I live the strange (but not uncommon) life of an author who teaches other authors. I spend probably two-thirds of my time on what I call “business” stuff–working on this website, putting together non-fiction books on how to write, and doing webinars. And I love that life. It fuels me, it engages me, and it fulfills me. But even in the midst of those good things, I never lose sight of why I really do what I do.
It all started because I write stories. At the end of the day, that’s still what it’s all about. What that means is that, every few years, when I get to announce the coming release of a new novel, it’s always a super-big deal for me.
That time has come again! And this time, it feels like an even bigger deal than usual because I am scandalously excited about this book. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve probably already gotten a hint or two about that excitement. So let me just say it out loud for all our sakes:
I am pleased to “officially” announce Storming, my next novel, will release December 4th.
So why is this book so special to me? A lot of reasons:
1. It was a blast to write.
2. For the first time ever, it combines both my genre loves: historical (it’s set in 1920) with a large dash of speculative (dieselpunk to be exact).
3. I think I can safely say it’s the most fun story I’ve ever written. It’s got an adventurous summer blockbuster vibe, complete with lots of humor and lots of heart.
4. It’s set right here on my own stomping ground in western Nebraska (although I had to use my time-traveling wormhole to journey back about a hundred years).
5. It’s got illustrations!
6. It’s about cocky barnstorming biplane pilots and sky pirates. Oh yeah.
Some of you have already been awesome enough to weigh in on both the back cover blurb and the book cover, but today I’m tickled to get to reveal the official versions of both.
What is Storming about?
Sometimes Even Pilots Have to Wing It

Storming (Amazon affiliate link)
In the high-flying, heady world of 1920s aviation, brash pilot Robert “Hitch” Hitchcock’s life does a barrel roll when a young woman in an old-fashioned ball gown falls from the clouds smack in front of his biplane. As fearless as she is peculiar, Jael immediately proves she’s game for just about anything, including wing-walking in his struggling airshow. In return for her help, she demands a ride back home . . . to the sky.
Hitch thinks she’s nuts—until he steers his plane into the midst of a bizarre storm and nearly crashes into a strange airship like none he’s ever run afoul of, an airship with the power to control the weather. Caught between a corrupt sheriff and dangerous new enemies from above, Hitch must take his last chance to gain forgiveness from his estranged family, deliver Jael safely home before she flies off with his freewheeling heart, and save his Nebraska hometown from storm-wielding sky pirates.
Cocky, funny, and full of heart, Storming is a jaunty historical/dieselpunk mash-up that combines rip-roaring adventure and small-town charm with the thrill of futuristic possibilities.
Let’s party ’til the book comes out!
What happens between now and Launch Day on December 4th? Well, quite a few fun things:
1. All this month, I’ll be featuring a special series of posts–on their usual days of Mondays and Fridays–highlighting important writing techniques I learned or was reminded of while writing Storming.
2. Every Thursday for the rest of the month (starting tomorrow!), I’ll be featuring a special giveaway either here or on my author site KMWeiland.com, leading up, of course, to the BIG prize on Launch Day.
3. There will also be other fun stuff, including some behind-the-scenes looks at the book itself, a trailer, and who knows what else? A costume party maybe?
I hope you’ll join me for the fun. Happy flying!
Congrats! It’s a great book!
Thanks, Suzan! I’m so glad you enjoyed the ARC! 😀
This sounds really fun and awesome! And don’t you look adorable in the pilot outfit!
Almost in time for Halloween too, right? 😉
Congratulations! 😀 This is exciting; I can’t wait to read it.
Thank you, thank you. I’m pretty excited myself. 🙂
Congrats on the launch! As a fan of steampunk (and starting to get into its cousin, dieselpunk), I am looking forward to checking this out.
Yep, hard to go wrong with ‘punk. Lots of fun stuff going on in that genre these days.
Awesome! I can’t wait to read it!
And I can’t wait *for* you to read it!
Yay! to all of the above! 🙂
It’s going to be fun! 🙂
Congratulations and good luck!
Thanks, Wayne!
Super Congrats, K.M! I can only imagine how exciting that must be. I think it would feel like Christmas morning, when you’re 9!
can’t wait to read it.
http://www.mrsfranzos.blogspot.com
Yep, just about the age when you like the presents better than the wrapping paper. 😉
Yay! I’ve been looking forward to this for years! Can’t wait to read it 🙂
Thanks for hanging with me! It’s finally here!!! 😀
I had to Google “dieselpunk.” I didn’t know there was a particular genre for stories like the “Rocketeer” and “Sky Captain, World of Tomorrow.” I love that aesthetic, and I love your cover. It’s gorgeous.
I will especially look forward to the behind-the-scenes posts. In the meantime, congrats on your new release!
