Mark Wandrey

All posts tagged Mark Wandrey

WhenEaglesDare

Today was the release day of When Eagles Dare (Four Horsemen Tales Book 5), by Seventh Seal Press, Chris Kennedy’s company, written by Doug Dandridge. That would be me. You can find it at Amazon.US and Amazon.UK, as well as all of the other Amazons worldwide. This is my first novel in the Four Horsemen Universe created by Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey, which now includes a bunch of other very good authors. It has been a most successful series, and part of its success is the marketing genius of Chris. Releasing a book at least once a month, often every three weeks, is part of that genius. And that requires more than one author. Actually more than two. I have written six books in a year, so it is possible with two, but is very difficult, as books don’t always come out of our minds and onto the keyboards as fast as we would like. Of course, if the stories aren’t good, nothing else really matters. Anyway, it works for them, and the sales and award nominations appear to back up the method.

I first got involved in the 4HU with the anthology, For A Few Credits More, released at last year’s Liberty Con. The story I wrote for that anthology, With The Eagles, followed mercenary leader Jonah White Eagle and his company on a couple of missions to rescue hostages, and piss off the criminal syndicate who was making a fortune on the people they were taking captive. In the process Jonah and his people earn the enmity of the aliens who run the criminal enterprise. They want revenge. Now, most of the books in the series, as well as most of the stories in the anthology, involve mercenaries in CASPers, the multimillion credit mecha/battle armor suits that even the playing field for humans against much more physically capable aliens. Great idea, and not one I wanted to pursue. I thought about what humans could do without the suits, in situations that required sneaking. Stealth, the art of getting into position, gathering intelligence, and making a kill.

That story was fun, and I considered writing a novel for the 4HU. I talked with Chris a DragonCon 2017, and we agreed I could write a novel, possibly in the main series. From there I went on to my other projects and didn’t touch base with Chris again until around February of this year, the same time I turned in the first book of the Kinship War series to Arc Manor. Unfortunately, even though it finally freed up some time, I had taken too much, and the slot in the main timeline of the series was no longer available. No problem. I told Chris I would come up with something else. I thought of the Fierce Eagle Company and exploring their specialty in a novel. An opportunity to sell a story to another anthology, Tales From the Lyon’s Den, came up, and I signed on for that one about the same time I signed the contract for When Eagles Dare. I came up with the name, among several others, and Chris loved it. It had a resonance with the movie and book that so many people were familiar with, something that would ring a bell. But not exactly the same. I came up with the story, outlined it, and started writing, planning to have it to Chris in a month. Like most plans, things didn’t work out, and I didn’t get it done until three months after signing the contract.

When Eagles Dare follows the Fierce Eagle Company as they perform a mission on a very unusual planet where a criminal enterprise, along with their own unusual mercenaries, are running an operation to harvest the planet. There are intelligent creatures on the world, slaves for the syndicate. Someone has hired the Fierce Eagles to scout out the compound so a force of CASPer equipped mercenaries can come in and take it. Things go bad from the start, and the mercenaries must traverse a number of deadly environments to get to the target and perform the mission. Bad news follows bad news, but Jonah White Eagle and his team have never given up on a mission, and this is not about the be the first time.

There were a lot of novels ahead of it in the queue, and it was first come first serve for publication. Fair, and I can’t fault the method. It works to put out books regularly, but not to release a flood of them all at once. Anyway, here it is, polished, proofed and ready to go. If you like any of my past work, I think you will love this one. I’m asking my readers to go on over to Amazon and pick this one up. It’s available on Kindle Unlimited as well if you have that subscription service.

Will I do another book in the 4HU? I can see it happening, but so much depends on how well this book does. That’s why I’m depending on my readers to give me a boost. While depending on the 4HU hardcore fans to look up some of my other work. One time or part of a greater future effort, I think this is a very good military science fiction tale, one that fans of the genre will enjoy. Now, I’m not going to include an excerpt with this one, but here’s the blurb from Amazon.

The mission Jonah White Eagle and his Fierce Eagle Company had taken was nearly impossible. Land on the middle of a 7.5-mile-high plateau, walk six miles to the edge of the cliff, and scale down the 39,000-foot-high cliffs to the foothills of the canyon below. Nothing to it, right? But then there was the swamp they had to cross, full of large indigenous life forms that thought Humans made good snacks. And the rivers, full of other killers, they would have to negotiate.

And then there were the Xlatan, a race of six-legged killers guarding the target. A relatively new mercenary race, although one more established than the Humans, the Xlatan were supposed to be tough. Maybe not—quite—as tough as the Besquith, but close enough to give a number of other merc races the chills when they went up against them.

The Fierce Eagle Company only needed to traverse the planet, stay alive, and then surveil the operation the Xlatan were guarding to gather intelligence for the CASPer-equipped merc company that was enroute to destroy the operation.

The mission would have been nearly impossible, all on its own. There’s just one more thing, though, that they don’t know. They’ve been set up, and the heavy forces aren’t coming.

Still, anything is possible…When Eagles Dare.

Tales From the Lyon’s Den cover

Today is release day for Tales From the Lyon’s Den (Lyon’s Den for short from here on). Nineteen authors, eighteen stories (for those doing the math, yes, there was one collaboration in the anthology), over one hundred and sixty thousand words (most novels are about a hundred thousand or so, so this is a thick book). This is my second anthology in the Four Horsemen Universe (4HU for short from here on). And to everyone who will wonder, no, I have not stopped writing in my own universes. However, this was a fun gig, a great universe to write in, and I couldn’t resist. I also know a lot of the authors in this volume, either personally, having met them at cons or workshops, or by reputation. All are what I would consider very skilled at their craft, capable of writing very interesting stories. I don’t consider myself a great literary writer. I write good entertainment, good enough that a lot of people buy and enjoy it. But we have some future stars in this lineup.

Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey have created a monster of a series. Lots of books, lots of authors, a huge central story arc and a bunch of side stories. A great series to get into as it is large and growing and promises to provide a lot of great reading for the military science fiction fan. They could have done well by themselves, but instead they opened the universe up to other authors such as Kacey Ezell and Kevin Ikenberry. And myself. And they opened it up to even more with the anthologies. It was a win-win. Chris and Mark gained new stories and the possible attention of other fan bases, while anthology authors were able to get their names out there to a new audience. The 4HU is a great thing in my opinion, opening up a whole new universe to explore and a great group of authors to sample. I recommend, if you haven’t read the 4HU, to go out and get this anthology, and then start getting the novels, including, ahem, the one I will talk about in a bit. If you have already read a book or two in the universe, or all of them, what in the hell are you waiting for. Go out and get Lyon’s Den, right now. Until you do, I will be sending psionic waves your way, forcing you to do my will. You have been warned.

In other news from the 4HU, there is a card game in the works, along with a Kickstarter campaign. The Omega War 4HU card game needs your help, troop. So, if you want this project to succeed, get on over there and plop down your credits. I had been remiss in doing so, and just gave them a few of my hard earned bucks.

When Eagles Dare Cover.

I will not be talking about my other projects on this blog. Just know that there are bunch of them, including books in several of my series, and some new stuff. But the one I want to talk about here is. When Eagles Dare, my novel entry into the 4HU will be out next month. I am exciting to be finally getting my foot in the door in this successful franchise with this novel. Those who have read my story, With The Eagles, from the anthology For a Few Credits More, will recognize many of the characters. And I introduce a new mercenary race, as well as some original aliens. I think fans of mine will like this novel. No, it isn’t Exodus: Empires at War, but it has the same gritty action and combat as those books. I would appreciate it if you would saunter on over to Amazon on release day and pick this one up. Coming in October.

Next up: My Adventures in Self-Publishing. What I have done right, What I have done wrong, What I am experimenting with now. I think this will be of interest to people who are already self-published or currently trying to make it.

Exodus: Empires at War: Book 14: Rebellion. In the UK an be bought here.

Over nine months after the last book, Exodus: Empires at War: Book 13: Retaliation, was released, I am proud to announce that Exodus: Empires at War: Book 14: Rebellion is out. A lot of obstacles got in the way of this book being released earlier. I had other projects that needed to be completed, some new opportunities, and some finishing up on series that had still not reached a stopping point. More on that last later on. First off, I needed to come up with an idea for the book, and when I finally got around to putting it first in the queue, the idea still eluded me. Finally, in mid-July, my imagination came alive and voila, there was the idea, and the book was ready to be written. I put in many five thousand word days, fourteen in a row at one point, but here it is.

Now, the good news for Exodus Fans. Some of the opportunities I took advantage of, which will definitely be paying off in the future, played havoc with my normal production schedule. I usually put out between five and six books a year, four or more in one of the two Exodus series, Empires at War and Machine War. This year I was not able to keep to that schedule, and I took a financial beating that wasn’t helped by taking a long trip to Nevada to tour that area. That will also help in the future when I start on a new series, probably next year. Frankly, I need to get some books out in my most popular series in order to repair the financial damage. So, I will be working hard to attempt to bring four more books in the series out before the end of the year. I might not make it, but it won’t be for lack of effort. So, two more Empires at War and two more Machine War. I may be closing out the Machine War series by book 6, but don’t worry, fans of that series. The main characters will be joining the war on the Ca’cadasan front. I had planned to end Empires at War after another couple of books, but now it’s looking like at least four more in the series, possibly six. I also plan to do two more Tales of the Empire short collections, and will start, by the end of next year, on a line called In The Beginning (tentative title), a series of six to eight books detailing the history of the wacky nation known as the New Terran Empire. So, there is still a lot of Exodus to come.

I have been accused by some people of only being in it for the money. Not quite true. Even if I wasn’t making a living at this I would still be writing. But to make a living I have to write works that people want to buy. That I’m not only in it for the money, I point to the Theocracy and Refuge series. Neither sell great, but I enjoy writing them, and there are enough fans of both series that I don’t want to just drop them in the middle of the story arc. I will try to get in the third Theocracy book next year, and book 6 of Refuge probably soon after. I had been planning to finish off Refuge at that time, but I think that by stretching it out in time I might be able to see myself doing two more. For people who are fans of the series, talk it up with friends, people at conventions, online. The more it sells, the more I will be willing to write in that series.

Now, to the opportunities. I have finished book 1 of a new series for a traditional house, Arc Manor, the publisher of Galaxy’s Edge magazine. It took a lot of time, and I had a harsh task master as an editor, but I learned a lot about writing. I doubt I would have gotten such an opportunity from anyone else. I have a second book due, and the publisher is amenable to putting a third on the contract after seeing the first. I will also be working on book two of Kinship War, as the series is called, during the fall. We are hoping that it will be a hit, and will open up a shared universe for other authors to write in. The second opportunity came from Chris Kennedy, whose publishing company is behind the very successful Four Horsemen Universe that he, Mark Wandrey, and now so many others write in. If any of my fans haven’t read any of their books, you need to go and get some and start reading. My novel, When Eagles Dare, will be coming out shortly. I also have a short story in another anthology set in the Universe. The other anthologies did really well, and I recommend them as well. Also, my short story, Alone, will be coming out soon in Chuck Gannon’s Lost Signals of the Terran Republic anthology.

