Edward Hoornaert's Blog, page 86

The Trials, Tribulations, and Triumph of Writing Sequels

(Courtesy Cherrysweetdeal, Flickr Creative Commons)

My last post, Top Ten Thing Readers Hate about Books, has turned out to be the most popular post I’ve ever done on this blog.

That popularity inspired me to follow up with a related article I wrote recently for Savvy Authors  (which is a great resource for writers–I recommend it).

You see, many of the readers complaints dealt specifically with books in a series. After starting my career writing only standalone books, I relented a year and a half ago and started my first sequel.  My third sequel is close to release.

But I quickly found that writing sequels isn’t exactly the same as writing a standalone.  Here is what I’ve learned (so far) about writing sequels. To my delight, most of these points were also mentioned by readers of the Paranormal Book Club.

Since the Savvy Authors article is rather long, I put up the first part now and the next part tomorrow.

 

The Trials, Tribulations, and Triumph of Writing Sequels, part one

As a reader, I’ve had enough disappointing experiences with series books that I’m wary of picking one up.  Too often, book two or three or ten in a series has assumed so much that I felt adrift in a featureless ocean.  I wish I had a dollar for each middle book that I started and quit after a few chapters or pages.  Most of them were probably excellent, but the difficulties of jumping into the middle of a series made them problematic.  If I’m browsing in a bookstore and find a book that looks interesting, I check to see if it’s in a series—and if it isn’t the first book, I often put it back.

I suspect I’m in the minority, because series sell well.  Publishers love series, too, because they figure that if readers like one book in a series, they’ll come back for more.

I remember pitching to an editor from Ace Books when I was hawking my science fiction novel, The Trial of Tompa Lee.  One of her first questions was “Will the book have sequels?”  Like a dummy I said, “No, it’s a standalone.”   Her eyes glazed.  And Five Star, not Ace, bought the book.

But that editor planted a seed in my mind.  I started out writing standalone romances for Silhouette Books, but I plunged into writing sequels for The Trial of Tompa Lee.

I remembered, however, the issues I encountered as a reader.  Even though I can only dream about a truly successful series, I knew the kind of sequels I wanted to read.  I decided to let my inner reader guide me around the following issues:

Issue #1: Lots of names from previous books
Issue #2: Lots of recapping
Issue #3: Assuming that readers identify with protagonists because they read previous books

# 1: Lots of names from previous books

Having heard great things about the Liaden Universe series of science fiction books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, I bought one—without checking whether it was book one.  I’m sure it’s a great series, but the first two pages buried me under an avalanche of names.  Those names probably reassured returning readers that they were snugly back in Liaden, but they convinced me I should have started with book one:

delm (a rank of some sort)
melant’i (a concept parallel to honor)
Daav yos’Phelium (person’s name)
Korval (a clan, though I didn’t know the significance of clans in this universe)
Bindan (ditto)
Samiv el’Izak  (person’s name)
Aelliana (the heroine, I believe)
Er Thom yos’Galan  (person’s name)

Page ten is as far as I got.  Some day I plan to go back and start with book one, because I respect the opinion of people who say it’s well worth reading.  But for myself, I didn’t want to write a sequel that opened like this.

My solution:  In my first sequel, The Tribulations of Tompa Lee only one character, an alien, appeared on page 1.  On page 3, my heroine, Tompa Lee, appeared along with a sentry (who is unnamed at first).  By page 8, I hoped that Tompa was sufficiently well established that I introduced two more characters, as well as the social stratifications of the human embassy to planet Zee Shode.  I tried to dole out my characters with an eye dropper, not a bucket.

(continued tomorrow, so be sure to drop on by)

Top Ten Things Readers Hate about Books

(Courtesy Cherrysweetdeal, Flickr Creative Commons)

The Paranormal Book Club recently asked their readers what is the “ONE thing you CAN NOT stand about a book when reading it?”

While this is not a scientific survey, the results are nonetheless interesting. In a classic example of procrastination, I spent way too much time categorizing the issues, and I hereby present the results to you.

But first, two caveats:

A ton of people (21 people, that is, and if they average 95.2 pounds each, they weight a ton) complained about being interrupted while reading. A ton and a quarter (26 people) complained about reaching the end of a book. While I empathize, these issues aren’t the book’s fault, so I excluded them from my top ten list.
This list came from readers of the paranormal genre, and many paranormal books are e-books, or series, or self-published. This affects the List of Hates; for example, many comments apply primarily to series. The pet peeves would be different for readers of, say, Charles Dickens, or heroic Etruscan sagas.

