short Story

Writing breaks & goals, and the new tv season…

I’m taking a break from Orbital Decay, for at least a month. I’ve been working on it for over a year and I’m getting a bit cross eyed. It will be good to get away from it for a while and come back at with a fresh set of eyes. Even with a month away from it, I should be able to make my end of the year release goal.

In the mean time, I will turn my attention to a number of other things:

Updating a short story I wrote several years ago that isn’t connected to any other project

The New Haven Chronicles Timeline needs some revision and I’d like to get it squared away before Orbital Decay is released. There are also a handful of New Haven related short stories that I want to try and work on. Some that require completion of a first draft and others that need revision.

Most importantly though, I need to start work on the second book in the Fall of Man series, the sequel to Method of Life…or rather I need to take what I have written already and start putting it towards the final story I want to tell. I’ve got about sixty to seven thousands words already down, but I’m not sure how much of that will survive once I really get into it. It’s a good amount to start with and work through, so I’m hoping that the next installment won’t take as long as the first one; which took several years.

I started putting together ideas for what I would eventually become The Fall of Man, when I was still in high school, back in the late 90’s. It’s taken from then to now to get the story contained within Method of Life down on paper, so to speak. Along the way, much of the rest of the series was planned out and some of the books are already started and well into development, so any large changes or massive rewrites, it shouldn’t take as long for the next book to see the light of day.

So if anyone has made it this far into the post, what do you think of the new fall tv lineup? Any new decent shows on the horizon? I’ve seen a couple new ones already, through legal means, Revolution and Last Resort. I enjoyed Last Resort and I’ll probably keep up with it, simply for mindless fun. Neither show however is exactly pushing any boundaries.

Of course the big draws are on HBO and AMC. Boardwalk Empire and Treme are back. They’re not my personal favorites but are worth checking out. The Walking Dead will also be back soon, though because of the falling out between AMC and Dish Network, I won’t be seeing it. Hopefully I can find an alternative method to get my zombie fix this fall/winter.

So what are you watching?

Method of Life awaits your discovery.

Stuff…

I need to work on posting more here.  It’s not much of a blog, otherwise.

I’ve nearly finished the first draft of Orbital Decay.  It’s taken longer than I would have liked, but the story ended up being longer than I had planned.  It’s also taken me longer to write the battles sequences than I thought it would.  I’ve written fight scenes before and thought they wouldn’t pose any difficulties, but as the space battles in this really through me for a loop.  Needless to say, while the bulk of the story is there, the overall piece is still going to need some work.  I can’t say for certain now when Orbital Decay will be released.  My hope is to have it done and ready to go by the end of the year, but if I’ve learned anything about myself through my writing, it’s that I’m terrible at predicting when something will be done and/or setting any type of deadline for myself.

So it’s best in this case and any future endeavors to simply say it will be done, when it’s done.

 

In other news, my other book, Method of Life is still sitting on my hard drive, relatively untouched.  So what I’m planning now, it to work on getting Method ready for publishment once Orbital Decay is through the first draft stage.  Taking a break from New Haven to focus on Method, will do me some good.  This way I can get one book out there for sale and then refocus my attention on New Haven with a fresh set of eyes…so to speak.

Between the two, there might also be some other things released.  It just depends on how much I can get done.

That’s about it for now.  I’m getting ready to head out for the evening and need to finish getting ready.  My hair isn’t going to fix itself.

News…

Here are a couple concepts I’ve posted on dA, but haven’t posted here yet.
This is the first WIP for a UN Mission patch.
http://fav.me/d5231j7

This is a concept for a Commercial Orbital Transport, basically a passenger liner that can reach orbit.
http://fav.me/d52tp8i

Also, here’s an update for the Earth Map.  It sill needs some work in many areas but is closer to being done.
http://fav.me/d527kxz

In other news, I’ve been working on the first episode, Orbital Decay, at a fairly regular pace.  Detailing the space combat has proven to be far more difficult than I originally imagined.  Trying to make it appear as realistic as possible, within the confines of the New Haven Universe, has proved to be quite a challenge, more so then any other sort of action scene I’ve ever written.  Nevertheless, I’m still on schedule to have the first draft done by the end of this month and if editing and revisions go well, then it should be ready to purchase through Amazon by August at the earliest.

Additionally, from now on, all stories that I release will be released exclusively through Amazon’s kindle marketplace. The short stories that have already been released, along with the timeline, will be revised and will be available for free since many have already seen them online, though they’re no longer available here or elsewhere.  It didn’t seem right to charge people for a story they’ve already read.

This is the pricing plan I intend to start out with, which may be adjusted depending on a number of variables.
Short stories will be .99 cents.
Novella’s such as Orbital Decay will be $3.99.
Full length novels will be $4.99.

I’ll likely wait until Orbital Decay is ready to be published, to re-release the old shorts along with a few new ones.

Time Line: Part Three…

Good news.  I powered through over half of Part Three today, so baring any crippling hand injuries or major bouts of writers laze, it should be ready to go on Friday.  The earlier the better as I always say….actually I’ve never said that, but it’s true nonetheless.  The sooner I can finish part three, the sooner I can move on to focusing on the next short for the following Friday.

