Tag Archives: dawnstar

Salvaging “Salvaging Life”

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Here we are, at the mid-point of another month in another year. So, what has been happening this month?

Well, I can tell you for a fact that it hasn’t been much.

Work on Salvaging Life had gone quite swimmingly, though by the time that the first big monkey-wrench needed to be thrown in the works, I hit a snag. No matter how much I thought about how to twist it and make it work, that plot-twist just wouldn’t jive. The characters are good, the setting seemed right, but the story just wouldn’t budge naturally.

Thus, I revisited the old debate I had about whether to include it in the Dark Stars universe (still thinking of a better name for it). The more I think about it in the way of a story told in that setting, the more it works. The reasons for that are…

1: With a minor twist, the story that takes place in Salvaging Life could easily be a story set about thirty years before the main series’ in that universe. The reason I know this is because I have written down all the history between now and the time that the main stories take place, so I know exactly where this would fit.

2: The characters and such from the story as they are now could easily transition over with basically no alterations. Their pasts, their personalities, even their allegiances could all remain exactly as they are now. That’s actually kinda a big deal and rather nice to imagine.

3: It would help build an idea about some of the relationships and tensions that would come out in the later works, providing a source of historical context.

Now, when I break it all down like this, it seems like it would almost be a no-brainer about placing this story in the Dark Stars setting. In truth, I want to think that these reasons alone make it justifiable. There are a couple reasons I keep telling myself for why it might not be a wise move.

A: Dark Stars is more than just a sandbox, it’s a web of stories and tie-ins with itself. Series A leads into and ties in with Series B, while both have a supporting character who has their own stand-alone story with Story C, tying back into Story D, etc. As you might imagine, this takes a decent chunk of planning to connect and make work. Building these kinds of mapped out character relationships, event timelines, and other things, has been trying. At the same time, it’s already been done, so now I’ve waited on pulling the trigger because I wanted to make sure my skills were enough to pull it off well.

B: This story has historical precedence in the Dark Stars universe, but it’s not a “current” story. It takes place roughly thirty years before the first actual book, so while it is an important event, it isn’t something that a character in the main series will see as breaking news. For the readers, I question if such a jump might make it feel like this story is an overly long prologue or just horribly out of place.

C: Admittedly, this is the weakest of excuses. I keep thinking the since this story is a bit darker and serious than the Dark Stars‘s rather genre-filled tone, that it would seem out of place in the setting. The truth is, really, that the Dark Stars setting covers a number of different tones. One series covers a military campaign with a select team, another follows a couple of slightly odd mercenaries trying to make it big, while one spin-off deals with an intelligence agency, etc. So, as you might imagine, there isn’t a concrete tone for the setting, but more of different series’ of stories that explore the various facets of the universe they take place in.

So, what do I intend to do about it? Well, rather than hold some vote or sit around on my ass (like I’ve been doing (bad writer, I know)), I’m going to write a version of this story that takes place in the Dark Stars setting. After that, I’m going to compare each version to the other and see which one feels like stronger and more inspired material than the other.

Let the work decide which is better, rather than daydreaming about the what-ifs.

If the version that is independent of the Dark Stars universe stands out as a better work, it will be the next big project. If the one that is integrated into the history of that setting is the stronger piece, it will make the cut and I’ll go ahead with it despite my earlier plans.

After either version is released, I’ll move back into working on Under a Falling Sky, since that is something I really want to work on. At the same time, Salvaging Life is the largest priority for me right now, so it takes precedence.

If you guys have some thoughts on the subject, feel free to chime in. I’d like to hear your ideas on the subject. For now, however, it’s back to work.

May the best story version win!

~ James.

The State of the Mind – July 30th, 2013.

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Here we are on this Wednesday-eve. ‘Tis the day before another segment of The Veil goes live, I’ve been alone with my thoughts for awhile, and now I wish to talk about them.

Ready? Well, I am, so on we go.

We’ve been at The Veil for more than a few weeks now, quite a bit of progress has been made, but there’s still plenty to go. The problem is, that kind of statement can be made for more than a few projects. Looking at the sidebar, I’ve got seven projects that are currently open and in some form of work.

Seven. Let that sink in for a moment, if you please.

Somewhere along the line, I decided to open more cans of worms than I could sustain. Now, at this point, it’s time to start closing some of them. Let’s face it, there’s not enough room for these current projects, let alone any more that arise.

Where do we begin? Well, let’s break it down.

  1. The Veil: I’ll keep writing for this story at its current rate. The ball is rolling and the action is flowing now, so why interrupt that and put it on the back-burner? Hell not even any good reason to slow down on the upload rate at this point.
  2. Blood in the Machine: This story is a bit of a priority for me. The writing is done and beta reading notes from Susan Miles are in, so it’s time to apply that effort. After the notes are applied, I’ll need to get it looked at for editing (might do an editing-trade for that, or open talks with RJ Blain) and getting some cover art put together (no real idea where to start here). After that, it will likely become my first upload to Amazon. Yeah, that much hope and belief in this story.
  3. Salvaging Life: Another story that I have big hopes for but have had to hold on for awhile. After Blood in the Machine is finished and goes out to Amazon, this will be the second one that gets the “wrap-up treatment.” I’ll expand it from its current size restraints in order to flesh out some sequences and events more, so there’s still more creative work to be done. After that, it’s beta reading, editing, and cover art.
  4. Under a Falling Sky: This story, sadly, has had to take a bit of a back-burner due to the work on The Veil. Once more projects get closed and finished, I’ll be able to return my efforts to this story. It’s barely even been started since the re-write was optioned, so there’s a lot of work to go before this story even gets its first editorial do-over.
  5. Echoes: Susan has volunteered to take a look at this story as well, so I am waiting to hear here thoughts on this one. Her schedule is rather full which actually helps since it’s a bit of a lower priority to me than a few other projects. After she gets a look at it and gives some notes, it’s up to editing and cover work.
  6. Guns of Asgard: I’m still torn on what to do with this story. I’ll likely pursue seeing it all the way through, I just need to get in the right frame of mind to deal with it. It’s kind of odd enough that it needs its own form of mentality to work on.
  7. The elephant in the room, the Dark Stars universe: I really want to sink my teeth into New Horizons, the starting series in the Dark Stars setting. The problem is, I want to start off my solo-stint with a smaller bang, take in the feedback I hear from it, grow from there, and then work on it. Why? I’ve got, thus far, eight books in mind for the Dark Stars setting, and it could easily grow from there. The last thing I want to do is start off with something that long and drawn out, only to have its start-up be shaky and unsteady compared to what would come later. Thus, the earlier mentioned works take a higher priority for the time being.

