Sci-Fi Shenanigans: SF Edwards

On By J.R. HandleyIn Sci-Fi Shenanigans, Writing13 Comments

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Hey Space Cadets, I hope everyone is doing great!  I’ve had bit of technical difficulties this week – my editor (Mom) has been working on her house.   Hurricane Matthew was not her friend.  Due to this hiccup, I will not be doing World Building Wednesday this week.  Instead, I’ll bring you the blog from yesterday which you didn’t get to see.  Otherwise I have been busy writing, learning to tame my Dragon and watching out for the flames.  Been singed a time or two, but they keep telling me you’ve got to sacrifice for your art.  Anyway, 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 ‘Sci-Fi Shenanigans’ series that only serves to talk with other authors of science fiction!  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!

 

Now that we’ve talked about what the series is, let’s jump into our first contender!  S.F. Edwards is a new author who has always lived his life in the future, dreaming of spaceships, and alien worlds.

 

He is the creator of the Spiral Wars Military Sci-Fi Space Opera series and a recognized expert in aircraft night vision equipment for military and civilian operators.  His writing has been praised as being “able to conjure up a world in just a few paragraphs and leave you wondering what will come.”  (Peter F. Hamilton).

 

Edwards’s career of testing, evaluating and certifying military weapon systems and aircraft has given him an insight into military hardware and mindset that many science fiction authors do not.  Years of teaching aerospace concepts and history, as well as simulated flight instruction combined with his background in engineering have also afforded him an understanding of physics that shows in his writing.  He “does not overburden with the science, but makes a reader able to understand how the world works.”  (Good Reads Reviewer, Dani Hoots)

 

A weaver of stories his whole life, SF Edwards crafts stories in alien worlds that still make the characters feel familiar.  His characters, while often having exceptional qualities, also have human failings and issues that draw the reader in.

 

In addition to writing his own works, SF Edwards mentors other writers as a Veteran Reviewer on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Online Writer’s Workshop and at multiple local writer’s groups.  His short stories have placed first in the Space Opera: Writers Summer 2016 Flash Fiction contest, as judged by Peter F. Hamilton, and second in the Spring 2016 contest as judged by David Farland.

SF Edwards now calls the Puget Sound area home with his wife and five sons, one of whom is afflicted with a severe lifelong disability.  The boys are his greatest joy and he works hard to make sure that they will become responsible, capable young men.

 

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Now that you know more about Edwards, let’s get down to it!

 

Obviously, we’re still in the “getting to know you” phase, but your bio caught my attention because we both have special needs children.  How had dealing with at affected you writing? 

When my son was first diagnosed with Lissencephaly I reacted the way many parents would when they find out that their child has a life-threatening condition.  It caused me to make an emotionally driven decision to self-publish an early version of the book that was nowhere near ready under my real name.  The book was a complete mess and a year later, after dedicating much of my time to family to get my son’s condition under control I pulled the book and completely rewrote it.

Since then he and the rest of my boys have been an inspiration to make sure that my writing is the best it can be.  I tend to work my writing schedule around the kids’ schedule.  With having to take him to physical therapy twice a week, I schedule my telework days for then, and my writing as well.  Now that his condition is much more under control I can dedicate more time to my writing and everything that goes along with it.

 

And as a follow-on question to the last one, how do you manage working a demanding full time job, raising five kids, keeping your wife happy and still find time to write?

Time management is one of the hardest things to do.  I have an hour plus drive and I try to use that for writing, either dictating books to later transcribe while I drive, or writing while in my vanpool.  The Telework days help as well.  My family comes first though, so when writing, designing, etc. updates seem sparse, the reason is because I am dedicating time to them.  As my boys get older and need less hand holding I am able to find more time to write (and all that goes with it) though when we do things for them they seem to take even longer.

 

So, when I stalked you on Facebook I saw that your current book is On Daggers Wings.  It’s out for pre-order for $0.99, and I’m looking forward to reading it.  If your characters are sent into a gladiatorial death match who wins?

Gladiatorial Death Match?  Well, that is a hard question, my first response would be Arion.  He is a giant of man, muscular and smart and in unarmed combat he is quite formidable, plus, he carries the biggest gun when armed.  But then Blazer, is much nimbler and as an energy gatherer can electrocute his enemies.  But I would not discount Zithe, the Lycan, or Bichard, an insectoid Coretherian who stands over eight feet tall and can excrete resin blades from his forearms.  In short, it would be a bloody, brutal battle, but if you put them all together, they would work together to fight their way out rather than kill one another.

 

Moving on, The Spiral War is obviously a series, where can we expect it to go?

What started as a planned seven book series has grown into ten.  I have each book plotted out however and know where the series will go.  Once the team graduates from the academy they will set out into their career in the space forces and they’ll discover, along with the reader, why they were so rigorously trained.  They will face alien enemies that inspire fear in all around them, meet new species, and come upon enigmatic older races that will influence everything they do.  Eventually even their saga will come to a close and those that survive the horrors of that await them will see the end of the centuries old conflict.  One thing to keep in mind, no one is safe, and any character can be killed, or incapacitated at any time.

 

Now that we know more about this series, how has the series evolved over the years?

This is a good question.  Spiral War evolved out of multiple sources, but two are the most key; my first written short story The Non-submersible Submersible (I wrote it in eight grade and titles have always been a pain for me) and my planned fantasy trilogy The Nocturnal Knights.  Spiral War was originally Nocturnal Knights 2000, a sci-fi take on a straight fantasy story.  I took the original fantasy characters and just pushed them forward in time.  Later I started to flesh it out and took two of the main characters from the short story and based it around them, Blazer and Gokhead.

