Guest Blog by Michael J. Martinez - So what now? Leaving the series behind - and Giveaway - May 18, 2015

Please welcome Michael J. Martinez to The Qwillery. The final novel in the Daedalus trilogy, The Venusian Gambit, was published on May 5th by Night Shade Books. Michael shares his thoughts on ending the Daedaulus Series.

So what now? Leaving the series behind

By Michael J. Martinez

For readers, it’s only been a few weeks since the saga of Lord Admiral Thomas Weatherby and Lt. Cmdr. Shaila Jain was wrapped up in The Venusian Gambit, the final volume in the Daedalus trilogy. It was a crazy ride, spanning the entire Solar System and a pair of wildly different dimensions. There was tension and crises, love and loss, an entire moon of Saturn wiped out, plenty of alchemy and alien mysticism, plus a veritable fleet of sailing ships in space.

And now…well, heck. Now what?

I’ve had a bit more time on this than my readers, because I wrapped Gambit around the beginning of the year. I’ve already had my moments of closure, though seeing Gambit on the shelf at Barnes & Noble did bring a few things back. Yes, there’s a certain bittersweet vibe going on there. This was the series that made me an author. My first setting, my first characters, my first books. Done. Finito.

Before this whole novelist thing really came to fruition, I use to scoff ever so slightly at authors who claim affection for their characters, but I totally get it now. They’ve grown and changed through three books, been through hell and back, learned and loved and all that good stuff. Honestly, I’m proud of them. And I’ll miss them.

But by the same token, not only is the series done, but I’m done with the series, too.

Yes, I could go back and write more stories in these worlds, get more sailing-ships-in-space goodness on the page. I could fast-forward to see what an American Civil War would look like on the moons of Jupiter, or how a Victorian British Empire might span the Solar System and butt heads with the Xan culture on Saturn. I could…but at the moment, I’m not gonna.

There’s a couple reasons for this. One, I’ve told the story I wanted to tell. More novels in this setting would require new stories, and I don’t really have one in mind right now. And that’s a corollary to reason two: I have other stories, in other settings, in mind.

Having gone from hopeful agentless wannabe to debut author to finished trilogy in just over five years, I recognize I’m in an enviable position. The books have done well, the reviews continue to knock my socks off. I can do this. So the biggest question in my head is: What else can I do?

A bit of that is already answered – I have a short story coming out in the Cthulhu Fhtagn! anthology due in August from Word Horde. Lovecraft is a pretty big departure from the four-color historical fantasy/space opera of the Daedalus series; this is spreading my wings a bit. I have another short piece coming out this summer (unannounced yet, but stay tuned). And I have a couple of novel projects in the works, with the business end of things in the capable hands of my fantastic agent, Sara Megibow.

People have asked me about more Daedalus books, which I’ve found really gratifying – people like my writing! And if I had more stories to tell at this time, I’d be tempted to write ‘em. But I don’t, and I have other cool, shiny toys I want to play with – and the opportunities to play with them. And that’s where I’m at.

All that said, I really love these books. I love the characters and the plots and settings – and I love what they’ve done for me as a writer and as a person. So…never say never. Weatherby and Jain are firmly stuck on shore right now, but I can’t rule out that, someday, they could set sail again.

Daedalus

The Daedalus Incident
Daedalus Series 1
Night Shade Books, August 13, 2013
Trade Paperback and eBook, 320 pages
(the eBook was published in May 2013)

Mars is supposed to be dead…...a fact Lt. Shaila Jain of the Joint Space Command is beginning to doubt in a bad way.

Freak quakes are rumbling over the long-dormant tectonic plates of the planet, disrupting its trillion-dollar mining operations and driving scientists past the edges of theory and reason. However, when rocks shake off their ancient dust and begin to roll—seemingly of their own volition—carving canals as they converge to form a towering structure amid the ruddy terrain, Lt. Jain and her JSC team realize that their realize that their routine geological survey of a Martian cave system is anything but. The only clues they have stem from the emissions of a mysterious blue radiation, and a 300-year-old journal that is writing itself.

Lt. Thomas Weatherby of His Majesty’s Royal Navy is an honest 18th-century man of modest beginnings, doing his part for King and Country aboard the HMS Daedalus, a frigate sailing the high seas between continents…and the immense Void between the Known Worlds. Across the Solar System and among its colonies—rife with plunder and alien slave trade—through dire battles fraught with strange alchemy, nothing much can shake his resolve. But events are transpiring to change all that.

