J.R. Handley is a pseudonym for a family writing team. He is a veteran infantry sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division and the 28th Infantry Division. His family is the kind of crazy that interprets his insanity into cogent English. He writes the sci-fi while they proofread it. The sergeant is a two-time combat veteran of the late unpleasantness in Mesopotamia where he was wounded, likely doing something stupid. He started writing military science fiction as part of a therapy program suggested by his doctor, and hopes to entertain you while he attempts to excise his demons through these creative endeavors. In addition to being just another dysfunctional veteran, he is a stay-at-home parent, avid reader and all-around nerd. Luckily for him, his family joins him in his fandom nerdalitry.
Look at my face. Seriously. Take a good long look at this face. It’s blue. And why is that? Why is my face the colour of childish summer skies, frozen computer screens, and musical moons?
It’s because I’m BLUE IN THE FACE telling you that 5-star reviews do not sell books. Stand-alone 5* reviews (rather than bunched together in aggregate, which I admit wield pens of power and therefore refuse to deal with here) are as much of an incentive to readers to buy a book as broccoli yoghurt is to naughty children to behave. They are meaningless: often vapid: frequently regarded as fake, and I have blogged about them so many times that my fingers are weary and my face is blue.
You know what can sell your books, though? A bad review, that’s what. And why is that? Because bad reviews contain 97.5% more useful information than good reviews, that’s why.
Hey Space Cadets, how’re you doing today? I’m doing good, coming down from my editing high. Corey and I just spent four hours reading through the first 14 chapters of Operation Breakout, with another longer session planned for tomorrow to get through to chapter 30. Tomorrow I also have an interview with The Listeners of the Dead Robot Society, one of my favorite podcasts! I’ll share before it goes live, though I won’t know the exact date right away. And I’ll try not to look too much like an idiot, I promise!! Finally, I’ve made good progress on my submission for the Four Horsemen Anthology.
Now, on to today’s Marine Monday! For today’s chat let’s talk about what was leaked to me by our friendly neighborhood LegionLeak source! We have the official bio of Field Marshal Tirunesh Nhlappo. Now the important parts! Remember, destroy this message after reading it so the anonymous source can live long enough to continually feed us excellent intelligence! Without further ado, here is the leaked document!
Hopefully you enjoyed this sneak peek into our favorite bad assess official dossier. If you did, stay tuned for next week as we anxiously wait for the latest documents smuggled our way! And if you wanna drop a little into the LegionLeaks tip jar, they wouldn’t mind one bit!
Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!
JR
–> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are screen grabs taken by JR Handley for use under the Fair Use Doctrine.
Hey Space Cadets, how’s everyone doing today? I’m doing amazing, yesterday I had to rewrite some chapters in Operation Breakout because the developmental editor caught a glaring error. Yeah, I had one character in two places at once! Oops!! But, I think the resulting chapter was even better than it was before which is always the goal. I’m 1k words into the “Luck of the Draw” short story for the Four Horsemen Anthology which has been fun to play with. It’s a tale of a bounty hunter, think Judge Dredd meets Barney Fife with a touch of Don Quixote mixed in for good measure and you’ll get a hint of the shenanigans to come!
Now, let’s get right to the point of my latest blog posting! Yes, I’ve gotten bit by the interview bug! I’ve started the Warrior Weekend Series, the Family Friday Series, and now the ‘SciFy Shenanigans’ series that only serves to talk with other authors of science fiction! If they write in any of the science fiction subgenres, then I’ll interview them, so here goes nothing!
The plan here is to create a template to talk to authors about their latest books and their process. They’ll be able to pitch the other stuff too, of course, but when authors have deep back catalogues it’s hard to get into the weeds with them. Those weeds have grown too high, so I took a weed whacker to the mess. Here’s the final results! Now grab your popcorn and enjoy the ride! Today, we have science fiction author Felix R. Savage under the big top!
Just a taste of his prolific portfolio!
He keeps some mighty fine company!
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Children of All Ages,……
First, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?
Hello JR, it’s great to be here! I cannot reveal too much about myself as it might compromise my operational security. See here. However, my fiction is more of a reaction to my background than a reflection of it. Example, I majored in history and now I write about the future! Go figure.
What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
I enjoy roller-skating.
I’ll go out on a limb and assume that if you write books you also enjoy reading them. What other genres do you enjoy reading, and how have they affected your writing?
