tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39678066109573603972024-02-18T23:48:53.425-08:00Marshall Ryan MarescaI am a fantasy & sci-fi writer as well as a playwright, living in Austin TX.Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.comBlogger913125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-15305864687010526892024-01-30T07:00:00.000-08:002024-01-30T07:00:00.130-08:00New Editions, New Host, and more!<p> <span style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;">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 </span><em style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;">all</em><span style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;"> the Maradaine Saga books from Artemisia Books. </span><em style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;"><strong>The Thorn of Dentonhill</strong></em><span style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;"> and </span><em style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;"><strong>A Murder of Mages </strong></em><span style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;">are already out, and the rest of Phase One will be coming out in February!</span></p><ul class="last-child"><li><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><strong>FEBRUARY 6th: </strong><em><strong>The Holver Alley Crew</strong></em> and <em><strong>Way of the Shield</strong></em></span></li><li><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><strong>FEBRUARY 13th: </strong><em><strong>The Alchemy of Chaos</strong></em>, <em><strong>An Import of Intrigue</strong></em>, <em><strong>Lady Henterman’s Wardrobe</strong></em> and <em><strong>Shield of the People</strong></em></span></li><li><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><strong>FEBRUARY 20th: </strong><em><strong>The Imposters of Aventil</strong></em>, <em><strong>A Parliament of Bodies</strong></em>, <em><strong>The Fenmere Job</strong></em> and <em><strong>People of the City</strong></em></span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><img alt="" class="imageDropZone mceImage aligncenter" data-block-id="43" height="auto" role="presentation" src="https://mcusercontent.com/6445ec6a41305de313b69eefa/images/e7afd633-3482-ab14-28dc-ef47aeaf4dc3.jpg" width="564" /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">We’ll be seeing <em><strong>An Unintended Voyage</strong></em> coming out mid-March, and both <em><strong>The Assassins of Consequence</strong></em> and <em><strong>The Quarrygate Gambit</strong></em>.All of these are being released as trade paperback and e-book, which also means these will be the first time <em><strong>Assassins</strong></em> and <em><strong>Quarrygate</strong></em> will be released in physical media! All of them will be $17.99 (USD) for trade paperback and $3.99 for ebook. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">However, if you go to the <a href="https://artemisiapub.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Artemisia website</a>, you can find direct purchase links for the trade paperbacks for $14.99, and week of release for each, on <a href="http://mrmaresca.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>my </em>website</a>, there will be a special limited time purchase link for each one for $11.99, including <em><strong>Thorn</strong></em> and <em><strong>Murder</strong></em> the first week.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Beyond that, <em>further</em> Maradaine Phase Two titles will be coming out from Artemisia, with the fourth Maradaine Constabulary novel, <em><strong>An Unkindness of Uncircled Mages</strong></em>, hopefully out before the end of the year.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Also, just so you know it’s not forgotten, <em><strong>The Velocity of Revolution</strong></em> 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.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><img alt="" class="imageDropZone mceImage" data-block-id="16" height="auto" role="presentation" src="https://mcusercontent.com/6445ec6a41305de313b69eefa/images/3464ad0f-a106-9e56-e938-52937c8bf17e.jpeg" width="564" /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">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 <a href="https://www.nataniabarron.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Natania Barron</a>! 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!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">In February I’ll be appearing at <a href="http://www.fencon.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em><strong>FenCon</strong></em></a>, 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.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">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.</span></p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-32650361104666487062023-11-23T06:29:00.000-08:002023-11-23T06:29:19.592-08:00Where did 2023 go, exactly?<p> <span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px;">So, it has been a bit since a proper update, hasn’t it?</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">About this time last year, I dropped the news about things <a href="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/quarrygate-gambit-release-day-and-news-of-the-future/">ending for me at DAW</a>, my plans for the future, especially regarding <a href="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/maradaine-phase-two-announcement/">Phase Two of Maradaine</a>, and that <a href="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/the-end-of-2022-in-house-maresca-eligibility-social-media-and-the-future/">2023 would be more of a “rebuilding year”</a>. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">That last one was more true than I realized.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This past year has been especially challenging— really the past few years, but 2023 especially.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>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.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It’s honestly been great fiction fodder, but terrible to live through.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>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.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Needless to say, 2023 has been the least productive writing year I’ve had in well over a decade. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I’ve not finished <i>anywhere near</i> what I had hoped I would have by now. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But sometimes it’s good for fields to lay fallow and regenerate.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Hopefully that’s what’s been happening.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>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. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">What this means is, as much as I’d <i>love</i> to give you all some concrete dates for <b><i>An Unkindness of Uncircled Mages</i></b> , <b><i>City of the Truth</i></b> and those further Phase Two books, I’d <i>love </i>to tell you I’ve finished a non-Maradaine book, I’d <i>love </i>to tell you I have a new agent, welll, I can’t do any of that.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Hopefully 2024 will bring more news that I can share along those lines. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">However, there are some things I can share!</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I did write a story for the upcoming <b><i>Traveling Light</i></b> anthology set in the world we’ve been building on <a href="https://worldbuildingformasochists.podbean.com/"><b><i>Worldbuilding for Masochists</i></b></a><b><i> </i></b>podcast, which we plan on releasing in August 2024. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I am releasing the next Maradaine Saga Short, the novelette <a href="https://amzn.to/3R8jyTD"><b><i>The Withered Boy</i></b></a>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>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.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It will come out on December 5th.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Also </i>on December 5th, I’m releasing my own updated versions of <b><i>Thorn of Dentonhill </i></b>and <b><i>A Murder of Mages, </i></b>as trade paperbacks and e-books, and <b><i>The Alchemy of Chaos </i></b>and <b><i>An Import of Intrigue</i></b> will follow soon after.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>And we’ll continue to release these “Marshall’s version” of Phase One of the Maradaine Saga as I get rights returned to me. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And since we’re at the end of another year, how about a list of any awards-eligible works I had this year?</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Novelette: <i>Hultichia</i></b> and <b><i>The Withered Boy</i></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Series:<i>The Maradaine Saga </i></b>(thanks to the above novelettes)</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Podcast/Fancast: <i>Worldbuilding for Masochists</i></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">That’s all for now.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>After all, I have quite a bit of work to do.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-86790202936571665942023-08-03T14:53:00.001-07:002023-08-03T14:53:09.989-07:00ArmadilloCon!<p> </p><p><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Hi folks!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>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! <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I will give a more indepth update in the near future.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In the meantime, here is my schedule for ArmadilloCon:</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Friday, August 4</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">9pm</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It's An Epic Urban Gaslight Fantasy with Atompunk Aesthetics: The Evergrowing Subgenres of Fan</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Ballroom E, 9pm - 9:45pm</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">R.W.W. Greene (moderator), Marshall Ryan Maresca, Ari Marmell, Marie Brennan, Sara A Mueller</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">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?</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Saturday, August 5</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">12pm</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">You Call This Archaeology? 40+ Years of Indiana Jones</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Ballroom E, 12pm - 12:45pm</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Mark Finn (moderator), Marshall Ryan Maresca, Avery Parks, David Afsharirad</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">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?</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">1pm</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The MCU: What Was Phase IV? What Is Phase V?</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Ballroom E, 1pm - 1:45pm</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Alan J. Porter (moderator), Aaron de Orive, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, Robert Jackson Bennett, Jess Nevins</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">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?</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">3pm</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Autographing: Maresca - Ransom - Wells</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Marshall Ryan Maresca, Martha Wells, Tonia Ransom</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Autographing</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">5pm</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Building and Fostering a SFF Community</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Brenda Noiseux (moderator), Holly Lyn Walrath, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Jessica Reisman, Sequoia Nagamatsu, D.L. Young</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">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?</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Sunday, August 6</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">10am</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Reading - Maresca</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Conference Center, 10am - 10:30am</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Marshall Ryan Maresca</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">12pm</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Crafting Court Intrigue & Battle Scenes</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Ballroom D, 12pm - 12:45pm</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Patrice Sarath (moderator), Marshall Ryan Maresca, Aparna Verma, Eva L. Elasigue, Nia "N.E." Davenport , C.S. Humble</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">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?</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">1pm</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">How to Build & Implement A World Bible: Methodologies, Infrastructure, & Tools</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Ballroom F, 1pm - 1:45pm</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Marie Brennan (moderator), Marshall Ryan Maresca, Sara A Mueller, C.L. Irwin , Eleanor Haglund</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">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.</p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-52996248282071120822023-01-23T08:59:00.003-08:002023-01-23T08:59:35.566-08:00Hultichia, February 7th!<p> 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.</p><p>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.</p><p><img class="tl-email-image" data-id="4916633" height="282" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/8fdc7735-9cca-6e61-f9ee-018e5b8d9d57.jpg" width="640" /></p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>Here we see him before he comes a Reverend, on his own journey of his faith.</p><p>HULTICHIA is a complete standalone, and you do not need to read any of the rest of the Maradaine Saga to enjoy it.</p><p>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.</p><p>But it can be an <em>excellent</em> gateway to get a taste of the world of Maradaine.</p><p>So you can dip your toe in before you dive into all the rest.</p><p>And "all the rest" is... quite a bit, after all.</p><p dir="ltr"><img class="tl-email-image" data-id="4916641" height="533" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/cfb986ae-3e8b-02ef-c69f-97b4b54afc5c.jpg" width="640" /></p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-40608989973997761482022-12-06T12:08:00.002-08:002022-12-06T12:08:36.157-08:00The End of 2022 in House Maresca: Eligibility, Social Media, and the Future<p> <span style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;">We're at the end of another year, and friends, this one was a </span><em style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;">blur</em><span style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;">. Honestly, I don't even know where it went. But I did do quite a few things throughout the year, so here is my humble reminder of the things I have done in 2022 for which I am eligible.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><img class="tl-email-image aligncenter" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/164656bc-1f90-fb73-42cc-8b3d5d94496a.jpg" data-id="4864538" height="344" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/164656bc-1f90-fb73-42cc-8b3d5d94496a.jpg" width="640" /></span></p><p dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">I put out three whole books this year! Well, two novels and a novella, but still. Despite publishing challenges, especially with Assassins & Quarrygate, I'm proud of the books themselves and the work I did.