The next evolution came when I started to actually write the story.  Still in high school, I had little idea where I wanted things go beyond a few major plot points and that I wanted to start the story with the team in the academy.  As my knowledge of the world, science, people and the universe around us grew so did the story evolve.  Characters came and went, all went through changes and then I discovered design.  I started to not only draw little doodles of ships, weapons, aliens and equipment, but actually designed them.  None of these designs were static and all have changed as I have established aesthetics and the physical principles around the universe in order to keep the designs as realistic as possible.

Through college things continued to evolve and I wrote out the first drafts of the first several books in the series.  I wrote and rewrote things continually as I learned my craft, while at the same time becoming versed in the career path I set myself down.  During that time I also discovered CAD and 3D design so many ships received their first redesigns to make them more realistic.  Writing was not a huge priority through college however and I did not give writing serious time again until after I graduated and started working.

Life intervened at many occasions preventing me from dedicating the time I wanted towards writing and designing.  Eventually the original first book had grown to a gargantuan epic, so I was left with either cutting out huge chunks of the story or splitting it up.  I decided on the latter, splitting the book into two, and self-published the book out.  This was a terrible idea, the book, and my writing were nowhere near ready to great the world.  So I pulled the book back, re-evaluated it and then completely rewrote it.  In the process I saw something else, it was still too long for a first book and the second book would still have been too long as well.  So the book split again into three total books.  Additional edits, advice from other writers, and another, more successful, go at independent publishing eventually led me to make the contacts I needed to meet my current publisher.

 

That’s fascinating, I’m not sure I would’ve stuck with just one story for that long.  So, as an author who are your biggest writing influences?

My friends, family and my life in general have been a huge influence on my writing.  I was raised in a family of engineers that also loved good stories.  Even now, my boys love good stories, especially ones that make sense, which is something I’ve always strived for.  Nothing bothers me more in a book, TV Show, Game, or Movie then story plot holes, inconsistencies, or bad designs.

Ultimately, I look at everyone I meet as a chance to influence my writing, be they inspiration for characters, stories, or just planting an idea in my head for dialogue.

 

Who are your favorite authors and books?

That’s a hard one to nail down.  I’ve read and watched sci-fi since I was kid.  I was all but raised on Star Wars in the theatres, and used to watch Star Trek and Doctor Who with my Parents and Grandparents.  And of course, as any child of the 80s, I watched all the genre cartoons, GI-Joe (though I preferred the comics), Transformers, and of course Super Dimensional Fortress Macross and its sequels.  Yes, I am a lying Macross purist, though I acknowledge that the compilation series Robotech introduced me to it.

Writing wise, I draw inspiration from many sources.  From the classics like: HP Lovecraft, Heinlein, Asimov, EE “Doc” Smith, and Bradbury.  Contemporaries that I hope to be counted amongst include: Timothy Zahn (whom I had the pleasure to meet at RustyCon 32 here in Seattle), Michael Stackpole, Larry Niven, and Ben Bova.

 

What other genres do you enjoy to read, and how have they affected your writing?

Outside of sci-fi, I love a well-crafted horror story.  In fact my favorite modern horror writer is still Dean Koontz, though I do enjoy Stephen King’s short fiction.  I also enjoy a good mystery, having read all of the original Hardy Boys books before I hit fourth grade before I moved on to Sherlock Holmes.  BTW Benedict Cumberbatch is the best modern Holmes, period.

I don’t read mysteries much anymore though, as I find most of them too predictable, but then I have that problem with most movies too and love it when something hits me with a genuine surprise.

Military fiction is also a lot of fun, but five kids, a wife and full time job, I have a hard enough time finding time to write, thank god for Audiobooks and a long commute where I am now, so I am catching up.

 

What is your preferred writing style?

It really depends on the story.  For short fiction I put together a general idea of what I want to write about and then just jump right in.  For longer fiction, I feel that I have to plot and outline it out in order to avoid repetition and continuity errors.  It might be a full up outline, instead I might just list the major plotlines I want to address in a chapter and go from there.  When I first started writing, I was definitely a pantser though, but as things got longer and once the story evolved into a series I really had to plot things out.

 

How has your civilian service with various militaries affected your writing?

Even at work, where many of my co-workers are prior military, everyone assumes I was prior military as well, but I am not.  I actually grew my beard while working for the navy so I didn’t get confused with shipboard personnel.

I was raised around the military, both my father and my grandfather were Civil Service overseeing military acquisitions.  I grew up hearing about every weapon system, airplane and ship out there, reading about them voraciously.  I was even AFROTC in college before some prior medical conditions made me ineligible.  But most of my best friends are military, or prior.

My new job with the FAA is the first time in my professional career where I’m not working with and for our armed forces.  Even in college, after I left ROTC, I worked at the Aviation Challenge program in Huntsville, AL, where most folks knew me best as either Link or Knight-26.  It was the aviation/military offshoot of the Space Camp program.  There I worked with even more folks in the military, most of which I still count as some of my best friends.  A couple are even fellow writers.

 

Working with the military was a big influence.  It helped me to ensure that I gave the characters the correct mind-set, that I have them speaking and acting properly, and that the militaries I have crafted are as believable as possible.  One of the inconsistencies in sci-fi that annoys me most is when fictional militaries don’t make sense or the characters don’t act accordingly.

 

Finally, what advice do you have for writers who are just starting out?

Grow a thick skin.  Learn to recognize when someone is truly offering advice on how to improve your writing, and when someone is just being a troll.  Take every critique to heart, even harsh criticism may have nuggets you can use to improve your skills.  Join writing groups, in person or online and accept critiques.  Learn your craft, study what makes a writer and a story successful.  Don’t be afraid to tell your story.  It may not be what the market is asking for, but it is your story and if you are willing to put the hard work not only into it, but the promotion that comes afterwards you can still make it a success.

 

 

Hopefully you enjoyed this first foray into an non-themed interview series!  If SF Edwards is your kinda guy, check him out.  He seems like an awesome dude and he certainly designs some pretty awesome planes!

 

Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

brown_bess

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.

