Another Step Forward

My editor started work on Ashes of Empire: Imperial Echoes yesterday, which means, barring any unforeseen issues, it should come out later this month, perhaps in synchrony with an eagerly awaited spring. Mind you, this winter hasn’t been exceptionally cold and we didn’t get as much snow as some years, for which most of us are grateful. Temperatures today and tomorrow will remain well below zero, but judging by the weather forecast, we’ll see the annual melt start on Monday. At this rate, the first day of spring might even be green rather than white. In any case, keep your eyes on this space and on the other internet places I frequent for updates on Imperial Echoes.

While my editor’s doing her thing, I’ll take a little break, enjoy my hobbies and let the next book take shape in my mind. At this point, it looks like it’ll be a seventh Siobhan Dunmoore adventure. If so, we can expect it to come out sometime in mid or late summer – again, barring any unforeseen events.

In the meantime, stay safe and healthy, fellow humans. Peace.

A New Addition

Sharp-eyed readers might have noticed a new menu item above called “The Sanddiver Bookstore.” And it’s exactly what you might think. An online shop under my publisher banner offering my novels in Kindle and Epub formats. If there’s a book of mine you haven’t yet read, are comfortable with side-loading ebook files onto your reading device and would rather keep a dollar (US) in your pocket than hand it over to Amazon, Apple, Google, and the other big retailers, check it out by following this link:

The Sanddiver Bookstore

Happy Halloween and Happy Blue Moon. Stay safe, fellow humans

Farewell, Little Friend

The last of our three terriers passed away this afternoon, at the age of thirteen years and five months precisely. Though he was a wee little dog, he had a big dog’s spirit, and a wonderful soul. We’ve known for a few weeks he likely wouldn’t see another summer, and when he suddenly took a turn for the worse yesterday afternoon, we knew he wouldn’t see Christmas either. Yet we hoped it was just a passing ailment. It wasn’t. Shortly after two this afternoon, I let him out not knowing it would be the last time. He basked in the sun for a few minutes, did his business, then came back into the house. I picked him up to hold him and felt him die in my arms, just like that.

As deaths go, his was a quick and painless one, and it was natural rather than a result of euthanasia like our older dogs. And both of us were there with him at the end. We will miss and mourn our little friend, our constant companion for the last thirteen years, but to paraphrase George S. Patton, we will be thankful that he lived. However, for the first time in over twenty years, we won’t be sharing our home with at least one dog and that will take a little getting used to.

Kodo

7 May 2007 – 7 October 2020

He was a wonderful dog.

The End

Yesterday, I wrote the final sentences of Hard Strike (Decker’s War Book 7).  When I’m putting down a first draft, I rarely know where my characters will take me and the story, and this time was no exception.  Hard Strike‘s ending surprised me quite a bit.  Until a few days ago, I had no idea it would turn out as it did, but perhaps I should have seen it coming.  This is Zack Decker we’re talking about.  His adventures always have a twist.  I won’t say anything more.  You’ll just have to read it when it comes out in the new year.  I still have a few weeks of revising before my editor takes over sometime around mid-January.  And then there are the holidays.  I have an agreement with Mrs Thomson:  the two week period around Christmas and New Year’s Day are non-working, even for a sometimes hyperactive author.

What comes after Hard Strike?  For starters, my next project is Ashes of Empire: Imperial Twilight which I hope to see published around the late April, early May time frame.  Then, the sixth Siobhan Dunmoore of course.  And I’m mulling over a fresh idea that doesn’t involve the Commonwealth/Empire universe featured in each of my books, but that’s still in the embryonic stage. 

If you’ve joined my mailing list, watch your inbox sometime late January 2019 for the announcement that Hard Strike has hit the virtual and physical bookshelves.

It’s Here!

The latest Siobhan Dunmoore adventure, Without Mercy, has been published.  The link below will take you to the ebook’s landing page where you can select your preferred retailer.  Some retailers take longer than others to process a new title, so if you don’t see your favorite, give it a day or perhaps even two.

Without Mercy (Siobhan Dunmoore Book 5) – ebook

The paperback and hardcover versions are also available on Amazon and should appear elsewhere in the next few weeks.

