Tempted? How about a free short story available now to sweeten the deal?
The Quiet Hours – use code “quiet25” at checkout to get it free (usually $2.99). Available for the whole campaign through to October at this price.
Conducting what he imagines as a small investigation, Jason Trone finds himself in the quaint and rustic Debble Teahouse. Hidden away in the dank gloom of Morgenfeld’s endless corridors.
Sweet smells and dark corners and a more than slightly odd proprietor.
Searching for a slippery character known only as Murchison, Jason hopes to find answers. Before Jason himself becomes caught up in the murder investigation.
In the vast, chaotic, fantastical city of Morgenfeld, “The Quiet Hours” focuses down on a single moment that might change Jason’s life forever.
I mentioned in my last post that I had been writing short stories along with the new novels in the Morgenfeld Patrons of Art Trilogy, and the first of those stories, “The Quiet Hours” is available now from all your favorite retailers, including directly from the website where you can get the ebook for 100% off the $2.99 cover price (as in free) just by using the code “quiet25”.
The Quiet Hours
Conducting what he imagines as a small investigation, Jason Trone finds himself in the quaint and rustic Debble Teahouse. Hidden away in the dank gloom of Morgenfeld’s endless corridors.
Sweet smells and dark corners and a more than slightly odd proprietor.
Searching for a slippery character known only as Murchison, Jason hopes to find answers. Before Jason himself becomes caught up in the murder investigation.
In the vast, chaotic, fantastical city of Morgenfeld, “The Quiet Hours” focuses down on a single moment that might change Jason’s life forever.
While all of my series stories and novels can be read in any order, “The Quiet Hours” does take place some time after the events in the novel, The Wintermas Paintings. Don’t worry, there’s aren’t any spoilers in the story.
The Wintermas Paintings and The Bergeron Sculptures are both available for preorder directly from the website now, for June 10th and August 10th (ten days ahead of the regular retailers, in case you see them on Amazon with June 20th/August 20th).
We’re working hard right now to get the last elements of copyediting and formatting completed for the final volume the trilogy,The Ingersal Ballet, which will be available from October 10th.
I had fun writing this “The Quiet Hours” and it actually came out of a challenge to write a story about tea. Challenges are always good, since they get me thinking in different ways about my stories and my approach to writing. Working within certain limitations really does help with creativity. There’s a common refrain along the lines of “The constraints will set you free”, which I like. Stravinsky said it well with “The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one’s self of the chains that shackle the spirit.”
I do write a lot with prompts, whether that be for themed anthologies, or magazines, or just from my own little book of possible titles, and they all form the kinds of constraints that make me a little more creative.
Remember, use the discount code quiet25 to get the story for free from the website.
The first book in the new Morgenfeld Trilogy is available for preorder now. The release date is set for June 20th (though you can get the ebook a little earlier, June 10th, by going directly from the website). $5.99 for the ebook, $19.99 in print (from Amazon – the print link shows up on release day).
Fantasy trilogies are, I guess, kind of a thing, and it was fun to take a few new characters and explore Morgenfeld again, though in a whole different context.
In case you missed them, the other three novels comprise The Map Maker Trilogy – The Map Maker of Morgenfeld, The Stairs at Cronnenwood, and The Chimneys in Atterton.
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Faced with overwhelming responsibility as Morgenfeld’s new head Map Maker, Cole Palmer finds himself embroiled in sinister plots and diabolical machinations in a series of intense books for fans of the books of Mervyn Peake and Michael Moorcock. Available at your favorite retailers, including Amazon.
So over the last couple of years, among other projects, I’ve been working on the new books which comprise the Patrons of Art Trilogy. With all the kinks now ironed out and the look and feel kind of how we want it, we’ll be releasing all three new books this year. Current plans are to have The Bergeron Sculptures and The Ingersal Ballet available in August and October, as in two-monthly after The Wintermas Paintings. The manuscripts are complete and have been copyedited and proofed and right now we’re hard at work making the final formatting and covers for those books.
This is the draft look of the new trilogy, though for Bergeron and Ingersal, the cover art and layout is not final.
