Hi there,
It's pride month! Of course, as the G in QUILTBAG+ I should be aware of
such things, but I've been so busy, I missed it completely.
Next to being the G in QUILTBAG+, I'm also a buddhist. Or at least, I
try to be. Not because of the ceremonies, I think those are besides the
point, but because Buddhism puts great focus on introspection and
learning by observing one's mind. I meditate daily, looking at my
thoughts, feelings and the sensations in my body. More often than not,
my mind runs away with all kinds of hypothetical scenario's, memories,
judgements. I observe those and let them be, learning from them as I sit
in silence without reacting.
Anyway, back to pride, or Māna in Sanskrit (which is the language many
Buddhist teachings were written in). To quote Wikipedia, Māna is
"defined as an inflated mind that makes whatever is suitable, such as
wealth or learning, to be the foundation of pride.^It creates the basis
for disrespecting others and for the occurrence of suffering." It is one
of the "five poisons" (along with ignorance, attachment, aversion and
envy) that stands in the way of enlightenment.
Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate pride month, and it's good that we
have it! There is still so much hatred and bigotry for being who you are
born as (even more so in recent times, thanks to social media and
Putin-sponsored right-wing politicians), with religious wackos treating
it like a treatable disease and what have you. And that's just in the
more 'civilised' countries. Go to eastern Europe or the Caribbean, to
name a few, and you have to hide your true nature for fear of being
murdered.
So yay for pride month! Every month should be pride month! We're here
and we're not going away. But am I proud to be gay? No, I just am. I
don't feel better than others because of it. Yet, if not pride month,
what should we call it? Awareness month? Ugh, that sounds so lame. We're
here and we're not going away month? Quite a mouthful. Celebration month
then? Yeah. That sounds nice. I'll go with that.
Happy celebration month!
And if you're tired of celebrating, why not give one of the book tips
below a chance, or relax with the music tip even lower down?
Oh, and one more thing: all the individual stories in the Isolated
Futures series are currently available individually on Amazon
<https://www.amazon.com/Koen-Martens/e/B09C8YNVG3> and the other
platforms
<https://koenmartens.nl/pages/publications.html?mtm_campaign=nl220617>,
but I plan to take them down soon (with the exception of the first one,
/Forced to be Free/) in favour of the omnibus
<https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-omnibus.html?mtm_campaign=nl2…>
that has all six in one volume. If you want to get one of the stories
without buying the bundle
<https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-omnibus.html?mtm_campaign=nl2…>
that has all six (not sure why you would, but hey, it takes all sorts ;)
) get it now <https://www.amazon.com/Koen-Martens/e/B09C8YNVG3> while
you still can!
Book Tips
Happy robot peeking around the corner with a backdrop of blue shards
radiating from metal orb
<https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/0c892cf2-e3fb-11ec-99e4-430ed2d7566c>
*Crazy Foolish Robots
**Adeena Mignogna*
Tendrils of gossamer threads radiation from planet grasping at escaping
space ship
<https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/6b01f934-e2e9-11ec-a406-17a9f42e5d12>
*
**Discovering Your Neighbor**
**Shane Shepherd*
*What does an entire planet of robots want with one human?*
/A humorous science fiction story/
Ruby Palmer finds herself on an entire planet surrounded by the things
she hates the most: robots. Besides taking everything she says way too
literally, the robots have problems of their own. A myriad of technical
glitches are, on the cosmological scale, quickly destroying them. Ruby
has the programming knowledge and skills that matter to them, but can
she overcome her fears and find it within herself to help? Her survival,
along with the survival of all of humanity and robot kind, depends on it.
This is Book 1 of The Robot Galaxy Series.
Get the free sample!
<https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/0c892cf2-e3fb-11ec-99e4-430ed2d7566c>
*A simple exploration of an unknown planet. What could go wrong?*
/Prequel to The Neighbor You Don't Know Series/
Baldwin Tavares is called up by the Admiral Pitch to join in their
expedition to the planet Allende 1-b, also known as Neighbor. Baldwin
and his team were requested for their very specific skill set, as they
are the best in their individual fields. Eager to be part of something
bigger than himself, Baldwin, aka Win, convinces his team to go on the
expedition. They aim to find some remnants left behind of the once
inhabited planet Neighbor in the hopes of studying and preserving
whatever knowledge about them that they find.
Win begins to realize the expedition to Allende 1-B is not entirely
scientific. He suspects the Pacific Ocean World Mining Organization, or
POMO, have sunk deep into the pockets of the ship’s commanding officers,
with the hopes of mining Allende 1-B for its rich mineral reserves as
soon as they arrive. As such he immediately starts investigating the
ship to confirm his suspicions. When Win finds out he was right, he
races to convince the crew against any mining expeditions before it’s
too late. However, little does he know something even more pressing will
require his attention before he even gets the chance to tell anyone.
