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Author: mikewatson-admin

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Paperback coming next!

As I announced in my last post, Dundee Orbital is now up on Amazon for pre-orders. The ebook will be available for downloading on July 31, 2020.

What’s coming next? The paperback version of Dundee Orbital. I’ve formatted the ms and all I’m waiting is for my cover artist to size the wrap-around cover and add the sales blurb to the back cover. I hope to have the paperback version ready by the end of the month. It’s in my cover artist’s hands.

In the mean time, here’s link to Dundee Orbital‘s Amazon page.

Dundee Orbital
Dundee Orbital is the mercantile hub of the Tri-Cluster Confederation. Millions pass through it and here are some of their stories.

I’ve started the next book in this series with a working title of The Prodigals. The target release date is 2021.

Check the snippet page for a preview, the first scene of the book.

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Dundee Orbital ready for Pre-orders

I just pushed the button to release Dundee Orbital on July 31, 2020. It will be ready for pre-orders by tomorrow.

This book is only 64,000 words and contains four independent stories that all take place on Dundee Orbital. With these new stories are some new characters that will also appear in the next book in the Tri-Cluster Confederation series.

I’ve started the next full-length novel in the Tri-Cluster series, tentatively named, The Prodigals. That name may change depending on the plot I’m working on.

For the curious ones, here’s the blurb for Dundee Orbital.

Dundee Orbital is the mercantile hub of the Tri-Cluster Confederation. Millions of entities pass through the station and each has a story.

  • The Face on the Barroom Floor. Donal Harris has a mystery on his hands. He has a murder victim with no fingerprints, no hair, eyebrows, ears and only a smooth oval head with no identifiable features. His DNA is not registered and he has perfect teeth. Who killed him, why, and who is he?

  • Homegoing to Hollowell. Dee-Ell Davies wants just one thing—to go home to Hollowell and he’ll do anything, even defy death, to make that happen.

  • The Fenian. Fen is a naval intelligence agent who has chased his quarry across human space to Dundee Orbital. Is this the end of the chase? What does Fen’s fugitive want in Dundee Orbital? Fen, Donal Harris, and Elspeth Harris are determined to discover why and thwart the spy’s plans.

  • Li’l Annie. Annie Griffin is a bounty hunter who arrives at Dundee Orbital with four fugitive warrants. Senior Patroller Henry Hillman is assigned to observe her pursuit and insure the proper protocols and procedures are followed. However, propinquity leads to a growing relationship. When Henry and Annie are wounded capturing their last fugitive, that relationship deepens.

    If Annie wants to stay on the station, she needs a new job. Her tenure as a bounty hunter is over and it’s time for her life to take a new direction, but what to do? She only has one skill. Is there a demand for it?

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Finished, now to edit…

Dundee Orbital
Dundee Orbital is the mercantile hum of the Tri-Cluster Confederation. Millions pass through it and each has a story.

I finished the last story for my collection, Dundee Orbital. This last story could be the second half of two small novellas, or merged into a two-part small novel. I’ve yet to decide.

Overall, I’ve about 63K words in the collection, the small novel runs about 38K. I figure I’ve another two weeks for author edits before I ship it off to the pros. Then on to Amazon this summer as an ebook and paperback.

Overall, I’ve about 63K words in the collection, the small novel runs about 38K. I figure I’ve another two weeks for author edits before I ship it off to the pros. Then on to Amazon this summer as an ebook and paperback.

So, what is now on the horizon? A followup of Émigré, second in a series, perhaps? Not sure at the moment. I do have a working title, Traditions. You’ll know more when I do.

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Look what I got!

Yes, my author copies arrived—and two weeks earlier than originally scheduled. I guess Amazon’s backlog jam is breaking up.

Here’s the back-cover blurb. Nice!

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Dundee Orbital update

Dundee Orbital

I’ve been working on a collection of short stories and a novella for my second book in The Tri-Cluster Confederation series. This is a possible backcover blurb.

