Michael Underwood Puns

So we’ve been here before.

A few times.

But this is “a whole new goddamn ballgame”.

Because it solidifies how horribly Universal has treated the greatest horror-rom-com series of our time AND it only got written because of my previous rantlings being believed by a writer who already explored the hidden Kevin Bacon pilot.

Welcome to the Graboid hole of Tremors 5 Gummer Down Under:

When ‘Tremors’ co-creators Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson were approached to develop a fifth entry in the popular franchise, they envisioned sending gun nut Burt Gummer to the land down under to throw another graboid on the barbie. But a combination of unfortunate events and mysterious studio forces saw them unceremoniously dumped from the franchise. Much like the lead characters in the series of films they helped bring to life, S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock have often had to adapt to circumstances largely beyond their control. For starters, there was the case of the ever-decreasing returning cast.

>“Michael Gross (who played survivalist Burt Gummer in seven ‘Tremors’ films as well as the 13-episode TV series from the early naughties) would be the first one to say that the running joke was that he was the only one willing to show up,” Wilson said.

>“Kevin (Bacon, in case it wasn’t obvious, who played Val McKee in the first film) bowed out before ‘Tremors 2’, although he did consider it briefly. We flew out to New York and saw him. But at the time, he hated the movie. He hated it for about 20 years. At the time, he’d had some flops, and ‘Tremors’ wasn’t a breakout hit. He was incredible to work with, and when we went to see him, he was very polite. But he said, ‘Guys, you know what? People don’t come up to me (and say) ‘You’re so great in that movie.’, they just say ‘The monsters are so cool’. He was very, very pleasant to us, all the while saying ‘no’. Then Fred Ward (Bacon’s co-star) came back for the second film but didn’t want to do any more after that. So in ‘Tremors 3’, we knew it was only going to be Michael - and we knew that Burt needed sounding boards; he needed ‘real’ people who he can react to and who can react to him. So we decided to get someon

Hello, r/Books! My new novel Annihilation Aria is a found family space opera adventure about married treasure hunters in a galaxy populated by a variety of cool alien species from cyborg pilots to 5 meter tall tentacled super-soldier tyrants to giant space turtles. It's inspired by the fun space fantasy side of the genre, ala Guardians of the Galaxy or Star Wars. My other work includes the r/Fantasy Stabby Award-finalist Genrenauts, martial arts ＆ political epic fantasy serial Born to the Blade, and the Ree Reyes series of geeky urban fantasies. My work is known for twisting genre tropes and inclusive action-adventure storytelling.

Before going full-time as an author, I worked for about a decade in traditional publishing, working as a bookseller, a traveling sales representative, and as the North American Sales ＆ Marketing Manager for Angry Robot Books. My Patreon has essays on the business of publishing and the craft of writing as well as pictures of my cute dog, Oreo.

I co-host the actual play podcast Speculate! and I'm a guest host on Hugo Award-finalist The Skiffy and Fanty Show. In my spare time, I geek out with games and comics and make pizzas from scratch. I look forward to answering your questions!

Proof: https://i.redd.it/q9wpq7nh0ue51.jpg

Same thing as his normal career Sims but this time to see who is the better coach

The Complete AMA Schedule.

Michael R. Underwood, Marie Brennan, Cassandra Khaw, and Malka Older here to talk BORN TO THE BLADE, the new episodic epic fantasy by Serial Box Publishing. Inverse called BORN TO THE BLADE “The Best Fantasy Epic NOT on TV”

For centuries the Warders' Circle on the neutral islands of Twaa-Fei has given the countries of the sky a way to avoid war, settling their disputes through formal, magical duels. But the Circle's ability to maintain peace is fading: the Mertikan Empire is preparing for conquest and the trade nation of Quloo is sinking, stripped of the aerstone that keeps both ships and island a-sky. When upstart Kris Denn tries to win their island a seat in the Warder’s Circle and colonial subject Oda no Michiko discovers that her conquered nation's past is not what she's been told, they upset the balance of power. The storm they bring will bind all the peoples of the sky together…or tear them apart. Serial Box delivers episodes weekly in ebook and audiobook, which you can switch between seamlessly. Read on the web or download the app.

You can read the first episode of BORN TO THE BLADE for free on:

Amazon Barnes & Noble Google Kobo Or The Serial Box site or app

And subscribe to the series (a better value) here.

