Michael G. Munz

The official website of Seattle sci-fi/fantasy author and geek Michael G. Munz

Did I Choose My Genre? Or Did It Choose Me?

By Leave a Comment

Those two questions up there in the title were recently asked of me by a couple of other authors (well, with pronouns adjusted properly), and, after a bit of conversation, out popped this post.

It’s an interesting question to us writer-folk, and I’m betting it is to some of you reader-folk, too. Why do we write what we write, and how did we arrive there? My control-freak, gut reaction is to say that I choose my genre. I’m in control of my own destiny! I make my own choices! I not a robot, I am a human being!

Bioshock joke. Would you kindly just ignore it if you don't get it?

Bioshock joke. Would you kindly just ignore it if you don’t get it?

[Read more…]

Book Excerpt: Wizzy Wig by Tiffany Pitts

By Leave a Comment

Wizzy Wig by Tiffany Pittz

Warning: May contain nanotech-augmented cats. Also pizza.

Today I’ve got a bit of fun to share with you! It’s an excerpt from author Tiffany Pitts’s light-hearted–yet simultaneously deadly–Seattle-based sci-fi adventure novel Wizzy Wig. (Wow, I used all my hyphens in that sentence, huh?)
You might remember my review of Wizzy Wig just a few months ago, which included positive statements like this:

Pitts writes with a uniquely delightful literary voice. Her particular brand of contemporary sci-fi adventure somehow manages to present life-and-death situations alongside blithe imagination in a way that often seems to look askance at reality as if to say, “Really, reality? Really?”

I’m not sure if I’m making sense here, so to sum up my opinion more concisely: Wizzy Wig is a fun sci-fi read that’s certainly worth your time. Especially if you like cats. And strong characters of any gender. And reality-bending pizza.

Well, now Tiffany has provided me with a chapter from Wizzy Wig to share with you. So, without further babbling on my part, have a read!

[Read more…]

Bad Sci-Fi Theater: Stung (2015)

By Leave a Comment

I’d like to introduce a new recurring feature here on Geek Notes: The feature with the descriptive yet banal name…

Bad Sci-Fi Theater!

Stung (2015)

Might be a good time to blink.

See, so-bad-it’s-good sci-fi is something of a guilty pleasure of mine. I’m not sure if I should blame adolescent viewings of Mystery Science Theater 3000, more recent times of getting together with bunches of people to watch things like The Beast of Yucca Flats, or just a general weirdness on my part. Perhaps all three. The point is, if you love to watch (and make fun of) bad sci-fi, these entries might be for you.

And hey, if you follow me on Twitter (@TheWriteMunz), you might even catch me doing it live with the hashtag #BSFT, and can even join in. Most of what I watch will likely be on Netflix streaming, and sometimes I’ll be joining up with other geeks to watch simultaneously. [Read more…]

Now (Re)publishing via Red Muse Press!

By Leave a Comment

And so it begins!

So you heard the news a few weeks ago: Booktrope, the publisher I signed with in 2014, went out of business as of May 31st. As I retain the rights to my books, I’ve chosen, for the moment, to republish them myself under my own imprint. I’m now pleased to present to you the name of that imprint, along with its own fancy-ass logo!

Red Muse Press Logo

Actually, I suppose it’s kind of a simple-ass logo. But it’s a logo. They’re supposed to be efficient like that. And I really like it. So there.

[Read more…]

Book Review: Aberrant Vectors

By Leave a Comment

Aberrant Vectors by JM Guillen

My rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5)

Aberrant Vectors continues the tradition of throwing J.M. Guillen’s Asset 108 into a nightmarish mess of other-reality dangers and forcing him and his cadre to sneak, fight, and think their way out of it. Guillen’s skill with description is at full strength here as he paints vivid images of the strange, the terrifying, and the weird. He takes us through the depths (and heights) of a skyscraper housing alien geometries, an alien world of mind-stripping symbiotes, and even the most horrible evil known to mankind. Yes, that’s right: telemarketers.

I enjoyed the characters, particularly two newcomers that I do hope to see again. While there are many long stretches where the protagonist is on his own, my favorite parts of the book allow him to interact with the others. As with other tales of Asset 108, there is a LOT of sci-fi action in Aberrant Vectors. I found myself wishing for a little more breathing room between the action, but that’s just my own personal taste. And Guillen does write some of the most unique action scenes I’ve ever read.