–> The images in the slide show were all designed by S.F. Edwards and are his intellectual property.  Any desire to use these images should contact him directly.

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Marine Monday: Lance Scipio

On By J.R. HandleyIn Marine Monday22 Comments

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Hey Space Cadets, how’re you doing today?  I’m doing well, found out that the editors didn’t like the ending of the short story I submitted to the Roswell Anthology.  I just couldn’t give them what they wanted in the short 2-5k window so I withdrew the short story and promptly wrote another one.  It’s just waiting for that loving pass from my editor, who’s in the middle of a move.  I’ll keep you posted, but it taught me an important lesson. Sometimes you have to say no to projects.  Stopping my groove on Operation Breakout cost me several days of good word counts because I was writing a new short story for submission.  Now I’m back writing the next Sleeping Legion novel, and these lovely blog posts of course!

 

Okay, so on to our regularly scheduled Marine Monday! Today I was leaked, by our friendly neighborhood LegionLeak source, the official bio of Marine Lance Scipio.  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!

 

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Hopefully you enjoyed this sneak peek into our favorite Marines official record.  If you did, stay tuned for next weeks 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!

brown_bess

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.

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WARRIOR WEEKEND INTERVIEW SERIES: Cait Ashwood

On By J.R. HandleyIn Warrior Weekend Interview Series6 Comments

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Hello Space Cadets! Today, I wanted to introduce you to another author from my WARRIOR WEEKEND INTERVIEW SERIES.  This one will be slightly different, as Cait Ashwood was an Army wife, rather than a veteran. Those who stayed at home, managing the hearth fire also served in my book.  I know it isn’t the same, but to me they’re the ones who ran the daily affairs that let the warriors do what warriors do.  I couldn’t have been as effective while serving at the tip of the spear if I didn’t know that things were solid at home.  My wife gave me that peace of mind, so I know it has intrinsic value.  Further, I’ve seen what happened to soldiers with crappy spouses.  To keep this blog as clean as this old grunt is capable of, let’s just say it didn’t end well.

 

So without getting lost in the weeds, let’s talk about today’s subject. Cait’s an amazing author, wife, mother to furry kids and works as a ‘post closer’ at a law firm specializes in real-estate. Yeah, I know… one of those titles that could be anything or nothing, but don’t shoot the messenger!! We met at my local Hampton Roads NaNoWriMo group this past year, something for which I’m grateful. She has been kind, encouraging and just generally friendly. Her 2nd Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo has been put to use helping many of our local authors perfect their hand to hand combat scenes, including one in the upcoming Operation Breakout.

 

Aside from the boring real life stuff, Cait is a writer who feels like getting her first novel published is a dream come true. I’m delighted to have her here so we can go along for the ride. When she’s the next big thing, we can all say we knew her when!  And hey, maybe she’ll slip us a free latte! OR she could pimp our books so we can be as cool as her too!  “Do you fancy my book? Awesome, then try JR’s book in a totally different genre!” Bam!  See how it’s done?  Take notes Cait, seriously!

 

So, more about this fine author!  Fantasy and science fiction have been her lifeblood since she was too young to stay up and watch the complete episode of Star Trek: Voyager.  Yep, she worships at the wrong church… a Trekie. Sigh, we will let our Force wielders turn her from such a dark and turbulent path and back to the welcoming embrace of the Church of the Star Wars. She has several fandoms that she follows with varying amounts of rabid foaming, but it’s all in good fun most of the time. Except that Star Trek part, don’t try that at home kids! According to Cait, if she had to pick a favorite, The Princess Bride would right at the top.  Subject to change of course, because who knows what’s around the corner?

 

Aside from writing, Cait’s also a classically trained violinist.  She has a few students she teaches weekly, and really enjoys working with them.  Those kids need to save their billing invoices, they could be worth money someday.  But I digress… Cait also crochets, plays D&D with friends, and, of course, reads her ‘innocent’ little heart out.  Further, she has a small menagerie she manages with her husband; including three dogs, two cats, and six chickens.  If you ever get the opportunity to keep chickens, she highly recommends them.  They’re a lot more entertaining than you might expect. Plus, you know, free eggs.

 

Finally, the all-important touchstone to judge a person by, their favorite authors.  Some of Cait’s favorite authors include: J.R. Ward, R.A. Salvatore, Anne McCaffrey, Tad Williams, Mercedes Lackey, Jean Auel, and Sherwood Smith.

 

If I’ve perked your interest, keep reading as I interview this lovely Army wife.

 

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Without further ado, let’s get this interview cranking!

 

 

Tell me a little about your time as a military spouse?

I was a military spouse to a member of the 82nd Airborne division, with a home in Fayettenam! We married before he went to basic, so I was with him from the start, including two failed attempts at Ranger school. I have to say one of my favorite memories was being forced to jump out of the 35’ airborne training towers on Spouse Day. I was so scared my knees were knocking and his 1st Sergeant started smoking him until I jumped. As he was somewhat in the doghouse with me, I will admit to some intentional stalling at that point! While that marriage didn’t end up working out for us, I am now happily married to a veteran (again from the Army).

 

How do you feel that your affiliation with the military has influenced your writing?

If anything, I think my time with the military lets me know exactly how much I don’t know when it comes to writing more military related or battle scenes. At least I understand the lingo and can find people to pester, and know what questions to ask. That’s a huge help when it comes to, say, wondering what kind of explosive a medieval society would have access to when attempting to penetrate an underground compound.

 

Do you think your military lifestyle, and more specifically your meeting all kinds of people, adds to the realism in your books?  If so, how?

I do believe it’s been a great help. From observing the CoC at work, it really helps me to get into the frame of mind of my commanders, and see risk analysis from a leader’s standpoint. Being intimately familiar with the banter and camaraderie among enlisted troops is also beneficial when writing my squad’s interactions with each other. Then there’s always those pesky officer’s wives and the petty competitions there. Seriously spouses. Your spouse wears the rank, not you.