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">So I'm eligible for:</span><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><b>Best Novel: THE ASSASSINS OF CONSEQUENCE<br />Best Novel: THE QUARRYGATE GAMBIT<br />Best Novella: THE MYSTICAL MURDERS OF YIN MARA<br />Best Series: THE MARADAINE SAGA*</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">And of course, also:</span><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><strong>Best Fancast/Podcast: WORLDBUILDING FOR MASOCHISTS<br /><img class="tl-email-image aligncenter" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/2d0d1dbf-7266-7c45-a652-56533858596d.jpeg" data-id="4864534" height="334" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/2d0d1dbf-7266-7c45-a652-56533858596d.jpeg" width="640" /></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">So if you are empowered and inclined to nominate me for any of those categories in any awards, I would greatly appreciate it!</span><br /><br /></p><p class="p1"><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif; font-size: 8pt;"><span class="s1">*-So, as we know, the rules about Best Series are designed to keep the same thing from being nominated every single year, with another two volumes and 240K being necessary to be eligible again. Which is a pretty good rule, it even takes Seanan two years to fulfill that one.<br /></span><span class="s1">BUT for 2022:<br /></span><span class="s1">The Assassins of Consequence 105000<br /></span><span class="s1">The Mystical Murders of Yin Mara 37000<br /></span><span class="s1">Quarrygate Gambit 101800<br /></span><span class="s1">TOTAL 243800<br /></span><span class="s1">Admittedly, it's a completely academic point, as it wasn't like I was otherwise ineligible this year, nor likely to be nominated. Still, it's a nice, if silly accomplishment.</span></span></p><hr /><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">In other news, despite the near-collapse of Twitter, it does kind of remain my preferred location for daily musings and whatever else is going on with me. But I will likely be using my blog more often! Not my pre-2018 levels of twice a week, but more often.</span><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">But if YOU are fleeing Twitter (or were wise enough to never get on it), here are other places to find me.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Linktree: https://linktr.ee/marshallryanmaresca</span><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Website: http://mrmaresca.com</span><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Mailing LIst: https://tinyletter.com/mrmaresca</span><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Insta: https://instagram.com/mrmaresca/</span><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Mast: @mrmaresca@wandering.shop</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">I'm trying some of the other social medias, but.... not really vibing on any of them. But most other places I'm likely "mrmaresca", so if you are trying to find me other places not mentioned above, that's a good bet. I mean, "Marshall Ryan Maresca" is a unique name-- you look it up, you find me. For better or for worse.</span></p><hr /><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">So, what's next for 2023. As I mentioned elsewhere, it will be something of a "re-building" year where I won't have much scheduled to come out. BUT I am working hard on a number of things, including making good on <a data-cke-saved-href="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/maradaine-phase-two-announcement/" href="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/maradaine-phase-two-announcement/">the big announcement</a> from last month. Along those lines, you can expect the Maradaine Saga Short <strong><em>Hultichia</em> </strong>to come out early 2023. More details on that to come, but it will be a novelette length, featuring another secondary character from the <strong><em>Thorn</em></strong> series in a starring role.</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">A mysterious and disturbing summons brings Aurien Pemmick, novitiate with the Church of Druthal, to Kellirac, the peculiar and suspicious country on the eastern border.He is determined to find his old mentor, no matter what threats Kellirac throws at him.But since Pemmick arrives at the eve of Hultichia, a night where the locals claim the dead will walk, Kellirac proves to be a place of dangers beyond the natural realm. Pemmick’s faith is tested against Kellirac superstition, even as his mission threatens to drag him into madness, and the darkest night of his life falls.</span></p></blockquote><p dir="ltr"><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">That's all from this end, more news for you soon.</span></p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-45149914301004059082022-11-14T12:22:00.003-08:002022-11-14T12:22:32.393-08:00Maradaine Phase Two Announcement<p> <img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-2807" height="135" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Phase-Two-Teaser-Banner-1024x171.jpg" width="810" /></p><p>All right, I've held my tongue long enough, and in light of recent news, there's no reason <em>not</em> to tell you all my full intentions for <strong>Phase Two of the Maradaine Saga</strong><em>. </em>After all, both <em><strong>The Assassins of Consequence</strong></em> and <em><strong>The Quarrygate Gambit</strong></em> have come out, and if you've finished those books, you've seen the tease for what comes next.</p><p>So, without further ado:</p><p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-2808" height="371" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Phase-II-Announce-Final-1024x469.jpg" width="810" /></p><p>Yes, that is a lot! So what can I tell you about all of this? I've already told you about the <a href="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/big-announcement-the-mystical-murders-of-yin-mara-and-more/">Saga Shorts</a>, though there might be some timeline shifts there (<em><strong>Hultichia</strong></em><strong> </strong>will probably come out in early 2023, rather than trying to squeeze it in among the holidays.)</p><p>But the rest? Let's go through it!</p><p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2810" height="191" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Unkindness-Announce-300x191.jpg" width="300" /></p><blockquote><p><strong><em>Satrine investigates a serial killer, while Minox’s time in restricted desk duty nears its end, and he hopes to be reinstated as he works on learning how to control his magic. But when Minox’s cousin Evoy goes missing, he's thrown into turmoil as his search dovetails into Satrine’s investigation. As they both track an Uncircled Mage they suspect is the killer, the real danger may closer to them than they ever thought.</em></strong></p></blockquote><p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2811" height="191" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/City-Anounce-300x191.jpg" width="300" /></p><blockquote><p><strong><em>Dayne and Jerinne face ratcheting tensions in the city as the political trial of Tharek Pell launches a radical movement, and the plans of the Grand Ten come to a head. The entire Druth government, from the Crown to the Parliament, could be unraveled as plots and secrets come to light.</em></strong></p></blockquote><p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2812" height="191" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/King-Announce-300x191.jpg" width="300" /></p><blockquote><p><strong><em>The chaos of the Fenmere empire and the Aventil gangs is only intensified by a new leader taking command of the Sons of Tyson, making war on all parties. Veranix is determined to keep out of it and focus on his education, but all the magic students are recruited to help hunt this new "Thorn". Veranix finds himself pressed on all sides, and he must finally decide which part of his life has his true loyalty, before everything is burned down.</em></strong></p></blockquote><p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2813" height="191" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Andrendon-Announce-300x191.jpg" width="300" /></p><blockquote><p><em><strong>Asti and Verci work to</strong> pull together every ally they have, using every clever plan and gadget they can put together, for one grand scheme to dismantle the financial and political forces behind the Andrendon project, before their entire neighborhood is destroyed.</em></p></blockquote><p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2814" height="191" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Pride-Announce-300x191.jpg" width="300" /></p><blockquote><p><strong><em>Minox and Satrine secretly work together to bring down the ringleaders at the heart of the conspiracies plaguing the constabulary, finding themselves completely without allies. Everything they believe in is put to the test as they discover the tendrils of corruption continuing to spread through Maradaine.</em></strong></p></blockquote><p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2815" height="191" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Truth-Announce-300x191.jpg" width="300" /></p><blockquote><p><strong><em>Dayne and Jerinne work to expose the real truth of the Grand Ten, forcing them to confront the lies that the nation was built on, while striving to hold onto the very spirit of Druthal that they believes in. To defend everything they love about the country, they might have to become rebels against the crown and parliament.</em></strong></p></blockquote><p> </p><p>FINALLY, I'm often asked this question: will there be another book for Corrie Welling and the other Displaced Daughters? The answer is a tentative yes, and it will likely have the same sort of "interlude between phases" placement that <em><strong>An Unintended Voyage</strong></em><em> </em>had. But title, format, etc. is still in flux. So more news when that's a little more solidified.</p><p>This, combined with the other projects I've got working, should keep me pretty busy for a while. I won't make a timeline-based announcement for these titles, but let's tentatively say that 2023 will be a rebuilding year, and we'll start to see real momentum in 2024.</p><p>Thank you all so much for your continued support.</p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-30756777524967600762022-11-08T10:00:00.002-08:002022-11-08T10:00:00.205-08:00Quarrygate Gambit Release Day, And News of the Future<p> <span style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;">Today is the release day for The Quarrygate Gambit, and it’s somewhat bittersweet this time around. This will be the last Maradaine novel published with DAW Books. I’m not done writing them, but I have no further contracts publishing them with DAW.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">See, The Quarrygate Gambit, the fourth Streets of Maradaine novel, much like The Assassins of Consequence back in March, is being released as e-book only. Which has been a thing this whole year that I’ve been reticent to really dive into. But it’s time to talk about it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Coming out and talking about this publicly brings me absolutely no joy. The last thing I wanted to do was complain, especially since, in comparison to so many in the publishing industry, I’ve been incredibly fortunate.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">But these two books coming out as just e-books has harmed my ability to reach readers. I can’t take further contracts without certain guarantees, and I don’t currently have an agent to fight for that for me. I’ve parted ways with my agent for various reasons. </span><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">I won’t detail said reasons because I have zero interest in publicly dragging, and they stemmed largely from other circumstances in his life taking priority, and nothing of malice or harm. I’m not angry with him, he’s a good guy who just couldn’t do the job anymore.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">The point is, I’ve left my agent, and have the unenviable task of having to find a new one while everything else here is happening. Which means not just having to pivot right now, but possibly do a hard reset on my whole career.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">And this is on me for having, perhaps, too much ambition in what I was trying to do. I mean, I put out four intertwined trilogies that came together in the twelfth book, and then had the audacity to say, “And that finishes Phase One.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">I don’t think I’m talking out of turn to say that the marketing and promotion for my work never reached the same level as my ambition. PRH fundamentally never understood what Maradaine was in the first place, and they’re who handled DAW’s marketing. </span><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">In not understanding that, they never knew HOW to promote it. Here I am, with a book that is, all at once: Book Four of a series, Book 15 of a Saga, and the second book of Phase Two. How DO you promote that? </span><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Is it even possible to sell that if you haven’t already communicated what the Maradaine Saga is to your potential audience? If you haven’t bought into that yourself? PRH never did, and therefore I spun further and further down the proverbial “death spiral”.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Thus, the decision, imposed by PRH, that THE ASSASSINS OF CONSEQUENCE and THE QUARRYGATE GAMBIT were to be ebook only. Last year, PRH decided a number of books on the upcoming DAW slate weren’t worth printing. </span><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Part of this is tied to the death of the Mass Market Paperback as a format, I’m given to understand. The point of MMPB was that they were cheap to print, and that’s no longer the case.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">So what could I do about it? I wanted to believe that things would work out in the long run. That this was a rough patch due to PRH, and there would be something better on the other side. </span><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">The other side is now DAW being part of Astra, and I hope that’s good news for them and the future. But, the decision to keep AOC and QG– as well as any Maradaine in the future– as only ebooks, well, that decision stood. So I have to walk away.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">If you’ve been following anything with DAW and the industry in general for the past few years, you know that I’m not the first to face this type of decision. You saw it with Michelle Sagara. You saw it with Cass Morris. And you won’t see me as the last, I can tell you that.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">To be clear, I’m not angry with DAW or Astra or Sheila Gilbert. Phase One of Maradaine, Velocity of Revolution, and An Unintended Voyage are great books that I’m proud of, and proud of the work we did together. I’m walking away, but on good terms.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">So what does this mean for me and my ambition? First off, I ended both ASSASSINS and QUARRYGATE with specific promises for the future, as well as making an overall promise regarding Phase Two of Maradaine. </span><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">And I’d like to think my track record of 16 novels from 2015-2022, not to mention four years of a Hugo-nominated podcast has earned me enough benefit of the doubt in terms of my ability to get it done. Because, frankly, I’m too stubborn and too ambitious to quit now.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">SO: I’m making that promise to you all, and I’m a man of my word. I will finish Phase Two of the Maradaine Saga, and get that to you all. It will take me a little longer than I had originally hoped, but I will get it done. </span><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">How and where, and especially WHEN– that’s in the air. As this thread indicates, I’ve got a lot of things to sort out. Both with the future of Maradaine, and other writing endeavors. I’ve got some brand new projects in the works that I’m very excited about.