I’m Marion G. Harmon (G. for George, Marion for my great-grandfather), a former financial advisor in Las Vegas with advanced degrees in Literature and History. Don’t ask. I have written casually all my life, and in 2011 I self-published my first novel, Wearing the Cape. Its sequel, Villains Inc., was also written and released episodically in 2011, and a spin-off book, Bite Me: Big Easy Nights, was published in 2012. The third WtC book, Young Sentinels, was published in 2013. A free look at WtC is available on Amazon (Wearing the Cape: The Beginning); this blog is more about reading, writing, and anything else I want to share. As such, it will be split between book reviews (including older books I just have to share), writing and industry talk, and anything else I feel worth mentioning. I enjoy the chance to answer questions and respond to comments, and appreciation expressed on Amazon is always welcome.
Marion G. Harmon, A Writer in Vegas. 
Hi!
I’ve been reading and enjoying Wearing the Cape. I’m mostly reading on my iPad, which is just fine. However, I also read on my DROID phone and the book is unreadable. Lots of weird formatting problems – blank pages, partial pages, pages with just a few words on it.
I let Amazon know and thought I’d tell you as well.
Thanks for the fun book. I’m looking forward to more.
Hi, Mr. Harmon.
I found you via Amazon’s recommendations, and loved Wearing the Cape and Villians, Inc. I’ve recommended your series to friends, and they love it just as much as my daughters and I do. Naturally, we’re jonesing for the next installment, so I went on a quest to find what information I could.
Eventually, I found this site And what did I find at the top of your blog but your refutation of Mr. Shirley’s panic and bizarre remedy for rejuvenation issues. I liked you before, now I’m putting you on my short list of men I’d propose to if they weren’t already married, living across the continent, and in some cases, scores of years older than me. You’re still pretty far behind Thomas Sowell on the list, but I’m willing to be bribed with either more Astra or more of those essays.
As for Mr. Shirley, it’s amusing that he doesn’t want Madonna to be forever 40, yet lists “artists” first among the worthy. So, not only would the government get to decide who got points (or more likely lost points), but they would also decide want constitutes art and who is a real artist versus a psuedo-artist. I can’t imagine how that could go wrong.
Glad you’re enjoying the stories–and hope you enjoy the end of Villains Inc. as much (Amazon Reviews always welcome, and VI4 and the full volume should be available before Christmas…). And I too bow to the shrine of Thomas Sowell.
Congratulations with the success on your series.
I’d like to interview you for my author blog, if you are interested please let me know.
Best,
Tom
Sure, I’d be happy too in return for Amazon reviews on both Wearing the Cape and Villains Inc.–especially Villains Inc (the full novel), which has so far garnered only a single review despite selling 450 copies in seven days! (Other bloggers who have reviewed the books on their sites have simply cut-and-pasted excerpts referring back to their blogs.)
I also stumbled upon Wearing the Cape then Villains Inc from my kindle reader recommendations. Somehow last summer I read a superhero-ish book, and it started giving me TONS of them. And Astra is one of my favorites. The one thing I love about Amazon and the Kindle is I’ve found tons of self published authors just getting started and putting out great books. As someone who has been reading for 30 years with ~1200 paperback and hardback books, it was hard at first switching to e-books, but now I love having kindle and nook on my android phone. I always have my books with me.
Anyway, looking forward to more adventures in your world. As somebody who read Anita Blake back before vampires became the new fad and loves The Dresden Files (I live by Chicago, so Wearing the Cape is great because I know some of the landmarks) I always enjoy books that explore the what-if of the real world mixed with the superworld.
My wife says I read so much I should write a book of my own…but why when I have great authors such as your self to write them for me to read!
Thanks and keep writing.
Sean Davis
And thank you, Sean.
I really am enjoying Wearing The Cape and Villians Inc. I am from the Chicago area and I really like the descriptions and settings. I only have one problem with your story and it is a very minor one but has a midwesterner who has relocated to Florida it sticks out. When Shelly is describing how she ingested device from Teatime Anarchist she says he dropped in her “soda” a Chicago girl would have said he dropped it her “pop”. I know nit
pick much:-) Love the books and you are now on my list
of authors whose works I will be on the lookout for.
Sincerely,
Joe Nelson
That’s wonderful to hear; I’ve never been to Chicago, and worked hard to get it right. Put some details in the “contest” two posts back, and maybe you’ll win the new edition trade paperback.
