Cover Reveal for Noumenon Ultra!

Hello all!  Pre-order links for Noumenon Ultra–the final installment in the Noumenon trilogy–are now live!

Noumenon Ultra takes us far beyond the origins of Convoy Seven and Convoy Twelve to examine the evolution of human civilization and answer a question billions of years in the making: What are the ancient megastructures actually for?

Who designed them?

Why?

Deep in the heart of an alien mountain range, I.C.C. has lain dormant, its ships silent, for eons. Now, after one hundred thousand years, the AI is awakening. And someone is roaming the convoy’s halls–someone that isn’t human.

Come on one last ride with I.C.C., the Lùhng, and our wayward twenty-second century humans as they uncover an epic secret none of them could have anticipated.

Available for preorder now from places like Indiebound, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

Available everywhere August 18th, 2020.

 

Ozark Bookcon Today!

The Ozark Book Con is this Saturday, November 9th, all day at the Holiday Inn on 1500 S. 48th Street in Springdale, AR.  It’s a one-day-only event, but it is jampacked with gaming, a dealers room, and panels on all kinds of writing-related topics.  Below is my schedule.

Admission is $20, but children 12 and under get in free, so bring the whole family!  If you’d like to grab a ticket early, you can register here.

Where to find me at the event:

10:00am, Join me in the Reading Room. Book giveaway to follow!

11:00am, Writing a Series, Panel Room 2
“Writing one book is hard enough. Writing three or four or more? Even harder. Learn from published authors the difficulties and triumphs in writing an overarching story that spans multiple books.”

12:00pm, Story Planning, Panel Room 2
“Whether you write by the seat of your pants, are a meticulous outliner, or something in between, come listen to our authors discuss story planning methods, tips and tricks, and more!”

2:00pm, Creating New Worlds, Panel Room 2
“From secret schools to star systems, fiction explores countless landscapes, cultures, worlds, and beliefs. Listen to published authors discuss how they create fictional (or not so fictional) worlds and how you might create yours.”

4:00pm, Perfecting Your Pitch, Panel Room 2
“How do you summarize a 100,000 word book into one sentence? Having a killer pitch can put you ahead of the game. Listen to our panel of authors discuss what works, what doesn’t, and how to make your pitch better than ever.”

5:00pm, Writing Short Fiction, Panel Room 2
“Can you write a story in 10,000 words or less? Join our panel of authors as we discuss short stories!”

If you’d like to see the full program with panel participants listed, click here.

Hope to see you soon!

-Marina

Dublin WorldCon Schedule

 

Hello all!

In just a few short weeks I will be at the 2019 WorldCon in Dublin, Ireland.  My schedule is short, but sweet!

Autographs

15 Aug 2019, Thursday 14:00 – 14:50, Level 4 Foyer (CCD)

I’ll be autographing books and other swag!

Invented mythologies in SF

Format: Panel

18 Aug 2019, Sunday 19:00 – 19:50, Wicklow Hall 2B (CCD)

Whether it’s creation myths for sentient AIs or a pantheon of alien gods, invented mythologies can add depth and weight to SF storytelling. How have myths from our own past informed the creation of fictitious mythologies in SF? Where do you start when inventing mythology? What makes a mythos convincing, and how do you subtly weave your mythology into the narrative?

Fellow panelists include Fonda Lee (Author of the Green Bone Saga) and Adrian Tchaikovsky (Author of Children of Time and Children of Ruin)!

Reading: Marina J. Lostetter

Format: Reading

19 Aug 2019, Monday 11:00 – 11:20, Wicklow Room-5 (Workshops) (CCD)

I will be giving a reading on, yes, Monday morning. I know it’s a tough time slot, but I want to make it worth your while to attend!  I’ll be giving away books and reading from either Noumenon Ultra (the third book in the Noumenon series) or from the first book in my brand fantasy trilogy from Tor Books (previously titled The Masks of Arkensyre).  Audience’s choice!  Both will be brand-new, never before read!

 

If you’d like more information about this WorldCon, please visit https://dublin2019.com/ for times, attendances, memberships, and events.

After WorldCon I’ll be roaming Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the UK for several weeks.  I don’t have any formal signings planned, but if there’s a bookshop you think I should visit and sign stock, let me know in the comments and I’ll try to get there during my travels.

Hope to see you soon!  Happy reading!

~Marina

Reddit AMA Today!

Hello all!

At 12:00pm EST, I’ll be on the subreddit r/books ready to answer your questions about my novels, my hobbies, whatever you’d like to ask about.  If you know you’d like to ask something, but aren’t sure where to start, might I suggest:

 

My cats, my plants, or my writing habits.  For additional suggestions, see this thread on Twitter.

At noon, please follow this link to r/books, and ask away!  Looking forward to your questions!

Happy reading.

~Marina

Reddit AMA

Hello, all! Just wanted to let you know I’ll be on Reddit May 16^th, at 12:00pm Easter Standard Time, ready to answer any burning questions you have about the Noumenon series, the upcoming fantasy series, writing, hobbies, life, and sci-fi and fantasy in general.  Username: MarinaJLostetter

I’ll be posting a direct link to the AMA the day of, so watch this blog and keep an eye on Twitter.

