Category: the palladium wars.

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May the first be what the fuck, where has the time gone

Looks like I blew right through April without a blog post. Whoops. (How are we almost halfway through the year already?)

We’ve had a death in the family, so the regular routine was thoroughly derailed for obvious reasons. It wasn’t a surprise–the family member was 81 and in failing health–but these things are never easy no matter how prepared you think you are.

We just got back from a week-long trip south to attend the celebration of life, and now I am back in the office and working on finishing ECLIPSE, Palladium Wars #5. I had aimed to have it done by the end of April, but life happens, and sometimes schedules get upended. But I’ve heeded the wise words of Stephen King, who said (in ON WRITING, his excellent treatise on the craft), that life isn’t a support system for art–it’s the other way around. If I need to step away from the keyboard for a bit to address important real-life events, that’s just the way it goes.

I’ll need a few weeks to edit ECLIPSE and get it ship-shape before I release it on KDP (to what I hope will be an enthusiastic reception and EXTREME sales numbers so my publisher can have proper regrets for dropping the series after Book #4), so expect that one in late June if all goes well.

Next up after that will be a new stand-alone for 47North with the working title of COHORT. I’ll let you know more about that one as soon as I can. As this is a 47North book, it will have a 2027 release date. In the meantime, please to be looking forward to the December release of CYGNUS, the third and final book in the Frontlines: Evolution series, and the best one of the whole lot as far as I’m concerned.

(That doesn’t mean I am done with Frontlines or its spin-off. Stand by for news on that subject soon-ish.)

books. digital housekeeping. the palladium wars. writing.

What, March already?

It appears that I have managed to leave this spot without updates for over four months, which is a long time even for a sporadic blogger like me. I’ve been busy with various writing projects, life outside of writing has required frequent tending, and most of my brain bandwidth has gone to addressing those requirements. 

That said, I think I need to curtail my already limited social media presence even further and return my focus to updating just one spot instead of spreading my public presence across four or five different ones. To that end (and because I have bills to pay like everyone else), I am considering moving my updates to Patreon. I’d still keep the general blog updates free, of course, but I’d be posting more regularly, and I’d have an outlet to release short fiction as subscriber exclusives before I put them on the Kindle for general consumption. There could even be a tier where folks can get signed books every now and then with their subscriptions, which would be a good way for me to distribute the author copies I’m drowning in every time a new book comes out.

(Long-time readers will know that I usually do the free book giveaways, but those have started to become unsustainable for various reasons—shipping is getting more expensive, shipments keep getting returned to me unclaimed, and international readers have on occasion refused to pay customs duties and left me sitting on a $20 personalized book I can’t reuse and $25 international shipping costs I’ve spent out of my own pocket.)

Anyway—what’s the general consensus on an All Things Marko Kloos Patreon with a free updates tier and some nice perks for paid subscriptions? And what kind of content would you want to see other than the exclusive short fiction first reads I already mentioned? Looking forward to your comments below.

As far as work goes, I am back on Palladium Wars #5, and that one will be finished this month come hell or high water, to be available at some point in April once it’s been edited, formatted, and hammered into shape for Kindle and paperback formats. I’m having to do an indie release because 47North didn’t want to continue the series and let me finish it, and nobody else is going to commit to the fifth book in a series if they don’t already have the other four in their stable. But as I am not willing to keep the readers hanging and leave a five-year-plus project unfinished, the fifth book will be finished and released before I get started on the next thing.

books. frontlines: evolution the palladium wars. writing.

Busy, busy, busy

The draft for CYGNUS, third book in the Frontlines: Evolution series is due to my publisher this month, so I’ll be busy with that one until I turn it in. When I am in deadline mode, I don’t have much bandwidth for anything else, so if you have sent me an email in the last few weeks (or plan to do so in the next few weeks), remember that I am bad at quick replies on the best of days, so bear with me until this manuscript is on the way to my editor.

