John Jackson Miller's Blog

We're a month out now from the release of my new novel, Star Trek: Discovery - Die Standing, which bows on July 14 — and as it happens, all the events I'd intended to sign at either aren't happening or have been postponed.

Never fear, however! I'm taking preorders for signed copies, which will be sent out to arrive on or immediately following the release date. The cost is $26 postpaid to addresses in the United States, using Priority Mail Flat Rate shipping. 

For addresses outside the United States, the cost is $45 postpaid using Priority Mail Flat Rate shipping. 

A second book of similar or smaller size can be added at no extra shipping cost: in addition to Die Standing copies (in case you want a second one), I'll have these in stock:

Star Trek: Discovery — Die Standing ($17)

Star Trek: Discovery — The Enterprise War ($17)

Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith ($17)

Star Wars: A New Dawn paperback ($12)

Star Trek: Prey, Volumes 1-3 ($10 each)

Star Trek: Takedown ($10)

Star Wars: Kenobi ($10)

Star Wars: Knight Errant ($10)

(Note that they'd be shipped in the same package with Die Standing, so you'd get them on or after the release date.)

I can also announce immediate availability of signed copies of my latest graphic novel, Battlestar Galactica: Counterstrike. That goes for $28 postpaid to the U.S., $47 international — and again, an additional copy from the list above can be added for the prices listed. (Or, if included in a Die Standing preorder, it'd add $20 to the cost.)

E-mail your requests to me at orders[at]farawaypress.com, and I'll get back with a Paypal invoice and shipping cost closer to the release date once my supplies have been confirmed. Be sure as well to let me know if you want the books personalized in any way.

Apologies for the somewhat low-tech nature of the offer — I've been fighting with my online store system of late, so this is a fast way of getting the offer out there. Any questions, please feel free to ask away!

Finally, if an autograph isn't necessary, remember that Die Standing can be preordered from any of these fine establishments. Including, now, the audiobook, which was just recorded by the incredible January LaVoy! 

Amazon (Paperback)

Amazon (Kindle)

Barnes and Noble

Books-A-Million

IndieBound

Simon & Schuster

Audiobook (Audible)

I'm thrilled to report that the Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - From a Certain Point of View anthology is a go from Del Rey —and I'm on board with a story that's as cool as it is secret!

Check out this post on  StarWars.com  for more information — and there'll be a lot more out shortly. I can say for sure that my entry will be both surprising and a lot of fun. (And it's already done, which is always a plus!)



In the meantime, be sure to check out our previous collaborative effort, Star Wars: From A Certain Point of View , which includes my story connecting to one of the characters from the Kenobi novel. (Read my notes about the book  here .) A portion of the book's proceeds go the literacy charity First Book.  


More details available soon. We would be honored if you would join us!

Emperor. Exile. Secret agent. And… emperor again?

One of the reasons I took the assignment that became my 2019 release, Star Trek: Discovery - The Enterprise War was because of my liking for the Mirror Universe sequence of the TV show's first season — and my admiration for the bold move in bringing Emperor Georgiou into the Prime Universe. What, if anything, I wondered, would stop her from rebuilding her regime again?

I got the chance to answer at novel length with Star Trek: Discovery - Die Standing , which bows on 7/14. (Just remember Joe Friday's badge number!)

Here's the solicitation copy:

No one in the history of histories has lost more than Philippa Georgiou, ruler of the Terran Empire. Forced to take refuge in the Federation’s universe, she bides her time until Section 31, a rogue spy force within Starfleet, offers her a chance to work as their agent. She has no intention of serving under anyone else, of course; her only interest is escape.

But when a young Trill, Emony Dax, discovers a powerful interstellar menace, Georgiou recognizes it as a superweapon that escaped her grasp in her own universe. Escorted by a team sent by an untrusting Federation to watch over her, the emperor journeys to a region forbidden to travelers. But will what she finds there end the threat — or give “Agent Georgiou” the means to create her old empire anew?

It's a book full of surprises. Preorder links are propagating throughout the internet; you'll find a few of them below. There are no titles and copy with some of the links yet, but they will automatically populate throughout the weekend as systems update.

Amazon (Paperback)
Amazon  (Kindle)
Barnes and Noble

Simon & Schuster

A busy winter here — finished my latest Star Trek novel, and we should be able to announce more about that soon.

In the meantime, a couple of appearances are slated before the spring thaw: I'll be appearing at Richmond GalaxyCon Feb. 28-March 1 on behalf of Bard's Tower. And my return trip again to MidSouthCon (March 20-22) is made more special because literary guest of honor will be my colleague-in-Trek, David Mack — and the toastmaster is my longtime Comics Buyer's Guide colleague, Maggie Thompson!

Delighted to announce that Star Trek: Discovery - The Enterprise War is now on sale from Gallery Books in trade paperback, audiobook, and ebook!