 

 

And as always, happy reading.

~Marina

Arkansas Literary Festival, April 25th-28th

Hello all!  At the end of this month I’ll be attending the Arkansas Literary Festival in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Arkady Martin, author of A Memory Called Empire, and I will be on a joint panel at 2:30pm on April 27th, at the UA Little Rock Downtown location, next to the Main Library (333 President Clinton Avenue).  We’ll do some reading, and some chatting about all things sci-fi.

The event will last about an hour, after which we’ll be signing books.  Come hang out with us!  Hope to see you there!

For more information, click here.

~Marina

Women in SF&F Post at Fantasy Café

I’ve got a new article up over at Fantasy Café, wherein I do the dreaded thing: give writing advice.  More specifically, I talk about my learning journey, and the trail of bad-to-good advice that got me, skill-set-wise, to where I am now.

If you’re a new spec-fic writer looking for straws of knowledge to spin into story-telling gold, I highly recommend you give it a look:

When I first attempted to write fiction professionally, I was desperate for any and all information I could find on how to write effectively. I enjoyed telling stories and people had told me I was a good writer—but love of a thing doesn’t automatically mean you’re good at a thing.

I had so many questions that I was sure had concrete answers. How do you create strong characters? How do you convey a theme? What’s the quantifiable difference between a boring story and an immersive story? What are people actually looking for when they read? When do you know a story has ended? How do you know where to begin?

When I started to break a story down into all of its components, I realized a lot goes into them. I could identify the parts, but I didn’t know how to piece them all together. I mean, I could try. I knew stories had beginnings, middles, and ends. I’d been consuming stories all my life. I knew what a story was (or, I thought I did), and I was fairly sure I could write something that resembled a professionally-told tale, but I knew I needed advice on how to actually get all of those story parts to work together in a way other people could connect with.

How do you actually write a story? What’s the secret?

Click here to read the full article: Learning to Feel the Shape of Stories

Happy reading!

~Marina

Noumenon now in German!

Deutsch: Sprichst du Deutsch? Ich spreche kein Deutsch, aber die wunderbare Irene Holicki hat Noumenon für Heyne ins Deutsche übersetzt. Und es gab eine Titeländerung! “Die Reise”. Dies ist das erste Mal, dass meine Arbeit offiziell in eine andere Sprache übersetzt wurde, und ich bin so aufgeregt! Der Roman ist heute heraus! Fröhliches Lesen!

https://www.randomhouse.de/Taschenbuch/Die-Reise/Marina-Lostetter/Heyne/e509768.rhd

 

English: Do you speak German? I don’t speak German, but the wonderful Irene Holicki has translated Noumenon into German for Heyne. And it’s had a title change! “Die Reise,” ie, The Journey. This is the first time my work has been officially translated into another language, and I’m so excited! The novel is out today!

Happy reading!

~Marina

 

Noumenon Infinity Honored by the ALA

Noumenon Infinity was honored by the American Library Association and The Reading List Council at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle.  It made the short list for their 2019 Reading List in the Science fiction category.  The winner and other short listed sci-fi novels are as follows:

Winner
“The Calculating Stars” by Mary Robinette Kowal. A Tor Book, published by Tom Doherty Associates.

In a world emerging from World War II, Earth is struck by a massive meteorite. Faced with the likelihood of total extinction, the scientific community dedicates themselves to developing space technology.  The efforts of aspiring astronaut Dr. Elma York and her fellow women scientists are hampered by racism and sexism.

Short List
“Noumenon Infinity” by Marina J. Lostetter. Harper Voyager, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
“An Ocean of Minutes: A Novel” by Thea Lim. Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
“Stars Uncharted” by S.K. Dunstall. Ace, published by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
“The Wrong Stars” by Tim Pratt. Angry Robot, an imprint of Watkins Media Ltd.

I’m honored and excited that Infinity has been so well received!  Congrats to Mary Robinette Kowal and all the winners!

If you’d like to see the full list of categories, winners, and short listed works, click here to view the announcement from the ALA.

Happy reading!

~Marina

For Your Judgement and Sheer Enjoyment

It’s that time of year again, when we authors crow about what we’ve accomplished. More specifically, which publications are eligible for award nominations.

In the Best Novel category, I of course am super-duper-phantasmagorically proud of Noumenon Infinity, which is eligible for awards such as the Nebula and the Hugo.

 Vanhi’s hands flew away from her note-riddled tablet, a clear sign of attrition. “Is this it?” She swiveled her chair toward Jamal and folded her legs beneath her like a small child. “You always hear stories about the robot apocalypse, but you never think it’ll happen to you.”

 

In the best Short Story category I am proud of the scope and depth of emotion I was able to achieve in Discard the Sun, for it has Failed Us, which is flash-length. You can find it for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/discard-the-sun-for-it-has-failed-us/

If you are nominating for any awards this year, I would be delighted if you’d consider my work. As always, thank you and happy reading!

~Marina