Starship Blunder 2 Now Open for Submissions

Ready to embark on another round of intergalactic chaos? After the successful launch of the first Starship Blunder anthology—and a well-needed break—I immediately dove into plans for a second Blunder anthology. What can I say? The characters in this amusing shared universe will not leave me alone, and I have to see what other misadventures might be in store for them.

What’s a ShareVerse Anthology?

Before getting into the details of Blunder 2, I should expand on the whole ShareVerse Anthology concept. Some writing friends and I wanted to create opportunities for fellow writers to craft stories with the goal of publishing together. Instead of collecting stories that tie together with a loose theme, we thought it would be more fun if all the stories in each anthology were set in the same universe with overlapping characters, settings, and lore.

More than just an opportunity to publish, each anthology brings together a community of writers working together to make an amazing book of stories.

Just last month, my good friend Edward Swing published his ShareVerse Anthology titled Enigma Station.

A Station of Strangeness!

Enigma Station - a city in space built within an ancient structure light-years from Earth - serves as a trading port and space hub for humans and aliens. Built within the remains of an abandoned structure light-years from Earth, it houses many secrets and technologies yet to be discovered.

But adventurous explorers have encountered bizarre phenomena throughout the station. Strange objects appear, then disappear. Rooms and hallways deform their shape. Unexplained signals of energy burst into existence, then vanish. Some inhabitants even experience strange sensations within their body.

Now Santosh Banahatti, the station's discoverer, struggles to govern the mysterious station, its diverse populace, and potential dangers. And the mysteries of Enigma Station may demand even more!

Find Enigma Station on Amazon

Starship Blunder 2—Galactic Misadventure Continues

I’m excited to announce that submissions are now open for Starship Blunder 2: Starship Wonder! This upcoming anthology will bring back the misfit crew you know and love (or at least tolerate) as they take on new missions, meet new species, and continue their grand tradition of barely surviving in the depths of space.

At the end of the first anthology, the Starship Blunder went out in a blaze of glory. But instead of scattering its crew across the galaxy, the Conglomeracy saw fit to assign them a new ship—built entirely from spare parts and forgotten scraps. The official name? Starship Wonder. The name the crew actually uses? Well… you can probably guess.

Commander Sarah Hawkins, Mechanic Xylo, Daycare Teacher Luna Knight, and Chef Bluebottle are back at it again, trying (and often failing) to prove their worth—while Commander Rex Sterling observes from his elite post on Starship Prime.

For writers interested in contributing to the next chapter for Starship Blunder, full details are available on the Starship Blunder website. The deadline for submissions will be August 1, 2025, and yes, I am paying for stories.

Submission Guidelines – Starship Blunder 2

Other Blunder Fun

There are some other fun developments in the Blunder universe including a brand-new merch store! Dress like a crew member of the ill-fated space craft in a violent violet “Blunder Crew” t-shirt or even perfume your home like the Conglomeracy’s home planet of Neptune with the Neptune’s Breeze scented candle.

Starship Blunder Merch Store

I’ve also put together an exciting character quiz that lets you know which Starship Blunder character is most like you! Answer a few zany space-adventure questions to see if your personality matches the chaos of Martian Chef Bluebottle, or if you can stay cool under pressure like Commander Rex Sterling.

Starship Blunder Character Quiz

If reading is more your jam than writing and you’re anxious to get your hands on the next installment for the Starship Blunder gang, the intro story for the next anthology “Not so Wonderful” is available on the Starship Blunder website.

“Not so Wonderful” A Starship Blunder Story

If you’d like to be part of this galactic misadventure, head over to the submissions page for all the details. I can’t wait to see what kind of absurd, chaotic, and downright disastrous missions everyone dreams up! 🚀✨

Puzzles Reimagined: Exciting Updates for Puzzling Escapes

The idea for Puzzling Escapes struck me while I was busy selling novels at a comic con. I desperately wanted to sneak away from my table to check out one of the event’s unique attractions: an escape room. My desire to play an escape room quickly led to an urge to make my own. However, my talents lie in making books, not themed adventure rooms. That’s when it hit me: I could make an escape room book!

Print-on-demand was the most accessible and affordable means of publishing a print book, but it also introduced quite a few limitations. I had to be creative to overcome the constraints, and I wasn’t totally happy with some of the concessions I had to make. Color printing was too expensive, so I stuck with black and white. I wanted several sections for the different “rooms” of the adventure, hints, story elements, and more, and I hoped black lines printed on the edges of the pages would help readers navigate the books.