We'll be back to answer questions this evening (around 7PM EDT for at least one of us), but we reserve the right to start answering questions any time! Keep you on your toes, like any good fencer would.

In the meantime, Ask Us Anything about collaborative writing, magic fencing, worldbuilding, character-driven storytelling, martial arts, RPGs, or anything else!

EDIT: answers are flying fast and furious now, but keep the questions coming!

EDIT: I think we've hit everything, but if more questions come in we'll try t

I just watched The Shape of Water and I completely feel that Michael Shannon would be perfect replacing Kevin Spacey on House of Cards. It makes me shiver just imagining him giving a menacing speech to the camera. His presence as a man rich with power and no regard for others is just impeccable. I think the show would be smarter to recast Frank Underwood and complete the arc they had planned rather than coming up with a last ditch effort without the main character, and Shannon could completely do justice to the character.

Hello, r/fantasy! I'm Michael R. Underwood, Fantasy & Science Fiction author and North American Sales & Marketing Manager for Angry Robot Books.

I have a penchant for genre-mashing and playing with popular culture, from geek magic to superhero fantasy.

My books are Geekomancy, Celebromancy, Attack the Geek, and the just-released Shield and Crocus. The world of Shield and Crocus is in development for an original graphic novel by Jet City Comics.

I'm also a co-host on the Hugo-nominated Skiffy and Fanty Show, and co-host the Dangerous Voices Variety Hour readings series in Baltimore, MD. I have a tendency to over-commit.

When I'm not writing, I dance Argentine Tango, study Renaissance martial arts (mostly fencing/swordplay from the 16th/17th C.), make homemade pizza, and keep up my Geek-Fu.

I love talking publishing shop, so I'm game to talk business, writing, and whatever else. Ask Me Anything!

I will be coming back at 7PM EDT to answer questions.

Edit: 10:56 PM EDT - I think I've got everything that's posted, so I'm going to wind down for the night. Please feel free to add more questions overnight (esp. international folks), and I'll try to get to any new questions tomorrow.

Thanks so much, everyone! It's been a blast!

For anyone in the region of Baltimore, MD - Atomic Books is hosting a launch event for Shield and Crocus on June 20th, and I'd love to see any and all of you there! https://www.facebook.com/events/248750885333327/

Hi r/Fantasy! Many of you know me from previous AMAs or from kicking around here in the sub talking books, publishing, etc.

Right now I am Kickstarting the Complete Season One Collection for my adventure series Genrenauts. The campaign has already hit its funding goal (dances), and now we're pushing for stretch goals to produce audiobook editions and more. There are also some critique reward levels, where you can get fabulous Genrenauts swag and have me critique your writing to help make it more amazing.

Here's the basic run-down for the series:

In Genrenauts, our Earth is just one of many in a multiverse. Each other Earth is the home to a familiar narrative genre: Fantasy, Westerns, Crime, Romance, etc. Each world is constantly playing out stories from its genre – archetypes and tale types smashing up against one another making tragedies and happily ever afters. But like any system, sometimes entropy takes hold, and a story breaks down. When that happens, the Genrenauts step in to fix the story.

Because if they don’t, the dissonance from the broken story ripples over and changes Earth on a fundamental level. (if Fantasy world goes off-track, and xenophobia rises and cultural rifts widen; if Science Fiction world goes off-track, scientific innovation stagnates, exploration halts; etc.).

In keeping with current AMA traditions, I will start by asking r/Fantasy a question:

What's your favorite story about stories? Or: your favorite story about a storyteller?

My answer for this would have to be The Princess Bride, my first and favorite frame narrative where the expectations and beats of storytelling were discussed and used to enhance the framed narrative.

Today I am here to answer your questions, great and small, one and all! I'm happy to talk about the Kickstarter, Genrenauts in general, my other books, the SF/F publishing industry, geekdom, comics, historical martial arts, or whatever! I'll be back at 8PM for the answer-palooza.

EDIT I'm writing out answers now, will start posting at 8. More questions welcome!

EDIT I am heading to bed now. Will try to answer any further questions tomorrow morning. Thanks, all!

So hear me out. We know that Sharon is Peggy's great-niece. That means she has to be the sibling (or spouse of a sibling) of one of Sharon's grandparents. Sharon's last name is Carter, so barring the insane coincidence that there's two Carter families in her lineage, she has to be the daughter of Peggy's biological nephew. Except... She only has one sibling, Michael, and no children were mentioned for him and he was mentioned as deceased.

