The Sci-Fi Channel Becomes The SyFy Channel

I write in the science fiction genre, so the following is sort of like throwing bricks in a glass house, but I couldn't help but weigh in on this topic.

In a monumentally pathetic move to re-brand the Sci-Fi channel so they can register the logo as a trademark and "reinvent" itself, the genre representing channel has renamed itself as the SyFy channel.

This move follows after GE (the owner of the SyFy Channel) attempted to register Sci-Fi as a trademark and claim ownership of the logo and failed. Now they can register the new name as a trademark but will suffer for it since, historically, people who refer to Science Fiction as SyFy typically don't enjoy, respect or understand the genre or the fans. This is absolutely perfect considering the SyFy channel started falling out of grace with Science Fiction fans as they started piling on bad reality television shows, wrestling, and other unrelated television shows such as Ghost Hunters. Add the fact that they use the channel as a dumping ground for long dead series that play right next to more impressive reruns. I've also heard many, many science fiction fans complain that they show the same movies over and over again, this is true. Pile atop that the straight to DVD B-Movie and worse quality "Sci-Fi Original" films that they use as filler or feature during prime time the station has turned some die hard Science Fiction fans away for good.

On a more positive note I have enjoyed some original programming (the Stargate Franchise, Battlestar Galactica, Farscape, Eureka and others), but I find those shows are making up for the rest of the poor programming less and less. I shouldn't expect integrity and quality from a channel GE sees as a secondary concern compared to other stations such as MSNBC but there was a time when the Sci-Fi channel was pretty good, good enough so our Canadian version couldn't measure up. Those days are gone, sometimes the Canadian Sci-Fi channel (simply named: SPACE), is actually better.

It's sad to see a genre channel increase its rate of deterioration. We can only hope that science fiction content continues to invade main stream television so we don't have to channel surf to SyFy.

RL

Books by Randolph Lalonde: Now Available On Amazon.com

Finally, instead of going through other companies to get my books available internationally through Amazon I'm using their services from beginning to end. The results are amazing. I have proofs of all the science fiction books I've published (The First Light Chronicles and Spinward Fringe books), and every single one of them is perfect.

The proofs arrived a week early and the listings on Amazon.com are up. My storefront is linked just to the right of this post. I'm honestly happy with the way they're treating me from one end to the other and glad I went through the trouble of re-designing the covers and interiors. The prices are also quite reasonable considering the high quality of the books.

The only drawback is that the books are only available on Amazon.com, not Amazon.ca or Amazon.co.uk so there's no super saver shipping available for anyone outside of the US. The shipping fees for anyone outside of the United States are pretty reasonable though, much better than Lulu.com or any of the other companies I've investigated.

Before I run off and resume work on Spinward Fringe Frontline, I'd like to take a moment to reassure the people who read my work as Ebooks. Unlike big publishers, I will NOT wait until the printed version of my books are on the market before releasing the Ebook versions. I'll gladly release any work I publish as an Ebook first. There's just no point in delaying a release, especially if I know people are anxious to get their hands on what I'm doing.

Thank you again for your support, without you I wouldn't be doing this. Now go spread the word to all those non-Ebook lookers that Amazon can send them a copy of an old fashioned, glossy covered, weighty book if they like. I know I'm glad I have hard copies now, they look pretty good on my shelf and are doomed to be dog-eared soon.

RL

Spinward Fringe Frontline: The Work Goes Well

It's past midnight here and I'm wide awake, wired.

Spinward Fringe Frontline has taken more time to write than anything I've worked on in the last few years. I've done more research, more rewriting, more editing so far on this one work than anything.

Why?

I want to write an adventure epic that beats everything I've ever written hands down.

When this is finished I want to open the proof copy, start reading then wonder to myself; Did I write this? Did some much more imaginative, talented author put a book out under my name?

I said a long time ago that something isn't worth writing unless you enjoy the work, unless the story and characters grip you and refuse to let you go until the tale is told, their words are on the page and the story is ready to be passed on.