I will also be releasing two other books in the next couple of weeks. One is a military fantasy, set in a gunpowder technology era. I wrote it years ago, well before Exodus was even a glimmer of an idea. An editor at a major house was interested in it, but frankly, I’ve got my traditional novel coming out, and I don’t want to wait a year or two for it to be accepted (or rejected) and finally make its way to production. The other is a science fiction/horror novel called Soulless, not for the timid or the young. Also written years before I even conceived of Exodus, it was praised by several of the instructors at a workshop where I presented the first two chapters. After that my harddrive will be cleared of unpublished finished works, with one exception that will have to wait.

So, for those who are mostly fans of Exodus, there will be more coming along, and soon. For those who are fans of Refuge, there will be more, but I can only afford to release one a year. And I have ideas for other series, which will be making their way to print over the next couple of years. I’m hoping to have a very productive couple of years ahead. If I can keep the body together I will be writing for years to come. I have no plans to retire from this job. I am still looking into getting more of the Exodus books produced as audiobooks, something I am constantly asked. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to get the producer of the first five interested in doing any others. I had one narrator lined up, but he dropped out from the project soon after agreeing to do it. I can’t afford to produce them other than as a royalty share, and to do that I have to get a narrator to sign on. I have thought of doing it myself, but I really don’t have the time. It would cut into my writing time, and besides, I have lots of allergies, and getting through fifteen minutes without throat clearing is a challenge. I will be posting the job for Exodus 6 once again, but there are no guarantees. For those who have been following this blog for the travelogue of my last trip out West, I will be putting out the last chapter this Friday. And now for the excerpt:

“I think we’ll take this one first,” said the admiral, pointing to one of the projector ships. “Sinbad can go after this one, while Stuart takes this one.”

“Very good ma’am,” said the tactical officer, imputing the information into his board, setting up the attack profile for the squadron. He looked over at the com officer, who nodded back before sending the orders out through whisker laser.

“We should start configuring for attack in twenty-five minutes,” said the tac officer, frowning. “It means we won’t be sucking out heat for the fifteen minutes before the attack, but I don’t think it a good idea to delay any longer.”

“Very well. Then that’s what we’ll do.”

“And how do you want to attack the rest of them?”

“Let’s see how we do with the initial attack before we start planning the others.”

The tac nodded in agreement. Not only would they not know how much of a force they had to attack the remaining enemy until after the first strike, but they wouldn’t know what the enemy was going to do before then. She hoped she still had three battle capable capital ships after that strike, but there was no guarantee. There was never a guarantee in combat.

The bridge crew waited. They had nothing to do but relay information to the squadron commander, and transmit her orders to the command bridges of the three ships. The real fighting would be handled by the command teams of the warships, maneuvering and firing at the orders of their captains and the skill of helm and tactical officers.

Mei reached up and wiped the sweat from her brow. She checked the temperature, and found that the environment of the bridge was still as cool as ever. Nerves was her thought. She had thought that by now she would be used to the tension before entering combat, but it never became any easier.

“Ships are configuring their wormholes for combat,” called out the com officer, his voice cracking slightly from the tension.

And now we find out how alert they are, thought Mei. They wouldn’t start producing heat immediately, but it would come, and they would no longer be as stealthy as before.

“Wormholes are set,” said the tac officer.

“Donut is reporting that the accelerators are spun up,” said the com officer. “Reactors at full power.”

Maybe I should have gone with missiles, thought the admiral. Wormhole launched missiles would have been instant kills when they hit, but she had a never heard of anyone firing them this close to a star. She wasn’t sure why that bothered her, but her instincts told her that the particle beams would be a better option in this situation.

She took one last look at the plot, trying to time it perfectly. The sensor officer turned toward her and said the words that took that option away from her.

“We’re being painted with lidar, ma’am.”

“Now,” shouted the admiral, her excitement at finally going into action taking control of her voice.

The well drilled ships all accomplished their actions within a second of each other. Electromagnetic fields came up at full strength, cold plasma injected as soon as they were formed. Laser rings took a couple of seconds to come up to full power, but counter missiles and offensive weapons were ready in an instant. And grabbers boosted up to full power, pulling their ships onto different vectors at five hundred and thirty gravities, then a couple of more, sinking the crew back into their acceleration couches as six gravities came over them in an instant.

Eight million ton warships now moved into the attack like they were fighters. Helms took control of the particle beams, slaved to their joysticks as the holos over their stations showed the aim point. Tactical officers continued to control the lasers and missiles, concentrating on defending their vessels.

The Jean de Arc vectored around the star, using its gravitational field to swing into the same orbital path as their target. They closed at thousands of kilometers a second, twisting, turning and rolling to avoid the lasers that the enemy was now firing their way. The ship shook from a hit, the damage to the hull causing the outgassing that provided unintentional thrust. Some missiles erupted from the enemy. Mei sucked in a breath

“They’re counters, ma’am,” called out the tac officer. “Not offensive weapons.”

“Firing,” called out the helmsman from the control bridge. The ship shook again as the counter thrust of the particle beam worked against the pull of the grabbers.

The forward viewer on the flag bridge showed the enemy superbattleship, highlighted against the brilliant globe of the star, sitting a couple of million kilometers below. The particle beam struck out, hitting dead center on the enemy vessel, going off for a moment, then connecting again as the helmsman adjusted the ship and his aim.

Particle beams were red in air due to the friction cause by protons flying at relativistic speeds through the gas particles. In space they were normally invisible. But this close to the star, in space that had greater particle density than further out, the destruction of antiprotons on the outer edge of the beam, contacting star plasma, had much the same effect. The angry red of the beam made aiming easy for the helmsmen.

