December and Everything After

 Here we are, nearing the end of 2024, and once again I feel the need to apologize for not being diligent about updates and what’s been going on with me, and with all things writing.

To start: 2024 has shaped into, on a personal level, a better year than 2023 had been. By many other metrics it was once again a garbage year, but I feel like we’ve reached a point where we’ve all had several garbage years strung together for some time, and we should accept that this is more a garbage era.

So: Welcome to the Garbage Era! We’re going to try to make the best of things.

That out of the way, what has been 2024 been like, in terms of writing? Well, I put out two pieces of fiction this year. The novella, The Royal First Irregulars is the fourth of the Maradaine Saga Shorts, and it’s one that I’m very happy to have gotten done and out in the world. I didn’t get much chance to promote it as much as I could, but here is your second chance to check it out.

The other fiction is my short story, Chasing the Sun, which was part of the Traveling Light anthology we at Worldbuilding for Masochists put out, set in the world we’ve been building this year. I really enjoyed writing this story, and all the work that went into this anthology. I’m very proud about how it came together, and, frankly my unbiased opinion is that every story in it is great. I would especially point you at Lindsey Carmichael’s Merit the Resolute, an absolutely gorgeous story well worth the price of admission.

The big questions I’m sure several of you have is, “OK, Marshall, but what’s next? Where is the next novell? Especially a Maradaine novel?” And the answer is: going slowly, but not as slowly as it had gone in 2023.

I feel we’ve reached the point where I do owe some degree of apology. As I’ve said before, I needed to prioritize a new novel that was not Maradaine related, as much as my brain wanted to dive into An Unkindness of Uncircled Mages, I had to work something else first, a solid, sellable non-Maradaine novel.

Part of the problem was that I had a few in mind— I’ve mentioned them somewhat vaguely in the past— and without a locked in idea of which was the best choice, I wanted to write all of them, which, I’ve learned is not something I can do. I’ve definitely confirmed that I can only draft one novel at a time. Finally I settled on one that was tentatively titled The City of Eleven Arts, but something wasn’t working with that. I tried pivoting it in another direction, but, again, it wasn’t coming together. The blood wasn’t flowing, and that was the cast through all of 2023, and much of early 2024. I needed to reset.

So, I stopped and reassessed completely, taking that pivot idea and rebuilding it from scratch, outlining it fresh. And that, provisionally titled The Mansion of Fury, started really coming together. Finally, the work had blood flowing to it. It’s coming along strongly, and I expect the draft will be done sometime in January, provided Austin seasonal cedar allergies don’t shut my brain down. Once that’s drafted and polished, then I’ll start going to agents with it, and while that process is going on, feel comfortable about attacking Unkindness in earnest.

So, when will books actually come out? I can’t say, of course, especially with them not done. I hope soon, and I’m going to start being more active with communication on all these fronts with specific schedules and accountability. Back in the day, I was blogging every Monday and Thursday, and I dropped that because it was getting to be burdensome, and I felt I no longer had something to prove. Well, at this point I’m starint to feel maybe I do again, though I won’t go to bi-weekly. Maybe bi-monthly. Definitely monthly at the bare minimum.

The point is, I will be better about reminding you all what I’m up to, and doing my best to stay accountable for the work I’m doing.

But now, a quick recap of what I did in 2024, in the form of an eligibility post:

• Novella: The Royal First Irregulars

• Short Story: Chasing the Sun (appearing in Traveling LIght)

• Anthology: Traveling Light: Tales of the Magical Gates (w/ Worldbuilding for Masochists/Cass Morris & Rowenna Miller)

• Editor, Short Form: Traveling Light (w/ Cass Morris & Rowenna Miller)

• Podcast/Fancast: Worldbuilding for Masochists (w/ Cass Morris & Natania Barron)

In the meantime, some links as reminders of the new and old stuff:

Traveling Light: https://bookshop.org/a/16841/9781958743409

The Royal First Irregulars: https://bookshop.org/a/16841/9781958743423

The Velocity of Revolution: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-velocity-of-revolution-marshall-ryan-maresca/21336936?ean=9781958743300

The Maradaine Saga to date: https://bookshop.org/lists/the-maradaine-saga

Do You Wanna Read A Sample?

 A thing I get asked a lot about my books is the question "What should I start with?"  And I'll admit, it can be a little harrowing for me to answer that question.  Which one would you like best?  What's your best entry point into my work?  I don't always know how to answer that.

I thought to myself, "If only there was a way I could offer folks a free sample so they could see if they liked any of my series and they could decide if they wanted to buy the books and continue."