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">I’ll be talking about these things more when it’s more concrete. But 2023 is going to be a rebuilding year for me. Lots of work to do, and I’m looking forward to it.</span></p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-65601443552478394452022-10-27T15:00:00.001-07:002022-10-27T15:00:00.189-07:00Quarrygate Gambit!<p> I've been quiet of late, a lot of things going on that I hope to tell you about soon. Including: <strong><em>THE QUARRYGATE GAMBIT </em></strong>is coming out in just two weeks! I've been juggling so many balls it feels like it just snuck up on me. </p><p><img class="tl-email-image aligncenter" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/ff0936be-722b-c938-65ea-39e4bc48b4c1.jpg" data-id="4818941" height="644" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/ff0936be-722b-c938-65ea-39e4bc48b4c1.jpg" width="400" /></p><div><span class="a-text-bold">Mixing urban and high fantasy, the fourth Streets of Maradaine novel follows the crew of outlaws led by the Rynax brothers as they struggle to protect the city they love.</span><br /><br />After having thwarted some of the forces responsible for ruining their lives, reformed thieves Asti and Verci Rynax and the rest of the Holver Alley Crew had mostly settled back into sedate lives as upright citizens of Maradaine. But when they are suddenly arrested in mysterious circumstances, they find themselves in Quarrygate Prison, which tests the limits of their cunning and skill. While Verci struggles to keep their friends alive and safe in the prison, Asti gets pulled into a mysterious scheme in the underbelly of the prison, teaming him up with some of the most dangerous people in Maradaine. The cracks in Asti’s tenuous sanity get torn open as he is thrown into a cat-and-mouse game with one of the city’s most infamous killers.<br /> <br />Meanwhile back in their neighborhood, Verci’s wife Raych is desperate to help him and Asti and get them home. When her attempts to go through proper channels fail, she accepts a ludicrous deal from the local crime boss: Verci and Asti’s freedom in exchange for her pulling off a daring, nigh-impossible heist that would challenge even seasoned thieves. Raych doesn’t know how a simple baker like her could hope to succeed at such a task, but she will use every trick and wild idea she has to help her family. None of the Rynaxes will rest until they are free from Quarrygate and together at home again, no matter the risk, no matter the cost.</div><p><br />Please pre-order at your favorite place: <a data-cke-saved-href="https://amzn.to/3LltYdi" href="https://amzn.to/3LltYdi">AMAZON</a> | <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22Marshall%20Ryan%20Maresca%22" href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22Marshall%20Ryan%20Maresca%22">B&N</a> | <a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/contributors/marshall-ryan-maresca" href="https://bookshop.org/contributors/marshall-ryan-maresca">BOOKSHOP</a> | <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=author%3AMaresca%2C%20Marshall%20Ryan" href="https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=author%3AMaresca%2C%20Marshall%20Ryan">INDIEBOUND</a></p><p class="p1"><br />And, yes, like <strong><em>Assassins of Consequence</em></strong>, this one is e-book only. Will there be a paperback version? As with <strong><em>Assassins</em></strong>, I'm working on that, and you'll all be he first to know, just as with other news.<br /><br />So what else is happening? Well, there will be a BIG Maradaine Phase Two announcement very soon, as well as announcing other things in the future. I know I've been saying that for a while, but this one really is coming in just a couple weeks. But in the meantime, keep your eye out for the next Maradaine Saga short, <strong><em>Hultichia</em></strong>. This one is a novelette!<br /><br />Also, as I've noted below, I will not be appearing at World Fantasy like I previously planned. With the A Lot Of Things, if I also traveled next weekend, I'd fall over. None of us want that.<br /><br />Talk to you all very soon.</p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-34953015514384394662022-07-28T07:00:00.001-07:002022-07-28T07:00:00.182-07:00ArmadilloCon & Mystical Murders of Yin Mara Release!<p> </p><div><h2><img class=" tl-email-image" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/277d41ba-0fe1-fff9-7b31-0d5e74dae402.jpg" data-id="4721781" height="360" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/277d41ba-0fe1-fff9-7b31-0d5e74dae402.jpg" style="font-size: 1rem;" width="640" /><img class=" tl-email-image" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/41e81825-8b8a-1631-4874-c379dc41fd46.jpg" data-id="4721789" height="360" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/41e81825-8b8a-1631-4874-c379dc41fd46.jpg" style="font-size: 1rem;" width="640" /></h2>It's just about time for <a href="https://armadillocon.org/d44/">ArmadilloCon</a>! I'm very excited about this year's Con, as I got very hands on with programming this time around, which gave me the excuse to bring together some of my favorite people in SFF. <em>Including</em> putting myself, Cass Morris and Rowenna Miller in a room together for the first time! That's extremely exciting, and we're doing a <strong><em>Worldbuilding for Masochists</em></strong> live panel to celebrate. I'm thrilled.<br /><br />(And just as a reminder, <strong><em>Worldbuilding for Masochists </em></strong>is nominated for a Hugo, and you can still vote for the Hugos up until August 11th (<a data-cke-saved-href="https://chicon.org/" href="https://chicon.org/">https://chicon.org/</a>).)<br /><br />But if you want to know my ENTIRE schedule, here goes:<br /><br /><div style="padding-left: 40px;"><u><strong>Book Release Party! Fri 9:00 PM<br /></strong></u>Texas authors Sim Kern and Marshall Ryan Maresca release their latest books! Come for celebrate with them and their new books, REAL SUGAR IS HARD TO FIND (Kern) and THE MYSTICAL MURDERS OF YIN MARA (Maresca).<br /><em>Britta Jensen, Sim Kern, Marshall Ryan Maresca <br /></em><u><strong><br />Tiffany and Steve's Fantastical Adventure: The Fallacy of Authenticity Sat 11:00 AM<br /></strong></u>Too often in historical and secondary world fantasy, we are challenged with the idea of “authenticity”, but what actually IS authentic? What happens when authentic feels wrong? What happens when "wrong" feels authentic? And what even IS "wrong" when you're creating it from scratch?<br /><em>Cass Morris, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Skyler Gray, Natania Barron, Rowenna Miller, Steven Brust</em><em> <br /></em><br /><u><strong>Kaffeeklatch - Marshall Ryan Maresca Sat 12:00 PM</strong></u><u><strong> <br /></strong></u>Kaffeeklatch with Marshall Ryan Maresca<br /><u><strong><br />Cross-Genre Capers Sat 2:00 PM </strong></u><br />A discussion of capers and heists in fantasy and SF.<br /><em>Lauren C. Teffeau, Marina Lostetter, Mark Finn, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Jon Black<br /></em><br /><u><strong>It Was The Best of Times, It Was The Worst of Times: Fantasy Movies of the 80s Sat 5:00 PM<br /></strong></u>The decade gave us Conan the Barbarian, but also gave us Conan the Destroyer. Not to mention Krull, Ladyhawke, Legend, Red Sonja, Beastmaster, and a whole host of other fantasy movies that are somehow both Not Good and Deeply Beloved. Join us in a discussion of this canon of 80s Fantasy films, and how they shaped our ideas of the genre, for better or for worse.<br /><em>Mark Finn, Jon Black, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Natania Barron, Stina Leicht <br /><br /></em><u><strong>Worldbuilding for Masochists Live Podcast Sun 11:00 AM<br /></strong></u>Hosts Cass Morris, Rowenna Miller & Marshall Ryan Maresca do a live episode of Worldbuilding for Masochists, where they'll dig in deep to some worldbuilding ideas, answer audience questions, and help everyone build until it hurts.<br /><br /><u><strong>Signing Session Sun 12:00 PM <br /></strong></u><br /><u><strong>This Is The End Sun 2:00 PM</strong></u><u><strong> <br /></strong></u>About ending a long story, wrapping up trilogies or longer series, or just the final line for a short story.<br /><em>Marie Brennan, Eugene Fischer, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Fonda Lee, E.A. Williams</em></div><br /><p>And, yes, we are having the official release party for <strong><em>The Mystical Murders of Yin Mara</em></strong> at ArmadilloCon. I'm thrilled to team up with Sim Kern and their new book, <strong><em>Real Sugar Is Hard To Find</em></strong>, which is a <em>fantastic</em> short story collection. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.android-press.com/product-page/real-sugar-is-hard-to-find-paperback" href="https://www.android-press.com/product-page/real-sugar-is-hard-to-find-paperback">GET IT.</a> Or come to ArmadilloCon, come to our release party, and get both out books signed by us!<br /><br />If you aren't able to come to ArmadilloCon and still want to get <strong><em>The Mystical Murders of Yin Mara</em></strong>, there's a few ways! For paperback, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://shop.aer.io/ArtemisiaHouse/p/The_Mystical_Murders_of_Yin_Mara/9781958743003-13432" href="https://shop.aer.io/ArtemisiaHouse/p/The_Mystical_Murders_of_Yin_Mara/9781958743003-13432">right here</a>. And for ebook, you can get it <a data-cke-saved-href="https://amzn.to/3nqFmdE" href="https://amzn.to/3nqFmdE">here</a>, currently with a pre-order discount price of $1.99!</p>Hope to see you at ArmadilloCon, or if not, hope to hear from you soon.</div><div> </div>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-14700161579828814972022-07-01T07:00:00.001-07:002022-07-01T07:00:00.189-07:00Big Announcement! The Mystical Murders of Yin Mara, and more...<p> <span style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;">I've been sitting on this for a bit, but I'm thrilled to announce I will be doing a mini-series of Maradaine adjacent novellas and novelettes to go with the Phase Two novels (and stay tuned for some announcements with that very soon). The first of these will be </span><em style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;"><strong>THE MYSTICAL MURDERS OF YIN MARA, </strong></em><span style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;">which comes out on </span><strong style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;">AUGUST 2nd!</strong></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-2781" height="1024" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/MSD01-Front-Cover-719x1024.jpg" width="719" /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">So, what is <em><strong>THE MYSTICAL MURDERS OF YIN MARA</strong></em>? I'm so glad you asked.</span></p><blockquote><p class="p1"><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Phadre Golmin and Jiarna Kay are perfectly matched. Both astounding intellects, sharing a passion for academic pursuits and each other. Traveling from the University of Maradaine to Trenn College in Yin Mara, they are excited for the opportunity to study the magical and mystical theory with the famed Professor Salarmin. So when they come across a dead body that defies all logic, they should leave it alone.</span></p><p class="p1"><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">But Phadre and Jiarna tasted adventure in Maradaine, so the discovery of similar victims, paired with their scientific curiosity, makes the situation far too intriguing to ignore. Knowing that they alone have the knowledge to unravel the mystery, Phadre and Jiarna are determined to resolve it, no matter the cost to their academic careers.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Yes, it is the Phadre & Jiarna adventure I have been whispering about for some time. I'm really pleased to finally be getting it out into the world.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">What's the best way for you to get it? Well, for paperback, <a href="https://shop.aer.io/ArtemisiaHouse/p/The_Mystical_Murders_of_Yin_Mara/9781958743003-13432">right here</a>. And for ebook, you can get it <a href="https://amzn.to/3nqFmdE">here</a>, currently with a pre-order discount price of $1.99!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">OK, so, what are the other Maradaine Saga Shorts? Very glad you asked:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2782" height="168" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/MSP02-300x168.jpg" width="300" /></span></div><p></p><blockquote><p class="p1"><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">A mysterious and disturbing summons brings Aurien Pemmick, novitiate with the Church of Druthal, to Kellirac, the peculiar and suspicious country on the eastern border.He is determined to find his old mentor, no matter what threats Kellirac throws at him.But since Pemmick arrives at the eve of Hultichia, a night where the locals claim the dead will walk, Kellirac proves to be a place of dangers beyond the natural realm. Pemmick's faith is tested against Kellirac superstition, even as his mission threatens to drag him into madness, and the darkest night of his life falls.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><em><strong>Hultichia</strong></em><em> </em>is a novelette length piece, in which I'm anticipating for late 2022.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2783" height="254" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/MSP03-300x254.jpg" width="300" /></span></div><p></p><p> </p><blockquote><p class="p1"><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Dabugo should have died the day he was born, left on the beach to be taken by the waves. Instead he miraculously survived, and his village decided his life must serve some greater purpose, and raised him out of obligation instead of love.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>As soon as they decided he was grown enough, he was cast out to survive on his own.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>With only a fugitive as a companion, Dabugo must face the harsh elements of his island, learn how to harness the power growing inside his twisted body, and face the destiny that he survived to fulfill.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><em><strong>The Withered Boy</strong></em><strong> </strong>is another novelette length work, which will come out early 2023.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2784" height="233" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/MSP04-300x233.jpg" width="300" /></span></div><p></p><blockquote><p class="p1"><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">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 sideshow.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Sent on a "morale tour" across Druthal, they're ordered to travel from base to base, using their skills only in staged performance, to entertain “the real soldiers”.</span></p><p class="p1"><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">However, life on tour brings opportunity, as Fredelle and the other Irregulars become aware of a band of marauders terrorizing the countryside. They defy orders, going 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 them will be high for all of them.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><em><strong>The Royal First Irregulars</strong></em><em> </em>will be a novella-length work, due for mid-to-late 2023.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2785" height="159" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/MSP05-300x159.jpg" width="300" /></span></div><p></p><blockquote><p class="p1"><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Everyone has heard the rumors about Lady Melania Landron. After all, she doesn't quite fit in with polite society.She always seems so bored at parties, and she takes delight in only the strangest of preoccupations. And she clearly has no interest in marriage or ceasing to be a burden on her uncle's estate.Of course, what happened to her as a child was a tragedy; she was never properly educated, never a part of society.