Spinward Fringe Frontline: Readers Are Reporting

Spinward Fringe Frontline has sold 200 copies so far. That's a disastrous number if you talk to any publisher but where I'm concerned it means that I can pay rent, bills and buy groceries for a month.

It also means that there are 200 readers who wanted to follow me at least that far on this journey. They're talking about the books too. The First Light Chronicles Omnibus is still selling, meaning that more people are joining the crew every day.

How does this effect the future of Spinward Fringe?

Well, Spinward Fringe Rogue Element has undergone some creative alterations that aren't the result of good or bad sales numbers. The whole series has become a creative exercise again whereas Frontline felt more like marathon brain surgery. Frontline was built as a fully outlined, balanced novel and even though I enjoyed writing it, I didn't like having such a strict plan in place from the first to the last word.


I had a storyboard for Spinward Fringe Frontline that flowed past the edges of a three by three meter square. The planning involved in that book, with its multiple parallel storylines and deeper character development, was nothing short of meticulous. Every chapter had a full outline, notebooks were filled, trees were killed. I wanted to see if I could write a book that was so well planned from the beginning and I did.

As it so happens, I've read the final product since and was surprised. I made an effort to keep it fast paced but the story moves faster than I could have anticipated. Some of the characters do take serious strides and many of the points brought up by readers (thanks guys!), are proven to be valid and helpful. I enjoyed writing Frontline despite the careful planning and design. I have to admit I enjoyed reading it and I hope everyone who bought it did too.

I found room for improvement like any writer who reviews his own work would. That's not to say that Frontline isn't the best book in the series, to many readers it is. I learned a lot by reading Frontline again and I'm carrying those lessons with me as I write Spinward Fringe Rogue Element.

Rogue Element is a very different project. I'm taking an entirely different approach with only a basic outline. I'm focusing on character goals and bringing a sense of wonder back into the scenery. There are other things going on with Rogue Element, including a couple of experiments you'll see evidence of before the novel comes out.

I'll talk about Spinward Fringe Rogue Element more later. I'm so excited about it that it's difficult not to.

The point of this blog post is to say thank you and to tell everyone that people seem quite happy with Spinward Fringe Frontline, so the future of the Spinward Fringe series is quite secure. The work and the journey goes on and I couldn't be happier.

RL

[What did you think of Spinward Fringe Frontline? Leave a comment!]

Spinward Fringe Rogue Element: Answering Questions

I've been getting questions from a few readers like: how long until we see Spinward Fringe Rogue Element? I've heard you say this book will be different, how? What kind of book is this going to be?

They're all legitimate questions and I'm glad you're asking. I'll answer them as best I can, promise.

How long until we see Spinward Fringe Rogue Element?

Writing is going very well. I'm a third of the way through it and the plot points have been nailed down. I've been working on this book for three weeks and I've noticed a trend, it's getting easier to write as I go. The work is going faster and faster. I'm hoping to have a draft completed in three to four weeks. If all is well and I've done my job to my editor's satisfaction it'll take another one to two weeks to edit. It'll be launched on Mobipocket and Lulu the day it's ready. Remember that the creative process requires latitude and there's no guarantee that this book will be available in the time frame I've quoted. I'm also not going to dismiss the possibility that I'll finish my draft early.

It's true, this book will be different from everything that's come before. I approach each book differently and this one is certainly no exception. Spinward Fringe Rogue Element is being written like a high budget Space Opera film. It's really that simple. I have the setting, the characters, and the plot foundation.

There's also a preamble at the beginning that fills new readers in on all the essentials with regard to the story so far. Don't get me wrong, someone who starts with Spinward Fringe Rogue Element will miss all the details and more interesting bits of the series before it, the preamble doesn't go into a lot of detail. It just ensures that anyone can just pick up a copy and start there while reminding long time readers of a few pertinent details. There are other not-so-subtle differences and plot risks in this book but I won't go into it just now. Spoilers are generally wrong.

Now on to the question; 'what kind of book is this going to be?'

Rogue Element brings the Spinward Fringe series back to its science fiction adventure roots. The First Light Chronicles (the precursor to the Spinward Fringe series), was very enthusiastic overall and I admit the pacing and development could have been a little better in some places. I'm bringing that enthusiasm back into the series in Rogue Element along with the sense of wonder and discovery that was so prevalent inThe First Light Chronicles. What I'm keeping from the Spinward Fringe series is the character and story development that people enjoyed so much in Triton and Frontline.

I'm really enjoying crafting this book. I wake up every morning, and I mean every morning looking forward to writing another chapter. I could go on about how excited this project makes me but I'd rather get back to work on Spinward Fringe Rogue Element.

Thank you very much for staying on this journey with me and spreading the word about the series. Right now the precursor to the Spinward Fringe Series, The First Light Chronicles is still on sale for $1.00 at Mobipocket and Lulu, so keep telling your friends about it. If they're not into eBooks this is a good opportunity to get them interested.

