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March 2023

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Newsletter 2023-03-17: Cover Reveal, AI, booktips and a weirdly wonderful music tip
by Koen Martens 17 Mar '23

17 Mar '23

Title 'Koen's Bi-montly Mailing' against backdrop of white binary digits on blue background Not showing correctly? Missing images? Click here for web version. <https://koenmartens.nl/20230317newsletter.html?mtm_campaign=nl&mtm_kwd=nl23…> Ancient palace against backdrop of modern cityscape with big planet in the sky and a rockt soaring up <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/ein-1-the-ein-particle.html?mtm_campaign=nl230…>Cover Last week I received the cover design for The Ein Particle <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/ein-1-the-ein-particle.html?mtm_campaign=nl230…>. I've been so eager to share it with the world, but wanted to give my newsletter readers the exclusive so kept it to myself until today. It's been done by MiblArt <https://miblart.com/>, a Ukrainian company. They've been a real pleasure to work with. From my description they managed to capture the exact feel I was looking for, and then did two more revisions to make it perfect. Curious to know what you think. Just reply to this email and let me know! Yellow and red geometric shapes with indecipherable words in them <https://koenmartens.nl/20230317-will-ai-make-authors-obsolete.html?mtm_camp…><https://koenmartens.nl/> Will AI make me obsolete? You can’t open a browser or go through your social media timeline without reading about AI these days. From proponents to opponents, everyone has a strong opinion and isn’t hesitant to share it with world + dog. Myself, I’m still not convinced whether we are indeed dealing with a revolution here or whether this is just a passing fad. However, I have been thinking a lot about OpenAI’s GPT language model and what this means for my ambitions as an author. Will I become obsolete? Or will this, as some authors propose, be a great tool to help me write better stories faster? Read more... <https://koenmartens.nl/20230317-will-ai-make-authors-obsolete.html?mtm_camp…> Futuristic city scape with flying spaceships <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/3ed09434-94d6-11ed-979b-aba1b242a9b0>The Halden Army Keyla Damaer /A dramatic sci-fi short story/ A coward is not the one who is afraid. It’s what we do about fear that makes the difference. Cadet Draken Kosset is getting ready for his final exam to become an officer of the Manderian Halden when his body reaches sexual maturity. He should focus on the exam, but all he can do is think about sultry Zamal and the recurring nightmare tormenting his nights since his childhood. Get it for free! <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/3ed09434-94d6-11ed-979b-aba1b242a9b0> Woman, tiger and man with gun <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/fbf0cf86-7d87-11ed-b072-cba52703c543> Undead Menagerie A.M. Geever /When the world ends, you adapt or die. Can two strangers trapped in a zoo survive as zombies close in around them? / Zookeeper Imogen is flying high. She loves her work caring for endangered Iberian Lynxes and a promotion is on the horizon. Then a colleague throws her under the bus and her entire life goes into free-fall. Mike dropped out of college to raise his sisters. Now, twenty years later, it’s time to live for himself. First step of his new life: marry his girlfriend. But an unwelcome surprise derails his proposal, and the future he’s longed for slips from his grasp. When the zombie apocalypse strikes, Imogen and Mike are trapped inside the zoo. If Imogen wants to protect her lynxes, she’ll have to adapt. If Mike wants to find his family, he needs to survive. Together, they must find a way out of the zoo—before it becomes as deadly as the ravenous hordes beyond its fence. Get it now! <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/fbf0cf86-7d87-11ed-b072-cba52703c543> Five superhero playmobil figurines <https://apparatorganquartet.bandcamp.com/album/apparat-organ-quartet>Apparat Organ Quarted OK, honsetly, I'm running out of time on this newsletter, so I'm just going to leave you with this. It's Icelandic, it's weird, it's wonderful! Enjoy :) Check it out on Bandcamp <https://apparatorganquartet.bandcamp.com/album/apparat-organ-quartet> or Spotify <https://open.spotify.com/album/0H3QNvA8LeogksjVwoFtWT?si=SQT-1OMsTe-jWCbqpv…>. 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> Mastodon icon <https://hsnl.social/@gmc>Instagram icon <https://www.instagram.com/koenmartens_author/>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 2023-03-03: Excitement, reading update, book tips and a music tip
by Koen Martens 03 Mar '23

