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The Gordian Protocol

Amazon’s running a sweet sale on Gordian Division hardbacks!

August 4, 2024 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Hey, y’all! 😃 I was bumbling around Amazon, as I do, and discovered that the Big River Site’s running a pretty sweet sale on Gordian Division hardbacks right now. 😮

Seriously, The Janus File is as low as 42% OFF. 😲😲😲

That said, if discounts on hardbacks are your thing, hop on over to Amazon and grab’ em while they’re hot. šŸ˜„ (Especially since we have no idea how long this sale’s going to last.)

The Gordian Protocol Book Cover

GRAB 35% OFF THE GORDIAN PROTOCOL

GRAB 11% OFF THE VALKYRIE PROTOCOL

GRAB 42% OFF THE JANUS FILE

The Weltall File Book Cover

GRAB 40% OFF THE WELTALL FILE

GRAB 22% OFF THE DYSON FILE (PAPERBACK ONLY)

GRAB 21% OFF THE THERMOPYLAE PROTOCOL

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: David Weber, gordian division, Jacob Holo, Science Fiction, The Dyson File, The Gordian Protocol, The Janus File, The Thermopylae Protocol, The Valkyrie Protocol, The Weltall File

Adventures in Co-Authoring with a Sci-Fi Legend: Origins – Act III: Collaborations

February 6, 2022 by holojacob Leave a Comment

The Gordian Protocol Book Cover
The Gordian Protocol, my first collaboration with David.

Catch up on Act II here!

Act III: Collaborations

Naturally, being an author (a nobody indie author, but an author nonetheless), the concept of writing a novel with David Weber had crossed my mind. David is, after all, not only a prolific author, but a prolific collaborator as well.

I had given David some of my books at that first lunch, more out of courtesy than anything else, fully expecting them not to ever be read.

But he did read them.

Between those reads and our general discussions about writing, sci-fi, and science in general, David must have been impressed by something—because one day he asked me if I’d like to write a short story in an upcoming anthology set in one of his universes.

Ultimately, that anthology never came to fruition, but I still wrote the story, and in the process worked closely with David on both the details of the setting and how to improve my own writing. It was a very short piece, but David is an author who gets into granular detail both in the content and the execution, and the lessons about craft that I learned from this short piece and short interaction alone were priceless.

But, in retrospect, the experience also showed David what I was like to work with on a writing project, which ended up being more relevant than I ever expected.

As mentioned before, the first thing you learn about David when you meet him is that he’s intensely personable—he loves to talk and interact with people, whether they’re fans or not, and he likes to pay his tremendous success forward when he can. One way he does this is to find promising new authors to take under his wing—to teach them the intricacies of the writing craft that one can only get from someone who’s been writing for over thirty years. Part of the reason for this is practical—it brings new blood into sci-fi publishing and gives those authors a valuable chance to refine their skills—but most of the reason is that David enjoys doing it. Moreover, he enjoys playing to his co-authors’ strengths, too; he chooses co-authors who bring something to the project that he can’t (or at the very least, is less qualified than the co-author to do).

I occasionally see it said that David’s just slapping his name on new authors’ work to help it sell, and while that’s definitely true for some authors, it couldn’t be further from the truth for David. For new authors, writing with David is akin to an apprenticeship, and David’s fingerprints are all over those books whether it’s obvious or not.

All this to say, when David worked with me on that one short story, whether either of us were conscious of it at the time or not, certain mental seeds had been planted.

These seeds would not come to fruition until 2016. Around that time, I’d submitted a manuscript to Baen Books (the same one I’d been working on back when H.P. was recovering from cancer). It had been well-received, but was rejected with a list of fixes that would make it more appealing upon re-submission.

One night, all four of us went out for H.P.’s birthday, and I asked David if he’d mind reading my manuscript and providing more detailed feedback than what I’d received from the publisher.

David considered the idea … but then his eyes gleamed with what I could only think of at the time as gleeful mischief.

That’s when he hit me with it: ā€œWhy don’t we write a book together?ā€

I skipped dessert that night, in part because I was so excited I thought I might throw up.

David also had a specific story in mind for our collaboration. You see, fairly early in his writing career, David had submitted ten series proposals to Baen Books. Among these was Honor Harrington—the one Jim Baen selected—but down the list was an alternate history time travel story with a heavy amount of moral complexity. As time went on, other books and series took precedent, but that concept still lurked in the back of his mind, waiting for just the right circumstances.

Never mind that I once promised myself I’d never—ever—write a time travel novel. Good time travel is hard to write, and there’s endless potential for messiness and inadvertent plot holes.

