Tag: science fiction

“Friend and Ally”

Sorry, again, for going dark:  much DayJob and work on my books.  In fact, I am very pleased to announce that Friend and Ally is now officially available!

I’ve the physical proof copy of its sequel, “Foes and Rivals,” as you can see below the fold, already in hand and about half re-edited.  The usual minor mistakes and 1-2 formatting errors.  The big part is that the ending is sub-optimal, so I’ll add a few paragraphs to the last chapter and about 100 words to the epilogue.  Nonetheless, it will be out by Christmas!

What an amazing ride:  in four years… five books, four of which are novels.  What was I waiting for all these years?  Thanks for everyone’s support!

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NaNoWriMo 2018

Nope.  Not me.  Right around 2130 of Halloween, I send the third-pass edit of Foes & Rivals to my talented copyeditor, at the same time taking a vow I’d write nothing, original, in November.

I now turn to implementing her edits to Friend and Ally while she processes its sequel.  I don’t think I’ll have F&A ready for the Local Authors Fair on 17 November… maybe “limited edition” proof copies?  Like Niven’s first edition of Ringworld, where the Earth rotated in the wrong direxion.

Besides DayJob, Husband/FatherJob, and WriterJob of 173k words in 7 months, I am so, so tired.

Drinks and Drama

Everyone that looks at Nichole, “…a seeming poster girl for Irish Tourism!…” is often taken aback by the fact that, one, of course, she’s a three year old machine, and two, was coded and raised in Japan.  Orientals and Asians are not self-loathing as Whites have been taught to be over the past 4-5 generations.  Some things obvious to her are total heresy to those about her.

Dialog!  At last!  Lots and lots of dialog!  And while everyone is talking, I set forces in motion that cannot be slowed or stopped.  We’ve Teresa firmly in the picture, a glimpse of Mackenzie; I just need Nichole’s love, Gil, back in.  Once I’ve everyone in hand, it’s ‘that famous final scene.’

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Grrlpower

Getting some of my main characters back together, even if only for a little while.  I need things in one direxion to be political and in the other, personal.  I wish it would be Mackenzie that somehow get’s ahold of Gil, who deserts and rides back to PSU once Nichole is finished with her talk with the Mayor, but Mac and Gil have no radios…

Or.  Did he just recently give her something that he and the other’s at Ludlum Electric put together?  Not so much a radio as a ‘panic button’?  Hmmm.  I’ll ponder that one.  I admit, it’s kinda lame, but it get’s Gil to Mac moments before Nichole comes busting in with her Iliad of Woes from the North.  N5 has talked the Mayor into trying to talk his way out of this… but what if Rhun and his people refuse to listen?

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Going South

Nichole finds Joe.  Most importantly, that allows me to resume dialog between characters, rather than merely giving exposition as to what Nichole is up to.  I hate that; my stories live and die based upon interaction.

So.  Nichole finds Joe.  Tells everyone “rocks are falling!  y’all gonna die!” is not much of a transition, but there it is.  At least they’re talking again, minus Joe’s accidental head-butt into N5’s plug.  Yeah:  talk your way out of that one, kid.

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“There’s a Geoff Tate on the line…?”

I thought everything was going to Hell.  No, let me try again:  I remain convinced that everything is going to Hell.  It’s just that somehow – again! – Nichole started talking and is trying to save everyone and everything… including me.  It’s a good speech of hers, and almost convincing… but as the author, I’ve the SMOD Card in my hand, and I’ll be playing it either 1) once this clown-show is coiling back along itself toward Portland; or 2) In the next sentence I write where another rider comes in with preliminary non-com casualty figures… including Rhun’s children…

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Gotta love them lampshades!

A good weekend:  no one died, in the story or in RealLife, and I was able to lay down 4k words.  Wish my tanjed DayJob boss would get her shit straight with Madam Clio and find another job!  Not one of any of the other pharmacists I work with have issues such as hers; “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”  We’d one dog from southern Indiana; a Westie, so pre-crazy.  Everyone else I’ve known from Indiana seems deranged, just like her.

Anyway.  Show’s over and the Nation is on the move!  A few, short, snapshots to get them over the pass and into the Centralia Valley.  I did get a little sidetracked – still working on it, in fact, but the lead combat force of the horsemen, basically 17,500 dragoons with 2,500 responsible for light to medium artillery, are bearing down on Napaville as we speak.  I allow Rhun a tell about how he plans to run the op against the cannibals, as well as letting you, the pre-readers, know how the turnabout against the City’s Regulars will happen, too.

Those of you that are of the faith, pray for me that I can keep this up all week; I know I cannot do this alone.  Deus Volt!

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