 

Do you feel like there is any bleed over from your husband’s work, into your books?

Directly? No – I don’t have helicopters in my books. Have I been known to wander into the living room and start asking him questions to get a realistic military point of view answer to questions and issues I’m dealing with? Absolutely. I love picking his brain.

 

When did you start pursuing your writing more seriously?

I’d have to say last summer. The first draft of The Seekers took me about two years to draft, and sat in a stagnant mire of “No, really, I’m editing,” for about six months.  I got some feedback, got fired up to write with a few motivational pages, and re-wrote the entire manuscript in two and a half months. Two months later after editing and formatting, here we are, ready to release.

 

Of all your work, which was your favorite to write?

squints at JR     You know I only have the one book out currently…is this a trick question?

 

How many of your characters were inspired by your exposure to all things military?

Let’s see… counts …     Named characters would probably be around six or seven. I have the Seekers in the main squad we follow, Hound, Ace, Deuce, Trio, and Quad, then the commander of the Seekers, Tops, and his second, Kendrick. There are plenty more Seekers where they come from, but those are the biggest roles.

 

How many of the scenes you wrote were inspired from your experience as a military spouse?

There’s one really big battle scene in The Seekers, and a few others that deal with emergency evacs, tactics, and the ever-fluctuating chain of command.

 

Do you feel like your writing has served any therapeutic value for you?  Has it helped you process your experiences?

As I’m not a veteran, most of the traumatic experiences in my life have stemmed from being a female and the nasty things that happen to women in our lifetimes. There are several issues with the main character, Audrey, and instances of sexual assault. She goes through varying stages of mental recovery from her experiences, and while the events in my life have already been processed and I feel victorious rather than victimized, I do feel that having experience in that realm myself has added an element of reality to her mental struggles.

 

If you could serve with any of your characters, who would it be and why?

Without a doubt, Hound. He’s a hardass who doesn’t tolerate even a hint of insubordination, but you also don’t mess with his men. If I know one thing about myself, it’s that I do best in a structured environment. In a leader, you always want someone who leads from the front, and that’s where Hound prefers to be. He may have high standards for his men, but it’s nothing to his personal standards.

 

If you could pick one of your characters to be your husband’s battle buddy, who would it be and why?

Oh.  Oh dear, this is a horrible question.  I would say Deuce, but as a medic, his combat skills aren’t as advanced as some of the other guys, and I want a good fighter with my hubby to ensure he comes home safe. Quad is the best fighter, but also young and somewhat annoying. I suppose I’d have to go with Ace. He can be serious and buckle down when needed, but also provides an element of comedic relief that I think my hubby would appreciate.

 

If you would want to avoid serving with any of your characters, who would it be and why?

Trio. Because he’d likely be oogling the ladies too much to actually focus on his job, something Hound is always after him for…

 

What are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on the sequel to The Seekers, Order of the Lily. I have one more book planned in this series, Raven’s Flight (working title), along with a few novellas. After that, I’m looking at a more paranormal series, but that’s at the whim of the muses as to which project I’ll tackle next.

 

How can people find you?

  1. Amazon
  2. Facebook
  3. Twitter
  4. Instagram
  5. Website
  6. E-Mail: cait@caitashwood.com

 

 

If this convinced you to find out more, look up Cait Ashwood and become a fanboy like I did!  Hey, I’ve yet to read her book but if it’s as awesome as she is she’s gonna be HUGE!  And if she can do that BEFORE the book launches today, just wait until the novel takes the literary world by storm.  I hope you all had a great time getting to learn about Cait, don’t be afraid to say hello here or on her plethora of social media platforms.  If she doesn’t respond quick enough, glitter bomb her!  Mwahahaha!!  Wait, the little birdie tells me she might’ve already used this evilness in one of her books.  Send her fake books, just to tease her?  Would that be cruel enough to motivate contact?

 

Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

brown_bess

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.

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Keystroke Medium

On By J.R. HandleyIn Writing, YouTube4 Comments

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Hey Space Cadets, I hope everyone is doing fine!  I am doing great, though a little under the weather.  If you live in Southern Virginia (USA), then you’re likely feeling my pain.  Summer weather one day, snow the next.  Ugh, take your meds already and stop being so crazy!  Also, I finally broke the 50,000 words mark on Operation Breakout!!  If the multiple exclamation marks didn’t clue you in, I’m ecstatic to cross that line!  My original goal was to hit 90,000 words by January 31st, which means on 56% done with 10 days to get the other 44%.  I’m still going to try for my February 1st turnover date, but I might be a little off.  A turnover date is when I have the finished product to the next link in the assembly line of production.  If you want to check my editor, he’s here and would love for you to say hello!  

 

While taking a realistic look at the numbers, I would need 3,584 words a day to make that happen.  Not sure if I’m there yet but I hope it’s a feasible word count for me down the line.  Ultimately, if I started getting 2,500 useable words a day I will gladly call it a win!  Heck, I’d be so happy I’d throw a party!  Ideally, I’d love to reach 3000 words a day or more but I’ve learned that I can’t set unrealistic goals because it stresses me out, which is bad for my creative process.

 

Moving right along, sorry I didn’t post yesterday.  It’s the second day I’ve missed since December 1st but it was a much-needed day off.  I was busy working my way through the Dragon Training Tutorial.  I’m not sure I’ll get all of the functionality out of the program, but if I can merely produce a usable first draft, one my editor won’t kill me over, I’ll call it a win.  I’m already getting faster with the dictation than I can currently type.  While the learning curve means less time actually working on the story, in two hours I’m getting as I did with five to six hours of typing.  If I can get more proficient, and tweak my outlining process accordingly, I can see myself finally reaching pulp speed.