 

Dundee Orbital is the mercantile hub of the Tri-Cluster Confederation. Millions pass through the station and each has a story.

  • The Face on the Barroom Floor. Donal Harris has a mystery on his hands. He has a murder victim with no fingerprints, no hair, eyebrows, ears and only a smooth oval head with no identifiable features. Who killed his, why, and who is he?

  • Homegoing to Hollowell. Dee-Ell Davies wants just one thing—to go home to Hollowell and he’ll do anything, even defy death, to make that happen.

  • The Fenian. Fen is a naval intelligence agent who has chased his quarry, a spy, across human space to Dundee Orbital. Is this the end of the chase? What does the spy want here? Fen, Donal Harris and Elspeth Harris are determined to discover why and thwart the spy’s plans.

  • Li’l Annie. Annie Griffin is a bounty hunter who arrives at Dundee Orbital with four fugitive warrants. Senior Patroller Henry Hillman is assigned to observe her pursuit and insure the proper protocols and procedures are followed. However, propinquity leads to a growing relationship. When Henry and Annie are wounded capturing their last fugitive, that relationship deepens.

    If Annie wants to stay on the station, she needs a new job. Her tenure as a bounty hunter is over and it’s time for her life to take a new direction.

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Émigré: A Novel of the Tri-Cluster Confederation

Émigré: A Novel of the Tri-Cluster Confederation has been released and is available for pre-orders on Amazon.com.

Émigré: A Novel of the Tri-Cluster Confederation by [Watson, Mike]

When Fabien Loche arrives in the Confederation as SolSytem’s newest Liaison, his government believes he’s a broken man sent into exile. But the new job, and the new culture, are far more strange and welcoming than either had anticipated. With the help of the local Chief Inspector, and his headstrong niece Molly, Loche plunges headlong into exploring and learning everything on the station above and world below.

More is riding on his assimilation than his future. He’s also the vanguard of the spaceborne Houses of SolSystem, who are preparing to flee the reach of an increasingly unstable and aggressive Earth. But the Confederation is far more fragmented and factioned than he expected. The scramble to control the highly advanced technology that the Houses will bring, and the fear of losing it, may be the wedge that drives Confederation and Sol System alike into war…

Émigré will also be available in paperback. Please subscribe to my mailing list to keep up to date on future activities. A collection of short stories and a novella in the Tri-Cluster Confederation is in development. Join my mail list and don’t miss Dundee Orbital (coming 2Q2020.)

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Changes

Dundee Orbital

As you can see, this is not Crucis’ Court. It’s time for a change. The ‘Court was an education. It taught me the basics of writing when, in my last working years, I was searching how to remain busy after retirement. I found that activity—writing.

Blogging came first. Writing fiction came later. As with any new skill, writing requires practice. I wrote a lot and, on an average, was able to sell one or two stories a year to a traditional publisher.

The Grantville Gazette, was an avenue to learn and, eventually, to a publisher who bought some stories. My first story, written in Eric Flint’s 1632 universe, Greetings!, was published in 2016. In the following years, they bought The Marshal Comes to Suhl, (it will reappear in an anthology later this year,) and a three-part novella, SMC (Suhl Metallic Cartridges). My latest 1632 story, The Searchers, appeared in issue #87, January, 2020, and, like Greetings!, was an issue cover story.

After SMC, I wrote for the Universe side of the Grantville Gazette. They bought The Enigma of Charlie Peabody, a modern fantasy, and two science fiction stories that have been merged into a novella. The Phantom of Barrington Light was published in May, 2019, and the second part, The Keeper of Barrington Light, in July of 2019. These two stories have been merged into a single novella, The Beacon at Barrington Light. The Beacon was released on February 7, 2020, on Amazon and will soon be followed with a novel, Émigré…as soon as the proofreaders finish with it.

Another work in progress is Dundee Orbital, a collection of short stories, novelettes, and a novella that have a common theme, Dundee Orbital, a thirty kilometer long station above the planet Inverness.

