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September 2022

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Newsletter 2022-09-16: writing progress, ARC and beta readers wanted, book tips and a spacey music tip
by Koen Martens 16 Sep '22

16 Sep '22

Title 'Koen's Bi-montly Mailing' against backdrop of white binary digits on blue background SpreadsheetTitle and Progress I'm nearing the end of my current work in progress, a ~90.000 word sci-fi novel, so I thought it'd be time to start thinking about a title. Without further ado, here it is: /The Ein Particle/ I've got one more month to finish this draft. I'm 78.000 words in, which is amazing, but it means there's still quite some words left. I reckon I will end up slightly over 90.000 words. Once it's done, I've got about two weeks to polish it up before sending it off for a first round of developmental editing. That's the phase where my editor will read the manuscript and tear it apart, pointing out all the plot holes, inconsistencies and all other shortfalls. The first step in the long road to publication in June 2023. Girl reading by waterside Join my ARC team If you're curious about /The Ein Particle/ and can't wait until it's published, you can join my ARC team and get an early copy — an Advanced Review Copy — for free. If you're interested, simply reply to this email and I'll add you to the team. I expect ARC copies to be sent out by the end of April 2023. If you're even more impatient, you can get a copy of an even rougher version of the manuscript and do a beta read. You get to influence the end product by letting me know what you thought about it, where you thought it was too slow or too fast, where things were unclear. There is no need to be a professional editor to be a beta reader. In fact, the best beta readers are normal readers with no writing experience whatsoever (although I won't discount your input if you do) who know when they enjoy a story and when they don't. As a thank you for helping me improve the story, you'll be mentioned in the acknowledgements (if you want, of course). Want to be part of my beta team? Simply reply to this mail and let me know. Beta copies will go out early January 2023, and I'd need your feedback before March. Persons against backdrop of destroyed city scape <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/b93abc7e-3200-11ed-8b02-cb02ce9ac3b2> The Invasion Mariette Standlee The aliens invaded ten years ago, now its time to escape the city that has become a cage… Ashley grew up in the ruins of a city, learned how to avoid the aliens and survive. She forged her path through rubble and found ways to stay alive. But the enemy is encroaching on her hideout. The only way out is to get captured by the aliens. Cooper grew up differently from Ashely, surviving in the wilderness of the forests and mountains. His training, however, was just as hard as hers. Maybe more so. A shared goal to save as many as possible from alien enslavement is what binds them together. Get it here! <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/b93abc7e-3200-11ed-8b02-cb02ce9ac3b2> Two girls against orange styled background of a cityscape with parked vehicle <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/2d44b822-2f9f-11ed-90fb-3f5848dc856d> The Cassidy Chronicles Adam Gaffen The year 2113 is a post-modern America, after decades of warfare and the near collapse of civilisation, America is shattered into a dozen nations. Aiyana Cassidy is a genius physicist who has stumbled upon a technology that will revolutionize the world. She makes contact with her old high school friend Kendra Foster-Briggs, who is an employee of a shadowy organization called OutLook. Cassidy's experiments at Heavy Lift Corporation (HLC) into teleportation cause many different players to begin tracking her down. Kendra and Cassidy set of on a cross-continental journey to find some answers. In this steampunk novel, their travels take them on a continent spanning adventure as we are introduced to a world of advanced technology, strange and unfamiliar landscapes and new discoveries. Get it here! <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/2d44b822-2f9f-11ed-90fb-3f5848dc856d> Spaceship against backdrop of roiling star surface <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLbwJmW0Zik> Intergalactic Orchestra Super Nova A few years ago, while trawling Discogs for Italo Disco, I came across this little gem. This is not a collection of songs, it's a true symphony of electronic music — space disco or early techno — that tells a tale of a ship lost in time and the tribulations those set out to rescue it have to endure. At least, that's the story I'm hearing. One of these days, I'm going to write a novel based on this album, it's just so awesome. The original release from 1979 on vinyl can still be found on Discogs for prices varying from US$100 - US$600, whereas the 2011 reissue (also on vinyl but limited edition) fetches around US$30 - US$50 (I have the latter). There is apparently also a CD release of the album, but I haven't been able to find much about that specific release. Luckily, someone has been kind enough to upload the CD in its entirety to Youtube, so you can listen to it without having to Check it out on Youtube <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLbwJmW0Zik> or Discogs <https://www.discogs.com/master/328792-The-Intergalactic-Orchestra-Super-Nova>. 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> -- Software architecture & engineering:https://www.sonologic.se/ Sci-fi:https://www.koenmartens.nl/