I have three more short stories planned before releasing the first official episode, Orbital Decay, so by my calculation if everything goes according to plan and I maintain the one release a week schedule, Orbital Decay should be out in March at the earliest.  That is of course assuming it’s done by then.  Fingers crossed.

Timeline Update….

Aside from part two of the timeline, which will be done later today and posted Friday, I’m hoping to get to a few revisions I need to tackle in part one.  Nothing major, just some editing and clarifying a few details.  Part Two is shaping up nicely and is filled with all kinds of details regarding how the Corporations rose to power and how the new United Nations was formed.  The formation of the new UN….it’s a probably a bit different then what you’re expecting.  I tried to take a different approach and while I think it’s certainly unique, I’m not sure if it’s entirely believable.  I like it though so it may be one of those rare instances where I make the call to keep some details or backstory in place, whether it’s realistic or not.  As the creator, I get to make such calls. lol

Part Two also outlines the beginning of the rift that will eventually lead to the conflict this series is actually about.  It’s not as slow and gradual as I would have liked, at least not yet, or maybe not as detailed….there are parts of the timeline where I feel like I cover things that don’t really matter but are important to me.  For example, there are numerous mentions of advancements in organ transplant technology.  This will likely never come up in the series, though it’s important to me because I’m an organ transplant recipient….liver in case you were wondering.

I guess its a balancing act somewhat, picking what to include versus what can be left out.  And I can always go back and fill in the gaps later.  I suppose ultimately as long as the audience is able to follow along and remains interested, then that’s all that matters to some degree.

And because of that, I’d better get back to work.  See you Friday.

 

The New Haven Timeline: The Decline of Man

Here it is.

This part of the timeline chronicles the further worsening of current economic, political, and environmental conditions around the world.  It also highlights the development of several important technologies such as paper thin computer surfaces, highspeed railways across North America, and the the first stages of our steps towards fusion based technologies.  This part of the timeline also Chronicles what becomes a global showdown in the middle-east region over the consumption of petroleum, resulting in the eventual exchange of nuclear weapons.

The New Haven Chronicles – Timeline Part One

You can also find the complete text of Part One, posed in the ‘Timeline’ tab above.

The New Haven Chronicles…some information

The New Haven Chronicles: An original universe military science fiction series

The basic premise is this, in the turn of the 22nd century, Corporations rose to power to control the technologies required to exploit the resources of space. National space organizations eventually caught up, leading to a clash for control of the solar system between the Alliance of Corporations and the new United Nations. The UN controls Earth and maintains a lose orbital supremacy, while the Alliance controls the moon and Mars.

Humanity hasn’t ventured beyond Mars, there are no aliens, and no faster then light travel. Remotely piloted vehicles are hugely prominent in both space and on land. Sentient or Smart AI is exceedingly rare and a highly valuable commodity. Only four known Smart AI’s are known to exist.

Both sides practice limited genetic engineering. There are no super soldiers, but a number of degenerative illnesses can be ‘removed’ from a persons genetic profile and some general characteristics can be altered or improved. The Alliance practices bio-mechanical engineering, linking a person’s nervous system with various pieces of technology, raining from simple sensor enhancements to full blown body armor suits.

Combat in space is a long distance affair with offensive strikes being held via long range missiles, with either direct kinetic penetration or nuclear power x-ray lasers.

Defense is handled by short range lasers, mid rang missiles, and long range rail guns.

Large ship mounted rail guns are rare beyond small defense turrets. Large powerful ship mounted lasers are also rare due to power consumption and range issues. Also, large ship mounted high output laser weapons capable of damaging other vessels are difficult to maintain, requiring a 1:10 ratio of operation/maintenance.

There are no manned fighter craft in space. There are unmanned drones, however they provide limited tactical capabilities due to range, speed, and the ease with which they can be intercepted via a ships defensive systems.

The series takes its name from an artificially constructed island on Earth, located in the north Atlantic. The island was built by the Pax Tecum corporation as the location to test and perfect their design of viable fusion reactors. The island was eventually abandoned or the Pax for forced to leave, depending on which side you ask, and the Island came under the control of the UN. A multinational peace keeping force, the 26th MEU currently operates on the island as a security force to combat the daily raids conducted by the alliance.

Control of the island, despite its inherently low strategic value, remains a point of contention between both sides. The Alliance sees retaking the island as an important step of reclaiming what they lost on Earth, while the UN sees retaining control of the island and important sign that the Alliance is not the opposing threat is claims to be.

The Alliance maintains a number of military bases on Earth, the largest of which is located on the dry lake bed at Black Rock Nevada. Serving as the global HQ and the most heavily fortified base on earth, the Alliance use the lake bed as an air strip to conduct missions across the globe.

The series tells the story of various officers and enlisted crew on both sides of the conflict, in a manner that tries to depict military service in a believable manner.  I liken the story to A Band of Brothers or Generation Kill, with space combat.  If that sounds at all interesting to you, then check back frequently for updates, leave comments, and ask questions.  I’m more then happy to answer.

In the coming months, I’ll be releasing quite a bit of the story, including the first full episode, a novella, the full timeline spanning from now up through 2163, and a number of short stories….as well of plenty of concept art to give you an idea of what this future world looks like.