The paperback and ebook of Flotsam of War is now available. The hardcover should be up shortly as well.
When we planned on launching LAND&SEA ™ as a Kickstarter, I had prepared a lot of fiction that would have been opened at reward levels, including a pretty lengthy novella, The Toll. Once I laid it all out, there was almost enough for an anthology. There would need to be a few more stories that had to be added, but ultimately here we are – Flotsam of War.
The underlying theme with this compilation is to tell stories from some different perspectives we haven’t seen thus far. So, you’ll get a tank crew, GRD operators, a medic, militia groups, technicians, and some other views that are new and a lot of fun. We will take a Trident suit or two down in one story as well. Most of the tales are set after Storm Surge and takes place all across the country. I’ve always felt that this was a strength of LAND&SEA, having a variety of points of view of a much larger conflict.
There’s new aliens in here, some new tech, and we get to see some Air Force action as well.
The characters in the kickoff trilogy don’t show up in this book, but there is a visit with a few of them in book five, Ratchet’s Run. The LAND&SEA universe is much larger than that ensemble of characters, as you will see in Flotsam of War.
The cover was something Brent and I talked about – the desire to give fans their first view of the aliens, starting with the Crabs. In this case, the view is from the cockpit of an ASHUR rig. One of the things I loved about my former franchise was the art from the old school – especially the MechWarrior RPG first edition cover. Brent ran with that idea and he and the artist produced something that was awesome.
What is my favorite story? That is tough. I love the techs story, Technical Difficulties. It answers the age old story; what would a bunch of techs do with spare time and enough parts to build an ASHUR do? I think we all know the answer to that – you make a Frankenrig. The tank crew in Open at Your Own Risk, are just fun characters and let me enjoy some dialogue writing that was a blast to execute. I have a fondness for tank crews, having talked to a number of vets that served in that capacity. There’s a healthy number of Easter Eggs sprinkled throughout the book too.
Flotsam of War is meant to be fun. There’s a section of the snippets that you’d usually see in the Cycle sections which are just entertaining to read. Some of the characters in these short stories will reappear in later fiction as well. One small group of characters actually got their first cameo in Storm Surge.
Book five is done and edited and will be out in June, mostly to give people a chance to get caught up. Book five is awesome – different than most of your mainstream military sci fi. I’ve plotted out book six, and that will be this fall. Then next year, we begin season two with a whole new ensemble cast in an explosive trilogy.
The pacing here is deliberate. We have delivered four books in the series in four months – that is a rarity in publishing. By the end of June, you’ll have five books in your hands. Some authors trickle out a book or two a year – but that’s not the way we do it. The folks at WarGate are helping us making this a dynamic experience for the readers and fans out there. FYI – some fans have set up a LAND&SEA fan group already in Facebook, so check that out when you get a chance.
Well, I’ve got to saddle up. I’m finishing up a Galaxy’s Edge novel, then jumping in on book six in LAND&SEA. In the meantime, enjoy Flotsam of War!
Notes From The Bunker 