We also will be tinkering a little with the look of those covers on the Map Maker Trilogy – there are a couple of make-tidy things to take care of there.
Preorder links for the next two books will be coming soon. The images are from the remarkable Grandfailure, in keeping with all the other books. It’s such a wonderful style that really fits so well with the tone and feel of the novels.
Oh, also, as I did with my Cole Wright Thrillers, I’ve been writing short stories set with these new Morgenfeld characters. That’s been a blast. Writing short stories is fun, and a great way for me to get to know the characters, and to explore some things that don’t show up in the novels. Morgenfeld has a whole mess of places to explore, that’s for sure.
Anyway, with lots on the plate right now, we wanted to mention that soon, at least sometime before Wintermas comes out, we’ll be releasing at least one of the stories as a free read. A excellent way to see if the Patrons of Arts Trilogy, and even Morgenfeld, is your cup of tea, as they say (also since one of the stories is set in a tea house… too corny?).
Thanks for reading. Here’s the blurb for the first book, as I try to get your interest. Any good?
The Wintermas Paintings
Pickpocket Jason Trone flees with the spoils of his plunder. Trinkets and baubles. Hardly worth the effort. Hardly worth the risk.
Small time.
A speck in the endless corridors of the Morgenfeld’s vast city sprawl,
But when he gets an offer for the big time, Jason finds himself confronting his whole life.
And then some.
A fantasy novel that simmers with a dark brooding intensity.
Available from June 10th/20th from the usual places.
I’ve just learned that my story “Daisy And Maisie, External Hull Maintenance Experts”, from Analog last year, is a finalist for the Aurealis Awards for Best Novella.
With the story already a finalist for the Analog Analytical Laboratory award, and the Sir Julius Vogel Award, I’m feeling pretty humbled. My little story hanging out there with a bunch of stories by some awesome writers.
Now, I just wait for those results to trickle in, with my fingers crossed.
You can read the story for free at the Analog website, but you can also grab the ebook, with my afterword, from my website seanmonaghan.com. $2.99, but you can use the code DandM50 to get it for fifty percent off. Or use the code DandM100 to get it 100% off (that is, free). Both codes will be valid through until June 15th 2025 (when the Analog Analytical Laboratory results are announced).
I mentioned before here and here, my short story “Daisy and Maisie, External Hull Maintenance Specialists”, originally published in the March/April issue of Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, is on the Sir Julius Vogel Award ballot for best novella or novelette, and also is on the ballot for Analog’s Analytical Laboratory (voted for by readers). The Analog final results come out in mid-June, I think, but the SJVs voting is on now, with the award ceremony happening at Concatenation con in Wellington over Easter (Kudos too for the organisers of the con, pulling together something out of almost nothing – great work).
If you’re a member of Concatenation, or SFFANZ, you have voting rights, so you can access the stories through the finalists page.
They’re also available to read for free on the Analog (Daisy and Maisie) and Asimov’s (Wildest Skies) websites, through until those respective awards are announced.
But, to add to that, “Daisy and Maisie…” is available from the website now as an ebook for $2.99. Just for reading here, you can use the code DandM50 to get it for fifty percent off. Not enough. Okay. Use the code DandM100 to get it 100% off (that is, free). I can’t go any higher than that, otherwise I’m giving you money 😁. I’ll leave these codes valid through until June 15th.
The print book version will be available soon. It looks grand. Link coming when all the details are in place.
Daisy and Maisie, External Hull Maintenance Experts
Chuck Grimshaw works hard in the gruelling environment orbiting Mars. Long days fixing broken equipment, on a worn out ship, in a stinky spacesuit.
His two robot helpers, Daisy and Maisie, make things bearable. Never short of a wry observation or a correction to Grimshaw’s work habits.
When disaster strikes, Grimshaw finds they have more talents than just quips and repairs.
It’s an intriguing feeling, reaching the end of a project like this. I mean, at first, I didn’t even know it was a project. I was just writing a fun novel, I thought.
When I realized that I had on my hands characters I enjoyed hanging out with, and a title sequence that lent itself to a sequence of books, I began working with a little more focus toward creating a finite series.