Get it for free!
<https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/6b01f934-e2e9-11ec-a406-17a9f42e5d12>
Music Tip
Two men dancing against background of green and blue rectangles
<https://open.spotify.com/album/5dmYtZVJ1bG9RyrZBRrkOA?si=Mhkgy2gcTZy8xcHS5J…>
(spotify
<https://open.spotify.com/album/5dmYtZVJ1bG9RyrZBRrkOA?si=Mhkgy2gcTZy8xcHS5J…>,
youtube
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BswuwCn1hBo&list=PLaVHibd49QFIfADpOMaCe1sOY…>)
Now that summer has finally arrived in the northern latitudes of
southern Sweden, it's time for some lofty beats and easy tunes. It's
time for a classic.
Moon Safari by French electronic music duo AIR fits the bill perfectly.
With a plethora of Moog synthesizers, a Korg MS-20 and a whole range of
organs (even the Mellotron makes an appearance) there sure is a lot of
electronics, but the duo doesn't eschew acoustical instrumentation.
There's the occassional acoustic guitar and there's a string quartet in
some of the tracks too.
The music is full of lovely organ solo's and laid back beats. With a
heatwave assaulting much of Europe (40°C in France, surely that's beyond
comfort, isn't it?) this is just what we need!
Out Now
Office towers reaching up to a starry night
<https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-omnibus.html?mtm_campaign=ifo…>
*Isolated Futures Omnibus
**Koen Martens*
*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 through below to delve into this eye-opening novella collection
today!*/
Get it on amazon! <https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VYFJK15/>
Get it on Kobo! <https://www.kobo.com/ebook/isolated-futures/>
Get it at Barnes & Noble!
<https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w?ean=2940160945323>
Get it on Google Play Store!
<https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=-yBlEAAAQBAJ>
Get it on Apple Books! <http://books.apple.com/us/book/id1615269317>
--
Instagram:@koenmartens_author <https://www.instagram.com/koenmartens_author/>
Twitter:@koenswriting <https://twitter.com/koenswriting>
Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/Koen-Martens-104281962311958>,Goodreads <https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/596199.Koen_Martens>
Software architecture & engineering:https://www.sonologic.se/
Sci-fi:https://www.koenmartens.nl/
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
<https://koenmartens.nl/output/20220603-making-maps-with-wonderdraft.html?mt…>
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.
Read more >>
<https://koenmartens.nl/output/20220603-making-maps-with-wonderdraft.html?mt…>
Cheers,
Koen
Book Tips
Silhouette of female figure looking out of cave (that doubles as outline
of face) against a sun rising from or sinking into a purple haze
<https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/4dce9bbe-da0c-11ec-bdf3-230e2518f6f0>
*Visions of Ascension
**Nicholas Lawrence Carter*
Spacesuited figure crashing forth from explosion in space
<https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/4ccce1c4-c95b-11ec-822a-9faa4f34f025>
*
**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?
Get it for free here!
<https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/4dce9bbe-da0c-11ec-bdf3-230e2518f6f0>
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!
Get it for free here!
<https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/4ccce1c4-c95b-11ec-822a-9faa4f34f025>
Music Tip
Chopped up graffiti art
<https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/music/products/graffiti-jazz-d…>
(download
<https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/music/products/graffiti-jazz-d…>,
spotify
<https://open.spotify.com/album/1D03aaI0cprpO8JQlIqhMr?si=g_rutSrET0uMkKB5Qf…>)
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
<https://open.spotify.com/album/1FDrjthVQE34KYl2QDL148?si=ODBmILX-TSWlk7hXF7…>
that is well worth a listen too.
Out Now
Office towers reaching up to a starry night
<https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-omnibus.html?mtm_campaign=ifo…>
*Isolated Futures Omnibus
**Koen Martens*
*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 perishes.
*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!*/
Get it on amazon! <https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VYFJK15/>
Get it on Kobo! <https://www.kobo.com/ebook/isolated-futures/>
Get it at Barnes & Noble!
<https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w?ean=2940160945323>
Get it on Google Play Store!
<https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=-yBlEAAAQBAJ>
Get it on Apple Books! <http://books.apple.com/us/book/id1615269317>
--
Instagram:@koenmartens_author <https://www.instagram.com/koenmartens_author/>
Twitter:@koenswriting <https://twitter.com/koenswriting>
Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/Koen-Martens-104281962311958>,Goodreads <https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/596199.Koen_Martens>
Software architecture & engineering:https://www.sonologic.se/
Sci-fi:https://www.koenmartens.nl/
