Radio Interview: A Book and A Chat
Barry Eva interviews me on A Book And A Chat radio program. You can find it here on the New Visions Radio archives by scrolling partway down the page.
Top Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Novels For Teens
VOYA Magazine includes Zeroboxer on this excellent list of the year’s best science fiction, fantasy, and horror for teens.
Original Query Letter for Zeroboxer
Curious about how a book begins its journey to traditional publication? After writing a novel, a would-be author needs to find a literary agent who will represent him or her and attempt to sell the book to publishers. Query Letter Success has collected a lot of query letters that published authors first used to gain the attention of their agents. You can see the original query letter I wrote to my agent Jim McCarthy, back in 2013. Notice how similar the wording is to the back cover copy of Zeroboxer.
AISFP Podcast: Sports in Speculative Fiction
I talk with Brent Bowen from Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing about Zeroboxer, sports in speculative fiction, performance enhancement, sports marketing, the journey to publication, and more.
The Complete Zeroboxer Launch Schedule
The time is upon us. Here’s all the online and live Zeroboxer excitement that will be happening over the next few weeks. I’ll be pelting fun information, extra content, and giveaways left and right. Follow along, join in, show up – it’s going to be a great time.
List subject to addition and changes. Links updated as events occur:
Monday, March 30 – Interview with Marci Lyn Curtis at On the Verge
Tuesday, March 31 – Debut feature interview at Page Turners
Wednesday, April 1 – Author Spotlight at Pandora’s Books
Thursday, April 2 –
- Envisioning Zero Gravity Combat at Michael Sci Fan
- YA Scavenger Hunt (Team Gold) – Bonus content: the ZGFA and WCC Logos (the hunt runs until noon of Sunday, April 5)
Friday, April 3 – Debut Club interview at The Sweet Sixteeners
Sunday, April 5 – Debut Dish with Jana at Artsy Reader Girl
Monday, April 6 –
- Five Ways To Tell If You Should Read Zeroboxer at YA Books Central
- Interview and book giveaway at Literary Rambles
Tuesday, April 7 –
- Interview by Mindy McGinnis at Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire
- Google Hangout with YA Debut Authors at 9:30 PST / 12:30 EST with myself, Becky Albertalli, I.W. Gregorio, Marie Jaskulka, Stephanie Lyons, and Meredith Moore. (Click the link to watch the recorded event.)
Wednesday, April 8 – RELEASE DAY
- Zeroboxer Excerpt at Sci-fi Chick
- Zeroboxer in 3 Gifs at the Fearless Fifteeners
- Prize pack giveaway drawing for newsletter subscribers (sign up here)
- Follow #Zeroboxer on Twitter for What’s Your Prizefighter Name?
Thursday, April 9 –
- Interview at My Bookish Ways
- 5 Things I Learned Writing Zeroboxer at Chuck Wendig’s Terribleminds
- My Favorite Bit at Mary Robinette Kowal’s website
- Quote candy reveal at Icey Books
Friday, April 10 –
- The Making of the Zeroboxer Cover at Icey Books
- BOOK LAUNCH at Powell’s Cedar Hills Crossing in Portland, 7pm
Monday, April 13 – Settings in Zeroboxer at Book Nerd
Tuesday, April 14 – Sports Celebrity and the Inspiration behind Zeroboxer at The Book Smugglers
Wednesday, April 15 – You Might Like Zeroboxer If You Liked… at I Smell Sheep
Thursday, April 16 – Character Interview with Carr Luka at Page Turners
Friday, April 17 –
- Envisioning A Diverse Science Fiction World at Diversity in YA
- Desktop wallpaper reveal and poster giveaway at Novel Novice
Monday, April 20 – Debut Author Meet & Greet at Queen Anne Book Company in Seattle, WA, with Shannon Grogan, Kelly Jones, and Stephanie Oakes.
Saturday, April 25 – Appearance and signing at the Oregon Author Fair at the Beaverton City Library, 10am-1pm
Thursday, April 30 – Book talk at Barnes & Noble Clackamas, 7pm, with Cat Winters and Susan Adrian.
