Congratulations on publishing so many books.

I hate to be unkind, but is the top ship a mash-up of the 1978 and 2003 versions of Battlestar Galactica?

Mashup, no.

A deliberate usage of the core idea behind it, as detailed in my books.

It started as a modular exploration ship, inspired by BSG science fiction. The 5 main sections are detachable in case of catastrophic event. It's actually an excellent design for early on space exploration where the ship has no backup, and anything might go wrong in any part of the ship. All explained in the books.

I've already used a more advanced version of the shape in an earlier book from over a year ago, without comment from anyone. If it was going to be a problem, it should have been back then. I used three of them on the CAG cover.

The whole thing is pure homage, and while BSG is not named anywhere, the homage part is. The original description goes back to my first series, so 8 years ago now.

But I do a lot of homage references across all my books, some obvious, others not. So those who picked it would know what it was to me.

Unkind. Unbound Mercs book 5 is launching at the moment.

Lovely excerpts. Thank you.

Here's the reader I want:

10 rules for reading from someone who does it for a living
Washington Post   May 18, 2024

“…I read from morning till bedtime, with breaks for my job, family, meetings with friends, exercise, household chores and periodic review of my life’s greatest blunders. On the days I don’t read, I write….it’s a simple system. Many people complain that they have no time for books, yet somehow they manage to spend three or more hours a day watching television or scrolling through social media…You pays your money and you takes your choice….

“I don’t skim or speed read, though I envy people…who can zip through a novel in 20 minutes….As an exceptionally slow reader, I mentally murmur every word on the page, which allows me to savor the author’s style and to remember what he or she has said….

“After finishing a book, I tend to keep it. While not a frequent rereader, I do like to refresh my acquaintance with old favorites, if only by opening one up occasionally to enjoy a page or a passage. When I look at my living room’s bookcases, while sleepily sipping coffee in the morning, I see not only my past laid out before me but also my future…”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/05/18/how-to-read-book-dirda/