So far I've enjoyed working on Frontline. It's shaping up the way I want it to, and the story is moving very quickly. The writing is getting easier as I go, the characters are telling me what the next line is, where they want to go and keeping up with them is becoming blissfully difficult.

Sadly, I have to get a few hours of sleep before continuing my work, but for all those who are wondering, I have 177 pages locked in as of tonight and there's a lot more coming a lot faster.

If you're really having trouble with the wait, there are a few things going on. Amazon.com is now accepting orders for the First Light Chronicles and Spinward Fringe books. Some are still in a pre-order state, but will ship in the next few days to anyone who orders early.

Geoff of SomaCow.com will be rendering his review of Spinward Fringe Triton live on Friday night. The live show can be seen and heard between 7pm-10pm here. Their show does often contain mature content, so you're informed. I have to take this opportunity to thank J, one of the hosts of SomaCow, for introducing me to the show. I enjoy being a regular listener just as much if not more than I enjoy being their "resident author."

Tomorrow I'll be back at the keys for a whole 8+ hours and I can't wait. Spinward Fringe Frontline is a book with some serious grip.

RL

Announcing: Spinward Fringe Frontline

Am I excited about this book? I honestly can't express how insanely enthusiastic I feel about this Broadcast. It's the fourth book in the Spinward Fringe Series, and I know I've said this before but EVERYTHING COMES TOGETHER IN THIS BOOK!

If there was a unified theory to the Spinward Fringe Series it would be found in this book. The questions some people have had since the First Light Chronicles Limbo (the second book in that series, included in the First Light Chronicles Omnibus) are answered. Think Eden IV, think characters working to come back together for the first time in hundreds of pages, think universe changing.

That's what you'll see in this book right along with some solid characterization from characters I know for a fact fans have been looking to see. I get emails every time I release a book, and positive or negative I listen. The emails I recieved after releasing Spinward Fringe Triton told me one thing more than any other; The great big risks I took with the story in Triton paid off. People are thrilled with the latest release.

When will Spinward Fringe Frontline be released? I'm doing everything I can to get this out before the end of 2008, but I have to warn you: I'm a little over half way finished and it looks like this book will be longer and more intricate than any that has come before.

Triton set a new scene for many of our characters, and now that I've expanded the universe and moved to a whole new sand box with the story I'm going to tell a bigger tale that comes with a solid dose of creative dialogue and character interaction that I'm enjoying so much that I've once again completely lost my objectivity.

Enough going on about this book, it's time I get back to work.

I have to send out a big thank you to everyone who has supported me thus far, I greatly appreciate everyone who follows me on this journey. Remember; you, the readers weren't there, I'd still write this but it would take a lot longer to complete each edition since I'd have to split my time with another endeavor. You guys keep me writing full time, and not a day goes by that I don't love singing for my dinner to this crowd.

RL

Will Spinward Fringe Frontline be the last book in the series? No.

Sweeping Improvements to All Books!

After receiving a great deal of advice from many of my eBook readers, I've made a number of changes to all the eBooks offered on Mobipocket. Here's a list of the changes.

The First Light Chronicles Freeground eNovella is once again free through Lulu.com. Mobipocket administration has informed me that they don't allow free eBooks to be added to their Freebooks program any longer, so I've reduced the cost of Freeground to $0.10 there.

All of the First Light Chronicles books (including the Omnibus), and the Spinward Fringe books now include links by chapter so Mobipocket readers can easily navigate through them. This is something that wasn't in place before because I honestly didn't expect to do so well in the eBook market. Now that so many of you have proven me wrong (thank you!), the table of contents are in place.
When the Spinward Fringe Triton novel is released there will be a new Afterword added to the First Light Chronicles Omnibus. In the afterword I discuss how the books came about, some of the more drastic twists in the novels and some of the surprises that crept up on me while I wrote them.

In the book Spinward Fringe Triton there's a preview of the following novel, the fourth book in that series. (eBook version only, sorry. I just have to save paper).

