Spinward Fringe: Fragments - Progress

A lot of work has gone into this book. Where Spinward Fringe Fracture delivered what I consider a number of familiar experiences wrapped up in a new style and set of situations, Fragments steps outside of the box. Way outside.

The plot lines that left off in Frontline get picked up again, I introduce an entirely new environment, and a brand new side of the story is told. That's about as specific as I can get without spoiling all the surprises.

How close am I to finishing? I'm writing the last five chapters of the final draft, so I'll admit, I'm behind, but not by much. Unless there's a major hiccup, I should make the deadline of February 28 and if I don't, it'll still be close.

The Sons of Brightwill is still going ahead, but at this point other people are reviewing things, so that frees me up to work on Fragments until it's finished. Everything in this book continues roughly in the direction set in the previous volumes - towards a conclusive end to most of the existing plot lines.

I'm excited to present this work to you, especially after the surprisingly long road it's taken through extra research (books, white papers, queries sent to a few scientists - Thanks Gavin! - and endless documentaries), and an extra draft. It seems the more risks I take with a work the more I enjoy it, and soon, very soon, I'll find out if the stylistic and plot risks I've taken were worth it. My editor can't wait to see it.

Thank you for your support and patience. Time for me to get back to work!

RL

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: Status Report

The road to Spinward Fringe Frontline has been long and filled with obstacles. To write Frontline I typed over seven hundred pages and came out with four hundred and nineteen including rewrites, three prologues that in no way resembled each other (only using one of them), and several other cut chapters that just didn't fit right. A lot of authors go through that, even with the kind of careful planning that went into this book.

The end of that road is in sight. I just finished working with my editor on the first three hundred pages now she's running off with the last bit and we'll be working on it later this week. So far she's been very pleased with the book, in fact she's read some chapters more than once because she found them so interesting and enjoyable. A point of pride for me, you can be sure.

I'm on edge. I honestly love this book. There are layers that call back to historical events, character interactions that play over and over in my head because I love how they turned out and creative bits where I can't help ask myself; "where the hell did that come from?" Imagine something as fast paced as Spinward Fringe Resurrection only its over four hundred pages long. My last pass on this book had me waking up at six am and working on it until midnight, the word driven doesn't begin to describe my mentality. I literally disappeared from the world and am still winding down weeks later.

Since then I've pumped out over ninety thousand words while detailing the background universe of Spinward Fringe, performing character studies and finishing several self imposed challenges meant to improve the quality of my descriptive and characterization abilities. I learn and improve by doing and those thousands of words have done wonders.

Where has the last few weeks (while I've waited for my editor to get through the book), taken the Spinward Fringe series? There's this prologue idea that I've been dreaming of using for the last eight months, like a milestone that has waited way off in the distance. It's explosive, unrestrained, universe changing and it's been written. As I wait for the verdict and notes to come back from my editor on the last quarter of Frontline I've been crafting the fine details of the next book in my head and my excitement has been building. The weeks I've spent working on my skills and distancing myself from the Spinward Fringe universe have taken the series far and I can tell you for certain that there are two more very good books back in the works right now.

Spinward Fringe Frontline is the best book I've written. That includes the Fantasy, Horror and all the Science Fiction I've released and kept to myself over the last five years. When I announced Frontline I promised a lot. At this point I can say that I feel I delivered. Somehow I also managed to include some decent humour in all that drama, which surprises even me.

Frontline is a collosal chapter in exactly the kind of Space Opera I enjoy, it's set my personal benchmark much higher than anything before it and I can't wait for you all to dig in. The next time you see a post here it'll be announcing the final release date and it won't be far off.

RL

Thank you for continuing on this journey with me. It's about to get very interesting.