</span></p><p class="p1"><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Lady Melania knows the rumors are true. She doesn't fit in, she is bored, and she is burdened to remember every moment of every day, including her childhood tragedy, with perfect clarity. But she does take delight in one thing: danger.So when she hears of a hunt for an escaped criminal, she jumps at the opportunity, and soon finds herself starting a most peculiar career for a young, unmarried noblewoman: bounty hunter.But little does she know how dangerous some prey can be.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><em><strong>A Proper Lady of Society</strong></em><strong> </strong>will be a novella length work, anticipated for 2024.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">I'm <em>very</em> excited to be doing this, and hope to have some specific Phase Two new for you very soon, but for now, it's still this:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-2786" height="105" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Phase-Two-Redacted-Titles-1-1024x268.jpg" width="400" /></span></p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-6984621331606482492022-05-26T12:26:00.001-07:002022-05-26T12:26:09.833-07:00Travelers of Maradaine and More<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">So I've been saying that I have some announcements coming up, and the first one is a small one, but one I'm definitely excited about: a Patreon exclusive series of epistolary microfiction:</span></p><img class=" tl-email-image" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/32c2eb6f-af66-c92a-4d24-6eb5c3898970.jpg" data-id="4656409" height="238" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/32c2eb6f-af66-c92a-4d24-6eb5c3898970.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; cursor: default; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; height: auto !important; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 20px auto 10px; max-width: 640px !important; outline: transparent solid 2px; padding: 0px; transition: outline 0.3s linear 0.0001s; vertical-align: middle; width: 640px;" width="640" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #241e12; font-family: aktiv-grotesk, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin-bottom: 10px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px !important; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-line;">This is something of a worldbuilding experiment, where I use an epistolary format to show the journey of a group from Maradaine as they explore the wider world around them. So every installment will be a letter or journal entry from one of the travelers along their trip. I think this will be a fun way to explore the wider world around Maradaine without having to get too bogged down in things like "plot". </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #241e12; font-family: aktiv-grotesk, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin-bottom: 10px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px !important; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-line;">I will do free previews of the first three installments, and then future installments will be at the $3 "Red Rabbits" tier and higher. There will be additional sneak-peak content at that tier as well! <br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As you can imagine, this will be appearing on my </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.patreon.com/mrmaresca" href="https://www.patreon.com/mrmaresca" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(84, 132, 218) !important; display: inline; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Patreon</a><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">. so please check it out.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I will have more news as the summer continues, and I'm very excited to tell you all about it when I'm able to!</span>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-28281531441056503162022-04-26T11:15:00.002-07:002022-04-26T11:15:44.019-07:00April is the Cruelest Month<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">It has been a time of transition here for me. A lot has been going on, and I've got many balls in the air right now. </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I'll be putting out some announcements in the near future, especially with Maradaine related things, once I have some more ducks in a row and I'm ready to talk more directly about what's been going on. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">As challenging as it has been, I am choosing to approach with optimism and see it all as an opportunity. But the short version of it is: I'm going to be doing a lot to make it work, but I'm excited for it. So watch this space for all the news, both good and... challenging.</span></p><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">And there has been some good news! </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://worldbuildingformasochists.podbean.com/" href="https://worldbuildingformasochists.podbean.com/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(84, 132, 218) !important; display: inline; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Worldbuilding for Masochists</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> was nominated for the Hugo for Best Fancast for a second time. Cass, Rowenna and I are quite thrilled our work continues to be noticed, and we're excited to celebrate at </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://chicon.org/" href="https://chicon.org/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(84, 132, 218) !important; display: inline; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chicon</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> in September! If all goes according to plan, we will all be there. But, also if all goes to plan, all three of us will be at </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://armadillocon.org/d44/" href="https://armadillocon.org/d44/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(84, 132, 218) !important; display: inline; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ArmadilloCon</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> here in Austin in August. I am very excited for that con this year, as it is shaping up to be truly excellent.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Before that, though, this weekend I'll be doing three panels at the online conference </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.writefesthouston.com/" href="https://www.writefesthouston.com/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(84, 132, 218) !important; display: inline; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Writerfest</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">. It's got a great line-up of writers talking about craft, and I highly recommend you check it out.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Also, this is a good time to reming you all that I have a </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.patreon.com/mrmaresca" href="https://www.patreon.com/mrmaresca" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(84, 132, 218) !important; display: inline; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Patreon</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">! I have been... let's say "dilettante"... about using my Patreon, but part of the upcoming changes include doing more interesting and exclusive things there.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">What is </span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">not </em><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">exclusive is my latest novel, </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.5 !important;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Assassins of Conseqeunce</em></span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, even if it was only released in electronic form. (Are the changes and challenges related to that? Yes. Yes they are. But we'll get to that.) </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.5 !important;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Assassins</em></span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> is the fourth </span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Thorn</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> novel, coming back to Veranix and the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">rest of the Aventil crew, and it's also the proper beginning of Phase Two of the Maradaine Saga. If you've already read it, please, leave a review or otherwise shout about it, and if not, what are you waiting for?</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">As I said, there's more to come, but for now, I'll just give you this hint:</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><img class=" tl-email-image" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/6ec78040-bd38-1e32-e118-47325251fabe.jpg" data-id="4588313" height="293" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/6ec78040-bd38-1e32-e118-47325251fabe.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; cursor: default; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; height: auto !important; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 20px auto 10px; max-width: 640px !important; outline: transparent solid 2px; padding: 0px; transition: outline 0.3s linear 0.0001s; vertical-align: middle; width: 640px;" width="640" /><div><br /></div>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-78443767901613452322022-03-29T14:46:00.001-07:002022-03-29T14:46:57.633-07:00The Assassins of Consequence is here!<p> <span style="font-size: 1rem;">Today is the day for </span><em style="font-size: 1rem;"><strong>The Assassins of Consequence!</strong></em></p><p><a href="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/9780756417628-copy.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-2429 size-medium" height="300" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/9780756417628-copy-186x300.jpg" width="186" /></a></p><p>As I mentioned before, this book is being released as e-book only, which is a shame, but hopefully in the future there will be physical versions as well. But you can get a hold of it right now to find out what happens next to Veranix and his friends. </p><blockquote><p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This was an excellent natural continuation of Veranix’s tale after the events of the first Maradaine story arc. Plenty of action, so many heartfelt moments, and the resolution to several major plot points made for a very satisfying read. -<a href="https://powderandpage.wordpress.com/2022/03/27/the-assassins-of-consequence-by-marshall-ryan-maresca-review/">Powder and Page</a></span></p></blockquote><p>So, don't dally! Get your hands on it!</p><p>And then get ready for the next Maradaine Phase Two installment:</p><p><a href="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Quarrygate-Announce.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-2438 size-medium" height="191" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Quarrygate-Announce-300x191.jpg" width="300" /></a></p><p>And after that? I'm still keeping a tight lid on that for now, but not for too much longer!</p><p><a href="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Phase-II-Announce-Version-2-scaled.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-2439" height="183" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Phase-II-Announce-Version-2-1024x469.jpg" width="400" /></a></p><p>But, for now, I hope you all enjoy <em><strong>The Assassins of Consequence,</strong></em><strong> </strong>and are looking for more news to come.</p><blockquote><p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The autumn semester at the University of Maradaine is underway, and Veranix Calbert is doing his best to balance the new responsibilities of being a fourth-year magic student under the militant Altarn Initiatives, while still acting as The Thorn, the street vigilante deep in a personal war against the drug kingpin Willem Fenmere. With the help of his friends Kaiana, Delmin, and Mila, he’s been able to strike real blows against Fenmere’s empire.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But Veranix’s fight has earned him more enemies than just Fenmere, including the mad alchemist Cuse Jensett, the imposters Erno Don and Enzin Hence, and the Deadly Birds Magpie and Jackdaw. These five killers join forces to escape Quarrygate Prison and offer an alliance to Fenmere, bringing with them the perfect leverage to seal the deal: the Thorn’s identity.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Once Fenmere knows who Veranix is, he doesn’t just want to kill him, but to utterly shatter him. Calling on everyone in Maradaine holding a grudge against the Thorn, he unleashes a brutal hunt against Veranix. With old and new enemies all looking to claim the bounty on his head, stripped of the security of his secret identity, Veranix faces the most brutal fight of his all too-short life.</span></p></blockquote><p> </p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3tAqg81">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-assassins-of-consequence-marshall-ryan-maresca/1141056151">Barnes & Noble</a> | <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/667168/the-assassins-of-consequence-by-marshall-ryan-maresca/">PRH</a> | <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60556193-the-assassins-of-consequence">Goodreads</a></p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-30223324767420004802021-12-09T14:11:00.001-08:002021-12-09T14:11:15.470-08:00WorldCon and the End of the Year<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Friends,</span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We've nearly made it through another year, and it's been a busy one. Still one big event left for me: WorldCon in DC, and with it, this year's Hugo Awards.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Honestly, it was such an honor for </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.5 !important;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Worldbuilding for Masochists</em></span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> just to be nominated. I'm thrilled to be going as a nominee, that our work has been recognized by the community. I have no further expectations, but we'll see what happens.