I'm also working on getting the First Light Chronicles Omnibus listed on Amazon.com. I'm hoping to make the printed copies available through their site (supersaver shipping, yay!), by Christmas. Other than that I'm looking for popular places to review my work, so word can spread beyond Mobipocket, SomaCow and this site. I love you guys, but for me to make a career out of this I need a few thousand more readers.

These changes and improvements have all come about thanks to you, dear readers, and I'm happy to make them. I've had a fantastic time writing these books and meeting people who are interested in the world I'm creating and expanding. I truly hope it never ends.

RL

Spinward Fringe Triton: Update

Triton is twice the size of Spinward Fringe Resurrection, it's also a very different kind of story. It took a while to write, I'll admit. After that it took a little while to edit, and I'm afraid that due to a family emergency things have been set back a bit.

I can say that even though things have slowed down on the finalizing of this book, it's still coming.

While this family matter is going on I'm writing the book following Trition, so once the air clears things should be right back on track.

The popularity of this series continues to rise, and thankfully I had plenty of ideas stored up long before I started writing it in January of this year, so there's more to come. I thank everyone whose supported me, enjoyed reading and donated to the cause or purchased my work. I can't say how much I appreciate your patience, it'll be worth the wait.

RL

Spinward Fringe Triton: Now We Wait

What's with the title you ask? Well, I've finished my editorial pass on the newest book and all of you get to wait on my Editors final word.

Anyone who has read the First Light Chronicles and Spinward Fringe thus far know that I'm the master of answering a (plot) question with another question. That's how I do things in general, give you just enough to feel informed while you follow the characters along on a journey that could take you anywhere. In the end there's always a payoff, however.

Triton is different. The location is different, the story is vastly different, even the main characters we follow around are dealing with things that they've never faced before. I've taken great risks in the telling. The major risks involve answers that don't pose questions. Many of the answers to long running plot lines (even going as far back as the First Light Chronicles), are final and satisfying, or at least that's my intention. My Editor will tell me whether I've accomplished my goals and told a good story.

Triton ties up a number of important plot lines because it's time to move on to the bigger story that's been developing in the background ever since the first page of Starfree Port. In Spinward Fringe Broadcast 4 (I can't tell you it's proper name until my Editor has signed off on Triton), the big picture story comes into play and I can't wait to tell it.

Triton is a much more serious book than anything that's come before, and now that I look back on the story I've told I can honestly say I'm proud of the work.

So, like I said before, we get to wait a few days while my Editor makes her educated, well read assessment of the book. Here's hoping I've done my job exceptionally well.

RL

[While you're waiting you could always check out Fate Cycle Dead of Winter or Fate Cycle Sins of the Past if you're looking for a more epic style of fantasy. They're both available at a reduced price on Mobipocket.com]

Sci Fi Channel: Selling Out and Wasting Our Time, Again!

As time passes the NBC/Universal owned American SciFi channel has been disappointing me more and more. They've recently managed to waste a lot of people's time and energy producing a full season of Flash Gordon, which was just embarrassing in every respect. It was like watching a terrible B-Movie every week written by a bunch of geek wannabe's in grade 9.

At the same time they play host to ECW Wrestling, which is really just a soap opera of 10 year olds and the people who can't seem to grow out of their 'muscle men in tights' phase. I laugh inside whenever I hear a 25+ person raving on about what happened last night in wrestling. It's like listening to someone talk about their favorite soap opera only without the sweaty near nude men flying through the air. Oh, and you'll never catch an actor from Young and the Restless saying; "Nono, it's all real man. This is a real sport here." I'm not saying that everyone should grow up and tune out, but I am saying that ECW does NOT in any universe have anything to do with Science Fiction. Don't try to argue with me on this one, I'll just ignore you.

Moving on to the current day: The Sci Fi channel announced today that they are launching Cha$e, a reality television show where people run away from hunters and earn cash for every second of evasion. They're also launching Panic, which puts contestants into a mansion with money and other nasty surprises hidden all over the place. There will also be formulaic challenges scattered around.

