Lewis has taken over the "blog" mwahahahaha

My daily perusal of this "internet" technology has brought to my attention the fact that Randy has not updated his weblog or "blog" (honestly, you humans and your tendency to shorten words...) in eleven days, four hours, twenty seven minutes and forty three seconds. As a reader of his "blog" you might be interested to know that there is a valid reason for this. His minion, or "personal assistant" as he calls her, has been cracking the whip, "encouraging" him to write more words every day. He is quite preoccupied with writing and editing, and as such, you have not heard from him in eleven days, four hours, twenty seven minutes and forty six seconds. On the bright side, his network informs me that he has produced many, many words in that time.

For those of you who might be interested, here is a short distraction from your mundane, human lives. It comes from the goodreads forum, which can be found at the following link:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/470069-character-discussion-favourites-requests-outrages-spoilers-allowed

Randy suggested a new version of "rock, paper, scissors," which I understand is a game you play with your hands. Not having appendages, I will take his word for it.

Vacsuit beats Headshot.

Headshot beats Stasis.
Stasis beats Vacsuit.

Hand symbols: Upright V with 2 fingers for Vacsuit. Gun gesture for Headshot, Flat hand (just like paper), for stasis indicating 'flat line'.

The Future Of Spinward Fringe Part I

There are some stories, some characters that writers spend time with and they find their lives changed. It's true to some extent that every character is a side of the writer who pens them, but it's also true that we borrow traits from people around us.

The characters of the Spinward Fringe series are a combination of both - ideas and borrowed traits. After a conversation with a writer who is much better than I who said simply, "I hope you never try to outrun Spinward Fringe. It'll be with you forever."

I ended up thinking about that all day. I went to that author with advice, and, like many great thinkers, he not only answered my questions but left me with a bone to gnaw on (thought-wise). After a full day of working on the Expendable Few, setting up a schedule for updating Broadcasts 1-6, and doing research reading, I'm comfortable with the notion that I'll never outrun Spinward Fringe. I love the characters, and I think they've grown from those patched together figures in my head into personalities that I carry around constantly.

At the same time, it's not like it's a huge entity or something I consider a burden. Spinward Fringe Broadcast 6: Fragments has only sold about 10,000 copies in the US and Canada. While I find that a staggering number, I'm still no more than a pebble on the vast beach that is science fiction. I love where I am right now. Many readers have become long range acquaintances and friends. I make a decent living, and I know that when I release the next two or three books there will be people interested in reading them. As a reader recently told me; "I'm living the dream."

It's a lot of work, don't get me wrong, but I'm doing what I want to be doing - no complaints, only thanks. That leads me back to my point. I don't want to outrun Spinward Fringe, I'm glad it's here, and writing Broadcast 7 is hard because I don't want to end this part of the series. I'm writing Broadcast 7 as if there will never be another Spinward Fringe book. That's difficult.

I know I'll begin new challenges in Broadcast 8, so it's not at all impossible. Endings are important in fiction - they give us an opportunity for closure that real life doesn't always provide. At the same time, I can't wait to write Broadcast 8. Why, then, am I taking a break to write a horror novel?* Dark Arts is a concept I've been developing for a while, and I need to clear my head before seriously starting a new book in the Spinward Fringe series. I have a few things written for Broadcast 8 already, but the smart thing to do is to put it down for a little while so I can get back to it fresh, eager to return to that universe.

So, what can I promise for the future of Spinward Fringe? More Polish! Two more books in the next couple months (if my editors and beta-readers sign off on them)! More books after that! I'm also doing work in the background so side projects like the store go more smoothly. Balancing what I have on my plate right now has become challenging, so I'm doing something about that. More about that coming this week.

Looking to the very near future, the first chapters of Spinward Fringe: Expendable Few,  go to test readers Monday. Things are moving right along.

As for reader mail and other correspondences, I'll eventually answer everyone, just give me time.

In short, the future of Spinward Fringe looks pretty good. I'd much rather ride along than try to outrun it.

RL

*More info on that other book here.

The Horror Adventure Novel

Before I dig in to my Easter blog post, I'll give everyone the update on the Spinward Fringe books. Both of the books I"m working on right now - Spinward Fringe: Expendable Few (the novella), and Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7: Framework - are finally going smashingly well. I wrote a ton of material for Broadcast 7, including two previous drafts. A lot of it was tossed out so I could deliver a denser, tighter book plot wise. I'm near the end.

The novella, Expendable Few, is almost finished. It's really helping me develop the ending of Broadcast 7 while delivering a type of story that is vastly different from the existing Spinward Fringe series. Test readers will see chapters by the end of the month.

Now, on to the topic I planned to bring up here. The Horror Adventure Novel. That's what the Dark Arts novel will be. I've written three and a half Spinward Fringe books in a row, without a break, so Dark Arts will be a very good palette cleanser between Broadcast 7 and Broadcast 8. The reasons why the Dark Arts novel is being written are few:

1) Horror Adventure novels seem sort of rare. I remember the choose your own adventure books from my youth, and there's H.P. Lovecraft. I'm sure there are others, but in a market awash with Young Adult, soft horror, I don't see much. Oh, and before someone asks: no, Dark Arts will not be a 'Choose Your Own Adventure'

2) I love the idea behind Dark Arts, and there are some compelling characters living in my head that don't want to exist in any other world.

3) The Dark Arts experimental short has its own dedicated fans. I have received emails form people who actually accused me of having the finished novelized version, or extra chapters. They made it perfectly clear that I MUST release them, or something might happen to my house pets, I might even get something nasty in the mail. Thankfully, I don't have any house pets at the moment. Sadly, I don't have a completed novel or finished extra chapters to release to the public either.

4) Even though the experiment was completely unedited, the major complaint about the short was that it was.... too short. That tells me that there was some content in there that was worthwhile to someone other than myself.

So, it's time to approach this book seriously, and write a one shot horror adventure novel. By the time I'm done, I'll be able to approach Broadcast 8 with a clear head.

I know I'll enjoy writing the Dark Arts novel. Writing the experimental short was a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to finishing Broadcast 7, then taking a break in a different world.

RL

[If you want to see the Dark Arts experiment page, click this link.]

[You can also grab the newly formatted ePub version here. Right click & choose save.]

The Kindle Version is coming, just waiting for word back from Scrivener support.