I’m lifting my head above the writing and publishing trenches for a few moments to share some exciting news about an imminent new Sleeping Legion book launch, a new audiobook deal, and more. If you follow JR Handley’s blog, you’ll already know about a novellete he’s been working on called No Marine Left Behind. Well,…
via No Marine Left Behind: a new Sleeping Legion novelette — The Human Legion
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.
Hey Space Cadets, today I missed my regularly scheduled World Building Wednesday because I’m deep in the trenches fighting the dreaded Man Flu. You, my dear comrades in arms, know how truly debilitating this can be. Many a great warrior was brought low by this grievous injury, but I shall endeavor to resist. I shall fight on in the name of Lance Scipio, Basil Terloar, Tirunesh Nhlappo and all of the other great Human Legion Marine warriors who went before us. While I’m at death’s door, I shall still honor our bond and entertain you.
Are you not entertained?
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 good, I will finish Operation Breakout today and I’m super excited about it. I’m already working on where book four will go, and I’ve some fun ideas. We’ve tentatively titled book four Maternal Vengeance. For those of you who’ve read The Human Legion Series, you’ll see the culmination of a plot thread started by author Tim C. Taylor. I’ve also submitted a short story to an anthology, as I’ve previously mentioned, and was invited to another anthology. I’ll tell you more about that as the details emerge, but I promise it’ll be soon.
Now, on to today’s World Building Wednesday topic, prioritizing your writing. What do I mean by this? Well, as creative people it’s easy to get distracted by the bright shiny idea. That next story, the next series can all pull you away from your work in progress and leave you starting millions of projects without finishing anything. I try to resist this temptation, power through it, roll over it like it was the Maginot Line in the 1930’s! Why? Because I can’t send ideas and half-finished manuscripts to my editor and I certainly can’t publish them.
My solution, stolen from other authors who I’ve chatted with and writing podcasts I’ve listened too is simple. Use your motivation for the next shiny thing to push you to finish your current work in progress. Let the boredom with the current idea motivate you to be innovate and come up with ways to reinvigorate the story for your readers. If it bores you, maybe it would bore them and you don’t want to lose your readers.
What about the rest of you out there in the Handley Trenches? How do you prioritize your works in progress? Do you write one project at a time, or are you one of those special souls who can write multiple projects simultaneously? I would love to hear from you in the comments below, so don’t be afraid to sound off!
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 videos used by JR Handley for use under the Fair Use Doctrine.
Hello Space Cadet, today I wanted to muse about some parts of my time in the Big Green Weenie. It inspired this Marine Monday post, as I tackle the role that cadences and martial music in the development of military culture and mores. I hope you enjoy my ramblings, feel free to join the conversation afterwards! Without further ado, let the ramblings begin.
Everyone who has ever served in the military knows a universal truth: the value of music. You’re taught to march through music. Yes, I know they stopped using marching bands to train with years ago. Yes, I also know that they don’t even have lone buglers or drummers leading the charge. However, we were all taught to march via the musical stylings of our sergeants or petty officers. Shh, I won’t let on that I know your age (spies be spying) if you let me pretend everyone was smart enough to go Army! Hey, it keeps it simple because I can say sergeant instead of remembering petty officers and whatever the heck the Coasties and the Air Force had.
Think back, dust off that fuzzy sounding eight track and start running through your memories. Do you remember them? The marching cadences used to keep you in step? The sing-songy sound of your sergeant’s bellow? Something about yellow ribbons, Chuck Norris and ladies in multi-colored dresses. I had the rare privilege of having seen these cadences at all levels, the ones used for boot recruits, sergeants at the NCO Academy and officers in training. Yes, I know they’ve changed the name of the NCO school many times…. But hey, if I tried to keep current with that fiasco I wouldn’t have time to write this wee post or book three in The Sleeping Legion Series so go with it.
Yesterday I was using music to soothe the soul of several wild animals, most notably my two children, and the music they requested from Dad’s YouTube DJ Services took me places. My eldest asked for the soothing sounds of 1990s heavy metal, though you might call it light rock today, so much has the market changed. Guns-N-Roses, Metallica, Motley Crew…. The usual for kids these days, and if it isn’t it dang well should be. I was instantly taken back to my youth, rebellious thoughts of parental mutinies and my daring but unfulfilled plans to woo that special girl. To protect the innocent, I will call her Kimberly, but since I’m the writer here you’ll have to trust me when I say it isn’t important.