But when David Weber asked me to design multiple 30th century societies along with their time travel tech, I decided to … reevaluate my earlier ā€œpromiseā€ to myself.

The concept that eventually became The Gordian Protocol appealed to David as a collaboration because he’d wanted the novel to be not only alternate history, but for the worldbuilding to have a distinct feel from his other series. David could—and did—handle the historical elements effortlessly. The engineering challenges of the setting, he left almost entirely in my court.

And speaking of history, the rest is history. The Gordian Protocol came out in 2019, and its sequel, The Valkyrie Protocol, followed in 2020. And we have an exciting future planned for the series, including another four books under contract (three collaborations and one solo novel from yours truly).

The Janus File (coming later this year from Baen Books) takes the Gordian multiverse in a less … universe-exploding direction. (David decided that I’d blown up too many universes over the first two books and recommended we tone it down a bit.) Instead, we start off with a good, old fashioned murder mystery.

It was supposed to be a routine trip for the Gordian Division. Fly out to Saturn, inspect the construction of their latest time machines, then fly back.

But when the division’s top scientist and chief engineer are killed in the same freak accident, suspicions of foul play run deep. Detective Isaac Cho is sent in to investigate, but he has more on his mind than just a new case. His superiors have saddled him with an exchange officer from the neighboring Admin—Special Agent Susan Cantrell—whose notion of proper ā€œlaw enforcementā€ involves blowing up criminals first and skipping questions entirely.

Despite his objections, he’s stuck with an untested partner on a case that increasingly reeks of murder and conspiracy. The unlikely pair must work together to unravel this mystery, and soon they discover their unique combination of skills might just provide the edge they need.

But nothing is ever simple where the Gordian Division is involved.

Not even time itself.

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The exact release date is still TBA, but until then, you can enjoy the cover art, which has already been produced by the amazing Kurt Miller.

The Janus File Cover Art by Kurt Miller
The Janus File cover art by Kurt Miller.

All this to say, I never expected a chance encounter at a small convention book signing to have such wild and exciting results—and I’m looking forward to what the future holds.

I’m also enormously grateful to David himself for taking a chance on a little no-name indie author. And I’d also be remiss if I didn’t say: I’m truly thankful to my lovely wife, for brightening my life in so many ways.

Even if I still don’t understand the whole cabin fever thing.

Filed Under: Adventures Tagged With: baen books, David Weber, Jacob Holo, Kurt Miller, Science Fiction, The Gordian Protocol, The Janus File, The Valkyrie Protocol, time travel

The Valkyrie Protocol is now available in audio!

June 6, 2021 by hpholo Leave a Comment

It’s turning out to be a good summer for audiobooks – especially for our Gordian Division fans. šŸ˜€

This one came as a surprise to even us! 😮 But after a long wait, the audiobook version ofĀ The Valkyrie ProtocolĀ (Gordian Division #2)Ā (once again published by Baen Books and narrated by the excellentĀ Gabriel Vaughan) is finally out and ready to entertain your eager ears.Ā šŸ˜„

We’re excited to finally tell you about it, and hope you find it worth the wait! 😊

You can currently find it on:

AUDIBLE
AMAZON AUDIO

Also, if you haven’t yet started yourĀ adventures through time and alternate history,Ā The Gordian ProtocolĀ (Gordian Division #1)Ā is out and ready for the listening on:

AUDIBLE
AMAZON AUDIO

Enjoy! šŸ˜„

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Alternate History, Alternative History, Amazon Audio, Audible, audible exclusive, audiobook, audiobooks, baen books, David Weber, Hard Sci Fi, Hard Science Fiction, Jacob Holo, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, The Gordian Protocol, The Valkyrie Protocol, time travel, time travelers

David and Jacob chat the Gordian Division series at ROFCon!

October 11, 2020 by hpholo Leave a Comment

If you were at the first virtual ROFCon this weekend, you were treated to a whole bunch of sci-fi and fantasy authors doing what they do best (well, other than writing that is šŸ˜‰) – including David and Jacob chatting about the Gordian Division series.

If not, it’s archived below for your viewing pleasure! šŸ˜„

And there’s plenty more where that came from! If you need to scratch that con itch, go check out the Ring of Fire Press channel on YouTube for a collection of panel videos from the con! šŸ˜€

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Con Panels, David Weber, eric flint, gordian division, Gordian Division series, Jacob Holo, Panels, ring of fire, ring of fire con, rofcon, The Gordian Protocol, The Valkyrie Protocol

David Weber and Jacob are coming up on Publishers Weekly’s Books on Tap Live!