Where the beam hit intense fire lived. Antiprotons exploded into particles as they touched matter, while making the atoms of matter blast into similar particles. The force of the strike, antiprotons moving at just under the speed of light, sent the fire deep into the hull after blasting through the armor.

Still, the ship was tough, and the beam would not kill them quickly. What they did was erode away all the electronics and installations for a hundred meters on each side of the strike, degrading defenses.

“Firing missiles,” came another voice over the intercom, the ship’s tactical officer releasing six missiles from the forward tubes. The missiles arced out, then in, avoiding the particle beam, then striking the hull of the enemy ship. One was knocked off course on the way in, one was detonated by a second laser. Four hit, each releasing a gigaton of force into the hull of the ship.

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I will be continuing my travelogue with my next post, but first I have some big news, and a shout out to some people you all may want to meet, if you haven’t already.

After about a month of talking and thinking about writing a novel in the Four Horsemen Universe of Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey, and finally coming up with a workable idea, I signed a contract to write a book in that Universe. When Eagles Dare will feature the Fierce Eagle Company, as featured in my short story in the anthology Few a Few Credits More, With The Eagles. In a universe where most of the mercenary companies use mecha and powered armor, the Eagles use good old-fashioned stealthcraft. So, this novel will be about that kind of mercenary unit. I am really excited about jumping into this universe. No, this doesn’t mean that I’m going to give up my own series and my independent career. Signing with Arc Manor to produce Kinship War didn’t mean that, and neither does this. But it is a big deal to get involved in this series.

Chris Kennedy has a winning formula here. I first met Chris, a retired Naval Aviator, at LibertyCon in Chattanooga, about four years ago. He was a successful independent author, and I had been working as a full-time author for over a year and a half. He was doing okay. Mark was struggling to get sales. They combined forces for a series and it took off. Both Mark and Chris are now full-time writers, and Chris is a publisher. The new paradigm of self-publishing allowed this. Chris and Mark both write in the Four Horsemen Universe, and imaginative setting filled with interesting aliens and the humans who are hired to kill them. For many years I have heard from my fans that they love how independent authors can put out more books in a series each year than a traditionally published author, who are normally limited to one. Chris and Mark, and the others they have enlisted into their cohort, allowing them to put out at least a book a month, are capitalizing on this fact. And the two anthologies of the series have helped other authors to be introduced to their reader base.

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That’s what interested me in the anthology last year. Do I have enough fans to keep me going as a self-employed author? Yes, I do. Do I want more? Hell yes. Chris has a great business plan. And he has published a lot of really good authors. People like Kacy Ezell, Jason Cordova and Kevin Ikenberry. I have known Kevin for many years, dating back to Superstars in Colorado Springs. Kacy was on a panel I moderated at DragonCon, and is a kick ass Air Force helicopter pilot. Jason I also know from LibertyCon, and he was a Campbell Award Finalist some years back. So just getting into that crowd was also something of an attraction. So I will be doing at least one book in the series, a stand alone not in the main storyline, and see what happens. That means it will be my best effort, the same effort I put into Exodus, the same I put into the Kinship War series. I have gotten regular payments from the anthology. I hope for the same from the novel. And in other news, I will be back in the next anthology, due to release in early July I believe.

Now for a plug for Chris Kennedy Publishing, and not just because I will be doing a novel for them. It’s a good organization, that puts out a good product. Mark just put out a book called A Time to Run, not in the 4HU series, but it still looks interesting. Chris just put out a book in the 4HU with author Thomas A Mays called The Mutineer’s Daughter. Not in the 4HU series but recommended. If you want to get into the 4HU series the place to start is Cartwright’s Cavaliers. Or you can get the anthology I’m in, For a Few Credit’s More. Kevin has written Peacemaker, a part of the 4HU. Kacey Ezelle wrote Minds of Men, found on Amazon. And Jason has written Wraithkin with Chris, which can also be found on Amazon. A lot of good books by a lot of good authors, and I’m just scraping the top of the ice flow here. So get on over to Amazon and pick up some new reads. Or continue on with these series by a kick ass bunch of authors.

Up next: The Third Trip Out West, Part Six: Day Five: Death Valley and the Armagoosa Opera House Hotel.

Day 2: Saturday, September 2nd.

Posted by dougdandridge on September 20, 2017

Posted in: Fantasy, Kindle, science Fiction, self publishing, Writing. Tagged: Batman, Chris Kennedy, DragonCon, DragonCon Parade, Hyatt, Mark Wandrey, Raphyel Jordan, Robert Sawyer. Leave a comment

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Parade and crowd.

Big day. It was parade day, and I had scheduled lunch with Chris Kennedy. Originally we had talked about having it in the food court, but things worked out differently and much better. Breakfast again at the Residence Inn, this time much more crowded due to the FSU and Alabama fans. Then up to the room for a shower and to get ready. On the way I ran into Chris Kennedy and his lovely wife, Sheellah, right outside the sports bar restaurant with the Braves sign. We agreed to meet here after the parade, and I headed up to the parking garage I was hoping would give a good view of the spectacle to come.

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Parade marchers.

I got a great view of the parade. There was no room near the front, but I found a spot with some short people I could stand behind. The parade was distant, but with a 60X telephoto lens everything zoomed close. I talked with an Alabama fan who was there for the game, but had decided the parade was worth a look. As usual the parade was spectacular. And after the streets were full of people. One final spectacle was the sweeping of the street by motorcycle police, moving people back onto the sidewalks. It was like trying to part the sea, and as soon as they passed people again flooded into the street. Fun.