This one was a hard one to nail down in a genre. It’s not as punky as Rocketeer or Sky Captain. It’s much more grounded in our normal world. But it’s not straight historical either, since it’s got definite ‘punk elements.
Congratulations! I can’t wait to read it. I love the final book cover too.
Thanks! I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
Aww, yay! Storming has a date! And I love the costume btw!
M.
Thanks! 🙂 I always had a childhood yen to be a fighter pilot!
Last year, my sister got me to dress up as a steampunk for a Halloween party. This was something strange to me at the time but now I realise it’s so much bigger. As a result, I am going to have to read this novel. Well done, I will look forward to reading your posts about it.
Awesome! Steampunk costumes are the bestest.
Congratulations!
Marked it on my calendar. I am so in!
Woot! It’s gonna be fun! 😀
Congratulations. This looks great, and sounds like it was a blast to write. I’ve got plans for a steampunk series coming up after my next book, so this is great research for me. I need to read this. So glad I heard about it today. *adds to TBR/wishlist pile*
It’s a good time to be writing steampunk, methinks.
I’m so excited! I too write dieselpunk set in the 1920s (although mine is a milser, more fantasy kind of dieselpunk). Can’t wait to read it 🙂
Ah, how fun! Mine’s definitely not fantasy, so I hope people don’t go into expecting that.
Too exciting, K.M. Congrats and enjoy this special time. Thanks for including us in on the fun.
Thanks, Marcy! Always appreciate your encouragement. 🙂
Oh, I LOVE the final cover! It’s such an amazing book!!! 🙂
Yay! That’s great to hear. Thanks for your input!
Well I thoroughly enjoyed Dreamlander at its launch…I have zero doubt I’ll love this one!
Boo yeah! That’s what we like to hear. 😀 I hope you enjoy Storming as well!
You did well! Since you decided to be a writer instead you can be whatever you want, even a fighter pilot… or a speedster! 😉
Exactly! Why should we limit ourselves, right?
A fantastic cover for humdinger of a book!
I can’t wait to have a copy in my hands.
Oh, and you rock that flight gear too! 😀
Thanks, Steve! Appreciate your proofreading help for it!
Now that sounds like a great read.
CONGRATULATIONS! 😀 I wish you GREAT success.
Thanks, Donna! 🙂
Totally! We only need to believe. May I ask who´s in your cast for this book? I´m really curious about it, particularly Hitch and Jael? 😀
Stay tuned! 😉 I’ll be sharing that over on KMWeiland.com in the coming weeks.
Infectious enthusiasm is always winsome.
Three of my favorite words all in one comment. 😉
So excited! I loved “Dreamlander” and gave feedback on the cover blurb for “Storming.” Can’t wait to read it. Congratulations!
Thank you so much! I totally appreciated the feedback.
I’ve never heard of dieselpunk before, but it sounds awesome! (I’m a huge fan of steampunk, so I like that sort of thing.) I can’t wait to read this!!
Basically, dieselpunk is steampunk but set between the World Wars instead of in the Victorian era. Hence, the biplane. 😉
Yay! Congratz and awesome. Another novel from our amazing Sensei 😀
Can’t wait to read it. I haven’t yet read any dieselpunk, or steampunk or any punks if they exist. But it would be great to get introduced to this genre by an author I already admire.
This book is definitely on the “light” side of ‘punk. It’s more historical than anything, but it has an important ‘punk element.
I’m sure you’ll do great with the release of Storming. I wish you continued success. And I really need to thank you for all that you do in teaching what you do. I need your guidance every day I bring up my work and pound out my “word playing”.
Yes, indeed! I don’t know if I ever would have really gotten started with my writing if not for K.M.
Aww, great to hear you’re both enjoying the info. 🙂 I enjoy sharing it!
Congratulations on your upcoming release! I’m intrigued by the premise and look forward to reading it. I’m currently five days into NaNo (13k+ words) and am writing a steampunkish (steampulp?) novel of my own. The characters and the alternate world they inhabit excites me, and I actually have enough of an idea to write a trilogy of adventures. Hopefully it will make it into print one day and I can send a copy for you to enjoy, a thanks for the inspiration you’ve given me through this site and your books!
“Steampulp”–I like that! Have fun with NaNo!
Love the cover.
Thanks! The designer put in a ton of work on it. Great to know it’s resonating!
It is on my Christmas list! Love the cover and so happy for you!
I’ll put in a good word with Santa. 😉
I must say you kept me going with gripping hooks in the ARC of Storming. It’s definitely a keeper and I can’t wait to get my hard copy.
I just got my first hardcopy proof in the mail today. That’s always fun. 🙂 And that’s great to hear about the hooks throughout Storming!