maryrobinette

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: Vanessa Ricci-Thode talks about THE DRAGON NEXT DOOR

Vanessa Ricci-Thode is joining us today to talk about her novel, The Dragon Next Door. Here’s the publisher’s description: Tollar’s got a stolen dragon egg, and that’s the least of her problems. Tollar is a hero for hire who just wants to deliver a stolen dragon egg to its kin and get on with her next adventure. But when the dragon hatches, imprints on her, and refuses to leave, Tollar enlists…

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: Christy Climenhage talks about THE MIDNIGHT PROJECT

Christy Climenhage is joining us today to talk about her novel, The Midnight Project. Here’s the publisher’s description: When enigmatic billionaire Burton Sykes walks into Re-Gene-eration, a bespoke reproduction assistance clinic run by Raina and Cedric, two disgraced genetic engineers struggling to get by, they know they have a very unusual client. When Sykes asks them to genetically engineer…

[maryrobinette]

Narrative Theory for Science Communication

I was recently invited to give a talk with the IEEE Women in Engineering webinar series. It was a lovely experience, and I wanted to share the presentation with you. In this workshop, we learn how to use the foundations of storytelling to help you be more successful with science communication. Pretty much every story, fictional or nonfictional, can be explained through a fairly simple…

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: Natalia Theodoridou talks about SOUR CHERRY

Natalia Theodoridou is joining us today to talk about his novel, Sour Cherry. Here’s the publisher’s description: The tale begins with Agnes. After losing her baby, Agnes is called to the great manor house to nurse the local lord’s baby boy. But something is wrong with the child: his nails grow too fast, his skin smells of soil, and his eyes remind her of the dark forest. As he grows into a boy,…

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: David Anaxagoras talks about THE TOWER

David Anaxagoras is joining us today to talk about his audiobook, The Tower. Here’s the publisher’s description: When 12-year-old Kolby finds himself captive in the penthouse of a 75-story skyscraper with no memory of who he is or how he got there, he must work together with other young captives to unravel the mysteries of the tower before its ultimate, terrifying purpose can be…

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: Jim C. Hines talks about KITEMASTER

Jim C. Hines is joining us today to talk about his novel, Kitemaster Here’s the publisher’s description: Nial Sarnin is twenty-one—far too young to have lost her beloved husband, Jika. One year after his death, Nial prepares to fly a kite sewn from his wedding shirt, believing it will carry Jika’s spirit to the stars. But instead of drifting gently skyward, the spirit kite moves under Nial’s…

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: Anson Joaquin talks about DEMON GATE

Anson Joaquin is joining us today to talk about his novel, Infernal Age: Demon Gate. Here’s the publisher’s description: The end of technology and maybe of humanity itself. Demons (and magic) unleashed upon the Earth. The Mist meets a gritty prequel to The Elfstones of Shannara, The Infernal Age is a nail-biting take on the death of the modern world and the birth of something darker. Gabriel,…

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: Omar Hussain talks about A THOUSAND NATURAL SHOCKS

Omar Hussain is joining us today to talk about his novel, A Thousand Natural Shocks. Here’s the publisher’s description: Memories define us. But who do we become if they disappear? Dash, a reporter in Monterey, California, is desperate to outrun his past. During the day, he investigates the reemergence of a long-dormant serial killer. At night, he has become entangled with a criminal cult that…

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: Heather Tracy talks about ONLY A CHAPTER

Heather Tracy is joining us today to talk about her novel, Only a Chapter. Here’s the publisher’s description: “A call to change a lifetime… Clare O’Donnell is in a dead-end relationship with her girlfriend, until she receives a phone call that changes her life—literally. In one timeline, her biopsy results are positive for cancer. In another timeline, her results are benign. In one timeline,…

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: Lara Elena Donnelly talks about NO SUCH THING AS DUTY

Lara Elena Donnelly is joining us today to talk about her novel, No Such Thing as Duty. Here’s the publisher’s description: In the waning days of World War One, William Somerset Maugham–novelist, playwright, and spy–is sent to Romania to serve allied interests in the fight against Austro-Hungary, while dying of tuberculosis. His handler sets him to recruit mysterious Carpathian nobleman Walter…

[maryrobinette]

April 2025 Update: News, Events, and More

Note: If you’d prefer to receive this monthly update in your email inbox (along with additional content, like my cat’s latest conversations), you can sign up for my newsletter here. I’m back in Denver following the Martian Contingency book tour, which was a delight. I deeply believe that stories are a collaborative process between the writer and the reader. Going on tour allowed me to meet so…

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: Randee Dawn talks about THE ONLY SONG WORTH SINGING

Randee Dawn is joining us today to talk about her novel, The Only Song Worth Singing. Here’s the publisher’s description: Childhood friends Patrick, Ciaran, and Malachi would’ve been happy to play music for coins on the streets of Dublin, but when their sound – a blend of traditional tunes and rock styling – lands them a record deal, they also get their first tour of America. As they gather…

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: CJ Hosack talks about THE TRAVELER'S MAGIC

CJ Hosack is joining us today to talk about her novel, The Traveler’s Magic. Here’s the publisher’s description: The Library is dying. Ryn is finally working in the Ancestral Library, a childhood dream and a way to find her birth parentage. But the magic of the Library is being sabotaged, allowing pests, water damage and worse, while hostile Ancestor Houses are vying to move the books from the…

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: Hache Pueyo talks about BUT NOT TOO BOLD

Hache Pueyo is joining us today to talk about her novel, But Not Too Bold. Here’s the publisher’s description: The Shape of Water meets Mexican Gothic in this sapphic monster romance novella wrapped in gothic fantasy trappingsThe old keeper of the keys is dead, and the creature who ate her is the volatile Lady of the Capricious House―Anatema, an enormous humanoid spider with a taste for laudanum…

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: LJ Cohen talks about LITANY FOR A BROKEN WORLD

[author] is joining us today to talk about her novel, A Litany for a Broken World Here’s the publisher’s description: A young girl’s disastrous first foray through the multiverse cleaves her from her family and abandons her in a homeless encampment, adrift in a world and a body not her own.A doctor struggling with grief volunteers for the annual Boston homeless census and is confronted by the…

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: Cory O'Brien talks about TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE

Cory O’Brien is joining us today to talk about his novel, Two Truths and a Lie. Here’s the publisher’s description: In a mostly underwater near-future Los Angeles, aging combat-drone veteran Orr Vue now lives a simple and small life, trading snippets of what’s become the most valuable currency: information. So when the cops show up at his door looking for data on a murder he’s not even aware has…

[maryrobinette]

MRK's 2024 Award Eligibility

As you carefully consider what to nominate for awards this year, there are so many wonderful works to choose from. I’d be honored if you thought of me. Here are my award-eligible contributions for 2024. Short Stories “MARGINALIA” in Uncanny Magazine Issue Fifty-Six Messy, frantic footsteps ran toward the cottage. “Margery!” Her brother’s voice cracked in the middle of her name. “Margery!…