Category: books.

books.

Bookplates for the ODDMENTS paperbacks without a Table of Contents

I submitted the change files for the corrected paperback version of ODDMENTS that includes a proper table of contents. It should be live within a day or two, and all the print copies ordered from Monday on should have a ToC in them.

As a solution for those of you who bought the print version that has no Table of Contents, I will print the ToC on a large sticker (for use as a bookplate) and send it to the people who want one for their book, free of charge. I’ll even sign the bookplates for some ADDED COLLECTOR VALUE.

If you purchased a paperback copy of ODDMENTS that doesn’t have a Table of Contents in it and you would like one, email me at marko.kloos@gmail.com with your address, and I’ll send you a signed bookplate with the ToC printed on it.

books.

A note on the paperback version of ODDMENTS

If you’re looking to buy the paperpack version of ODDMENTS on Amazon, please hold off on the purchase at the moment. The version that is live right now lacks a table of contents, and I am working to have that fixed.

I’ll post an update in this spot when the new version is available. (That’s the paperback only….the Kindle version has a proper ToC.)

 

books. shameless self-promotion.

Release day: ODDMENTS

Today sees the release of my short fiction compendium, titled ODDMENTS.

A while ago, I took stock of all the short fiction I’ve ever written. It’s a sizable pile of stories, but it’s distributed across a whole lot of online ‘zines, mosaic novels, or individual Kindle editions. If someone wanted to have all my short fiction, they’d have to go to a bunch of websites, purchase several different separate Kindle copies, and buy two mosaic novels. That’s a lot of footwork even if you know where to look, and too much of a hassle if you don’t.

I decided to put them all in one book, with a new introduction and forewords for each story.

The product description on Amazon reads thusly:

ODDMENTS is a compendium of short fiction written by Marko Kloos.
It contains all the short stories and novellas previously published in other story collections, mosaic novels, or online zines, combined into a single volume, with new introductions for each story added by the author.
ODDMENTS contains the following novellas and short stories:
  • On The Use Of Shape-Shifters In Warfare
  • Cake From Mars
  • Berlin Is Never Berlin
  • Lucky Thirteen
  • Measures of Absolution
  • Ink and Blood
  • Stripes
  • Probationary
  • How to Move Spheres and Influence People
It also includes three previously unpublished all-new stories:
  • Seeds
  • Steel and Paper
  • Rottertown
ODDMENTS: 120,000 words of fantasy, alternate history, and military science fiction by Marko Kloos, available in one comprehensive collection for the first time.
ODDMENTS is available via Amazon right now, in either Kindle or paperback formats. (The paperback isn’t live yet as I write this but should show up at some point today.)
If you were looking for a handy way to put all my short fiction on your shelf and get a few new stories as a bonus, it’s now super easy and highly convenient!
books. frontlines. shameless self-promotion.

SCORPIO release date and cover reveal

 

The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that I updated the “The Next Book” countdown widget in the sidebar a little while ago.

Today I can announce that SCORPIO, the first novel in a new series called Frontlines: Evolution, has an official release date: November 14, 2023.

You can pre-order the Kindle version here. I don’t know when they’ll add the paperback and audio versions to the pre-order page, but the release date ought to be the same for those once they appear as pre-order options on the product page.

Frontlines: Evolution will take the series to new places and introduce new characters…but that doesn’t mean you won’t meet some of the ones you already know along the way.

 

books. frontlines. writing.

Terms of Enlistment is 10

 

Put on your party hats, because we have a birthday to celebrate. TERMS OF ENLISTMENT is ten years old this month. I brought it out in March 2013, and 47North bought it (and the second Frontlines novel, LINES OF DEPARTURE) in May of that year. Thanks to everyone who has ever bought this book and its sequels, but special thanks go out to those of you who took a chance on a self-published work from an unknown name when I put this novel out on Kindle Direct with the hopes of maybe selling a few hundred copies. It sold rather a lot more than that, which is why I had an agent and a publishing contract less than two months later.

