Tag: American Imperium

Questions of Colour

This is a cheap and dirty way of exposition for an author to tell his readers something: Q&A between characters. Those of y’all who have been following MacCiv for years know all of this but if I turn this into a novella or novel, it is my responsibility to make sure the future reader knows what is going on.

There have been elective monarchies in human history. They tended to fail quickly. Elective within a family is an idea Dr. Jerry Pournelle mooted in his CoDominium future history. Empress Faustina allows many local forms of government, including democracies and republics, but tolerates none of that at a national level. When she is good and ready, she’ll designate an heir.

What if she is hit by lightning or a truck? I do not know. I don’t think there would be a civil war (and if there was, it would be between Laszlo and Aurie; the rest of the family just doesn’t care or want the awful responsibility of running an empire) but I cannot say for certain.

I’m going to write a little more this evening. Three whiskies in hot-head Filk vs. perfectly sober demi-human Aurelia? This will be a hoot. I hope Colour can keep the peace under her roof. See everyone on Monday!

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[New Russia] Ch1, pt3 (end)

One last time: if you’ve any thoughts – besides “he said there would be a war” – I’m working on that in chapter three, please let me know.

This short is the final piece of chapter one. And for those of you who have read, or shall soon be reading, “Obligations of Rank,” you’ll recognize who shows up in the last scene. As this book will be from Sergei Konev’s POV, I’ll not let this particular cat out of the bag.

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Ceres, part 1

I got caught up in research about crab boats vs. fishing trawlers for the Tillamook story, so this next short is what I started writing first. This is about Crown Prince Laszlo Hartmann of Faustina’s imperium not quite alone on high-speed space ship. Not quite alone? The android Minerva is with him. Ordered by his mother, the Empress, their first scouting mission is to the asteroid belt, to assess not only mining possibilities but also colonization.

Because this takes place seven weeks after then conclusion of “Obligations of Rank,” spoilers are unavoidable. Unless you think it will be some months before you get around to reading that book – and you will – and might have forgotten this, go listen to one of my podcasts or something if you don’t want to be spoiled.

Again borrowing an idea from another writer, in this case Michael Chricton, I’m taking two very, very different people, packing them into a sardine can, and sending them somewhere they cannot escape from.

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Cadets, 4/4

A Bolshevik I work with at DayJob – so long as we stay off politics we get along fine – is cruising along through “Crosses & Doublecrosses,” calling it “a page-turner.” We had a few minutes before the IV batch ran and I sat down and told him that from my, author’s standpoint, C&DC was harder to write than my romance/horror, “Cursed Hearts.” As I put it, sure: a psychic vampire sucking the life out of some guy until there’s nothing left but flakes of skin and bone powder is awful. But the worse depravities humans accomplish are done in meeting rooms. As said commie, he got that.

In that vein, we have Empress Faustina calming telling two young members of her family about her plan for the next twelve hours. A plan with a six-figure death toll at the end of it.

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Cadets, 3/4

As she get older, Faustina is becoming a harder person. Her exploits in the old Deep South had that area fall to her with only limited opposition. While I have only heard rumor of it, her campaign to destroy the forces around the old imperial capital of DC had her angry enough she had to talked out of leveling the city and sowing the ground with salt. It is likely that memory which her son Laszlo and niece Aurelia just ran up against.

I know how this all ends as it is discussed in my forthcoming novel. But, to be in the same room as this decision is made is haunting.

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Cadets, 2/4

We learn the nature of who the imperium is fighting and why. And, I just learned that little Aurie has some ability to see the future. I wonder why God gave her such a terrible gift?

With today off from DayJob, a friend asked me to write a personal primer for one or many – I don’t know – who are about to embark on NaNoWriMo. I sent it to him just before posting this. If he likes it, I’ll add it here, too. If you’ve been following me for any time, it’s mostly old material about the creative writing process.

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Cadets, 1/4

Yes, I went dark again. I re-listened to the six chapters of “Foes and Rivals” I recorded to try to get their voices back into my head. Then another movie started playing in my head. That what this is.

Set ten years before the action in my forthcoming novel, “Obligations of Rank,” we have two youngsters in Empress Faustina’s army, on the outskirts of St. Louis. For those who have been following along in the raws I posted of my next novel, this campaign does not end well.

I have DayJob this weekend but am off Monday. Unfortunately a friend asked me to put together a little precis of “creative writing” for, I think, upcoming NaNoWriMo season. So little time…

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Epilogue, 2 of 2

The last of about 68 thousand words of my next novel. What began as just a writing experiment to get to know some of the imperial families better once again took on a life of its own. When these people want a story told, I’ve learned over seven years that I’ve little say in the matter.

I hope everyone has enjoyed seeing this story come in being along with me. Recording audiobooks and making a Machine Civilization wiki are my priorities for this fall but it’s not as if I won’t do a little writing. In fact, late last night I saw this scene where Aurelia, now 29-years-old and the leading general of the imperium looks back at her own life. In disgust. I wonder…

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Epilogue, 1 of 2

The raw MS of “Imperium’s Shadow”* is complete. Here’s the first of the two-part conclusion. Toward my ‘trying something different for each book,’ breaking this story into three has allowed to write three novellas which are held together by their familial relations. Didn’t really see that when I began this writing exercise but in hindsight rather clever of me.

* I have conclusively decided that working title will NOT be on the cover. It implies a darkness which simply does not exist in the story. I’m open to suggestions for those who’ve been following along all these months. Faustina’s Packhorses? Empire’s Children? Empress’ Agents?

I really don’t know right now.

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