Actually, I’m much more likely to say “Coke,” regardless of the brand of dark fizzy drink. I’ve been in the burbs of Chicago for over 20 years, and in Illinois for 40, and I hear “soda” a fair amount. “Cola” is what would stand out as foreign in my experience. I once tried ordering a “Captain and Cola” instead of “rum and coke” just for the alliteration, and got a look like I was ordering Drano. 🙂
George, I’m enjoying A Superhero Story quite a bit, thanks!
just got both the books a week ago and loved them. wondering if there will be more. if so when can i expect the next one.
Bite Me (Artemis’ story) will be out by mid-year. After that we’ll see when the next Wearing the Cape title is coming…
Hi, I enjoyed Wearing the Cape. I have a thought about Bite Me. I noticed that you were using a similar format for Jackie’s story as you used for Hope. My thought is break free of that format and use another so that it has its own voice. I will not not substitute my idea of how to do that for yours, because I want to read your story! Just a thought.
Nate
Thank you for the suggestion, Nate. I am keeping the same format since all three books are in the same world, but trust me, Jacky will have her own voice!
Hi,
Big fan of your first two novels (read back to back at breakneck speed). I like the character of Jacky, so am looking forward to your next work. So beyond the praise, I was wondering if you had considered working with an artist(s) to render any of your stories, current or future, into graphic novel format? Just curious, given your interest in varied types of media.
Anyway, thanks for the books. I joined the email list (and agree with your Avengers review wholeheartedly). Keep ’em coming.
-Kevin
Thanks for the comments–you should try for the drawing here; I’m holding it open till the end of June. To answer your question, I have considered a graphic novel edition. There are two problems: the investment cost, and the conversion process. I would need to rewrite the story as a script with pictures–an art form in itself. Right now I consider my best bet is writing more stories and waiting for one of the comic publishers like Dark Horse to notice me (they specialize in graphic novel adaptations). You’re not the first to ask, and someday…
Hi. My name is Marcello Nicolini, editor-in-chief of a small Italian publishing house: “La Ponga Edizioni”. We mostly publish e-books for iPad and e-book readers. I’ve been readin “Wearing the Cape” and I found it good. Good idea, realistic description of super-powers, good product. So we would like to publish your work in Italian by “La Ponga Edizioni”.
We would like to contact you by e-mail or, if you prefer, you can write us here:
http://www.lapongaedizioni.it/index.php/newsletter
Regards,
Marcello Nicolini Editor-in-Chief “La Ponga Edizioni”
Well that certainly sounds interesting, and I had no idea superheroes were popular in Europe. You can send me more details at mgharmon@embarqmail.com.
Hail fellow reviewer and author of superheroine fiction! I also review books at Honest Indie Book Reviews ~ http://honestindiebookreviews.wordpress.com/ ~ could I interest you in swapping reviews? Am planning to read your “Wearing the cape” books anyway, since I’m fond of superhero fiction. My own superheroine novel, “American Goddesses” is at http://www.amazon.com/American-Goddesses-ebook/dp/B0086XGFTS/ Give me a holler at unews@ultrastory.com.
best,
gary
Love your work (Wearing the Cape and Villains, Inc.) Looking for more along that line from you sir. Any idea on timing for sequels? best regards, Paul Worley
Glad you enjoyed them–don’t forget to tip your waiter on the way out (put up some Amazon reviews). I’m still finishing up Bite Me, Artemis’ adventure in New Orleans between WtC and VI, and then hope to have the third Hope/Astra story done by the end of the year. Exact timing? More like intentions, but firm intentions, so stay posted to this site.
Finished your works and wanted to say well done! I can’t wait for more.
Glad you enjoyed them! Bite Me: Big Easy Nights (Artemis’s story) will be available at the end of September.
I’ve been rapidly becoming a big fan of your writing. I’m still gobsmacked by how much I was affected by the ending of WtC.
I wanted to suggest you might enjoy the song ‘Balthazar, Impresario’ by English singer-song writer Frank Turner. I have not heard a better theme song for Blackstone.
Thanks for writing and I hope you find enough success and fulfillment to keep it up. –M
Balthazar, Impresario is amazing, thank you for sharing it. I hope you enjoy Bite Me and Villains Inc as well.
I definitely enjoyed the books. My personal ranking thus far would be: Wearing the Cape, Small Town Heroes, and about even honors to Villains and Bite Me.
