Payback Is A Bitch (The Kurtherian Endgame Book 1) Read online

  I can’t speak for my collaborators, but I can tell you that I personally love creating these new stories. Placing emotions and characters together with events that make us feel amazing as we read them (sometimes the only respite from life) and wish, just once or twice, that I could spend time with them.

  My friends in the stories.

  Two and a half years ago—with a lot of anxiety—I put my little story out there for people to read. And it turned out pretty well, even if it was a bit crazy.

  Now I’m going to do something else that may be a bit crazy and hope like hell I’m not the only sumbitch who thinks this idea might be fun.

  LMBPN (my publishing/entertainment company) is going to work on creating a cool fucking experience for fans based in Vegas.

  Why?

  Because I want to have an opportunity to party with friends—those friends I’ve found on Facebook, Amazon, Goodreads, and other places.

  I’ve met some of you at restaurants, military bases, and conventions.

  I have encouraged a lot of fans, and now many of my fans are now authors.

  It started with just four and now the great-grandchild of that effort is continuing with the FANS Write for the FANS projects—but that isn’t the end of my desire.

  No…it isn’t at all. I have a dream, and that dream (perhaps hallucination) would be to party like it’s 1999 in Vegas with a thousand of the most awesome people in the world.

  Readers.

  People just like me, no matter what color, gender, age, ethnicity, political affiliation, or ANY of that shit that bugs the world.

  People who love books, love audio books, love the worlds, the games, the stories, the characters, and the joy reading brings into our lives. We can support each other just by being ourselves.

  I don’t want it to be a normal convention—which is to say I recognize that there are fun parts of conventions and just freaking weird parts.

  I want an LMBPN convention to be entertaining for some, educational for others, relationship-building for all and a place to party year in, year out with each other knowing that if you want something different…

  It’s VEGAS baby!

  You can always find something in that city.

  We have started this by attaching a fan event to the end of the 20BooksTo50k author convention in Vegas in November 2018, which has six hundred or more authors coming from around the world. Some of these authors have yet to hit the button, and others have fifty books or more.

  You can’t be near a 20BooksTo50k convention without stumbling over authors.

  Honest! Many of them go from the sessions to the restrooms and you stumble over them. They are often thinking about some ‘Ah-HA!’ moment from a few minutes ago, or some new concept for a story because they were chatting with another author and they run into shit.

  Or you… Whichever one happens first. (Editor’s note: It’s true, and watch your toes!)

  This year 20Books Vegas runs from Tuesday to Thursday, November 6-8th, 2018.

  We are hoping we can get just two hundred of you crazy motherfuckers who love The Kurtherian Gambit, Oriceran, Protected by the Damned, and Mr. Brownstone to come join us and party.

  Many authors involved with LMBPN (and many others) will be in Vegas during that week, having a hell of a time.

  Would you consider joining us?

  Then, I want everyone to look at next year, 2019 to see what we can do together.

  I’m willing to put the money down to grab the dates for the weekend following the 20Booksto50k Convention (early November) to put on an EVENT in 2019 to cherish what brings us together.

  For 2019 I don’t just want to put tables together, but hold an event that merges and blurs the lines between authors, fans, and readers both text and audio.

  Eventually including more “stuff.” However, that’s for the future. For now, what we have are stories…

  And a strong-assed desire to party with our friends.

  If we can get enough people to say “I’m in,” LMBPN will put down money to make this a hell of a party…

  A party to blow the doors off. Where new authors get the chance to share their work, find new fans, and make everlasting relationships to grow their fan base.

  For fans to reach out and help new talent become something that they never could without YOU in the mix.

  Where we celebrate everyone who is a part of the massively entertaining activity called “reading” whether we write, edit, do covers, help with beta reading, arc teams, or JIT.

  So…what do you say?

  Does anyone think this might be fun?

  Anyone willing to join us in 2018 to kick this off at the micro level, helping us figure things out and get our feet wet so that maybe in a few years…

  Oh…in a few years….

  We will take over the Las Vegas Convention Center—the largest in the WORLD.

  Because if that isn’t a “H#LY SH!T” goal, what is?

  Ad Aeternitatem,

  MICHAEL TODD ANDERLE

  Editor Notes - Lynne Stiegler

  Written May 2, 2018

  First, thank you for reading this far! We appreciate your willingness to venture into the jungle at the end of the book. So why are we here?

  A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…wait, wrong universe. In this universe, a woman got a bad case of bronchitis and could do nothing but lie there and read. She had a book on her Kindle by some guy named Anderle, Death Becomes Her, and she finished it really fast. Then she read the next one in the series, and the next, and…

  Forty-eight hours and sixteen books later, she messaged that Anderle guy on Facebook and told him it was a great series (he is one hell of a storyteller) but he needed a good editor. (She didn’t tell him at that point that she used to edit for Baen). Conversations ensued, he sent her a book to edit, and the rest is history.

