Status of the next books in the Josh Haman series

For those of you who have acquired a copy of BIG MOTHER 40, you’ll notice that it says the “Josh Haman Series.” That was deliberate because there will, hopefully be a series of novels in which Josh will continue to be the main character.

The intent of the series is to take you through Josh Haman’s career in the Navy as well as after he retires. I’ve actually created a realistic timeline and the novels will fit in specific assignments as his career progresses. Assignments, missions and challenges will evolve based on his rank as well as the situation that Josh faces.

Logic says that they will follow in sequence from the 1970s until the present or near present. However, while working on RENDER HARMLESS, I came up with an idea for a prequel that has a working title of CHERUBS 2. It takes place during Josh Haman’s first tour in Vietnam. When it will get completed or even published, who knows.

The title, CHERUBS 2 comes from the term used to describe altitude. A pilot who reports he is at “angels 10” is telling the world he is at ten thousand feet. However, if you are flying below one thousand feet, you use the word “cherubs.” So, a radio call from a pilot saying he is at “cherubs 2” is letting everyone know he is at two hundred feet. On most of the combat search and rescue, anti-submarine ware missions, we flew at either Cherubs 2 or 5 and joked that at any altitudes above one thousand feet, we would get nose bleeds from the high altitude!

At the time this blog entry is posted, I’ve got eight books planned and in a perfect world, I would like to get one released about every six to eight months. That’s probably optimistic, but that’s my goal. A more probable rate would be one every eight months.

There’s more detail on all but CHERUBS 2 AND where they fit in Josh Haman’s career on the web site. Here’s a quick rundown on the current status of the eight books:
1. CHERUBS 2 – outlined, but not written
2. BIG MOTHER 40 – published and available
3. RENDER HARMLESS – in the acquisition process
4. INNER LOOK – written and I am in the process of applying the the lessons learned during the editing process for BIG MOTHER 40
5. MOSCOW AIRLIFT – written, but needs a major re-write
6. THE KURILE WEDGE INCIDENT – written, but needs the lessons learned from the editing process to be applied
7. FLIGHT OF THE PAWNEE – same as THE KURILE WEDGE INCIDENT
8. MANPAD – conceptual stage, working on the outline

In each book, you’ll meet other interesting characters who are on both sides of the story. Some of the characters in each book may appear in later novels. For example, in RENDER HARMLESS, Josh is an exchange pilot assigned to the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm’s 846 Squadron and flying the Westland Commando. The Commando is a British build version of the H-3 designed for airborne assault missions. He’s paired with John Osborne, a future duke..

Marty Cabot, Admiral Hastings, Derek van der Jagt all return in RENDER HARMLESS. And, you get to meet Dieter Stiglitz, an anacharist turned terrorist who is the son of a former SS officer who is being helped by both Fatah and Stasi to cause unrest in West Germany. The young man’s father along with several other former Nazis, are conspiring to create a Fourth Reich. In the midst of this, Lieutenant Colonel Loi, Colonel Thai’s number two in BIG MOTHER 40, returns bent on avenging the death of his commander.

So that’s a taste of what may be coming.

Marc Liebman
11/13/2012