Whenever I read through it these days, I can very much tell that it’s a first novel, but I am also positively surprised by how well it has managed to hold up, so I must have gotten that one mostly right. It certainly changed everything for me–I became a full-time writer that year, and the royalties for my books have been paying the bills since then.

Ten years…. don’t they go by in the blink of an eye. Now let’s see what the next ten years will bring.

 

 

books. frontlines. writing.

My two favorite words to write

This is the part of the novel that the reader hates to read and the writer loves to write. Whenever I type those two words, it’s like a permission slip for my brain to let go of something that has occupied it every day for the better part of a year.

I just turned in the completed draft for SCORPIO, the first novel in a new Frontlines spin-off series. I don’t have an exact release date yet, but it will most likely be toward the end of this year.

Now I’m going to engage in my usual post-draft brain rinse where I work through a backlog of shows and play games for a week or two, and then I’ll reset the office for the new project and get back to work. Next on the docket is Palladium Wars #4, which will be called DESCENT.

2022 wasn’t a great year for me as far as output goes. Starting a new series always takes more time and energy than continuing in an existing world with established characters, and I underestimated how long it would take my brain to turn the idea I had into a cohesive whole. But I think I managed it, and you’ll be able to judge for yourselves when the book comes out later this year.

books. love death+robots.

The Art of LD+R

Today is my birthday, so I’ll call this one a birthday gift because it arrived in the mail this afternoon. 

It’s called The Art of Love Death + Robots, and it showcases the artwork for all the episodes from the three seasons of LD+R on Netflix. My contributions to Season 1 were “Shape-shifters” and “Lucky 13”, as seen below. 

It was pretty wild to see the stories take shape on the screen and watch someone else’s interpretation of my work. (It’s mind-blowing that dozens of people worked on those animated episodes for six months or more, when each of those stories took me maybe a week or two to write.) And I could definitely get used to seeing my name in the credits.

 

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books. frontlines. shameless self-promotion.

Centers of Gravity is out today

Today’s the day: CENTERS OF GRAVITY, book 8 in the Frontlines series, is out and available for purchase today.

If you pre-ordered the book, you should find it in your mailbox, Audible library, or on your Kindle (or maybe all three, in which case GO YOU.)

This is (for now) the final of the Andrew Grayson books. Note that I am not saying it’s the final Frontlines book. There are more stories to be told in that universe, and you will find out more about that very soon. It’s almost certainly not the last time you get to come across Andrew and Halley.

Thank you for sticking with me and Andrew through nine years and eight books, and I hope you’ll stick around for what comes next. I promise to make it worth your while.

books. contests and giveaways. frontlines.

Centers of Gravity signed paperback giveaway

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Here they are: ten fresh copies of Centers of Gravity, ready to be signed and mailed to their new owners. And the best part is that YOU, YES YOU, could be one of those new owners!

The rules are as before: leave a comment on this blog entry to throw your hat into the ring. I will leave the comments open until next Sunday, August 28, 12:00 noon. My magic random numbers generator will then spit out ten winning numbers. I’ll count the comments, and if your entry matches one of the numbers, you win one of these paperbacks. I’ll announce the winners on Sunday afternoon with further instructions for claiming your copy.

As always, I’ll spring for the shipping, and the contest is free to anyone in the world as long as your address can be found by your country’s postal service. (Sorry, not paying for helicopter delivery to your off-the-grid mountaintop retreat on the South Island of New Zealand or something.)

Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

books. frontlines. writing.

Frontlines #8 now has physical form

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I got my author copies for CENTERS OF GRAVITY today, which means I’m about to do the customary give-away this weekend. Ten signed copies will go out to readers anywhere in the world FREE OF CHARGE. And all will be decided fair and square by random number generator.

I’ll post the giveaway this weekend and let it run for a week as always. The odds to beat are usually pretty good, so check back this weekend if you want a good chance to snag a free signed copy. (That said, I will never advise you against ordering a Kindle or paper copy even if you win a signed freebie, because good sales numbers make my publisher happy, which means I get to keep writing these novels.)