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August 2022

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Newsletter 2022-08-19: Writing update and preview, book review, book tips and music tip
by Koen Martens 19 Aug '22

19 Aug '22

Title 'Koen's Bi-montly Mailing' against backdrop of white binary digits on blue background Spreadsheet in perspective showing writing planningWriting Update & Preview It seems I'm finally caught up after I let slip the writing schedule for my debut novel. Somewhat. For this week, I should be finishing the first draft of chapter 19 (of 30) and start on chapter 20, and that's exactly where I am today! OK, I might be cheating a bit when I say that. See, I planned to self-edit the first drafts every 3 chapters, and I'm still lagging behind with that. Actually, I've only self-edited up until chapter 5. I'm planning to take some time off from work soon to catch up with that as well. Meanwhile, I'm liking how the story is coming together, and some surprising and interesting plot twists popped up as the characters and the relations between them grew. I thought it would be nice to give my newsletter readers a sneak preview. What I do before I start writing is that I will jot down some exploratory chapters or short stories, to explore the characters and the settings and give me a bit more feel for the universe I'm writing in. I want to share one of those exploratory pieces with you, where we meet the protagonist of the story roughly eight years before events in the book start. Get the preview as epub <https://koenmartens.nl/mlonly/julana_publish.epub?mtm_campaign=nl220819> or pdf <https://koenmartens.nl/mlonly/julana.pdf?mtm_campaign=nl220819>. When a pop-up asks for your username and password, use the email address you used to sign up to this newsletter as the username. The password is uopl129ac. Let me know what you think! Book cover of Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers by Sarena Ulibarri, colourful abstract landscape with solar panels, wind turbines and abstract towers Book review: Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers My first dive into solarpunk. This anthology delivers on the premise of a more hopeful future while still providing drama and conflict to keep the reader engaged. There are some true gems in here, some stories that fail to engage and everything in between. I gave it a 4/5 rating on Goodreads. Read full review. <https://koenmartens.nl/20220819-review-glass-and-gardens-solarpunk-summers.…> Hooded figure wearing leather jacket standing with his back to the camera on a gravel road between pine trees <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/d60a7502-1837-11ed-a5d3-eb70e774a73d> Hack Escape Al Shield He was the next step in battlefield technology, the evolution of the cybernetic soldier. But all of a sudden he's disappeared from a secret military base and the race is on to not only work out who took him away but retrieve him in time before the powers that be learn of this mishap and try to cover things up. But over the proceeding days the team will discover that there's far more to this mystery than first thought. With the looming threat of outside awareness, can they claim him back in time or is their most dangerous weapon yet about to bring down their own doom? Get it for free! <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/d60a7502-1837-11ed-a5d3-eb70e774a73d> Stylised image of a women's face, a leathery man's face and a female figure floating in a glass tank <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/89f1ced8-0aac-11ed-a20d-7b9097bcdfdd> The Parallels Keyla Damaer A militia officer on the hunt for a murderer. A scientist with the key to humanity’s future. A girl locked in a glass tank. One seeking justice. One seeking fame. One seeking answers. With the galaxy on the brink of war, time is not on their side. Join them in their battle for survival. Get it here! <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/89f1ced8-0aac-11ed-a20d-7b9097bcdfdd> Out of focus and moved exposure of night time city sky line <https://vijayiyer.bandcamp.com/album/far-from-over> Far From Over Vijay Iyer Sextet Vijay Iyer is a mathematician, physicist but most of all, he's a brilliant musician. He's been playing in various configurations and with a whole lot of musicians. I love his trio albums. But this album, his only one so far in sextet setting, is something special. I remember the first time I heard this music. It was at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, in 2018. It was one of the hottest summers in a while (although it has since been superseded by increasingly hot summers). Six unassuming musicians I had not seen before entered the stage in a well-filled stage of the festival complex. They started to play. The music hit me. It resonated, it moved me, it was truly a spiritual moment. Soon after, I got a hold of the album and it has been high on my list of top albums. If you dare, have a listen. It's fierce, it's complex, it's pure. It's not for everyone, I realise that, but it is for me. One hundred percent. Check it out on Bandcamp <https://vijayiyer.bandcamp.com/album/far-from-over> or Spotify <https://open.spotify.com/album/1m3KyOooTz89Dt6U30Ad7c?si=xkmvSJ1RQuudKWKfhJ…>. Find my book, the Isolated Futures Omnibus, on: Amazon <https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VYFJK15/>Kobo <https://www.kobo.com/ebook/isolated-futures>Barnes & Noble <https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w?ean=2940160945323>Google <https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=-yBlEAAAQBAJ>Apple <http://books.apple.com/us/book/id1615269317> Instagram icon <https://www.instagram.com/koenmartens_author/>Twitter icon <https://twitter.com/koenswriting>Linkedin icon <https://www.linkedin.com/in/komartens/>Facebook icon <https://www.facebook.com/Koen-Martens-104281962311958>Email icon <mailto:in+newsletter@metro.cx>Link icon <https://www.koenmartens.nl/>RSS icon <https://koenmartens.nl/feeds/all.atom.xml>

