Mike Shepherd is the pen name of Mike Moscoe, an American science fiction writer who lives in Vancouver, Washington. He was born on August 2, 1947 in Philadelphia to a Navy family and travelled a lot as a child. It was not until high school that he finished a year in the school he started.

Literary career

Shepherd sold his first published writing to the science fiction magazine '' Analog''. It was a short story called "Summer Hopes, Winter Dreams" and appeared in the March 1991 issue. His short story "A Day's Work on the Moon" was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novelette in 2000. Shepherd has written about one book a year. His first three books, the ''Lost Millennium'' series (''First Dawn'' in 1996, ''Second Fire'' in 1997, and ''Lost Days'' in 1998) had a combined sales of just over 20,000 copies, so his editor suggested that he switch genres, to military science fiction set in the future. His next three books, the ''Society of Humanity'' series (''The First Casualty'' in 1999, ''The Price of Peace'' in 2000, and ''They Also Serve'' in 2001) sold better, at over 10,000 copies each, but not as high as was hoped. To make a fresh start for his next series, his editor suggested that he write under a new pseudonym. His third and ongoing series, published as "Mike Shepherd", covers the exploits of Kris Longknife, a rich young naval officer who struggles to deal with the expectations and reputation of her famous family of military leaders, politicians, and billionaires. The first book, ''Mutineer'', was published in 2004 to greater success than his previous books. In a review for ''Tor.com'', Liz Bourke described the series as "pure fluff" of the good kind, that is, intellectually lightweight but "entertainingly sticky, full of implausible successes, assassins, fleet actions and daredevil do-or-die gallantry". His contract with Ace Books expired in 2016, ending a 2 decade relationship, and in 2017, he founded his own independent publisher, KL & MM Books, to continue publishing his works, especially the Society of Humanity fictional universe works.

List of works

Lost Millennium

written as ''Mike Moscoe'' # ''First Dawn'' (1996) # ''Second Fire'' (1997) # ''Lost Days'' (1998)

Society of Humanity universe

Jump Universe books

First trilogy written as Mike Moscoe, originally referred to as "The Ray Longknife books",Kris Longknife blog
"The Ray Longknife books are coming next year"
2012 February 10 18h34 renamed in 2012 to "Jump Universe books" and republished under the name Mike Shepherd.Kris Longknife blog
"New Cover for First Casualty"
2012 August 9 15h01 :::Unity War # ''The First Casualty'' (Jan 1, 1999) # ''The Price of Peace'' (Jan 1, 2000) # ''They Also Serve'' (Jan 1, 2001) #:Interwar-period War # ''To Do or Die'' (Feb 25, 2014) #:Iteeche War # ''Rita Longknife: Enemy Unknown'' (Mar 5, 2017
ASIN B01N4L4582
# ''Rita Longknife: Enemy in Sight'' (Aug 31, 2017
ASIN B072JS9VNW