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Saw these good sisters earlier in the day. Must have been some kind of church gathering.

We met at the restaurant, and Chris and Sheellah were already there, holding down a table. Soon Mark showed up, then someone I’d never met, Will Wight, who had sold 400K books online. He had even more of a recognition problem than I did, since he was also an attending professional, and hadn’t gotten even one panel. Joy Wandrey came in, along with a friend of hers, and suddenly we had seven people at the table. I had planned to buy lunch, but hadn’t figured on this many. When the check came Will grabbed it, and I decided to let the guy who had sold twice as many books as I had have it. I had wanted to talk business with Chris, who had an out of this world business model. I was also hoping to ask about writing a book in his universe. I didn’t get to talk as much as I wanted, though the conversation at lunch was great. Did get to discuss some matters, and altogether I was very happy with the outcome of the lunch.

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Lunch on Saturday. Right side, myself, Will Wight, didn’t remember her name. Other side, Chris Kennedy, Sheellah Kennedy, Mark Wandrey, Joy Wandrey.

Afterward, I headed back to the Hyatt, hoping to catch Kevin J. Anderson’s panel, New York Times Bestsellers. I had wanted to say hello in person at least once this con. I had said hi to Rebecca Moesta, his wife, earlier. The line around the Hyatt was unreal, and I thought that boded ill for getting in to see him. And the next day he had a panel in the same room, same time, with Jim Butcher, so forget about that one as well. Instead, I went to the Baen Roadshow, and found out it was two hours, when I only had one hour to spare, or so I thought. I left early for my mentoring session with Elizabeth Moon, and got there to find out that I had gotten the times wrong. I felt bad about it, until later I saw that there were plenty of hopefuls lined up hoping to get a slot, so her time didn’t go to waste. I saw several friends in the hall, all with stories of breaks they were getting. That was cool. I had been told at earlier cons that I was an inspiration because I actually sold books. Now a lot of those same people were getting their foot in the door and making it.

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It’s a trap.

One more panel, then I sat and talked with James Palmer, and Robert Sawyer sat with us and talked. Robert thought he had seen an announcement for my book with Arc Manor in Locus. I was excited. Turned out he was mistaken, and the next day he said it might have been one of my own blog posts. Robert is an interesting guy, and it was always a pleasure to talk with him. Got some time with Bill Fawcett, and some more conversation with Robert. Then it was time for meeting Raphyel Jordan, who was supposed to have supper with me.

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Sith warrior.

I had met Raphyel at Superstars, and we had always met for a meal at DragonCon after that. I was sitting in front of the Hyatt when a tall black man with dreads came walking out. I thought it was Raphyel, and I yelled at him, but he didn’t stop. So I was up to chase after him. That was a losing proposition, as he was young and striding, and I had a cane. Finally lost him, last sight was two blocks ahead on the other side of the street. So I called him up and found that he was still on the dealers floor at America’s Mart. When I met with him I was still amazed at how closely that stranger had resembled him, to skin tone, dreadlocks and head scarf.

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Uh oh. Batman coming for me in front of the Hyatt.

Raph talked about the podcast he was running and I asked him if I could be on it. Sure thing. They were booked up at the moment, but would probably have some openings about the time Kinship War was due at the publishers. Perfect. After eating I wandered back to the hotel, to see my college team collapse in their first game. And so went the second day of DragonCon.

Up next; DragonCon: Sunday, 3rd September.

Coming soon: Thirty Days of Giveaways.

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LibertyCon 2017, the 30^th edition, also known as XXX, is in the books. This was my fourth LibertyCon. Larry Southard, friend and fan, talked me into going to my first one after I had attended my first DragonCon the year before. I went as an attendee, no panels, just there to look around and enjoy. And enjoy I did. The next year I was on a couple of panels on self-pub and marketing, breaking in, so to speak. Last year I asked for some bigger panels, and got one on military scifi, one on space opera, and one on epic fantasy. This year I only got two panels, and the A Fistfull of Credits release party. Since I had gotten attending professional status at DragonCon this year I was satisfied with the two at Liberty. Liberty actually has a very high ratio of authors to attendees, so much so in fact that it is not a good con to try and sell at, at least for me. But I have established enough writing cred though that other authors were happy to speak with me, and this year I had meals with several of them, including Sarah and Dan Hoyt, Kal Spriggs, Jason Cordova and Jonathan Baird.

I started off for Chattanooga on Thursday, travelling up US 27 to Columbus, then over to Atlanta on I285/85, and from there up to Chattanooga on I75/20. One thing I remembered from taking 27 up to the last DragonCon was that there was a one hour stretch with no gas stations, restaurants, cell coverage or, most important of all, bathrooms. It still almost got me, since I was drinking caffeine to stay awake on the road. Then the rains hit on 85, and traffic was bumper to bumper on I75 north of Atlanta for more than an hour. Followed one idiot on I-85 for a half hour who didn’t have his lights on, in a southern rainstorm. Got there three hours later than planned and had dinner with Jason Cordova, his girlfriend, and Larry. The next morning I had breakfast with Sue Phillips in the new restaurant at the Choo Choo, and we talked DragonCon. One disappointment was that the restaurant I had always eaten breakfast at was closed. The Choo Choo, while still planning to remain open in the future, will no longer be a hotel. The second year I attended they had sold one of the three buildings, then another one this year, leaving only one building. I stayed at the Stadium Inn, about a mile away, which was not as convenient as staying at the Choo Choo, though much cheaper. This will be the last LibertyCon at the Choo Choo. Though the convention center might remain open, there will be no accommodations, so it’s time to move on. We were assured that there would be a LibertyCon next year, but they weren’t sure which hotel in Chattanooga it would be, or if it even would be in that city.