Well, the cliffhanger at the end of Season 2 pretty much directly implies that not only did Michael commit horrific war crimes during WW2, but he's also alive and shot Thompson point blank to protect his secrets (earlier in the season Thompson had tried to blackmail Peggy with said file, since it only said M. Carter). So my guess is that Season 3 would've properly established that yeah, he's still alive. And that he'd be Sharon's grandpa.

Now, on to my theory. It was literally a shower thought, it popped into my head as I was washing my hair, so forgive me if it's stupid. Dottie was obsessed with Peggy. To the point of straight up dyeing her hair to match Peggy's (but just the slightest bit darker), and wearing the same clothing as her.

So if Dottie found out Peggy had a brother, a brother who was as dark and dastardly as her? She'd swoop that up in a heartbeat. But I'm sure somehow Peggy would redeem her brother, and in turn he'd redeem Dottie through TWUE WUV. Then they'd have a son, and that son would later have Sharon.

Honestly, this whole theory popped into my head because both Dottie and Sharon are blonde.

I am a fantasy and science fiction author and sales/marketing manager for Angry Robot Books. My novels GEEKOMANCY and CELEBROMANCY are available in ebook and audiobook, focusing on a snarky barista who discovers the magic of fandom. I have three books coming this year, a novella called ATTACK THE GEEK, an epic fantasy SHIELD AND CROCUS, and a new urban fantasy series starting with THE YOUNGER GODS.

I've been participating in /r/fantasy for a while now, and am very excited to do this Pop-Up AMA at ConFusion! Let's chat!

EDIT: I have to head off to other panels now. Thanks so much to everyone who came by! Please feel free to ask more questions, and I'll come back to answer the others later today or tomorrow morning!

GEEKOMANCY is currently on sale for $1.99 on Amazon, for anyone interested: http://www.amazon.com/Geekomancy-Michael-R-Underwood-ebook/dp/B007SNRRP8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390071213&sr=8-1&keywords=geekomancy

I am the reason why the rum will be gone.

I love talking about the publishing business, historical martial arts, and geeky media. Let's chat!

EDIT I have to step away for a while but I will be back later on for any additional questions.

Since my friend /u/gsclose just coined the term "Happy Gallow'een" and since I won't get to use it again until next year, I've got some giveaways for anyone who responds with the magic Halloween words

So we’ve been here before.

A few times.

But this is “a whole new goddamn ballgame”.

Because it solidifies how horribly Universal has treated the greatest horror-rom-com series of our time AND it only got written because of my previous rantlings being believed by a writer who already explored the hidden Kevin Bacon pilot.

Welcome to the Graboid hole of Tremors 5: Gummer Down Under:

When ‘Tremors’ co-creators Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson were approached to develop a fifth entry in the popular franchise, they envisioned sending gun nut Burt Gummer to the land down under to throw another graboid on the barbie. But a combination of unfortunate events and mysterious studio forces saw them unceremoniously dumped from the franchise. Much like the lead characters in the series of films they helped bring to life, S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock have often had to adapt to circumstances largely beyond their control. For starters, there was the case of the ever-decreasing returning cast.

>“Michael Gross (who played survivalist Burt Gummer in seven ‘Tremors’ films as well as the 13-episode TV series from the early naughties) would be the first one to say that the running joke was that he was the only one willing to show up,” Wilson said.

>“Kevin (Bacon, in case it wasn’t obvious, who played Val McKee in the first film) bowed out before ‘Tremors 2’, although he did consider it briefly. We flew out to New York and saw him. But at the time, he hated the movie. He hated it for about 20 years. At the time, he’d had some flops, and ‘Tremors’ wasn’t a breakout hit. He was incredible to work with, and when we went to see him, he was very polite. But he said, ‘Guys, you know what? People don’t come up to me (and say) ‘You’re so great in that movie.’, they just say ‘The monsters are so cool’. He was very, very pleasant to us, all the while saying ‘no’. Then Fred Ward (Bacon’s co-star) came back for the second film but didn’t want to do any more after that. So in ‘Tremors 3’, we knew it was only going to be Michael - and we knew that Burt needed

So we’ve been here before.

A few times.

But this is “a whole new goddamn ballgame”.

Because it solidifies how horribly Universal has treated the greatest horror-rom-com series of our time AND it only got written because of my previous rantlings being believed by a writer who already explored the hidden Kevin Bacon pilot.