 

Speaking of editing, I recently watched a video by Keystroke Medium on the subject.  I found it very informative, and wanted to share it with you.  I really think it’ll have a lot of actionable advice, most of it from the practical and less on the theoretical side.  While you’re in the video browsing mood, you should check out the other videos as well.  They’ve got loads of good stuff, seriously, just click here.  Come on, I double dog dare you!!  Anyway, in this video you’ll also see mention of a contest that benefits a worthy charity.  They’ve teamed up with Parkinson’s UK to help research towards a cure, a worthy endeavor.  They’re auctioning off 3 Tom Edwards book covers, which are amazing works of art!  Definitely worth looking into, but I don’t want to spoil it so watch the video already!

 

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After watching that video, if the fine folks at Keystroke Medium seemed right up your alley, check them out on Facebook, or on YouTube. Josh and Scott, the hosts, are extremely friendly so you won’t regret it!

 

Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!  

brown_bess

 JR

 

–> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are images owned by JR Handley.

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World Building Wednesday: Working With Nuance Dragon

On By J.R. HandleyIn Dragon Dictation, World Building Wednesday22 Comments

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Hey Space Cadets, how’re you all doing today?  I’m doing great, not as consistent on my walks as I would like but the constantly changing temperature and rainy weather is playing heck on my sinuses.  I also made the excuse to myself that I needed to write because I’m behind on my book three goal but that strikes me as missing the forest for the trees.  I did manage to walk a mile today, which is progress.  I was tired, but I managed it in 29 minutes.  A far cry from my Army days but I’ll get better again.

 

I’ve slowed down on Operation Breakout, but I’ve re-committed to using my Nuance Dragon program to write it.  In the end, it will pay dividends for me even if it slows me down just a little bit.  Ultimately, you have to evolve your writing style to suit your needs.  I injured my hand in my infantry days and it’s been bothering me, which has slowed down my typing.  I’ve also changed how I write my novels over the course of two novels, a novella and a short story.  My writing style has grown and my process has evolved, but my inability to get it on the page quickly wasn’t keeping up.  This has forced me to adapt my approach to my new reality, ergo the Dragon text-to-speech approach. 

 

As I struggled to find a way to make it work for me, I consulted the Dragon Nuance Support Center for help.  I realized that part of the problem was that my older version of Dragon wasn’t interfacing as effectively with Windows 10 and the newest Microsoft Word. Because I have faith that I’ll make the Dragon work for me, I plopped down the $150 and bought the latest version. I didn’t have to pay full price, because they gave me a 50% discount for having the older version. The newer copy arrived on Monday, and I’ve been using it since.  I like that it doesn’t have the same issue with my Word document freezing that my older version had.  I’ve only used the latest version on a few blog posts so far, but I’m impressed.

 

I then started doing some active research on how to make the Dragon work better for me, not the “using it” part but the more practical applications of it.  I researched how to think the story out loud, and have my creativity become a verbal process instead of fingers clacking on the keyboard.  During this process, I ran across Scott Baker’s YouTube channel.  It has loads of great advice in there on how to practically use several of the Dragon’s features.  Additionally, I found the Dragon Riders – Authors Dictating group on Facebook which was jampacked with helpful posts and practical tips (Thank you Terry Mixon for showing me this group!).  If this sounds like something you’re interested in, be sure to check out both of these resources.

 

Finally, I recently found out that Scott Baker has a book coming out soon on how to work the Dragon into your creative process.  He’s been pretty helpful on the Dragon Riders group so I’ll be buying this when it comes out and I’ll let you know what I think.  Otherwise, I don’t want to take up too much of your time, so I’ll keep this post short and sweet.  Instead, I’ll leave you with some cool pictures of dragons!

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This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry! 

brown_bess

 JR

 

–> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are images owned by JR Handley.

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Story Prompts: Closets (#1)

On By J.R. HandleyIn Story Prompts14 Comments

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Hey, Space Cadets. I hope this fine Tuesday finds you well!  I’ve hit an impasse on Operation Breakout. Namely, managing this blog takes more of my time than I really have.  While I love the collaboration, writing stories needs to be my top priority. Soon, if I can’t find a solution, I might cut back to every other day posting.  Either way, for today, I wanted to try something different.  I’ll be doing a series of writing prompts, and today’s will use the image below as the starting point.  My goal is to improve my ability to write shorter works, and you get to be my lab rats!  I hope you enjoy the insanity that follows! Feedback is welcome. Negative, positive, grammatical, whatever you want to post. Ultimately, a writer grows by seeing their flaws and honing their craft.

 

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She opened the door to her storage closet and braced herself for the horror that would come.  Her normally ruddy complexion turned an ashen white as a hoarse voice whispered to her, imploringly.

“Just let me explain.”

It wasn’t how she expected to spend her Saturday morning, after a glorious Friday evening with her friends.  She’d met up with members of her Imperial Space Fleet Academy graduating class, to reminisce about old times.

With long deployments, spread across Imperial Space, she hadn’t seen several of them in years.  Many of them had exited the Navy, and entered the private sector.  Enjoying lucrative jobs in the Imperial City, which allowed them to meet with their classmates.

The rest, well their time in service meant most were ready for their own class on ships captaincy.  It was only their return to attend the Ship’s Captain Course, after so many good officers died in the insurrection that just ended, that brought them all together.

After so long apart, she’d just gotten through telling them how happy her marriage was.  Droning on about how they’d stood the test of time and were still together after all these years.  College sweethearts even.

What she didn’t expect was to go into the storage closet to find her husband joined in coitus with her best friend.  The fact that he was wearing her high school prom dress and ‘that woman’ was wearing a tux only added fuel to the rage that followed.  She knew she only had a few seconds to decide her next move.

Is the prison time worth killing them?  Would it be better to take a picture, humiliate them both?  What do I do?

 

Hope you all enjoyed this science fiction short, and I’ll try to do more of them in the future! Again, feedback is welcome. Heck, if I get an idea doing this that I like, I might just turn it into something more. If your feedback helps make that happen, you’ll get a mention in the acknowledgements. Or, I’ll make you a redshirt in the book and you can meet death with glory (in the story, of course).