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Newsletter 2022-09-02: Writing update, chip design, book tips and music tip.
by Koen Martens 02 Sep '22

02 Sep '22

Title 'Koen's Bi-montly Mailing' against backdrop of white binary digits on blue background Chapter heading on empty pageTough chapter The past week I've been fretting about chapter 21. I didn't feel it for days. I knew what had to happen in the chapter, but the right mood, the right setting escaped me. Finally, yesterday, I banged out two-thousand words, completing most of it. It needs some tweaking, but it's so nice to finally have that scene worked out so I can move on. I've taken a week off from the day job next week, so I can finally get down to self-editing the first draft of chapters 4 to 21. About time! There's still one day left to enter the Goodreads giveaway for the Isolated Futures Omnibus <https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/349659-isolated-futures-omnibus>. If you don't make the draw, you can still get the book for the reduced price until 14 september <https://www.amazon.com/Isolated-Futures-Omnibus-Koen-Martens-ebook/dp/B09VY…>. Intel 4004 chip A new golden age of CPU design? I’m always looking back to the seventies and eighties with envy when it comes to computers. Everything was possible. There was promise, there was excitement, there was optimism. We were setting foot on uncharted territory, discovering a whole new world. Then in the nineties things stagnated, it was just more of the same. Recent developments have gotten me excited again though, such as the NeuRRAM processors, which is modelled after the human brain. Or a novel approach to addressing data that will prevent many vulnerabilities and security issues. I've been ruminating about these developments on my blog. Read more <https://koenmartens.nl/20220902-a-new-golden-age-of-chip-design.html?mtm_ca…>. Woman in armoured suit with gun fighting alongside humanoid robot <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/5d67b0b8-24d2-11ed-a32b-132b8cf7884f> Unexpected Contact Greg Sorber /A Mechhaven Novella/ As a mercenary during The Mechanai War, there was no shortage of work, but Sigrid had rules. That she ignored her rules as often as followed them wasn’t something that bothered her. A last-minute job protecting attaché mech, TH3R, and his companion, junior officer, Tala Matapang was a tempting payday. Their mission: detect and capture a SPDR mech alive. The Imperium’s infiltration and assassination mechs were difficult to find. They were even harder to capture intact. Trying to find one in an urban metropolis was next to impossible. Tala and TH3R will need to use all the lessons they’d learned since their first encounters with the malicious mechs to avoid going from hunter to hunted. Can a mercenary, attaché mech, and newly promoted officer track and capture their elusive and deadly adversary? Get it for free! <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/5d67b0b8-24d2-11ed-a32b-132b8cf7884f> Horned figure with sword against flaming background <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/43c6e966-1501-11ed-82c2-bfe9496564aa> Luckee Lynx TJ McKaye /The World Needs a Hero to Take Down Wall Street/ Like father, like son… But… What happens upon the biggest betrayal? To avenge being abandoned by his ruthless Wall Street financier father, Ti Riley fights his moral conscience to become a nefarious cyber criminal. What follows is his entrance into the dangerous underworld of geopolitics where he is faced with the choice of joining the powers that control humanity or working to defeat them. What he learns will change the world forever. Yet will he join this secret order and gain the power he’d only dreamed of to smash the system? Or is what he finds not all that it seems? Get it from Amazon! <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/43c6e966-1501-11ed-82c2-bfe9496564aa> Six snapshots showing the artist's face and hands, layed out playfully <https://open.spotify.com/album/4lc5ILYXfgjoxSUKFX9Dsz?si=u__8KthaRFCQJ6Kk7x…> All of Me Joey DeFrancesco Sad news. Last week, at age 51, modern-day Hammond virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist Joey DeFrancesco has passed away. He is widely credited with repopularising the Hammond B3 in Jazz. He excelled on the organ, but also played synth, trumpet and saxophone. As one does when a great musician passes away, one plays their music. Going back to basics, this week's music tip is his debut album, All of Me, released in 1989, on which a seventeen year old DeFrancesco, at that time already playing for thirteen years, excels on the organ. His rich career saw him playing with musicians such as Miles Davis, George Coleman, Houston Person and Pharaoh Sanders. We'll never know what he still had in store for us. He did leave us with an impressive discography, but we'll never see hem play live again. Sad news indeed. Listen to the album on Spotify. <https://open.spotify.com/album/4lc5ILYXfgjoxSUKFX9Dsz?si=u__8KthaRFCQJ6Kk7x…> 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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