Year in Review, Part the Second

Here we are again!

Before I get into it, I want to remind you that the paperback sale is still on through tomorrow! All my books are 20-25% off (depending on the title) directly from the printer, which gives you a better price than other retailers and gives me a slightly better cut.

So, I had a baby this year instead of putting out another book. She’s now seven months old, smiling and laughing, trying all different kinds of foods, and almost crawling (she really, really wants to). She’s the best thing I ever made.

I did manage to make some progress on other projects. The Book of the New Moon Door is now an audiobook read by Beni Vaganov and Rachael Brolin. It’s available on several platforms (and possibly your local library app), though we’re still waiting on Audible.

Last Watch Before Dawn now has seventeen pages for you to read! I’m devoting all my working time to this project in order to get a new book out for you next year. The first volume will be about 90 pages, so I’ve got a ways to go.

I also got to thirteen episodes of The Well Below the Valley. Since it’s not likely to become a book that you can hold in your hands anytime soon, I decided to put it on hold for the time being. Eventually, I’ll come back to it, and it’ll be an audio drama and a script/art book.

Next year, I’m hoping to try out a few new markets and events and revisit ones I liked but had to miss this year. Last Watch Before Dawn will be several volumes, so I’m going to be continuing with that, and I’d like to get a second project going as well, time constraints allowing. I’m also planning on putting together hardcover editions of my three existing books, and maybe this will be the year I finally get my Patreon into shape! You’ll just have to stick around to find out.

So, as always, thank you for being here. You make this all worth it. I hope 2026 is a gentler year for all of us.

The Book of the New Moon Door: Audiobook now available!

Digital audiobook cover of The Book of the New Moon Door. A dark, distorted cityscape featuring a church, several houses, and a plaza paved in a spiral. By Madeline Crane, read by Beni Vaganov and Rachael Brolin

IT’S HERE!

Here are all the places it’s available right now (10:15 Central US, Monday, November 3):

Barnes & Noble/Nook
Libro.fm
Chirp
Bookbeat
Kobo
Apple Books

Edited 11/6 to add:

Google Play
Storytel

Edited 11/10 to add:

Audiobooks.com
Spotify

More platforms should carry it soon, including hopefully some libraries. I’ll do another round of searching in a week or two and update you.

Audiobook news!

It’s happening!

As it turns out, audiobook platforms have some very strict file requirements. Over the course of this week, I have gone from knowing nothing about audio editing to learning about RMS, noise floors, compression, and loudness normalization. All the files are now submitted and queuing up to be released to retail platforms!

Unfortunately, I don’t have a release date for you. Unlike my print books, I wasn’t given the option to set one, so for now I’m just watching and waiting. I’ll let you know as soon as I learn anything.

Special thanks to Beni and Rachael for lending their voices to this project!

Song of the Week

Sinéad O’Connor, “House of the Rising Sun” (traditional)

Good morning! This is my favorite version of “House of the Rising Sun,” so I hope you enjoy.

I have a new page of Last Watch Before Dawn for you, and it will be up tomorrow. I’m working on the next episode of The Well Below the Valley.

I also have some very exciting news, which is that The Book of the New Moon Door will be available as an audiobook soon! I’ve been working with two talented and hardworking voice actors, and they’ve just finished the recording. I’m hoping for a Halloween release! I’ll update you as we go. I’ve maybe mentioned the audiobook before once or twice, but I didn’t want to promise anything before I had an idea of the timeline.

Also, please mark your calendars for the Spooky Frog Horror Book Fair on Saturday, October 18 and What the Hex: Dia de Muertos on Sunday, October 19!

Here are some petitions:

Via Win Without War: Don’t silence dissent with tear gas

Via Ekō: Protect the Sumud Flotilla now

Via The Intercept: Demand Big Tech cancel contracts with Israel’s government

That’s all for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Some notes on editing

I’ve finished my reread of Journey to the Water! Next step to get it into shape is a new outline, and then the Great Rewrite begins. In the meantime, I thought I’d share a little bit about my editing process, in the hopes that it will be helpful, of interest, or both. I’ve mentioned a few of the steps of my process before, but it will be good to have it all in one place.