After that, I’ll be finishing ECLIPSE, the fifth and final book (for now) in the Palladium Wars series. Since 47North declined to continue the series, I’ll be publishing ECLIPSE myself through KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). For those of you waiting for the book (and I hope that’s a lot of folks), that means it will be available not too long after I’ve finished the draft and edited it with my partner in crime. I aimed to have it ready later this summer, but the way the calendar is progressing, it will be out in the fall instead. I’ll be sure to make it worth the wait–it’s shaping up to be a very good novel.

Now the world just needs to stop falling apart for a little while. I thought my cortisol levels were high in 2020 and 2021, but all of this 2025 business is making the pandemic stress feel trivial by comparison. When I write, I need to tune out the world so I can get into my zone, but this world keeps refusing to let itself get tuned out…

 

the palladium wars. writing.

Work in progress is progressed

As you can see from the progress bar to the right, the novella for the secret project is done. As it often happens, I overshot my word count target, but in this case I overshot it by rather a lot. I had planned for 19,000 words give or take a thousand and ended up with 27,000.

No, I can’t tell you yet what it is because I am not at liberty to spill the beans. But rest assured that I’ll share the news as soon as I can.

Now I get to take a few days off to reset the brain, and then it’s full speed ahead with the next two projects: finishing the Halley story (which you should see out this quarter), and starting the draft for Palladium Wars #5, the as-of-yet-untitled “E” novel. Because 47North passed on continuing the series, I’ll be publishing that one independently, so you should see it in the first half of this year.

I’ve also been working on some new short fiction and a few other fun projects, so stay tuned for more news and UNEXPECTED FICTION-SHAPED SURPRISES.

the palladium wars.

The future of The Palladium Wars

I guess I ought to share the news I mentioned regarding the Palladium Wars. Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine and roses.

47North has decided not to continue the series. I don’t know the reasoning behind the decision because they did not share it with me, and it doesn’t matter in the end whether it was sales numbers, budget issues, new editorial direction, or none of the above. The bottom line is that Palladium Wars #5 (the “E” novel, for those of you following the alphabetical naming order) will not be published by 47North.

That doesn’t mean it won’t be published at all, of course. I don’t intend to chop the series off at four installments without a satisfying conclusion. What it does mean is that I’ll most likely have to self-publish future installments. There’s always the possibility that my agent will find a new home for Palladium Wars, but the odds of that happening are very slim. It’s highly unlikely that any house will want to take on Book Five in a series they don’t own completely.

I’m not new to the self-publishing game, so I don’t have a problem with the prospect. I’ll have to hire my own editor and cover artist, of course, and the book will be available on Kindle and in paperback, but the audio version will depend on either my agent selling the audio rights to Audible (an easier proposition than selling the series rights to another house altogether), or me hiring an audiobook narrator for the job. All of this means expenses out of pocket for me, and good narrators and cover artists do not come cheap. I’ve thought about doing a Kickstarter for the fifth installment, but I’m not fully sold on the idea yet, and I may just decide to eat the expenses instead of asking readers to commit to a pre-buy like that.

(Self-publishing would mean there’d be no pre-orders because there’s no way to do those on KDP, so I’d be flying blind as to potential reader interest, and I may end up holding the bag fronting the production costs.)

Sorry I can’t give you better news on that particular front. I am very fond of the series (I think it’s superior to Frontlines in many ways), but I also recognize that the stars haven’t always been aligned for it. I had the distinct misfortune to get four different audiobook narrators for the four books in the series, and that’s been a cause for a lot of negative reviews even though there’s precisely nothing I could have done about the situation. (To recap: Luke Daniels didn’t have time in his schedule for the second book, Angelo DiLoreto untimely passed away before the third book came out, and Korey Jackson…well, maybe I’ll get to that in a later post. The fourth artist, Seth Podowitz, may or may not be available as an independent hire, so we’ll see whether we end up keeping our streak of a different narrator for every book. Hey, at least we’d be consistent on that front.)

That’s the current state of The Palladium Wars for you. I fully intend to write Book 5, and unless it finds another home in the meantime, I’ll be making it available on the Kindle and in paperback formats once it’s done, but right now that’s all I can tell you with any certainty.

 

books. shameless self-promotion. the palladium wars.