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">In the meantime, here's what I'm doing at WorldCon. If you are also coming, please say hello. </span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><h4 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: var(--ast-global-color-1); font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 1em 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">December 16, 2021</h4><a data-cke-saved-href="https://discon3.org/session/public-hugo-finalists-reception/" href="https://discon3.org/session/public-hugo-finalists-reception/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">Public Hugo Finalists Reception</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> 5:00 pm EST</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><a data-cke-saved-href="https://discon3.org/session/the-cws-contribution-to-genre-tv/" href="https://discon3.org/session/the-cws-contribution-to-genre-tv/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">The CW’s Contribution to Genre TV</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> 5:30 pm EST</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><a data-cke-saved-href="https://discon3.org/session/writing-gray-markets/" href="https://discon3.org/session/writing-gray-markets/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">Writing “Gray” Markets</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> 7:00 pm EST - VIRTUAL PANEL</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><h4 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: var(--ast-global-color-1); font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 1em 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">December 17, 2021</h4><a data-cke-saved-href="https://discon3.org/session/the-wizards-butler-did-it-fantasy-whodunits/" href="https://discon3.org/session/the-wizards-butler-did-it-fantasy-whodunits/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">The Wizard’s Butler Did It: Fantasy Whodunits</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> 2:30 pm EST - VIRTUAL PANEL</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><h4 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: var(--ast-global-color-1); font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 1em 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">December 18, 2021</h4><a data-cke-saved-href="https://discon3.org/session/kaffeeklatsch-with-marshall-ryan-maresca/" href="https://discon3.org/session/kaffeeklatsch-with-marshall-ryan-maresca/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">Kaffeeklatsch With Marshall Ryan Maresca</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> 11:30 am EST</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><a data-cke-saved-href="https://discon3.org/session/signing-marshall-ryan-maresca/" href="https://discon3.org/session/signing-marshall-ryan-maresca/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">Signing – Marshall Ryan Maresca</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> 2:30 pm EST</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><a data-cke-saved-href="https://discon3.org/session/hugo-award-ceremonies/" href="https://discon3.org/session/hugo-award-ceremonies/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">Hugo Award Ceremonies</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> 8:00 pm EST</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><a data-cke-saved-href="https://discon3.org/session/hugo-awards-photo-opportunity/" href="https://discon3.org/session/hugo-awards-photo-opportunity/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">Hugo Awards Photo Opportunity</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> 10:30 pm EST<br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">---</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">In the meantime, a reminder that I had two books come out in 2021, and I'm incredibly proud of both of them. If you haven't picked them up yet, now's a fantastic time. And if you have, they both make excellent gifts for the reader on your holiday gift list. </span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><img class=" tl-email-image" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/8bdd0a4e-df07-c266-016d-7e6da093596a.jpg" data-id="4456157" height="480" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/8bdd0a4e-df07-c266-016d-7e6da093596a.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; cursor: default; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; height: auto !important; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 20px auto 10px; max-width: 640px !important; outline: transparent solid 2px; padding: 0px; transition: outline 0.3s linear 0.0001s; vertical-align: middle; width: 640px;" width="640" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.5 !important;">VELOCITY: </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://amzn.to/2N2LxlV" href="https://amzn.to/2N2LxlV" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #2299cc; display: inline; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Amazon</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #404040; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-velocity-of-revolution-marshall-ryan-maresca/1137044113?ean=9780756416737&st=AFF&2sid=Random%20House%20Inc_8373827_NA&sourceId=AFFRandom%20House%20Inc" href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-velocity-of-revolution-marshall-ryan-maresca/1137044113?ean=9780756416737&st=AFF&2sid=Random%20House%20Inc_8373827_NA&sourceId=AFFRandom%20House%20Inc" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #2299cc; display: inline; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Barnes & Noble</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #404040; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780756416737?aff=penguinrandom" href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780756416737?aff=penguinrandom" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #2299cc; display: inline; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Indiebound</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #404040; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/a/16841/9780756416737" href="https://bookshop.org/a/16841/9780756416737" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #2299cc; display: inline; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bookshop</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #404040; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.5 !important;">VOYAGE: </span></span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://amzn.to/3hJykx4" href="https://amzn.to/3hJykx4" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #2299cc; display: inline; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Amazon</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #404040; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-unintended-voyage-marshall-ryan-maresca/1139775119" href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-unintended-voyage-marshall-ryan-maresca/1139775119" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #2299cc; display: inline; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Barnes & Noble</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #404040; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780756416751" href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780756416751" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #2299cc; display: inline; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Indiebound</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #404040; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/books/a-constabulary-of-one/9780756416751" href="https://bookshop.org/books/a-constabulary-of-one/9780756416751" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #2299cc; display: inline; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bookshop</a><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #404040; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.5 !important;" />I hope the end of the year is a wonderful time for you and yours, and see you in 2022.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /></span>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-1733036660566531342021-10-26T13:11:00.001-07:002021-10-26T13:30:58.634-07:00Onward to 2022: The First Two Books of Maradaine Phase Two<p> <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #555555; font-size: 16px;">So, last week at ArmadilloCon, I had the pleasure of having a Special Guest interview, conducted by Thomas Wagner of SFF180, which we also recorded and he put on his channel. I had a great time talking with Thomas about my process, the path of conceiving and writing Maradaine, Velocity of Revolution, and everything beyond that. </span></p><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5;" /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QGzX6UDkcgQ" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;">And talking about beyond that, at the end of the interview, as well as immediately afterward on Twitter, I announced what the next two books are for 2022. So let's talk about what those are going to be.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><img class="tl-email-image" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/de2813c2-0ff0-4a1d-d3d7-8ee2a159e579.jpg" data-id="4399778" height="407" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/de2813c2-0ff0-4a1d-d3d7-8ee2a159e579.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; cursor: default; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; height: auto; line-height: 1.5; margin: 20px auto 10px; max-width: 640px; outline: transparent solid 2px; padding: 0px; transition: outline 0.3s linear 0.0001s; vertical-align: middle; width: 640px;" width="640" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;">First off, we have coming in the Spring, </span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.5;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Assassins of Consequence</em></span><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;">. While we've seen Veranix Calbert in </span><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.5;">The Fenmere Job </span></em><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;">and </span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.5;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">People of the City</em></span><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;">, we've not seen anything centered on his part of the city since </span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.5;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Imposters of Aventil</em></span><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;">. So, here we return to the University, Dentonhill and Aventil, and the team surrounding Veranix as he continues his war against Willem Fenmere. </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><blockquote style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5; margin: 1.12em 40px; padding: 0px; quotes: "" ""; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 1.12em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The autumn semester at the University of Maradaine is underway, and Veranix Calbert is doing his best to balance the new responsibilities of being a fourth-year magic student under the militant Altarn Initiatives, while still acting as The Thorn, the street vigilante deep in a personal war against the drug kingpin Willem Fenmere. With the help of his friends Kaiana, Delmin and Mila, he’s been able to strike real blows against Fenmere’s empire.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5;" />But Veranix’s fight has earned him more enemies than just Fenmere, including the mad alchemist Cuse Jensett, the imposters Erno Don and Enzin Hence, and the Deadly Birds Magpie and Jackdaw. These five killers join forces to escape Quarrygate Prison and offer an alliance to Fenmere, bringing with them the perfect leverage to seal the deal: the Thorn’s identity.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5;" />Once Fenmere knows who Veranix is, he doesn’t just want to kill him, but to utterly shatter him. Calling on everyone in Maradaine holding a grudge against the Thorn, he unleashes a brutal hunt against Veranix. With old and new enemies all looking to claim the bounty on his head, stripped of the security of his secret identity, Veranix faces the most brutal fight of his all too-short life.</p></blockquote><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;">And what's after that?</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><img class="tl-email-image" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/d7dd73de-6a3c-f9c1-1fc6-e10d275c2448.jpg" data-id="4399782" height="407" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/d7dd73de-6a3c-f9c1-1fc6-e10d275c2448.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; cursor: default; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; height: auto; line-height: 1.5; margin: 20px auto 10px; max-width: 640px; outline: transparent solid 2px; padding: 0px; transition: outline 0.3s linear 0.0001s; vertical-align: middle; width: 640px;" width="640" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;">In this one, Asti & Verci are now legitimate businessmen running the Rynax Gadgeterium, trying to settle into a normal, decent life for themselves and their friends, families and neighbors, while still planning to root out those responsible for the Holver Alley Fire and exact justice upon them. But their sudden arrest throws all of those plans out the window, and now they must scramble to make a new plan from inside Quarrygate Prison. Desperate to get her family back, Verci's wife Raych Rynax will have to come up with her own mad ploy to get the leverage she needs to save them.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;">In essence, equal parts </span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.5;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Escape from Alcatraz</em></span><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.5;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Suicide Squad</em></span><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;"> and </span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.5;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Oceans 8</em></span><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;">. </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;">And that's what's coming in 2022! More news on the future of Maradaine soon.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;">In the meantime, </span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.5;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">An Unintended Voyage </em></span><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;">comes out next week! Still plenty of time to pre-order. For those of you who have been waiting since </span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.5;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5;">A Parliament of Bodies</i></span><i style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;"></i><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-size: 16px;"> to learn Corrie's fate, your wait is almost over.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><img class="tl-email-image" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/73958649-fd1a-4db8-5196-2b97e885909f.jpeg" data-id="4399798" height="640" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/73958649-fd1a-4db8-5196-2b97e885909f.jpeg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; cursor: default; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; height: auto; line-height: 1.5; margin: 20px auto 10px; max-width: 640px; outline: transparent solid 2px; padding: 0px; transition: outline 0.3s linear 0.0001s; vertical-align: middle; width: 640px;" width="640" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;" /><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; max-width: 600px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Add on <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57777226-an-unintended-voyage" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57777226-an-unintended-voyage" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3466cc; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; max-width: 600px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Goodreads</a>.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; max-width: 600px;" /><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; max-width: 600px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Preorder at <a data-cke-saved-href="https://amzn.to/3hJykx4" href="https://amzn.to/3hJykx4" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3466cc; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; max-width: 600px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Amazon</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-unintended-voyage-marshall-ryan-maresca/1139775119" href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-unintended-voyage-marshall-ryan-maresca/1139775119" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3466cc; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; max-width: 600px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Barnes & Noble</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780756416751" href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780756416751" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3466cc; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; max-width: 600px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Indiebound</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/books/a-constabulary-of-one/9780756416751" href="https://bookshop.org/books/a-constabulary-of-one/9780756416751" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3466cc; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; max-width: 600px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bookshop</a> and more!