Oops. Did not mean to end that message there. What I was going to say is that I felt your New Orleans could use a little work; one specific example is the use of ‘cher’–I’ve heard real Louisianans say that about twice in the last decade and it felt a little grating, pulling me out of the story the more he used it.
If you ever find yourself in south Louisiana I am a human geographer phd grad student at LSU but I’m a damnyankee from Iowa & Minnesota. I’ve been here far longer than I ever intended, and I am so very far from my home. Still, it’s given me a critical eye to look at the different places and peoples in this state. It’s really remarkable what a mish-mash of people and culture is here. Only place I’ve been that even comes close is Toronto. I can do culture-history tours for gas & food–something I offer to many visitors. I know Baton Rouge better but New Orleans I know an awful lot about, both before & after Katrina. The history here is *fascinating*–there’s so much of it. Whether you’re standing at Huey Long’s grave, looking up at the tallest state capitol building in America, utterly filled with WPA symbols and art–along with a plaque marking the spot where he was mortally wounded by gunfire coming out of a session. There’s St. Francisville, home of the most scenic southern gothic graveyard you can imagine–and also home to the capitol building of the very short lived “Republic of West Florida” which has had an outsized and unrealized permanent impact on the state and country. A gorgeous backdrop is Carnival season in New Orleans. Not talking about drunken plebes hollering for gals to lift their shirts for beads but rather the old Krewes who run the massive parades and hold balls with traditions going back well over a century. The music! The parades! The costumes! The sparkles! The dancing! The pomp & circumstance! Carnival Season is so much more than just drunks in the Quarter. There’s Rex, the public king of Mardi Gras who late the last night of Mardi Gras must visit the Krewe of Comus’ Ball, for Comus is the true and secret King of Mardi Gras. Really truly secret as extremely few ever get to know who any given Comus is. New Orleans is the *only* major city in the world where the ‘high society’ is run by *men* and is correspondingly weird in unexpected ways. The old line Krewes still are mostly segregated. Zulu is by far the eldest black Krewe but the black community also has its Mardi Gras Indians. I’m not even sure how to describe them, they must be seen to understand. You know the oldies song “Iko Iko”? That’s about two troops of Indians running into each other and having a dance off until one surrenders. In the early 20th century there was, more often than not, genuine brawling. Dance offs are much better. Last cultural landmark–Christmas Eve bonfires. Depending who you ask they are either to help guide Papa Noel to the children along the river or they are signal beacons lighting the way home for all those acadians (forerunners of the cajuns) whose families were separated, and loved ones permanently lost as the British deported them in ‘The Flight of the Acadians’. These bonfires cover much of the Mississippi River levee between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The ones closer to Nola are more densely packed with a TWELVE FOOT HIGH bonfire every 80-100 yards. I may hate this current state but I have to give them major credit for their amazing history.
Hello Mr Marion Harmon,
In reading the words you have so smoothly placed into high-definition story projections and with-in head multiplex audio. Some Items were mentioned that I have a working history and/or special knowledge of. Some of my skills and knowledge that may be useful as resource material in you research/query for information.
I’m offering my services to you. Further discussion sessions of Q’s and A’s would need privicy not offered here.
Reply contact is now to your service. If you please,
Mike Peterson – Ririre, Idaho
I was really happy with my new tablet -a gift my dad brought me from China, because I would be available to read some of my favorites comics! Yeah, for a teenage girl (almost a woman) living in South America is really hard to find good comics…what am I saying? I meant good books!! Anyway, the Web has open a lot of doors to satisfy my desire to read bestsellers or any kind of book that draws my attention, and obviously, for a good and cheap price (any price is good when you’re buying from USA bookstores, you can find too many books that haven’t even being translated and published in my country or the same book for 1/4 the price), and a great way to practice my English. Soooo, while I was looking for comics, I found the title “Wearing The Cape”, and I said, “hey! I think this looks pretty great!” 10 minutes later, after convincing my dad with the Yes-I-will-study-harder-this-year-because-this-will-be-what-I’ll-be-doing-’til-I-die chat (urgh!), I was looking to a page full words. Yep, I was disappointed. But I started reading the book in my kindle…and fell in love from the moment Hope started saving lives at the bridge. AWESOME!! 3 days later I bought Villians Inc. (with my mom’s credit card this time) and read it while I was getting a tan at the beach. DOUBLE AWESOME!!!! Aaaand now I have to wait ’til my dad’s back from Thailand to buy Omega Night and Bite Me.