Welcome to the Graboid hole of Tremors 5 Gummer Down Under:

When ‘Tremors’ co-creators Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson were approached to develop a fifth entry in the popular franchise, they envisioned sending gun nut Burt Gummer to the land down under to throw another graboid on the barbie. But a combination of unfortunate events and mysterious studio forces saw them unceremoniously dumped from the franchise. Much like the lead characters in the series of films they helped bring to life, S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock have often had to adapt to circumstances largely beyond their control. For starters, there was the case of the ever-decreasing returning cast.

>“Michael Gross (who played survivalist Burt Gummer in seven ‘Tremors’ films as well as the 13-episode TV series from the early naughties) would be the first one to say that the running joke was that he was the only one willing to show up,” Wilson said.

>“Kevin (Bacon, in case it wasn’t obvious, who played Val McKee in the first film) bowed out before ‘Tremors 2’, although he did consider it briefly. We flew out to New York and saw him. But at the time, he hated the movie. He hated it for about 20 years. At the time, he’d had some flops, and ‘Tremors’ wasn’t a breakout hit. He was incredible to work with, and when we went to see him, he was very polite. But he said, ‘Guys, you know what? People don’t come up to me (and say) ‘You’re so great in that movie.’, they just say ‘The monsters are so cool’. He was very, very pleasant to us, all the while saying ‘no’. Then Fred Ward (Bacon’s co-star) came back for the second film but didn’t want to do any more after that. So in ‘Tremors 3’, we knew it was only going to be Michael - and we knew that Burt needed sounding boards; he needed ‘real’ people who he can react to and who can react to him. So we decided to get someon

So we’ve been here before.

A few times.

But this is “a whole new goddamn ballgame”.

Because it solidifies how horribly Universal has treated the greatest horror-rom-com series of our time AND it only got written because of my previous rantlings being believed by a writer who already explored the hidden Kevin Bacon pilot.

Welcome to the Graboid hole of Tremors 5 Gummer Down Under:

When ‘Tremors’ co-creators Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson were approached to develop a fifth entry in the popular franchise, they envisioned sending gun nut Burt Gummer to the land down under to throw another graboid on the barbie. But a combination of unfortunate events and mysterious studio forces saw them unceremoniously dumped from the franchise. Much like the lead characters in the series of films they helped bring to life, S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock have often had to adapt to circumstances largely beyond their control. For starters, there was the case of the ever-decreasing returning cast.

>“Michael Gross (who played survivalist Burt Gummer in seven ‘Tremors’ films as well as the 13-episode TV series from the early naughties) would be the first one to say that the running joke was that he was the only one willing to show up,” Wilson said.

>“Kevin (Bacon, in case it wasn’t obvious, who played Val McKee in the first film) bowed out before ‘Tremors 2’, although he did consider it briefly. We flew out to New York and saw him. But at the time, he hated the movie. He hated it for about 20 years. At the time, he’d had some flops, and ‘Tremors’ wasn’t a breakout hit. He was incredible to work with, and when we went to see him, he was very polite. But he said, ‘Guys, you know what? People don’t come up to me (and say) ‘You’re so great in that movie.’, they just say ‘The monsters are so cool’. He was very, very pleasant to us, all the while saying ‘no’. Then Fred Ward (Bacon’s co-star) came back for the second film but didn’t want to do any more after that. So in ‘Tremors 3’, we knew it was only going to be Michael - and we knew that Burt needed sounding boards; he needed ‘real’ people who he can react to and who can react to him. So we decided to get someon

So we’ve been here before.

A few times.

But this is “a whole new goddamn ballgame”.

Because it solidifies how horribly Universal has treated the greatest horror-rom-com series of our time AND it only got written because of my previous rantlings being believed by a writer who already explored the hidden Kevin Bacon pilot.

Welcome to the Graboid hole of Tremors 5 Gummer Down Under:

When ‘Tremors’ co-creators Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson were approached to develop a fifth entry in the popular franchise, they envisioned sending gun nut Burt Gummer to the land down under to throw another graboid on the barbie. But a combination of unfortunate events and mysterious studio forces saw them unceremoniously dumped from the franchise. Much like the lead characters in the series of films they helped bring to life, S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock have often had to adapt to circumstances largely beyond their control. For starters, there was the case of the ever-decreasing returning cast.