The twelve books can be read in any order, so if you’ve not read any yet, Yesterday’s Ziggurat is as good a place to jump in as any. I might even say it’s the best place to jump in, since it was the last book I wrote, and mostly the last book I wrote is my favorite.
Available as a preorder from the usual places, Amazon for both print and ebook, and the other major retailers for ebooks. $5.99 for the ebook, $19.99 for the paperback. Release date is April 20th.
If you want it now (of course you do!) it’s available directly from me on the website – www.seanmonaghan.com. Use the code YZFriend25 to get 50% discount, valid through until April 21st (the link there should automatically apply the discount).
Oh, I guess I should mention what the book is about, right? This is the back cover blurb:
Yesterday’s Ziggurat
Decades after the diaspora, the vast canal lands of Karnth still support struggling farms.
When a sinkhole chews up Dallas Saldon’s soil-tuner, and almost takes him too, he knows he needs to rethink his plans. Tough and resilient, Dallas faces challenges with a stoicism born of the land.
But the sinkhole proves just the beginning. Placing Dallas and a new arrival in more danger than he knows.
Called in to help, Flis Kupe and Grae Sinder face challenges beyond anything from before.
Challenges that might just change everything they know about the canal lands.
And beyond.
A Karnish River Navigations novel that pits the investigators against an unimaginable foe.
My next task is updating most of the covers of the series – you’ll see that Waxing Xebec and Yesterday’s Ziggurat are the only ones with my name at the top. Fixing that now.
Thanks for reading and being a friend to the site. Most appreciated.
Now that the official announcement has been made, I can add in here to two of my stories from 2024 are finalists on a couple more award ballots. Both “Daisy and Maisie, External Hull Maintenance Experts” (Analog, March/April 2024) and “Wildest Skies” (Asimov’s November/December 2024) are up for those magazines’ awards.
The announcements of the winners for both will come with the July/August issues (out in mid-June), but in the meantime, you can read the stories for free at award pages – the links here will take you to them – and most of the other finalists are available there too. That’s a whole mess of great reading. There are some spectacular stories there. Enjoy.
These awards are kind of my favorites because they’re voted for by the actual readers of the magazines. I’ve been a finalist before in the Asimov’s Readers’ Poll, for “The Molenstraat Music Festival” (which placed fourth equal as best novelette of 2015), “Goldie” (which placed second as best novella of 2022) and “Crimson Birds of Small Miracles” (which won for best short story of 2017). This is the first time I’ve been a finalist for the Analog Analytical Laboratory, though I’ve had numerous stories there over the last few years.
While I’m jabbering on, I do have more Asimov’s and Analog stories forthcoming – “Can You Outrun A T-Rex” in the November/December Asimov’s, and “Ready For New Arrivals” in the July/August Analog.
But I digress. Both “Wildest Skies” and “Daisy and Maisie, External Hull Maintenance Experts” are also finalists in the Best Novella/Novelette category in New Zealand’s Sir Julius Vogel Awards, in the same category, though, which makes me feel a little like I’m up against myself, ha, ha. And both are also on the long list (i.e. nominated) for Australia’s Aurealis Award. More details on that one to come. Hoping that they might make the shortlist.
“Wildest Skies” was a fun story to write too, and stimulated a whole lot of other stories with the characters and situations, with more to come. See www.wildestskies.com with those stories there.
My short story “Daisy and Maisie, External Hull Maintenance Experts”, originally published in the March/April issue of Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, is on the Sir Julius Vogel Award ballot for best novella or novelette. Now, I call it a short story, but there are technical lengths for awards and the cutoff for short stories is 7,500 words… “Daisy and Maisie…” is 7,600 words. That pushes it to novelette length.
That’s all well and fine, I’m thrilled to be nominated and to make it onto the finalist ballot.
Interesting side note, my 22,000 word novella “Wildest Skies” is also on the same ballot, so I’m kind of competing with myself, with stories of very different lengths.
Again, no complaints. Not at all. I’ve been on the ballots before, and even won once, but it’s been a while. All you nice people who’ve been reading the stories have been kind enough to consider them award-worthy and to nominate them.