Reality television isn't science fiction. They're wasting everyone's time and setting their credibility on fire. The real sad thing is the people who work for the SciFi network might actually see this, the people who make the big decisions above them won't. They're part of the network television corporate structure like everything else on television these days, and these crap shows are just another way to snag more advertising dollars.

I have an idea though, it could actually get some advertisers and have fanboys (and fan girls, hi Liz!), glued. Imagine, you get a few brilliant but untested writers together. Give them a big empty studio with good digital gear and an endless supply of green screen. Hire a bunch of recent film school grads to operate said equipment. Then have them and other fans who have at least a little acting talent play out the content aforementioned writers put together (one shot episodes or mini series). Their friends are allowed to help them make costumes, props and they have a limited budget and a couple of young professionals to polish that and makeup a little. Now, I think this idea could be the cause of a lot of laughs, perhaps some good drama, an exposure point for new ideas, and a chance for these less experienced people to add something to their resumes. As for the fanboys (and girls), they get to play a character in a brand new (if low budget), science fiction episode and have a chance at coming back if the staff there and the fans online (you know forum traffic would be insane for something like this), liked them enough.

Just imagine, one minute you're on your sofa, then you see this fanboy (and girl), call to arms for a new teevee show you can star in if you send your picture and a video tape in to! Start breaking out the spandex and tin foil boys and girls! You're gonna be on teevee! Or not. NBC and Universal would never go for it because it would be too labour intensive and potentially misuse fresh intellectual property they'd rather stack in their script room. Wait, they don't have a script room, they have a great big shredder now, it's used for submissions to their network that don't go through an agent.

Me bitter? Not at all, I think I'll go make a tin foil hat and a cardboard ray gun. Then I'll go storm their headquarters...

RL

Spinward Fringe Awakening: Approved!

It's official! My editor has finished her work on Spinward Fringe Awakening and it has met her approval. After a pass by yours truly it will be released with the cover to the left.

I've been holding my breath with this book because of several very, very large risks I took with the story, and after hearing her opinion on the journey taken by the reader I'm fully confident that this is the story that must be told in this book.

The kind of plot that I lay out for my readers with this book is central to an overall story that surpasses anything I've ever written. In all honesty I couldn't be more proud.

I hope you all enjoy what is to come, the book will be available for purchase through eBook retailers such as MobiPocket, Books On Board and several others as well as Lulu.com. I prefer people purchase the book through Lulu.com since they offer the non-DRM pdf version and they also offer the printed version.

Thank you for waiting patiently for this book. I'm sure you'll agree it was well worth it.

More questions are answered, the adventure grows and the characters begin to sing as a choir building to a ground shaking crescendo.

RL

PS
The cover features the logo for Regent Galactic, a Corporation that has something to do with the story overall.

Spinward Fringe: Frequently Asked Questions 1

A few questions have come to me regarding the new Science Fiction series I'm writing and not only am I ecstatic that anyone is interested enough to ask questions this early on, but I'm willing to answer a few!

Q: What is Spinward Fringe?
A: Spinward Fringe is a science fiction series that takes place several years after the First Light Chronicles.

Q: What does the name 'Spinward Fringe' mean?
A: Spinward refers to the direction the galaxy is turning. Fringe (in this case), refers to the outer end of the spiral arm of a galaxy. In short, the name refers to where this saga takes place, on the outer edge of the Milky Way. Our home galaxy.

Q: Is it written like a television show like the First Light Chronicles?
A: Yes, I'm still writing in a fast paced style that fits well into a 42 or 84 minute format. The difference is that the stories are much broader and it's not written in first person so I have more freedom in the telling. Some of the books may run longer.

Q: Is it true that a studio has shown some interest in making the First Light Chronicles into a television series?
A: A film maker has approached me but is poorer than I am and doesn't have any financing connections. I would love to option the series to the right people though.

Q: Is Spinward Fringe about the same characters from The First Light Chronicles?
A: Yes. They appear in ways you will and will not expect.