03 Mar '23

Title 'Koen's Bi-montly Mailing' against backdrop of white binary digits on blue background Not showing correctly? Missing images? Click here for web version. <https://koenmartens.nl/20230303newsletter.html?mtm_campaign=nl&mtm_kwd=nl23…> Big letter 'beta' Personal update I'm excited and can't wait to release The Ein Particle <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/ein-1-the-ein-particle.html?mtm_campaign=ein&m…>. I've received a first draft of the cover this week, and it's almost perfect. I'm now eagerly awaiting a second draft with a few tweaks. Can't wait to show it to you all! Meanwhile, I've sharpened up the blurb <https://koenmartens.nl/pages/ein-1-the-ein-particle.html?mtm_campaign=ein&m…> a bit after consulting with a blurb writer. What do you think, does it fancy your imagination? And last but not least, the manuscript is now out with my beta readers. They are the first to read it apart from myself and my developmental editor, so yeah, I'm pretty curious to know what they think of it! Spaceships in purplish space Reading Update I've been reading. I've recently finished /Waste Tide/ by Chen Qiufan, which I found rather enjoyable. You can find a review on my website <https://koenmartens.nl/20230222-review-waste-tide-chen-qiufan.html?mtm_camp…>. I also finished /Artificial Condition/ by Martha wells, which left a bit of a bitter aftertaste <https://koenmartens.nl/20230301-review-artificial-condition-martha-wells.ht…>. I've now started /The Caledonian Gambit/ by Dan Moren. It's the first in the many-part Galactic Cold War series. I'll let you know what I think about it when I'm done! It's a hefty volume though, might take a while. What are you reading right now? Hit 'reply' on this email and let me know! A patterned gold coin against a background of dark blue landscape <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/c1cb1942-a76c-11ed-9814-9f7bcf361cb2> Cryptic Magic Lily Skyy *He’s a mystical bounty hunter. She’s a magical anomaly destined to destroy his world.* Zaid has one mission: hunt down rogue Anunnaki and bring the magical beings to justice. Kinza's wild gifts could either destroy the world – or lead to its salvation. Thrown headlong into a deadly new reality and hunted by evil rogue Anunnaki, Kinza must learn fast if she wants to stay alive. Zaid is used to dealing with powerful magic. But this time, he may have bitten off more than he can chew… /Step into a thrilling urban fantasy novel that artfully combines hair-raising danger and suspense with exotic locations, powerful magic, and larger-than-life characters./ Buy from Amazon! <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/c1cb1942-a76c-11ed-9814-9f7bcf361cb2> Subdued light blue network of tendrils suggestive of neural networks <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/55b96aa6-ad6b-11ed-9019-4ba88f0a0968>Awake As A Stranger - Awakening Diane M. Dresback What if you woke up in another person's body? When Treaz awakes, the mirror is wrong. A stranger stares back and mimics her every movement. That is not her body. Those are not her eyes welling with tears. She had dreamt of a different life, but now she lives a nightmare. This trilogy follows the journey of Treaz and Omani. Six thousand miles lie between them yet they both are trapped in a deplorable reality. Along with unlikely comrades, they struggle to gain control over their lives from those holding them captive. The courageous sacrifices these unassuming women make have a lasting impact on each other, those they care about, and their own worlds. Get the free preview! <https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/55b96aa6-ad6b-11ed-9019-4ba88f0a0968> Album cover of "Speak no Evil" showing Wayne Shorter and his first wife <https://open.spotify.com/album/27Rl7A8jXEQOkIfUKOa6ZU?si=F1MCElVNSqGOLqluRI…>Speak No Evil Wayne Shorter Sadly, another "in memoriam", for yesterday one of the giants of jazz has passed away. I'm talking about saxophone player and composer Wayne Shorter of course, whose career is too long to summarize in a few paragraphs. Instead of attempting and failing, I'll just leave you with his 1966 album Speak No Evil. It is but one of many masterpieces he leaves behind to enrich our world. Check it out on Spotify <https://open.spotify.com/album/27Rl7A8jXEQOkIfUKOa6ZU?si=F1MCElVNSqGOLqluRI…> or Youtube <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJoSrQ6iP0c&list=PLL-NbN8uTOih2uI8vdKaB0Vb_…>. 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> Mastodon icon <https://chasmcity.net/@gmc>Instagram icon <https://www.instagram.com/koenmartens_author/>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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