Hey awesome,

Since we talked last, I've been through about four different climates and one giant Factory Con, and now we're settled in our winter location.

Factory Con, unsurprisingly, was a delight. I spent time with so many of my favorite people, the scenery was gorgeous, the food was amaaaaazing, and I had so much fun I did a terrible job remembering to take pictures. You can pop over to the one and only Kacey Ezell's youtube page to see her video summary of the good times, and check out the few pictures I did get below.

If you're near - or can be near - the Inner Banks of North Carolina in October of 2023 (10/20-10/23), you might want to join us. You're almost guaranteed to spend time with an author or five, have multiple chances to stuff your face, and also get a chance to pick up a book or eight you haven't caught yet. Wins all around!

As for our winter location, we're in the Charleston, SC area - fun fact, we're about 7 miles from where Jeremy and I got married 14 years ago.

Pictured above is day 1 of arrival in reverse order - the amaaazing bbq plate we rewarded ourselves with after setting up, the place we secured it from, the fossil waiting for me in our site (!!!), and the snoozling Josey did on the trip in. Now that we're here, we're close to so many things, including the ocean (!!!!!) so hopefully there will plenty of adventures over the next few months.

There will also be a heck of a lot of writing, given I have at least three things to get done between now and February. One is The Spider, with the phenomenal Bill Webb, one is a short story for the third of Kacey's and Larry Correia's fantastic noir anthologies, and one is -

One is a secret. Just until next time. And I can't waaaaait to tell you about it.

Hey, unrelated to anything at all, did you know you could pick up the eARC of Chicks in Tank Tops right now??? Hmm. ;)

Speaking of things you can get a jump on - have you seen this monstrous Kickstarter project?? The cool kids at Cabbit Crossing invited me to join their multi-genre, multi-creature anthology of monster tales, Tales of Monstrosity: Monster, Myths, and Miscreants, and whewww did I have a lot of fun with Ochia and her whole situation. The project is fully funded, and cool stretch goals are coming - check it out if you like a range of stories with new takes on less common monsters!

I've read some of the other stories, and they're seriously so fun. Plus there are some super delightful easter eggs and shenanigans in the book, soooo.

In the meantime, if a little immediate gratification will make your day better, how about two fab new books from CKP available right now?

First up, from the masters Chris Kennedy and Kevin Ikenberry:

That cover!! And the story is as good or better:

One last chance to save the world!

When the first asteroid was spotted heading toward Earth, no one thought much about it. But then a second one was found, and then a whole string. One might have been happenstance… but thirteen was enemy action!

But who was responsible for them? With asteroids bearing down on the U.S., China, and Russia, all the nations that could have done it were unlikely to have been the ones who actually caused the apocalypse headed toward Earth.

It was bad when the asteroids began hitting the planet, devastating the areas where they fell… but when 35-meter-tall monsters began climbing out of the impact craters, things quickly became far, far worse. And when they were found to be immune to most conventional weapons, everything went completely into the toilet.

With the alien hordes dominating the land and sky, though, humanity did what it did best—it created the Guardians, massive mecha that were able to take the battle to the aliens, and rushed them into production. But with four continents already about to fall, there was just one question—would they make a difference?

You can get The Last Stand for your very own right here.

Second up, from the badass Fred Hughes:

Start the series knowing the rest are coming out right behind it, and see what you're getting into:

Hazard King had always wanted to be an Imperial Fleet officer, just like his father.

But he’s a Prince of the Realm, which make things a bit more… complicated. And when Hazard’s parents tell him that they don’t trust his older brother and want Hazard to be the Crown Prince—the heir to the throne—things go from bad to worse.

And just when they can’t get any worse, the Empress is attacked.

What is a simple fleet lieutenant supposed to do with his mother in a coma, a seemingly invincible enemy on the offensive, a darkness from the past stirring, and his paranoid older brother trying to assassinate him?

What Naval officers do best—improvise. And he’s going to need all his skills, as well as the help of a former spy, a handful of Marines, and a few close relatives, if he’s to defend the Empire against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

You can get The Prince Awakens riiight here.

And that's about it - we start our new gig at our new campground soon, so I'm going to cram alllll the writing (and beach-wandering) in that I can in the meantime. Hope you have a lovely rest of October ahead!

Til next time,

Marisa