Galactic Lore

So I’ve written one novel. That must mean things will be easy from here on out right? Heck I’m not even changing worlds or the main character! This should be a cakewalk…. Yeah, that’s why I’m sitting here with under 100 days to my deadline and one false start on the sequel already behind me. Sequels are scary things to write! I mean you have to meet and exceed expectations that were laid down by your fans in the first book.   Sequels need to be familiar, yet they have to still surprise and wow the audience. There is that inevitable change that happens.   Old characters are left behind, new ones stepping forward to take their place. A new crisis must arise that will challenge the character already tempered by the flames of his previous trials. Maybe thinking all of this is why I still feel a bit scared when I open up my word document to start writing. But I have to push past that and embrace the challenge. I’ve got a great story to tell here, one that will force Rathe to ba...

97 days from today. That's how many days I have left to hit my deadline for the sequel to Starfire, currently called Downfall. I've still got way more work to do than I should have. But I've got no one to blame for that other than myself. Letting doubts and distractions cloud my thoughts and stifle my writing.  It is time for that to come to an end. So over the next 97 days I'll be posting my progress here to help keep me focused and pushing forward! So the one or two people who read this can stay tuned to read this series of posts I'll be calling the Downfall Chronicles.  I won't be posting specifics, but it may give you a fun glimpse at the odd workings of my mind. ;)

You can now order Starfire online from Marcher Lord Press , Amazon.com , or BN.com ! Both The Dark Man and By Darkness Hid are also available! Buy all three for the sci-fi/fantasy/speculative lover in your life! Also, be sure to check out these great reviews of Starfire : From ChristianBookReview.com: "Perhaps I'm just showing my inner geek too much, but part of me thrills at figuring out which dinosaurs certain characters are based on. Some are obvious, with obvious names; some not so much. And combining dinosaurs with "ancient" sci-fi technology, mystical prophecies, and supernatural enemies... pure genius." Read the full review » From the Novel Teen Book Review Blog: "Starfire was a completely surprising story. I would have never thought I’d like a story about dinosaur people. But Rathe is a fun character to read about. He is practical and tough and easy to relate to. He prefers to make his own path in life and can’t see how “some mixed-up, homicidal ...

Starfire's cover is done! woohoo! Quite a beautiful piece of artwork done by Kirk DuPonce at DogEared Design . Seeing the cover really helps reinforce that this book really is coming out in just over a month! I also took this opportunity to put together a bookmark to help in promotions. I think the design came out well, I should be getting the physical copies in hand tomorrow. Make sure you check out MarcherLordPress.com to see an interview with me as well as read the prologue and first scene from Starfire . Also, don't forget to enter in the Heralds of the Starfire contest for a chance to win a copy of Starfire and a whole lot of other great prizes!

Become a Herald of the Starfire Help get the word out about my upcoming science fiction novel Starfire by becoming a Herald of the Starfire though distributing a flyer, posting banners, and telling all your friends to become Heralds as well! Everyone who participates will be entered into a drawing for some great prizes! Plus if you sign up for the Marcher Lord Press Newsletter , or refer your friends, you will be entered into a bonus drawing. More Info » This contest is presented in partnership with Marcher Lord Press , Brandilyn Collins and Jill Williamson . Contest only valid for residents of the U.S. This contest ends April 1, 2009 and winners will be notified via e-mail by April 10th. Click Here to learn more »

Today between now and midnight (EST) Marcher Lord Press is organizing a book surge on Amazon.com. This surge will specifically be targeting Summa Elvetica, but feel free to order Hero, Second Class or The Personifid Invasion if one of those strikes your fancy. Even better, if you order one of these titles and provide proof to Marcher Lord Press by E-mail (like the receipt you get from Amazon--but be sure it doesn't contain any personal information like credit card number) they will send you the link to download one or more of the Marcher Lord Press e-book products FOR FREE. You can find all three titles on Amazon.com here . Learn more about Marcher Lord Press .

It's been fun reaquanting myself with the specifics of Starfire as I've gone through the revisions my editor sent back to me. I haven't really dug into Starfire for over a year as I had moved on to other stories after deciding there wasn't a home for it, based on rejections and the state of the industry. Now that Starfire has a home I've unpacked all the old documents I used for world building and brainstorming to re-familiarize myself with some of the details of Sauria. When I got the notes for revisions I also got to jump into the story itself. It is amazing how a long absense can really help you pick up on things that you don't see when the story is fresh. Especially with me I tend to have about two times the ammount of data running through my head than actually makes it to the page, which is a good thing most of the time. At times it does cause issues though as phrases and scenes that make total sense in the context of knowing how the culture and world works...