Everything I read feeds into my writing and I’m omnibibliovoracious. I made that word up just now. I read every genre under the sun with the exception of romance (sorry). In the last week I have read two thrillers (by Gregg Hurwitz and Cate Holahan), a new economics book (Tyler Cowen’s The Complacent Class), and a time travel sci-fi book (Extracted, which was a Kindle First selection and one of the only GOOD Kindle Firsts I’ve found yet).
Who are your biggest writing influences?
Other authors. I read something great and think “I want MORE of this,” but there isn’t more to be had, so I have to write it myself, and in the process it turns into something completely different. But still moreish, one hopes.
Who are your favorite authors and books?
How long can this blog post be? Kidding. Some of my all-time favorite authors are Iain M. Banks, Tolkien (of course), C.S. Lewis (of course), Peter F. Hamilton, Robert Harris, George Macdonald Fraser, Douglas Adams, Evelyn Waugh … Hmm there is a pattern here. All Brits and nearly all dead. Peter, stay healthy and keep writing!! Oh and my favorite NEW author is Gavin G. Smith (another Brit), whose space opera series you should go and pick up RIGHT NOW.
What is your preferred writing style?
All day every day. Sadly I have a 9 to 5 job so this is a dream rather than the reality at present.
How did that lead you deep into the weeds of the writing life?
You mean there’s any other way to live? *tries to see out of weeds* Nah. I’m happy right here!
When did you get serious about your writing?
At the age of 11.
What is your current novel? Tell us a little bit about the premise?
I just wrapped Shiplord, Book 3 in the Earth’s Last Gambit Quartet. This series starts out in the present day and involves a first contact scenario like nothing you’ve ever read before. I call it “techno-realistic science fiction.” Nearly all the technology in the series either really exists, or could be developed based on stuff we have. There are a few bits of armwavium here and there. See if you can spot them!
Shiplord is obviously a series, where can we expect it to go?
Book 4 will be entitled Killshot. It will involve a stupendously thrilling battle for the future of Earth!!!
As I mentioned above, I often get inspired by other authors. In this case it was John Sandford. He co-wrote a sci-fi book called Saturn Run. I really liked the concept, but I thought the execution left something to be desired, and the less said about the ending the better. So I decided to do the same sort of thing but do it right. You judge whether I succeeded or not!
Your characters from Shiplord are sent into a gladiatorial death match. Who wins?
My money’s on Jack. There is a reason his nickname is Killer, and it isn’t entirely ironic!
What do you listen to while you write? Or do you prefer silence?
Unfortunately I have no choice in the matter. I either write to a soundtrack of my co-workers nattering, or (on weekends) kiddie shows on the iPad or noisy children’s let’s-pretend games.
What is the most embarrassing thing you’ve looked up in the name of research – or what do you think the government has maybe flagged you for?
You’re trying to catch me out here, aren’t you? *adjusts tinfoil hat*
I enjoy ALL of it except research. Thankfully I have help with that? Bill Patterson, my science consultant, is a paragon of patience and answers all my scientific questions without laughing in my face. You’re a rock star, Bill.
Which actor/actress would you like to see playing your main characters from Shiplord?
If I ever got a film deal, I wouldn’t mind if they were played by clay animation models.
Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
Since I have a day job, every bit of free time is writing time.
Do you aim for a set number of words/pages per day?
As many as possible.
When you develop your characters, do you already have an idea of who they are before you write or do you let them develop as you go?
I start out with a clear idea of them which always turns out to be wrong.
How did writing your current novel differ from your writing your previous novels?
This one was tough. It is the story of a space voyage. The voyage takes two years. How do you write an interesting story about people cooped up aboard a spaceship for two years? It’s kind of like a country house mystery except the country house is a bunch of tin cans attached to a nuclear reactor.
Shiplord is full of many amazingly talented characters and I imagine it was really fun to create some of them, but which one was your favorite and why?
I try not to play favorites. It’s not fair to the others.
What advice do you have for writers who are just starting out?
Put your head down and write as much as you humanly can, because you will probably need to write a LOT before you start to get the hang of it. Improvement is a never-ending journey. And read a LOT, too. That is just as important as writing.
I hope you enjoy this little conversation, and if you want to find out more about Felix R. Savage then follow the rabbit trail to their warren in the internet! If they don’t like it, beat ‘em with a carrot and keep on truckin’! And watch out for those lizard people, I hear they bite!
Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!
JR
–> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are screen shots taken by JR Handley and used under the Fair Use Doctrine.
–> Some of these interview questions were inspired by my good friend TeacherofYA, and are used with her permission. If you have kids who love to read, she’s the girl who’ll make the literary introductions! You should check her out, after a lifetime of reading, your kids will thank you.