>“Michael Gross (who played survivalist Burt Gummer in seven ‘Tremors’ films as well as the 13-episode TV series from the early naughties) would be the first one to say that the running joke was that he was the only one willing to show up,” Wilson said.

>“Kevin (Bacon, in case it wasn’t obvious, who played Val McKee in the first film) bowed out before ‘Tremors 2’, although he did consider it briefly. We flew out to New York and saw him. But at the time, he hated the movie. He hated it for about 20 years. At the time, he’d had some flops, and ‘Tremors’ wasn’t a breakout hit. He was incredible to work with, and when we went to see him, he was very polite. But he said, ‘Guys, you know what? People don’t come up to me (and say) ‘You’re so great in that movie.’, they just say ‘The monsters are so cool’. He was very, very pleasant to us, all the while saying ‘no’. Then Fred Ward (Bacon’s co-star) came back for the second film but didn’t want to do any more after that. So in ‘Tremors 3’, we knew it was only going to be Michael - and we knew that Burt needed sounding boards; he needed ‘real’ people who he can react to and who can react to him. So we decided to get someon

So we’ve been here before.

A few times.

But this is “a whole new goddamn ballgame”.

Because it solidifies how horribly Universal has treated the greatest horror-rom-com series of our time AND it only got written because of my previous rantlings being believed by a writer who already explored the hidden Kevin Bacon pilot.

Welcome to the Graboid hole of Tremors 5 Gummer Down Under:

When ‘Tremors’ co-creators Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson were approached to develop a fifth entry in the popular franchise, they envisioned sending gun nut Burt Gummer to the land down under to throw another graboid on the barbie. But a combination of unfortunate events and mysterious studio forces saw them unceremoniously dumped from the franchise. Much like the lead characters in the series of films they helped bring to life, S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock have often had to adapt to circumstances largely beyond their control. For starters, there was the case of the ever-decreasing returning cast.

>“Michael Gross (who played survivalist Burt Gummer in seven ‘Tremors’ films as well as the 13-episode TV series from the early naughties) would be the first one to say that the running joke was that he was the only one willing to show up,” Wilson said.

>“Kevin (Bacon, in case it wasn’t obvious, who played Val McKee in the first film) bowed out before ‘Tremors 2’, although he did consider it briefly. We flew out to New York and saw him. But at the time, he hated the movie. He hated it for about 20 years. At the time, he’d had some flops, and ‘Tremors’ wasn’t a breakout hit. He was incredible to work with, and when we went to see him, he was very polite. But he said, ‘Guys, you know what? People don’t come up to me (and say) ‘You’re so great in that movie.’, they just say ‘The monsters are so cool’. He was very, very pleasant to us, all the while saying ‘no’. Then Fred Ward (Bacon’s co-star) came back for the second film but didn’t want to do any more after that. So in ‘Tremors 3’, we knew it was only going to be Michael - and we knew that Burt needed sounding boards; he needed ‘real’ people who he can react to and who can react to him. So we decided to get someon

Hello, r/Fantasy! It’s great to be back. My new novel Annihilation Aria is out as of yesterday! It’s a found family space opera adventure about married treasure hunters in a galaxy populated by a variety of cool alien species from cyborg pilots to 5+ meter tall tentacled super-soldier tyrants to giant space turtles. It's inspired by the fun space fantasy side of the genre, ala Guardians of the Galaxy or Star Wars.

My other works include:

The Stabby Award-finalist Genrenauts seriesShield and Crocus – a new weird superhero action novelBorn to the Blade – a political martial arts epic fantasy serial written with Malka Older, Cassandra Khaw, and Marie BrennanThe Ree Reyes series of geeky urban fantasies

When I’m not writing, I also host Speculate!, an actual play podcast where I play tabletop rpgs with fellow SF/F writers/editors/etc. and guest host The Skiffy and Fanty Show. I relax with video games, making pizza from scratch, and attending to the whims of my very cute dog Oreo.

A bit more about Annihilation Aria for those interested:

My piece for The Big Idea at Scalzi’s blog.

My Favorite Bit at Mary Robinette Kowal’s blog.

Writing a Book From a Trope Wish List at The Qwillery.

I’ll be back every few hours to answer questions and chat throughout the day! Looking forward to your questions. AMA! :)

EDIT: Back now and caught up on questions, but I've got time for a few more!

The Complete AMA Schedule.