Q: Why not just continue under the title of The First Light Chronicles?
A: The various reasons for the end of that series are built into the plot. you'll know why as soon as you've finished reading Freeground, Limbo and Starfree Port. Enjoy!

Q: Will we see Alice in the Spinward Fringe series?
A: Yes.

Q: How many books will be in this series?
A: Spinward Fringe is being written as an epic Science Fiction Unlimited Series. Everything I write for science fiction will be under that banner unless I'm hired out by Lucas, Whedon, Moore or Spielberg. I'm not planning an ending for this series and I know it's something I'll be coming back to often.

Q: Will we see something soon?
A: The first and second books in this series is finished and available in print and EBook formats through the online store. The third is in the works.

Q: Do you always write cliffhangers?
A: Yes, no, well I'm not sure. Why don't I think about it and get back to you?


Well, that's enough info for now. If you have any questions for me that don't have anything to do with "how do I get published, get an agent or can you edit my stuff?" then send me an email at randylalonde@gmail.com.

Thank you for visiting and stay tuned, there's more info on the way.

RL

Spinward Fringe: Because I Just Can't Stop Writing Science Fiction

A few questions have come to me regarding the new Science Fiction series I'm writing and not only am I ecstatic that anyone is interested enough to ask questions this early on, but I'm willing to answer a few!

Q: What is Spinward Fringe?
A: Spinward Fringe is a science fiction series that takes place several years after the First Light Chronicles.

Q: What does the name 'Spinward Fringe' mean?
A: Spinward refers to the direction the galaxy is turning. Fringe (in this case), refers to the outer end of the spiral arm of a galaxy. In short, the name refers to where this saga takes place, on the outer edge of the Milky Way. Our home galaxy.

Q: Is it written like a television show like the First Light Chronicles?
A: Yes, I'm still writing in a fast paced style that fits well into a 42 or 84 minute format. The difference is that the stories are much broader and it's not written in first person so I have more freedom in the telling. Some of the books may run longer.

Q: Is it true that a studio has shown some interest in making the First Light Chronicles into a television series?
A: A film maker has approached me but is poorer than I am and doesn't have any financing connections. I would love to option the series to the right people though.

Q: Is Spinward Fringe about the same characters from The First Light Chronicles?
A: Yes. They appear in ways you will and will not expect.

Q: Will we see Alice in this series?
A: Yes.

Q: How many books will be in this series?
A: Spinward Fringe is being written as an epic Science Fiction series. Everything I write for science fiction will be under that banner unless I'm hired out by Lucas or Spielberg. I'm not planning an ending for this series and I know it's something I'll be coming back to often.

Q: Will we see something soon?
A: The first book in this series is finished and with an editor right now. I'll know when they'll be ready for release as soon as she gives it an okay or a no way. If she says okay you'll probably see something in a week. If she doesn't like what she sees it will be a while longer. I'm working on the second book right now and am seventy pages into the first draft.

Q: Do you always write cliffhangers?
A: Yes, no, well I'm not sure. Why don't I think about it and get back to you?


Well, that's enough info for now. If you have any questions for me that don't have anything to do with "how do I get published, get an agent or can you edit my stuff?" then send me an email at randylalonde@gmail.com.

Thank you for visiting and stay tuned, there's more info and movie reviews coming throughout the month!

RL

Starship Troopers 3 Marauder: 10 Reasons to Avoid This Film!

10 The sound track sounds like it was done with a late 70's synthesizer played by a 12 year old with no talent and only three fingers.

9 This series of films was originally based on a noteworthy science fiction novel. They have fallen so far from it that it's embarassing.

8 Characters are completely unbelievable. Their backgrounds, performances, dialogue and interactions are poorly delivered and badly written.

7 The technology in this film would either never work (due to the pesky laws of physics) or simply doesn't make sense. Some of it even looks like it's from the 90's.

6 The directing is so bad that I am absolutely certain I could have done better myself with a super 8 in a maximum security prison.