Hey Space Cadets, I hope everyone is doing great and voted in my friends Clash of the Covers contest!I’m still working on the Four Horsemen Anthology and hit a bit of a time snag.Try not to shudder, but I had to do something disgusting and unpleasant…. I filed my taxes today.I know, I cried too, there’s no shame in it!As for the next novel in the Sleeping Legion Series, well I’ll start outlining that this month and writing it as well. I will keep you posted on the progress as I try to bump up my production speeds!Pulp glory here I come!
Now, on to my World Building Wednesday topic!!Onward I say!Today we talk about how I figure out the technology of my futuristic worlds.Let’s start with your restrictions, which is especially important if you’re writing in someone else’s sandbox.In Boss Man’s universe there is no such thing as FTL because science doesn’t think it is viable at the moment.That doesn’t mean it is impossible, but because of the perceived improbability of this method, he decided against using it.Other limitations imposed on your technological development might come from your subgenre; is it space opera, military science fiction or hard science fiction.
A famous example of how this played out would be from Star Trek, where they got around the limitations of science as we know it by using warp drive.This used Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity.He speculated that the speed of light in a vacuum will be the same from any frame of reference moving at a constant speed. I won’t go all technical (Translation, I don’t know all of it), but basically it showed that FLT wasn’t possible.However, he speculated that you could instead bend space-time to traverse long distances in an expedited manner.Then Mexican physicist, and SciFy Nerd, Miquel Alcubierre theorized it might actually possible, without violating the theories of his predecessors.Way back in the dark ages of 1994!I mean, they didn’t even have Facebook back then.Or Myspace, for us old timers in attendance!If you want to know more, click the links at the bottom of this post.
When I write science fiction in my own universe I plan on running with the theory Dr. Alcubierre gave us and traveling faster than light, if not in fact, then in deed.So, now that you’ve considered your own limitations you need a starting point.I tend to look at science and technology as we know it and then postulate where it might go in the distant future.This is mostly guess work, lots of technical research and some good ole fashioned SWAG!Not that kind of swag, but a scientific wild arse guess!Okay, quasi scientific in my case but work with me here!This does require you to know your world so you can have the end points, since the starting points would be today.
How do I stay abreast, well I follow several science blogs that break it down for you Barney Style.I’ll work on collating it for you as soon as I can.Another way I use is to pick the brain of my father-in-law, a trained biologist and my dad who’s a mechanic who understands machines.Then I made friends with people way smarter than I, and let them prevent me from looking like an idiot.Well, more of an idiot than normal!
To recap, basically I do some research to know the limitations I’m starting with and then I guess where things might go in the future.But that’s how I do it, what is your process?
Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!
JR
–> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are screen grabs taken by JR Handley for use under the Fair Use Doctrine.
Happy 1st everyone! For me, that means it’s time for a new Book Cover of the Month Bracket, and I’m more excited every time I do this. If you’re curios or new, check out the Book Covers for December and January.
Last month was simply enormous, and I hope to keep this momentum going in the right direction. We have 28 new covers to look at, and the top four runners up from last month have a second shot to win the month!
If you know the authors or the artists, please share this and tag them. I try to tag or friend every author I can, but sometimes it’s hard to track someone down. Max participation is a huge deal to me. The more people who vote, the more recognition these authors and artists receive, and I want this to be as legitimate as possible.
Hey Space Cadets, today’s blog will be pretty short.I’m just started my first draft for my Four Horsemen anthology submission.Well, is it a submission?I was invited to submit, so I guess somewhere in between?My story in this universe is about a bounty hunter, sort of Barney Fife meets Judge Dred.More details will be coming, both here and on my co-author’s website.Finally, today I received the rough sketch of the “No Marine Left Behind” short story.It’s set between The Legion Awakes and Fortress Beta City.The cover has an extra Marine but is otherwise pretty close to what I expect to see for the final results.And yes, you’re not wrong to notice the similarities between The Four Horsemen covers and this one.Chris Kennedy is sharing his super-secret artist.I was blindfolded on the way to the bunker, so all I know was that the artist MIGHT be human!
Take a look!!!
Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!
JR
–> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are screen grabs taken by JR Handley for use under the Fair Use Doctrine.
Hey Space Cadets, how is everyone today? I’m great, I’ve finished my first Sleeping Legion short story and am starting another in the Four Horsemen universe before jumping into book four. I’ll be co-writing with Corey Truax, my current editor, and fellow author and Mesopotamian Veteran. This story is the tale of an intergalactic bounty hunter, with loads of shenanigans and insanity to follow. If this co-writing works out, Corey and I will write a new series, which we’ve titled “The Odera Chronicles.”