Too bad I have nobody to share this book with: my friends don’t speak English and 2 of my BFF aren’t into Superheroes.
Just dropping by to say hello and thank you for making my digital library bigger and giving me something to daydream about while trying to understand the usefulness of biophysics in practical medicine. Oh, and to let you know that you’re being read in South America too (Chile, to be specific)
Waiting for Young Sentinels, greetings from the other side of the globe
-Constanza P. Aballay M.
Biophysics is good practice for training your brain, anyway, and studying on the beach is a bonus.
It’s always good to hear that I made someone blow their money on my stories, so thank you and I’m writing as fast as I can. I would love to read your reviews on Amazon!
On my blog http://godling.blogspot.com I publish my superhero fiction.
These stories also appear on different superhero fiction forums.
I’m now also reviewing superhero fiction by other authors on the blog, supporting the genre as I did the PI genre at http://sonsofspade.blogspot.com.
For that reason I’d like to interview you and review Wearing the Cape: A Superhero Story and Wearing the Cape: Villains Inc.
Would you like to be interviewed and do you have a review copy available?
best
Jochem Vandersteen
(jvdsteen@Hotmail.com)
It’s fine if you’d like to send your questions.
Hi George –
I just wanted to say thanks for writing the “Wearing the Cape” series, and tell you how much I’m looking forward to the sequel! Also, detecting a pattern in your replies on here, I have cleverly got my Amazon reviews done in advance…
Joe
Thank you Joe! Writing is a solitary experience, and it is always good to hear that my stuff is being enjoyed.
I’m not one to interact with, like, blogs or whatever? But I’m living in Chicago, writing a story about…sort of something like superheroes…and in my book the public derogatorily refers to them as “capes”.
A) I just deleted the single line of dialog that uses “capes”.
B) My city is fictional and is just *based* on Chicago.
Just had to give it the ole *WTF Internet*? lol I’m honestly glad I was doing research on other authors doing superhero stories (which led me to your first book, which I enjoyed), because although maybe no one else would ever spot the correlation, had I discovered it at some later date (namely the whole “capes” thing) that shit would have annoyed me to no end.
So anyway…just a thing, completely random. Keep it up. 😉
It’s always fun to hear from someone who enjoyed Wearing the Cape. However, there is no reason whatsoever for you to remove the derogatory use of “capes” from your story. I didn’t invent the slang-use of “cape”; it’s been floating out there as a comic-book meme for years now (look here in TV Tropes for a similar use of the word).
There is also no reason for you not to just use Chicago–I think it makes a great superhero setting, obviously. 🙂
Wearing the Cape is a story about what it means to be a superhero. Copies are available on Amazon.com, in electronic format, for $4.99, and in large paperback format at Createspace.com for slightly more.
Kindle Edition Auto-delivered wirelessly $7.99
A free look at WtC is available on Amazon (Wearing the Cape: The Beginning)
Kindle Edition Auto-delivered wirelessly $0.99
Not sure where this came from, but it is slightly inaccurate.
Mr Harmon, I am writing an essay about publishing, and I have a question; do I have my facts right when I write that different episodes of Villains Inc made top ten on Amazon
Yes they did. Despite this I am not going to use the episodic release format again. (If I feel the need to bridge a publishing gap again, I’ll do another short story like Omega Night.)
Hi, George. Just another self-publishing indie writer saying ‘hi.’ I happened across images of your covers while googling something else and came to investigate. Looking good, sir! I’m also working on a superhero collection and have considered ways to get “into the convention circuit.” Good luck to us both, though I feel you’re already leaps over tall buildings ahead of me.
Hello Mr. Harmon,
As an avid reader and with a group of friends that are readers, we generally cycle through genre’s and authors, sometimes it can take me a week or two to get through a book so I can converse with my friends over a book that’s passed on to me. So I was surprised and a little amazed when I had devoured your book, then the sequels in under a week.
Why? Because your books were an absolute pleasure to read, the characters were all just like I like them, ones I can cheer for, laugh at, get misty eyed over. The story was an immense joy to plow through, getting to the end of the forth book (Young Sentinels) left me baying for more, which just means I’ll have to read them again, Yey!
Recently I get books on kindle/ibook for my iPad, and save the purchasing of shelf sitters for my favorite authors (As my library is getting a little big). I’m definitely going to add yours to my shelves.
Sir, it is an absolute pleasure to find a new author to follow, and I shall be doing so as long as you keep creating such wonderful books.