DESCENT is out today!


 

Today is the release day for DESCENT, the fourth installment of the Palladium Wars!

If you already preordered it, you should either have the paperback in your mailbox, or the ebook magically appeared on your Kindle this morning. For those who haven’t preordered, it’s available in paperback, Kindle, and Audible formats. (No hardcover this time, sorry.)

The jacket copy:

“POW Aden Jansen has lost a decade of his life to both the war and internment when he’s recruited by the Alliance. He’s to return to Gretia as an undercover Blackguard operative and destroy Odin’s Wolves—an insurgency that’s setting his home world afire. The mission comes with a full pardon and a chance to reclaim his identity. It also means rejoining his friends and family in space. That’s motive enough. If he can succeed—and survive.

Dunstan Park is on piracy patrol to track down the spaceborne arm of the uprising. Meanwhile, the rebels’ insidious terrorist cells are targets for battle-hardened insurgent hunter Idina Chaudhary and her Palladian commandos. As for Aden’s sister, Solveig, she’s put herself in the line of fire before, but discovering who’s bankrolling Odin’s Wolves is as dangerous as it is personal.

As Aden works his way back into the confidence of his comrades, the stealth campaign to sow discontent descends into chaos. At risk: Aden’s legacy, and the very stability of a galaxy struggling for peace against all odds.”

That sums it up in broad strokes, so if you’ve read the first three installments and this sort of thing floats your boat, get your copy today!

For those who asked about the projected length of the series–there will be at least one more installment, hopefully in the first half of next year.

books. contests and giveaways. the palladium wars.

DESCENT giveaway winners

The random number gods have spoken and passed down ten numbers, which I matched up with the comments in order from first to last. There were 193 eligible comments in total, so your chance to win was a little lower than one in twenty.

The winners are:

  1. Victor Weffer
  2. Fred
  3. Adrian O’Neill
  4. Phil
  5. Fab
  6. Andrew
  7. AG
  8. Nick M.
  9. Ralph
  10. Dave Thomas

I am sending out an email to the winners in a few. If you’re on the list, check your inbox and respond as instructed to claim your book.

Thanks for playing, everyone, and I hope that even those of you who did not win a signed paperback will still purchase a Kindle or paper copy of the book on release day.

books. contests and giveaways. the palladium wars.

DESCENT giveaway is now closed

I hope you all got your comments in because the DESCENT giveaway is now closed to new entries.

I will pick ten winners with the help of the RNG gods and announce them at some point tomorrow. As always, I’ll ship the books to the winners anywhere in the world free of charge.

Hope you’re all having a great weekend! Tune in tomorrow to see the list of lucky winners.

books. the palladium wars.

DESCENT paperbacks have arrived

Author copies for DESCENT, the fourth book in the Palladium Wars series, have arrived at the Castle.

If you’re at all familiar with how things go around here, you know that this means another giveaway is imminent. I’ll start the traditional pre-release contest this weekend and run it for a week as always. (Don’t put your name in the hat already by commenting to that effect on this post; it won’t count.)

 

books. the palladium wars.

Badges? Badges?

 

The notoriously awards-shy Bundeswehr has started to issue these little badges to German veterans to give them a little something that confirms their status and lets them show their service. I got mine in the mail the other day. It’s not a military award for the uniform, just a lapel pin. The motif is the Iron Cross, the old military award of Germany and the official vehicle marker of Bundeswehr tanks and aircraft, overlaid with the Bundesadler, the Federal eagle. It’s a small gesture that didn’t cost them very much per individual, but it’s something, I suppose.

I got a little busier with my developmental edits for DESCENT than I had expected. I also took off a week to go out of town and visit a friend in Pittsburgh, so I didn’t make any progress on the novella. The edits are almost complete, so I’ve picked up the pen and got things moving again.

There’ll be news on SCORPIO soon, so stay tuned for that. I also have a box of author copies, so I guess it’s time for the traditional giveaway so some of you get signed copies for an early read (and I don’t drown in paperbacks at home.) I’ll get that underway this coming weekend.