Without Mercy (Siobhan Dunmoore Book 5) – Paperback

Without Mercy (Siobhan Dunmoore Book 5) – Hardcover

 

 

A New Series is Born

Ashes of Empire: Imperial Sunset, the first in a new series has hit the bookshelves.  Set in the same universe as my other series, but a thousand years after Decker’s War, it tells the story of a desperate attempt to stave off the darkness threatening to smother humanity’s interstellar empire and send civilization back to the Stone Age.

You can get the ebook via this link: Imperial Sunset

And in paperback via this link: Imperial Sunset

If your favorite retailer isn’t yet listed on the Books2Read page, it will be soon so check back later.  The hardcover version will also be available within a day or two.

 

And I’m Once Again Done

I finished the first draft of Ashes of Empire: Imperial Sunset today.  The first draft clocks in at just over 400 pages, but that number will vary thanks to the many rounds of revision I and my editor will make over the next couple of weeks. As I previously indicated, this new series will not consist of standalone adventures like my others, but will form a multi-volume saga covering a large cast of characters and a long period of time.

And while I’m not working on Imperial Sunset, I will be turning my attention back on Without Mercy (Siobhan Dunmoore Book 5).  Hopefully, the storyline rethink will work this time.  I know there are a lot of fans who want to read more of her adventures.  In the meantime, you can check out the Ashes of Empire: Imperial Sunset page here: Imperial Sunset.

May Flowers

The warm weather finally seems to be settling in around here, and not a moment too soon. Mrs Thomson has finally been able to engage in one of her favorite activities, gardening, while I have been able to indulge in one of my own, not gardening. But I have fired up the grill for the first bout of backyard cooking in 2018. And more work on the property awaits me over the next few months.

I’m glad to say Imperial Sunset (Ashes of Empire #1) is now two-thirds done, and as with all my books, has taken on a slightly different arc from what I’d originally planned. Characters that appeared unexpectedly in the first half are now becoming more and more important, and will likely be a major force in the subsequent installments of the larger, multi-volume saga. I won’t reveal anything here, but these characters will be familiar to readers of Decker’s War.

In other news, as you may have read, all of my novels are now available in hardcover, and to my surprise, the hardcover editions of Decker’s War are selling already. That’s sufficient motivation to ensure I publish hardcover editions alongside the ebook and paperback editions in future. And finally, I haven’t given up on the fifth Siobhan Dunmoore adventure. I sense that she might talk to me again in the near future, and that means Without Mercy might get back on track.

And now, off to the gym, so that I don’t turn into a chair potato.

Branding the 26th Century

If you’re reading this blog post, you’ve likely read a book or two that I’ve written.  You may recall my occasionally mentioning some variation of the “starburst, swords and anchor” insignia of Siobhan Dunmoore and Zack Decker’s Commonwealth Armed Services.  I finally got around to designing it as a further branding of my military science fiction series.  The Navy insignia worn by Dunmoore, Hera Talyn (when she’s in uniform) and other naval personnel is the “starburst, swords and anchor” insignia, minus the swords.  Army and Marine Corps personnel wear regimental insignia, of course, until they become general officers and wear the “starburst, swords and anchor” insignia, minus the anchor.  As a first design effort, I’m rather pleased by it.  Once I’m sure I like the insignia, you might find it included in future book cover designs.

Incidentally, the starburst with anchor and no swords or motto scroll forms the basis of Navy chief petty officer rank insignia, while the starburst with swords and no anchor or motto scroll forms the basis of Marine Corps and Army sergeant major rank insignia. By the way, if you’re not fluent in Latin, the Fleet’s motto is “Through boldness to the stars”

And since I’m on a roll, I also came up with the Commonwealth Constabulary insignia.  Its motto is “Let justice be done.”

And in other news, all of my novels are now available in hardcover format.

And So It Goes

Mrs Thomson and I returned from our annual springtime scuba diving pilgrimage to an undisclosed tropical location a few days ago.  Once again, it was a fantastic week spent with good friends diving on some of the best coral reefs in the western hemisphere.  The food and drink weren’t bad either – except for the waistline, that is!

But since coming home, I’ve been diligently working on the project to publish all of my novels in hardcover.  I’m pleased to announced that as of today, the entire Decker’s War series is now available in that format on Amazon, with further retailers to follow.  The first Siobhan Dunmoore adventure is also available in hardcover as of today, with the rest to come later this week.  Once that’s done, I will return to writing Imperial Sunset.  I’ve also come up with the working title for the next Chief Superintendent Morrow mystery, which is planned for later this year – it will be called Mayhem on Mission.

And now, back to work.