hal was included in Bradley Beaulieu’s List of Top 10 Metropolis stories.

And right now, Shield and Crocus is on sale for just $1.99 in ebook – grab a copy if you’ve been holding off, or buy a copy for a friend if you feel so inclined.

Deb Stanish interviewed me for the Uncanny Magazine Podcast about my essay on representation in the Marvel & DC Cinematic Universes.

And there’s plenty more to come!

Sasquan Highlights

Last week, I traveled to Spokane, WA for Sasquan, the 73th WorldCon.

A lot of cool things happened that week – I got to hand-sell a bunch of Angry Robot books, hang out with our authors, and meet wonderful writers, readers, and fans. There were parties, publishing dinners, giveaways, and much more.

Here’s a quick Storify of highlights from the con, which is far easier than writing out a long con wrapup blog post.

What are your favorite memories of WorldCon? Share the joy in the comments below.

Tor.com Publishing Sampler

We’re exactly three months from the release of Genrenauts: The Shootout Solution, and to help promote the line, Tor.com Publishing has released a free sampler with previews of each of their launch list. In the two chapter preview of my novella, you get to meet Leah Tang and the Genrenauts, a group of interdimensional travelers that visit the home worlds of narrative genres to fix broken stories.

The sampler includes excerpts of novellas from:

Kai Ashante Wilson
Paul Cornell
Alter S. Reiss
Nnedi Okorafor
K.J. Parker
Angela Slatter
Matt Wallace
Daniel Polansky
Sylvia Spruck Wrigley
and
Michael R. Underwood (that’s me!)

I’ve read Matt Wallace’s novella Envy of Angels, which is excellent, as well as a couple of other samples. This launch list represents a great range of work, from anthropomorphic grimdark to interplanetary peril to magical caterers to an aging faerie on a desperate quest, and more.

Get the sampler for FREE right now on KindleKobo, and direct from Macmillan. I presume it will arrive on iBooks and Nook shortly. And if you like your browsing visual, check out this cover roundup.

And once you’re done with the samples, please consider pre-ordering the full book for the stories where you enjoyed the sample. This new venture, presenting novellas once more as the full-fledged books they are, represents a widening of the field, creating a lot of opportunities for a wider range of fiction to get attention at a high level. Self-publishing helped re-popularize the novella format, and now Tor.com is looking to bring it to an even wider audience in a bigger way.

Writing a half-dozen novellas over the last year, I’ve come to appreciate them for their exciting hybridity. Novellas are long enough to introduce, develop, and investigate a world,  to deliver on a premise and characters, but short enough to be efficient, to cut to the quick, to not linger or overstay their welcome. They’re an excellent form for commuter culture, giving you something to look forward to finishing, and then to finish shortly after.

I’m very excited to be part of this Novella Renaissance, and I hope you’ll enjoy the books. I have two Genrenauts novellas with Tor.com, but I have the first season planned out to six novellas (all drafted), and I’d very much like to continue the series with Tor.com, which will be dependent on strong sales for the first two books.

This fall, #NovellasAretheNewNovel, and you can be a part of it, starting now.

 

GenCon Recap + CELEBROMANCY deal!

My fellow Geekomancers and Genrenauts,

I write you from a airport brewery restaurant in Indianapolis, having been stranded overnight by weather in Chicago (cancelled the first leg of my flight).

GenCon was, as expected, a glorious time. I was very pleased with my panels and the  Writers Symposium, from the crowds to their questions to my excellent moderators. It was a great experience. I even got to do a tiny bit of gaming, leading me to put a few on my wish (Fortune & Glory, Star Wars: Imperial Assault, Fantasy Age, and others).

I was Angry Roboting most of the weekend, but I did get to hand out sampler chapbooks for Genrenauts: The Shootout Solution to spread the word, and met several fans that came up after panels or found me at the AR booth. W00t!

During the weekend, I was a guest/guest host on no fewer than five podcast episodes, which you’ll hear about in the coming weeks.

Another fun discovery during the weekend was that Celebromancy, the second Ree Reyes novel, is on discount right now on Kindle, just $1.99! If you enjoyed Geekomancy  but haven’t moved on with the series, now’s your chance to do so and save some $ along the way. Remember, Hexomancy is just over a month (!) away.

Hermes permitting, I’ll be home tonight and then taking a couple of rest days to recover from the con and wrap up edits on my second Tor.com Publishing novella – Genrenauts: The Absconded Ambassador.

Catch you on the flip-side,
Mike