This week, Los Angeles got its first blizzard warning since 1989. A little further down, I’ll talk a bit about PROJECT FROST.
WORK UPDATE
A couple of hours ago, I turned in the new draft of PROJECT ARTERY to [REDACTED]. This draft is more than a page-one rewrite — it’s a wholesale reinvention of the story, but a reinvention that I think vastly improves, streamlines, and clarifies the story. I’m excited about it.
I also just received the first set of letters for the first issue of Star Trek: Echoes. It’s really great to see this one come together.
With the delivery of PROJECT ARTERY, all the big script deadlines are now taken care of. There are two TV pitches that need my attention, but I finally have a patch of blue sky.
WGA
Last night, I attended the WGA West meeting at the Sheraton Universal. It was massively well attended and standing room only. You can read about it here. My feelings about what the Guild faces and our strategies and tactics in response are… complex. I’ve been a member of the WGA for 22 years, so there’s a lot of water under that particular bridge (e.g., I’m a litigator, showrunner, and feature film writer yet in 22 years, I’ve never been invited to participate on the Guild’s Negotiating Committee). I’m going to continue to cogitate on all of this — and attend one of the showrunner meetings next week — before I comment further.
Of course, that hasn’t stopped me from shooting off my mouth to, this time, The Hollywood Reporter. It’s always interesting to me what quotes reporters choose to include and which they elect to leave out. But this article in particular was very well sourced with quotes and comments from a wide variety of writers. You can read it here.
PROJECT FROST
I’ve periodically and cryptically made reference to PROJECT FROST in prior newsletter editions. I’ve noted that it’s neither a television show, feature film, or comic book.
It’s a novel.
I wrote it over the pandemic and the experience was one of the most creatively fulfilling experiences of my career. I’m also proud to say that it represents an exponential leap forward in terms of quality when compared to my first novel, 2014’s Overwatch.
But because Overwatch’s sales were low (long story), I had difficulty getting publishers interested. My agent suggested considering going the route of self-publication. After all, 1.7 million authors in 2022 alone can’t be wrong, right?
So I went on a message board I participate on populated by people in the comic book industry and asked if anyone had any advice regarding self-publishing a prose novel. The wonderful and wonderfully-talented Alex Segura responded immediately. He had advice for me, could we get on the phone to discuss?
We got on the phone.
His advice was succinct: “Don’t fucking do it.” He backed this counsel up with a lot of good reasons and strong arguments. (It’s worth noting that in addition to writing comics, Alex is an accomplished author. In fact, his most recent novel, Secret Identity, set in the halcyon days of comic book publishing (okay, well, 1975), was just nominated for the L.A. Times Book Prize for best mystery/thriller. The book is really great, BTW. You can buy it here.)
Anyways, Alex was very generous with his time as I went into the circumstances surrounding Overwatch’s low sales and the impact it was having on getting PROJECT FROST being considered by editors. He asked me what FROST is about. I told him. He told me that he had a friend who’s an acquisitions editor at [REDACTED] and it sounded — to Alex at least — like FROST was exactly what his friend said they were looking for.
Alex connected his friend and me via email. I shared a logline of the book. She expressed an interest in reading.
And she flipped for it. Like, really flipped.
We closed the publishing deal this week.
Publication is tentatively scheduled for July 2024.
Over the next year or so, I’m sure I’ll be sharing details about the book, including the title (once we come up with one), but the point of this story is that every now and again, people surprise you. They’re generous with their time. They listen with empathy. And if you’re really, really lucky they make a connection between you and another person that breaks a cycle of pessimism and cynicism.
STAR WARS: HAN SOLO & CHEWBACCA
Next Wednesday (3/1), the tenth and final issue of Han Solo & Chewbacca drops. You can check out a preview for it here.
In addition to completing our ten-issue story, this issue also directly ties into Star Wars: Revelations as well as the upcoming event that Marvel just teased at ConPRO with this awesome image:
And that’s it from me for this week.
Be good to each other.
Best,
Marc
Encino, California
2.24.23
You're too kind, Marc! So excited for people to read your novel!
Congratulations Marc!