October Update -- After Report for WorldCon and ArmadilloCon, Release Schedule for Phase Two Books

 Happy October!  

The last update, I was about to head to WorldCon, to see if we were going to win a Hugo this year for Worldbuilding for Masochists.

Spoiler: We did not win.  And I'm not going to pretend that our not-winning streak (notable enough it's now listed on Wikipedia) doesn't sting. BUT: it's still a night where I get to dress fancy and hang out with my co-hosts, who I truly adore, so that's a win for me regardless.  

And shortly after that was ArmadilloCon, which was also delightful, but an absolute whirlwind for me.  But I got to talk about maps and worldbuilding and Widow's Bay and endings with a whole host of amazing folks, you have to love that.  It's honestly always a highlight of the year.  Plus, I had a reading that was actually a full room, where I read from the new Generational Trauma fantasy I've been working on with my wife, and it was very well received, so that makes me happy.  

So what's next?  Well, in the next few months, we'll be seeing the new editions of the next few Maradaine Saga books, plus finally the release of An Unkindness of Uncircled Mages.  Here's the tentative schedule.

• • November 3rd: An Unintended Voyage
  • December 8th: The Assassins of Consequence
  • January 12th: The Quarrygate Gambit
  • February 9th: An Unkindness of Uncircled Mages
    

In the meantime, if you still haven't started with The Maradaine Saga, here's where I remind you that the ebooks for all four Books One of the Maradaine Saga are still only $1.99, and will be for the rest of 2026.

 

You know what, we'll keep Velocity of Revolution at $1.99 until the end of the year as well.

That's what we've got on this end, hope to have more news for you soon.

August 2026 Update: Maradaine, WorldCon, ArmadilloCon and beyond

Once again, I find myself more than halfway through the year and wondering where the time went.  But that is because a lot of things are happening, even if that's not translating to new stuff for y'all to read.

MARADAINE NEWS

So first let's address that!  I had hoped to have An Unkindness of Uncircled Mages out in the world in September, but that's not going to happen.  Now, for why, it's more to do with production logistics than anything else.  The text of the book, the creative part of the work, is done, and I am very pleased with it.  But the elements of turning that into a finished book-- things like copyediting and cover design-- have been taking longer than I had originally planned.  And that's fine, I'd rather those things take a little more time and be right than be rushed.  

Honestly, I did rush in putting out the original Artemisia versions with the terrible covers and in retrospect I wish I hadn't.  So I'm not going to make that mistake again.  When I have a locked down release date (and it'll surely be late 2026, early 2027 at the latest), I will let you know.  

And following that, I will be putting out a couple more Maradaine things in the relatively near future.  One will be a collection of all the Saga Shorts, including the yet-to-be-released A Proper Lady of Society, which is a story focusing on Lady Melania from the Streets of Maradaine series.  All five of those shorts will be in one volume.  Following that, I hope to have the fourth Maradaine Elite novel, City of the Truth, finished and in your hands by early 2028.

In other Maradaine news, right now the ebook prices for all the first books of the four Maradaine series is just $1.99!  If you've got a friend who you want to get hooked into Maradaine (or said friend is you), this is a great time to pick up those first books!

THORN OF DENTONHILL
A MURDER OF MAGES
HOLVER ALLEY CREW
WAY OF THE SHIELD

I'm working on more things not set in Maradaine as well, but we'll hold off on talking about those just yet.  

UPCOMING APPEARANCES

I've got two things on the schedule in the next couple months!  First, I'll be at WorldCon in Anaheim, August 27-31.  I'll be doing a few things there, including two Table Talks: One by myself, and one with the whole Worldbuilding for Masochists team!

I'll also be there for the Hugo Awards, where we're nominated for the sixth time.  Did you know there's still time to vote, if you are eligible to vote and so inclined?  You could even still get a supporting membership to vote.  

A couple weeks after that, I'll be at the local and dear-to-my-heart ArmadilloCon.  We've got some great guests this time around, and I've got a strong feeling that it's going to be an excellent show.  And I plan to do a reading from one of the not-Maradaine pieces I've been working on, so that'll be a fun sneak peak at what's going on.  

And that's the story here for now.  More updates to come as the year continues.

November 2025 Update

 It has been a busy year so far here! After WorldCon and ArmadilloCon, I’ve been writing up a storm, which will hopefully result in new things in your hands in the relatively near future. The next Maradaine novel, An Unkindness of Circled Mages, is coming together nicely now, and I know I’ve been saying “it’ll be soon” for a bit now, but… briefly, in retrospect, I can now see the level of damage to my creative energy that was done to me in 2022 and 2023, and I needed time and work to recover from that. And I now feel so much better about doing the work now than I did two years ago.