And then I realized, "Wait, I can totally offer a free sample."

So here it is!  A free ebook you can download with the first few chapters of The Thorn of Dentonhill, A Murder of Mages, The Holver Alley Crew, Way of the Shield and The Velocity of Revolution.  If you've yet to read any of my work and are curious to try it out, here's a safe, no-risk, no-commitment way to give it a shot, and then, if you're so inclined, come back and try the rest!

 

July Report: Glasgow, Traveling Light & Royal First Irregulars

 Hello friends!

Once again, it’s been too long since I’ve done a proper update, and there is so much going on!

First of all, I will be attending Worldcon in Glasgow, where Worldbuilding for Masochists is up for another Hugo.  (And if you’ve got the inclination to vote and haven’t yet, there’s still time!  And if you are inclined to vote for Worldbuilding for Masochists for Best Fancast, we would greatly appreciate it!)  If you are also at Glasgow, please say hello!  

Also, I’ll be at ArmadilloCon in September.  More on that as we get closer to it.

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Now the big question is, what about writing?  Well, I’ve got a little news on that front.  For one, Worldbuidling for Masocists has put together an anthology with some brilliant authors set in the world of the magical gates that we have been building on air.  Traveling Light: Tales of the Magical Gates comes out August 13th and you can pre-order it now!

 

The other side of the world could be just a step away...

Whether loved, despised, or just a fact of life, the Gates connect all parts of the globe to each other in an interwoven web linking disparate cultures and forming strange relationships. And whether you're a seasoned Traveler or a neophyte, when you step through a Gate, you won't be the same on the other side.

For one thing, you'll be naked.

The Gates only admit living beings - but living beings always bring with them their knowledge, their faith, their languages, their skills, and their beliefs. Some nations embrace the Gates. Others fear them. For some nations, they are the beating hearts of trade, centers for the exchange of language and philosophy, hubs of adventure and discovery. For others, they are useless dead-ends, objects of terror, or outright threats.

In this anthology, twelve authors explore the adventures, intrigues, and discoveries, large and small, global and personal, that occur because of the interconnections of these incredible magical Gates.

I’ve got one story in there, plus there are stories from Marie Brennan, Mike Chen, J.C. Pillard, Victor Manibo, Kate Elliott, Rowenna Miller, Lindsey Carmichal, Natania Barron, Cass Morris, Valerie Valdes and Michael Underwood.  I am reall proud of this anthology, and I encourage you to check it out!

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ALSO, I have a new Maradaine novella coming in September, The Royal First Irregulars!

Lt. Fredelle Pence and the other women of the Royal First Irregulars are elite soldiers, skilled in their weapons of choice to the level of art. But the Royal First Irregulars aren't treated like elite soldiers, but as a traveling sideshow. Sent on a "morale tour", they’re ordered to travel from base to base across the kingdom, using their skills only in staged performance, usually only to jeers and catcalls.

Life on tour brings opportunity, as Fredelle and the other Irregulars learn of a band of marauders attacking a village. They defy orders and go after the raiders, to prove once and for all just what they are capable of. But proving that becomes more of a test then they ever suspected, and the cost to all of them will be higher than they bargained for.

Pre-Order Now!

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But you are asking, rightfully, what about further Maradaine novels?  A valid question.  I’ve been working on An Unkindness of Uncircled Mages, but it’s been slower going than I would like.  But it is still going!  I hope to have news for you on that soon.  Plus I am working on a new non-Maradaine project, which I don’t want to talk too much about, other than to say I am writing it with someone else (it’s my wife!), and it’s been an incredible process so far. 

That’s all for now!  

 

New Editions, New Host, and more!

 So, once again, it’s been a bit since I’ve communicated.  But this time there is news!  I’m thrilled to report that there are going to be new releases of all the Maradaine Saga books from Artemisia Books.  The Thorn of Dentonhill and A Murder of Mages are already out, and the rest of Phase One will be coming out in February!

• FEBRUARY 6th: The Holver Alley Crew and Way of the Shield
• FEBRUARY 13th: The Alchemy of Chaos, An Import of Intrigue, Lady Henterman’s Wardrobe and Shield of the People
• FEBRUARY 20th: The Imposters of Aventil, A Parliament of Bodies, The Fenmere Job and People of the City

We’ll be seeing An Unintended Voyage coming out mid-March, and both The Assassins of Consequence and The Quarrygate Gambit.All of these are being released as trade paperback and e-book, which also means these will be the first time Assassins and Quarrygate will be released in physical media! All of them will be $17.99 (USD) for trade paperback and $3.99 for ebook.  