The Enterprise War  is a rip-roaring adventure, written in consultation with the folks at CBS behind the TV show, telling where Captain Pike, Spock, and the ship was and what it was doing during the Klingon War — the entire war!

Paperback Amazon Barnes and Noble Books-a-Million Indiebound iTunes
eBook Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Nook
Audiobook (streaming)
Amazon Audible

Audiobook (CDs) Amazon
Barnes & Noble
I'll be signing the book at three separate events this summer: Star Trek Las Vegas in early August, Michigan Comic-Con in Detroit in mid-August, and FanX Salt Lake in Utah in September. I'll also have signed copies available through the site just after Star Trek Las Vegas.

Updated (6/1/19): The cover has now been revealed -- and it's a great one, inserting the Enterprise in a motif used for several of the Discover posters.

The second season of Star Trek: Discovery aired this spring, featuring the return of U.S.S. Enterprise under Christopher Pike — and the story of where he and Spock and Number One and all the other crewmembers were all during the first season is about to be told, too.

I know because I'm the one who's telling it— in Star Trek: Discovery - The Enterprise War, my new novel releasing on July 30 from Gallery Books!

The Enterprise War  is a rip-roaring adventure, written in consultation with the folks at CBS behind the TV show, telling where the ship was and what it was doing during the Klingon War — the entire war!

There will be plenty of interviews in the upcoming weeks, but in the meantime, here's the back-cover description, from Gallery and CBS:

A shattered ship, a divided crew—trapped in the infernal nightmare of conflict!
Hearing of the outbreak of hostilities between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire, Captain Christopher Pike attempts to bring the U.S.S. Enterprise home to join in the fight. But in the hellish nebula known as the Pergamum, the stalwart commander instead finds an epic battle of his own, pitting ancient enemies against one another—with not just the Enterprise, but her crew as the spoils of war.
Lost and out of contact with Earth for an entire year, Pike and his trusted first officer, Number One, struggle to find and reunite the ship’s crew, all while Science Officer Spock confronts a mystery that puts even his exceptional skills to the test—with more than their own survival possibly riding on the outcome!

Anson Mount plays Pike in the series, as seen above.

It's both my first full-length novel and my first  Star Trek voyage since the Star Trey: Prey trilogy, which is available in stores now. I took some time away from the keyboard after that gigantic project to recharge, and can definitely say it's good to be back in the captain's — er, the writing chair. The Enterprise War will be a book to remember!

Here are the preorder links:

Paperback Amazon Barnes and Noble Books-a-Million Indiebound iTunes
eBook Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Nook
Audiobook (streaming)
Amazon Audible

Audiobook (CDs) Amazon

More preorder links will appear as soon as they're available. Live long and prosper!

The second season of Star Trek: Discovery goes live on Thursday, Jan. 19, featuring the return of U.S.S. Enterprise under Christopher Pike — and the story of where they were all during the first season is about to be told, too. I know because I'm telling it— in Star Trek: Discovery - The Enterprise War, my new novel releasing on July 30 from Gallery Books!

The Enterprise War  is a rip-roaring adventure, written in consultation with the folks at CBS behind the TV show, telling where the ship was and what it was doing during the Klingon War — the entire war! Here's the description, from Gallery and CBS:

A shattered ship, a divided crew—trapped in the infernal nightmare of conflict!

Hearing of the outbreak of hostilities between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire, Captain Christopher Pike attempts to bring the U.S.S. Enterprise home to join in the fight. But in the hellish nebula known as the Pergamum, the stalwart commander instead finds an epic battle of his own, pitting ancient enemies against one another—with not just the Enterprise, but her crew as the spoils of war.

Lost and out of contact with Earth for an entire year, Pike and his trusted first officer, Number One, struggle to find and reunite the ship’s crew, all while Science Officer Spock confronts a mystery that puts even his exceptional skills to the test—with more than their own survival possibly riding on the outcome!

Anson Mount is playing Pike in the series, as seen here:




...and be sure to catch the  full trailer , as well.
It's both my first full-length novel and my first  Star Trek voyage since the Star Trey: Prey trilogy, which is available in stores now. I took some time away from the keyboard after that gigantic project to recharge, and can definitely say it's good to be back in the captain's — er, the writing chair. The Enterprise War will be a book to remember!

Preorder links will appear as soon as they're available. Live long and prosper!

There are those who believe...

So began the opening to Battlestar Galactica , which debuted 40 years ago this month on ABC. I was one of the kids in the audience that night — and every week that followed that season. So I was delighted when Dynamite Comics tapped me to write a comics miniseries for this fall, focusing on the original cast.