September 26, 2020 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Publisher's Weekly presents Books on Tap Live: An Author Event Series

Rejoice, Gordian Division fans, for there’s another live stream in your future! šŸ˜€

On Wednesday, October 7th @ 4pm EST, David and Jacob will chat The Valkyrie Protocol on Publishers Weekly‘s author event series Books on Tap Live! If you’re up for a chill evening hanging out with authors through the magic of the Internet, check it out on Facebook, YouTube, or the official Books on Tap Live page.

You can also enter to win a signed copy of The Valkyrie Protocol – and, while you’re at it, submit questions for Publishers Weekly to ask David and Jacob!

If that’s your style, click here or on the image below for more information. We hope to hear from you! 😊

***

UPDATE: Here’s the archived video! šŸ˜€

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Author Interview, baen books, books on tap, books on tap live, David Weber, Gordian Division series, Jacob Holo, Publisher's Weekly, The Gordian Protocol, The Valkyrie Protocol, time machine, time machines, time travel, time travel rules, time travelers

David Weber and Jacob talk The Valkyrie Protocol on the Weberverse!

September 22, 2020 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Here’s even more from The Weberverse! This time, David and Jacob chat The Valkyrie Protocol together, from how the whole adventure started to the details of the writing process.

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Baen, baen books, Collaboration, David Weber, Jacob Holo, military sci fi, multiverse, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, The Gordian Protocol, The Valkyrie Protocol, time machine, time machines, time travel, time travelers

The Valkyrie Protocol has a Release Date!

April 9, 2020 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Valkyrie Facebook Cover Photo
Hey, readers! The sequel to The Gordian Protocol now has a release date, and as you can see above, it’s coming October 6, 2020 from Baen Books! šŸ˜€ Check out this awesome cover:
thevalkyrieprotocolcover
The stakes for our heroes were pretty high in Gordian, and now, in The Valkyrie Protocol, they haven’t gotten any smaller:

UNTANGLE THE PAST TO SAVE THE FUTURE.
Agent Raibert Kaminski and the crew of the Transtemporal VehicleĀ KleioĀ have made a shocking discovery out in the unknown reaches of the multiverse. They’ve stumbled across a temporal implosion that has claimed two whole universes, and neither Raibert nor his crew can figure out what caused this calamity other than it had something to do with reckless time travel.
TheĀ KleioĀ speeds back to their home universe of SysGov with this dire report, but an audacious plan is put into effect before they arrive. Old colleagues of Raibert’s from the Antiquities Rescue Trust, together with a version of Samuel Pepys transplanted from the 17thĀ century into the 30th, have proposed an expedition into the past. Their goal? To branch the timeline by preventing the Plague of Justinian, one of the worst pandemics in human history.
Meanwhile, SysGov’s multiverse neighbor, the xenophobic Admin, is stirring. While their ambassadors put on a friendly show, the Admin isĀ amassing a fleet of advanced, heavily armed time machines with SysGov firmly inĀ the crosshairs.
Time is running out for Raibert and his team. But the crew of theĀ Kleio won’t go down without a fight, no matter where—or when—the threat to their home comes from.

If you haven’t started the Gordian series yet, now’s the perfect time to catch up. šŸ˜€
For a limited time, The Gordian Protocol is available in a discounted pack in Baen Books’ May 2020 Book Bundle, where you can snag 7 books for $18 (Scroll to the bottom of the link to find the May bundle, but go fast, because it expires the first week of May).
It’s also coming April 28th in Mass Market Paperback, and of course, is already available in eBook, Hardback, and Audiobook form.
Finally, while you wait for Valkyrie‘s book birthday, enjoy this clean art of this cover, once again illustrated by the talented Dave Seeley! 😲
valkyrie
Jacob and David had a blast writing this novel together, and we look forward to you reading it, too! 😁

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Alternate History, Alternative History, Baen, baen books, coming soon, David Weber, Fall 2020 Books, Jacob Holo, Parallel Universes, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, The Gordian Protocol, The Valkyrie Protocol, time travel, Upcoming Books

Interview on The Baen Free Radio Hour!

May 18, 2019 by hpholo Leave a Comment

BaenPodcastAlbum
If you’re not familiar with the Baen Free Radio Hour and love sci-fi podcasts, you need to GET ON THAT.
If you’re also a fan of The Gordian Protocol, Friday brought a reason to DOUBLE GET ON THAT:
Here’s part one of a 3-part interview with Jacob, David Weber, and Baen publisher Toni Weisskopf, led by Baen Editor Tony Daniel. (It also includes the latest installment of the audiobook serialization of Larry Correia’s Son of the Black Sword)!
Subsequent parts will be added as they’re posted, but if you’d like to follow them, you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts or listen in-browser on the Baen website.

