Oh my goodness! I’m so excited. Forged In Blood won the 2017 Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll for Best Anthology!
Congratulations to Michael Z. Williamson, all the contributors, and Baen Books! Good work! 🙂
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Oh my goodness! I’m so excited. Forged In Blood won the 2017 Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll for Best Anthology!
Congratulations to Michael Z. Williamson, all the contributors, and Baen Books! Good work! 🙂
As usual, I stayed up too late the night before. I was at work, doing an overnight shift, and I played around on my computer until past 0100. I will never know why I feel compelled to do this to myself. I feel like a little kid who is afraid she’ll miss something if she goes to bed.
For the record, this is happening right now. It’s 0129, and I know it’s going to hurt to wake up in the morning and drive to BWI to get Risa.
But I’ll do it! Because Risa! WOOOOOOOOO!
*
Yeah, getting up sucked. 🙂 One of these days, I’ll learn not to do that to myself.
In any case, I woke up on Friday and eventually made it out the door and onto the road to drive to BWI to pick up my friend Marisa. The timing worked out really well, because all I had to do was drive up to the curb and she hopped in. It was like we’d planned it or something. 😉 Then we headed back to my house, because in my infinite wisdom, I’d forgotten a jacket and some other necessaries. So Risa and EZ got to hang out for a bit, which is not to be missed. EZ may be my soulmate, but he’s definitely Risa’s partner in comedy crime.
Jacket and necessaries acquired, Risa and I set off for a 3 hour road trip down to Williamsburg VA. The drive is usually a pretty one, through some of Southern Maryland’s rural and Amish country. It was pretty this time too, but in an otherworldly, etherical way. For whatever reason, thick fog banks draped large swaths of the route, and it looked like something out of Silent Hill whenever we crossed a bridge and disappeared into the featureless white on the other side.
But we made it, got checked in, and headed to the Con.
First on the agenda: getting badges. My first impression was that MarsCon is a very well organized convention. It was super easy for me to get badged as a pro, and Risa easily purchased her membership onsite. We met up with Chris Kennedy for a few minutes, and then it was time to dive right in to the panels.
I will say this: this was the busiest panel schedule I’ve had yet. 10 panels over the course of 2.5 days. And they were frequently an hour apart. It was exciting and the topics were enjoyable and interesting… but it was busy.
My favorite panel of Friday night might have been the “Ready, Set, Flash!” panel, where the audience supplied the details and my fellow panelists and I had to compete to tell a story in 5 minutes. Hilarity predictably ensued, and I won one of the rounds thanks to the creative and blatant use of profanity in the very first line.
Friday night, Marisa and I headed back to the hotel relatively early, and then proceeded to stay up till 0200 talking about politics and plotlines, etc. Because, you know, slumber party!
Saturday morning, Risa met up with a friend for breakfast and I made my way over to the Genre Blending panel at the crack of eleven. We had a really good time there, and Chris Kennedy did a great job moderating. I confessed out loud to being “genre fluid”, as in, I just can’t pick a genre to play in… they’re all so great, I want to play in them all! I also had the pleasure of sitting next to Guest of Honor Carrie Vaughn, who was extremely nice. I really enjoyed chatting with her during the panel and in the green room afterwards.
Marisa joined me in the green room shortly thereafter, as did Drew Avera. Drew was one of the other panelists on the “Ready, Set, Flash” panel, and he told us that he had a new idea. He wanted to do short, two-minute interviews with various authors to find out why they started writing and what their process is. He’s calling it Author Mechanics, and it’s super fun. Both Risa and I interviewed for it. You can find Drew’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw10Jav-mHgYheGsIiHrp5g Go check them out. 😊
I had a total of six panels on Saturday, but the highlight was the Baen Books Travelling Roadshow and Prize Patrol. Hosted by Baen Empress and High Priestess Toni Weisskopf, the Roadshow has a long tradition of irreverent commentary, beautiful artwork, and free books. 😊 What’s not to love? I got to give away a signed copy of Forged In Blood, (which, by the way, just won the 2017 Preditors & Editors Reader Poll for Best Anthology!) and talk about the projects I’ve contributed to. I also got to talk about D. J. Butler’s Witchy Eye, because I nearly bounced out of my chair when Toni brought up the slide. 😊 I recently read this masterpiece (yep. I said it. It’s a MASTERfreakingPIECE!) and relished the opportunity to share my enthusiasm with the crowd.