– Damien Swallow
PS. – If you could get me a shipment price cost to Australia, I’d love to get a couple of signed copies of your book (For me and some friends as we all love the book).
I will inquire. Which books, and how many?
The first book, and four of them. 🙂 Thank you.
I will make inquiries (first I have to weigh a book…).
Finally found a postage scale! Wearing the Cape weighs in at 1 lb and 1.9 oz (.507 kilograms)–and I’ve got to say that postage rates for USPS are prohibitive ($79 for the box of four books unless I did it wrong). If you’re okay with paying an extra $20/book just to get my penmanship, that’s fine, but if you can suggest a cheaper way I’m all ears. Know anybody vacationing in Las Vegas soon?
If you are willing to pay that much for shipping, USPS’s flat-rate box holds up to 20 lbs–you could fit four copies of Villains Inc. and Young Sentinels in there as well for the same shipping cost.
Firstly, I just have to say that I absolutely enjoy your work with the WtC series. The series as a whole is such a fresh look on the concept of Superheroes, especially seeing as how there are few prose novels on the topic and many I’ve read where somewhat cliche. I’m looking forward to both the upcoming game and future novels.
Secondly, are there any other books on the topic of Superheroes that you’d like to recommend?
Thirdly, can I ask if there will ever be non-superpowered heroes in the series? Like Batman or the arguably even greater Question? Non-supers seem to so far be completely absent.
And lastly, do you think we can ever get a prequel novel starring Atlas, the Original Sentinels, and other heroes who are either dead or more established by the time Astra’s story starts? I’d love to see how the original Event occurred, how the Sentinels formed, the China War erupted, and other events like that. Hearing about those events isn’t the same as actually reading them and I think it would be a great opportunity to flesh out the other older, deceased, or minimally heroes that appear or are mentioned throughout the series. I just think it’d be an awesome read and a way to further explore the universe, much like the Artemis novel. And I’m just insanely curious about heroes who are only mentioned but never described like Legal Eagle, Burnout, and Headhunter. Sorry for the wall of text, but that’s my two cents 🙂
That’s a lot more than two cents! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the books so far. I actually have a long Wish List of stories I’d like to tell about the earlier years, so perhaps someday, we’ll see. As to non-super superheroes… Well, you could count Fisher and even Bob in that category although both have their little quirks. And throughout my books I have dropped in lines about ordinary people helping each other and otherwise acting very competent in the extraordinary situations they find themselves in.
The problem, of course, is how would you “show” a non-powered superhero? Why would a normal human being take a codename and keep a secret identity? You do meet, briefly, a negative example of a normal (if psychotic) “superhero” vigilante in Villains Inc. Which doesn’t mean I rule out unpowered superheroes, but let’s just say that, to me, Batman has always been more unbelievable than Superman.
I’m glad, you started writing them. That sounds promising, I hope that can be the case. I also thought it’d be neat to get something akin to the in-universe Barlow’s Guide, that catalogues all the superhuman types and other in-universe information like Superhuman groups, important events, and such. Maybe in the guide to the RPG? Fisher and Bob are actually among my favorite side characters though I’d hardly call them normal :p In my mind all the “low-level” superhumans like Fisher, Bob, Vertias, etc seem to be in the same vein as Black Canary, they all have “abilities” but operate nearly on the same level as normal humans and are still quite awesome. I have noticed that bystanders in the stories aren’t always as panic-prone and useless as they are in comics.
That is a fair point, unpowered heroes are usually either mentally unbalanced, almost unrealistically competent, obscenely rich, or a combination of all three. Batman is all three personified. I think it could still work in the WtC universe to have unpowered superheroes, but have them all in an organization and not lone wolves.
They’d all probably have some kind of psychological issues to motivate them, possibly because of wrongs done to them by criminals super and non-super. They’d be like the contrasting side to the non-super powered terror groups in the novels. They might have token super-powered assistance, maybe street level C or D class Superhumans that don’t cut it in CAI Teams or legitimate civilian life but aren’t criminals. Maybe some are ex-law enforcement, former criminals, ex-military. They’d probably get money and equipment from either a sympathetic backer or by ripping off the criminals they fight. They would probably willing to use guns unlike most comic book unpowered heroes. They are very much in a moral grey area, working as vigilantes by bypassing the law to take down targets that the Sentinels and legitimate heroes due to due process. For them every battle is uphill but with a combination of competence, training, equipment, and daring they can take on street-level supervillians and maybe more. There would be one central masked vigilante who it revolves around and who the legitimate heroes might deal with most of the time. But none of them would be as unrealistically competent as Batman or have access to unlimited equipment and funds like he does. They would probably still possess the same moral conundrums, psychological baggage, and manipulativeness however.
