What’s The Story, Morning Glory?
Hello from our vacation cabin at an undisclosed location. I’m sitting on the deck, enjoying my coffee and the view.
Summer band season is done, which (hopefully) means more time to write. I intended to spend a couple of days during this vacation doing just that!
Talk of the Town
On Saturday, August 24, I was honored to do an author talk/signing at the Earlville Opera House. Although only a few people came out, I think that those who did attend enjoyed the talk. Here are a few pictures from the event.
A very special Thank you to Michelle and Ben at the Earlville Opera House for hosting this. And thank you to those who came: Rick, Bruce, Betty, Colleen, Keven, and Melanie, who attended. Note to self: next time you schedule an Author Talk, make sure there aren’t competing festivals happening on the same day, like the local Pride Festival and the Renaissance Festival!
Coming Attractions
I’m working on doing an Author Talk/Signing in the near future. Also, I might be part of the Literary Tent and the Colorscape Chenango Arts Festival on September 7 and 8 in Norwich, NY. Watch this space or my Facebook Page for more details!
And One More Thing…
I neglected to mention, but I am now an Associate Member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association! This is the organization that presents the Nebula Awards every year. I’m excited to be part of this organization and look forward to when I can become a full member!
That’s all for now. I’m going to get back to relaxing and writing.
Until next time,
Happy Journeys!
Mike
Lots of News
Greetings! It’s been a while since I’ve made an update but lots of things have been happening since the last time I posted.
The thing I’m most excited about is that I will be doing an Author Talk/Signing at the Earlville Opera House at 1:00 PM on Saturday, August 24. I look forward to seeing everyone there.
In other news, all three books are now available on Apple Books as an AI read audio book! I’ve added the links on the right and on all the product book pages!
And finally, if you are a user of Hoopla, The Reluctant Captain and The Reluctant Spacefarer are now available for borrowing. I submitted The Reluctant Agent at the same time I submitted The Reluctant Captain, but I have no idea when it might be available. If you’re a patron of a library (like the Sherburne Public Library) that offers Hoopla, you can read books 1 and 3 at least!
Besides that, I have been working on the next Malcolm book. Currently, I’m at just over 48,000 words. Work has slowed because summer is band time and I have been busy playing in several concerts.
I look forward to seeing all of you at my book talk/signing! I know there are many things going on that day, but I hope you can spare an hour!
Until next time,
Happy Journeys!
Mike
It’s HERE!
After a very long time, The Reluctant Spacefarer is finally here! For my obligatory Star Trek quote, it’s been a long road getting from there to here. The new book is available at all of your favorite online retailers. You can find the link here:
https://books2read.com/u/3JLNYg
I’m planning on having a couple of events this year for signings, but right now, I have no stock of books. Because of an issue with the publisher (which is me), it’s taken me multiple attempts to get the book published correctly. First, my formatting software acted weird, sticking in a bunch of blank pages. And then when I republished it, I forgot to check the copyright page. I’m sure that everything is set now, but as a result, I’ve haven’t ordered any books. Keep watch here, or better yet, join my mailing list and I’ll let you know when I have book signings.
This coming weekend, I’ll be on a writing retreat to work on the next Malcolm book. My goal this year is to reduce the amount of time between books.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support. When I send a book out into the world, it’s a scary proposition. Having your support means so much!
Until next time,
Happy Journeys!
Mike
Pre-order The Reluctant Spacefarer
As promised, here is the cover for the newest edition in the Reluctant series, The Reluctant Spacefarer.
You can now pre-order The Reluctant Spacefarer from your preferred ebook vendor here: https://books2read.com/u/3JLNYg
The book goes on sale April 23, but avoid the rush and pre-order now!
Until next time,
Happy Journeys!
Mike
Coming soon to a book retailer near you!
I’m happy to announce the third book of the Reluctant series…The Reluctant Spacefarer! And here’s a teaser for the new cover:
If you were a member of my mailing list, you would already see the new cover. To join, just click on the link at the right to join The Crew of the Daedalus, my mail list.
The next steps are to finish the book setups (paperback, hardcover, and ebook) and proof the final copies. I’m tentatively shooting for a publication date of April 23, but it’s dependent on getting the proofs back in time. Again, if you sign up for my mailing list, you’ll be notified as soon as pre-sales are launched!
I’ll unveil the full cover in a little but, so check here to see the new book.
In other news, I went to a jazz concert in the city where I went to college to see Bria Skonberg, an excellent vocalist/trumpet player. I was fortunate enough to talk to her after the concert. Later, she and her band stopped at the bar my wife and I had visited for an after concert drink. We stopped to tell her how much we loved the concert and talked some more – she even gave us hugs!! Here’s a picture of me with her after the concert
Stay tuned for more news and events around the launch of The Reluctant Spacefarer!
Happy Journeys!
Mike
New Year, New Look – Part II
As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been updating the covers of my existing books. This month, I’m proud to reveal the new cover for my second book, The Reluctant Agent:
I’ve just spent the afternoon updating the covers…everywhere. Everything should be processed in a few days.
What Else Is Going On?
I’ve received most of the feedback from my beta readers and I’m making the final tweaks. Once I do that, I’ll take one more editing/proofreading pass and then it will be ready to start the publishing process. Given the lead time for getting a new cover (which I can’t do until I know exactly how big the book will be), I think that the actual release day will be in April – date to be determined. Watch this space for news of when the pre-order will be available.
Join the Crew
Once again, I invite you to join my email newsletter – You can do that over on the right under the “Join the Crew of the Daedalus” box. Members of the newsletter get early notifications about what’s going on and extras. Recently, I’ve shared some images I generated using Mid-Journey (AI Generative Art) to highlight some scenes from both The Reluctant Captain and The Reluctant Agent.
Until next time,
Happy Journeys!
Mike
New Year, New Look
Happy New Year everyone! I hope that 2024 brings you health and happiness!
2023 was certainly an interesting year. I finally finished the writing and editing of the newest Malcolm adventure. My daughter has started her own adventure with her new husband and my wife and I are adjusting to an empty house. And 2023 ended with the start of renovation of our kitchen. As I post this, we no longer have an oven. It won’t be long before the stove and sink are gone as well!
But 2024 is a new start – As part of that new start, I’m “re-releasing” my existing books with new covers. While I love the artwork on my current covers, they don’t match other steampunk books on the market. So I’ve commissioned new covers that I plan to roll out over the next two months. Although I have already shared the new covers with members of my newsletter (you can be a member as well by clicking the link on the right to join the Crew of the Daedalus!), I present to you the new cover for The Reluctant Captain:
I will update the new cover on the various ebook stores soon – it will take me a little longer to get them in place for the print editions.
I’m still gathering feedback from my beta readers to see if the new Malcolm novel (which still doesn’t have a title) to see if it needs any changes before I publish it. I’m shooting for publication in March (fingers crossed).
If you want to be notified as soon as the new book is up for pre-order, I encourage you to join the Crew of The Daedalus, my sometimes regular e-newsletter.
Until next time, Happy Journeys!
Mike