Anyway, after walking down the primrose path of my pubescent mental mausoleum, my eldest son’s turn was over and number two got his shot. What did he request? Ugh, he chose Army marching cadences. I know you’re asking yourself why my son might request the cool marching cadences of HAIL OH HAIL OH INFANTRY, but that’s probably not important. Had nothing to do with daddy’s gross lacking of musical depth, namely knowing zero lullabies, which led to some hypothetical person singing Army cadences to his colicky son. Hey, it was the ots! I mean, the double zeros excuse everything, that crazy post-Y2K time in our history.
So I kept my word, much to my wife’s chagrin, and I hit play to a few Army cadences. My seven-year-old joyfully marched in place to the sounds of unseen sergeants extolling the joys of war. “Off to battle we will go, to live or die, hell I don’t know” seemed perfectly rational when an 18-year-old Private Handley sang it on his way to the nastiest DFAC this side of Hades… but out of the mouth of my grinning cherub? I shuddered, I cringed, my wife bopped my head! I watched Kentuck drink out of the Euphrates fricken River, and then shared a bottle of Gatorade and cigars with him. (Note to self: brush teeth a few extra hundred times.) I did a multitude of other gross stuff, just to fit in with my fellow grunts. Somewhere, my doppelganger is still screaming to his buddies “Hey yall, watch this!” But all that paled when listening to my sweet boy, my little buddy, sing of death and war. It shook me to the core.
I’m not one of those apologists who throw medals over political fences. I won’t say I’m sorry for fighting my country’s wars, my job was to fight. I was good at it, and many of us came home because of the skilled riflemen I had the privilege to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with. While it was my job to fight, it was my fellow citizens and the politicians they elect, whose job it was to determined when and where they unleashed the beast. Not a perfect system, but it beats the alternatives. But, unlike my Handley predecessors, I will gladly surrender the mantel of ‘military family.’ We’ve done enough, let the Jones have the ball for a few generations. My sons, I want them to be patriotic, but maybe with a slight contrarian hippy bent? A few peace signs and tie dyed shirts to add to the effect? Maybe even a dreaded pair of Birkenstocks? For you Brits reading this, think along the line of Guy Fawkes…. And if I mangle that geopolitical reference, I can blame Tim! Hey, blaming your predecessors is practically cannon over here!
Right, back on track… sorry, the wife had to beat me about the head and shoulders so the hamsters knew I meant business. Rest easy, they are back on that spinning wheel and we’re back on course. After I got over the shock of seeing a babe singing a violent military cadence, I realized something. We modern soldiers, those raised in a more genteel time, we NEED those cadences. Why? They prepare us for the idea of death; ours and theirs. They teach us to dehumanize our enemies and make us more comfortable with the idea of killing them first. It reminds me of the quote from Karate Kid, the motto of the Cobra Kai Dojo. “Strike fast, strike hard, no mercy sir!”
One author, a Mr. Dave Grossman, wrote a book ON KILLING about how the military used systematic approaches to accomplish the goal of preparing soldiers to kill and possibly die in war. Some have argued that this was a seminal book on the subject, and while I’ve not read it since my head injury, I instinctively realized how those cadences from long ago shaped my world view. I learned to hate the dreaded commie as I humped the hills of Fort Benning, GA. I learned of vaunted Airborne Rangers left dying in the mud, though I always thought Patton had it right, better let them die for their country instead. I remember fondly a cadence where the mythical soldier is asked how he earns his living, to which he replies: “with a cold kind of nod, I earn my living killing commies for my God.” We later learn that an acceptable way to do this is with your K-bar (combat knife). To save you from hearing me give you all the examples, I’ve posted links to a few at the bottom of the article.
So, I’ll assume you’re still with me because otherwise you’d have left the thread already. Now that we have shown how a largely peaceful civilian culture prepares warriors to fight and die, let us consider the world created by author Tim C. Taylor. Okay, I really do love his work but I’ll end my fanboy stuff here, I swear. So, in the universe of Tim’s Human Legion Saga there are no civilians, everyone’s a combatant. At least, the Marines in the Human Marine Corps are only exposed to militarism from birth, it’s possible that the culture of the White Knights is different… Maybe we’ll learn more in Book 6, The Battle for Earth?
