Hi there,
I’ve recently added a new section to my website: a list of some my
favourite youtube channels. I’m curious to know if you’re also subscribed to any of these, and I’m sure you
have some favourites yourself that aren’t in the list. I’m always eager to learn of new and interesting content,
so drop me a line and let me know! You can do that by simply replying to this email.
And while you’ve got your finger on that mouse-button or hovering over your touch-pad or screen: if you’ve read ‘Forced to be Free‘ (the first in the Isolated Futures sequence, and sadly one that is rapidly becoming less fiction and more fact), you would really help me out by leaving a review. It’s reviews that drive sales in the algorithm-run world that’s modern publishing. Especially for indy authors like myself, reviews make the difference. Just click one of these buttons:
Much obliged!
Of course, this newsletter would not be complete without mentioning the latest
installment in the Isolated Futures series as well as the next
and final installment:
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Why did she have to die? Convicted for a murder he doesn’t remember, digital forensics specialist Lagan Quill spends his days at the secluded Clay Institute, picking apart his memories and separating fact from fantasy. But when a rehabilitation hearing takes him back into the thrumming city, he uncovers technology so disgusting that his own past pales in comparison. Forced to trust the one person he despises more than himself, he struggles to stay true to his principles. Can he reclaim his sanity while escaping those who will stop at nothing to prevent him from outing the truth? Find out in this thrilling tale that puts the disruption in disruptive technology. |
DingDong
by Zhumee, coming to a platform near you on 18 February (which happens to be my birthday too). Martin is the ultimate nerd: wealthy, always on top of the latest gadgets and full of reverence for their manufacturer, Zhumee. But when they touch his neighbour, eighty-nine year old Ms Turikula, he discovers a counterforce to his techno-optimism. Is his neighbour’s terrible fate a harbinger of his own, or can he escape the dark forces that conspire to crush his awakening awareness? Follow me on twitter to get notified as soon as it’s available. |
Book Tips
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Lt. Frasier MacKenzie knows Col. Edmonds assigned him to lead this detachment of the Queen Elizabeth’s Own Foresters because it should have been an easy assignment for the newest officer in the regiment. The mining colony wasn’t that valuable after all. Still, the colonel had assigned his most experienced NCO to this platoon to make sure MacKenzie didn’t screw up by the numbers. But then MacKenzie finds himself leading his platoon against a unit of Zuul who know something he doesn’t. Can he hold his platoon together despite the surprise attack from those alien mercs? More importantly, can he discover just what makes this colony worth fighting over? If he does, what will that mean for the Foresters? And can he do all this before the Peacemakers make their judgement. |
Peacemaker Academy Graduate Reynor was nervous about his confirmation mission. Thankfully, he had the guidance of a senior Peacemaker, the Besquith Sempay. Besquith were renown for ferocity and carnage. Basically, everything Reynor was not. When their transport ship has to make an unexpected stop to fix a problem with the hyperspace engines, Reynor convinces his partner to visit the backwater planet in the system. Once they arrive on world, Reynor learns the hard way that you can’t come at every problem straight on. Sometimes it requires a tangential approach. The pair hide they are Peacemakers and find themselves embroiled in a conflict involving two rival warlords with a local spaceport caught in between. A corrupt cop and an observant bartender are all the allies Reynor and Sempay have to prevent the enslavement and slaughter of everyone on the planet. |
Music Tips
This truly is a classic! Released in 1968, this blues rock album has Al Kooper (known for organising Blood,
Sweat & Tears) on Hammond Organ together with guitarist Mike Bloomfield playing the guitar on the first
half, and Stephen Stills (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) on the second half. It is generally considered to
have hailed in the concept of the ‘supergroup’ concept. I especially like track 2, ‘Stop’. Whenever I play that
song, I just have to hit repeat before it ends, sometimes multiple times in a row. It never ceases to bore me.
Let me know what you think!
-- https://www.koenmartens.nl/