After the Roadshow, Marisa and I met up with Jim MInz and our friend Erin at an Italian place called Maurizio’s for dinner. There, we proudly claimed the title of “that table” as we proceeded to laugh long and hard at one another’s stories and quips. The food was to-die-for good, too, as were, I’m told, the pomegranate limoncello margaritas.
One more panel on Westerns in SF and Fantasy, and then Risa and I met up with Chris and Mark for some 4HU/Assassin strategy talk. We were joined by the lovely Sheelah and Joy, as well as by Erin. We proceeded to talk about alligators and headbutting them, geese and getting smacked by them, school and work and travel… all the things, as Risa says. Definitely all the things.
But more importantly, we brainstormed and discussed the future of the Depik race and the 4HU as a whole… and I think you guys are really going to like where this is going. So buckle up, fans. We’re going for a ride!
Sunday morning’s 1100 panel came a hair too early, thanks to our late night on Saturday, but we made it. The panel was titled Theogony Books and Beyond, 30 Books in 2018. There, Chris Kennedy shared the future of his various imprints, including Seventh Seal Press, which publishes the Four Horseman Universe. Though the panel was but lightly attended, it was very exciting. I can’t wait to see everything come to fruition in 2018.
Not the least of which is Assassin! Chris announced at the panel that Assassin will launch on 23 February, 2018. Just over a month from now! So, if you’re excited to learn more about the catsassin race, get ready! 😊
Overall, I really enjoyed Marscon. The programming was a lot of fun, even if I felt completely slammed with panels. One suggestion I have for the staff: I prefer when a panel has a predesignated moderator, who can prepare questions and sort of steer the discussion. Every panel I was on had someone step up to moderate (including me, once), but I do think it’s better if the moderator can prepare in advance.
Other than that, though, everything was really well organized and ran so smoothly, it didn’t seem as if the con was crowded at all. I was amazed when I heard what the attendance numbers were. Either those numbers (1500?) were way off, or the flow was just that good, because it felt as if a fraction of that many people were there.
Thanks again to Crystal Smalling and all of the staff at MarsCon for putting on a kickass event. I was so pumped to go, and I’d love to return again next year! I highly recommend this con to anyone looking for a break from the midwinter blues. 😊 Great time.
WooHooo! I’ll be at MarsCon 2018 in Williamsburg, VA next weekend. (12-14 Jan 2018) Here’s my schedule (next to the lovely sunset pic for attention! ):
Kacey Ezell
6pm Fri Large Auditorium Opening Ceremonies
7pm Fri Room L An Introduction to Alternative History
9pm Fri Room L All Nerds are Socially Awkward and Other Myths
11pm Fri Room 7 Ready, Set, Flash!
11am Sat Room 7 Genre Blending
1pm Sat Room 8 Them’s Fighting Words…
3pm Sat Room 8 Evoking Emotions, Provoking Readers
4:30pm-6pm Sat Room 6 Baen Books Traveling Road Show
8pm Sat Room 8 There Can Be More Than One…
9pm Sat Room 8 Westerns in Science Fiction and Fantasy
11am Sun Room 6 Theogony Books And Beyond: 30 Books In 2018
If you’re planning on attending the Con, please say Hello! It should be a blast, and a welcome break from mid-winter mundania! 🙂
PS. I’m dragging my coauthor, the fabulous Marisa Wolf along. 🙂 So you’ll get to meet her, too!
I’m so excited to announce that Assassin (a Four Horsemen Universe Novel) is finished! I worked with the extremely talented and amazing Marisa Wolf to write a story about the deadly and notorious Depik; a race of felinoid assassins set in the Four Horsemen Universe created by Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy
No idea when the release date will be yet, but given the fact that Marisa and I turned it in in the last hundred hours of 2017, I’m betting late winter of next year. Maybe February? I don’t know, you’d have to ask Chris (my publisher).
