“They will never let you go…because
there’s no money in it.”
No one walks away from business with
the three biggest corporations in the Union of Humanity. Cutthroat trade deals,
relentless propaganda and bloody covert operations drive that point home as the
star system of Archangel slips further away from corporate dominance. Yet
despite all their power, the Big Three are more vulnerable than anyone knows—leaving
them desperate to make an example of Archangel.
Tanner Malone would gladly avoid such
struggles. He’d rather just run out the clock on his enlistment in the
Archangel Navy. Instead, he’s been ordered back into the front lines of a cold
war that quickly grows hot. He doesn’t know about his government’s shady deals,
or about the old enemies lurking in the shadows. All he knows is that the sky
is falling—and he’ll have to fight like hell if he doesn’t want to be crushed
beneath it.
And yes, the paperback version is in the works!
AND IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS: All author profits from Poor Man's Fight for sales from today (7/22/14) through the end of August 2014 will be donated to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). This is, just to be clear, the author's portion only; Amazon and the other vendors still get their regular cut, and unfortunately I can't really afford to eat the taxes levied on my sales. However, experience has shown that I tend to see a sales bump in all my titles when a new book comes out, and I'd like to do something good with at least some of that money. Please note: this is NOT an endorsement from the IAVA. I have had no contact with them. Their website says that anyone doing a fundraiser for them can use their name, and so I have. But I don't want to go putting on any pretenses of affiliation or anything like that.
Once I've received royalty payments from the vendors for sales covering the time period listed above, I will make the donation and post pictures or other proof of said donation here on my blog (sans personal info--yes, I write under a pen name).
As always, thank you so much for your interest and support! Remember, nothing helps me out like reader reviews--so when you're finished, a few words wherever you picked up this e-book would be much appreciated!
Got my copy! Thanks for supporting IAVA.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mr. Kay. As an Iraq war veteran myself, I find it wonderful that you would consider doing something like this. I've already recommended you to friends and I've been looking forward to Rich Man's War for a long time (I've been a huge fan since the first book), but I see now that I'll have to redouble my efforts to push readers your way! Thanks again, sir!
ReplyDeleteBrandon--thank you, both for the kind words and for your service.
DeleteAs I've told a couple of other readers privately, and will probably restate: I served in the Coast Guard from '94-'98, and while I remember plenty of scary moments, nobody ever once shot at me.
I figure if I'm going to make money off of selling silly, fantastical war stories, I should do something to support people who've faced the real thing. I have no idea how small or large the actual donation will be, but I've had this idea for a while now. I'm glad to finally put it into practice.
Finished already :( Now to wait for the sequel....
ReplyDelete3/4 of the way through... Pretty good! Only one gripe so far.
ReplyDeleteGood job of interleaving the characters from the first book into "Rich Man's War". Also well done were the situations where Tanner was able to show his skills in a team environment.
ReplyDeleteAt first I had difficulty accepting that Master-at-Arms would be included in an assault on a naval warship. My understanding, besides the typical policing roles, they would be used when interdicting another non-warship. After considering the context of the cross-training, I continued reading.
If I got this right he selected the MA rating to help people in a combat role. It seems he would have more of chance in the Marines or as a naval officer. Or maybe either role is too dangerous for him.
The young adult books pretty much start off with a semi-intimate long term romantic relationship and continues through the end of the series. The adult books are a bit more complex, either the relationship develops during the book (s) or the protagonist shuffles forward bereft of a long term romantic relationship. Tanner had a.brief relationship otherwise the contents show him as celibate.
Sure you can point to his broken psyche as his reason for not developing long term relationships, but that shouldn't preclude short term intimate relationships.
While I did a decent amount of research about the Master at Arms rating as it functions in the US Navy, my goal was not to hold strictly to that example. The changes were deliberate.
DeleteExcellent novel! Blessing to you and yours keep up the good art!
ReplyDeleteP.S. You've had some very bittersweet loves and you're still a stand up guy, that is a quality I humbly admire. Just had throw it out there. Stay well.
I have read RMW in 7hrs (including working a 5 1/2hr shift) loved it and already anticipating the sequel.
ReplyDeleteQuick question though, with Tanner being such a infantry bad ass as well as his compatriots, why don't you have a spec ops unit like SEALS(second "s" is for space lol) for him to join. It would seem to be the best place for a man of his talents.
Hi D,
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the book! The sequel is my highest priority, although it's still in the brainstorming stage. I'm toying with the idea of putting out some unrelated short stories as a book between now and then, but only if inspiration strikes. Mostly I'm focused on Archangel & the corporations.
As for a spec ops unit--I'm kind of inclined not to, if only for the sake of being different. It seems like the "special forces" phrase gets used in everything lately. And to be honest, there are precedents for not having a dedicated, labeled special forces unit. The US Marine Corps has for a long time debated whether to go that route or not, citing unit loyalty as one of the concerns. I've done more than a little research into Marine Force Recon (for other projects and general nerdery), and there's a very clear "just another Marine" philosophy that comes up again and again. A friend of mine shared something just this morning along the same vein:
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/article/20140806/NEWS/308060054/MARSOC-units-renamed-Marine-Raiders
So while there are certainly groups within the Union of Humanity that have dedicated special forces units, I'm leaning more toward Archangel sticking with its current philosophy of just hand-picking people for missions as the need arises.
Okay cool, fyi I was reading an encyclopedia of special forces around the world (yeah I am my units infantry nerd) and it considers the USMC the worlds only special forces where you can just sign up.
DeleteOn a side note have you read any of the Star Wars X-wing series? I find some similarities between the two series interesting
To be honest, I have drifted away from Star Wars over the years. The first movie is quite literally my earliest memory, and it has naturally been a significant influence. But the moral quandary for Luke in Jedi seemed completely nonsensical to me even as a second grader, and the setting's take on good and evil has been a huge problem for me ever since. It's a great backdrop, and I love a lot of what Star Wars has to offer, but those core messages just turn me off so much I can't really do much with it anymore. :)
DeleteElliott I finished Rich Man's War and enjoyed it. Except for the lack any story line involving Allison!! Just because you could not get laid in the Coast Guard don't take it out on Tanner!!! Not just some hints but let him get some real action. He's earned it hasn't he???? Excellent Story!! Just shows you have more writing talent in your little finger than I could ever imagine having. Keep telling Tanner's tale. Chris
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DeleteChristopher, if you got my earlier comment, I want to apologize. I feel like it came off much crankier than I intended. I think I read more than I should have into what you said, associated it with other things I've seen from other people, and went a bit far.
DeleteThat said, as an honest answer: Allison will probably be in the next book, but there's always a decent chance that each book in a series will leave out one character or another. It happens. Allison just didn't fit into the narrative here. There are a couple of minor characters I'd also have loved to include, but it didn't happen. To be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to fit Chief Everett in, either.
And again, Allison has someone back at the academy, and never expressed any romantic interest in Tanner to begin with. I wouldn't put much hope on things there. Sometimes the high school crush is just a crush. :)
Could you please increase the spacing between the lines a bit. It's all squished together in the epub. Thanks.
ReplyDelete(I can do it myself, even on my ipad with textastic, editing the css and doing a simple find/replace from line-height: 10 to 13 so I get 130% (140 might be even better and normal), but not everybody is a web developer.)