Now that we’ve established the universe, how would their teachings differ from ours? Would these crèchelings/novices/cadets even need cadences to accustom them to their new reality? And what does one sing about when you have no non-martial references from which to draw upon? Who would be their mythical Jody, the bogyman who steals your girl or guy, while you’re gone when it’s likely your lover would deploy with you? And on a broader subject, how would their purely military society differ from ours? I’d bet their food would be worse, military cooks are the pits! I remember a DFAC at Fort Hunter-Ligget that even screwed up a burger! How do you mess up a burger? Ugh, but I digress. Seriously though, in what ways would daily life be different in world free of civilians? Do they trade in their humanity in the name of efficiency? And what would such a world produce for the lullabies which we take for granted when we’re singing them to our young? What kind of fairy tales exist in this militaristic society? I won’t pretend to have any answers, but the questions are intriguing. Let’s be honest, it is what makes science fiction so great in the first place!
Anyway, this was all just food for thought but let’s talk about it in the comment section!
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 owned by JR Handley.
Hey Space Cadets, I hope everyone is having a spectacular day!! I’m doing great, I had a moment on release day where The Legion Awakes was #27 in the Hot New Releases for Military Science Fiction (Space Marine) and #44 in the broader Hot New Releases for Military Science Fiction. Thank you, sincerely, for being a part of my team and joining me in the trenches! To be honest, we don’t plan to be a flash in the pan. The plan for The Sleeping Legion Series is one of a slow burn, as we build an awesome series. We hope the readers agree, and join us on this adventure.
Moving right along to the topic at hand, today Boss Man posted an interview he conducted with me and I thought I would share the link. If you want to learn more about the craziness behind my shenanigans, click here.
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.
Hello Space Cadets, how are you today? I’m doing outstanding, biting my nails as we launch my debut novel The Legion Awakes. I’m anxiously waiting, hoping everyone loves it, because I’ve poured my soul into it. Paying back my mom for what we spent in the pre-publication stage wouldn’t hurt either! It’s officially out in the world, so mosey on over to the Amazon link and 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 owned by JR Handley.
Hello Space Cadets, today I’m the bearer of bad news. Today we mourn the loss of one of my closest friends and a staple of the first two Sleeping Legion novels. Additionally, I had the unpleasant duty of killing off several Red Shirts and my heart breaks. My spouse might call them imaginary, but I know they’re real. She also likes to point out that it was I who killed them. Yes, cold hearted bastard that I am, I killed them all. Almost an entire regiment had to die today, so that Serendine might be free of the New Order heathens. I know the truth, they were cold heartedly murdered by those Hardit scum. In memoriam, I would like a moment of silence as we celebrate those poor young lives cut drastically short by the ravages of war.
Thank you for your kind considerations. Please make all bereavement donations to the Human Legion Widows and Orphans Fund.
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, are owned by JR Handley or are being used under the Fair Use Doctrine. The image of the statue can be purchased at the Mainely Urns and Memorials website. It’s called the Battle Field Cross Memorial Sculpture and no copyright infringement is intended. We at Team Handley fully credit this company for their masterful artistry and value the intellectual property rights of our fellow artists. Seriously, check out their stuff if you are ever unfortunate enough to need to commemorate fallen loved ones.
Hello Space Cadets, how is everyone doing today? What’s that? I can’t hear you, sound off like you got a pair! And if you don’t, fake it till you make it! So, now that I have your attention, let’s have a little chat over coffee! Today I decided to give you get a sneak peek into how I wrote my battle scenes. Let’s dive into the world of sand tables, sometimes called Recess for Soldiers!
So where to start, first let me start by discussing what a sand table is. In a nutshell, a sand table is a surface bearing a three-dimensional map of a given piece of land. According the Merriam-Webster, it’s “a table bearing a relief model of a terrain built to scale for study or demonstration especially of military tactics.” Basically, I a super special map! The military has used them since forever, long before Christ was even a Corporal.
Now that I’ve explained what a sand table is, I’ve decided to show you the one I made for my first novel. Yes, The Legion Awakes, which will be published on December 19th, 2016. It’s an improvised sand table for a combat scene in the novel involving a battle that my main character is involved in. Wanna know more, read the book! You’ve probably already read this, but please let me be prideful for just a few words! I’m currently writing The Sleeping Legion Series set in the military science fiction world of Tim C. Taylor. That book will be out soon, so I wanted to share some of how I got here. Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, let us return to our regularly scheduled programing.
Anyway, the key to a successful sand table is that they provide you with the opportunity to visualize the battle space in three-dimensions. This allows you to better describe the field as you’ve envisioned it. It allows you to envision all of the obstacles which might get in the way of the armies you are describing, though this could work for any type of writing, combat or otherwise. I supposed I would be remiss if I didn’t also tell you that these can be used to model towns, and other generic settings for your works in progress. Not as exciting, but certainly necessary. They are used by the military for strategic visualizations, are extremely helpful with strategic planning, but can be used by everyone!!
