Header image

Frontlines #7 is done

Posted on by Marko Kloos

I was planning to go to Detroit for ConFusion this past weekend, but the draft for the seventh Frontlines book, ORDERS OF BATTLE, wasn’t quite done yet. Work comes before fun because fun don’t pay the bills, so I sucked it up and cancelled the trip altogether just before the weekend.

It turned out to be a good decision in more than one way because I came down with a stomach bug over the weekend, and a winter storm moved in that would have made the 1,200-mile round trip a bit of an ordeal, so I am glad it panned out the way it did even if I was moping a bit on Friday that I wouldn’t get to hang out with friends.

But all’s well–I turned in the book on Monday morning, and my editor has assured me that it will make a 2020 release. I’m guessing it will be out in November or December. (The book needs to be proofread, put into print, get read for an Audible version, have a cover designed, and so on. The schedules of dozens of people have to be in sync, so you can’t just slap a draft onto your editor’s desk and expect to see the book out a month later.)

Now I get to start planning the two novels I’ll be writing this year while I wait for the first round of edits to come back. I do have some Frontlines novellas in the works to fill in the gap between now and the release of ORDERS OF BATTLE, so I should have something for you soon to tide you over.

 

 

Category: books., frontlines., writing.

13 thoughts on “Frontlines #7 is done”

  1. Just finished book seven. The ending has to be the start of another book or two? Please confirm as a negative responce will piss me off. The story isn’t over! I’ve loved the series. I was a sgt in the air force and maintained and repaired F 105Gs in theater, during the latter years of Viet Nam. Tom

    1. Yes, it’s the first book of a new three-book story arc. I just split it into three books so people wouldn’t have to wait another three years for the next Frontlines novel.

  3. So happy to see I’ll be able to immerse in your storyline again. …. always pulls me in like a movie in my head. I still recall imagery of first encounters with Lankeys , barely sleep until last page is read. Can I find the new release on Kindle at Amazon?

  4. So glad to hear that book seven is finished. I do a lot of listening on audible, and love the books. I’m actually on at least my third go through of them currently. Will be very glad when 7 is finished and will most certainly be buying the audible version when it is released.

  5. First off, let me say that I’m a massive fan of your work, Mr. Kloos. To the point where I found myself cringing at the flaws Netflix made with their adaptation of “Lucky 13”

    Now, I’ve noticed a large number of typos and “bloopers” in the frontline books. For example, in “Terms of Enlistment”, you accidentally refer to Sgt. Burke as the yet-unintroduced Sgt. Fallon, as shown here:

    “Sergeant Burke shouts at one of the recruits as he tries to keep up with Sergeant Riley on quivering arms. “Do yourself a favor and just drop on that gut of yours.”
    The recruit struggles through one more push-up on shaking arms, and lowers himself onto the ground with a groan. Sergeant Fallon just snorts with disgust and moves on.

    Then, in “Chains of Command”, Dmitry is suddenly on the Leonidas mission and in the Portsmouth ops centre, as written here:

    “After the most tedious Alcubierre trip I’ve ever had to suffer through, Task Force Rogue transitions into the Leonidas system like a pair of thieves slipping into a dark alleyway. We pop back into normal space at slow speed and under full EMCON. I’m in Portsmouth’s ops center, along with Dmitry and most of the other officers”

    This isn’t particularly aggriegous, just annoying. In my (fanfiction writer’s) proffessional opinion, you need a new editor ;).

    1. Sometimes I tweak the plot as I work through the draft because some narrative lines end up going nowhere or feel out of place. In the original draft of CHAINS, Dmitry and another SRA officer were present for the entire mission, but I didn’t have anything for him to do other than say witty one-liners, so I excised him from the book to keep him fresh for FIELDS OF FIRE. ANd as you can see, sometimes not even a dozen pairs of eyeballs catch all the remnants.

      As for TERMS, sometimes you just use the wrong name, and nobody catches it. All I can do is pass it on to the editing department and fix it in later issues.

  6. Given that I’ve just started work on “Aftershocks”, this probably means that I am about to translate three of your novels this year. Nice prospect!

      1. Not sure how I found series but so glad I did. Just finished book 6 audio. Amazed at attn to details in both military and aviation. After over 40 years in aviation (not pilot) with much of it in or associated with military, I love these books.
        Thank you

        PS. Please go kick publisher in butt to hurry up process.

  9. I take an iPad into the clean room with me to help pass the time when I’m working in there, I also tend to be alone. It was quite a sight to see me jumping up and down in my ‘bunny suit’ when I read the Frontlines update. I’m sure anyone looking through the observation window thought I was nuts.

Comments are closed.