Mark McClelland's Blog

Cyberpunk/Dystopia Book Bundle

I’m excited to share that Upload has been included in a new cyberpunk book bundle from Fanatical, the Cyberpunk Dystopia Novels Collective Bundle, alongside books by authors such as John Shirley, Joseph Hurtgen, Matthew Goodwin, and Ren Warom. This amazing deal allows you to get 19 titles for only $13, including the ebook version of Upload.

Insightful Review by Joshua Ryan Bligh

I'm excited to share a new review of Curse of the Healing Kiss by by Joshua Ryan Bligh, over at Independent Book Review.

It's deeply rewarding to read a review of my book from a talented critic who clearly "got" it. Judging from the many 2-star reviews, it seems I wrote a niche story. It bolsters my soul to hear from someone in that niche!

Congratulations To 100 Giveaway Winners!

Congratulations to the 100 people who won copies of Curse of the Healing Kiss last night. Enjoy!

If you liked the book and want to help others find it, here's a page with links to all the places where you can rate and review it.

Kindle Giveaway - Curse of the Healing Kiss

I'm giving away 100 copies of my new novella, Curse of the Healing Kiss, for Amazon Kindle. Enter by Jan 29 to win!

Goodreads Giveaway: Curse of the Healing Kiss

"Amazing and suspenseful read for lovers of fantasy, allegory and human psychology. 'Curse of the Healing Kiss' gives you enough cloaks, princes, carriage rides, dramatic declarations and curses to satisfy lovers of magic and fantasy, but unlike many centuries-old fairy tales, it is grounded in a very real psychological dialogue that the struggling lovers engage in with each other and themselves. It's also filled with breathtaking turns of phrase that echo the poetry that plays such a major role in the plot." -- From Goodreads review by Jennifer Boeder, Content Specialist & Editor



Inspired by French fairy tales of the 17th century, this new novella by Mark McClelland brings emotional realism to a universal story of love, trust, and jealousy, in a fantasy kingdom where curses are all too real.

The narrative revolves around two people in love: Malvinia, a sunny, outgoing woman with a knack for opening hearts; and Modeste, a man of quieter virtues. The story's true protagonist, however, is their relationship, as its resiliency is tested by the capacity of each to grow and to sacrifice in response to forces neither of them anticipated -- a conflict familiar to anyone who has struggled to be one's true, uncompromised self while at the same time honoring the needs of another in a loving long-term relationship.

Now Available: Curse of the Healing Kiss

My new novella, Curse of the Healing Kiss, is NOW AVAILABLE!

Read more about the release of the *print edition* here. You can buy the paperback from Lulu.

If you want the print edition in time for Christmas, you'll have to act FAST. Because this book is print-on-demand, it can take a few days before it's ready to ship.

Also available for Kindle and other ebook readers.

Curse of the Healing Kiss is a story of love, trust, and jealousy in a setting inspired by French fairy tales of the 17th and 18th centuries. Told with emotional realism, this roughly 100-page novella revolves around two main characters, Malvinia and Modeste, and their struggle to understand and come to terms with their differing views on the nature and bounds of committed love.

For those who choose to read it, I hope you enjoy it! Only three people have read it so far: my wife; my editor; and the one writer friend I cajoled into being a beta reader. Her feedback: "I loved it!!!!!!!!!!" I look forward to hearing from more readers!

You can also show support by liking my Facebook page for the book.

And, now that I have two published books, I figured an author website is in order.

Yay!!!

Mark McClelland's New Author Website: stuffbymark.com

With the publication of Curse of the Healing Kiss, I decided it's time to have a proper author's website. It's up and growing at stuffbymark.com, and that will be the hub for discovering all that I've published... along with some miscellaneous odds & ends, like music I wrote on a Mac SE back in the late 80s. :)

I will continue to keep uploadthenovel.com alive as the official place to find out more about Upload.

New Book Update: "Curse of the Healing Kiss"

Cover reveal coming soon, and this novella will be published in time for Holiday shopping.

New Book: "Curse of the Healing Kiss"

Exciting news! I just sent a draft of my upcoming novella, "Curse of the Healing Kiss", to a developmental editor. My hope is to publish it later this year.

An Unlikely Writing Project

I recently started writing a free serial ebook over at Wattpad, called Orbital Velocity . Here's my blurb for the book:

The true, wandering, improvised story of one man's quiet journey from unfit and unhealthy to something better. The chronically slothful author seeks to feed two birds with one seed, breaking out of his cycle of neither exercising nor publishing by sharing his tale of self-improvement. The title, "Orbital Velocity", is a metaphor for breaking free from the gravity that keeps him in bed when he should be up, reading when he should be writing, thinking when he should be doing. Snoozing, reading, and thinking are all good and necessary things, but "being in a rut" often means doing the easy things to the exclusion of the higher-exertion or more willpower-intensive activities that make us humans healthy. "Orbital Velocity" is about breaking the cycle and reaching a point where good-health habits are so ingrained that they take minimal willpower to sustain.

Think of it as a quirky, slow-paced, inspirational exercise video for those who prefer to read.

I've been enjoying the project immensely, and it's far enough along that I figured I'd mention it here.

Meanwhile, I've also found a developmental editor for the novella I've been working on, a story of love and jealousy in a fairy-tale setting. More news on that once I'm further along with story editing.

Book Review: I Contain Multitudes

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Excellent example of science writing that targets a mainstream audience without hyped-up, unsupported conclusions. Fascinating, entertaining, and full of tidbits that made me see the world a little differently. Good mix of breadth and depth in its survey of recent discoveries in the exploding field of microbiology.

I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for more Ed Yong books. He's also become one of my favs on Twitter (@edyong209), and has made me realize how much good science writing there is in The Atlantic.



View all my reviews