Galactic Lore

It's hard to believe that it's already been more than two weeks since Realm Makers 2016 ended. It's been a hectic two weeks as well. With the kids starting school and catching up on the back-log at work, my writing hasn't jumped forward quite as quickly as I had hoped. I know a big part of that was because of my "writing space", also known as that pile of junk in the corner. Yep, overly cluttered and surrounded by distractions! It also didn't help that our TV was about two feet to my left, which made it hard to focus when anyone else was playing games or watching shows on it, even if I had my headphones on.  Obviously time for a change. So I packed up the boardgames taking up the shelf-space and shifted my desk so I'd be facing away from the TV.  It's also nice to have some clear space on the desktop now to use for notes or sketching. It's still a work in progress, I need to organize the shelves and bring back in some writing ...

Captain's Log, Conference Date 20163007. Today was a test of endurance.  Sleep deprivation techniques by an alien mind probe woke me up far too soon, followed by a mild cold. However MedBay prescribed a sustained treatment of DayQuill and Coffee that kept me going, if somewhat in a fog.   The morning started off by attending a spiritual discussion led by the esteemed Steve Laube. This talk centered around waiting on god and asking a single question four ways. What are you waiting for? (A group of beings known as Grammaticals, grew agitated when this question was asked, but they were mollified by a quick reference to an obscure style guide reference). This question was altered to show how the emphasis would change the meaning: 1. What are you WAITING for? - This signified the agony of impatience. A reminder that while we may be in a hurry, God is not. 2. What are YOU waiting for? - Signifying the futility of self-reliance. We stick to our pride and resist putting ...

Captain's Log, Conference Date 20162907, My expedition among the gathering of the Realm Makers continues. And the marvels continue to unfold. The day started off with some strangely familiar characters fighting it out over the light and dark sides of editing. A dark and explosive man named Kylo Ren, sought to teach all how to conquer  win over their audiences by using the Force without the need for editing! But he was bested by the mysterious Rey, who showed the light side of the force, and a snickers, to be stronger. It was truly an engaging start to the day. Not to be outdone by forces form far, far Away, keynote speaker Thomas Locke gave a strong an inspirational talk about the discipline of writing and learning to identify the areas of control in your writing. Some key thoughts that stood out from this most enlightening talk. Forge a discipline around your creative clock. And build a boundary around this time. If you hit a wall, feel free to walk away and let y...

Captain's Log Conference Date 20162807, I have arrived at planet Villa Nova for the gathering of the Realm Makers. This strange assortment of beings all have the incredible power to bring worlds into existence merely by willing it to happen through words and pictures. Exactly how this phenomenon comes about will have to be explored through further research, but my science officer says that it appears to be powered by an exceptional mix of creativity and passion. Here are some of the things I witnessed today. After arriving in this hot and muggy land, I ventured into the cool interior of a gathering place for these beings. There I had the privilege to witness the wisdom and insight of the amazing duo of Suzanne and Shaw Kuhn. This session for the "Early Birds" gave invaluable advice about finding and protecting your Brand. Some key data points: 1. You Are Your Brand - Your brand is your identity to your audience, it is why they see you as. And it is you...

Short update for tonight. I finished the first draft of the first chapter of the latest iteration (the 4th I believe) of Starfire's sequel. I'm not as far along as I wanted to be by now, but it is progress. I've also laid out Monday night and all day Wednesday as writing time, with Tuesday set aside for packing, and more writing. I'm really enjoying this version.  Picking up with Rathe about three Saurian months (a Segat for those who are curious, each equates to 3 earth months) since we last saw him at the end of Starfire. Rathe's struggling to come to terms with the events that ended Starfire, the cost that is still being paid, and what his new role is in the changed world. He has to contend with those who want to choose what his destiny will be, and with those who will stop at nothing to ensure he has no destiny. Friends may be foes, foes may be friends. And in the end, everything he thought he knew will be thrown to the stars. Which, reminds me, I...

On April 2nd, 2016 my wife and I attended the 8th annual, Write In the Springs conference put on by the local Colroado Springs ACFW chapter. It was a simple, one-day conference, one that I wasn't really looking forward to, not because I didn't think it would be good, but because I have been struggling with guilt about my writing. ACFW Conference, Denver 2009 Starfire released on April 1st, 2009. And was incredibly well received.  But since then my attempts at writing the sequel always fizzled out. As time passed, I felt more like a failure and like maybe I had missed my chance. But the truth is, I was only failing because I chose to fail. At the Write in the Springs conference Allen Arnold, the speaker, handed out notebooks to all of the attendees with a special note written in the front. Each message was unique, a note from God meant specifically for the person who received it, delivered in faith. The note in the front of my notebook cracked the shell of guilt and ...

