CONvergence is coming!

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Michael R. Underwood

Dear all,

I’ll be at CONvergence this week, a marvelous all-fandoms SF/F convention in Bloomington, MN. Lee Harris, Emma Newman and I took an Angry Robot scouting mission last year, and this year we’re bringing a bunch of authors for a full advance guard.

In addition to my Angry Robot song-and-dance in the dealer hall, I’ll be on some panels. Here’s my schedule:

Thursday, July 3rd

Mainstreaming of Geekdom – Atrium 6 – 12:30-1:30 PM

Lots of popular movies are based on geek stuff. How do you handle being a geek hipster – or feeling like you don’t fit in? Many people were geeks before it was cool. Let’s stop feeling bad. Let’s celebrate that geeks are cool!
Panelists: Jaqueline Stoner, Hal Bichel, Kara Redding, Michael R. Underwood, Holley McLellan

Skiffy & Fanty Show: Live at CONvergence! – Edina – 2:00-3:00

A live episode of the Skiffy & Fanty Show (skiffyandfanty.com) with guest authors CL Patel and Martha Wells. We’ll discuss influences on SF/F lit from gaming, comics, etc. with authors who write SF/F fiction but have experience writing for other formats.
Panelists: Michael R. Underwood (mod), Carrie Patel, Martha Wells, David Annandale, Shaun Duke, Paul Weimer

Saturday, July 5th

Gender in Urban Fantasy – Edina – 2:00-3:00

This genre tends to have more female protagonists and writers. Is it marketing, or something else?
Panelists: Melissa Olson, Emma Bull, Paul Cornell, Laura Zats, Michael R. Underwood

Is there Life after Dark and Gritty? – Edina – 5:00-6:00

How did we get from Adam West to the Dark Knight? Can we reboot a series and make it more optimistic?
Panelists: Scott Lynch, Sarah Prentice, Michael R. Underwood, Tabitha Anderson, Michael Damian Thomas

Sunday, July 6th

From Gaming to Writing – Atrium 7 – 2:00-3:00

Many novels started life as roleplaying games. Are you a GM using a game to figure out the world for your novel? Or have you had such a great time running or playing in a game that you’re working on making it into a book? What are the perils and pitfalls?
Panelists: Elizabeth Bear, David Annandale, Ozgur K. Sahin, Michael R. Underwood, Emmy Jackson

Shield and Crocus super-bundle contest

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Michael R. Underwood

Contest time!

I’m going to give away a three-pack of Shield and Crocus awesomeness – the paperback, a CD audiobook, and a copy of the ebook. I’ll sign and personalize the paperback.

How do I enter?

We’ll have a bit of fun inspired by Shield and Crocus. Comment on this post and tell me your favorite superhero, and what fantasy world you’d love to see them in, and why.

Deadpool in Ankh-Morpork or Wonder Woman in Westeros, and so on.

Enter by July 2nd, 12 Noon EDT, and I’ll select a winner at random to get the deluxe pack. Entrants from USA and CAN will be eligible for the full pack – entrants from elsewhere in the world are welcome, but the prize will be just the ebook.

Shield and Crocus launch report

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Michael R. Underwood

Last Friday, Atomic Books hosted the launch for Shield and Crocus, my first book in paperback format. It was amazing, wonderful, and I will cherish the memory for all of my days.

I was greeted by a lovely stack of bookness upon my arrival:

I took the lay of the land, remembering how cool it was to be in a book/comic shop with its very own bar:

When the time came, Benn from Atomic introduced me, and I faced the crowd (it got even bigger later!)

Fellow Codexian and Team Novelocity member Fran Wilde snapped this photo during my reading, which I love and very well may want to use as my next author photo:

I read from the beginning of Shield and Crocus (featuring a messy apartment, a grappling hook, and robot voices), answered a few questions, and then we broke out into social time. I was excited to meet several fellow writers in the area, re-connect with local friends, and make several new friends.

There was even cake! (It was not a lie)

And I was so excited as we were arriving that I didn’t even notice the poster they put in the front window! We snapped a quick picture before heading home for the night.

Thank you to Atomic Books for hosting me, and to everyone who came out to help launch the book!

For those who weren’t able to make it, Atomic Books still has a number of signed copies of Shield and Crocus, which you can order from their website.

The Skiffy & Fanty Show Nominated for Best Fancast Hugo

Posted on April 19, 2014 by Michael R. Underwood

Dear all,

I’m over the that’s-not-a-moon to announce that The Skiffy & Fanty Show, the SF/F Podcast I joined last year, has been nominated for the 2014 Hugo Award for Best Fancast. We’re nominated with a great slate of podcasts, and it’s a great honor to be among such company.

You can find a full list of nominees here.

YouTube Interview for Literary Escapism

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Michael R. Underwood

Hi folks,

Last night, Jackie of Literary Escapism had me on for a live interview via Google Hangout on Air. Which means that now, you can watch that interview for free over on YouTube. We talked about Geekomancy, the Ree Reyes series, my attempts to write diversely, and more!

Attack the Geek Live Launch & Giveaway

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Michael R. Underwood

I’m having a live launch party online today at Bitten By Books, including a giveaway for a $50 gift card.

You can find the event here, starting at Noon CDT.

And here’s the rafflecopter widget:

Attack The Geek Bitten By Books Giveaway

Five Things I Learned Writing Attack the Geek

Posted on April 3, 2014 by Michael R. Underwood

Dear all,

Penmonkey Family Crest

Today, the gracious Lord Penmonkey himself (Chuck Wendig) had me over to his blog to talk about the five things I learned writing Attack the Geek.

Linkitude!

SF Squeecast

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Michael R. Underwood

Earlier this month, I had the sublime fortune of being a guest on the Hugo-Award-Winning SF Squeecast, joining Seanan McGuire, Paul Cornell, Lynne Thomas, and Michael Damian Thomas.

http://sfsqueecast.com/2014/03/episode-34-ha-ha-ha-bang/

We talked about expectations, how expectations influence the way we experience content, how we squee, and how publishers/creators set expectations about their work.

Then, at the end, they ask me their standard questions, which are comedic and serious by turn.

It was a fantastic time, and I’m very grateful to the SF Squeecast team for having me on.

15 Writers Meme

Aside

The Rules: list 15 writers/poets who’ve influenced you and will always stick with you. Don’t overthink. List the 15 influences in 15 minutes.

I’m going to skip authors who I met and befriended before knowing their work for this one (namely Marie Brennan, Darja Malcolm-Clarke, Alyc Helms, etc.)

These are roughly in chronological order of my encountering the author’s work.

Madeline L’Engle
Ursula K. LeGuin
Gary Paulsen
Margaret Weis
Tracey Hickman
Mark Rein*Hagen
Phil Bruccato
George R. R. Martin
Joseph Campbell
Chuang Tzu (probably not a real person)
Octavia Butler
China Mieville
Warren Ellis
Judith Butler
Scott Lynch

Geekomancy and Celebromancy on BoingBoing

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Michael R. Underwood

Today I woke to the delightful news that Geekomancy and Celebromancy got recommendation shout-outs from Ramez Naam on Gweek, a BoingBoing podcast.

From Russia With Doubt (Gweek podcast 138)

*pinches self* Yep, that happened.

Huge thanks to Mez, who is a friend, a wickedly smart guy, and an excellent author. His debut science fiction novel Nexus just got nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, you know. If you haven’t checked it out, definitely go do so.