Cover art by Mona Finden

A. Grimsbro, Warlord of Mars

RELEASE DATE: August 28, 2017

Arabella Grimsbro is a 15-year-old girl with a foul mouth and an attitude to match. When she walks into a cheesy mall store promising virtual reality tours of public domain classics, the last thing she expects is to find herself stuck in one.

But if she thought Oz was bad, she’s in for a surprise when she trades beloved childrenʼs literature for manly pulp adventure. Giant green monsters! Sword fights to the death! The healing power of toxic masculinity! Welcome to Barsoom, where everything has extra limbs and nobody wears clothes.

Also, the only way out is pretty much death. So… hooray?

You can read the first chapter here. It’ll be available on Amazon and on my website on Monday, August 28, and I should have copies for sale at Readerfest September 9 in Seattle if you need to get yours signed.

YEEHEEHEEEEEEE

April 13-16 is Norwescon at the Doubletree in SeaTac by the airport, and I’ll be in the dealers room sellin’ books like crazy. But I’ll also be doing readings and panels and junk! If you’ll be at the con, PLEASE COME TO SOME OR ALL OF THESE:

FRIDAY

Reading:  The “Wonderful” Wizard of Futhermucking Oz  11am in Cascade 2

I’ll be reading from my brand new book, which technically isn’t even out yet. THERE WILL BE SWEARING, JUST SO YOU KNOW

Self Publishing Comics: Online and On Paper  1pm in Cascade 3&4

 SATURDAY

SF/Fantasy Battle Royale  3pm in Evergreen 3&4

Comic RPG Smackdown  5pm in Cascade 5&6

Dungeons and Dragons and Pop Culture  8pm in Cascade 9

Yup, it’s a whole new website, at a whole new address, from the same big, loud, cheerful guy you probably met at a comic book convention. The shift from chooseomatic.com to youngmark.com came from the fact that I’ve been working on a ton of non-chooseomatic stuff over the last few years, and kind of wanted it all in one place. Also, I might have had my domain registration notifications going to an email I never check any more, and let chooseomatic.com expire a little bit? The people who snatched that domain up like THE DAY it went derelict would probably sell it back to me for the right price, but seriously, FUCK THOSE GUYS RIGHT IN THE EAR.

But I’m here, you’re here, it all worked out okay. You can go see the old site at chooseomaticbooks.com, and all the Conspiracy Friends stuff at secretwebcomic.com. For now, at least! I’ma prolly re-route those sites here at some point.

Oh, also! I’m working on SO MUCH NEW STUFF RIGHT NOW. Announcements soon!

I’m selling books at Steamposium in Seattle this weekend! It’s at the Convention Center downtown, and I’ll be sharing a table with my number one convention pal, Scott Gable from Broken Eye Books. “Steamposium?!” you blurt, bewildered. “But, Matt! You don’t even have a steampunk book!

Sure I do, imaginary straw person. Time Travel Dinosaur is forty percent steampunk! Well, maybe not quite forty, but one of the major time periods you visit in the book is the 1880s, and when you arrive, that decade is steampunk as all fuck.

So, in honor of Steamposium 2016, I present you with:

The Five Most Steampunkiest Things about my book, Time Travel Dinosaur

5) THE COVER
There may be three different versions of the titular T-rex on the front of the book, but that dapper gentledinosaur with goggles on its top hat is front and center, baby! Also, the whole color scheme absolutely screams steampunk: so much brown.

4) THE WICKED SHAUGHNESSY SISTERS
In 1882, Cornelia and Beatrice Shaughnessy rule over New Chicago with an iron (and presumable gear-covered) fist. Using scientific knowledge stolen from future centuries, they’ve built clockwork centurions to oppress the populace, and grafted miscellaneous steampunk appendages to their gang of hooligans and thugs. They’re STONE COLD EVIL, you guys.
sisters
3) A CLIMACTIC BATTLE ON A GARGANTUAN AIRSHIP
Needless to say, the only way to stop the sisters’ evil plot is to lay siege to their majestic blimp, high above the clouds. One of the book’s major plot points is set in motion at this point, and — hey, what’s that other dinosaur who looks just like you but is dressed in clothes from a different time period doing here? GUESS YOU’LL HAVE TO READ THE BOOK AGAIN, BUT MAKE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SERIES OF DECISIONS TO FIND OUT.

2) GEARBOX ANNIE AND THE GASCAN REBELLION
When Annie’s intestinal tract betrayed her at the tender age of sixteen, she simply built replacement guts out of brass and steam. Now she leads a small band of rebels (Cartwright, Bobbins, and the powder monkeys) in opposition to the brutal tyranny of Shaughessy Sisters. I fell in love with this gang while writing the book, and keep having ideas for their further adventures, set entirely in an alternate 1882 cut off from the rest of the chronoverse. Could Gearbox Annie return in some short stories or something at some point in the future? Maybe!

1) And, finally, THE NUMBER ONE STEAMPUNKIEST THING ABOUT TIME TRAVEL DINOSAUR:

Case closed, madam. I said good day.