Heck, I think it’d be cool to see unpowered Special Forces Soldiers or Covert Operatives take down super-terrorists with nothing but military training, next-gen equipment, and guts. Or maybe have a villain who runs on being manipulative, ruthless, and cunning but no powers ala Lex Luthor and causes a lot of trouble for the heroes.
Those are all just ideas and of course I don’t mean to tell you how to write your books. I was just hoping those ideas might interest you.
Hi, my name is Holly, we met at the LTUE Conference after I gave my “Rhetoric of Superheroes” presentation. I’m just getting back to you, as you asked, and enjoying your blog.
Thank you. Although it wasn’t what I expected, I enjoyed your presentation! Using superheroes to illustrate and discuss social issues is, of course, a time-honored practice, and I found your take on it very interesting.
I’m glad you liked it, it was a lot of fun to give and I’m quite pleased with the questions I received. I remember that you wanted my bibliography, is there a way I can send that to you?
You can put it right here! Or you can send it to my email address: mgharmon@embarqmail.com
Hi! Just discovered your work a short time ago.
I’d like to hope you’re properly ashamed of yourself.
I read the freebie for Wearing the Cape early one evening last week, binge bought everything you’ve published so far, and the next thing I knew, it was 9AM the next morning and time for me to go to work again!
I’m one of the refugees from the shutdown of the City of Heroes MMO, and have added your work to a list of recommendation for others so affected and looking for decent cape literature. Hope that it helps sell a few copies for you!
Bwa ha ha ha ha! Another victim of my fiendish plot. More seriously, you’ve got to pace yourself. When I binge-read I hate myself the next day (and find out I forgot half of it when I re-read later). Glad you enjoyed them.
Do you think you’ll ever sell posters of your covers? I’d love to pick one up – the art is lovely
Thank you; the artist for the first three covers is now a professional working in London, and she did a beautiful job. There is some Wearing the Cape art to be found on Zazzle.
http://www.zazzle.com/first_flight_poster-228430397624885231
http://www.zazzle.com/sentinel_poster-228001446528847414
http://www.zazzle.com/astra_character_art_poster-228268197124632627
Forgot one: http://www.zazzle.com/leveling_up_poster-228874871840534142
George, I’ve enjoyed your books immensely, since discovering wearing the cape a couple of years ago. I’ve also enjoyed watching you grow as a writer, and was wondering if you could recommending any classes or books on writing you’ve found particularly useful in learning the craft of writing.
Best Regards,
Kathleen Parrish
Some people learn best in class, but I learn best by reading. So for starters I would suggest: The Breakout Novelist, Make a Scene, and Wired for Story. I also recommend putting the first 7,000 words of your manuscript up on youwriteon.com, especially if you don’t have a good critique group. Four of my first manuscripts went up there, including one never finished.
Since I picked up Wearing the Cape two years ago, I’ve been hooked on the series ever since! I like the progression of the characters, and how despite all things that had happened both Hope & Jacky turned out very well. I’m especially impressed with the details and accuracy of the various locations that you’ve included into Ronin Games, and am looking forward to more adventures by Hope and the team. Keep on writing!
….and for some weird reason, I keep on imagining Kristen Bell (from Veronica Mars) to be the perfect cast as Hope should you decide to move into TV. Go figure….
Kristen Bell is now a little too old to play the role of Hope, but I was a big fan of Veronica Mars and may very well have had her in my head as a model. I’m glad that you have enjoyed the stories, and hope to write many more.
Marion, with the release of Small Town Heroes and Ronin Games, you need to update your book list on your web page and the Wearing the Cape pages. Not mentioning them (and linking to your amazon affiliate sales page for them) is bad marketing.
-tc
Wearingthecape.com is updated: http://www.wearingthecape.com/
But you’re right, I need to update my blog page.
Greetings. Can I say that I have been looking for your books for over a decade? That is to say that as I moved from grade school into highschool level reading it became nearly impossible to find science fiction that was well written, exciting, and wholesome. The list was very short. I came across “Wearing the Cape” on display at the local library and quickly burned through it. I now have your first three books coming in the mail and am halfway through “Bite Me”
Would you be interested in exchanging Amazon reviews? I think you might enjoy my YA sci-fi novel.