The opening ceremonies were as usual, with Toni Weisskopf announcing all the guests. With a hundred and fifty of them she had to work fast, and not spend much time on anyone but the guests of honor. And all the NASA scientists who normally attended were missing, a real disappointment since I didn’t get to see my buddy, Les Johnson. I heard they were all attending a conference in Italy. Then it was on to panels. It rained most of the weekend, and I think they still had a range day for shooting, but I didn’t participate this year. The next day was more panels. Unlike some other Cons, such as one I won’t name in Northwest Florida, there are between five and seven panels every hour throughout the day. Always something to do, and probably the most author friendly of any of them.

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That evening I had one panel, the ‘No Shit, There I Was Just Minding My Own Business’ event, with Tom Kratman, Bart Kemper, John F Holmes, Kal Spriggs and John Ringo. All veterans, all Army. and Ringo was late, so we all got a chance to tell some stories about our time in the military. Then Ringo appeared and the panel was his. He did tell some excellent stories, including one about a dumb as hell lieutenant who led his unit across the impact zone of the firing ranges because he didn’t follow directions and instead used a map. I also learned the term Spec Four Mafia, which I had never heard before, though I found out I had been a member. If you’ve never heard Ringo speaking you’re missing out. The man can tell a story with passion and intelligence, and it’s as entertaining as his books. Then it was on to the release party for A Fistful of Credits, which did very well its first day, rising up to number four in anthologies on Amazon. The room was really too small for the party, but it went off without a hitch, though Ringo’s last story resulted in my being late for the get together.

The next day was the author/attendee get together, not a big deal for me, since most people came to see the big name authors like David Weber, John Ringo and David Drake. I moderated a well attended panel right after that on Space Opera, with Julie Cochrane, Van Allen Plexico, Sarah and Dan Hoyt, and Mark Wandrey. Great panel. Some arguments about the merits of Babylon Five and Battlestar Galactica, and I threw out how I though Poul Anderson wrote the best space opera of all time. And then it was over, and I was headed home, this time by the route that didn’t take me across the wasteland of US 27.

All in all it was a great con. I got to see a lot of old friends, people I have met over the years. Some I will see at Dragon, like Chuck Gannon, Mark Wandrey, Van Allen Plexico and others. Some I probably won’t see again until next year, wherever Liberty finds a home. Others were missing this year, and I hope we’ll cross paths again in the future. I’m hoping it will have a space to grow, as the seven hundred and fifty limit is just too small. I know they don’t want to become another DragonCon, but attendance over a thousand should be desired. And after getting home I was invited to participate in another anthology by one of the authors who was also an enlisted veteran. Always willing to do those.

Next up: the release of Machine War: Book 4: Retribution.

A Fistful of Credits: Stories from the Four Horsemen Universe (The Revelations Cycle Book 5) is now available. No, this is not one of my books, though in one way it is, since I have a story in it, along with thirteen other authors. The anthology was the brainchild of author and publisher Chris Kennedy. Chris and Mark Wandrey have developed a very interesting universe in which humans have one commodity they can sell on the galactic marketplace, their fighting skills. The Four Horsemen Universe is about mercenaries, not all of them human, taking on the contracts of other actors to defend or take resources. I’ve read the first two novels of the series, one by Chris, the other by Mark. Both were excellent. And then I was asked to contribute to it, and I jumped at the chance. Especially when I found out who some of the other authors were.

I’ve known Chris and Mark since my first LibertyCon, four years ago. Chris was doing well with a couple of books, while Mark was writing some good stuff that just wasn’t getting a lot of traction. He had later success with some urban fantasy, I think it was. Then they developed this series and it took off. I’ve known Kevin Ikenberry for five years, since my first year at Superstars Writing Seminar. I also met Jason Cordova at my first LibertyCon, and have known Brad Torgerson online for almost as long, since he was also one of the people associated with Superstars. And Chris Nuttall? Never met the man, but he’s simply one of the most successful indie science fiction authors out there, incredibly prolific, and with sales numbers to die for. I didn’t know much about the other authors; Terry Mixon, Jon R. Osborne, Jon Del Arroz, Kacey Ezall, Christopher Woods, PP Corcoran and Charity Ayres. But if Chris asked them to contribute, I know they must have something going for them, and they are names I will be paying attention to in the future. I know some of the people who will be in the second volume, and again they are good, very good. And Chuck Gannon, three time Nebula nominee, did the foreword, so even that lead in was first rate.

I have to commend Chris Kennedy for coming up with this idea. The guy is a promotional genius, bringing everyone together for a little bit of cross fertilization of fan bases. He also got everyone involved in the promotion, multiplying the impact. I still remember when Mark communicated with me about contributing, and the words ‘we want your fan base’ still stick with me. Fair enough. I want theirs, and Nuttall’s, and all of the rest. It was a great idea. Maybe someday I’ll get into another one by this pair. We had a release party at LibertyCon this weekend, and I got to meet and talk to some of the authors I wasn’t familiar with. All were great people. And during the party we learned that the book was already at number 4 on Amazon for all anthologies. Quite an accomplishment.