Here are three things about me:

  1. I cannot afford to pay a good editor at the rates that they deserve.
  2. I have a Master’s degree in English literature. (Points 1 and 2 may be related.)
  3. I do my own editing, but I always, always have at least one other person whose taste and advice I trust read through my manuscripts before they go to publication.

In order to edit my own work, I need to first distance myself from it.

(This got long, so the rest is behind the cut:)

Continue reading “Some notes on editing”

Video: Bookley checks out The Book of the New Moon Door

Here’s the video for The Book of the New Moon Door! If you buy a copy from this Bookshop.org link, you can support me AND Studio Moonfall at the same time. You can also visit the shop at 5031 7th Avenue, Kenosha, WI. I’ll also be hosting an Author Night there on May 24th! It goes from 4-7 and I’ll be baking something for it. Possibly pie. Or brownies.

Some questions possibly answered about The Book of the New Moon Door

One reader who preordered a copy asked if I would share my inspiration for The Book of the New Moon Door in the dedication. I did my best, and I’m sharing what I wrote with all of you, as well.

It reads:

For Sam–

You asked me to write about the inspiration for this story, so here goes:

I drew inspiration from Gothic horror, such as Poe and the video game Bloodborne; Lovecraft and other cosmic/eldritch horror writers, Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom series; and Cassandra Khaw’s “Monologue by an unnamed mage, recorded at the brink of the end.” What came out of all that, I think, is something quite different from all of them: a story about what happens when everything you know, from religious belief to scientific knowledge to your daily habits, no longer serves you and cannot be relied upon. It’s a metaphor for depression, or for escaping from a high-control religion; it’s not a metaphor at all, but a case study of two people who are very much products of an older world forced to live in a new one. Genre fictrion, sci-fi/fantasy in particular, is uniquely equipped to examine questions of culture and the human condition.

But above all else, this is a story written to entertain. I hope it delights you, and I appreciate your support.

M. Crane

The Book of the New Moon Door: Book Club Discussion Questions

I hope these will help any book club, reading groups, or other nerdy conversations! They are spoiler-free. If you have any other suggestions, or questions you’d like to ask me directly, please leave a comment and I’d be happy to answer them or add to the list.


  1. The story is told from two perspectives: Berend and Isabel. Which point of view did you prefer? Which gave you more insight into the world and the story? Would you have liked to see another character’s perspective?
  2. Which scene stuck with you the most and why?
  3. What do you think happens after the end? Was the ending satisfying, or did you want to see something different?
  4. What are the book’s main themes? Does the author take a stance on any of them(e.g., the value of religious devotion)? Do you agree with that stance?
  5. Are there any unanswered questions or unresolved issues that you wish the author had addressed?

Here’s a PDF version with space for notes:


Some groups like to have themed food and drinks, so here are a couple of harvest squash soup recipes I rounded up:

Butternut Squash Soup by Love & Lemons (vegan)
Copycat Panera Squash Soup by Rachel Cooks (vegetarian)

And here are some cocktails. I don’t drink, so one of you is going to have to volunteer to try them and report back!

Apple Cinnamon Whiskey Smash by Hunger Thirst Play
Smoking Blackberry Sage Margarita by Wicked Spatula


Happy reading!

Today’s the Day! The Book of the New Moon Door is now available!

Amazon (paperback & ebook)

Barnes & Noble (paperback & ebook)

Kobo (ebook only)

Apple Books (ebook only)

A very special thanks to everyone who preordered, and to everyone who reads it now! I’m so excited for you to finally get your hands on this book.

If you haven’t read the back-of-the-book blurb, it’s right here for you below the cut:

Continue reading “Today’s the Day! The Book of the New Moon Door is now available!”

One week until The Book of the New Moon Door!

The book will be available in paperback and ebook from whatever online retailer you prefer on Friday, December 15.

Also, preorders have left the printer! They’re on their way to me, so I can sign and wrap them. I’ll update you when I have an estimated arrival date. Once they’re here, I should get them finished and back into the mail within 24 hours.

Stay tuned for more updates as we count down to release day!