Listen Here:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

***
Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.
 

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Alternate History, Alternative History, Author Interview, Baen, baen books, Baen Free Radio Hour, David Weber, Interview, Jacob Holo, Larry Correia, Podcasts, Sci-Fi, Sci-fi Podcast, Science Fiction, Son of the Black Sword, The Gordian Protocol, time travel, Toni Weisskopf, Tony Daniel

A Funny Story About Writing The Gordian Protocol

May 10, 2019 by holojacob Leave a Comment

The Gordian Protocol Cover
*Originally posted 3/6/19 on the Weber Forums.
PLEASE NOTE: This post will contain a few vague references to parts of The Gordian Protocol‘s plot and characters. I’ll do my best to keep from spoiling anything, but those who wish to experience the novel without any spoilers of any kind should avoid this post in its entirety.
Though, honestly, if you’re reading this, are you really trying your best to avoid spoilers? šŸ™‚
Now, onto the story.
It’s spring of 2017, I’m deep into writing my scenes for The Gordian Protocol, and I come across a…problem. Not a big problem, mind you, but more of a “Hmm, how best to handle this?” kind of situation. I was quickly approaching a scene where I needed to get a key character onto the protagonists’ time machine. And the character (let’s call him “Jimmy”) had to board the time machine willing. That’s the important part, and I need to be snappy about it, because the story was on a serious crescendo, and I wanted to maintain that forward momentum into the climax.
Problem is, there’s a lot tying Jimmy to his native place in history. A lot.
This is a man for whom duty runs thick through his veins, especially to his…goldfish. (Okay, you know it’s not his goldfish, but I’m rolling with this as part of my anti-spoiler tactics.) He needs a Very-Good-Reason to leave his goldfish behind. He and that goldfish have been through some tough times together! Granted, our protagonists have that Very-Good-Reason, but their story isn’t the easiest one to digest, and Jimmy is no fool, especially when the needs of his goldfish are concerned. There will be questions. There will be discussions. There will be…delays.
Hence, I had a problem.
I took a step back and reviewed David’s notes. This was often my first step when I wasn’t quite sure how to proceed. Between the alternate history notes and deep character background, I had over 40,000 words of material to pull from when writing my scenes, and those notes almost always provided the guidance I needed to support David’s vision for the novel.
So, I looked up David’s notes on Jimmy and… Aha! This particular goldfish wasn’t named here! It only listed that Jimmy…found a second goldfish, long after the untimely passing of his first goldfish. (Have you figured out what the goldfish is?)
Well… 😜
Let me segue for a moment here and talk a bit about the collaboration process. As the junior partner on a project, I view it as my responsibility to support the senior partner’s overall vision for the novel while also contributing my own original ideas. Balancing the two can be tricky at times, so I was always keen to identify which parts of this story I needed to strictly follow David’s lead and which parts were my sandbox to explore.
The lack of a name for Jimmy’s second goldfish was like a bright green flag waving in my mind. We were in sandbox territory here! Yes! I could do whatever I wanted with the goldfish!
I pondered how to approach the problem with this newfound narrative freedom. And then it hit me. Jimmy’s goldfish couldn’t tie him down…if it wasn’t around anymore!
So I blew up the goldfish during one of the novel’s action set pieces. Little smoking pieces of fish strewn everywhere. Thus Jimmy was free to board the time machine without hesitation, and the plot could move forward efficiently. The engineer in me was quite pleased with how I’d dealt with the problem. KISS principle, you know? (Keep It Simple Stupid)
Sometimes it’s easiest just to dynamite the obstacle.
I went on to finish my portion of the novel and hand it over.
A little while later, David reviewed my work, and we had a conversation that went something like this (heavy paraphrasing to follow):
DW: So, you know Jimmy’s goldfish?
JH: The first or the second?
DW: The second. The one you blew up.
JH: Sure, I do. I’m the one who blew it up, after all.
DW: Right, about that. You do realize I had a story planned for that goldfish in the sequel.
JH: …You did? 😬
At this point, my internal dialogue looked something like this: Oh, &%#$! Oh, &%#$! Oh, &%#$!
DW: Yeah, you mind if I rework those scenes?
JH: What? Oh, uhh, no, not at all! Please, be my guest! Edit away! I wasn’t sure how best to approach that part anyway!
A little while later, I received David’s next set of revisions. And boy, was I in for a surprise!
You see, he didn’t take the goldfish death out. In fact, he ended up making the death scene even WORSE! He didn’t just blow it up! He mangled the goldfish’s body, had it flopping around on the floor, gasping for air, and then had it die in Jimmy’s arms!
I remember reading it, thinking to myself, “Wait a second. Isn’t the goldfish supposed to live?” And then a little bit later, “Huh. Guess not.”
And, wow. I absolutely loved the changes he made. He took a scene I wrote out of a desire to move the story forward as cleanly as possible, reworked it here, massaged it there, and then cranked the emotional impact up to eleven! It was a fantastic scene, but it’s also one he wouldn’t have written if I hadn’t killed…the goldfish…when I shouldn’t have. A small misunderstanding ended up blossoming into something neither of us would have written on our own, and it’s moments like this that make collaborating with another author such an awesome experience.
That said, I told David afterwards we should probably establish a “Thou Shalt Not Kill These Characters” list for future projects. šŸ™‚
Speaking of which, I think I’ve procrastinated enough today. Time for me to get back to work on the sequel to The Gordian Protocol. I’ve got a lot of [REDACTED] to blow up this week. šŸ˜„šŸ˜„šŸ˜„