What's even cooler is that the first issue is a #0 issue , containing the first chapter to the storyline

 — priced at 35¢, just as the first Marvel comics issue was, way back then. The art is by the wonderful DanielHDR, who's wowed me with his versions of the characters and ships. There are multiple variants of the zero issue, as for #1.
Subtitled Counterstrike , the series brings the Galactica's fleet into contact with something they've never encountered before — another ragtag fugitive fleet, much like theirs. Can they make common cause against the Cylons? 
You can read more about the series here and here — and find the zero issue at your comic shop on October 3. The series then continues monthly thereafter.
I've been tremendously busy writing this summer, hence the relative radio silence here on the blog; but I do have behind-the-scenes notes up for the Star Wars Adventures Annual 2018 , released earlier this year.

With Meredith and the "Hot Wheels" carI haven't blogged much at all this year, because I've been busy writing — five different projects at various stages, none of which can be announced — and I've also been traveling, including to another fun Joliet Star Wars Day and a very successful All-Star Comic Con in Tysons Corners, Virginia. But it's the most recent trip that's worth a photo journal!

As I mentioned here last year, Marvel Studios included Sonny Burch, the technology-stealing nemesis of Tony Stark from my Iron Man comics run , as one of the main villains for Ant-Man and The Wasp . This was the second major character to come from that story, as reporter Christine Everhart appeared as the reporter both in the first two Iron Man movies — and also in the teaser material for the original Ant-Man film, where she interviews Paul Rudd as Scott Lang.

Did you ever get the feeling you were being watched?
Actor Walton Goggins puts his own spin on the character, but operating inside the law — as he mostly did in the comics — or outside of it, Burch remains a technology thief, and it's a much more substantial role. So it was that Marvel invited my wife and me to Hollywood to see the World Premiere.

My first one of these, and it was a complete blast. The studio had closed off Hollywood Boulevard in front of the TCL Chinese Theater and the El Capitan, which simultaneously debuted the film.


Jorge Lucas, Ant-Man, and JJM!You can see the official footage from outside the premiere  here  — but some personal highlights included seeing Tony Isabella, whose work I had edited at Comics Buyer's Guide ; he'd worked on the Bill Foster character, who was played by Laurence Fishburne, many years earlier. It was good to see Bob Layton, who'd created another movie character, The Ghost, and whose comics with David Michelinie had gotten me into Iron Man in the first place.

And in possibly the biggest surprise, who should sit down beside me in the theater but Jorge Lucas , the artist with whom I had created those Iron Man comics fifteen years ago. We had never met, in all that time, and had not really had a chance to talk since. It was a bit of a surreal experience for both of us to be there, but a fun adventure nonetheless.

A few more photos follow from the trip. Ant-Man and the Wasp was a fun movie, and is definitely worth seeing — and I'm not just saying that because Jorge and I are in the credits. (But that's fun, too!)

Mark Hamill had asked fans on Twitter to clean his star. Mission accomplished!
When you ask for a grande at Starbucks in Hollywood, this is what you get. On the red carpet, in front of the TCL Chinese Theater.
And at the afterparty. A night to be long remembered!

Jedi are trained diplomats, but farmboys? Not so much! But Luke has to learn in a hurry as he's forced to pinch-hit for Leia on a diplomatic mission of major importance to the protocol-obsessed Sarkans — and even Threepio might not be enough to save him from starting an intergalactic incident! Will Leia have to bail him out?

I share the story in Star Wars Adventures Annual 2018 , releasing April 4 from IDW to comics shops everywhere. I'd spoken of my return to Star Wars comics last fall with a story I'd just written; rather than serialize the tale, IDW decided to showcase it by building a special edition around it, with some additional surprises. My story is drawn by Jon Sommariva, who also drew the cover at right. The issue releases April 4. It's got order code FEB180374 when you request it at your comics shop.

It's terrific seeing the Annual happen, and fun to see it announced twelve years to the week after Knights of the Old Republic #1 went on sale. Luke Skywalker was in some ways a template for Zayne Carrick; it's delightful to get to write the character himself. Amazingly, apart from one flash-forward page in KOTOR #25, I'd never written Luke, Leia, or the droids before. And this story is actually a spin on one of the earliest Star Wars ideas I'd ever concocted, but never had the chance to write. I can't wait to see it!

There'll be preorder links here once they're available, but you'll be able to order the book starting in February from your retailer.

Also, I recently announced that I'd be at Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle March 1-4, appearing for Del Rey — that's a convention I've never attended before and had always wanted to visit. Well, there's some additional news: I'll be at the charity Worldbuilders Party, a gaming event from 7-11pm on March 2.

There will be games, snacks, and a silent auction, all to raise money for charity. Tickets are available at worldbuildersparty.com . If you've ever wanted to play me in a Pazaak game — as seen in the KOTOR computer game and my own Canto Bight book — now's your chance!

Finally, closer to home, I have a library event Saturday, Feb. 3 at the Little Chute Library in Little Chute, Wis. Click for details!