 Without further ado, here is the list:

#10 Thing Readers Hate (tie)

Weak female characters (In a genre largely aimed at female readers, you’d think writers would know better.)

Books in a series that end inconclusively (see also numbers 8, 5, and 3)

#9 Thing Readers Hate 

Killing off a main character. (George R.R. Martin, please note.)

#8 Thing Readers Hate

Waiting for the next sequel in a series to appear. (George R.R., you should be careful about this one, too.)

#7 Thing Readers Hate

Too much recapping. (Obviously, this applies primarily to books in a series. And to soap operas.)

#6 Thing Readers Hate

Sexual dysfunction. (Not what you think! This includes gratuitous sex, boring sex, and overly graphic sex.)

#5 Thing Readers Hate

An unsatisfying ending.  (See also numbers 10, 8, and 3.)

(Courtesy Benjamin Gray, Flickr Creative Commons)

#4 Thing Readers Hate

Annoying or whiny main characters. (I was astonished at the number of times the word ‘whiny’ appeared. Stephenie Meyer, creator of the whingy Bella, please note!)

#3 Thing Readers Hate

Cliffhanger endings. (These are, apparently, common in series. Readers think they’re a Very Bad, No Good, Horrible ploy to get readers to buy the next book in the series. But I bet it works.)

#2 Thing Readers Hate

Too much description. (Overwhelmingly, readers complained about description that slowed down the action. J.R.R. Tolkien, please note!)

(An aside: What is it about authors whose middle initials are double-R? Is Stephenie Meyer actually Stephenie R.R. Meyer?)

And the #1 Thing Readers Hate, by a wide, massive, overwhelming, 3 to 1 margin

Typos, bad grammar, and bad editing. (Self-pubbers, please note–get your masterpiece edited BEFORE you publish it. Please, please, please!)

(Publishing companies, please note–you aren’t immune, either. I understand that perfection is elusive, but I see more and more errors these days. Stop laying off editors because they cost too much.)

 What about you?  Anything you would add to the list? Tell us about it in a comment.

And what about me?  If any of you find any of those horrid typos in any of my e-books (The Trial of Tompa Lee, The Tribulations of Tompa Lee, or The Midas Rush), please go to the Contact Page and let me know, okay? Truly, I mean it!

Tucson Festival of Books 2014

Tucson, the 33rd largest city in the United States hosts the 4th largest book festival in the country.  Every year the festival draws more and more people–well over a hundred thousand.  That might make you rethink some of the negative stereotypes about Arizona!

Once again Mr. Valentine was there, and off the top of my head, here are a few quick observations:

I volunteered to moderate a session, which I’d never done before.  All that entails is introducing the speakers and thanking them at the end–but I was more nervous than if I’d been speaking.
The weather was perfect–low to mid 70′s and sunny.  Considering what a ridiculously hot winter we’ve had, the nice day was a pleasant surprise.  I forgot to wear sunscreen, though.  Bad boy!
I enjoyed speaking with folks at a couple of booths run by Native Americans. I even scored a couple of free tickets to the Amerind Museum out at Texas Canyon.  I hadn’t even known there was an Amerind Museum out there–but now that I know, I’ll make the drive.
As I neared a booth featuring a book about the Rapture, a dude walked by with a sign and shouting we were all damned unless we repented our sins and idolatry right now! The man at the booth winced and made a point of telling me, “That’s not what we are all about!”

Tucson Festival of Books on the University of Arizona campus

I met numerous writers, some of whom I already knew, some I didn’t.  Here are a few things I learned in conversations (not sessions):

Anne Perry lives in England, which uses the metric system–but when I translated today’s temperature for her, she said she hasn’t bothered to learn metric.  She was brought up using Imperial measures and that what she’s going to stick with.  Although I’m ‘bilingual’, I can sympathize with her.
Valerie Plame, outed as a CIA operative a few years ago, now writes spy novels.  She’s very approachable and friendly–and she apologized to me because she isn’t compulsive about her writing.  I wondered whether she though all writers are obsessive-compulsives.  (Nah.  Some of us are simply crazy.)

Finally, I ran into several acquaintances and/or friends, including  Gini Koch, Ben Bova, Nancy Holder, Kristin Lamb, Janni Lee Simner, Larry Hammer, and more.

I leave you with one of the pieces of music that my orchestra played on Saturday and Sunday, with a juicy oboe solo.  (Note: This is a French Orchestra; I haven’t gotten the recording of our performance yet.)

Have any of you ever been to a book festival?  If so, what was your favorite part?

