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!

Wordplayers, tell me your opinion! What’s your favorite thing to do at book launches? Tell me in the comments!