About the book. There are fourteen short stories by fourteen authors, all of whom have experienced commercial or critical success. My story was just under 10,000 words, and I suspect most came in at a similar mark. And there are excerpts from two other novels at the end. That’s the length of a very long novel, and at $3.99 it’s a bargain. Or you can get it on Amazon Kindle Unlimited. Even the paperback is reasonably priced at $15.99 (and believe me, I sell my paperbacks at $17-20 and don’t make very much in the way of profit). I highly recommend this book to all of my fans. If you like my work, I have an original ten thousand word story in it. And so far it’s got a 4.9 star average with twenty-seven reviews. I am a big fan of the Four Horseman Universe. I will be reading them as they come out, and have already given the first two books five stars. Of course I won’t be doing a review on the anthology since I’m in it, but I’m sure all of us would appreciate it if you did. Thanks.

So click the link and get this book. A Fistful of Credits: Stories from the Four Horsemen Universe (The Revelations Cycle Book 5).

I also went to the Workshop on the Coast in Lincoln City, Oregon, run by Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryne Rusch. The workshop was interesting but intense. I only sold one of the six stories I brought, and some of the feedback was baffling. The one story eventually came out in Visions of the Apocalypse in Fiction River. The story was titled Three Degrees Above Zero, and was the only hard science fiction story in the mag. That was my second experience in working with an editor, and he made very little in the way of changes. Another story, Midnight Sun, was praised at the workshop as being the most original fantasy story the editors had seen in a decade, and still had not sold, due to some confusion at the beginning. I was told it would surely sell somewhere, it was that good, but I came out of that workshop with no desire to try the short market in the future. I would do some other anthologies, but only at invitation.

Liberty Con that year included panels, which were mostly about marketing and self-publishing. I got my feet wet there, and better panels in the future. It started me on the path of getting panels at other venues. Panels are the goal for most authors. They get you exposed to people interested in science fiction and fantasy, and everyone wants to connect with readers. I was connecting with some at cons even when I didn’t have panels, but this would make it easier.

Another Dragon Con, this time staying at the Marriott Marque, one of the main hotels. Another great time, and this time I knew a bunch of the authors, and got to meet many more. I was actually at one panel, Starship Smackdown (since renamed) and was asked by my friend Van Allen Plexico to come up and sit on the panel. I was introduced as Amazon Best Seller Doug Dandridge, which was also really cool. My first panel at a major con. I was up to 148,000 sales, and everyone I talked to was impressed. It always amazed me that the traditionally published authors thought my record was a big deal. It didn’t seem all that special to me, but as I later learned, that would be a great track record even for most traditionally published.

That December I took the Sail to Success cruise, recommended by Kevin. Eric Flint, Nancy Kress and Mike Resnick were the big names on that cruise, and I also had my first meeting with Arc Manor publisher Shahid Mahmud. I was invited to submit a story to Galaxy’s Edge, along with all the rest of the class, but Shahid invited me to submit to another anthology his company was publishing. I didn’t make it into either publication, not unusual even when invited. I was asked to do a one-man presentation on self-publishing, since no one there knew much about it. I had lunch with Mike Resnick, which turned into a one hour conversation where I learned a lot about the history of the field. I had coffee with Nancy Kress. Her late husband, Charles Sheffield, had read some of my early work, and had been instrumental in helping me to move forward despite rejections. I was happy to tell her how much the man meant to me. Both Mike and Nancy had the same question for me. Why did I want to become traditionally published, since I seemed to be doing so well on my own, and actually might make less money with a traditional imprint? The answer, of course, was exposure. The money is great, but all authors want as many people reading their books as possible.

In 2015 I joined the Science Fiction Writers’ Association. Now, a lot of people I know don’t like them, even some big name traditional authors. But it had been a dream of mine to join them, and they opened membership to self-published authors. You only had to prove that one of your books had earned as much as a standard advance, $6,000. Hell, I had twelve books at the time that had done better than that, many of them much better. So joining was a snap. Prior to joining, after talking with Jaym Gates, who was then working with SFWA, at a Dragon Con, I was able to sell two blog posts on self-publishing and marketing to the association at professional rates. So anyway, I joined, just to be part of the organization that so many of my heroes had belonged to. The first one to welcome me was Jerry Pournell, another legend and hero. Haven’t done too much with the organization so far, but one of their members helped me to get my first panel on the Lit Track at Dragon con.

2016 I did panels at Liberty, three big ones, moderating one with seven other authors including Chuck Gannon. This year I have one scheduled with John Ringo. Liberty is a small con, and I really don’t expect to get many fans there, but it’s still very cool, with lots and lots of authors. And then on to Dragon. The Lit Track director had promised me panels after a member of SFWA had told her about me. Got there, and they had nothing for me, and I couldn’t find the director. Finally found her, and she gave me one panel, with six female writers late in the evening when attendance would be low. Still, it was a panel, and I was asked to submit to a Dragon Con anthology. Got sidetracked and that never came to be. Van got me on the Starship Showdown (as it was now called) panel, which is always a great time. I would be willing to do those for every Dragon Con. Total sales by this time, about 194,000.

Back in February of 2016 Shahid had asked if I wanted to attend another Sail To Success, for a sixty percent discount. All I had to do was give two talks, self-publishing and marketing. I jumped at the chance. Interesting surroundings, interesting people, the Bahamas, hell yes. So I headed down to Miami in December to once again board the Norwegian Sky. Same faculty members, mostly the same presentations, but I was there to network. Really important to this business is getting to know other people in it. Opportunities come along at such events, just like they had at conventions. I talked with the agent, who expressed interest. I talked to the editor, who expressed interest. I talked with Eric Flint, who’s just an interesting guy. And I talked with Shahid on the last day, who had a business proposition. I would write some books for a space opera series, in a universe I developed, and he would get other authors to write later books in a shared universe. But the Universe would be mine. We finalized the deal later, and I flew out to Tucson to talk about the project and deliver the signed contracts. Dave Farland looked over my contract as a courtesy (remember the thing about making friends in the business). He thought I should get paid more, but I think the rewards down the line will be worth it.