Sunday, May 3 – Podcast interview about sports and speculative fiction on Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing
Tuesday, May 5 – Reading from Zeroboxer at SFWA Reading Series, 7pm at Wilde Rover in Seattle
Thursday, May 7 – Reading from Zeroboxer at SFWA Reading Series, 7pm at Mississippi Pizza in Portland
Signup for the Newsletter for a chance to win the Zeroboxer Launch Pack
My action sci-fi novel Zeroboxer hits the shelves in three weeks. It’s been quite the journey so far, but hopefully this is just the beginning of much more. So I’m starting up a quarterly newsletter called “News and Brain Scraps” to share author news, events, and extra features with those who would like to know.
If you would like to hear from me, I will send you an email three or four times a year. I’ll share news about my books, what events I’ll be at, videos, advance book excerpts or short fiction, exclusive giveaways, science fiction and fantasy related links, and any other random cool shit I want to show you.
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably at least remotely interested. So to sweeten the pot, I’m celebrating the launch of Zeroboxer on April 8 by giving away this prize pack to one randomly chosen person on my subscriber list.
This package includes:
- A personalized and signed copy of Zeroboxer (the photo shows an advance reader copy, but you’ll get a finished copy)
- DVDs of the two classic movies Rocky and Gattaca (to get you in the mood for sports drama and genetic engineering)
- Collectible vinyl figurines of Ender and Petra from Ender’s Game (because zero gravity battle room, natch)
Giveaway restricted to US and Canada.
CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE
How Would You Fight Without Gravity? Video Trailer and Book Pack Giveaway
One of my favorite parts of writing Zeroboxer was envisioning and depicting the sport of zeroboxing. How would a combat sport work in the absence of gravity? Check out what these martial artists and fighters have to say about it.
Getting as excited as those guys?
That’s not all. To celebrate my birthday today, and the fact that Zeroboxer hits shelves in less than a month, I’m offering up a pack of science fiction and fantasy books from my publisher, Flux.
It includes an advance reader copy of Zeroboxer, as well as The Oathbreaker’s Shadow by Amy McCulloch, Wordless by AdriAnne Strickland, Insomnia by J.R. Johansson, The Culling by Steven dos Santos and Backward Glass by David Lomax.
Just enter the raffle below for a chance to win.
Giveaway runs through March 17. Limited to the US and Canada.
ZEROBOXER Launch Party Date
The launch party for ZEROBOXER will be on April 10, 2015 at 7pm at Powell’s Cedar Hills Crossing location. There will be books! There will be food! There will be much talk of sci-fi and zero-g prizefighting! I will sign the shit out of anything!
If you are in Portland, come join the party!
Book Event: Debut YA Sci-Fi Thrillers
Join me and Susan Adrian, author of the YA thriller Tunnel Vision, along with Cat Winters (In the Shadow of Blackbirds and The Cure For Dreaming) on April 30, 2015, 7pm, at the Barnes & Noble Clackamas location in Portland. We’ll be talking all kinds of YA sci-fi thriller awesome.
VOYA Reviews Zeroboxer
VOYA Magazine had nice things to say about ZEROBOXER:
Lee, Fonda. Zeroboxer. Flux/Llewellyn, 2015. 360p. $11.99 Trade pb. 978-0-7387-4338-7.
In a future world, gene modification to eliminate imperfections is considered standard. Even so, Terrans disparage the more radical genetic changes Mars colonists have made in order to survive. Martians have become essentially another race resulting in simmering unrest between the two worlds. Seventeen-year-old Carr Luka is aware of these issues but his single-minded focus is on becoming a zeroboxer champion. When Risha, a half-Martian, is assigned to be his personal brandhelm, Carr becomes the face of Terran zeroboxing. Carr falls hard for Risha, an older (by three years) woman. The relationship is serious enough that Carr considers marriage. All Carr’s dreams seem to be coming true until he learns a devastating secret that has potentially catastrophic ramifications.
Lee’s debut novel is an intense, smart, and action-packed read. The future world is well thought out in its everyday details. Grounded in the personal, Carr’s navigation of career and romance over the course of two years is impacted by social issues that are just as relevant today—genetic modification, race relations, and sports performance enhancement. Carr comes to learn that his life does not occur in a vacuum. The secret he holds compromises his personal ethics, but the ripples also affect his relationships, fans, and world events. Not just sports fans will be enthralled by the drama of the zeroboxing matches. They focus as much on strategy and emotion as on the inherent violence. Older teens, especially boys, will enjoy some food for thought along with an exciting story.