However, if you go to the Artemisia website, you can find direct purchase links for the trade paperbacks for $14.99, and week of release for each, on my website, there will be a special limited time purchase link for each one for $11.99, including Thorn and Murder the first week.

Beyond that, further Maradaine Phase Two titles will be coming out from Artemisia, with the fourth Maradaine Constabulary novel, An Unkindness of Uncircled Mages, hopefully out before the end of the year.

Also, just so you know it’s not forgotten, The Velocity of Revolution will get its own Artemisia re-release, most likely in May, but there’s still some details to hammer out there so it might take a little longer.

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about the podcast!  We’ve had some big changes, namely we’ve now been joined by the amazing Natania Barron!  If you’ve not caught up yet, go check it out!  The past few episodes we’ve not had any additional guests, so we could get into a new rhythm with Natania, but in upcoming episodes we’ll be joined  by some brilliant writers like Fonda Lee, Melissa Caruso, Gwenda Bond, Premee Mohammad and more!

In February I’ll be appearing at FenCon, so if you are in the greater DFW area and wish to say hello, here’s a great chance.  That’ll be February 23-25.

Also, in addition to all the above, I have a few more things in the works, but nothing I can really talk about yet.  I’m excited to share it all when I can.

Where did 2023 go, exactly?

 So, it has been a bit since a proper update, hasn’t it?

About this time last year, I dropped the news about things ending for me at DAW, my plans for the future, especially regarding Phase Two of Maradaine, and that 2023 would be more of a “rebuilding year”.  

That last one was more true than I realized.

This past year has been especially challenging— really the past few years, but 2023 especially.  Some of it I’ve talked about publicly, but in brief: significant legal and financial entanglements with my wife’s family, health and accidental injury challenges with my father, myself and my son, further crises and emergencies that are, frankly, almost comically absurd and melodramatic.  It’s honestly been great fiction fodder, but terrible to live through.  Add in that I’ve been trying to focus on finishing a non-Maradaine book, which has been… challenging to say the least, in no small part due to all the things above.  Needless to say, 2023 has been the least productive writing year I’ve had in well over a decade.   I’ve not finished anywhere near what I had hoped I would have by now.  

But sometimes it’s good for fields to lay fallow and regenerate.  Hopefully that’s what’s been happening.  I’ve been accused of being a writing machine, and that machine probably required some maintenance, and we’ll be in a better place moving forward.  

What this means is, as much as I’d love to give you all some concrete dates for An Unkindness of Uncircled Mages , City of the Truth and those further Phase Two books, I’d love to tell you I’ve finished a non-Maradaine book, I’d love to tell you I have a new agent, welll, I can’t do any of that.  Hopefully 2024 will bring more news that I can share along those lines.  

However, there are some things I can share!

I did write a story for the upcoming Traveling Light anthology set in the world we’ve been building on Worldbuilding for Masochists podcast, which we plan on releasing in August 2024.  

I am releasing the next Maradaine Saga Short, the novelette The Withered Boy.  It’s the story of a young man in an island community, outcast for the belief that he’s to serve a greater destiny out in the world.  It will come out on December 5th.  Also on December 5th, I’m releasing my own updated versions of Thorn of Dentonhill and A Murder of Mages, as trade paperbacks and e-books, and The Alchemy of Chaos and An Import of Intrigue will follow soon after.  And we’ll continue to release these “Marshall’s version” of Phase One of the Maradaine Saga as I get rights returned to me.  

And since we’re at the end of another year, how about a list of any awards-eligible works I had this year?

Novelette: Hultichia and The Withered Boy

Series:The Maradaine Saga (thanks to the above novelettes)

Podcast/Fancast: Worldbuilding for Masochists

That’s all for now.  After all, I have quite a bit of work to do.

ArmadilloCon!

 

Hi folks!  I know I am overdue for some State of the Writer communication, but for now, I’ve got just a brief update that I’m at ArmadilloCon this weekend!   I will give a more indepth update in the near future.

In the meantime, here is my schedule for ArmadilloCon:

Friday, August 4

9pm

It's An Epic Urban Gaslight Fantasy with Atompunk Aesthetics: The Evergrowing Subgenres of Fan

Ballroom E, 9pm - 9:45pm

R.W.W. Greene (moderator), Marshall Ryan Maresca, Ari Marmell, Marie Brennan, Sara A Mueller

Subgenres make it easier for audiences to find the kind of fantasy they are looking for, but they also can be a headache of forcing things into labeled boxes. Do we need better labels or more boxes? Why are we naming things -punk and -core? How can we help someone who might love a dieselpunk story find it if the word “dieselpunk” already makes them tear their hair out? Is there a better way?