5 The special effects are much worse than the first film. I've seen better effects in Swede movies.

4 Production design lacks any creativity. Everything is borrowed or stolen from other films and television shows. I'm sure they raided the props room for the original Lost in Space.

3 The main villain bug is a great big version of a part of the female anatomy in such great detail that this film should have been rated XXX.

2 Casper Van Dean is the best actor in the film by far.

1 Let me spoil the ending: almost everyone finds religion and the highest paid actors survive.


Easily the worst movie I've seen in over a decade.

RL

Digg it!

First Light Chronicles: Omnibus

Definition: om·ni·bus [om-nuh-buhs,buh s] - a volume of reprinted works of a single author or of works related in interest or theme.

In this case, it's the collection of the First Light Chronicles. Now that I'm finished with that series and well into the next, I thought it was time to put the collection out.

A couple other things have been done. Working with a new editor I gave all three books (Freeground, Limbo and Starfree Port), a final run through. The final edit extends to the EBooks as well as all the printed versions.

The three books will be available through download seperately, but the Omnibus will not. The EBooks will always be sold seperately, mostly because no one would save money if they were combined anyway.

The printed books have also been submitted to Amazon.com, so in the next 6-8 weeks they may become available there as well. There aren't any plans to offer the Omnibus on Amazon.com, anyone who wants it will have to come here or visit my Lulu.com Marketplace.

I've only had one person read all three books back to back (over the course of 3 days), and she had a lot of good things to say. Considering how seriously I take the opinion of this person, I was completely blown away. I'm absolutely overjoyed to offer this to everyone who may be new to my work in science fiction.

I had a fantastic time writing these, and even though it's a complete set of three books, I thought you'd like to know that the story continues on past the initial trilogy. I say this so you know that when you get to the end of the third book in the First Light series there are more books.

More news on the new series, Spinward Fringe, coming soon.

Enjoy!

RL

P.S.
The First Light Chronicles: Freeground EBook is still available for free!

First Light Chronicles: Omnibus

Definition: om·ni·bus [om-nuh-buhs,buh s] - a volume of reprinted works of a single author or of works related in interest or theme.

In this case, it's the collection of the First Light Chronicles. Now that I'm finished with that series and well into the next, I thought it was time to put the collection out.

A couple other things have been done. Working with a new editor I gave all three books (Freeground, Limbo and Starfree Port), a final run through. The final edit extends to the EBooks as well as all the printed versions.

The three books will be available through download seperately, but the Omnibus will not. The EBooks will always be sold seperately, mostly because no one would save money if they were combined anyway.

The printed books have also been submitted to Amazon.com, so in the next 6-8 weeks they may become available there as well. There aren't any plans to offer the Omnibus on Amazon.com, anyone who wants it will have to come here or visit my Lulu.com Marketplace.

I've only had one person read all three books back to back (over the course of 3 days), and she had a lot of good things to say. Considering how seriously I take the opinion of this person, I was completely blown away. I'm absolutely overjoyed to offer this to everyone who may be new to my work in science fiction.

I had a fantastic time writing these, and even though it's a complete set of three books, I thought you'd like to know that the story continues on past the initial trilogy. I say this so you know that when you get to the end of the third book in the First Light series there are more books.

More news on the new series, Spinward Fringe, coming soon.

Enjoy!

RL

P.S.
The First Light Chronicles: Freeground EBook is still available for free!

First Light Chronicles Series: Submitted to Amazon.com

I've given Lulu.com the go ahead to submit the First Light Chronicles Series to Amazon.com. This isn't normally a free service, but a few weeks ago they offered to waive all the regular fees.

Since I wanted to put Freeground, Limbo and Starfree Port through one more editorial pass before sending them out there, I didn't know if I'd make the submission before August but thanks to my new editor, who finished working on all three books in three days, I've made it with time to spare.

I've gone through the distribution process with another book, but that was years ago. I had forgotten how much work was involved. Doing an audit of the edit for all three books was a 22 hour day and I still had some work left for the next morning. Was it worth it? Well, I can say that the concerted effort was enough to win the war against typos and a few pages where I went comma crazy.