Kris Longknife books

Written as Mike Shepherd # ''Mutineer'' (Jan 27, 2004) # ''Deserter'' (Nov 30, 2004) # ''Defiant'' (Oct 25, 2005) #* 3.5. ''Training Daze'' (Oct 4, 2011) Companion short nove
ASIN B005LR5KNO
# ''Resolute'' (Oct 31, 2006) # ''Audacious'' (Oct 30, 2007) # ''Intrepid'' (Oct 28, 2008) # ''Undaunted'' (Oct 27, 2009) # ''Redoubtable'' (Oct 26, 2010) — previously called ''Superb'', changed after release of ''Undaunted'' where the author stated the next volume's working title in the "About the Author" blurb. # ''Daring'' (Oct 25, 2011) — crossover preceding the Vicky Peterwald trilogy, directly preceding ''Vicky Peterwald: Target'' #* 9.5. ''Welcome Home/Go Away'' (Sep 25, 2012) Companion short nove
ASIN B007FEFBEE
# ''Furious'' (Oct 30, 2012) #* 10.5. ''Kris Longknife's Bloodhound'' (Sep 3, 2013) Companion short nove
ASIN B00F1KH098
# ''Defender'' (Oct 29, 2013) # ''Tenacious'' (Oct 28, 2014) # ''Unrelenting'' (Oct 27, 2015) — previously called ''Relentless'',Kris Longknife's blog
"Draft Publication plan for 2015-2016"
, 2012 September 29 changed to ''Unrelenting'' in March 2015 At the end, Kris Longknife is ordered back to human space and replaced by Sandy Santiago, beginning her series. #* 13.5 ''Kris Longknife Among the Kicking Birds'' (Feb 6, 2017
ASIN B01MR8CBK7
This story was originally part of Kris Longknife - Unrelenting but these 7600 words had to be cut because the novel was too long. Now you can read the full story that was covered in one short paragraph in Unrelenting. # ''Bold'' (Oct 25, 2016) — crossover ending the Vicky Peterwald trilogy, directly succeeding ''Vicky Peterwald: Rebel'' #* 14.1. ''Ruth Longknife's First Christmas: A Kris Longknife Christmas'' Companion short story (Dec 23, 2016
ASIN B01MQZ54RS
#* 14.9. ''Kris Longknife's Bad Day'' Companion short novel (Apr 2, 2017
ASIN B06X3YM79W
This story was the original opening chapters for Emissary, but was cut and replaced. # ''Emissary'' (May 1, 2017
ASIN B01N2B8PC3
There is a 5-year gap between ''Bold'' and ''Emissary''. Not available in Trade Paperback, only available in oversized Paperback. # ''Admiral'' (Nov 5, 2017
ASIN B075DFYGBL
Not available in Trade Paperback, only available in oversized Paperback. # # ''Commanding'' (May 1, 2018
ASIN B07BC89H8X
Not available in Trade Paperback, only available in oversized Paperback. # # ''Indomitable'' (April 25, 2019
ASIN B07R69PSND
Not available in Trade Paperback, only available in oversized Paperback. # # ''Stalwart'' (December 5, 2019
ASIN B07ZTV8RXN
Not available in Trade Paperback, only available in oversized Paperback. #

Vicky Peterwald books

Written as Mike Shepherd :* 0.5: ''Kris Longknife's Assassin'' (May 30, 2014) — Short novel prequel to the Vicky Peterwald series # ''Target'' (June 24, 2014) — A spin-off from ''Kris Longknife: Daring'' Kris Longknife's blog
"New Book and New Series started"
, 2011 December 19 09h47 # ''Survivor'' (May 26, 2015) #''Rebel'' (May 31, 2016) #* Kris Longknife 14: ''Bold'' is the second crossover between the Kris Longknife and Vicky Peterwald series, taking place between ''Rebel'' and ''Dominator''. # ''Dominator'' (July 2, 2018) # ''Implacable'' (August 1, 2019)

Sandy Santiago books

Written as Mike Shepherd # ''Kris Longknife's Replacement: Admiral Santiago on Alwa Station'' (Jan 5, 2017
ASIN B01N2P6WX3
Maria ''Sandy'' Santiago takes over Alva Station from Kris Longknife. #* 1.5. ''Kris Longknife’s Maid Goes on Strike'' Segue between ''Replacement'' and ''Relief''
ASIN B06ZY3HLJ9
Companion short story (Jun 1, 2017) # ''Kris Longknife's Relief: Admiral Santiago on Alwa Station'' (July 1, 2017
ASIN B071JD5LC7
# ''Kris Longknife's Successor: Grand Admiral Santiago on Alwa Station'' (February 1, 2018
ASIN B0787JKQMP

Longknives books

# ''Longknifes Defend the Legation'' (April 15, 2020
ASIN B085WDHDB5
#* Occurs immediately after Kris Longknive's ''Indomitable''

Works in others' series

* ''Patriot's Stand'' ('' MechWarrior: Dark Age'' series) (2004) (''Mike Moscoe'')

Non-series books

* ''A Day's Work on the Moon: A Collection of Short Stories'' (2011) (credited as ''Mike Shepherd'' and ''Mike Moscoe'') * ''The Job Interview: A Collection of Short Stories'' (2012) (credited as ''Mike Shepherd'' and ''Mike Moscoe'') * ''The Strange Redemption of Sister Mary Ann: A Collection of Short Stories'' (2012) (credited as ''Mike Shepherd'' and ''Mike Moscoe'')

Businesses

In 2017, Mike Shepherd established his own independent publisher, KL & MM Books.

References

External links

Mike Moscoe Profile at Fantastic Fiction

Mike Shepherd Profile at Fantastic Fiction

Kris Longknife's Blog
��official website for Jump Universe / Kris Longknife / Vicky Peterwald * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Mike 1947 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers Living people Military science fiction writers Writers from Philadelphia Writers from Vancouver, Washington 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Pennsylvania Novelists from Washington (state)