Since I didn’t have a lot of money to invest in artwork, I used free illustrations and only a few licensed stock photos. I did my best to draw the puzzles on my laptop, and for the most part, they turned out pretty nice. I am really proud of the product I was able to make. But putting out the best puzzle book I could on my own is only the beginning of the adventure.

A Brief History of My Publishing Journey

When I was a baby writer looking to publish my first book, I did a lot of research on publishing, both traditional and self. Although writing a book is freaking hard, getting a traditional publishing deal is a hundred times harder. But I knew my writing was good, so I decided to give it a go. I entered the grueling process of querying—sending carefully crafted pitches to literary agents and publishers, hoping someone would be excited about my story.

It turns out that querying requires insane patience and an unimaginably thick skin. Writers typically send out hundreds of emails, wait weeks upon months for responses, and then deal with rejection after rejection after rejection before getting a book deal. While I did receive encouraging feedback and a few full requests for my manuscript, the process ultimately took a toll on my mental health.

Totally bummed out and disheartened, I decided to take a different approach and pivoted to self-publishing. I didn’t completely write off traditional publishing but decided that instead of chasing established publishers, I’d wait until one approached me.

Opportunity Comes Knocking

As an indie author, I sift through more than my fair share of scammy emails—offers for fake promotions, sketchy partnerships, and expensive book reviews. I still read through all of them, always hoping maybe this next offer will be something real.

I was cautiously optimistic when I got an email from Melissa at Cottage Door Press. Instead of making a too-good-to-be-true offer or attempting to sell me on an expensive service, her message was short and sweet—only asking to set up a meeting to talk about my puzzle books. When I looked up the publisher’s catalog, it was full of books I had seen at my local bookstore.

In the meeting, I met Ellen, a creative director whose excitement for Puzzling Escapes mirrored my own. The publisher produced all sorts of specialty books and had the means and know-how to elevate the Puzzling Escapes adventures from simple bound paperbacks to interactive activity books. After the meeting, I was ecstatic, literally jumping for joy with my husband and kids. My puzzle books had caught the attention of a publisher, and they wanted me!

At the time, I was finishing up another Puzzling Escapes adventure, which I had already teased on social media. Instead of releasing it, I decided to hold off and see how negotiations would go. I was definitely interested in a partnership, and it made the most sense to keep the whole series together under one publisher. Ultimately, I made an agreement with Cottage Door Press to publish the four existing Puzzling Escapes titles along with the new one.

Reimagining the Series

Working with Ellen and her team has been an absolute dream. I’ve heard that some publishers take creative control away from the author, but they’ve kept me involved in the whole process. They clearly want me to be proud of the books, too. We brainstormed all the different things we could do to elevate the series and make the books more interactive. There are quite a few new features that I’m really excited about, including:

• Tabbed Dividers make it quick and easy to flip to the section you need.
• Concealed spiral binding, a common feature for activity books, ensures durability and allows the books to lie flat.
• Custom illustrations and full-color printing bring every scene and puzzle to life with vibrant, colorful artwork designed to immerse you in the story.
• Die-cut objects allow you to pop clues out of the pages, making it easier to collect them.
• The front storage pocket keeps all your clues organized so nothing gets lost.

All these changes will help make the books more immersive and easier to use, bringing the stories I wrote to life.

Since we were updating the books, I wanted to make some additional changes to refine the experience. We chose new, more thematic keywords and simplified the answer-checking process a bit to make that step more intuitive.

Release schedule

Fans particularly enjoyed the bookstore-themed and haunted house-themed books, so they are the first to receive new editions.

• The Haunted House Mystery will be published on July 1st (in time for Halloween)
• Trapped in the Bookstore will be released in mid-October.

Although Trapped in the Bookstore is my favorite Puzzling Escapes title, I’m also really excited for the cruise ship-themed adventure to get re-imagined. I couldn’t find or make good shipwreck images for the book, and I’d love to see what the illustrator imagines Pirates Cove might look like.

And, of course, I can’t wait to share the newest adventure! In Quest for the Lost Diamond, the puzzles unfold in a natural history museum and a bank, leading to some really fun new conundrums for readers to solve.

Get Ready to Escape

I know I’ve kept quiet for a long time about everything going on with the Puzzling Escapes series, so I’m thrilled to finally share these exciting updates! While the puzzles and stories remain the same, the new format and artwork make the new editions absolutely stunning. Even if you’ve already played through the adventures, I think you’ll love the upgrades.

These books are a dream come true for me, and I hope they bring you as much joy as they’ve brought me. Whether you’re solving them for the first time or rediscovering an old favorite, I can’t wait to hear what you think!