I’m glad you’re enjoying my stories! Also, congrats on your own novel. I do not exchange reviews (for one thing, my reading is minimal right now and I have a STACK of my own waiting must-reads), but I wish you the best of luck.
Hi,
I read your first book on my kobo reader. I loved it.
sadly the other 4 are only available on kindle reader. Can you please release the books on kobo also. Thank you.
I’m glad that you enjoyed Wearing the Cape! Did you pick it up on Smashwords?
I have read all books through Ronin Games. I am anxiously awaiting the next book in the adventures of Astra. When do you think that might occur? Thank You. Huge Astra Fan
This fall. Team-Ups and Crossovers. Glad you’ve enjoyed the books!
Hi, I’m a self published author with a tiny email subscriber list. Since I’m going to be releasing a superhero book in the fall, I thought it would be neat to pass along recommendations of my favorites in the genre, which of course includes your book (otherwise this message would be really pointless 🙂 ).
Are there any promos, news, or notes you’d like me to pass along with the recommendation?
Thanks.
Brian
You can always pull images for the book covers (and back-cover blurbs) off of the wearingthecape.com site. Good luck on your book!
Hello! I just picked up Wearing the Cape because a friend recommended it to me. Question though: why did you choose the University of Chicago as Hope’s college? I ask because I’m a student there now and it’s interesting to find a character who plans to attend there.
Honestly? Because Andrew M. Greeley taught there. I chose Chicago and the school because of his stories.
Enjoy the books.
What are the powers of the main characters from WEARING THE CAPE
Too many to discuss here!
I just discovered you Wearing the Cape series. I discovered superhero fiction a few years back when I started Drew Hayes’ Superpowereds series, and his work is for me the gold standard. I have read several other entries, and had not found any that rivaled the richness of world building or had characters that were nearly as engaging. Until yours.
I’m now two books in (the first and Bite Me) and have Villains Inc. queued up on my Kindle. I just wanted to tell you that you have a new fan. I especially enjoy your takes on how the emergence of supers would affect the world, and that is one area where you may even trump Drew.
Well then, if you’re burning through the whole series at once then you’ll need to tell me which is your favorite and why when your finished. And thank you for letting me know how much you’re enjoying them!
Grendel is my fave from the WtC series. I just hope Ozma isn’t planning on making him her consort. I don’t see that working. At all. But I also don’t trust her to see it that way. Ozma makes a fine villain. Or queen, for much the same reason.
I really like the way you switch viewpoints. Such as when Brian dismisses many of the characters’s interactions as princess-offs. And it’s refreshing different how Bite Me is from the other books. I almost get Jackie’s character now.
Always glad to hear someone else really likes Grendel and Ozma (just not for each other)!
Marion,
I have been very impressed by your books. To be honest, when I first bought Wearing the Cape I expected that I would be about a decade too old to enjoy it. I’m only 19, but I was expecting it to be written for a very young audience. I was very pleased by how wrong I was. You have done a very good job of finding the Goldilocks region for many aspects of the book and it’s sequels. Astra is not too hard or too innocent, the fabric of the universe isn’t being threatened but the characters face daunting odds, the books have family friendly themes and humorous dialogue but don’t shy away from the darker realities of our world, and most importantly in my mind Astra is such a badass that you feel empowered just reading from her point of view but she is not so overwhelmingly powerful that the books lack conflict. I have noticed that many authors are very bad at finding these balances, especially the last. Having read all of your Wearing the Cape books, I eagerly await the next in the series.
Additional notes:
-If you would ever like to have pre-readers I would be happy to oblige. I have considered sitting down to write a novel myself, so I would be very interested to see the process and I think I could make worthwhile suggestions.
-I would absolutely love to someday get a novel about Astra’s adventures in the more distant future. She doesn’t age, and I can’t see you ending the series with her death or loss of powers, so my mind wanders to the future. What will she be like when she’s a 300 year old teenager? Will she have served the planet so long and so well that people treat her reverently like a god, following her advice on faith in her alone? How will she cope with being a constant in a world where she could watch her brother’s and the Bee’s great grandchildren grow old and die? Has she settled down with Kitsune (speaking of which I’d love to hear his backstory)? The possibilities fascinate me and I beg you to consider writing about them, even if you find a way to make the story non-canon so as not to remove the tension from books that take place before it chronologically.