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Newsletter 2022-08-05: big tech is watching you, goodreads giveway, a whole lot of free books and a funky music tip
by Koen Martens 05 Aug '22

05 Aug '22

Title 'Koen's Bi-montly Mailing' against backdrop of white binary digits on blue background Reflection of garden and street in lensBig tech is watching you! I was torn between linking news of a dead spider repurposed as a robot arm gripper <https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/28/necrobotic_spider_robot_arm/> and the story about Amazon handing over footage from their cloud-connected smart doorbells to law enforcement without warrant or court order and without informing or obtaining consent from the doorbell's owners <https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/14/amazon_gave_police_unauthorized_door…>. The latter won out because it's such a worrying development. In doing so, Amazon did something that is normally the prerogative of a judge — to decide if and when surveillance data can be used by law enforcement. More and more, for-profit companies are putting themselves above the law or even become the law. It's an age-old theme, explored in sci-fi even before eighties' movie hit Robocop, but it's taking on scary proportions now that citizens willingly put surveillance cameras in their houses and on their doorsteps, spying on their neighbours and streaming everyone's moves and conversations to big tech's central data warehouses. Scary stuff, and exactly the sort of thing I explored in /DingDong by Zhumee/ <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/isolated-futures-6-dingdong-by-zhumee.html?mtm…>, where I extrapolate where giving big tech this much power could ultimately lead to. Office buildings reaching up to a starry sky Goodreads giveway of the Isolated Futures Omnibus I'm giving away 100 free copies of the Isolated Futures Omnibus on goodreads <https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/349659-isolated-futures-omnibus>. This bundle contains six novelettes including /DingDong by Zhumee/. If you're interested, and you have a Kindle account on Amazon US, sign up with your goodreads account to enter the draw <https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/349659-isolated-futures-omnibus>. My apologies to non-US readers, but goodreads only supports Kindle accounts based in the US. Note, though, that even if you're outside the US, it is possible to register your Kindle account with the US store. Since I mostly (only) read English language sci-fi, this is what I have done. Amazing August: Free SF/F Reads Dragons over ocean against setting sun <https://storyoriginapp.com/to/nG4087M> Looking for something to read this August? Check out this group promotion with lots of free sci-fi and fantasy books. There's bound to be something that peeks your interest. Get these books fast! This promotion ends September 2nd! <https://storyoriginapp.com/to/nG4087M> Free Sci-Fi & Fantasy Two women with elaborate armour and helmets <https://storyoriginapp.com/to/ajp3d3y> And if you didn't find anything to your taste in the promotion above, perhaps there is something in this one. Get these books fast! This promotion ends September 3rd! <https://storyoriginapp.com/to/ajp3d3y> Mostly white album cover with text 1976 in blue oval which is embedded in red oval which is embedded in orange oval <https://678records.com/product/the-keyboard-circle-1976-cd/> The Keyboard Circle 1976 In 1976, Rob Franken, a pioneer on electronic keyboard instruments, formed a group together with keyboard player Jan Huydts and drummer Henk Zomer. Both keyboard players arranged their keyboards in a circle which led to the name: The Keyboard Circle. I'm a huge fan of Rob Franken's work, thanks to record label 678 Records bringing out never-before released material. Next to the entire Functional Stereo Music collection <https://www.discogs.com/label/1414952-Functional-Stereo-Music> on vinyl, this release — cd only — is a gem of seventies jazz-fusion. The keyboard players try to outbid each other on the Fender Rhodes electronic piano, the Clavinet — possibly the funkiest instrument in history — and a pair of early synthesizers, reaching dazzling heights over the drummer's grooving and relentless rhythms. The session was recorded in 1976 for Dutch radio broadcaster VPRO, but it wasn't until 2011 that the tapes were rediscovered and released on CD. It's funky, it's jazzy, it's pure genius. Get it from 678 Records directly <https://678records.com/product/the-keyboard-circle-1976-cd/> or Check it out on Spotify <https://open.spotify.com/album/5t9BeEbg1kBsWuKtPPlWOH?si=CbQziI4mT6mHyl5M-h…>. Find my book, the Isolated Futures Omnibus, on: Amazon <https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VYFJK15/>Kobo <https://www.kobo.com/ebook/isolated-futures>Barnes & Noble <https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w?ean=2940160945323>Google <https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=-yBlEAAAQBAJ>Apple <http://books.apple.com/us/book/id1615269317> Instagram icon <https://www.instagram.com/koenmartens_author/>Twitter icon <https://twitter.com/koenswriting>Linkedin icon <https://www.linkedin.com/in/komartens/>Facebook icon <https://www.facebook.com/Koen-Martens-104281962311958>Email icon <mailto:in+newsletter@metro.cx>Link icon <https://www.koenmartens.nl/>RSS icon <https://koenmartens.nl/feeds/all.atom.xml>

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