 

Release Day! Tribulations of Tompa Lee

Heard the exciting news?

If you’re a writer, you know what the release day of The Trial of Tompa Lee (a science fiction novel packed with adventure, romance, and humor) means to Mr. Valentine. 

Meee-oooow!!!  The Tribulations of Tompa Lee is now available!

If you aren’t a writer, think opening presents on Christmas. Or slipping the keys of your first car into the ignition for the very first time. Or the birth of your first child.

Heck, even the heavens themselves are shooting off fireworks in honor this book release.

So thanks for stopping by at the birth of my latest child, The Tribulations of Tompa Lee.

Tribulations is the second book in The Trilogy of Tompa Lee, following The Trial of Tompa Lee–but it stands alone, so you don’t need to have read Trial.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A WOMAN

Tompa Lee serves as ambassador to the Shons’ planet and is hailed as their goddess … but she has a dead man living in her head, distrusts fellow humans, and fears an imminent attack by Klicks, mankind’s greatest enemy.

A MAN

Ming Mengliev is posing as a mere musician when Klicks destroy the Terran embassy … buts although he strives to win Tompa’s trust—and her heart—whose side is this secret agent really on?

AN ALIEN

Lord Keevie, the leader of warlike Klick missionaries, wants to drive humans off Zee Shode … but above all he wants to eviscerate Tompa in person, because killing a goddess will surely make him a god.

A PARK CRAMMED WITH CARNIVORES

Can Tompa survive Keevie’s pursuit, the onset of divine madness, the predators of PallaPellyPark … and conquer her mistrust of humans long enough to shepherd a ragtag group of Shon and human refugees to safety?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Available now!

The Tribulations of Tompa Lee is available wherever fine ebooks are sold. It’s also available in trade paperback from Amazon. 

Trade paperback
Kindle edition
Nook edition
All other ebook versions are available at Smashwords

Buy it now!

The SFR Brigade Presents (plus music that will leave you thunderstruck!)

Click the pic to see more great samples from new and upcoming SFRom books.

Today, Mr. Valentine presents another instalment from his brand new novel, The Tribulations of Tompa Lee–and share some music he finds both enjoyable and hilarious.

First, the writing!

Tompa and a small band of war refugees are pursued by bloodthirsty alien Klicks as they race across Palla Pelly Park. Palla Pelly is this planet’s equivalent of a National Park–except that it’s crammed with every dangerous predator on the planet.

When an armored, rhinoceros-sized predator called a groof attacks a group of refugees, Tompa leaps to their defence. After a memorable battle that tests Tompa’s agility, she disables the beast by thrusting a machete into its eye.

After the worst is over, the men finally appear with their rifles.  I’ve tried to build a smidgeon of characterization for all three people who appear in the culmination of this action scene.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Available in trade paperback and e-book on February 26, 2014

 Tompa approached the fallen groof. It hissed a blast of noxious breath at her, more pathetic than ferocious. Death was taking it, though at a painfully slow pace. She stepped closer.

Ming grabbed her wrist. “Come away, Tomboy. Let us take care of this for you.”

She jerked out of his grasp. “Do you really think I want somebody to take care of me?”

“Yes,” Ming and Figueroa said at the same time.

Tompa blinked, then turned to the wounded beast. It looked at her with blood running like tears down its face.

“Look into its eyes,” she said in a subdued voice. “In its beastly soul, it knows I earned the right to do this. You didn’t. For you to kill it would be … I don’t know. An insult.” She turned toward the men. “Do you understand?”

“It doesn’t have a soul,” Figueroa answered.

Ming said nothing. With a dramatic bow, he swept an arm at the beast in invitation.

Carefully avoiding the groof’s lethargic horns, Tompa tiptoed forward and grasped the handle of the machete.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Don’t forget to check out other great excerpts from the SFR Brigade Presents.

The first books of Tompa’s exploits, The Trial of Tompa Lee, earned critical acclaim when it was originally published in hardcover. In Tribulations, Tompa finds love–and learns, during a duel to the death with a vicious, seven-foot alien, the transcendent power of love.

Now the music I promised you. It’s perfect for anyone who loves Jane Austen.

The Tribulations of Tompa Lee is available wherever fine ebooks are sold. It’s also available in trade paperback from Amazon.