My newsletter subscribers learned about this exciting news first. Make sure to sign up for exclusive updates and sneak peeks!

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Also, I recently revamped the Puzzling Escapes website. Go check it out! There’s also a tool on the site to check your answers while you play through the books.

I sold the last of my personal stock of first-edition Puzzling Escapes books at a craft fair in November, so I won’t have any at my spring events. However, I’ll have plenty of copies of the new editions in time for my fall shows—so stay tuned!

Am I Even a Writer?

Attending the same event year after year has a way of putting a spotlight on how much—or little—you’ve published. When someone asks, “What’s new from Beth Martin?” the last thing I want to say is, “Uh… nothing.”

I started writing a few years before I published my first book, so once I started publishing, I had a few novels that were ready to get polished and released. Then I quickly put out four puzzle books, and then finally got back to novels and released Memory Clear.

After that, I didn’t release another book for a while.

I’ve still been busy. I call myself a full-time writer. Heck, I haven’t even slowed down, I’ve just been working a lot behind the scenes, looking forward to new endeavors ahead.

My Short Story Era

I’ve been wanting to put together a short story collection, and after sitting on some stories for a while, waiting until I had enough to publish in a collection, I thought, why not share some of the stories as ebooks? This past June, I released “Worth a Thousand Words” which is about a woman who inherits a mysterious painting. My next short will drop on January 1st. It’s called “The Pary Guest” and is a heartfelt piece about a teacher who drops in on a student’s Memorial Day party.

Of course, my big short story project in 2024 was Starship Blunder, a shared universe anthology filled with humorous stories that all take place on an appropriately named fictional spacecraft. In addition to creating the world and editing the collection, I wrote three of the stories (I’m particularly proud of “The Last Voyage,” and you definitely need to read it). Acting as acquisition editor was a completely new experience—challenging and rewarding in the best ways. I can’t wait to dive into similar projects in the future.

My friend and fellow writer Edward Swing has created his own Shareverse Anthology titled Enigma Station, which should release early next year. I wrote the story “Limited Vision” which will appear in the collection.

A New Era for Puzzling Escapes

The most exciting development this year is that a publisher purchased the rights to my Puzzling Escapes series. Their amazing team is working hard, transforming my existing puzzle books into stunning new editions that will be more immersive and beautiful than ever. Plus, we’re crafting a brand-new adventure to add to the series! The first re-release is tentatively set for summer 2025, and I’m so excited for you to see what we’ve been creating.

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When a fan came to my table last month at my local craft fair to ask, “What’s new from Beth Martin?” I smiled and responded, “This!” as I handed over a copy of Starship Blunder. Next year, I’ll have another few books to share with them. Will one of those books be a new novel? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I’ll keep writing, dreaming, and crafting stories that excite me—and hopefully you, too!

Signs You're a Writer

The only thing you need to do to identify as a writer is write. But let’s be honest, there are a lot of similarities among us besides our simple desire to put words on a page. We tend to have vivid imaginations, a collection of fluffy animals, and some… unsettling habits.

This post is just for fun! Let me know if you’re a writer and exhibit one or more of these writer signs.

1. Your pet is your co-writer.

Whether it’s a cat draped across your keyboard or a dog napping at your feet, your furry friends are always ready to "help" (or demand attention) when you’re trying to focus on your manuscript.

2. You call movie night ‘research.’

Bought tickets to the latest sci-fi blockbuster? It’s not just for fun—it’s inspiration. And yes, the ticket costs will be counted as a business expense. Maybe the popcorn, too.

3. You have a notebook (or ten) within reach at all times.

Inspiration can strike anywhere, so you have one handy in a number of places: your bag, the car, the nightstand, the shower…

4. You hear voices in your head and get concerned when they stop talking.

Your characters talk to you all the time, even getting into arguments with your inner voice and each other. But more concerning than the cacophony in your head is when they’re suddenly quiet.

5. Your search history is concerning and closely watched by the FBI.

How many bullet wounds before a human can no longer run? How much blood does the average mosquito drink? What’s another synonym for big? How decomposed would a body be after being abandoned in a swamp for a week? …a month? …a year? What’s another synonym for big? It’s all research for your novel, of course.

6. Coffee (or tea) is your lifeblood.

Staying hydrated is very important, and you’ve mastered the perfect ratio of caffeine to creativity.

7. You’re on a first-name basis with your local librarians.

Whether it’s for research or an excuse to leave the house, you know the library staff well enough to exchange birthday cards.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed my list of Signs You’re a Writer! Let me know, are there any strangely similar things you’ve noticed about the writers in your life? Feel free to share them and tag me @bethmartinbooks!