Hi there,
Gosh, has it already been two weeks since the previous newsletter? Time flies! I’ve caught up with my writing schedule again, even though we’re in the middle of buying a home and planning some renovations.
I’ve also been working with a book marketing specialist, and now have a 90 page document that outlines a strategy that I will be implementing over the coming months. As part of that, I’ve (reluctantly) signed up with instagram. So if you’re on instagram too, you can now get micro-updates about whatever I’m doing by following me on:
https://www.instagram.com/koenmartens_author/
Map making with Wonderdraft
There is something magical about maps. I probably inherited this from my father, but I’ve always been drawn to atlases and have been drawing maps of fantasy states as a child. As an author, I again find myself drawing maps to get a feeling for the world my characters are living in. This is part of world building.
In this article I will dive in to another tool, Wonderdraft, that is fantastic for drawing realistic maps. At the end of the article I share the map I made in Wonderdraft for my current work in progress.
Cheers,
Koen
Book Tips
 Visions of Ascension Nicholas Lawrence Carter |
 Where Weavers Daire R.K. Bentley |
| Her birthright was to lead… …he craves ultimate control. Will society survive the battle? Corianna, a loyal military leader, is unlike others. Her ideals are divisive; her power is vast, but most of all, she is misunderstood. She seeks to better their civilization, but not all believe in her. A ruthless lawmaker, L’luond, desires sole leadership. He’s spent his life working from the shadows to undermine Corianna and destroy her reputation. Their people should have one leader, her, but he stands in the way. His discovery of the Voide could change everything. Will L’luond achieve his devious goal? Or can Corianna unite her society? |
Ten years after the last war, Melinda Scott discovers something in
deep space and is dragged back into a world her family was banished from. Now with Necromancers to her left, Liches to her right and humanity in the middle it’s up to her to figure out why someone is trying to kill her. Where Weavers Daire is the first book in a new rip-roaring space opera series in the same vein as Babylon 5, Firefly, Farscape and Star Wars! |
Composer David Chesky goes back to his jazz roots with this album. But he has adapted his method to the modern age, where everything has moved into the digital realm. In this solo project, Chesky went into the studio to lay down a musical tapestry of sounds over which he improvises. None of the instruments are real, they’re all digitized. The basis is a repetitive groove of bass, drums and electronic sounds giving the album a lazy laid back feel, but the improvisations are far from boring.
Being all electronic, the sound-stage has been carefully engineered to place instruments in three-dimensional space. This is best experienced by a special speaker setup and playback installation, which I don’t have. But there’s also a headphone mix. I have yet to try that, but rumours are that it really adds volume and space to the compositions.
By the way, there is another album by the same name from the Rembrandt Frerichs Trio that is well worth a listen too.
Out Now
 Isolated Futures Omnibus Koen Martens |
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If you’re a fan of thought-provoking sci-fi cyberpunk technothrillers like The Passengers and Black Mirror, then Koen Martens’ sci-fi anthology is your perfect next read! Story 1 - Forced to be Free: Sam, a young hacker with anger management issues, has joined a defense initiative against the advancing Russian army set to occupy Europe. When he discovers his boss is working undercover for the enemy, he must thwart his boss and prevent the destruction of the EU’s drone defense network before it’s too late. Story 2 - Murder, Plain and Simple: Dr. Jennifer Mendoza is a ship physician on the interstellar luxury cruiser Christopher. When a prominent and wealthy passenger is murdered, she is called to investigate the crime. Can she identify the killer before more people lose their lives? Story 3 - Cima Peak: Juan, a naive adolescent growing up in a post-apocalyptic world, embarks on a dangerous excursion that strands him and his friend far from his home. Can they make it back to their base before it’s too late to save the city from incoming slavers? Story 4 - Negative Reinforcement: Limei is an independent app developer on an isolated space station. She is utterly dependent on and enamored with her personal AI assistant. When she learns The Algorithm is planning to destroy human life on her ship, she must find a way to take it down before her crew 80perishes. Story 5 - Eddy: Digital forensics expert Lagan has been wrongly convicted of murder, but no one is willing to believe that he witnessed his own doppelgänger commit the crime. When he learns that the doppelgänger was one of many beings created to replace humans with AI-run clones, he must prove his innocence and take down the scheme before more people’s lives are ruined. Story 6 - DingDong by Zhumee: When Martin’s new Zhumee smart doorbell accidentally causes his neighbor’s wrongful arrest, he must set out on a quest to prove her innocence. Little does he know, Zhumee has far more control over the justice system than anyone imagined. Can he race against the clock to take down this corrupt system? Click “Add to cart” to delve into this eye-opening novella collection today! |
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