With the aid of his fierce captain, a drug-addled alchemist, and a servant girl with a remarkable past, Weatherby must track a great and powerful mystic, who has embarked upon a sinister quest to upset the balance of the planets—the consequences of which may reach far beyond the Solar System, threatening the very fabric of space itself.

Set sail among the stars with this uncanny tale, where adventure awaits, and dimensions collide!

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Read Trinitytwo's review here.

The Gravity of the Affair
Daedalus eNovella
NLA Digital LLC, December 6, 2013
eBook, 61 pages

Before his victory at the Nile.

Before his scandalous personal life made headlines.

Before he crushed the French and Spanish fleets at Trafalgar.

Before he died a martyr.

Horatio Nelson, England’s greatest naval hero, assumed his first command, the 12-gun brig HMS Badger, at the tender age of 20. History tells us his first voyages as captain were unremarkable. Yet in the Known Worlds, where sailing ships ply the Void and the mystic science of alchemy works wonders, Nelson’s first command goes quite differently. With his brashness and emotions untempered by experience, Nelson’s rash actions as captain of the Badger threaten his heroic destiny.

The Gravity of the Affair is a novella set in the Known Worlds of The Daedalus Incident, with events that tie into the novel (though both works may be enjoyed independently of one another).

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Google Play : iBookstore : Kobo

Read Trinitytwo's review here.

The Enceladus Crisis
Daedalus Series 2
Night Shade Books, May 6, 2014
Trade Paperback and eBook, 320 pages

Two dimensions collided on the rust-red deserts of Mars—and are destined to become entangled once more in this sequel to the critically acclaimed The Daedalus Incident.

Lieutenant Commander Shaila Jain has been given the assignment of her dreams: the first manned mission to Saturn. But there’s competition and complications when she arrives aboard the survey ship Armstrong. The Chinese are vying for control of the critical moon Titan, and the moon Enceladus may harbor secrets deep under its icy crust. And back on Earth, Project DAEDALUS now seeks to defend against other dimensional incursions. But there are other players interested in opening the door between worlds . . . and they’re getting impatient.

For Thomas Weatherby, it’s been nineteen years since he was second lieutenant aboard HMS Daedalus. Now captain of the seventy-four-gun Fortitude, Weatherby helps destroy the French fleet at the Nile and must chase an escaped French ship from Egypt to Saturn, home of the enigmatic and increasingly unstable aliens who call themselves the Xan. Meanwhile, in Egypt, alchemist Andrew Finch has ingratiated himself with Napoleon’s forces . . . and finds the true, horrible reason why the French invaded Egypt in the first place.

The thrilling follow-up to The Daedalus Incident, The Enceladus Crisis continues Martinez’s Daedalus series with a combination of mystery, intrigue, and high adventure spanning two amazing dimensions.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Read Trinitytwo's review here.

The Venusian Gambit
Daedalus 3
Night Shade Books, May 5, 2015
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

The last chapter of the dimension-spanning Daedalus series brings the 19th and 22nd centuries together for an explosive finale in the jungles of Venus!

In the year 2135, dangerous alien life forms freed in the destruction of Saturn’s moon Enceladus are making their way towards Earth. A task force spearheaded by Lt. Cmdr. Shaila Jain is scrambling to beat them there while simultaneously trying to save crewmember Stephane Durand, who was infected during the mission to Saturn and is now controlled by a form of life intent on reopening a transdimensional rift and destroying the human race. But Jain doesn’t realize that the possessed Stephane has bigger plans, beaming critical data to other conspirators suspiciously heading not for Earth, but for Venus…

In 1809—a Napoleonic era far different from our own—the French have occupied England with their Corps Eternélle, undead soldiers risen to new life through the darkest Alchemy. Only the actions of Lord Admiral Thomas Weatherby and the Royal Navy have kept the French contained to Earth. But the machinations of old enemies point to a bold and daring gambit: an ancient weapon, presumed lost in the jungles of Venus.

Now, Weatherby must choose whether to stay and fight to retake his homeland or pursue the French to the green planet. And Shaila must decide if it’s possible to save the man she loves, or if he must be sacrificed for the good of two dimensions. In the dark, alien jungles of Venus, humanity’s fate in both dimensions hangs in the balance—forcing past and present to once again join forces against an ancient terror.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Read Trinitytwo's review here.

The Giveaway

What:  One entrant will win a signed Trade Paperback copy of the second novel in the Daedalus Series: The Enceladus Crisis by Michael J. Martinez.

How:  Log into and follow the directions in the Rafflecopter below.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59 PM US Eastern Time on May 28, 2015. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

*Giveaway rules and duration are subject to change.*

a Rafflecopter giveaway