by Scott Moon
Books 4-8 - TBD
Free Trader Series
Book 1 – The Free Trader of Warren Deep
Book 2 – The Free Trader of Planet Vii
Book 3 – Adventures on RV Traveler
Book 4 – Battle for the Amazon
Book 5 – Free the North!
Book 6 – Free Trader on the High Seas
Book 7 – Southern Discontent (2017)
Book 8 – The Great ‘Cat Rebellion (2017)
Book 9 – Return to the Traveler (2017)
Outpost of the Ancients – a Free Trader short story published in the Apocalyptic Space Collection, Volume 1
Cygnus Space Opera – set in the Free Trader Universe
Book 1 – Cygnus Rising
Book 2 – Cygnus Expanding
Book 3 – Cygnus Arrives
Cygnus Omnibus – Books 1 to 3 under one cover and also as an audiobook
Darklanding with Scott Moon
See above
End Times Alaska Series, a Winlock Press publication
Book 1: Endure (also available on audiobook)
Book 2: Run (also available on audiobook)
Book 3: Return (also available on audiobook)
Book 4: Fury (also available on audiobook)
Rick Banik Thrillers
People Raged and the Sky Was on Fire (also available on audiobook)
The Heart Raged (2017)
Paranoid in Paradise – a short story within the Close to Bones Anthology
Short Stories (and where you can find them)
Just One More Fight (published as a novella standalone)
Wisdom’s Journey (published as a novella standalone)
Fear Peace (published as a short story standalone)
The Trenches of Centauri Prime (in Galactic Frontiers, edited by Charles Ekeke)
The Outcast (Through the Never Anthology, nominated for consideration for a Nebula Award)
Defense of the Deep Space Denali (in The Expanding Universe Vol 2)
A Language Barrier (in The Expanding Universe Vol 3)
The Misadventures of Jacob Wild McKilljoy (with Michael-Scott Earle) (Always FREE)
Box Sets & Anthologies
Trader, Cygnus, & People Raged – Martelle Starter Library
Close to the Bones, a Thriller Anthology (edited by Martha Carr)
The Expanding Universe, Volume 1 (edited by Craig Martelle)
The Expanding Universe, Volume 2 (edited by Craig Martelle)
The Expanding Universe, Volume 3 (edited by Craig Martelle) (Dec 2017)
Earth Prime Anthology, Volume 1 (Stephen Lee & James M. Ward)
Apocalyptic Space Short Story Collection (Stephen Lee & James M. Ward)
Lunar Resorts Anthology, Volume 2 (Stephen Lee & James M. Ward)
Metamorphosis Alpha – Chronicles from the Warden Vol 1 (with James M. Ward, edited by Craig Martelle)
Metamorphosis Alpha – Chronicles from the Warden Vol 2 (with James M. Ward, edited by Craig Martelle) (Dec 2017)
Author Notes: Scott Moon
So this episode of Darklanding was a murder mystery.
Who might write such a tale? I’m certainly not a writer of murder mysteries. All my experience is in science fiction and fantasy, with a few forays into adventure thrillers. However, I've been on a murder scene or two.
Over twenty years in law enforcement would seem like pretty solid credentials for writing in this genre. Keeping in mind that it had to remain true to the initial premise of the story, which is a space opera western series. My non-writing career has been more than eventful. I've been part of specialty units and spent time as a detective. I served in a task force that caught a serial killer who’d been dormant for thirty years. I’ve been the first to arrive on murder scenes and I've been among the officers and detectives doing follow-up until we located suspects.
None of that made it any easier to write a murder mystery in a space opera western.
The fantastic thing about the Darklanding series is that it is episodic and not serial. There are characters and themes that link all the stories, but each is intended to be a standalone event. So, I thought I could do a slight genre mashup for one episode and get away with it. I hope you like it. Please let Craig and me know either way. As always, we value your thoughts more than anything. You are the reason we are writing Darklanding.
I have read murder mysteries and thrillers. Like Craig, I read a lot. I've even spoke with other writers and been on various blogs discussing how to write ministries, thrillers, and other genre bending mashups.