Saturday, August 5

12pm

You Call This Archaeology? 40+ Years of Indiana Jones

Ballroom E, 12pm - 12:45pm

Mark Finn (moderator), Marshall Ryan Maresca, Avery Parks, David Afsharirad

This year saw the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth movie in a franchise that launched in 1981— a franchise that also included a television series, spin-off books, comics, video games, and gave a generation wrong ideas about archaeology. We get nostalgic for a series that was, itself, nostalgic of the cliffhanger serials of the 30s and 40s. Is there still more life in this franchise, or does it belong in a museum?

1pm

The MCU: What Was Phase IV? What Is Phase V?

Ballroom E, 1pm - 1:45pm

Alan J. Porter (moderator), Aaron de Orive, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, Robert Jackson Bennett, Jess Nevins

The MCU Finished Phase III in 2019, and since then, the discourse has gravitated around one core concept: Where is it going now, and why? For better or worse, it has now finished Phase IV, and the question "What was Phase IV about?" is a very valid one to ask. And now with Phase V underway, where is it going? And, do we need to know where it's going? Or does the very nature of knowing what's coming next color our interpretation of what's happening now?

3pm

Autographing: Maresca - Ransom - Wells

Marshall Ryan Maresca, Martha Wells, Tonia Ransom

Autographing

5pm

Building and Fostering a SFF Community

Brenda Noiseux (moderator), Holly Lyn Walrath, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Jessica Reisman, Sequoia Nagamatsu, D.L. Young

WIth so much of the publishing industry falling apart, means of promotion and connection collapsing, and three years of pandemic isolation, it's clear that the best thing to help us all strive and succeed in the coming years is each other. How can we find each other, lift each other up, and make the genre and the community a better place?

Sunday, August 6

10am

Reading - Maresca

Conference Center, 10am - 10:30am

Marshall Ryan Maresca

12pm

Crafting Court Intrigue & Battle Scenes

Ballroom D, 12pm - 12:45pm

Patrice Sarath (moderator), Marshall Ryan Maresca, Aparna Verma, Eva L. Elasigue, Nia "N.E." Davenport , C.S. Humble

Some of the most memorable moments in a book or a TV show/film is a battle or fight scene (think: the fighting montage in Everything Everywhere All at Once or the epic, Middle Earth-shaking Battle of the Pelennor Fields), as well as the intricate, thorny court politics that led to these battles. So how does one write an effective and memorable battle scene? How do you set the stakes? What makes court intrigue interesting and nefarious, versus contrived and tasteless?

1pm

How to Build & Implement A World Bible: Methodologies, Infrastructure, & Tools

Ballroom F, 1pm - 1:45pm

Marie Brennan (moderator), Marshall Ryan Maresca, Sara A Mueller, C.L. Irwin , Eleanor Haglund

A discussion of world bible building "best practices" which would also include a brief overview and comparison of various world bible building systems and software like Scrivener world bible templates, World Anvil, Campfire + worldbuilding add-on pack, Scapple, Plottr, Aeon Timeline, Obsidian.MD, etc.. We could also discuss the pros and cons of each method and/or tool.

Hultichia, February 7th!

 Good morning! My novelette, HULTICHIA, is coming out in ebook and paperback in two weeks! So I will be shouting louder about it in the coming days.

HULTICHIA is a standalone story in the Maradaine setting, and like THE MYSTICAL MURDERS OF YIN MARA, takes us to another part of the world, the neighboring nation of Kellirac.

Several of our main characters in the Maradaine Saga have Kelliracqui heritage-- notably Veranix, Minox and Corrie. And Corrie meets a Kell Death Caller in the Mocassa in AN UNINTENDED VOYAGE. But here's the first time we'll see someone going there.

Our traveller is Aurien Pemmick, who Maradaine readers have met as Reverend Pemmick, the priest of St. Julian's who has been The Thorn's ally in the streets of Aventil.

Here we see him before he comes a Reverend, on his own journey of his faith.

HULTICHIA is a complete standalone, and you do not need to read any of the rest of the Maradaine Saga to enjoy it.

But I would still advise you read the entire Maradaine Saga, because... why wouldn't I? Of course I want you to read it all.

But it can be an excellent gateway to get a taste of the world of Maradaine.

So you can dip your toe in before you dive into all the rest.

And "all the rest" is... quite a bit, after all.