</span>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-58298851765128762772021-10-14T16:08:00.002-07:002021-10-14T16:08:57.918-07:00ArmadilloCon Schedule<p> <span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">ArmadilloCon starts tomorrow! If you are in Austin, or can come there this weekend, I'd love to hear from you. Here's my schedule of events:</span></p><p class="p1" style="padding-left: 40px;"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Opening Ceremonies<br /></b></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fri 7:00 PM-7:30 PM Ballroom D<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">N. Drayden, D. Liss, M. R. Maresca, J. Miles*, G. Villarreal<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The formal start of the con. Get introduced to the con's major guests, and attend the Meet the Pros party afterward.</span></p><p class="p1" style="padding-left: 40px;"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Writing Large Series<br /></b></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fri 9:00 PM-10:00 PM Ballroom D<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">K. Baldwin, D. Cohen, M. R. Maresca, K. Redford, M. Wells*<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Trilogies, pentologies, dodecologies, heptatriacontologies in three phases… how can anyone hope to keep anything straight in these gigantic epics? Especially the people trying to write them! Our panel talks about the perils, pitfalls and pleasures of writing stories of immense scope and scale.</span></p><p class="p1" style="padding-left: 40px;"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Autographing<br /></b></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sat Noon-1:00 PM Dealers' Room<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">C. Brown, M. R. Maresca, C. Panatier, M. Wells</span></p><p class="p1" style="padding-left: 40px;"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Worldbuilding for Beginners and Masochists<br /></b></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sat 1:00 PM-2:00 PM Ballroom E<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">J. Black, E. Cobbe, B. Jensen*, B. Liar, M. R. Maresca<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">How do you get started with worldbuilding? And how do you know when to stop? Do you ever stop? Do you need to stop? Or do you just keep going until it hurts? Our panelists explore the limits of world building, and how to get the most out of it by challenging presumptions of how fantasy worlds are “supposed” to be.</span></p><p class="p1" style="padding-left: 40px;"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Marshall Ryan Maresca Interview<br /></b></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sat 3:00 PM-4:00 PM Ballroom D<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">M. R. Maresca, T. Wagner*<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">An interview with our Special Guest.</span></p><p class="p1" style="padding-left: 40px;"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Fannish Feud<br /></b></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sat 5:00 PM-6:00 PM Ballroom D<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">D. Liss, M. R. Maresca, G. Villarreal, S. Felix, T. Wilson<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fans vs Pros game completely unrelated to the Richard Dawson show</span></p><p class="p1" style="padding-left: 40px;"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Hopepunk<br /></b></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sun Noon-1:00 PM Ballroom D<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">S. Kern*, M. R. Maresca, S. Leicht, T. Wagner<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Hopepunk is the opposite of grimdark.” Alexandra Rowland coined the term with that sentence, but what is ‘hopepunk’? Is it a subgenre, a style, a mood? Is it just fantasy where good people strive to do good in hopeful worlds? Or is there something deeper which needs exploring, especially in contrast to grimdark fantasy? And what does writing hopepunk fiction mean?</span></p><p class="p1" style="padding-left: 40px;"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Shiny Seductive Sirens and Tying Yourself to the Mast<br /></b></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sun 2:00 PM-3:00 PM Ballroom D<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">A. Fisher, M. R. Maresca*, K. Redford, P. Sarath, J. Reisman<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">It happens every time. You’re about a third of the way through a story, and you’re definitely out of the “honeymoon” stage of the project, when it hits: A Shiny New Idea. It’s so fun and exciting, definitely not work like the current one is. But you also know you NEED TO FINISH that current one. So how do you tie yourself to the proverbial mast so you can ignore those shiny sirens and sail through the rocky waters of the murky middle and finish your story?</span></p><hr /><p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">On more thing, I want to share this excellent review of <strong><em>An Unintended Voyage</em></strong> from <a data-cke-saved-href="https://sfandfreviews.blogspot.com/2021/10/an-unintended-voyage-is-new-novel-in.html" href="https://sfandfreviews.blogspot.com/2021/10/an-unintended-voyage-is-new-novel-in.html">SF&F Reviews</a>, including saying "This is compulsive reading right here, that you’ll pick up and not put down, and then lament when you’re finished that there isn’t any more." I think this is a fantastic book and I hope you pick it up. And pre-orders are very important now, with the challenges of supply-chains around the world. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><img class=" tl-email-image" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/fadcb053-96f2-ed2b-a36f-028bbb3adc9f.jpg" data-id="4263298" height="500" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/fadcb053-96f2-ed2b-a36f-028bbb3adc9f.jpg" width="333" /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Add on <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57777226-an-unintended-voyage" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57777226-an-unintended-voyage">Goodreads</a>.</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Preorder at <a data-cke-saved-href="https://amzn.to/3hJykx4" href="https://amzn.to/3hJykx4">Amazon</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-unintended-voyage-marshall-ryan-maresca/1139775119" href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-unintended-voyage-marshall-ryan-maresca/1139775119">Barnes & Noble</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780756416751" href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780756416751">Indiebound</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/books/a-constabulary-of-one/9780756416751" href="https://bookshop.org/books/a-constabulary-of-one/9780756416751">Bookshop</a> and more!</span></p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-67596257468851306402021-10-07T16:12:00.003-07:002021-10-07T16:12:50.908-07:00ArmadilloCon, AN UNINTENDED VOYAGE, and the future of Maradaine<p> So, friends, we're already in October, which means that we're just a few days away from <a data-cke-saved-href="https://armadillocon.org/d43/" href="https://armadillocon.org/d43/">ArmadilloCon</a>, my hometown SFF Lit convention, and this year I am one of the special guests.</p><p><img class="tl-email-image" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/4646ff4d-4ac6-41fc-c8fe-37da5b3cb893.jpeg" data-id="4376990" height="360" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/4646ff4d-4ac6-41fc-c8fe-37da5b3cb893.jpeg" width="640" /></p><p>So I will be there, talking about <strong><em>An Unintended Voyage</em></strong>, <strong><em>The Velocity of Revolution</em></strong>, <strong><em>Worldbuilding for Masochists</em></strong> and the future of Maradaine. I'll also be teaching in the Writers Workshop. It'll be good to do a real, live-and-in-person event. I did poke my head in at the Writers League of Texas conference a few weeks ago, mostly just to test the waters of being at an event again, but ArmadilloCon will be the first real one I'll be attending since 2019. I'm very excited.</p><p>And <strong><em>An Unintended Voyage </em></strong>is just a few weeks away! You can still pre-order! The initial buzz has been very strong, which makes me quite happy. From <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780756416751" href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780756416751">Publishers Weekly</a>: "Maresca returns to the universe of his Maradaine novels and masterfully expands the world beyond the reaches of the title city." I'm really thrilled you all will get to join Corrie Welling on this adventure, with:</p><p>-working class heroine<br />-far from home, deep in debt<br />-found family<br />-an apocalyptic cult<br />-the world's biggest library</p><p>Add on <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57777226-an-unintended-voyage" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57777226-an-unintended-voyage">Goodreads</a>.<br />Preorder at <a data-cke-saved-href="https://amzn.to/3hJykx4" href="https://amzn.to/3hJykx4">Amazon</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-unintended-voyage-marshall-ryan-maresca/1139775119" href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-unintended-voyage-marshall-ryan-maresca/1139775119">Barnes & Noble</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780756416751" href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780756416751">Indiebound</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/books/a-constabulary-of-one/9780756416751" href="https://bookshop.org/books/a-constabulary-of-one/9780756416751">Bookshop</a> and more!</p><p>Also, I'll be making a bit more announcement about Maradaine Phase Two. I've been keeping this under my hat for a little while, but the ArmadilloCon attendees will get the first sneak peak of it.<br /><img class=" tl-email-image" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/0dd57e73-e127-fc0d-3ac8-4f6f341d314d.jpg" data-id="4377006" height="234" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/0dd57e73-e127-fc0d-3ac8-4f6f341d314d.jpg" width="640" /><br />ALSO also, a reminder that I do have a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.patreon.com/mrmaresca" href="https://www.patreon.com/mrmaresca">Patreon</a>, which I am terrible about using in interesting ways, BUT I have a germ of an idea of some interesting things to do over there, namely a fun way to share more worldbuilding stuff from Maradaine.</p><p>Beyond that, I hope you've been checking out <a data-cke-saved-href="https://worldbuildingformasochists.podbean.com/" href="https://worldbuildingformasochists.podbean.com/">Worldbuilding For Masochists</a>. We've had some great episodes this year, and some really fun guests lined up. I will be at WorldCon in DC in December, and I hope I'll see some of you there.</p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-58945761945851740002021-07-13T12:29:00.008-07:002021-07-13T12:29:52.517-07:00AN UNINTENDED VOYAGE!<p> <span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">I have news!</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">My upcoming novel now has a new title and a cover!</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3jO73fD" style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">AN UNINTENDED VOYAGE</a><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;"> comes out from DAW in November!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;"><a href="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Unintended-Voyage-copy.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-2393" height="1024" src="https://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Unintended-Voyage-copy-682x1024.jpg" width="682" /></a></span></p><p class="p3"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;"><span class="s1">So, one of the BIG Unanswered Questions from Phase One of the Maradaine Saga— the one I saw THE MOST in reviews of PEOPLE OF THE CITY— was this:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>What happened to Corrie?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This novel is ALL ABOUT Corrie’s journey. </span><span class="s1">We’ve seen tastes of the wider world beyond Maradaine in a few of the books.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>AN IMPORT OF INTRIGUE showed a little of what it looks like, but here we dive fully in.</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="padding-left: 40px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;"><b>Moving outside the city of Maradaine, this new novel follows a lone member of the Maradaine Constabulary as she navigates a new but just as dangerous city.</b></span></p><p class="p5" style="padding-left: 40px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">Sergeant Corrie Welling has been abducted and confined on a ship bound for distant shores, where her captors have nefarious plans for her. With fortune and ingenuity, Corrie escapes, but finds herself stuck in a sprawling metropolis on the other side of the world: The Mocassa.</span></p><p class="p5" style="padding-left: 40px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">The Mocassa is a test unlike anything Corrie has ever faced. She doesn't speak the language, doesn't know the culture, and is forbidden from leaving the city until she pays off a colossal debt. Even if she's able to find decent work, it will take her years to settle her accounts.</span></p><p class="p5" style="padding-left: 40px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">But Corrie Welling will not be cowed. She will work, fight, and hold her chin high. As a fringe faction of an apocalyptic faith spreads throughout the city, threatening the new friends she's sworn to protect, she'll continue to stand up for the values instilled in her.</span></p><p class="p5"><span class="s1" style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">I LOVED writing this book, finding Corrie’s voice, exploring the larger parts of this world.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>PLUS, after finishing Phase One of the Maradaine Saga, it’s time to move to the next phase…</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><img class="alignnone size-large" height="320" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E5okDy3XIAA5AVf?format=jpg&name=large" width="309" /></p><p class="p5"><span class="s1" style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">What is Phase Two going to look like?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Right now, I’m still keeping that under wraps, but I am EXTREMELY excited about it and will shout about it when I can.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" height="619" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E5okS0kXoAMumv-?format=jpg&name=4096x4096" width="359" /></p><p class="p5"><span class="s1" style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">BUT FOR NOW: You can pre-order AN UNINTENDED VOYAGE!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>You will want this in your hands in November!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Add on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57777226-an-unintended-voyage">Goodreads</a>.<br /></span><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Preorder at <a href="https://amzn.to/3hJykx4">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-unintended-voyage-marshall-ryan-maresca/1139775119">Barnes & Noble</a>, <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780756416751">Indiebound</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/a-constabulary-of-one/9780756416751">Bookshop</a> and more!</span></p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-42531770103261885072021-03-03T05:00:00.001-08:002021-03-03T05:00:06.242-08:00The Maresca Report, March 2021<p> <span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">Hello again, friends,</span></p><p><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">It's been a strange few weeks for us here in the Maresca household. If you weren't aware, most of Texas suffered a massive catastrophe when we were hit with temperatures below freezing for several days, which was absolutely unprecedented. I've lived in Austin for 25 years, and this is the lowest I've seen the temperature go, and the longest stretch of below-freezing temperatures as well. While it was terrible for many, many people, we were all right in Casa Maresca. We were very fortunate that we never lost heat or power, and while we did lose water for several days, we were prepared enough (especially with the additional generosity of friends) to weather that inconvenience. We were very lucky.