Neve Maslakovic's Blog

November News

The Bonsai Collection at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory.

We’re at the tail end of autumn here in Minnesota, with a sprinkling of snow expected in a day or two. I took the photo above a couple of weeks ago outside the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in St. Paul. A short bit of history: the glass-domed Victorian-style garden opened in 1915, sits next door to Como Zoo, and is well worth a visit if you’re in the area.

That’s their bonsai collection, each tree on a shelf of its own, with the ...

Call for ARC Readers

The publication date for That Murder Feeling is getting closer and I’m giving out ARCs! Read on if you’d like to have the book in your hands (well, in your digital hands, downloaded to your device) before release day, January 13, 2026, in exchange for an honest review.

Let’s jump into a VERY quick Q&A about how the process works.

What’s an ARC?
Advance Reader Copy, i.e, a chance to read the book early. Since this is the almost-but-not-quite finalized version, you might still encounter t...

Cover Reveal !

Let’s jump right to it, the cover for my new mystery series starter, That Murder Feeling!

This is my sixth book and the first one that belongs more on a mystery shelf than a sci-fi one.

When I started writing it, I knew it would land somewhere between a classic whodunit and something a bit stranger—imagine if Inspector Gamache wandered into a Stuart Turton novel—and that it’d likely be tricky to nail the right tone for cover. And… it was. Ebook Launch handled the design and I think they...

Mid-Summer Update

The Reading Room at the British Museum

Hope everyone’s July is going well! It’s been very hot, rainy, and humid here in the Twin Cities.

The above picture is of the Reading Room in the British Museum in London. I took it back in May, when we visited family in the U.K. The museum, as always, was very crowded. Despite the sign, there’s no reading allowed in the Reading Room, but it’s a huge domed space with a grand ceiling and a calm, bookish vibe and I was happy to peek in.

The ceiling o...

Neve’s January Newsletter

Hello. Grif hopes you are well.

Happy January! After the holiday break, I’m back on work on Book 2 of the new series. I’ve been using Aeon Timeline to pull all the series details into one place. The software has proven to be very helpful in keeping it all organized — character names, dates, and so on. I’ve mapped out the outline for the book in it and color-coded things nicely. I would post a screenshot, but it would include story spoilers!

For now Book 1 is still in a holding mode. Publis...

Sci-Fi Explorations Bundle

A bit of early 2025 news! My mystery/thriller, All the Whys of Delilah’s Demise, is in a StoryBundle! If you’re not familiar, StoryBundle offers curated collections of ebooks where you can pay what you want and support great authors. The Sci-Fi Explorations Bundle was curated by Carolynn Gockel and features 13 terrific books.

The way it works is, there is a $5 minimum, for which you’ll get the basic bundle of four books. If you’re feeling generous, $20 gets you nine more bonus books — All ...

December News

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, or a great week if Thanksgiving isn’t a thing where you are. December here in Minnesota has rolled in with frigid temperatures. No snow yet, just bare trees and nightfall arriving early.

Book Cover Update

My thanks to everyone who voted last month on the two options for the new cover of All the Whys of Delilah’s Demise. I decided to go with #2, which ended up with a slight lead over #1. We did, however, incorporate elements of #1 into #2, by tweaking...

Help Me Choose a New Cover for Delilah’s Demise

There’s a poll happening over on Substack for a new cover for All the Whys of Delilah’s Demise. Hop on over and cast your opinion! The poll will be open until Tuesday October 29th.

Neve’s Book Recommendations

Do I have a favorite genre when it comes to reading? As it happens, I have two.

They are (as you might expect) the ones I combine in my own books: science fiction/speculative and mystery. It’s by no means all that I read, but it is a big chunk of my Kindle content. 

I wanted to share a few recent favorites in those genres. These aren’t necessarily new releases, but they all lifted my spirits or stayed with me in some way.

Here we go, the books:

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for ...

Nebula Conference Schedule

This year will be my first opportunity to attend the Nebula Conference, so yay! It’s being held in Pasadena this time around, June 6-9. There’ll be panels, office hours, meet-and-greets, and the Nebula Awards banquet on Saturday. The Grandmaster this year is .

I’ll be participating in a panel alongside fellow authors Erik Grove, Curtis Chen, and Jordan Kurella:

It’s No Joke: Honing Humor in Your Work Thursday, June 6, 1:30PM – 2:30PM

This is a panel that will discuss th...