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October 2021

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Newsletter October 2021: IF#2 due out October 18, signed copies of IF#1 and lots of free books
by Koen Martens 07 Oct '21

07 Oct '21

Hi there, Well, my schedule has had a dent due to some physical inconveniences starting with a serious cold (not covid though) two weeks ago, followed by an unusually heavy migraine attack, another cold and then yet another migraine attack. I haven't been able to write as much as I wanted. But with all that behind me and two weeks off from the day job, I hope to recover some of the lost progress. If only we could get rid of those annoying bodies and just upload the mind to a somewhat more robust vessel. Anyway, here's what I've been up to otherwise. Murder, Plain and Simple (Isolated Futures #2) due out October 18 In about a week and a half, on 18 October, the second novelette in the Isolated Futures series will be released. Titled "Murder, Plain and Simple" <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-2-murder-plain-and-simple.htm…>, it tells the story of Jennifer Mendoza, a washed out doctor on an interstellar luxury cruiser. When a rich mining magnate is found dead under suspicious circumstances, she must step up and overcome her past. Joining forces with the ship’s first officer, they follow the clues. Suspects are plenty, but motives thin. When another body turns up, the race is on. Together, they must unravel the victims’ pasts to find the killer roaming the ship. Outline of a face against industrial installation with title 'Murder, Plain and Simple' and author name 'Koen Martens' <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-2-murder-plain-and-simple.htm…> Isolated Futures #1: Forced to be Free - paperback edition On popular demand — really, people asked for it, I didn't expect that either — signed copies of the first novelette in the Isolated Futures series, Forced to be Free, can now be ordered from the Hack42 web shop <https://shop.hack42.nl/boeken/forced-to-be-free-signed-edition>. Regular paperback copies are also available from Amazon (AU <https://www.amazon.com.au/Forced-be-Free-Koen-Martens/dp/9083166910>, CA <https://www.amazon.ca/Forced-be-Free-Koen-Martens/dp/9083166910>, DE <https://www.amazon.de/Forced-be-Free-Isolated-Futures/dp/9083166910>, ES <https://www.amazon.es/Forced-be-Free-Isolated-Futures/dp/9083166910>, FR <https://www.amazon.fr/Forced-be-Free-Koen-Martens/dp/9083166910/>, IT <https://www.amazon.it/Forced-be-Free-Koen-Martens/dp/9083166910>, JP <https://www.amazon.co.jp/Forced-be-Free-Koen-Martens/dp/9083166910>, UK <https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forced-be-Free-Isolated-Futures/dp/9083166910>, US <https://www.amazon.com/Forced-be-Free-Isolated-Futures/dp/9083166910>) and Barnes & Noble <https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forced-to-be-free-koen-martens/1140129956?…>. Book Promotions Looking for something to read while waiting for Murder, Plain and Simple (Isolated Futures #2) <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-2-murder-plain-and-simple.htm…>? Check out these two promotions, each packed to the brim with free books and samplers. They both run until the end of the month, so make sure you grab your books as soon as possible. Space-suited person in a curving metal corridor with promotion title 'Sci-fi on the Loose' <https://storyoriginapp.com/to/ZKqX4ib> Female soldier against background of spaceships above a city skyline with title 'Tales of the Future' <https://storyoriginapp.com/to/jbF8QeI> Book Tip Silhouette against porthole looking out over planet <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/e6eb3e34-f852-11eb-a297-ff3ce0302e8b> After countless years of preparation, Mission Terra Firme One is finally ready to commence and give Earth the answers it has long waited for, about the planet Neighbor. The TSS Cartographer is about to arrive and its First Officer Baldwin “call me Win” Tavares believes that he might just be able to touch his hand to that rocky ground and that’d be enough for him to learn everything there is to know about their old Neighbors, the things they’d done and what they’d left behind. But not everyone is as kind-hearted or has such noble intentions, and Neighbor holds more mysteries than anyone could have imagined. Exploring it might open the gates for a flood that threatens to drown everything, and Win must make decisions that hold his life, and that of all around him, at stake. Get the first two chapters for free! <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/84fbce06-2448-11ec-aee3-d7cda2fe1404> Music Tips Abstract blue, red and white shapes <https://commanderspoon.bandcamp.com/album/spooning-2> (bandcamp <https://commanderspoon.bandcamp.com/album/spooning-2>, spotify <https://open.spotify.com/album/1iLW7zBJQw2ZBVznNigEUC?si=I3FhwLnSSCWUmLDaY9…>) I have a huge backlog of magazines to catch up with. Which is why I hadn't heard this album, released in 2020, until recently. The Brussels quartet 'Commander Spoon' has put together a nice mix of abstract jazz and accessible and groovy tracks onto one album. Or, as their agent phrases it, 'Commander Spoon interlace their eclectic wealth of influences into an energetic jazz sound, respectfully demolishing walls between jazz, hip hop, rock and electronica'. There's a lot of good jazz hailing from Belgium these days, and Commander Spoon is a bright example of this wave of fresh new and exciting music. -- https://www.koenmartens.nl/

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