I'm very happy to say that anything that becomes available in the future will be going through extra editorial passes and will be released as a final edit the first time you see them on the web. I have great proof readers and a fantastic editor in place now, so the final edits you see will be top notch.

There, you've seen just the tip of the iceberg of what it means to be serious about self publishing. There's a lot more work than most people imagine and it takes time to get the right support team together. The effort is rewarding, however, and I hope the results of the 60+ hour weeks result in great entertainment that more people can access. Hey, if I sell a couple hundred books a month I'll be able to actually do this and make a living, wouldn't that be fantastic?

The First Light Chronicles: Freeground, Limbo, and Starfree Port may appear on Amazon.com in 6-8 weeks.

Until next time!

RL

Spinward Fringe: The Next Science Fiction Series

A few people have read the entire First Light Chronicles series, and a lot of people are downloading the first book, Freeground for the first time. I couldn't be happier, well, maybe I could be.

I'm positively beaming here as I announce a new series of science fiction novels just on the horizon. The working title for the first is Spinward Fringe.

I can't reveal much about it, only that some of the same characters from the First Light Chronicles series appear in the new books, and that it's going to be a very different story, style and setting. Other than that it's too early to say anything, I'm only 103 pages into my first draft, after all.

As far as the First Light Chronicles are concerned, I'm submitting them to Amazon.com this week under Lulu.com's label. Let's face it, the more copies I sell the better the chances are that I'll be able to do this full time, so wider distribution is a very good thing.

Science Fiction is alive and well here, I'm glad to say, so sit back and wait for the new book to come along then enjoy the show.

RL

Digg it!

Spinward Fringe: The Next Science Fiction Series

A few people have read the entire First Light Chronicles series, and a lot of people are downloading the first book, Freeground for the first time. I couldn't be happier, well, maybe I could be.

I'm positively beaming here as I announce a new series of science fiction novels just on the horizon. The working title for the first is Spinward Fringe.

I can't reveal much about it, only that some of the same characters from the First Light Chronicles series appear in the new books, and that it's going to be a very different story, style and setting. Other than that it's too early to say anything, I'm only 103 pages into my first draft, after all.

As far as the First Light Chronicles are concerned, I'm submitting them to Amazon.com this week under Lulu.com's label. Let's face it, the more copies I sell the better the chances are that I'll be able to do this full time, so wider distribution is a very good thing.

Science Fiction is alive and well here, I'm glad to say, so sit back and wait for the new book to come along then enjoy the show.

RL

Digg it!

Starfree Port: Finished!

It's finally done. After thee drafts and several editorial passes the third book in the First Light Chronicles is complete.

This novel will be released before Friday of this week (that's July 18) and it weighs in at 240 pages exactly. To reduce the cost of the book I had to shrink the font size and change the layout, however, so when you see it only has 190 pages, don't panic! I just squeezed those 240 pages into a smaller format so you save a few bucks!

That also brings the First Light Chronicles to an end.

The story will continue, but in a book that will stand on it's own, not as an official extension of this series. If you consider the First Light Chronicles like a number of television episodes, then the upcoming novel will be written more like a feature film. I've already started writing it.

Before I talk about anything else, I'd like to say a few things about the First Light Chronicles series and Starfree Port, the third book. The First Light Chronicles was an experiment, to see if I could write science fiction and write from the first person perspective for a very long time. There were also other experimental points to the way it was written, but I won't go into that unless someone actually asks about it very nicely. I don't want to give away all my secrets.

The people who bought the first two books and enjoyed them have been incredibly patient. The first two books took four weeks each to write, the third took months. There were a few reasons behind that. I wanted to give them what they were asking for. More character development, a deeper story and something they didn't expect. I'm happy to say that I've fulfilled each requirement and I did it my way, so here it is. This book is at the same time a thank you directed at them and something I enjoyed reliving every time I started a new draft or edit. I wanted it to be just right, and am sure that I've made all the right plot decisions. I hope everyone enjoys this book as much as you did the first two, I know I truly enjoyed writing it (over and over again it seems).

