Keeping the Machine in Tune

ARC copies of The Holver Alley Crew  are hitting the world, which triggers various book-bloggers starting in on acknowledging they’ve received it.  That prompted this from Mogsy at the Bibilosanctum:

Marshall Ryan Maresca is a writing machine! He’s already been putting out a couple books a year – quality books, I might add – from his two series set in the fantasy city of Maradaine, and now he’s starting a third called The Streets of Maradaine. I can’t wait to see what this new book will bring to the interconnected universe. 

I’ll admit it, I love reading things like that.  I sometimes have a hard time seeing myself as “a machine”.  I often feel like I’m not doing anywhere near as much as I could be doing.  I finally have achieved what I’ve struggled for all these years, and now I can’t afford to waste any time.  I’ve got a lot to do, a lot of stories to tell, so I need to keep pressing along.

Here’s the truth: I’ve known, deep down, that when I got published, it wasn’t going to be this instant mega-hit out of nowhere.  My path to the next-level success wasn’t going to be That One Great Book, but many strong books, delivered with consistency.  I won’t let myself fail that.  I’ve worked to hard to get here to lose momentum now.

And the early buzz on The Holver Alley Crew seems to indicate that I’ve kept up with that.  From Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviews:

The whole narrative is tightly plotted, and each page makes you want to turn to the next – it’s got fires, knife fights, brawls, daring escapes, explosions, and a lot of heart – and as such, I’m looking forward to seeing what adventures the Holver Alley Crew go onto from here.

(So it’s a good thing I’ve finished the draft of the second “Streets of Maradaine” novel, Lady Henterman’s Wardrobe.)

Now, if you’re going to be an ConfusionSF, it’s my first time attending, and I’ll have an ARC copy of The Holver Alley Crew on me to give away to one lucky attendee.  All you have to do is be the first person to approach me and say, “The job isn’t skunked unless your pinched or dead.”  (Or words to that effect.  I won’t be a total stickler for getting it verbatim.)  That easy.

Now: back to work.  A Parliament of Bodies won’t write itself.  If it did, what would I do?

#SFWAPro