Without further adieu, my masterpiece!
Now that we’ve covered this in depth, feel free to sound off in the comments below! And if this tickled your fancy, click the follow button and never miss out on the insanity or shenanigans from the Handley Trenches!
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 owned by JR Handley.
Hello Space Cadets, it’s that time again! Another entry in the Marine Monday Series where I introduce you to the world I get the privilege to write in. Last time I gave you an overview of the term Marine, as it relates to the larger world, today we dive into the nitty-gritty. This time I have even juicier information from my Legion Leaks informant, so pull up a chair! The Sleeping Legion Series, which I kick into high gear with some badass gear, will carry on until I run out of stuff to say! Since I’ve never been the quiet type, I doubt this will be an issue! Eventually, after I’ve a few Sleeping Legion books under my belt, I’ll start adding some of my New Carthage Series world building. Maybe shift the name a bit to ease confusion?
Now let’s get to it! The Human Legion Universe is a military science fiction world set in the distant future where humanity is enslaved to the White Knights, a race of aliens who rule through force and delegation. We know little of this mysterious race of creatures, except that they value change and encourage mutation as a celebration of this change. Basically, they’re Darwinism on crack. When the Marines of the Human Legion abandoned the Tranquility System, my story takes off. What happened to those left behind in the grueling war for freedom and independence? Can the Marines left to fend for themselves survive on their own?
A little about humanity, well at least those humans enslaved into service. They’re the backbone of the Human Marine Corps and later the Human Legion Marine Corps. In the absence of their Jotun officers, they must struggle to create a new Marine Corps, one capable of not just surviving but of thriving. To do that, these Marines need weapons with which to wage this war. The staple weapon of the Human Marine Corps (later Human Legion) is the SA-71(h) Assault Carbine. For ease of use, I’ll simply refer to them as the Human Legion from here on out.
According to the official record, the SA-71 is designed to be the main assault weapon for space-borne humanoid troops. The (h) sub-variant has been adapted slightly to suit human physiology and responsibility level, but the ammunition and control systems are compatible with other weapons throughout the SA-70 range.
The SA-71 is a versatile carbine, which has four features, and allows Marines to spread their lethal will across the galaxy. My favorite part of the carbine is that it has an assault cutter for use in close quarters combat, which is a modern variant of the concept of a bayonet. These cutters are a series of monofilament teeth which can be extended from the end of the gun barrel. They rotate at 1000 rpm for maximum penetration, eviscerating human and alien flesh. Care should be taken if the cutters are employed in a lateral, raking motion as the blades may snap off.
Another feature of the carbine is the grenade launcher which sits under the main carbine barrel, and fires specialty munitions from the launch tube, providing each fire team with capabilities similar to that of mortar launchers of old. While many Marine units were discontinuing the grenade launcher, replacing the capability by an improved supply of specialist munitions fired through the railgun, this changed when the Human Legion revived older tactics. Instead, the Human Legion included both features and improved upon the existing grenades.
Some features of the carbine which are rarely used, due to their inefficiencies are the built-in beam weapon and x-ray weapon modes. These features never really see the light of day in my series, or in Tim’s but maybe they’ll prove their worth in some unusual way in the future. It’s a big, bad galaxy after all!
The best and most exciting feature of the SA-71 Assault Carbine is the railgun, the main functional mode of this powerful carbine. Like all railguns, it operates by using electrical charges applied to superconductor rails that run along the gun barrel. The rails are arranged in a helical pattern to impart spin to the round as it leaves the muzzle, improving accuracy. The ammunition management system supplies the selected round and fits it to a sabot created on the fly through its sabot resin reservoir. The sabot ensures optimum super-conductance and mechanically fits to the rails. Sabots also permit the standard kinetic round to be much smaller than the railgun caliber thus allowing ammunition cartridges to hold many more rounds. On full power, the railgun generates enormous heat and imparts a heavy recoil force at the breech of the weapon. If the recoil dampening system is not overcome by sustained fully automatic fire, this energy is automatically absorbed at up to 80% efficiency, used to heat the reservoir of sabot resin, and recharge the weapon’s power pack. In limited-gravity environments the motors in an ACE-series battlesuit can cancel most of the remaining recoil automatically.
Later, if I can sneak it past security I’ll post a more comprehensive list of weapons available to the Human Legion. Gotta be careful, or I’ll end up as Snowden’s roomie in Siberia!
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 owned by JR Handley. Any re-use of Legion imagery should be approved by JR Handley or Tim C. Taylor.
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