So here I am, where the rubber meets the road. We have gone over the outlines, made changes, settled on the third outline, picked a series name, and now I’ve been asked to start writing. This is such an unusual deal, and I was very lucky to get it. Most books are published after the authors sends the manuscript in to an agent, who presents it to publishers, who then buy the idea if they like it. The author has already written the book, with no idea of whether or not it will sell. Prior to self-publishing, that manuscript might just go into a drawer somewhere and never again see the light of day. I ended up getting a contract and advance before the idea had even coalesced. And the publisher is really committed to this idea. We were talking promotion, a website, getting tables at a half dozen cons, all on him. And then he hired an editor. And not just any editor, but a famous one who had a part in the making of many authors. Remember the Bill Fawcett I talked about earlier in the first part of this blog. Yeah, that guy. I couldn’t believe it. But now I have to produce. Everything has brought me to this point, and I can’t let these people down. Talk about pressure.

Liberty Con is next week, and I’m finally on a panel with one of those New York Times Bestselling Authors. And we will be having a release party for an anthology, A Fist Full of Credits, by Chris Kennedy’s company, with stories by Chris Nuttall, Nick Cole, Jason Cordova, Mark Wandrey, Mr. Kennedy and others. I was happy to accept the invitation to this one, since it features so many great indie scifi authors, and I think the project can’t help but promote all of us to each others’ fan bases. Will write about that when I get back.

Since I first wrote this entry I have done four chapters of the first book of Kinship War. It helps to use the outline, and I am doing the research as I go. And man, the research I’m having to do. In Exodus the action was set ten thousand light years from Earth, allowing me to put whatever I wanted wherever I wanted. Now I have to track the real stars, and we have a lot of information on them. I have to look at a dozen systems before I found one that would work for the colony that was at the center of the story. Another four systems until I found the one I could use for my first contact. A completely different process. I was having a lot of trouble finding a program that would let me visualize the stars out to one hundred light years, until my friend and fan Roberto Ravoni from Italy reminded me of a program called Astrosynthesis. So the work is going on, and I am still working on some books for self publication. Just put out a collection of all the science fiction short stories I wrote while trying to get published. I am currently working on the next book of the Exodus: Machine War series, book 5 of Refuge, and a collection of short fantasy stories. The job never ends, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Well over two hundred thousand sales and counting. Maybe some day I’ll hit a million.

Asbaran Solutions can be found on Amazon here. First, a confession. I have known Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey for several years, having met them at Liberty Con in Chattanooga. But I have met a lot of authors at conventions, and sometimes I review their books. Also, I don’t do bad reviews. I’m not in this to make enemies, and a bad review can come back to bite you in the ass. That said, I also don’t do reviews that I wouldn’t stand behind. I have been asked to contribute to an anthology set in this Universe. With all the items on my plate at the moment, including a new book contract, I would only agree to write a story for a Universe that I enjoy reading myself. This series is a winner, and I was happy to accept. Now on to the review.

The Revelations Cycle is set in a Galaxy populated by thousands of technologically advanced sapient species. After a history of disastrous wars, combat has been ritualized to lessen its destruction of valuable property and reduce collateral damage. And not all species are natural warriors. Some are unable to defend themselves, while others are bloodthirsty barbarians who revel in combat. Bring in humans, not the most bloodthirsty, but with the aid of combat armor, one of the most proficient. Humanity needs cash to be able to enter the Galactic Market, and they really don’t have anything to offer, except their lives. So mercenary companies earn the cash that Earth needs. There are a large number of companies, but the most famous of all are the Four Horsemen, the only survivors of a disastrous mission in the past that wiped out all of the other companies involved.

Mercenaries are used to secure valuable targets, or to take them away from competitors. Some weapons and tactics are forbidden, including the use of biological weapons and bombardment from space. Some of the alien species don’t always play by the rules, which leads to complications, including those in this story. Nigel Shirazi is the oldest son of the current leader of Asbaran Solutions, one of the Four Horsemen. His displays of temper have gotten him thrown out of several colleges, and out of his inherited position. When a contract target is taken from Asbaran by a force of aliens, using forbidden weapons, the males of the family attempt several assaults to get it back, losing their units and their lives in the process. When Nigel’s sister is captured, it is up to him to rally the bankrupt company and accomplish the mission, bringing in a grand payday that will save the company, and rescue his sister as well. Don’t want to spoil the story, so that’s all I’ll say. Just know that it is a tight, action packed tale that is sure to please fans of military science fiction. There is a lot of violence, and Kennedy reminded me a little of George R R Martin in the way he killed off characters. But war is a bloody business, and Kennedy captures the camaraderie of living on the edge of the combat soldier. Highly recommended.

Doug BrotherofCats Dandridge

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer's Site

Mark Wandrey

All posts tagged Mark Wandrey

When Eagles Dare (Four Horsemen Tales Book 5) is Out.

Tales From the Lyon’s Den: Stories from the Four Horsemen Universe is out.

Exodus 14 is out, and other news.

When Eagles Dare is Coming. And the Success Story of Chris Kennedy Publishing.

Day 2: Saturday, September 2nd.

LibertyCon XXX: The End of the Choo Choo.

A Fistful of Credits: Stories from the Four Horsemen Universe (The Revelations Cycle Book 5) is now available.

The Kinship War: My Big Chance, or Where the Rubber Meets to Road: Part 2.

Review of Asbaran Solutions: Book Two of The Revelations Cycle.

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