Thank you, thank you. It’s very appreciated.
I have friends in other categories too – Lee Murray for Best Collected work, and Best Cover for her wonderful Fox Spirit on a Distant Cloud and Mel Harding-Shaw for her novel Echoes of Earthshine and also (as Melanie Harding-Shaw) for her article “Your Guide to New Zealand Fantasy Romance Novels Coming in 2024”
A full list of the finalists can be found here on the Sir Julius Vogel Awards Finalists 2025 page.
The competition will be tight, and because of other commitments I will miss the awards ceremony in April. Wish me luck, but also best of luck to the other nominees Just not in my category 😉
“Daisy and Maisie…” will be out as a standalone story in ebook and print very soon. What do you think of the cover? This is the blurb.
Daisy and Maisie, External Hull Maintenance Experts, blurb
Chuck Grimshaw works hard in the gruelling environment orbiting Mars. Long days fixing broken equipment, on a worn out ship, in a stinky spacesuit.
His two robot helpers, Daisy and Maisie, make things bearable. Never short of a wry observation or a correction to Grimshaw’s work habits.
When disaster strikes, Grimshaw finds they have more talents than just quips and repairs.
Well, technically it’s been out for a little while now, but I’m finally backtracking through my publications and getting the details loaded here.
While I mostly tend to write science fiction and contemporary stories, I do also dabble in fantasy from time to time. For the most part, that’s in my Morgenfeld series, which will see a slew of new releases this year with a new completed trilogy, and a collection of short stories with those characters and some new characters.
Morgenfeld is a fantasy world without magic, but sometimes I do write fantasies with a little magic. And dragons. And demons.
Sigrid’s Eagle was a fun story to write, and I was very happy with the result. I think stepping outside my usual genres helped to give me a different focus, and in turn brought back different approaches when I wrote my next sci fi tale.
Sigrid’s Eagle – Blurb
Calinda’s sister Sigrid vanished in the jagged reaches of the Spikehill Mountains. Jutting, thready, dangerous peaks.
Calinda needs to know why. Needs to know what drew Sigrid into such danger.
Their father would disapprove. But then, Calinda knows a couple of spells. She has her bow. And her good moccasins.
She will find Sigrid. No matter what trials she might face.
A fantasy tale that asks how far we will go for family. From the author of the Morgenfeld series.
This story pairs well with my fantasy novella “Crossing Bonestrike Gorge“. Both fantastical, with strong, young lead out of their depths.
Sigrid’s Eagle is available from the usual places as both and ebook for $2.99 and a paperback for $7.99. The best place to grab it is the main website – you can download it in your choice of formats.
Thanks for reading. As a thanks for making it this far, here are a couple of discount codes on the website. Both valid until the end of July 2025.
Get Sigrid’s Eagle for 50% cover price by using the code sigrids2025 at checkout.
Get both Sigrid’s Eagle and Crossing Bonestrike Gorge as a combo for 50% total cover price by using the code sigridscombo2025 at checkout (make sure to add both to your cart).
Pulphouse Magazine is well-known for its quirky and off-beat stories and I hope mine is no exception. It’s available now in the current issue.
I’ve been having fun writing stories that are out there at the limits, and it’s cool that one has found a home right here among some great company.
“Artie Beeline Meets Someone”
Artie Beeline’s home needs some work. A lot of work.
Kind of like his life.
If he can just find the right person for the job.
When a new neighbor moves into the street, the arrival might just throw Artie’s plans into disarray.
Or solve all his problems.
No matter what, this will change Artie’s life.
Available now directly from the Pulphouse Store, or through Amazon and other retailers.
As it happens, I’ve got another story coming out in a future issue too – ‘Meeting Susanna’. I’ll let you know when that one comes out.
A reminder too, my flash fiction story “Heading for Boise” is available as a free download from my store here. Through until the end of the year. Maybe that was a mistake, I mean, where’s the urgency for anyone? Shouldn’t I be doing this all a time-limited thing?
Sean Monaghan - Writer 