Writing news
I’ve been busy working on various projects, including a Science-Fiction novella I will be sharing with all my subscribers at some point this month.
I will also be sending out a new free short story in a week or two, so stay on the lookout for that.
In the meantime, you can read the first part of The Waystation on Medium.
The rest of that story will be published in weekly installments over the next five weeks. Once it’s all out, I’ll send the full version to my subscribers here. So you can just wait for that… or read it ahead of time at the link above.
But the biggest news I have is that I’ve finally started outlining AND writing my space opera serial. Only one chapter in the can for now, but I’ll be writing plenty more in the coming days.
If I had to describe it, I guess I'd say it's a mix of Farscape, Babylon 5, and Foundation... with elements of Firefly and Star Wars thrown in... sort of... maybe? LOL.
Keep in mind, I'm not done with the outline, so it's still a shifting beast at this point.
I should clarify that since it's intended to be an ongoing serial, I'm not going to outline *everything* upfront. But I do want to get at least the first 75 chapters figured out.
Why 75?
Well, I'm aiming for story arcs that will span 75 episodes. At an average of 800-1200 words a chapter, that would roughly equate to 60-90k words, so about the length of a novel.
Small screen lullaby
I've been a huge fan of TV shows ever since my childhood. And despite no longer having a TV, I still watch a lot of shows... on my computer ;)
Lucifer has been a favorite since it first premiered.
It's a fascinating combo.
I've always liked crime shows, especially when they have an unexpected twist. Like Moonlight (a P.I. who happens to be a vampire,) New Amsterdam (an immortal who works as a homicide detective,) or Lucifer (with the Devil himself serving as a police consultant.)
This show's main draw though is its tone.
Usually, where the Devil is involved, you can expect darkness, horror, and some amount of esoterism that tends to make me uncomfortable.
But you'll find none of that in Lucifer. Well, OK, maybe there's a little bit of darkness. Occasionally. But, for the most part, it's filled with humor, fun bantering, with a thoughtful study of what makes people tick. And, through the main character's constant self-doubts and misunderstandings of human interactions, it attempts to show what it means to be human.
The characters are believable and endearing (yes, even the Devil himself!) with impeccable acting from the whole cast.
I'd never tried explaining why I liked this show, so this was an interesting exercise!
By the way, I should probably add that this version of Lucifer was created by Neil Gaiman for his classic Sandman comic book series.
Anyway, I highly recommend checking it out (from episode 1, if possible) if you haven't already.
For more information, check out this Wikipedia entry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer_(TV_series)
Books to read
Here is a selection of some books that might be of interest to you. All of these are free to download, but you will have to sign up to the authors’ newsletter to grab your copy.
I, Magus by Troy Young
Wouldn't you want to be a wizard?
Rinaldi Rosso, born a cripple, has lived a life of privilege. His father has arranged advantageous positions for his siblings, but for Rinaldi, he's packing him up and sending him to the Academy to become a Magus. Rinaldi can't shake the feeling that his father wants to hide the cripple from the public eye.
When his father reveals a secret to Rinaldi, a whole new world opens up to the young man.
Tournament of the Elite by R.S. Williams
The Elite will be chosen, for a new king must rise.
For as long as possible, Hector Kane has put off the age-old Adelithian tradition of hosting the Tournament of the Elite and picking a potential wife. Content to play by his own rules, Hector would much rather have his friends, Merrick and Roderick, protect him—but unless he obeys his father's demands, he could risk losing the crown.
In order to recruit his friends into his personal guard, they must take part in the tournament—but when thieves break into the king's vault Merrick becomes disqualified.
Furthermore, the prince walks a thin line [… read more …]
A Bright Power Rising by Noel Coughlan
Elf. Warrior. Saint. Heretic. Monster. Despised by two peoples, this pariah might yet prove to be the savior of both.
AscendantSun serves a dead god no longer. Adopting the religion of his human enemies, he haunts their mountains hoping to make amends for his past violence toward them. Now, a figure from his past threatens to restart the ancient conflict he has struggled so long to put behind him.
War is coming again [… read more …]
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Copyright (c) 2021 by Alex S. Garcia.