 

Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

brown_bess

 JR

 

–> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section or are images owned by JR Handley.

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Marine Monday: Sangurian’s

On By J.R. HandleyIn Marine Monday, Writing4 Comments

space-warrior

Hey Space Cadets, how’re you all doing this fine Monday?  Here in the States it’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day so we’ve enjoyed the three-day weekend.  Played games with the kids, went for walks and enjoyed the nature around us.  I didn’t post a blog yesterday, and for that I’m sorry.  I had to get my computer fixed, and then got lost in the sauce working on Operation Breakout.  I really feel like you’re going to love this one, it has more action than the first two and we explore the culture of the Human Legion Universe even more.

 

Another quick update, there is an official Facebook page for fans of the Human Legion Universe.  Right now it’s new and only includes Tim C. Taylor, Corey the Editor and yours truly!  If you want to join, hop on over to the new page and start a conversation or two.  And speaking of hopping… let’s talk about rabbits.  No, seriously, today’s post is about the Sangurian species.  They’re humanoid rabbit warriors, who came close to annihilation after a failed revolution against their capricious White Knight Imperial Overlords.  Like in many cases, when you revolt and fail it goes badly for you and yours.  In this case, very badly.

 

Because I know you’d rather see how the sausage is made than hear me bloviate, here is a look at the Sangurians.  I have it on good authority from that mysterious LegionLeak warrior – these documents are true and were stolen from the deepest digital vaults.  Don’t believe me?  Take a look and see for yourself.  I even hired the best translators in the metaverse since I don’t read White Knight Imperial Standard.

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 Also, in case you were curious about what I visualized when reading these purloined documents, I grabbed a screen shot from Google.  I own none of the rights to these, so I’m only showing you what you could see in the same search I made.  Hope it sparks some creative juices for everyone!  If you’ve got similar creatures in your works, or read of them, please start a conversation here or on the Facebook fan group.

 

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Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

brown_bess 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.

 

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Book Review: Asbaran Solutions

On By J.R. HandleyIn Book Review, Writing7 Comments

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Hey Space Cadets, here is the next installment in my series of book reviews.  As I’ve mentioned earlier, I’m about half way through book three of The Sleeping Legion Series and loving it.  Loads of action, some surprises and a lot of exploding goodness.  I’ve also been outlining my next project based off of my short story from the Roswell Anthology, and thinking it’s gonna be the next big thing in science fiction.  It feels like a winner, but you’ll have to wait and see!

 

On to this specific review.  I was given this book by a local US Navy veteran and seasoned author to review and couldn’t say no.  No really, he might go all Tonya Harding on me!  Plus, as a veteran, I feel obligated to support other veterans where possible.  I won’t buy substandard things just BECAUSE they’re a veteran but if it’s a choice between two good things and one provider was a veteran, I’ll pick that.  I mention that, so you can read my review in as transparent a fashion as I can manage.  With that said, I truly did enjoy this book and I can only hope this comes through in my review.

 

Title:  Asbaran Solutions

Author:  Chris Kennedy

Price:  $4.99 USD (Kindle Edition)

Obtained:  I received an ARC for an honest review on Amazon and GoodReads, but liked it enough to buy it once it went live.  I’m even going to buy the other novels in this universe and likely review them as well!

Pages:  332

 

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Rating:  5/5 Grenades

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 Summary:

First, let me say that none of what I’ll say in this section couldn’t be found on the back copy of the novel.  I wanted to provide a spoiler free review, so here goes nothing!  Ultimately, this is a family saga, a tale of redemption and one mans journey to familial acceptance.  One of the main characters, Nigel Shirazi was first in line for the chairmanship of Asbaran Solutions.  It was to be his birth right, commanding one of the prominent “Four Horsemen” mercenary companies.  That is until his maladaptive behavior cost him everything, ending in hedonist downward spiral.  And finally, a rock bottom where he is disinherited.  After being discarded by his birthright, he enjoys the life of a rich playboy until something happens to rock his world.  An enemy gets to his family, and Nigel is all that stands between this hidden foe and the destruction of Asbaran Solutions and the Shirazi family line.  In the end, the adventure is partially Nigel’s war within himself.  If he can gain some self-control and self-discipline, he just might restore all that was lost.  All he has to do is rescue his sister from an unbeatable foe, easy peasy.

 

 

Characters: 

There are three main characters in this story; The Asbaran Solutions mercenary company, Nigel Shirazi and Thomas Mason.

 

Nigel Shirazi:  He is the principle main character in this story, on a quest of personal redemption.  By saving his sister, he seeks to save himself and prove his worth to the family who’d dismissed him so many years ago.  At first, I really didn’t like the spoiled man-child that we met in the beginning of the story.  However, as time went on he sort of grew on me as Nigel grew into himself.  He had a definitive character arc, was flushed out and thoroughly described.  You never felt like he was a blank shell, he was a character all on his own.  If we met in real life, I’d either drink a beer with him and swap war stories or shoot him on sight.  Would really depend on whether I met the Nigel from the beginning of this book or the one from the end.  I deeply respected his love of family, and his sense of familial obligation.  Blood really IS thicker than water, and it was nice to see that this was a sentiment Nigel understood.

 

Thomas Mason:  He was your stereotypical soldiers soldier and helped guide and shape the path of the troubled Asbaran Solutions.  He also has some personal reasons for going with Nigel on what appears to be a suicide mission, though I can’t go into that without giving some spoilers.  He offers the military background, and serves as a foil to Nigel’s playboy ignorance.  Overall, I really liked this character and would love to read more about him.  I wouldn’t mind if he got his own book as well, giving him room to develop into an even more flushed out character.