Cheers!

RL

If you absolutely must kill trees, you can order your copy of the First Light Chronicles Omnibus or any of the Spinward Fringe books from Amazon.com. I won't judge you.

Spinward Fringe Broadcast 5: Rogue Element

Spinward Fringe Frontline is the second best selling EBook on Mobipocket.com thanks to the seventy six people who have downloaded it so far. As some of you already know the ending of that book is unique to the series. Frontline was about things coming together under the worst of conditions.

Now I'm working on Spinward Fringe Rogue Element. It's been a blast so far, with a definite shift in my writing style that is thanks to the pair of novellas I completed while Frontline was being edited.

The first sentences of this new work were written to the sounds of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Rogue Element marks the beginning of a new era in the Spinward Fringe series and the name refers to the ship and the crew we've all become so familliar with.

I can tell you for a certainty that this book won't take as long as Frontline. Why? Well, that's simple: the characters are all where I need them to be to tell this story. That will probably only make sense to people who have read the entirety of the series so far, Frontline included, and so be it.

I hope everyone is enjoying the journey thus far, keep inviting your friends and I might be able to keep doing this for a living! As long as there's a demand for Spinward Fringe books they'll be my primary focus. Even the work I did between Frontline and the one I'm starting now: Rogue Element was only undertaken to try a vastly different style, experiment with some character dynamics and now I'm back to writing science fiction, applying what I learned.

It's good to be back and I'm having so much fun writing Rogue Element that I'm having trouble sleeping and massive issues focusing on anything else for more than a few seconds at a time. I think I have a case of the Fringes... or something...

RL

Oh, and if you've never heard of this series and want to see where it all started you can either download The First Light Chronicles: Freeground for free (there's a link to the right), or you can purchase the First Light Chronicles Omnibus from Mobipocket or Amazon.com

First Light Chronicles and Spinward Fringe Take 5 Top 10 Spots

I have the readers to thank and as I've done before, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this display of patronage.

That's right, the First Light Omnibus remains at the number one spot in Science Fiction and Spinward Fringe Frontline has taken number two! Spinward Fringe Triton has placed third while Resurrection and Awakening take up the rear in seventh and eighth place. The First Light Omnibus is maintaining a spot in fourth place for site wide sales and Spinward Fringe Frontline has crept up to the sixth spot, almost trumping Dan Browning's Angels and Demons.

Considering the fact that I'm an independent author with no advertising and no budget, I find this pretty amazing. Mobipocket is a small site, selling far fewer books than say Amazon.com or Stanza and I think that's a pretty important factor in making this all possible.

Thanks to Mobipocket users I can write full time! Most authors with a couple published books can't and I've never met an independent author who has a large enough following to quit their job, so thanks to Mobipocket I can continue to stretch my imagination and entertain people around the world without having to beg an agent to pay attention to my work or answering to a publisher who takes most of the profits. If I had that kind of support on Amazon.com I could rule the world! Sadly I'd be too busy writing to handle that kind of administrative responsibility...

When I think of all the people who have supported me so far it boggles my brain. These are people who sent donations, posted five star reviews, spread the word to friends, relatives, ordered signed copies, sent emails, posted on forums I've never heard of and most of all bought the books. Without one of those points of assistance I believe I'd be stuck working at a call center, getting carpel tunnel syndrome for all the wrong reasons! You'd have four books to read instead of a staggering seven with another on the way.

I've been at this for eighteen months now.

It feels like the books in the First Light Chronicles are ancient history, like I spent three years working on Spinward Fringe Frontline (it was actually six months). On the other hand the time has flown by. There are still people just discovering the First Light Chronicles and the Spinward Fringe Series is spraining new thumbs every day as science fiction and general fiction fans keep advancing through the books on their cellphones. Only four hundred people (give or take a few), have purchased all the books leading up to Frontline and today the forty fifth copy of the latest Spinward Fringe book was sold.

From a publisher's perspective that's barely a handful of people. To me it's enough to keep a reasonably priced roof over my head and three square meals on the table. I couldn't imagine selling a million copies of anything, perhaps I never will. I'll tell you what I'd like to see though; a television show or well made film. A video game with all the fixin's of the Spinward Fringe universe would be fantastic too. In fact, that would be pretty amazing. Above all else I'd like to make a reasonable living off my writing alone so I can keep entertaining people for the rest of my life. That's the dream.

WAIT! I KNOW!

Does anyone still play Role Playing Games? I've written a few gaming systems and compendiums over the last twenty or so years, I wonder...

Anyway, those are dangerous, distracting thoughts. I'd rather finish what I'm working on now, the next Spinward Fringe book, Broadcast 5. All I can say about it right now is that it's different, it's fun and I'll be announcing the title on June 14th.

Thank you for taking this journey with me. I'm glad to see Frontline received well so far. See you back here soon!

RL

[Would you like to see a Spinward Fringe Tabletop Role Playing Game? Sound off in the Comments!]