At long last, here is the novel I’ve been talking about for the last few months. I started writing this back in August, and polished off the first draft some time in October. I’ve wanted to do a Space Opera/Science-Fantasy military adventure for some years now, because those were the sorts of books, movies, and games I liked best as a kid and teenager. Some elements of this story have been kicking around in my head since I was 12 years old. (Others, of course, are as old as science fiction itself.)
It’s definitely slower-paced than The Start of the Majestic World—there’s a lot of backstory, world-building and political machinations in this one, but I enjoyed being able to set the scene a little more compared to the deliberately vague setting of Majestic World.
I wrote several posts about my process as I was working on this book:
–Here you can read my concerns about how there is one scene and character who is similar to one in Majestic World, and why I decided it’s OK.
–Here you can read my musings on “Mary Sues”, whether my protagonist is one, and why they are so popular.
–Here is where I addressed whether it had enough words, too many words, or not enough words.
–Here is where I considered whether it was funny enough
On most of these questions, I decided that what I was doing was probably right, or at least that any other approach I could think of wouldn’t have been as good. That’s not to say that another author might not have been able to tell the story better, but only that I didn’t know how to tell the story any better. Your mileage may vary.
The thing I’ve enjoyed most about this whole process has been the comments I’ve gotten from readers, both here on the blog and on Twitter. It’s been a lot of fun, posting about various aspects of the book and hearing what other folks think. So, many thanks to Carrie Rubin, Phillip McCollum, Eileen Stephenson, Barb Knowles, Mark Paxson, Pat Prescott, Thingy, and all the other readers who stop by here. I appreciate all of you!
Look forward to reading this. I have a space opera/science fiction epic kicking around in my “to be completed” files. Although mine probably has a little bit of a different twist than yours. My main character is Carlota, the sexy former mistress of the President of Colombia.
Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy it. Yours sounds quite cool as well–I look forward to reading it.
Congratulations! Always exciting to have a new book out. I’ll be sure to get it. And thanks so much for the mention.
Thanks so much, Carrie! Hope you enjoy it! I bet you’re excited (and probably busy, too 🙂 ) with your own new release coming up soon. It’s fun, isn’t it?
It’s definitely exciting, but also nerve-wracking. I always feel like I should be doing far more promotion than I do. In fact, I have review-copy paperbacks still waiting to be sent to some newspapers. Must get busy…
Thank you much for the twitter mention! 🙂
Wow, fantastic news, Berthold. Great premise and I really dig that cover. Another one to add to my TBR list!
Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Finished your book. I wrote a review on Amazon and posted a more detailed on my blog. A well written story. Bravo.
Thank you so much! I’m thrilled that you liked it. Many of the tips you’ve given me over the years definitely helped me out in writing it. Thanks again!