 

Asbaran Solutions: This is the company that is at the heart of the adventures of Nigel and Mason.  For Mason, it’s a job and a personal journey you’ll have to read about but for Nigel it’s so much more.  For Nigel, it’s about saving his sister and his families honor.  It’s a connection with his heritage and his forefathers.  The special time he spent on his grandfather’s knee learning about the galaxy and the mercenary life that Earth provided to the sentient species whom inhabited it.  With its mere existence, this company drives the plot and serves as the invisible puppet master pulling all the strings.

 

 

Plot: 

Like most of the military science fiction I love to read, this was an action-packed novel.  The beginning was a bit of a slow start, but once it took off it never really lagged.  I wasn’t able to read this book from start to finish in one setting because of its length but I wanted too.  I believed that the tactics worked for the novel, especially the aerial ones, but what do you expect from a naval aviator?  The action on the ground was believable, though lacking in tactical sophistication and depth.  However, when you had a bad assed mech like their CASPer’s you can get away with a run and gun strategy.  The story flowed seamlessly from one plot point to another, which made it easy to read and follow.  There were a few times where I was confused by what was going on, but this was likely because of my TBI.  After I backtracked and re-read the part that got me it became very clear.

 

 

World Building:

This is the first book I’ve read by Chris Kennedy, but I’d heard good things and his reviews were solid. I wasn’t disappointed!  This world was very flushed out, and left you curious about the world.  Heck, I bought his book AND the other book in the universe after I read this one.  While this is science fiction, and you definitely need to have some suspension of disbelief for the aliens Chris Kennedy invents, within the universe he builds they’re totally believable.  I also found myself sympathetic to Nigel, as he struggles on his quest for redemption.  Asbaran Solutions definitely had shades of the Prodigal Son, though with a metric butt ton more death and explosions.  The one part I wasn’t thrilled about was the concept of Earth evolving into a system of the mercenary corporate planet, without any nation states, but it is a common trope in science fiction.  Overall, this didn’t dissuade me from enjoying this story and I’m aware that many people LOVE those kinds of universe set ups.  In a nut shell, the world building gets an A- from me, but only because of the lack of explanations on HOW we became a planet without nations.

 

 

Description: 

This book was chalk full of visualization, and you could definitely imagine yourself in this world.  It felt very flushed out, and there were times where you could even smell the aliens.  I love it when a book is this immersive, where it takes you deeply into the world.  For me, if a book isn’t described enough that I can imagine myself into the story.  If a story is truly good, I often find myself imagining what happens when the book ends.  That doesn’t work in books where the world wasn’t flushed out.  In this category, Chris gets an A+++!

 

 

Overall:

I think that the easiest way for me to explain my thoughts, is to tell you how I received the novel.  Like with the Wraithkin novel, I was given a free ARC (advanced reader copy) eBook a little over a week before the novel went live.  In return, I was to post an honest review on Amazon for the author on the day it launched.  I loved this book, it was definitely 5 out of 5 Grenades.  Chris Kennedy had me hooked from the beginning, and kept it going throughout the whole novel.  I went on to buy a copy, because I liked it enough that I wanted to support the author.  I also went on to purchase the Cartwright Cavaliers, another novel in the Four Horsemen Universe.  It’s an amazing adventure, a look into Chris Kennedy’s twisted imagination, and leaves you wishing that his therapist has a therapist.  This is a book I would happily recommend, and an author I will definitely read again.  Heck, I would even recommend that you buy the novel!  But hey, it’s easy to spend someone else’s money!  This is definitely a novel worth buying, versus merely reading for free at the library.

 

 

If this book sounds like it’s right up your alley, check it out!  You won’t regret it!  Well, unless it keeps you up all night and you’re late to work… and then your boss fires you, because you became a book addict and a rabid Chris Kennedy fan.  And then you track him down, and climb into his window in your skivvies and he shoots you with grapeshot.  Okay, the fanboy/fangirl syndrome MIGHT kill you.  Be warned, but enjoy the high!

 

 

Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

brown_bess

JR

 

–> As usual, all images came from the Google’s “labeled for reuse” section.

Chris Kennedy Publishing Interview

On By J.R. HandleyIn update, Writing3 Comments

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Hello Space Cadets!  Today, I wanted to offer you a gift in the spirit of goodness, inspired by everyone who made my recently passed book releases a reality.  It still feels like a dream, but I appreciate you all getting into the trenches with me.  I don’t do want to pester you guys, so let’s get to it!  Today I bring you an interview with Chris Kennedy.  Chris works at his own publishing house, which he humbly named after himself.  I know most of my readers are also writers, so here is a chance to learn from another successful author and discover the publishing house that might print your next big idea!

 

To help you appreciate why I chose to interview him, let me tell you more about Chris.  He is a bestselling Science Fiction/Fantasy author and speaker.  Chris Kennedy is also a former naval aviator (we forgive him for not going Army) and elementary school principal.  Chris’ stories include the “Occupied Seattle” military fiction duology; “The Theogony” and “Codex Regius” science fiction trilogies; and the “War for Dominance” fantasy trilogy.  You can also get his free book, “The Death of Atlantis,” at his website.

 

Chris has been called “fantastic” and “a great speaker,” he has coached hundreds of beginning authors and budding novelists (including yours truly) on how to self-publish their stories at a variety of conferences, conventions and writing guild presentations.  He is the author of the award-winning #1 bestseller, “Self-Publishing for Profit: How to Get Your Book Out of Your Head and Into the Stores,” as well as the leadership training book, “Leadership from the Darkside.”  You can find out more about having him talk to your group here.

 

Chris lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with his wife and family.  He is currently working with the Navy to help shape Navy training processes for the year 2025.  He is the holder of a doctorate in educational leadership and master’s degrees in both business and public administration.  On a more personal note, like so many in the Indie Writing Circle, Chris is very willing to mentor new writers (though they all likely regret accepting my friend request!) through his social media presence.  He’s an overall decent fella, the kind you’d enjoy doing business with.

 

Now for the man, the myth and the legend to speak for himself!