Bottom line: If you’re craving sci-fi action with incredible tech and reality-bending locales, grab this book.

…If you’re craving nachos, grab some nachos. This book will not turn into nachos. No book will turn into nachos. That is not how books work.

I’ve sent A Dragon at the Gate to my editor!

By 1 Comment

If you’ve been following me on Twitter or Facebook, you already know this, but just in case you’re not stalking me to the best of your ability: Yesterday, April 3rd, 2016, at just about exactly 3pm, I finished writing A Dragon at the Gate!!!

Yes, okay, so there will be more work done on it. My editor will surely have things to say, and I’m waiting to hear back from a beta-reader or two with some input, but it’s now in a state where I consider it ready to move on to the publishing phase. Note the use of the word “phase” in there. It’s not instantaneous. Along with the final editing, there’s also layout, setting things up regarding at least a little bit of marketing, and oh, gee, it still needs a cover!

A Dragon at the Gate

Still not the actual cover!

And since I mentioned the cover, I’m really excited to be working with Amalia Chitulescu again to come up with another great cover that matches the style of the first two in the series–both of which are her work. I’m not yet sure when we’ll have the cover finalized, but you can bet I’ll be doing a reveal here.

“Yes, Michael,” I hear you asking, “that’s all well and good, but when do we get to READ the damn thing?!” Dates are still in flux, but once I and the editor/designer/publisher peoples get all of our ducks in a row, it’s likely to be late summer or early autumn. Hopefully very early autumn, if it does take that long. I don’t want to keep you all waiting too much longer. Then again, maybe I should keep pushing it back because given some of the events in book 3, I do wonder if some of you will wish to kill me. 😀

But now, I’ve got a little more free time than I used to! I’ll be diving back into Percy Jackson (more on that soon), hopefully getting some more general geek content on this site, and, at long last, start to make some real headway on the Zeus Is Dead sequel. I can’t tell you how many times something funny occurred to me as I was finishing up ADATG that I couldn’t put into the book because it’s not actually a comedy. Well, I mean, except for Felix’s sense of humor. But he can’t say everything I want him to.

…And maybe there’s an unpublished fantasy novel that I’ve already written that might be making an appearance. But that’s for another time…

Writing Update: A Dragon at the Gate – March 2016

By Leave a Comment

A Dragon at the Gate

And this is still just a temporary cover.

This post is coming to you from one of those crowded, caffeine-fueled generators of books known as a café. (Yes, I often write in cafés. I’m a human cliché.) I’m closing in on the point where I can finally put the words “The End” on A Dragon at the Gate, the third and final book in the New Aeneid Cycle. Of course, this particular writing session is going about as well as a rowboat made of sugar, so I’m shifting my focus to the blog so as to best procrastinate and hide from my problems.

So here’s the skinny. (The “skinny”? Who talks like that?) I’m currently on day 3 of a 6-day forced writing march. (The fact that it’s also taking place IN March–and that I’m writing this on March 6th, come to think of it–is pure coincidence. But it is kinda neat, isn’t it?) I’ve taken off of my day job. I’ve (mostly) avoided my social media. I’ve shunned my friends. My goal in this is to finally finish the book by March 9th. There will still need to be rewrites, polishing, and a smattering of unwritten scenes, of course. Those I’ll be finishing up by the end of March, at which time I’ll be handing it over to my editor and entering the final stages of getting the book into published form, which will come in paperback and ebook forms.

Except for this afternoon’s troubles, it’s going pretty well. I’m pushing myself, but it’s paying off. I have a clear path to the end of the book, and I’m confident that I’m going to make it. As a certain psychopathic, delusional man-boy recently said, “I know the words. I have the best words.” 😉 A Dragon at the Gate is going to be a wild ride, and I want to make it the best of the series.

As for when you’ll finally be able to read it, things still need to be worked out on that front, but assuming I can stay on schedule, we’re looking at very late spring or early summer. And then you’ll get to know just what happens, who survives, and just what the heck is going on up there on the Moon, because even if you’ve read A Shadow in the Flames and A Memory in the Black, there’s a very key element missing.

And that’s all I’m going to say about that.
For now.