  Fast forward to present day: I never knew I’d spend any of my time trying to figure out the best way to punctuate “wrinkled-ass llama-sniffing fudge-shoveler.” Or should it be “wrinkle-assed?” Ah, well…that’s a frequent problem, especially with TKG. And Pandora often makes me blush (and cackle) while I edit.

  But seriously… For the last year, I’ve been proud and privileged to be that Anderle guy’s editor. But not only his! To date I have edited over a hundred books for more than twenty authors in the Kurtherian Gambit universe as well as Oriceran (an Anderle/Carr creation, check it out if you haven’t already). Now I’m lucky enough to work with Protected by the Damned and The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone.

  Who’da thunk? Because it was luck. Michael and the LMBPN family are some of the most talented, warmest, and most caring and giving people I’ve ever met in my life. I’m honored to be part of the team.

  Many of the authors who publish through LMBPN are new to the game (and indie publishing is a whole new oeuvre anyway), but that Anderle guy has set it up so they can get advice and assistance from word one to post-publication. (Being an author is freakin’ scary, as some of you know. You put your heart and soul out there for everyone to see…and pick at. (Note: I wound up letting my husband, who has been an author for decades, edit these editor notes. Hard on the ego. He says the author has final say, but when the editor is authoring and the author is editing, how does that work, exactly?)

  Not only that, the Anderle guy goes out of his way to help people, although that doesn’t get nearly as much publicity as Bethany Anne’s new baby. Because of his willingness to work with new authors, some of his people have regained a family house, gotten off welfare, and been able to quit their day jobs. He’s given an elderly woman a new lease on life (and vastly improved her vocabulary of expletives). The list goes on and on.

  While I’m at it, I’d like to give a shout-out to Stephen Campbell, LMBPN’s production manager, who doesn’t get mentioned in Author Notes nearly often enough. He’s the backbone of LMBPN, making sure everything is on track and wrestling the alligators at the ‘Zon. It’s due to him that our works get pu
blished at all, and I for one appreciate him. Well, I know Michael (and everyone else) does too, and I will speak for him just this once.

  Anyway, enough drabble. Hope you loved the book. I did—kept having to stop just reading and go back to editing. Check us out on Facebook if you haven’t already at https://www.facebook.com/TheKurtherianGambitBooks/. And if you want to play in this universe (and soon Oriceran, which will have its own anthology in about three months), head over to https://www.facebook.com/groups/TKGFansWrite/ and submit your story for consideration for publication in the next anthology. Submission just closed for this one a few days ago, but that gives you enough time to develop a story for the next one.

  And hey…I’ll be your editor! (Grins evilly)

  Ad Aeternitatem,

  Lynne Stiegler

  Books by Michael Anderle

  For a complete list of Michael’s Kurtherian Gambit Universe books please click this link.

  Kurtherian Gambit Series Titles Include:

  FIRST ARC

  Death Becomes Her (01) - Queen Bitch (02) - Love Lost (03) - Bite This (04) - Never Forsaken (05) - Under My Heel (06) - Kneel Or Die (07)

  SECOND ARC

  We Will Build (08) - It’s Hell To Choose (09) - Release The Dogs of War (10) - Sued For Peace (11) - We Have Contact (12) - My Ride is a Bitch (13) - Don’t Cross This Line (14)

  THIRD ARC

  Never Submit (15) - Never Surrender (16) - Forever Defend (17) - Might Makes Right (18) - Ahead Full (19) - Capture Death (20) - Life Goes On (21)

  THE KURTHERIAN ENDGAME

  Payback Is A Bitch (01)

  THE SECOND DARK AGES

  *with Ell Leigh Clarke*

  The Dark Messiah (01) - The Darkest Night (02) - Darkest Before The Dawn (03) - Dawn Arrives (04)

  THE BORIS CHRONICLES

  *with Paul C. Middleton*

  Evacuation (01) - Retaliation (02) - Revelations (03) - Redemption (04)

  RECLAIMING HONOR

  *with Justin Sloan*

  Justice Is Calling (01) - Claimed By Honor (02) - Judgement Has Fallen (03) - Angel of Reckoning (04) - Born Into Flames (05) - Defending The Lost (06) - Saved By Valor (07) - Return of Victory (08)

  THE ETHERIC ACADEMY

  *with TS Paul*

  ALPHA CLASS (01) - ALPHA CLASS: Engineering (02)

  *with N.D. Roberts*

  Discovery (03)

