Michael R. Underwood

Michael R. Underwood will be appearing at ArmadilloCon 2024!

Michael R. Underwood (they/he) is the author of over twelve books, including the Ree Reyes urban fantasy series (Geekomancy, Celebromancy, Attack the Geek, Hexomancy), Born to the Blade (an epic fantasy serial with Malka Older, Cassandra Khaw, and Marie Brennan), and the Genrenauts novella series (which was a finalist for a r/Fantasy “Stabby” Award). Their latest novel is Annihilation Aria, a found-family space opera. Mike’s debut ttrpg, The Only Logical Solution is Hijinx, was released in 2022. Mike is now working in ttrpg design as one of the designers of Daggerheart, forthcoming from Darrington Press.

Mike was born in Bloomington, IN, to parents who met through musical theater, and was therefore fated to be a performer. They saw Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi in theaters before the age of one, instilling a love of mythic storytelling and speculative fiction from a very young age. Mike has lived in Texas, New York, New Jersey, Indiana, Oregon, New York again, and now Maryland. They hate moving. A lot. Mike grew up devouring stories in all forms, from comics to video games, tabletop RPGs, movies, and books. Always books. They hold a B.A. in Creative Mythology and in East Asian Studies from Indiana University and a M.A. in Folklore Studies from the University of Oregon. As a teen, Mike was raised by gamers at the Game Preserve in Bloomington, IN, playing nearly every CCG known to humanity, as well as miniatures games, lots of RPGs, and other whacky geek ephemera. His experience at the Game Preserve was a primary inspiration for the Ree Reyes series of novels.

In the proud tradition of writers everywhere, Mike has held a variety of jobs, ranging from retail mascot to web design instructor. They have also worked as a hobby game store clerk, a student archivist, submissions reader for Fantasy magazine, a webmaster, essayist and reviewer for PopMatters, a bear-builder, a bookseller, an independent publishers’ representative, and the North American Sales & Marketing Manager for Angry Robot Books. In 2003, he participated in the Semester At Sea program, circumnavigating the world in a ship of someone else’s making. On the journey, he visited Japan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, India, Tanzania, South Africa, Brazil, and Cuba.

Mike lives in Baltimore with his wife, their dog, and an ever-growing library. Mike also loves geeking out with video & role-playing games, studying historical martial arts, and making pizzas from scratch. Mike is also a guest host on the Hugo Award Finalist The Skiffy and Fanty Show and co-host of Speculate, an Actual Play podcast starring a rotating cast of speculative fiction professionals. In years past, they danced Argentine Tango, performed in an alternative tango band, and was an active member of the Society for Creative Anachronism.