So yeah, that’s what things are looking like. Soon enough, I’m going to have to go out and start looking for more outside help in the form of artists and editors. Believe me when I say that I am a little shaky about that thought since I have very little idea on where to start. I do have a few options in mind, however, so I’m not entirely lost.

Well, not that all of those thoughts and details about what’s to come are out in the open, it seems a bit more stable of a plan. Now to just get to work and make it happen. Until then, I’ll see you lot tomorrow when the next chapter of The Veil goes live.

~ James.

New releases!

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A new day, a couple new releases!

First out of the gate, we have A Prayer to the Exiled, a poetic prayer amongst the Vashari in the Dark Stars universe. This piece is exclusively being posted on her website [link], with the full piece posted right … here. The link to this piece has been added to the Published Pieces menu on this website for future references.

This piece gives a little insight into Vashari culture, along with offering a small glimpse into one of the two protagonists for my upcoming works, Vaerys Tyrus Dirion. I hope you all enjoy this piece, just as I enjoyed writing and sharing it.

Second, A Debt of Lead has been released! It is currently available [in pdf, mobi, and epub formats] in the downloads box to the left on this page. Alternatively, there is a direct link to the zip over on the Downloads page.

This story is the debut of my second protagonist, Jacob Wilkens, for the Dark Stars universe. In this story, he’s got to fight his way up through a casino that operates as a front for a stim cartel. If he doesn’t, the cartel’s henchmen will kidnap and kill one of his associates, something he can’t let happen.

These works, combined with Dawnstar, form the beginning of our exposure to the Dark Stars universe. This new universe is a place filled with pirates, massive corporations, stim cartels, aliens known as the Vashari, civil war amongst mankind, and more.

Here’s hoping you stick around and enjoy the ride.

The results are in …

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That’s right, the results of the vote for my next short story – one that will be available for free download from here – are in. What did they show me?

That I have an extremely silent readership.

All told, I received two votes: one from one of my most loyal of readers, and the other from one of my bloody co-workers. To say that I’d wished for a larger voting audience would be true, but there also used to be days when I’d have no one that would vote at all. With that in mind, I’m still happy with the outcome.

So what is the outcome, you wonder?

  1. Science Fiction: 1 vote.
  2. Western: 1 vote.

So,  a tie between some more SciFi and a Western. What does this mean? It means we’re gonna have another short story that takes place in the Dark Stars universe.

What do I mean by “another short story” from Dark Stars? Nobody’s heard that title before, so surely I must be blowing smoke out my bung hole, right?

Wrong.

You see, I actually created the blueprints and foundations for an entire Science Fiction universe that I could tell any number of stories in. My own sandbox, if you will. I planned for aliens, corporations, rural colonies in fringe worlds, ect. I then also wrote a short story that took place in this universe, one that I hope you’re all familiar with. Its name was Dawnstar.

That’s right, folks. Dawnstar wasn’t simply some little one-off short story that I popped out of nowhere (well it was, but hush), it was part of a much larger universe that I have in mind and notes. Here, with this new short story that will soon begin construction and formulation, we’ll see more of it. Where does the Western part come in? Well, you’ve only seen a tiny part of the Dark Stars universe so far.

So what process will this story undertake? Well, I’m currently planning and mapping out the idea of the story. I’ve got a couple concepts in mind, just deciding what to do with it. After that comes the writing part (obviously), followed by getting it cleaned up. Now what will the “cleaning up” entail? Well, hopefully it will entail a beta reader or two, and/or some time in a workshop. Don’t want to host some raw hunk of space-turd now do we?

Now I’m pretty sure that, if you’re still reading, the question that’s likely on your mind is this: “How will we get to read it?”

The answer is pretty simple. I’ve established a Box account, which is now currently hosting a .zip containing multiple formats (PDF, mobi, and epub) of “A Call to Arms”, a collection of my poetry along with some extras. With this, I’ll be providing downloads to the story in multiple formats (again: PDF, mobi, and epub). I’ll also be changing a couple pages of the website so that the “Poetry” tab will be changed to also have a link to said story, posted – in full – here on the website.

This story, along with the poetry collection, will all fall under Creative Commons. That, in layman’s terms, will mean you can download it, share it, print it out and use it as toilet paper, whatever. You can do all of that for free, with only the small request that (if you do share it) you provide either credit to my name or a link to this website. Seriously folks, it won’t be that bloody hard; it’s not like I’m charging you or anything.

So there you have it, folks! Completed contests, new stories on the horizon, and (hopefully) good times to be had by all.