Musings of Author Marina J. Lostetter
Hello, all! Just wanted to let you know I’ll be on Reddit May 16th, 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
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
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
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 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
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
Haven’t gotten your copy of Noumenon yet? Or perhaps you’ve been bugging your friend to read it but they need a little extra incentive? Or maybe it’s on a family member’s holiday wish-list? No matter why you’re looking for a copy, you’re in luck!
Noumenon is one of BookBub’s sci-fi deals of the day. It’s only $1.99 for North American kindles, Nook readers, Kobo readers, on Apple Books (iTunes), and from Google Play!
Sale on Amazon lasts until December 3rd, and the other ebook prices are only so low for as long as their platforms price-match, so don’t be a victim of time dilation, snatch it up ASAP!
Happy reading!
~Marina
Hello, all! Just wanted to update you on my upcoming events schedule.
Saturday, October 20th, I’ll be at Fayetteville Barnes & Noble (Northwest Village Shopping Center, 4144 N College Ave, Fayetteville AR) for an all-day Bookfair event to help promote the True Lit festival! (http://www.truelitfest.com/) True Lit takes place this year from October 28th through November 4th, and encourages reading, writing, and storytelling across Fayetteville. I’ll also have a signing from 1:00 to 4:00pm.
Keep an eye on my website for more True Lit related appearances.
Wednesday, October 24th, join me at Left Bank Books ( 399 North Euclid Ave. St. Louis, MO), 7:00pm, as part of the bookstore’s SF STL author-event series (https://www.left-bank.com/sfstl)! I’ll be discussing Noumenon and Noumenon Infinity, and will have an open chat about speculative fiction with fellow author Thomas K. Carpenter (http://thomaskcarpenter.com/).
NOTE: The event is free, but Left Bank Books does require you to buy a copy of one of my books from their store to get in the signing line. You can preorder directly from the bookstore here: https://www.left-bank.com/ (If you already have Noumenon + Infinity, perhaps purchase one as a gift, bring a friend who hasn’t bought the book yet, or request a copy of Aliens: Bug Hunt)
Saturday, November 3rd, Fayetteville Public Library (401 W Mountain St, Fayetteville, AR), 2:00-3:00pm. I’ll be teaching a one-hour workshop on how to query a novel. This is a condensed version of my typical two-hour workshop. Attendees will learn the basics of querying, including: what a query is, who it is for, how to write one, and how to send it. Participants should have either a completed novel manuscript, or a partially completed (but thoroughly outlined) manuscript in order to fully participate in the class. No need to bring the manuscript to the workshop (unless you’d like it for your own reference), just your intimate knowledge of the plot and characters. Please contact the Fayetteville Public Library if you are interested in participating. https://www.faylib.org/
Happy reading, hope to see you soon!
~Marina
Today is release day in North America! Yay! Here’s me this morning, ridiculously ecstatic (wild hair and everything):
Tonight is my party at Nightbird Books in Fayetteville, AR, and you’re invited! Details here.
If you can’t make it to the party, you can still pick up a copy of Infinity at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Audible, ibooks, or your local independent bookstore.
I’m so happy to have the continuing saga of the Planet United Convoys and I.C.C. out in the world! I hope you enjoy the read!
~Marina
P.S. Be sure to read the acknowledgements at the end of the book! Without everyone’s hard work, this day would never have come. I owe thanks to a heap of people!
Noumenon Infinity is making all sorts of recommendation lists, and I couldn’t be happier! There’s still time to pre-order. August 14th will be here quicker than you think!
Check out these roundups–Infinity is in great company.
Bookish: Summer 2018’s Hottest Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Unbound Worlds: The Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of August 2018
Barnes & Noble Bookseller’s Picks: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of August 2018
The Verge: All the Science Fiction and Fantasy Books You Should Check Out This Month
Happy reading, everyone! (I’m buying sooooo many books this month!)
~Marina
A Little Lost 