I brought Marisa in to this project because we’d cowritten together before and I knew her style and quick wit would be perfect for the catsassins. We really had a ball working on this together, and while I’m so glad it’s done, I’m a little sad that our collaboration has come to an end.
But who knows, maybe, if you all like it enough, Chris will let us write a few more in the series. 🙂 Here’s hoping!
Happy New Year, my friends! May your 2018 be all that you want it to be!
Okay, so full disclosure, Mark is more than just your average, run of the mill writing friend. He’s also my co-author, co-conspirator, mentor, honorary grandpa to my little girl, creator of one of my favorite universes to write in, and genuinely one of my favorite people.
Mark is the guy who came up with the incredible Four Horseman Universe, which was the catalyst for me meeting the guy (Chris Kennedy, co-creator and publisher of the series) who would eventually publish my first novel. So, I owe Mark a lot. As if that weren’t enough, Mark invited me to collaborate with him on an upcoming novel in that series about possibly my favorite character seen to date… but more to follow on that later.
Today, I want to talk about Mark’s release of the second edition of Earth Song Overture. This is the first book in Mark’s sweeping Earth Song space opera series. We’re talking seven books of deep blue hero shit: badass redhead heroine, planet destroying war, and ships going 15,000 times the speed of light. What’s not to love?
So, I’m just saying, if you or someone you know might be into that, maybe you want to give it a look? I can’t think of a better holiday gift than being introduced to a new series to love. Check it out here!
You guys. Seriously. So many good things are happening right now that my head is spinning! So here’s an update post with a lot of super great news and fun stuff to check out.
So, without further ado: Thing The First!
The Good, The Bad, and The Merc edited by Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy is LIVE today on Amazon! This third anthology in the bestselling Four Horseman Universe (4HU for short) contains 16 short stories written by 15 authors and continues to flesh out the amazing setting and story laid down by the previous anthologies and novels in the series. Fans of the series will be delighted to find a story featuring Jim Cartwright, from Cartwright’s Cavaliers (the incredible first book in the series), two catsassin stories, and offerings from Rob Hampson, Christopher L. Smith, Jason Cordova, Marisa Wolf, and Phillip Wholrab’s breathtaking debut story.
Do yourself a favor and click here to pick up a copy of The Good, The Bad, and The Merc, and then if you haven’t already done so, dive in to the rest of the 4HU with Cartwright’s Cavaliers and A Fistful of Credits. If you enjoy fun, fast paced military sci-fi, you won’t be sorry. I promise.
Thing The Second:
Minds of Men is doing great! Thank all of you so much for your support, either as launch team members, early reviewers, Facebook post sharers, word of mouth talkers, or whatever other role you’ve played. I cannot tell you enough how much I appreciate you all. We’ve enjoyed steadily growing momentum from the beginning, and I would love it if you would continue to share, support, review, talk it up… all the things you’ve been doing.
Thing the Final:
And now, an announcement! 3-Time Nebula Nominee Chuck Gannon is running a Kickstarter campaign to fund an anthology set in his Caine Riordan universe. I could try to wax eloquent about it here, but there’s no way I’m going to beat Chuck’s own beautiful prose, so I’ll settle for linking the Kickstarter page here.
But here’s the really exciting part (at least for me!) I’ve been announced as a stretch goal contributor! That means that if they meet their first stretch goal, I’ll be invited to contribute a story. Because I really, really want to write in Chuck’s amazing setting, I’ve agreed to sweeten the pot with some redshirt and cast member opportunities as backing rewards. 🙂 So if you’re dying (see what I did there!) to show up as a named character in my upcoming 4HU novel Assassin, please go check out the Kickstarter campaign, and consider backing it!
As always, thank you all for your love and support. I couldn’t do any of this without you. You guys remain the best.
It’s here! The big day is here!