 

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INTERVIEW:

 

Why did you decide to forgo a more traditional name for your company?  Most Indie Authors try to create the illusion of the Big Five publishers by giving their publishing house a separate name.

Hi JR, first, thanks for talking with me today. Hopefully, I can help out your readers. With that being said, it’s funny you would start out with that question, as that is my biggest regret, and the first thing I would change if I started all over again.

Why did I do it? Mostly because I didn’t know any better. I needed a name to give to Bowker for my first set of ISBNs, and I didn’t have anything thought out. Why would I change it? Because even though the stigma has abated, somewhat, from self-publishing, there’s no need to slap people in the face with it. Would I have done better with a different name? I don’t know, but I wish that I had come up with something cool like, “High Orbit Publishing: Our Books Take You to Outer Space.”

Now, however, I don’t feel like going through the effort to change it, and I have a number of imprints I publish under (like the Seventh Seal Press imprint of CKP that publishes the Four Horsemen Universe books).  Maybe I’ll rename and rebrand myself sometime in the future…but probably not.

I’d like to talk about your work publishing your other authors at Chris Kennedy Publishing. How did you come to this position of being ‘the boss’ for other creative types?

There were actually two things that happened, nearly simultaneously. On the non-fiction side, I was part of a marketing program with a number of people who had non-fiction books they had put together. They didn’t know how to publish their books, and they were either too busy or didn’t want to learn how to do it themselves, so they asked me to do it for them.

At the same time, I partnered with Mark Wandrey for the Four Horsemen series of books. When he pitched me the idea of joining him, part of the plan was for me to publish both of our books.  Several other fiction authors saw I was doing it for him, and asked if I would take them on, as well. As my support folks had the capacity (editing, cover design, etc.), and I believed in their books, I took them on as well.

You’re an author, with several successful novels under your belt. Tell us about your works and how your writing pulled you into the publication business.

It all started with my first book, Red Tide. I never wanted to be an author, but one day I had an idea and a little time, and the book just kind of “happened.” Once I had it, though, I liked it, thought it was pretty good, and wanted to get it out to readers. How did I get involved in publishing? 80 agents and publishers said, “no” to my story, and I finally got tired of hearing the word (from the small percentage that actually answered; most did not).

I looked at what was needed to self-publish, and I quickly realized I needed a plan. Happily, though, as a 20-year military officer, planning was something I could do. I built a plan and took the story through the processes necessary to turn it into a book. The hardest thing I ever did was to push the “Publish” button on Amazon, but once I did, a funny thing happened…people bought it.

As of January 13th, I will have 12 full-length books published and over a million words in print (and I now love writing), in addition to three short stories published both by themselves and in anthologies. Of the 12 full-length books, 10 are fiction and two are non-fiction. By the time you amass that many books, or even a fraction of that number, you’ve become pretty involved in the publishing business.

As the owner of Chris Kennedy Publishing, what are you looking for in submissions?

I’m looking for great scifi and fantasy stories that are ready to go. Unlike some of the bigger houses, it’s all about the story, not that it has to have a certain message or have the right characters involved. It’s all about the story.

How do you decide which books to sign and which ones to pass on?

In addition to the story (which should be pretty polished by the time someone sends it to me), I also look at the platform the author has, and how they intend to market the book. No matter where you go these days, an author is going to be chiefly responsible for marketing their books, so it’s important for them to have an idea of how they’re going to get it done.

What types of publishing do you offer? (Tradition Publishing, Co-Publishing, Self-Publishing)

I currently use all three types of publishing, depending on the book/author. If I am fairly sure that a book will be successful, a traditional model may be appropriate; otherwise, there may be some co-publishing involved. I also do some consulting for those authors who are self-publishing and just need a little advice and guidance on how to be successful.

What sub-genres of science fiction do you prefer?  Are you open to other genres as well?

I’m fairly open to most types of scifi, and fantasy as well, as long as the story’s good. With a recommendation from someone I know, I might also look at other genres (I just took on a psychological thriller), although those genres don’t play as well to my marketing strengths and mailing list (which is something I made clear to the author when he first approached me.)

With that being said, as I mentioned before, Mark Wandrey and I just started a new universe about mercenary service in future mech wars. We have opened the universe up to other writers, and if someone is interested in writing in that universe, they would probably get a bonus point or two. If anyone wants more info on what is canon in the universe, they should email me.

How does someone submit to you?

They can send the first couple of chapters to me at chris[dot]kennedy12[at]gmail[dot]com. I have a lot going on right now, but can always make room for a great story.

After a new author has signed with you, and the novel is done with the last editing pass, what do you expect of your authors?  What part of the process do you cover?

Depending on the publishing model and agreement used, I can (and usually do) cover everything, although I have a couple of authors who already had their own covers that they wanted to use (these are subject to my agreement; I will not publish a bad cover). What do I expect of authors? I expect them to spread the word on their books. I will do my part, but the author has to do his/her part as well. If you just want to turn it in and move on to writing the next one, I’m probably not the right publisher for you.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Two things. First, start building your platform as early as possible. It doesn’t matter whether you go traditional, self-pub, or some hybrid of the two, you’re going to need a platform. Somewhat related to this, you should start talking about your book early, as the books I’ve seen that have failed are usually due to a marketing failure. The right time to start marketing a book isn’t when it’s released; the best time to start is four months prior to release.

 

If this convinced you to find out more, look Chris at Chris Kennedy Publishing up here:

His Website

On Facebook

On Twitter

On Amazon

 

I hope you all had a great time getting to know about Virginia’s best publishing house!  Don’t be afraid to say hello here or on their own website.  They’re always quick to respond when not searching slush piles for the next big thing!  And for proof of their ability to handle a stressed-out author, Chris Kennedy is friends with my fat arse!  Quick, give that sailor a medal!!

 

Until next time, stay frosty and don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

brown_bess

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.