Plus I did finish a draft of a novel written with my wife, and… it’s a draft and a new process, and it will involve a lot more work of editing and re-working, but it’s good work that I’m very excited about.

Which hopefully means real news in the coming year.

But there IS news about Maradaine things, and not just putting the new website together.

You may recall we put out new versions of the first four Maradaine Saga novels with new covers by Natania Barron. And now you can get the new editions next four novels!

 

We hope to have the final four for Maradaine Saga Phase One out shortly, so you’ll be able to order the entire set of twelve books in time for Christmas, for either yourself or the fantasy lover in your life.

Latest Episodes:

Episode 166: The Histo-Remix, ft. ALIX E. HARROW

Episode 165: Pour One out for Your Worldbuilding

Special Episode: ArmadilloCon 2025!

A Mid 2025 Update

 Once again, it has been a while since an update.  In part, that was entirely due to a lack of things to update about.  Well, that’s not entirely true, I’ve been busy, and I’ve been focused on doing things instead of sending out updates.  So what have I been doing?

For one, I’ve now got a finished draft of the novel I’ve been working on with my wife, which took more time and focus than I had earlier anticipated.  The working title isThe Mansion of Fury, but we’ll see what things actually land on once we start the process of shopping it out there.  

But the work on that has pulled my focus from continuing things Maradaine related, which breaks my heart a little, because while I love this book— and I really hope you all will as well— it means that my intended schedule for finishing An Unkindness of Uncircled Mages and then The City of the Truth is further delayed.  These books ARE underway, but taking longer than I had hoped. With my writing schedule opening up, I hope to get Unkindness done soon. Not “out in 2025” soon like I wanted, but soon.

But you may have noticed that fancy new Maradaine Saga logo! This is something else I’ve had underway for a bit, with new editions of The Maradaine Saga with a new logo and new covers (designed by Natania Barron).

And you can order the first four books now. All the links you want are here. If you’ve never had a complete set of the Maradaine Saga, this will be a great way to get the books and have pretty matching versions on your shelf. They’ll make great gifts as well.

You may have noticed that’s a new website: maradaine.com. I’m still in the process of building it, but I’ll have information on all the books, character bios, summaries, and all the background information on the world of Maradaine.

And in a few weeks I will be in Seattle for WorldCon.  I’ll be doing an autographing, a table talk and a couple panels, as well as attending the Hugos as a finalist for Best Fancast for Worldbuilding for Masochists.  And all three of your WFM hosts will be there, and we’ll be doing a meetup on Saturday August 16th at 3pm, details of location forthcoming.  Come say hello!

I will also be at ArmadilloCon here in Austin in September.  If you can come out to that, I would love to see you.

December and Everything After

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Novella: The Royal First Irregulars

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Do You Wanna Read A Sample?

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

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

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

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

 

July Report: Glasgow, Traveling Light & Royal First Irregulars

 Hello friends!

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

For one thing, you'll be naked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pre-Order Now!

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

That’s all for now!  

 

New Editions, New Host, and more!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where did 2023 go, exactly?

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

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

That last one was more true than I realized.

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

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

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

However, there are some things I can share!

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

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

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

Novelette: Hultichia and The Withered Boy

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

Podcast/Fancast: Worldbuilding for Masochists

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

ArmadilloCon!

 

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

In the meantime, here is my schedule for ArmadilloCon:

Friday, August 4

9pm

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

Ballroom E, 9pm - 9:45pm

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

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

Saturday, August 5

12pm

You Call This Archaeology? 40+ Years of Indiana Jones

Ballroom E, 12pm - 12:45pm

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

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

1pm

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

Ballroom E, 1pm - 1:45pm

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

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

3pm

Autographing: Maresca - Ransom - Wells

Marshall Ryan Maresca, Martha Wells, Tonia Ransom

Autographing

5pm

Building and Fostering a SFF Community

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

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

Sunday, August 6

10am

Reading - Maresca

Conference Center, 10am - 10:30am

Marshall Ryan Maresca

12pm

Crafting Court Intrigue & Battle Scenes

Ballroom D, 12pm - 12:45pm

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

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

1pm

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

Ballroom F, 1pm - 1:45pm

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

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

Hultichia, February 7th!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The End of 2022 in House Maresca: Eligibility, Social Media, and the Future

 We're at the end of another year, and friends, this one was a blur.  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.

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.

So I'm eligible for:
Best Novel: THE ASSASSINS OF CONSEQUENCE
Best Novel: THE QUARRYGATE GAMBIT
Best Novella: THE MYSTICAL MURDERS OF YIN MARA
Best Series: THE MARADAINE SAGA*

And of course, also:
Best Fancast/Podcast: WORLDBUILDING FOR MASOCHISTS

So if you are empowered and inclined to nominate me for any of those categories in any awards, I would greatly appreciate it!

