Spinward Fringe: Fragments

It's been quiet on the site for a couple of weeks, but behind the scenes things have been absolutely nuts.

Before I ramble on about anything else, it's time to announce the title of the next Spinward Fringe Novel: Spinward Fringe Fragments. As the second middle book in the Rogue Element Trilogy it promises to take our characters into unfamiliar situation and to unfamiliar places.

Readers who have already finished the series and have read the Strange Horizons and Close Encounters Living Anthology will have a head start. One of the characters appearing in this book was first introduced there in the Landing In Leeds short.

When will Fragments be released? I expect to have a complete draft by the end of November. A lot of work has already gone into this book, an unbelievable amount actually. The story that flows between this and the final book of the Rogue Element Trilogy is one I've wanted to tell for years, and I'm making sure that I'm bringing everything you expect from a Space Opera and more.

What else has been keeping me busy? The final edit of the First Light Chronicles and built up to re-release is wrapping up this week. It'll be available for free under the name: Spinward Fringe Origins on Smashwords sometime in November, but I'm not treating it like a free ebook. It's getting its own high end book trailer and a new cover. The Omnibus will be updated to match the new edit as well, so if you already purchased an eBook edition of the First Light Chronicles Omnibus, then you can update it for free wherever you purchased it.

So, there's my progress report for the time being. Keep your eyes peeled for more news, I'll keep you up to date as more projects near completion.

RL

Strange Horizons and Close Encounters: On A Break

There's a lot going on behind the scenes in the Spinward Fringe Universe. Lately I've had to put in some long hours to make an October 31 deadline for multiple projects and that's meant that I've lost pace with the work I wanted to complete for the Strange Horizons and Close Encounters Anthology.

The good news is that work on the rest of the Rogue Element Trilogy is going very well. A lot of the story has been reworked since the completion of Spinward Fringe Fracture, and everything is looking a hell of a lot better.

While work continues on the Rogue Element Trilogy and I get ready for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for short. More on that later), I've been spending long hours polishing the First Light Chronicles and most recently Spinward Fringe Resurrection for a full on re-release. Everyone who already has an eBook copy of the books will be able to update their versions for free when Spinward Fringe 2.0 arrives.

The production of the new book trailer is in early stages, and a few actors may be auditioning for voice parts soon. The production class of this trailer will be much higher than the average Space Opera Book Trailer by far, but that means I'm putting a lot of hours in on sourcing visual material, music, and finding the right performer. I hope to have a rough cut finished in the last week of October.

I apologize for the delay with Strange Horizons and Close Encounters, but it can't be helped. Getting all the editing work finished and the Rogue Element Trilogy out before Christmas takes priority I'm afraid. Will I add to the anthology in the future? Certainly! There's also a growing possibility that another writer will be contributing in the future. An imaginative, talented scribe has shown real interest in telling a story in the Spinward Fringe Universe and I should see a submission sometime in the next few months.

It looks like, despite how much or little time I have to dedicate to the Living Anthology, it'll grow.

RL

[If you're a writer who has read the Spinward Fringe Series and would like to write a piece set in the Fringe Universe, send me an Email and I'll be happy to provide you with the submission guide.]

Strange Horizons and Close Encounters: September 7 Update

The living anthology grows with the addition of Taking New Versailles.

This was the original prologue to Spinward Fringe: Fracture but it didn't fit in the end. I thought I could add it into the second book as a chapter but again, it didn't fit with the story.

That's no statement of quality, I personally enjoy the piece and the event detailed within does take place. So, like Landing in Leeds (another short in Strange Horizons and Close Encounters), it's found a home.

The next update for Strange Horizons and Close Encounters will be the second part of the Nerine Story. If you've already read Spinward Fringe: Fracture, you've seen it.

Eventually new material will be added to this book every two weeks, but at the moment I'm spending half my time on improving the quality of all things Spinward Fringe and writing the next three books. That simply means that I'll be alternating the Nerine plotline with new material for the next six weeks.

Don't bother keeping track, I'll gladly tell you exactly what's in each update to Strange Horizons and Close Encounters so you know if you've seen the material before or not.