Here's how I approached Darklanding 5: An Unglok Murder.
1) I decided the story would have a murder that would need to be investigated.
2) I imagined the scene and populated it with characters and other small details.
3) I broke my rather naked outline into four parts as I do with most every story. If you follow writing blogs or are a student of the craft, you've probably heard about the three act structure. When I say four parts, it is merely because the middle part is longer and divided in half to keep it from getting dry. In the exact center of the middle half, at least during the planning phase, is some kind of turning point that hopefully grabs the reader's attention.
4) I resolved to thoroughly plan this murder mystery, knowing that plotting and pacing maters a lot in this genre. I then quickly started writing without finishing the outline because that's what I do. Oops.
5) I started to add elements that intrigued me, like each of our main characters getting roughed up by unknown assailants. I started imagining why the murder victim might be killed and how to make the answer more interesting and suspenseful. (Most murders are extremely straightforward. That is why many police departments have a higher clearance rate for murderers and they do for auto larcenies.)
6) I started hanging out with my characters and writing how they dealt with these new twists and turns, keeping notes as I went and keeping my eyes open for what was going on here. Who was committing these murders and why? What were the possible clues?
7) After a while, the characters do what they want to anyway. They are a rowdy bunch.
Thanks again,
Scott
Author Notes: Craig Martelle
Written on 2/22/18
Look at you (if you’re reading this, I’m looking at you) and I’m thanking you for still reading!
If you’ve read any of my stuff, you know that this isn’t about me, but you. I want to make sure that you’ve had a great experience reading the latest episode of the Darklanding serials.
Scott is a lawman and in this episode, you get insight into how people feel when something like this happens, not a mafia hit, but violent men, using their strength and anger as a way to intimidate and control others. Law enforcement stands above the fray, even if it’s not popular, but because it’s right.
We live way the hell out here, but we’re blessed when it comes to electricity. We’re about ten miles outside Fairbanks, Alaska. When the city loses power, we usually still have it. Beyond us to the east and all the way south (about twenty miles) to North Pole, Alaska lost power. We still had it. Two years ago, we had a major ice storm and most people were without power for a week. We were only out for twelve hours.
I think we might be straddling two grids. Thank goodness for that because last week, I did my usual test run of our backup generator and I couldn’t get the big sumbitch started. I need a can of ether, I think to give that starter a little punch. I have the biggest garden tractor I could buy and put a 48” snowthrower on the front of it. That thing lays waste to the snow, and to the 110” v-belts that go from the drive wheel to the augur. I bought a replacement which worked but it wasn’t wide enough, popped off, and wrapped itself around the drive wheel. That took some doing to get off. I ordered a Kevlar stripped belt of the exact size and although it took the strength of Hercules to get on. The snowblower is working like a champ now. Just in time for a big snow dump. I’ll let you know I dominated
the new snowfall.
To keep things in perspective, I have a $200 mower and $5000 in snow removal equipment…
No snow in Darklanding, though, only intrigue, action, and the flavor of the Wild West.
Peace, fellow humans
Craig
***
We’d like to thank the following beta readers who make sure that this story goes to you as error free as humanly possible. They also keep us on track with the stories. What a great group of people we have helping us to tell better stories.
Micky Cocker
Kelly O’Donnell
James Caplan
Diane Velasquez
Dorene Johnson
Scott and I would both like to thank our families for putting up with us as we share the stories in our heads. We type slowly and it takes time to capture the words. Thank you for taking care of us while we’re doing our thing.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE: Crime Scene
CHAPTER TWO: Peaches
CHAPTER THREE: Boss Man
CHAPTER FOUR: Cold Storage
CHAPTER FIVE: Rolled
CHAPTER SIX: Suspicion
CHAPTER SEVEN: Scars and Tattoos
CHAPTER EIGHT: Stitches
CHAPTER NINE: Sweeping the Saloon
CHAPTER TEN: Primary Suspects
CHAPTER ELEVEN: ShadEcon
CHAPTER TWELVE: Evade and Elude
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The First Confession
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: The Real Mother Lode
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: A Woman’s Wrath
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: The Sheriff and his Deputy