*-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.
BUT for 2022:
The Assassins of Consequence    105000
The Mystical Murders of Yin Mara    37000
Quarrygate Gambit                            101800
TOTAL                                               243800
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.

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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.
But if YOU are fleeing Twitter (or were wise enough to never get on it), here are other places to find me.

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/marshallryanmaresca
Website: http://mrmaresca.com
Mailing LIst: https://tinyletter.com/mrmaresca
Insta: https://instagram.com/mrmaresca/
Mast: @mrmaresca@wandering.shop

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.

---

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 the big announcement from last month.  Along those lines, you can expect the Maradaine Saga Short Hultichia to come out early 2023.  More details on that to come, but it will be a novelette length, featuring another secondary character from the Thorn series in a starring role.

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.

That's all from this end, more news for you soon.

Maradaine Phase Two Announcement

 

All right, I've held my tongue long enough, and in light of recent news, there's no reason not to tell you all my full intentions for Phase Two of the Maradaine Saga.  After all, both The Assassins of Consequence and The Quarrygate Gambit have come out, and if you've finished those books, you've seen the tease for what comes next.

So, without further ado:

Yes, that is a lot!  So what can I tell you about all of this?   I've already told you about the Saga Shorts, though there might be some timeline shifts there (Hultichia will probably come out in early 2023, rather than trying to squeeze it in among the holidays.)

But the rest?  Let's go through it!

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.

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.

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.

Asti and Verci work to 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.

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.

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.

 

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 An Unintended Voyage had.  But title, format, etc. is still in flux.  So more news when that's a little more solidified.

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.

Thank you all so much for your continued support.

Quarrygate Gambit Release Day, And News of the Future

 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.

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.

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.

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.  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.

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.

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.”

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.  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?  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”.

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. 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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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.  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.

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. 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.

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.

Quarrygate Gambit!

 I've been quiet of late, a lot of things going on that I hope to tell you about soon.  Including: THE QUARRYGATE GAMBIT is coming out in just two weeks!  I've been juggling so many balls it feels like it just snuck up on me.  

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.

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.
 
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.

Please pre-order at your favorite place:  AMAZON | B&N | BOOKSHOP | INDIEBOUND

And, yes, like Assassins of Consequence, this one is e-book only.  Will there be a paperback version?  As with Assassins, I'm working on that, and you'll all be he first to know, just as with other news.

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, Hultichia.  This one is a novelette!

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.

Talk to you all very soon.

ArmadilloCon & Mystical Murders of Yin Mara Release!

 

It's just about time for ArmadilloCon!  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.  Including putting myself, Cass Morris and Rowenna Miller in a room together for the first time!  That's extremely exciting, and we're doing a Worldbuilding for Masochists live panel to celebrate.  I'm thrilled.

(And just as a reminder, Worldbuilding for Masochists is nominated for a Hugo, and you can still vote for the Hugos up until August 11th (https://chicon.org/).)

But if you want to know my ENTIRE schedule, here goes:

Book Release Party! Fri 9:00 PM
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).
Britta Jensen, Sim Kern, Marshall Ryan Maresca 

Tiffany and Steve's Fantastical Adventure: The Fallacy of Authenticity Sat 11:00 AM
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?
Cass Morris, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Skyler Gray, Natania Barron, Rowenna Miller, Steven Brust

Kaffeeklatch - Marshall Ryan Maresca Sat 12:00 PM
Kaffeeklatch with Marshall Ryan Maresca

Cross-Genre Capers Sat 2:00 PM
A discussion of capers and heists in fantasy and SF.
Lauren C. Teffeau, Marina Lostetter, Mark Finn, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Jon Black

It Was The Best of Times, It Was The Worst of Times: Fantasy Movies of the 80s   Sat 5:00 PM
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.
Mark Finn, Jon Black, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Natania Barron, Stina Leicht 

Worldbuilding for Masochists Live Podcast Sun 11:00 AM
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.

Signing Session Sun 12:00 PM

This Is The End Sun 2:00 PM
About ending a long story, wrapping up trilogies or longer series, or just the final line for a short story.
Marie Brennan, Eugene Fischer, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Fonda Lee, E.A. Williams

And, yes, we are having the official release party for The Mystical Murders of Yin Mara at ArmadilloCon. I'm thrilled to team up with Sim Kern and their new book, Real Sugar Is Hard To Find, which is a fantastic short story collection.  GET IT.  Or come to ArmadilloCon, come to our release party, and get both out books signed by us!

If you aren't able to come to ArmadilloCon and still want to get The Mystical Murders of Yin Mara, there's a few ways!  For paperback, right here.  And for ebook, you can get it here, currently with a pre-order discount price of $1.99!

Hope to see you at ArmadilloCon, or if not, hope to hear from you soon.