The first scene in Starfire is one of the places in the novel that was re-written the most. I had a lot of information to convey about Rathe and the world he inhabited all while trying to set the tone for things to come. The original opening line of this scene was a highly clichéd “A storm was brewing.” Not exactly attention grabbing, eh? But it was a good reminder to me that I wanted this opening scene to begin laying the foundation for so many things yet to come. A big piece of writing advice is to start your story off in the action! Grab your readers by the throat and don’t let them go! I didn’t really follow that advice. Instead I wanted to start planting questions in the reader’s mind. Make them as curious about the world as they were about who this strange Yanguch named Rathe was. Apart from all the craziness of an alien storm with exploding plants, I wanted to plant the seed of the Saurians being something of a cursed race by touching on Rathe & Rakjear’s reaction ...

Starfire didn't originally have a prologue. I had planned to start it right off in chapter one with Rathe standing on the transport ship and let all of the world & motivations be unveiled from there. However, as a side project during the writing of the novel, I took some time to write a short story looking into the key event from Rathe's past where he first gets the jerkrenak fang. The short story was mainly a way for me to see how the events happened and lay out some groundwork for understanding Rathe's feelings about the event. Eventually though I decided that the story was quite integral to the novel and to letting people get an early understanding of Rathe's motivations and so I merged it into the story as the prologue. Adding the prologue did create some big changes in the story as I wrote. For instance, I never really intended for the wounded hatchling to play any real kind of role in the main story. But when Rathe entered the merchant's shop and the B...

Galactic Lore - Starfire - The Mending: Book 1 That's quite a mouthful for a title, and has raised some questions as to what the "real' title of the book is from time to time. But maybe that's because the title took a circuitous route to being created. And in honor of that I'll start in the middle. Starfire, the official title for this book wasn't it's first. During the earliest days of brainstorming and story discovery it was simply "Rathe's Tale". Mostly because I didn't know what the Macguffin for his journey would be. I knew I wanted it to be an object of power. But when I finally settled on the Starfire as the ultimate goal, the end title was just a no-brainer. Sure it doesn't imediately bring visions of weapon wielding dinosaurs to mind, but it does have a good air of adventure and science fiction goodness. With Starfire taking over the main title spot, Rathe's Tale fell to being the series header for a long time....

In just a few short months, it is going to be four years since my novel Starfire was published. I could chase away the few who stumble across this once-abandoned locale with a litany of excuses as to why the sequel has not yet materialized. Let’s suffice it to say that I simply have not been the writer I should have been and that the fires that forged Starfire had been neglected as I cared for the needs of my fledgling family and adjusted to being a husband and father, seeking out “easier” distractions than crafting alien cultures. Much to the detriment to those fans who charged into the fight with Rathe and were enchanted by the strange innocence of Karey Or. I apologize to all of you that it is taking so long to continue the adventure, but I am beginning this series as a way to ensure that your wait will not go unrewarded. Over the next many days I will be revisiting Starfire by posting behind the scenes thoughts and stories about the scenes and characters from the novel. As much ...

It's a new year, and time for me to return to this blog. I've spent enough time lost out in real life. Time to jump back into the lands of fiction. But first I have to share a little bit about the new gadget in my life. I've been watching the e-reader scene for the last few years, staying out on the sidelines thinking how they could be cool but not quite enough for me to put my money down on one. That changed once I discovered the NookColor. It's more of an e-reader/tablet than the Kindle or older Nook with their e-ink screens. (Those are neat in their own right, but don't quite capture my inner-geek). The nook features a bright LCD touch screen that is easy to read from and is glare resistant. So far I've read a couple magazines and one complete novel and I'm really enjoying it so far. I especially like the ability to stream music from Pandora through the device while I read (it has both a speaker and an ear-phone jack). The book reading is very...

Looks like it's that time of year when Christians who are fans of the stranger genres begin asking why their favorite genres aren't represented as much as women in bonnets in Christian bookstores. I stopped asking that question years ago.  In the end, unless you're a publisher, sales person, or the buyer for a bookstore you're just yelling into the void. There isn't much point in constantly asking "where is it?" And really, in most of these conversations I hear, people tend to lump everything into one big pot. But I rarely hear people say exactly what it is they are looking for. It's one thing to say "I wish I could find more christian science fiction."  But it doesn't really help the point when what you really mean is "I wish I could find more hard sci-fi that focuses on Christians living in a scientifically advanced world that may include realistic space travel." It is time to stop waiting for stores we don't buy boo...

I've just launched the re-design of my website www.ritersbloc.com . It is a bit more focused than my old site, but also includes a nifty contact form in case anybody wants to get in touch with me.  Tweaking & more content will be added as time allows. Also, in even bigger news, Marcher Lord Press titles are now available at ChristianBook.com .  This is a big win for Jeff and all of the MLP authors as it will help more people discover our books. Time to run off to my day job.  It's been a crazy week there so far, but fun too as we're in the middle of launching two new curriculum lines!   Tru and Rio  If you're church is looking for some curriculum that really emphasises a relationship with God and looks to go beyond the Church and into the home, you'll want to check these out.

