In 2016, I amicably ended my twenty-year publishing relationship with Ace, part of Penguin Random House.
In 2017, I began publishing through my own independent press, KL & MM Books.
I am delighted to say that you fans have responded wonderfully. We have sold over 20,000 copies of the five e-novels. In 2018, I intend to keep the novels coming,
We started the year with Kris Longknife’s Replacement that tells the story of Grand Admiral Sandy Santiago as she does her best as a mere mortal to fill the shoes left behind on Alwa Station by Kris Longknife. Sandy has problems galore: birds, cats, and vicious alien raiders. Oh, and she’s got Rita Nuu-Longknife as well!
February had a novelette. Kris Longknife: Among the Kicking Birds was part of Kris Longknife: Unrelenting. However, it went long and these four chapters were cut to one short paragraph. I hope you enjoy the full story.
Rita Longknife: Enemy Unknown was available in March and is the first book of the long-awaited Iteeche War series. Rita has had enough of Ray Longknife gallivanting around the universe. No sooner is little Al born, than ships start disappearing. Is it pirates or something more sinister? Rita gets herself command of a heavy cruiser, some nannies, and heads out to see what there is to see.
April had another short offering, Kris Longknife’s Bad Day. You just knew when Kris asked for a desk job that she’d have days like you have at the office. Well, here’s one that will bring you up to date on the technical developments in the Royal US Navy, as well as silly bureaucratic goings on. In the first draft of Emissary, these were the opening chapters, but I found a better opening and this got cut. Enjoy!
Kris Longknife: Emissary began an entirely new story arc for Kris and was available May 1. Here is the story of what it takes to get Kris out from behind a desk. And for those of you betting in the pool, you’ll get your answer. More I cannot say.
June brought you Abby Nightingale’s view of things around Alwa in Kris Longknife’s Maid Goes on Strike. You knew sooner or later this was going to happen.
July had another book set in Alwa. As Kris Longknife’s Relief, Sandy Santiago, continues to battle aliens of various persuasions and not a few humans.
Rita Longknife: Enemy in Sight was released in September and sought to resolve the unknowns left by Enemy Unknown as humanity slipped backwards into a war it does not want and may not be able to win.
Kris Longknife’s Maid Goes on Strike and Other Short Stories, is a collection of four short stories: Maid Goes on Strike, Ruthie Longknife’s First Christmas, Among the Kicking Birds, and Bad Day. These were available in October all under one ebook cover for a great price.
Kris Longknife: Admiral was available in November. In this adventure, Kris is up to her ears in warships, enemies, and friendlies who may be not as friendly as she’d like, as battlecruisers square off against battlecruisers. A fight where both sides are equal is a bloody fight that often no one wins.
Work is already going on for a January 18 release of Kris Longknife’s Successor. March will have the next book in the Iteeche War, and May will continue Kris’s adventures in the Iteeche Empire with Kris Longknife: Warrior.
Stay in touch to follow developments by following Kris Longknife on Facebook or checking in at my website www.mikeshepherd.org.
I hope to soon have a mailing list you can sign up for.