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">And since we're OK, what's coming up?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;"><img class="tl-email-image aligncenter" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/b450a1c0-a5cf-4dbc-9d9e-5c353c1af38d.jpg" data-id="4087342" height="640" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/b450a1c0-a5cf-4dbc-9d9e-5c353c1af38d.jpg" width="640" /></span></p><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY</span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto"><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">I'll be appearing on a panel of "HOW WE GET THROUGH: WRITING DURING A SECOND PANDEMIC YEAR" with several other brilliant authors, hosted by Karen Osborne. This is actually a two weekend event: On March 7th at 3pm Eastern/Noon Pacific, I'll be appearing with Valerie Valdes (author of Chilling Effect), Ryan Van Loan (author of The Sin In The Steel), Premee Mohamed (author of Beneath The Rising) and A.J. Hackwith (author of The Library of the Unwritten)</span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">And on March 14th, the fantabulous Stina Leicht, Cass Morris, Mike Chen, S.B. Divya and C.L. Clark will do a second panel. It's going to be great.</span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">Register for the panels here: <a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl py34i1dx gpro0wi8" data-cke-saved-href="http://www.karenosborne.com/yeartwo/?fbclid=IwAR3tG9rZJ814I3z_qMwkwjHqXq3q5kXgkEptUhWjErA5qFCOhqu7qVYikWQ" href="http://www.karenosborne.com/yeartwo/?fbclid=IwAR3tG9rZJ814I3z_qMwkwjHqXq3q5kXgkEptUhWjErA5qFCOhqu7qVYikWQ" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" tabindex="0" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">http://www.karenosborne.com/yeartwo/</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><img class="tl-email-image aligncenter" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/6e75628c-414e-4fc0-bcd2-781330c5c9de.jpg" data-id="4087346" height="640" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/6e75628c-414e-4fc0-bcd2-781330c5c9de.jpg" width="640" /></span></a><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><strong>The Velocity of Revolution </strong></span>came out last month, and I've been absolutely thrilled with the reactions I've heard so far. I'm going to eschew the usual humility and say that I think this is the best book I've written. If you've yet to check it out, consider that it is Queernorm Dieselpunk Fantasy with:</span></div><ul dir="auto"><li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">motorcycle races</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">empathy magic</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">pansexual polycule found families</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">train heists </span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">mushroom goddesses in the radio</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">so many tacos</span></li></ul><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">Also, the ending prompted my mother to text me, "OMG!", which is something akin to audience reaction at the Ed Sullivan show when the Beatles played. So get your hands on it!</span><br /><p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">Add on <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53452680-the-velocity-of-revolution" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53452680-the-velocity-of-revolution">Goodreads</a>.</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">Preorder at <a data-cke-saved-href="https://amzn.to/2N2LxlV" href="https://amzn.to/2N2LxlV">Amazon</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-velocity-of-revolution-marshall-ryan-maresca/1137044113?ean=9780756416737&st=AFF&2sid=Random%20House%20Inc_8373827_NA&sourceId=AFFRandom%20House%20Inc" href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-velocity-of-revolution-marshall-ryan-maresca/1137044113?ean=9780756416737&st=AFF&2sid=Random%20House%20Inc_8373827_NA&sourceId=AFFRandom%20House%20Inc">Barnes & Noble</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780756416737?aff=penguinrandom" href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780756416737?aff=penguinrandom">Indiebound</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/a/16841/9780756416737" href="https://bookshop.org/a/16841/9780756416737">Bookshop</a> and more!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">Now, One more thing to file under "eschewing the usual humility".</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;"><img class="tl-email-image aligncenter" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/1373974d-356f-42b1-9985-65b94bed36a6.jpg" data-id="4087358" height="448" src="https://gallery.tinyletterapp.com/e5ba6944e763878ed45065e4877f6ea8159f4e13/images/1373974d-356f-42b1-9985-65b94bed36a6.jpg" width="640" /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">The Hugo Nominations are coming up! Are you eligible to nominate for the Hugos? Then I would ask you to consider:</span><br /><br /><p class="p1"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;"><strong><span class="s1">Best Series: The Maradaine Saga</span><br /><span class="s1">Best Fancast: Worldbuilding for Masochists</span></strong></span></p><div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">I think with both of these, I've been able to contribute something truly excellent and worthy of you consideration for these awards. The Maradaine Saga has been a colossal effort on my part, weaving the four series together to come to a season finale conclusion bringing all the threads together in <strong><em>PEOPLE OF THE CITY</em></strong>. If you've read all the books up through <strong><em>People</em></strong>, I hope you'll agree, and shout about it to everyone else you know. But that's up to you and your honest opinion.</span></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">In the meantime, I keep working, and I hope to have some new announcements for you in the near future. Talk to you soon.</span></div></div>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-57525095282705108252021-02-08T06:00:00.001-08:002021-02-08T06:00:01.958-08:00Out this week: THE VELOCITY OF REVOLUTION<p> <span style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;">So, on February 9th, we get my thirteenth novel, and my first novel not set in Maradaine: </span><em style="font-family: "book antiqua", palatino, serif;"><strong>THE VELOCITY OF REVOLUTION.</strong></em></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">I have been, I won't lie, rather nervous about this one. Because it is such a radical departure from previous novels, and it was a novel I made a point of challenging myself with, so I had to ask myself, am I really pulling this off? Is this working like I think? I'm not much of one for impostor syndrome, but friends, this one tested me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">But with the first reactions out there, I'm starting to think I passed that test.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">First off, we got starred reviews from both <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7564-1673-7"><strong>Publishers Weekly</strong> </a>and <strong><a href="https://www.booklistonline.com/The-Velocity-of-Revolution-/pid=9743623">Booklist</a>.</strong></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Maresca sends the pages flying with a clever plot, well-defined characters, and high-stakes atmosphere. This tense outing will keep readers spellbound from page one. - <strong>Publishers Weekly</strong></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><a href="http://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/VelocityRevolution-QuoteShare_v1.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2375" height="300" src="http://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/VelocityRevolution-QuoteShare_v1-300x300.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Furthermore, <a href="https://everybookadoorway.com/powerful-punk-poignant-the-velocity-of-revolution-by-marshall-ryan-maresca/">this review</a> from Every Book A Doorway says: </span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">"This is, without question, one of the best books of the year."</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">And from <a href="https://tealeafreads.wordpress.com/2021/02/07/book-review-the-velocity-of-revolution/">Tea Leaf Reads</a>: </span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><em>The Velocity of Revolution </em>is one of those books that fully absorbs you. You pick it up, thinking you’ll only read a bit before bed, and an hour later, you finally pull yourself out of it reluctantly because it’s sucked you in that much.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">So I'm very excited about this.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">And it comes out on February 9th, which is a Tuesday, and thus a Taco Tuesday, and since <em><strong>The Velocity of Revolution</strong></em> is <strong>full</strong> of tacos, I put together some promo phots of books and tacos. Here's a little preview:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><a href="http://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IMG_8281-copy-scaled.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-2376" height="608" src="http://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IMG_8281-copy-1024x768.jpg" width="810" /></a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">I'll share more on release day, and encourage people to share pictures of their own favorite tacos, with the hashtag #TacosForTheRevolution. The person (in US or Canada) who puts up the best taco pic (as judged by my wife) will win a copy of <em><strong>The Velocity of Revolution</strong></em><em>.</em></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Or you could just order it now:</span><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"> <a href="https://amzn.to/2N2LxlV">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-velocity-of-revolution-marshall-ryan-maresca/1137044113?ean=9780756416737&st=AFF&2sid=Random%20House%20Inc_8373827_NA&sourceId=AFFRandom%20House%20Inc">Barnes & Noble</a>, <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780756416737?aff=penguinrandom">Indiebound</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/16841/9780756416737">Bookshop</a>.</span></p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-44469243110219149862020-12-31T11:24:00.000-08:002020-12-31T11:24:02.549-08:00To The End of 2020<p> Friends, this year has been quite the Chaos Dragon that we've all struggled to hang onto. Right now we're ending the year with a lot of "congratulation, you made it, nothing will change" energy. But nonetheless, I'm going into 2021 with the same Ambition Energy I came into it with. And even though I felt like I could have done better in the past year, I did accomplish quite a bit.</p><ul><li>I put out two novels, ending Phase I of the Maradaine Saga! With <em><strong>The Fenmere Job </strong></em>and<em> <strong>People of the City </strong></em>I like to think I landed that first step of the patently absurd triple jump I'm attempting. And most of the reaction to <em><strong>People</strong></em><em> </em>has been one of "I was worried he wouldn't pull it off, but he did", which makes me deliriously happy.</li><li>I wrote & edited <em><strong>The Velocity of Revolution, </strong></em>you will be able to <a href="https://amzn.to/2JEFLsI">get into your hands</a> on February 9th!<em><a href="http://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/TheVelocityofRevoution-Twitter-v2.png"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-2366 size-large" height="133" src="http://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/TheVelocityofRevoution-Twitter-v2-1024x341.png" width="400" /></a></em></li><li>I wrote the novel that you'll be getting in October of 2021! I first promoted it as <em><strong>A Constabulary of</strong></em><strong> One</strong>, but the process of writing it made that title feel more and more incorrect. So the title is in flux, but for now let's call in <em><strong>Untitled Corrie Welling Novel</strong></em><em>. </em>Yes! This is Corrie's novel, where we follow what happens to her after the events of <em><strong>A Parliament of Bodies</strong></em><em>. </em>I'll be telling you more about it soon, but I'm thrilled to show you a lot more of the larger world outside of Maradaine through Corrie's eyes.</li><li>I wrote a novella! It stars Phadre and Jiarna from the <em><strong>Thorn</strong></em> books, and it's a lot of fun. How to best describe the vibe? Mystical romantic light noir? I have no idea what its destiny is going to be yet, so we'll see how it's going to get into your hands.</li><li>I, with my astounding co-hosts Rowenna Miller and Cass Morris, produced 25ish episodes of <em><strong><a href="https://worldbuildingformasochists.podbean.com/">Worldbuilding for Masochists</a>. </strong></em>This has been a fabulous and fun project and, especially in this very isolating year, gave me a good excuse to chat with all sorts of people, at least over video calls.</li><li>I continued to build out the plan for Phase II of Maradaine, which I hope to tell you all more about soon.</li></ul><p>So: I did all right, at least in terms of meeting goals. But there's always room to improve, and I hope to do even better for 2021. Hope the new year brings blessings to all of you as well.</p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-23338468104347311792020-09-20T18:36:00.002-07:002020-09-20T18:36:17.170-07:00PEOPLE OF THE CITY is coming<p> So we're only a few weeks from <em><strong>PEOPLE OF THE CITY</strong></em> coming into the world, which ends the first phase of the Maradaine Saga and brings together the heroes from all four Maradaine series. I am SO EXCITED this is coming and you all get to read it.</p><p>How excited? Excited enough that I've dove in deep with playing around on Photoshop to make character images for so many major characters in Maradaine.<a href="http://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/30-Card-Small.jpg"><br /><img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-2346 size-full" height="1800" src="http://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/30-Card-Small.jpg" width="1543" /></a></p><p>But I've been thrilled with the early reactions to <em><strong>PEOPLE OF THE CITY</strong></em><em>. </em>Over at SF&F Reviews, they said:</p><blockquote><p>This is a story which will take you into the world of Maradaine, and when you come out on he last page, leave you wanting more, wanting to know what happens next. So go now, and pick a copy up - it’s a genuine delight.</p></blockquote><p>And my dear podcast cohost, Cass Morris, said:</p><blockquote><p>Maresca has achieved something truly magnificent here. Tying together disparate threads of a multi-POV story is a challenge even in a single novel. To pull together the threads of four series, spanning twelve novels, is an absolutely masterful act.</p></blockquote><p>So, yes, I'm quite happy, and very excited for you all to get your hands on it. So, yes: <a href="https://amzn.to/33K4UIl">Go Get Your Hands On It.</a></p>Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-44110905975632693172020-05-20T22:15:00.003-07:002020-05-20T22:15:46.401-07:00THE VELOCITY OF REVOLUTION<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">So, last week I finished the draft of THE VELOCITY OF REVOLUTION, cleaned it up and delivered it to my wonderful editor. Now we’ll wait for her thoughts, and in the meantime, I want to unpack a bit about this process.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This was one of the hardest experiences writing a book I’ve had, and that was for a number of reasons.