Every time I sit down to write, I've got all sorts of great ideas for what I can do to push through this blockage I've been getting. Then I start trying to get it onto the page and I start thinking about everything that has to come together to be able to keep this book at least to the level of Starfire and I freeze, second-guessing what I'm planning or writing. I've got to learn to deal with that and remember to trust my instincts and just have fun with the writing, which is why I got started in the first place.

  A Star Curiously Singing  is a great and thought provoking science fiction novel that centers around a debugger named Sandfly. Debuggers are humans who have been taken at a young age and implanted with a device that lets them be continuously connected to the "stream" (a highly advanced internet-like network) that also allows them to talk with all of the technology used by their society. This makes them invaluable as they are the servants that keep this advanced society running. But there is a downside to such power. The implant also keeps their thoughts and actions under strict control. At even the slightest hint of insubordinate thought the implant sends a "tweak" that causes great pain to the debugger. This sets the background for a great story as Sandfly is tasked with discovering what caused a robot to tear itself apart during a deep space exploratory mission. Kerry Nietz did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life and really giving  a sense of ...

The Shenkai Pilgrims are one of the largest and most influential religious groups in Karnian society. Since the events related in Starfire  their numbers have swelled as they send out Heralds who proclaim that the time of The Return has come. Shenkai Pilgrims believe that Saurians aren't native to the world they have come to call Sauria. But actually originated on a distant world among the stars. They claim that their diety Surka grew angry with them for seeking new homes among the stars and banished them from their homeworld to the planet Sauria, instilling them with the Dread. But they also believe that Surka will eventually lead them back home, once Saurians are deemed worthy. They also believe that in the past a group of forebearers were selected by Surka to prepare Shenkai for the eventual return of the faithful. This is going to be one of the main motivators of Downfall, as the Shenkai Pilgrims gain more influence and begin seeking out any ancient relics or powers that ...

Ok, so things aren't going smoothly, but they are going.  I didn't meet my goal for last week with word counts.  I'm working on a smoother beginning to the story that will help lay down some critical info & foreshadowing that I need, but that combined with still working on getting back into a real writing groove isn't helping. Right now I'm working on figuring out exactly what a Herald of Shenkai would say as part of spreading the news that the Shroud is a sign brought about by the Hand of Surka as a sign that soon Surka will lead the faithful back to Shenkai. And I've got to do it in a way that doesn't leave people with a blank stare as they try to figure out what was just said!  Fun! Anyway, as part of my plan to get back into all of this I'm going to start doing this blog in the morning (instead of watching the news or browsing forums) since it becomes far to easy to ignore once the evening starts.  Hopefully this will help with my consisten...

I recently joined a pretty cool new social network called the Book Club Network that is all about helping book clubs connect with each other and with authors. You can create your own page, groups and post about events, while discussing interesting topics that are unique to book clubs. You can check it out here!

It's Monday!  late, but still Monday. Right now my Downfall master document is sitting at 6,338 words.  Pathetic? Maybe so.  My goal for this week is to double that.  Which will be a big achievement. This Saturday I'll be up at the Happy Dragon Book Festival in Boulder, CO with Donita K. Paul and my wife, Tiffany Stockton. Here's the details:   Laughing Dragon Children's Book & Literacy Festival:  June 12, 2010, Boulder, CO,  10-5,  Glenn Miller Ballroom, CU-Boulder.  FREE!!! Tiff and I should get there sometime between noon and one. Finally, if you're interested, here are 10 discussion questions I came up with for Starfire.  Answer them if you like. Or, if you would like, post your own discussion question! 1. Starfire was set in an alien culture on a strange world. How did the unfamiliar setting and words affect your enjoyment of the story? 2. Who was your favorite character? Why? 3. If you could have any of the animals or ...

Lots of great nominees for the Clive Staples award this year... though I may be a bit biased for one of them (third from the bottom)! Voting will start in July, but you'll need to have read at least two of these books to qualify.  So make sure you pick some up to kick off your Summer reading!  You won't be disappointed. A Star Curiously Singing ,  Kerry Nietz, Marcher Lord Press Blaggard’s Moon ,  George Bryan Polivka, Harvest House By Darkness Hid ,  Jill Williamson, Marcher Lord Press Curse of the Spider King ,  Wayne Batson and Christopher Hopper, Thomas Nelson Publishing The Enclave ,  Karen Hancock, Bethany House Eternity Falls ,  Kirk Outerbridge, Marcher Lord Press Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter ,  RJ Anderson, HarperCollins The Firstborn ,  Conlan Brown, Realms Hunter Brown and the Consuming Fire ,  Christopher and Allen Miller, Warner Press Lost Mission ,  Athol Dickson, Howard Books Lunatic ,  Ted Dekker a...