Dundee Orbital is the mercantile hub of the Tri-Cluster Confederation. Millions pass through the station and each has a story.

As I said, changes are coming. If you’d like to keep informed, please subscribe via the sidebar, to this blog.

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The Beacon at Barrington Light

I’ve just pushed the publish button for this novella. It’s available for pre-order, now, from Amazon and will be available on February 7th, 2020.

Please help an old writer and tell your friends. Spend $0.99 and have a good read.

Ping-Ping, Ping-Ping! The alert woke Captain Charles LeMont of the buoy tender CNAS Halcyon, a naval auxiliary ship. He slapped the link on his wrist to shut off the pinging and sat up in the dimness of his cabin. His eyes felt gummy; he rubbed them, trying to remove the sleep grit that had accumulated since he had gone to bed.

“Go ahead, Comm.” LeMont’s head throbbed. How long had he been asleep? Not long enough for his nanites to purge him of the effects of a hangover.

“Barrington Light is offline, again, Captain. We’ve received another maintenance call,” the communications watch officer announced via the ship’s interlink. “Mission order sent to your link.”

LeMont yawned. Geez, again! “Roger,” LeMont replied. “Give me five minutes for a shower. Please have coffee and breakfast sent to my cabin; following that, contact Dundee Orbital Control for a departure time-slot for…” His head was pounding. Oh, hell. The Engineer was there last night, too. “Check with the Engineer first. Tell him I want us ready to undock in two hours. If two hours creates issues, have him call me.”

“Uh, Captain, System Control wants an ETA and estimate to repair.”

Idiots! We just got the mission order. “Tell them they’ll know when—no…tell them we’ll provide one as soon as we can.” LeMont calmed down. The hangover boosted his irritability level to new heights.

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

“Oh, tell Dave Fuentes I’ll meet him on the bridge in half an hour.” David Fuentes was the Halcyon‘s First Officer.

“Will do, Captain.”

The Halcyon was just coming off a thirty-day R&R—Refit and Replenishment. The traditional crew party, marking the start of their next cruise—or the end of R&R depending upon your perspective, ended only a few hours ago.

“Lights, fifty percent.” LeMont suspected he wasn’t the only one waking to a pounding head. He headed for the ‘fresher feeling his medical nanites dealing with his hangover as the cabin’s overhead brightened.

The Beacon at Barrington Light

https://www.amazon.com/Beacon-Barrington-Light-Tri-Cluster-Confederation-ebook/dp/B084CVC7YW/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=The+Beacon+at+Barrington+Light&qid=1580496369&sr=8-1

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Coming soon! Émigré

I’ve been writing fiction for some time and have made over a dozen sales. Initially, I wrote Alternative History, writing in Eric Flint’s 1632 universe. I’ve had two novelettes purblished in Eric Flint’s Grantville Gazette plus a 33K word novella in . My fourth story will appear in an upcoming issue of the Gazette.

My big announcement is the publishing of my first full-sized novel early in 2020. The cover and back cover blurb is shown below. I’ll add an Amazon link when it’s published.

Emigre front cover
Dundee Orbital over Inverness.

When Fabien Loche arrives in the Confederation as SolSytem’s newest Liaison, his government believes he’s a broken man sent into exile. But the new job, and the new culture, are far more strange and welcoming than either had anticipated. With the help of the local Chief Inspector, and his headstrong niece Molly, Loche plunges headlong into exploring and learning everything on the station above and world below.

More is riding on his assimilation than his future. He’s also the vanguard of the spaceborne Houses of SolSystem, who are preparing to flee the reach of an increasingly unstable and aggressive Earth. But the Confederation is far more fragmented and factioned than he expected. The scramble to control the highly advanced technology that the Houses will bring, and the fear of losing it, may be the wedge that drives Confederation and Sol System alike into war…

Émigré will be available in paperback and as an ebook.