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>First off, let’s talk about on a Worldbuilding level.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">THE VELOCITY OF REVOLUTION is set in a completely different world from the Maradaine novels. Not just “this is a different world”, but a radically different setting on many levels, worldbuilt from scratch. I had been playing with worldbuilding new settings, less for “This is for a new book” and more for the exercise in and of itself, teaching myself HOW to worldbuild better. A mindset that also led to the Worldbuilding for Masochists podcast.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(More on that in a bit.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">This book was a random idea that just HIT me, and even though I was finishing SHIELD OF THE PEOPLE, still had FENMERE JOB and PEOPLE OF THE CITY to write, the idea just clawed its way in and didn’t let go. So I wrote some notes, and then those notes became an outline and a proposal, which I sent to my agent, and all of a sudden I had a contract and a due date. All without yet doing the level of worldbuild that I “usually” do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">By which I mean, the world of Maradaine had been fermenting and mellowing for YEARS before I started writing THORN, including two trunk novels in that setting. Here I had less than a year between selling the idea and needing to start drafting.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>If you’ve listened to me on WFM, you know I like having a good sense of the whole sandbox as a way to find the story.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Here, I had to take a completely different approach. And thankfully I had the podcast to help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">There’s a thing we talk about on WFM, about Choosing Vs. Presuming. Which is roughly: choose what you want for your world, but make it a choice. Don’t just presume “this is how things are” without interrogating it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>So much of the worldbuilding in this book is putting that philosophy into practice. Why does the culture do this? How do I show that? How do I make it clear to the readers what I’m doing without it feeling like an infodump?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">And that Choice vs. Presumption came right from the very concept. Why not a secondary world fantasy with motorcycles and raw denim and radios and tacos? Why not a fantasy culture that draws inspiration from Mexico and Latin America?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">And you may ask yourself, should a white boy from upstate New York be writing a secondary world fantasy that draws inspiration from Mexico and Latin America? And, yeah, maybe not. Maybe I have deeply screwed up in trying this.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I’d rather try and fail and learn. Writing this book has been a learning process, and working with <span class="s1">Alex Rowland and Rowenna Miller</span><span class="s2"> on the podcast has been a critical aspect in furthering my learning process.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Though, also: as a food in fantasy person? I wanted to do something I hadn’t seen. Namely: tacos. Maybe that was a little thing, but it felt huge to me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">(Also, for the record, I’ve had insight and advise from latinx alpha/beta readers from the beginning, and if you have specific concerns or thoughts: my email is open and I welcome the conversation.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Also this was a hard book to write because my outline really failed me this time. I’ve always said that A. I love my outlines (and outline process), but B. No outline fully survives contact with the writing process.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This book?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The outline REALLY did not survive the writing process.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The writing was a constant cycle of stopping, reassessing and finding new directions. I regularly felt like the plot was slipping out of my hands. That meant it was always a process of challenging my presumptions. Questioning why I was doing things a certain way. Trying to find my own blindspots. Writing this was putting myself through a crucible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">There’s been a lot of talk of late of “everything is on fire, so write whatever you want”. And: hell yes. I certainly didn’t write a secondary-world dieselpunk latinx pansexual fantasy filled with tacos, motorcycles and psychic mushrooms because I thought it would be a bestseller. But I did write it, and the wonderful folks at DAW Books had enough faith in me to say, “Yeah, do that”. So I did. Maybe you all will love it. Maybe I’ll faceplant horribly.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Either way, I’ll get back on my feet, wipe the blood from my nose, and get back to work.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Try something else new. Challenge my presumptions. Learn to fail again tomorrow. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">But the proof is in the pudding, and said pudding comes out February 9th, 2021, and you can pre-order today.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>If this sounds like it could be your jam the way it was mine, go check it out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><b>From the author of the Maradaine saga comes a new steampunk fantasy novel that explores a chaotic city on the verge of revolution.</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Ziaparr: a city being rebuilt after years of mechanized and magical warfare, the capital of a ravaged nation on the verge of renewal and self-rule. But unrest foments as undercaste cycle gangs raid supply trucks, agitate the populace and vandalize the city. A revolution is brewing in the slums and shantytowns against the occupying government, led by a voice on the radio, connected through forbidden magic.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Wenthi Tungét, a talented cycle rider and a loyal officer in the city patrol, is assigned to infiltrate the cycle gangs. For his mission against the insurgents, Wenthi must use their magic, connecting his mind to Nália, a recently captured rebel, using her knowledge to find his way into the heart of the rebellion.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Wenthi's skill on a cycle makes him valuable to the resistance cell he joins, but he discovers that the magic enhances with speed. Every ride intensifies his connection, drawing him closer to the gang he must betray, and strengthens Nália's presence as she haunts his mind.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;">Wenthi is torn between justice and duty, and the wrong choice will light a spark in a city on the verge of combustion.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;"><em><strong><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53452680-the-velocity-of-revolution">Goodreads Page for The Velocity of Revolution</a><br />Pre-order at <a href="https://amzn.to/2WEzAZ8">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-velocity-of-revolution-marshall-ryan-maresca/1137044113">Barnes & Noble</a>, <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780756416737?aff=penguinrandom">IndieBound</a> and more!</strong></em></span><br />
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Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-2310196714340000502020-05-02T10:55:00.000-07:002020-05-02T10:55:00.612-07:00Maradaine Reading OrderI've been asked about this a lot, and I've been dragging my heels on giving a definitive answer here, but with <em><strong>People of the City</strong></em> just a few months away (<a href="https://amzn.to/3fccHDJ">pre-order!</a>) it's high time for me to put out the answer.<br />
<a href="http://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Maradaine-Banner.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-2314 size-large" height="220" src="http://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Maradaine-Banner-1024x355.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
There's three basic ways you could read Maradaine:<br />
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<li>Release Order</li>
<li>Chronological Order</li>
<li>By Series</li>
</ul>
First off: none of those are bad ways to read it. Release Order, of course, was your only choice if you've been with me from the beginning (and if you have: hey, you're awesome, I love you). (But also, if you're just jumping on now: you're awesome, I love you.) And, of course, I had to make certain creative choices based on the fact that Release Order wasn't going to be Chronological Order, and therefore to some degree, release order is perfect in terms of how revelations unfold.<br />
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So that would be:<br />
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<strong>Thorn of Dentonhill</strong><br /><strong>Murder of Mages</strong><br /><strong>The Alchemy of Chaos</strong><br /><strong>An Import of Intrigue</strong><br /><strong>Holver Alley Crew</strong><br /><strong>The Imposters of Aventil</strong><br /><strong>Lady Henterman’s Wardrobe</strong><br /><strong>Way of the Shield</strong><br /><strong>A Parliament of Bodies</strong><br /><strong>Shield of the People</strong><br /><strong>The Fenmere Job</strong><br /><strong>People of the City</strong></div>
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<em>However</em>, I think the strongest method-- and grain of salt in that it's literally <em>impossible</em> for me to gauge how a new reader would react to the events of the books unfolding-- would be in-world chronological. There is a very specific chronology at play, and there's a foreword in <em><strong>People</strong></em><em> </em>that spells that out (and gives you a handy recap of the previous eleven books), but here's how that goes.<br />
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<strong>Thorn of Dentonhill</strong><br /><strong>Murder of Mages</strong><br /><strong>Holver Alley Crew</strong><br /><strong>Way of the Shield</strong><br /><strong>The Alchemy of Chaos</strong><br /><strong>An Import of Intrigue</strong><br /><strong>Lady Henterman’s Wardrobe</strong><br /><strong>Shield of the People</strong><br /><strong>The Imposters of Aventil</strong><br /><strong>A Parliament of Bodies</strong><br /><strong>The Fenmere Job</strong><br /><strong>People of the City</strong></div>
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Now, I can see how if you read one of the first books, you'd want to stick with those characters instead of transitioning to other people. That makes a lot of sense. So I did think of this method where you read a whole trilogy, and then step back in time to another trilogy. Now, there's a bunch of ways you can do this, but here's the way I like most:<br />
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<strong>Holver Alley Crew</strong><br /><strong>Lady Henterman's Wardrobe</strong><br /><strong>The Fenmere Job</strong><br /><strong>Thorn of Dentonhill</strong><br /><strong>Alchemy of Chaos</strong><br /><strong>Imposters of Aventil</strong><br /><strong>A Murder of Mages</strong><br /><strong>An Import of Intrigue</strong><br /><strong>A Parliament of Bodies</strong><br /><strong>Way of the Shield</strong><br /><strong>Shield of the People</strong><br /><strong>People of the City</strong></div>
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What I like about this is you read three books with one cast, which ends with their crossover with a major character from the next series. So, you follow Asti & Verci and the rest of the crew up until they interact with the Thorn, and then go, "So let's find out more about the Thorn" and do his adventures, and so on. Is that the best way to do it? I'm not sure-- see the above caveat-- but I think it's interesting, and it might suit how some readers engage best with stories.<br />
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So there's my definitive non-answer about reading order: I would nudge you toward Chronological, but that might not be right for you. <br />
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Regardless, I hope you get a chance to read them all and love them your way, and that you're safe and well.Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-77355021681552204252020-03-03T09:00:00.000-08:002020-03-03T09:00:05.086-08:00Hugo EligibilityYou know, if you had told me thirty years ago that in 2020 I would be able to write up a list of multiple things of mine that were Hugo eligible, it would have blown my mind. Probably even more mind-blowing would have been the idea that what gets nominated will be a bunch of people I'm friends and acquaintance with. That remains wild to me, even to this day.<br />
But, hey, if you are nominating, let me steer you to some of my things that are, in fact eligible.<br />
<a href="http://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ParliShield.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2310" height="242" src="http://mrmaresca.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ParliShield-300x242.jpg" width="300" /></a><strong></strong><br />
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<strong>BEST NOVEL: </strong>Both <em><strong>A</strong> <strong>Parliament of Bodies</strong> </em>and <em><strong>Shield of the People</strong></em> were novels that came out in 2019, so they are both eligible for Best Novel. Though, if we're being honest, I'm very much not expecting that. Both books, very well received, but there's been no such buzz on them. But if you think they deserve to be nominated, I would be deeply honored.<br />
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<strong>BEST SERIES: </strong>From my understanding, by the wording of the award rules and how the various sub-series interact, that all of the Maradaine Saga is eligible as a whole, and that would be the best way to nominate the series, if that was your interest. Again, I would be deeply honored if you think the interweaving of four series into one setting has been an endeavor worthy of your vote. Maybe you want to wait until <em><strong>People of the City</strong></em><em> </em>comes out to see if I stick the landing there? If so, I respect that. I would love to be honored here, but I understand I need to earn it.<br />
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<strong>BEST RELATED WORK: </strong>I did put up the <a href="https://curiousfictions.com/posts/2435-marshall-ryan-maresca-armadillocon-41-toastmaster-speech"><em>ArmadilloCon 41 Toastmaster Speech</em></a> for everyone to read after Martha Wells asked me to, and it is a speech I'm very proud of. I was asked to say a bunch of kind things about the community of SFF and the people in it-- especially and specifically the guests of honor like Martha-- and I spoke from my heart, and if that reached you, I'm glad.<br />
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<strong>BEST FANCAST: </strong>Ok, friends, this is probably the big hat shake on my part. Last year I launched <a href="https://worldbuildingformasochists.podbean.com/"><strong>Worldbuilding for Masochists</strong></a> with Alexandra Rowland and Rowenna Miller and it has been a delight to do, and I think we've done really good work making a podcast that is fun to listen to and gives a lot of insight into the worldbuilding process. I really think this is work that is worthy of your nomination. Please, if you've not yet checked it out, head on over and give it serious consideration. <br />Also, if we get nominated, Alex and Rowenna have carte blanche on my Hugo Ceremony outfit. Tell me you don't want to see that.<br />
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That's all I've got! If you can nominate, go forth and nominate with your whole heart. And, if you can't, consider the value of getting a supporting membership for 2021 so you can nominate next year. <br />
Marshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.com0