-I am always a fan of prechapted notes like you put in your books and I have been a fan of how you specifically have used them. I’d love to hear more in them from Doctor Beth. As a chemistry major and general science fanatic her perspective and the issues she raises add so much depth to my perception of the story. Of course the Event would quickly become one of the major focuses of modern science. Yet so many authors miss opportunities like the one Dr. Beth provides to examine the broader issues of the fantasy setting through an objective lens without breaking the fourth wall.
I hope you will consider my suggestions. Keep writing. Keep innovating. You have a unique and worthwhile story to tell and I hope your fans have adequately convinced you of that.
With much respect,
Jonah
Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm for the Wearing the Cape series with me, Jonah! It’s always good to hear. You’re not the first one to make some of these comments (for example, questions about what Astra might be doing in 300 years). The simple answer is “I don’t know.” I may never know, not unless I decisively complete the series and move on to something else, and even then that may just have to be left to exercises in fanficery. Note, however, that I have sprinkled hints of what science and society might be like in 100-150 years, and what that might mean for Astra and her friends. But she’ll never be a 300-year old teenager; only her outward appearance remains the same and as I reread my own words, the Astra of the first book is much younger than the Astra of the seventh.
Are there plans to evolve Jack’s solo series, or am I missing more stories beside Bite Me? I am reading Ronin Games and it was talking about details I haven’t seen before.
I have an incredibly nerdy question: other than the illustrations and behind the scene blurb at the end (love both), what editorial changes are between Wearing the Cape and its Special Edition? I’ve read both but didn’t notice a thing? Would the new audiobook be able to follow the Special Edition, save for the pictures?
The Special Edition got another editing pass, which turned up grammar errors not weeded out of the original. That’s really pretty much it. I’m not sure if the SE was used for the audiobook or not, sorry! If it wasn’t, there were no big changes you would notice, though.
Love the series and your take of the superhero genre. I got through WtC and Villians, Inc, and even looked at the RPG. I noticed you will be at ConnectiCon on July 13. Do you have a list of other conventions you’ll be a guest at?
San Diego Comicon, Salt Lake Fan X, and Vcon (in Vancouver). Only a guest at the last one; at all the rest I’m just an author hawking my books.
Congratulations on Repercussions hitting #3 on Amazon! I’m starting on Ronin Games soon myself.
Are you familiar with the Japanese superhero manga/anime series My Hero Academia? Do you have any thoughts on their take of the Professional Superhero World, where the job of a superhero is an actual occupational role?
I’ve watched a few episodes of My Hero Academia, and enjoyed them. And yes, I think the show humorously addresses some of the issues of “occupational superheroing.”
So gitp.com is having a sale on e-books to occupy the time of people bored at home w/o sportball to view. Any chance you’ll follow suit? Oh wait, you probably cannot make that happen. Nevermind.
No, but all of the books but Wearing the Cape (which is already at $2.99 on Amazon) dropped to $4.99 just last week. So, 40% off already? 😉
I hope all is well, and thanks for the great series of novels. I’ve enjoyed them immensely and the series was my first for this genre.
Thank you!
George: it used to be I didn’t read superhero ficton. I’ve red comics with Superman, Thor (back when a human found and donned Thor’s old garb) and I decided I hated changing origins and stories on the characters I already knew.
Then, for some reason (probably the first line of Wearing the Cape: I was driving East on the Eisenhower Expressway when the Teatime Anarchist dropped the Asland Avenue Overpass on top of me, using enough C4 to bring the whole southbound span down at once.) I found myself reading Wearing the Cape.
And then I was a fan. I’ve now reread Joyeuse Guard, book 9, so I’ve read it exactly twice so far. After reading Joyeuse Guard once, I had to reread all nine of them again, as I’ve done for each successive book.
Thank you. Keep writing. More, please!
You’re welcome, and I will!
George,
I hadn’t noticed a formal contact form, so I’m reaching out via the comments here! I’ve absolutely loved the Wearing the Cape series since I first gave it a read, and so since I’m between seasons on my podcast, Paper Cuts, I’ve been reaching out to authors of stories I really enjoy, to try to get permission to feature them on the show! Your particular take on a cohesive superheroic society has stuck with me for a long time after reading, and I’d adore to share Hope’s story and struggle with my audience! Feel free to reach out to the attached email if you want more info on what having the book on the show would be like, and either way, keep up the fantastic work!
I can’t see the attached email. You can email me at mgharmon65@gmail.com