And Holy Goodness, have you guys made it a BIG day! We hit social media hard this morning, and drove Minds into the top twenty in Alternate History and Fantasy Alternative History categories. And we cracked the top 10 in Military Fantasy!
Thank you all so much for all of your support. I’m humbled, truly.
For those of you who haven’t picked up your copy yet, you can get it here! And once you’ve read it, please remember to leave a review!
You guys are the best. I mean it. The. Best.
My friends, I’m super pleased to announce that Jon R. Osborne’s first novel, A Reluctant Druid, is available right now on Amazon! You can find it here.
I’m really looking forward to digging in to this urban fantasy story featuring old and new gods, magic and epic challenges, etc. If you’re looking for something new to read, please consider checking it out.
For those who’ve read it, let me know how you liked it. And when you’ve done that, head over to Amazon and leave a review if you haven’t already done so.
Congratulations, Jon! I’m super pumped for you!
Hey Friends! It’s official. Minds of Men will be available on Amazon starting 10 November, 2017. Consider it a Happy Birthday present to all of you U. S. Marines out there. 🙂
Minds of Men is the story of Evelyn Adamsen, a young woman with psychic talent who has been recruited to aid the crews of the US Army Air Force’s beleaguered 8th Air Force in World War II. She will fly aboard the storied B-17 Flying Fortress and experience the chaos of combat missions in the hotly contested skies over occupied Europe in 1943. She’ll build rapport with the men on her crew, and when disaster strikes, will have to use that rapport to escape through occupied Belgium and France. Only thing is, the Nazis have psychics too. And one of them wants Evelyn dead.
So, mark your calendars! And if you choose to pick it up, please leave a review!
So, at DragonCon, I had the opportunity to meet a really terrific gentleman named John Pyka, who also goes by the moniker Big Daddy Cool. John is an authority on all things Dieselpunk, and he invited me to take part in a podcast run by himself and his friend, Eric Renderking Fisk.
Thus, I had the opportunity to join them for an episode of The Fedora Chronicles. 🙂 Please go check it out, we really had a blast talking about Minds of Men and all things Dieselpunk. It was really a lot of fun.
Special thanks to John Pyka aka Big Daddy Cool and Eric Renderking Fisk for the chance to hang out!
Great news! The second Four Horsemen Universe anthology is live on Amazon! In his social media spin up to its release, co-editor and publisher Chris Kennedy teased a little “surprise” to be included.
Well guess what? Surprise! I have a teeny tiny little story in this anthology, called “The Start of Something Beautiful”. It was a tiny vignette that wouldn’t leave me alone until I wrote it. So I did. And I sent it to Chris and Mark, and… well… there you go.
However, that leads to another question. The question you should be asking yourself is this: if this story is only the start, what’s coming after it? 😉 Stay tuned, my dear friends! Only time will tell.
But in the meantime, feel free to comment below with your speculations. I’d love to see what you guys think! And go check out the anthology! You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1942936842/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1505452695&sr=8-2&keywords=for+a+few+credits+more
It’s massive and terrific. Enjoy! And when you’re done, leave a review!
Do you like swords?
How about completely kickass war stories that run the gamut from medieval Japan to spaceborne encounters with aliens and everything in between?
My friends. Have I got the book for you. 🙂
Forged In Blood is an anthology of short fiction set in editor Michael Z. Williamson’s wildly popular Freehold universe. And believe me, you don’t want to miss this one. I’m incredibly proud of my contribution, “Family Over Blood”, but I was simply blown away by the contributions of Larry Correia, Jason Cordova, Christopher L. Smith, Peter Grant, John F. Holmes and all the others. All. The. Others. There isn’t a bad story in the bunch, and that includes the stories and connecting narrative written by Michael Z. Williamson himself.
But, in the immortal words of Levar Burton, “don’t just take my word for it.” Here’s a link to a kindle preview, so you can go check it out and fall in love yourself: https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B074Q1VF1S&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_d6kTzbGA8PJT1
And after you’ve read it, please consider leaving a review on Amazon. It really helps us out. Thank you!