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Alternate History, Alternative History, Collaboration, David Weber, Goldfish, The Gordian Protocol, time travel, Writing, Writing Problems, Writing Techniques

Interview with Keystroke Medium!

May 6, 2019 by hpholo Leave a Comment

keystrokemediumEarlier tonight, David Weber and Jacob joined Josh and Steve over at Keystroke Medium to chat collaboration, publishing, and The Gordian Protocol. Check out the interview below! šŸ˜€

And of course, for more interviews and writing insight, visit Keystroke Medium’s website and YouTube channel!
Also, LESS THAN ONE DAY TO GO, Y’ALL! šŸ˜€šŸ˜€šŸ˜€
The Gordian Protocol Cover Photo

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Alternate History, baen books, Collaboration, David Weber, Indie Publishing, Jacob Holo, Keystroke Medium, May 2019, Publishing, self publishing, The Gordian Protocol, time travel, Traditional Publishing, Writing, Writing Techniques, YouTube

Booklist on The Gordian Protocol!

May 1, 2019 by hpholo Leave a Comment

The Gordian Protocol Cover Photo
The early review train is chugging along! Here’s what Don Vicha at Booklist says about The Gordian Protocol!

In the present, Benjamin Schrƶder, a history professor in South Carolina, has a mental breakdown dealing with the sudden appearance of a second set of memories as real and compelling as what he thought of as his normal life. Then, as he nears recovery, Raibert Kaminski appears at his door. He claims to be a historian from the thirty-first century with a story of how sixteen alternate histories have been bound together in a Knot—which Schrƶder holds the key to unraveling. If Schrƶder can’t help, each of those universes will come to an explosive end. But the cost to Schrƶder is less abstract and incredibly monstrous, and soon the two are facing a ruthless threat that shows no respect for the denizens of the past. The usual Tom Clancy-esque exposition of technical details that readers expect from Weber are leavened by absurd humor and bloody action. Echoes of Robert Heinlein mix with the inventiveness of Charles Stross and lots of exploding temporal spaceships and bodies. Weber and Holo must have had a ball writing this action-packed temporal/multiverse-travel novel.

Can confirm; David and Jacob had an ABSOLUTE ball. 😁

Read the Review on Booklist Here!*

*Review is behind paywall.

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Alternate History, Charles Stross, David Weber, Jacob Holo, May 2019, multiverse, Robert Heinlein, temporal, The Gordian Protocol, time travel, Tom Clancy

The Gordian Protocol in the May 2019 Monthly Baen Bundle!

April 17, 2019 by hpholo Leave a Comment

The Gordian Protocol Cover Photo
Baen Books is a cool publisher in that it has a lot of options for fans who are really impatient for release dates. šŸ˜€
For example, there’s its eARC collection, for readers who don’t mind upcoming releases with a few typos. There are also the Monthly Baen Bundles, wherein you can buy a handful of upcoming Baen eBooks in one chunk for the nice, wallet-friendly price of $18!
The Gordian Protocol‘s eARC has been out for a bit, and now the final form is available in the May 2019 Monthly Baen Bundle, along with titles from other such authors as Larry Correia, Kasey Ezell, P.C. Hodgell, Elizabeth Moon, David Drake, Steve White, Charles E. Gannon, and Thomas T. Thomas!
Both will only be available until the book officially releases on May 7th, so if you want these versions, be sure to click fast!
*Also, thanks to reader David Macfarlane for reminding us that we hadn’t shared this yet! šŸ™‚

Buy the eARC Here!

Buy the May 2019 Monthly Baen Bundle Here!

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Alternate History, baen books, coming soon, David Weber, Jacob Holo, new releases, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, The Gordian Protocol, time travel

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