  TERRY HENRY “TH” WALTON CHRONICLES

  *with Craig Martelle*

  Nomad Found (01) - Nomad Redeemed (02) - Nomad Unleashed (03) - Nomad Supreme (04) - Nomad’s Fury (05) - Nomad’s Justice (06) - Nomad Avenged (07) - Nomad Mortis (08) - Nomad’s Force (09) - Nomad’s Galaxy (10)

  TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS

  *with Natalie Grey*

  Risk Be Damned (01) - Damned to Hell (02)

  ~THE AGE OF MAGIC~

  THE RISE OF MAGIC

  *with CM Raymond and LE Barbant*

  Restriction (01) - Reawakening (02) - Rebellion (03) - Revolution (04) - Unlawful Passage (05) - Darkness Rises (06) - The Gods Beneath (07) - Reborn (08)

  THE HIDDEN MAGIC CHRONICLES

  *with Justin Sloan*

  Shades of Light (01) - Shades of Dark (02) - Shades of Glory (03) - Shades of Justice (04)

  STORMS OF MAGIC

  *with PT Hylton*

  Storm Raiders (01) - Storm Callers (02) - Storm Breakers (03) - Storm Warrior (04)

  TALES OF THE FEISTY DRUID

  *with Candy Crum*

  The Arcadian Druid (01) - The Undying Illusionist (02) - The Frozen Wasteland (03) - The Deceiver (04) - The Lost (05) - The Damned (06) - Into The Maelstrom (07)

  PATH OF HEROES

  *with Brandon Barr*

  Rogue Mage (01)

  A NEW DAWN

  *with Amy Hopkins*

  Dawn of Destiny (01) - Dawn of Darkness (02) - Dawn of Deliverance (03) - Dawn of Days (04) - Broken Skies (05)

  TALES OF THE WELLSPRING KNIGHT

  *with P.J. Cherubino*

  Knight’s Creed (01) - Knight’s Struggle (02) - Knight’s Justice (03)

  ~THE AGE OF MADNESS~

  LIVE FREE OR DIE

  *with Haley Lawson*

  Unleashing Madness (01)

  ~THE AGE OF EXPANSION~

  THE ASCENSION MYTH

  *with Ell Leigh Clarke *

  Awakened (01) - Activated (02) - Called (03) - Sanctioned (04) - Rebirth (05) - Retribution (06) - Cloaked (07) - Bourne (08) - Committed (09) - Subversion (10)

  CONFESSIONS OF A SPACE ANTHROPOLOGIST

  *with Ell Leigh Clarke*

  Giles Kurns: Rogue Operator (01) - Giles Kurns: Rogue Instigator (02)

  THE UPRISE SAGA

  *with Amy Duboff *

  Covert Talents (01) - Endless Advance (02) - Veiled Designs (03) - Dark Rivals (04)

  BAD COMPANY

  *with Craig Martelle*

  The Bad Company (01) - Blockade (02) - Price of Freedom (03) - Liberation (04)

  THE GHOST SQUADRON

  *with Sarah Noffke and J.N. Chaney*

  Formation (01) - Exploration (02) - Evolution (03) - Degeneration (04) - Impersonation (05) - Recollection (06)

  VALERIE’S ELITES

  *with Justin Sloan and PT Hylton*

  Valerie’s Elites (01) - Death Defied (02) - Prime Enforcer (03) - Justice Earned

  SHADOW VANGUARD

  *with Tom Dublin*

  Gravity Storm (01)

  ETHERIC ADVENTURES: ANNE AND JINX

  *with S.R. Russell*

  Etheric Recruit (01) - Etheric Researcher (02)

  Other Books

  *with Craig Martelle & Justin Sloan*

  Gateway to the Universe

  SHORT STORIES

  The Lone Ranger Returns (Pew!Pew!)

  You Don’t Touch John’s Cousin: Frank Kurns Stories of the UnknownWorld 01 (7.5)

  Bitch’s Night Out: Frank Kurns Stories of the UnknownWorld 02 (9.5)

  *with Natalie Grey*

  Bellatrix: Frank Kurns Stories of the Unknownworld 03 (13.25)

  Challenges: Frank Kurns Stories of the Unknownworld 04

  AudioBooks

  Available at Audible.com and iTunes

  CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL LMBPN BOOKS ON AUDIBLE

  Connect with Michael Anderle

  Michael Anderle Social

  Website:

  http://kurtherianbooks.com/

  Email List:

  http://kurtherianbooks.com/email-list/

  Facebook Here:

  https://www.facebook.com/OriceranUniverse/

  https://www.facebook.com/TheKurtherianGambitBooks/