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December 2021

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Newsletter December 2021: ABBA, Cinnamon Buns and IKEA plus book and music tips
by Koen Martens 07 Dec '21

07 Dec '21

Hi there, ABBA, Cinnamon Buns and IKEA; what do they have in common? If you guessed, "they're all from Sweden," you are correct! And, if all goes well, you can add me, Koen Martens, to that list soon. Not because I come close to the glory of ABBA, Cinnamon Buns and IKEA of course, but because I'm moving to this beautiful Nordic country next spring, exchanging overcrowded The Netherlands for some Swedish peace and quiet. That means we're quite busy selling our house, finding a new house, arranging the move and mamaging all the bureaucracy involved with emigration. Of course, in the mean time I still have my day job and my writing to take care of, so it won't be a quiet Christmas for me. But it's going to be worth it. About my writing, this month, on the 18th as usual, the next installment of the Isolated Futures series, /Negative Reinforcement/, will be released, which tells the story of independent app developer Limei Huxcon, who lives in a space station far away. When her peaceful world is shook by a violent incident, she has to question everything she believed. She embarks on a crusade to set things straight, teaming up with a gang of underground hackers and rejects. But are their goals and hers aligned, or is there a more nefarious purpose to the gang’s plans? All in all, the Isolated Futures series is starting to become quite the collection: Two people descending stairs <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-1-forced-to-be-free.html?mtm_…> Facial features superimposed over industrial pipeworks <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-2-murder-plain-and-simple.htm…> Office tower with antenna superimposed over rooftops <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-3-cima-peak.html?mtm_campaign…> Rabbit figure superimposed over industrial background <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-4-negative-reinforcement.html…> *A near-future techno thriller.* Young and brilliant hacker Sam takes a job at a defence contractor to fight for his freedom in a Europe that is about to be overrun by the Russian Federation. With time running out, Sam finds out who his real allies are. Fighting betrayal and his inner demons, he must pull out all his clever hacking tricks to stop the advancing army. *Can he stop the invasion, and at what price?* Get it here (free) <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-1-forced-to-be-free.html?mtm_…> *‘Murder on the Orient Express’ meets ‘Star Trek: Voyager’* Jennifer Mendoza, a washed out doctor on an interstellar luxury cruiser keeps a low profile. 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. Get it here (US$0.99) <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-2-murder-plain-and-simple.htm…> *A post-apocalyptic coming of age story.* Juan, a brilliant but slightly naive young boy in a post-apocalyptic world that is slowly recovering from the atrocities following the collapse, is forced to come to terms with good and evil when his best friend dies in a horrible accident. Forced to make amends with the man he holds responsible for her death, Juan discovers that things are not as black and white as he used to believe. When things take a turn for the worse, Juan becomes responsible for saving his fledgling community. *Can he make it to Cima Peak in time and save the city, while making peace with his inner turmoil?* Get it here (US$0.99) <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-3-cima-peak.html?mtm_campaign…> Independent app developer Limei Huxcon leads a peaceful life on Luxulyan, a space station in orbit over ice giant Yamm. Oobya, the station’s owners, keep the twenty million population fed and comfortable, both physically and mentally. But when her second date with a power technician is violently interrupted, her life is turned upside-down. After she discovers what is going on outside her bubble of recommended news and entertainment, she embarks on a crusade to set things straight, teaming up with a gang of underground hackers and rejects. But are their goals and hers aligned, or is there a more nefarious purpose to the gang’s plans? Coming soon (US$0.99) <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-4-negative-reinforcement.html…> Cheers, Koen P.s.: In the previous newsletter I promised a little gift to my loyal newsletter subscribers. Sadly, with all the emigration action, I haven't gotten around to setting that up yet, my apologies. Next month I will make good on my promise! Book Tips Three meteors descend on a collission coarse with a settlement by night <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/7ba0b384-54dc-11ec-88b8-ff04f9c414ff> Evil tentacled beast with title <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/ca61e19a-55dc-11ec-aac3-c3e8bcdb2f53> Orvan Eld once believed humanity's interstellar future would be a divinely ordained utopia... and yet the colonies of Proxima A lay ravaged by injustice and bloodshed. Now a battle-hardened Choctaw guerrilla, Orvan blames only one man: Donald Stafford of the Atlas Nations. And when he misses his chance to capture the enemy general, their bitter conflict changes the landscape of Proxima A forever. After years of Atlas Nations oppression, Orvan and his colleagues from Horst Rocha's famous covert unit finally have a chance to strike back. But can Orvan save Choctaw's innocent civilians from the horrors of war or will his personal vendetta put both his friends and his faith in the gods of his grandfather in mortal danger? Discover the dramatic backstory of popular WRITING IN THE SAND characters Orvan Eld and Don Stafford as THE EXPANSE meets STAR WARS and STAR TREK in this action-packed prequel to the Atlas Nations series. Get it for free! <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/7ba0b384-54dc-11ec-88b8-ff04f9c414ff> /Lovecraft in a Time of Madness/ is a collection of 21 horrifying tales, inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Featuring stories from across the globe, this anthology unveils a universe of macabre ritual, terrifying creatures, and those brave souls who dare challenge the nature of the unknown! From Arthurian legends to the very depths of the Mariana Trench and the darkest corners of the human mind, /Lovecraft in a Time of Madness/ oozes with unique takes on some of Lovecraft’s most forbiddable creations. Featuring stories from C.L. Werner, Thomas Parrott, Mark Wheaton, David F. Gray, Scotty Milder, and other new and established authors. Join us as we descend into madness! Get it here! <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/ca61e19a-55dc-11ec-aac3-c3e8bcdb2f53> Music Tips Album cover with mostly text and statue of Aztec god Mictlantecuhtli <https://open.spotify.com/album/0mWTFv1RlxKI8CQ6ITn8Ot?si=7-vPZV7GRtqfqoM6Hd…> (spotify <https://open.spotify.com/album/0mWTFv1RlxKI8CQ6ITn8Ot?si=7-vPZV7GRtqfqoM6Hd…>) For this month's music tip, I'm staying with the Swedish theme. And while I could have gone for the easy solution, and feature an album by ABBA, I'm picking something a bit less mainstream. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love ABBA, but this album, released in 1997 by fellow Swedes Entombed, is one of my all-time favourites. The style is described as death 'n' roll, which combines the raw and heavy sound of death metal with aspects of hard rock. It may not be to everyone's taste, and it certainly is quite something else than the smooth vocals from ABBA, but for me, this is one album that has more than one song burned solidly in my mind. -- https://www.koenmartens.nl/

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