Hi all!
As part of my online promonado for Annihilation Aria, I’m teaming up with fellow space opera author Valerie Valdes to do an event with The Ivy Bookshop on July 29th at 6:30 pm Eastern Daylight Time!
Get your ticket here and join us for out-of-this-world adventures!
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.
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.
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!
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!
Art by Tom Edwards
Parvus has revealed the fantastic cover art for ANNIHILATION ARIA, created for us by Tom Edwards.
It brings all of the flash, all of the space opera energy, and I love it so much.
I’ve been alluding to a [REDACTED NOVEL] for some time now, and I can finally drop the brackets and tell everyone what’s up!
My next novel is a space opera called ANNIHILATION ARIA, and it’s coming May 5th, 2020 from Parvus Press!
On Monday, Parvus tweeted this:
Something is coming … pic.twitter.com/2R4jSoNubh
— Parvus Press (@ParvusPress) November 18, 2019
and this:
Getting closer … pic.twitter.com/HKeGxL9EOr
— Parvus Press (@ParvusPress) November 19, 2019
Which may or include zoomed-in sections of a soon-to-be-revealed cover. Who could say? 😉
Here’s the official announcement.
There will be more news about ANNIHILATION ARIA soon, from art to endorsements to some travel plans and more! This novel has been a long time coming, serving as a back-burner project for several years as I was wrapping up Season One of Genrenauts and as I was developing and writing Born to the Blade with the team and Serial Box.
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
I’m participating in a charity fundraiser for RAICES. Their mission is to help separated families, detained families, unaccompanied minors, and others who are seeking asylum in the United States. RAICES been a major force in responding to the appalling treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers, and this effort is one of many fundraisers to support them and other groups trying to help.
Donors will get a copy of Genrenauts: The Data Disruption as well as art, comics, discounts on prints, more short stories, etc. from more than 20 creators! This campaign runs through the end of the month, and be sure to claim your rewards if you do donate (we can’t host the files there forever, etc.)
100% of funds go to RAICES – there’s no overhead, no private profit, etc.
https://www.classy.org/fundraiser/2173437
I’d be very grateful for anything folks can donate, and of course please share this far and wide!