Okay, so on to our regularly scheduled Marine Monday! Today I was leaked, by our friendly neighborhood LegionLeak source, the official bio of New Order Janissary Zempi Milisyen-Hoia. Now the important parts! Remember, destroy this message after reading it so the anonymous source can live long enough to continually feed us excellent intelligence! Without further ado, here is the leaked document!
Hopefully you enjoyed this sneak peek into our favorite Janissary’s official dossier. If you did, stay tuned for next week as we anxiously wait for the latest documents smuggled our way!
Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!
JR
–> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are screen grabs taken by JR Handley for use under the Fair Use Doctrine.
Satellite navigation is such a vital part of day-to-day life that other countries of the world are planning to build up their own network of navigation satellites and move away from total reliance on the American system, GPS.
America
As mentioned in my previous post, the GPS system is operated and funded by the US government. The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978 and, over the following years, more were launched – covering more and more of the Earth’s surface. In 1993 the system become fully operational when it had a full set of 24 satellites covering the entire surface of the globe. However the GPS signals were scrambled, making them available only to US military users who had the equipment to unscramble the signals. In 2000, following a decision by president Bill Clinton four years earlier, the signals stopped being scrambled and since then have been available for civilian use anywhere on the…
Hey Space Cadets, for today’s post I wanted to do some general house cleaning.My third novel, Operation Breakout, is with my editing team.I’m 11k words into a short story, chronicling Sashala Kraevoi’s journey between The Human Legion series and my own.She has been a lot of fun to write, and I think you’ll get a kick out of it.Boss Man is releasing the rights to publish it so we can practice the process, preparing us for life after my current contract.I appreciate this, but I don’t know the specifics as my minions are handling those details so I can keep writing.
So, let’s elaborate my plans for life after The Sleeping Legion Series.I have one short story, “Civil Unrest,” which was submitted to an open call for an anthology with Tickety Boo Press.I was also invited to write in an anthology being organized by Chris Kennedy.It’s set in the Four Horsemen Universe, which currently has a four-book series written by Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy.It has been a lot of fun to prepare for, and I’ve already laid out the story, as Corey Truax wrote about here.Then we have two universes we have started outlining, with the potential for our anthology to turn into a series as well.I know, I know, everything I’ve written seems to scream SERIES to me.When I die in 100 years, I’ll likely still have stories I want to tell.
So, how did this collaboration happen?It started with a short story I wrote to practice my craft.It was for an anthology, but I missed the deadline and couldn’t get it under the 5k word cap.My editor, Corey Truax, had so much fun editing it he crossed the line from developmental editor to co-author.He rung me up, and said we could go one of two ways.The traditional editing process, or… we could play in the same sandbox and see what happens.Well, with the hive mind the genesis of my story was more exciting and dynamic.It went from MY story, to OUR story in no time flat.Our main character, Alexis Monroe, was more 3 dimensional and compelling.Our wives demanded we give them this story, one where the female lead was a real person who just HAPPENED to be female.I didn’t think that was as big of a deal, I mean I try to do that with all of my stories but when your wife orders, the smart husband obeys.Hey, I like Corey and all but I wouldn’t wanna bunk up with him cause our wives kicked us out!
What can you expect going forward?Great stories, and hopefully a continually engaging blog.As we develop this process of co-writing, ironing out the wrinkles, we will blog about our process.Some of this will be posted under the World Building Wednesday blogs.Let’s face it, most of my process has already be written so I will only add to those posts if it is something new and exciting to read.I will maintain a blog schedule of at LEAST every other day, and use the leeway to write more stories, and troll more blogs.Because we are self-publishing Sashala’s story, I will have my wife/mother team write a few posts about that side of things to keep everyone abreast of the comings and goings in the Handley Trenches.This includes choosing cover art and all the other minutia that both scares and excites me!
Now that I’ve bored you to tears, I’m proud to say that the next round of beers is on Corey!Honest, would I lie?I mean, I am SURE he would LOVE to buy everyone beers!!Cold beers, just as the gods intended.Sorry Boss Man, but someday I WILL convert you!
Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!
JR
–> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are screen grabs taken by JR Handley for use under the Fair Use Doctrine.
This…
Happy 1st everyone! For me, that means it’s time for a new Book Cover of the Month Bracket, and I’m more excited every time I do this. If you’re curios or new, check out the Book Covers for 
J.R. Handley's Blog 