Later today you'll see the digital download will be available, it's a little more expensive because it contains twice the content. It won't cost twice as much though, I'm just not that corporate minded.

There's nothing like completing a book and being happy with it. The fact that it's the last in a series is an even bigger rush. Thank you for your support over the lifetime of this project, I hope you enjoy it in it's entirety and come back when the next book is completed.

In the meantime, there is more First Light news coming as well as news about the Fate Cycle series and other stuff in general. Keep checking back, I'll be here!

RL

Starfree Port: Work on this book comes to an end this weekend.

I've sent the first half of this book to my editor, and after looking over it again myself, I'm making some minor modifications and moving on to the second half of the book.

Here's the thing. I'm leaving the decision on whether or not to split this book into two episodes to him. Once R.A.I. is finished reading it and gets back to me, we'll see what happens. If it were television there would be no question that this first half of the third book would be a stand alone one hour episode, but in print the rules are a little different. As someone very dear to me once said; "Some things work on television, but not in print." Well, that's true for a lot of reasons, but I'm really enjoying this work, so I trust his opinion more than my own.

The good news is that the editing and re-writing goes on, and by the end of this weekend the second half of book three will be finished. What I'm editing right now grows the story, characters and universe a great deal and I'm happy with it.

If I weren't enjoying this plot line and the characters so much I would not still be picking through it line by line, making sure that the conclusion to this plot line comes out perfectly.

Sadly, as a result of the hours I'm putting in on editing, blogging is slowing down a bit, but I promise to check in, and there is some interesting news coming.

Back to work I go!

RL

First Light Chronicles: Starfree Port [Editing]

Writing the third book in the First Light Chronicles series has been the biggest challenge I've taken on in years. There have been a number of interruptions in my life recently and that slowed things down. What's more important to this project is the fact that the events in this novel change a lot for how the series will manifest itself in the future.

After I finished the second book I knew that, regardless of size, the third book in this short series would be the last in this plot cycle and there would be a very firm ending. My approach is no different than if I were writing this as a television series. With the attitude of North American networks treating their shows like they're disposable, my approach towards writing for that medium is that every episode can be your last. As a result I write every book as though it will be my last. The biggest problem with that is the ending planned for this plot cycle has been very difficult to balance with the rest of the book. If this were a conventional book or television series from the 80's or mid 90's there would be several episodes before the events of this third book. Some would be filler, others would be used to develop characters and plot. I write at a different pace, however, and would rather not take more time than I have to on character development, especially since the style these books are written in determine a default focus on one character, a singular perspective.

I like moving things along faster under these circumstances, and writing filler is just cheating. I'm not after your money, so I'd rather write a short, exciting book and have you talk about it endlessly so I can get popular with your friends, who will hopefully spread the word just like you did. I write to entertain and excite and if I'm lucky these little books might just amount to a living, and then you'll see even more books that entertain, and the cycle continues.

Knowing that this is the last book in this plot cycle makes re-drafting and editing really picky and slow. The good news is that I'm about half way through my final edit now and enjoying the story as I go. After I've finished this edit I'll be forwarding it to my editor, who will do a grammatical pass and review the plot line. While he's busy working on that I'll design the cover and synopsis. After he's finished with the book I'll do another pass on it and post it online if it's ready. That whole process normally takes a week. Then I order printed proofs to make sure the non-digital cover came out properly.

All told, everyone waiting for an electronic version of this book has 2-3 weeks ahead of them at the most. Printed early copies (proofs), will be coming along in 3-4 weeks. That's not bad for a 240+ page book, it's actually pretty quick.

My major point with this post is that editing this is as much of a challenge as every other step. This is my last chance to reconsider plot decisions that will effect this series for the long run before I hand it over to someone else for final editing and review. It'll take more time, and I appreciate every one's patience. I'm doing my best to make sure this third part of the series is worth the wait.

RL