This time, it's completely new material. So go update the eBook at Smashwords and enjoy Taking New Versailles.

RL

Spinward Fringe: Strange Horizons and Close Encounters - It's Alive!

In the process of writing eight books in the First Light Chronicles and Spinward Fringe series, a lot of extra material has been generated.

So much, in fact, that the Spinward Fringe series has started to become a universe. While I was looking through the contents of the digital vault where I keep all the bits and pieces that get cast aside when I'm editing I realized that some of the material is actually quite good. Frontline, for example, had over 11,000 words cut and buried in those words are two pieces that could stand on their own. One of those pieces, Landing on Leeds, is featured as the first part of the Strange Horizons and Close Encounters serial.

Here's the full concept behind the series:

It's a place to tell peripheral and background stories that didn't fit in the books, and preview parts of the books that haven't been released and to tell stories about characters who are experiencing life in the universe in a very different way.

• It will be a free series.
  
• It's a living document! Meaning that you get more content by by re-downloading the file instead of downloading another eBook when each part is released. Instead of a bunch of little files mucking up your device, you'll have one bigger, changing file with a text index.
• Each part will be a short, spanning between 1,500 and 5,000 words.
• Some stories will be split into multiple parts.
• When the book reaches 100,000 words it will go to print and another living document will be created.
• Guest writers will eventually be welcome.
• There will be no Spinward Fringe big picture spoilers.
• Most of the series will be fresh material that does not appear anywhere else.
• At least two parts will be available per month unless the project ends or something else comes up, in which case everyone will have fair warning.
• The story lines will be named. For example: the serialized story line starting in August is called the Nerine storyline.
• Some of the pieces will be stories from different characters' histories, such as Frost's, Alice's or Oz's.
• This project won't interfere with work on the regular Spinward Fringe series. In fact, the first six parts are already finished.
• The quality of each piece will be the same as the work in the regular Spinward Fringe Series.
• This will be taking the place of the Dark Arts serial. I may eventually develop that story into a book unless there's enough reader support for the serial to continue, in which case I'll find time for it.
  

Without further delay, here's the link to Spinward Fringe: Strange Horizons and Close Encounters. This version is compatible with all readers. You'll find a short story about the arrival of the Holocaust Virus in the core world city of Leeds and a preview of the next Spinward Fringe Fracture book which does not spoil the story for anyone who hasn't read Spinward Fringe Triton or Frontline. Part one of the series is unrelated to this storyline.

Oh, and about the cover graphic. I can't claim credit for the elements of the piece, I only composed it, but you can certainly expect a visual upgrade on future Spinward Fringe covers. After celebrating a year of writing independently and earning a living it's time to take things up a notch. I hope you enjoy the new look! The artists are credited in the eBook.

RL

[What do you think of the living document concept?]

Spinward Fringe: Change Is Coming

There are a number of people wondering where yesterday's free Spinward Fringe short was. It's running late.

I won't give you excuses, that's not how I work. Instead I'll tell you why.

Yesterday I got a call from my lead Editor and she told me Spinward Fringe Fracture is the best book in the series.

It was staggering news.

It also validated a few decisions I've made about what I'm going to do with the Spinward Fringe universe. Sadly, that also meant I needed another day or two for preparations before I released anything. That's why the first free content for the Spinward Fringe universe is delayed.

There is a lot of exciting news coming up if you're a reader, and many changes for the better are being made.

Over the next two weeks I'll be addressing a lot of topics on this blog including:

A new approach to cover art.
Treating the books like cinematic features
Spinward Fringe: Strange Horizons & Close Encounters
The Spinward Fringe: Fracture release
The Spinward Fringe Trailer
What happened with the SyFy Channel "Your Next Space Opera Is Here" campaign.
And other topics that I'm not ready to list.

Tonight Spinward Fringe: Strange Horizons & Close Encounters launches and I'll explain exactly what that is.

Thank you for coming with me on this journey. Your support is the reason why this series has come this far and I'm proud to entertain you. Now it's time to take things to the next level.

RL