Trade paperback
Kindle edition
Nook edition
All other ebook versions are available at Smashwords

2013 Nebula Award Finalists Announced

The Nebula Awards are, along with the Hugo Awards, science fiction’s most prestigious awards. Unlike the Hugo, which  are chosen by fans, the Nebulas are voted on, and presented by, active members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

As a member of SFWA, Mr. Valentine can vote between March 1 and March 30. Having just received the list of finalists for 2013, I’m passing the list on to you. There’s some great reading here, so feast your literary eyes.

Nominees for Best Novel

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler (Marian Wood)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman (Morrow; Headline Review)
Fire with Fire, Charles E. Gannon (Baen)
Hild, Nicola Griffith (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
The Red: First Light, Linda Nagata (Mythic Island)
A Stranger in Olondria, Sofia Samatar (Small Beer)
The Golem and the Jinni, Helene Wecker (Harper)

Best Novella

‘‘Wakulla Springs,’’ Andy Duncan & Ellen Klages (Tor.com 10/2/13)
‘‘The Weight of the Sunrise,’’ Vylar Kaftan (Asimov’s 2/13)
‘‘Annabel Lee,” Nancy Kress (New Under the Sun)
‘‘Burning Girls,’’ Veronica Schanoes (Tor.com 6/19/13)
‘‘Trial of the Century,’’ Lawrence M. Schoen (lawrencemschoen.com, 8/13; World Jumping)
Six-Gun Snow White, Catherynne M. Valente (Subterranean)

Best Novelette

‘‘Paranormal Romance,’’ Christopher Barzak (Lightspeed 6/13)
‘‘The Waiting Stars,’’ Aliette de Bodard (The Other Half of the Sky)
‘‘They Shall Salt the Earth with Seeds of Glass,’’ Alaya Dawn Johnson (Asimov’s 1/13)
‘‘Pearl Rehabilitative Colony for Ungrateful Daughters,’’ Henry Lien (Asimov’s 12/13)
‘‘The Litigation Master and the Monkey King,’’ Ken Liu (Lightspeed 8/13)
‘‘In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind,’’ Sarah Pinsker (Strange Horizons 7/1 – 7/8/13)

Best Short Story

‘‘The Sounds of Old Earth,’’ Matthew Kressel (Lightspeed 1/13)
‘‘Selkie Stories Are for Losers,’’ Sofia Samatar (Strange Horizons 1/7/13)
‘‘Selected Program Notes from the Retrospective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer,’’ Kenneth Schneyer (Clockwork Phoenix 4)
‘‘If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love,’’ Rachel Swirsky (Apex 3/13)
‘‘Alive, Alive Oh,’’ Sylvia Spruck Wrigley (Lightspeed 6/13)

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

Doctor Who:  ‘‘The Day of the Doctor’’ (Nick Hurran, director; Steven Moffat, writer) (BBC Wales)
Europa Report  (Sebastián Cordero, director; Philip Gelatt, writer) (Start Motion Pictures)
Gravity  (Alfonso Cuarón, director; Alfonso Cuarón & Jonás Cuarón, writers) (Warner Bros.)
Her  (Spike Jonze, director; Spike Jonze, writer) (Warner Bros.)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire  (Francis Lawrence, director; Simon Beaufoy & Michael deBruyn, writers) (Lionsgate)
Pacific Rim  (Guillermo del Toro, director; Travis Beacham & Guillermo del Toro, writers) (Warner Bros.)

About the Nebula Awards Weekend

The 49th Annual Nebula Awards Weekend will be held May 15-18th, 2014, in San Jose at the San Jose Marriott. The Awards Ceremony will be hosted by Toastmaster Ellen Klages. Borderland Books will host the mass autograph session from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 16th at the San Jose Marriott. This autograph session is open to the public and books by the authors in attendance will be available for purchase. Attending memberships, and more information about the Nebula Awards Weekend, are available at http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/nebula-weekend/. Membership rates increase on March 1. The Weekend is open to non-SFWA members.

Agent Oboe Seven

Click the pic to see more great samples from new and upcoming SFRom books.

Today, Mr. Valentine presents another instalment from the soon-to-be-released The Tribulations of Tompa Lee.

Last week you read about Tompa’s meeting with an important alien visitor: a Detchvilli who has chosen the name Sir Charles for his dealings with humans. Detchvilli’s adore human music, and he has brought his woodwind quintet to the embassy in order to entertain Tompa and the other humans.

Here we meet the hero of the book, Sergei Iusefovich Mengliev, a flamboyant musician who styles himself “Ming the Merciless.”

Although Tompa doesn’t know it yet, Ming is an undercover agent whose services are available to the highest bidder. Instead of Agent Oh-Oh Seven, he is Agent Oboe Seven.

Available in trade paperback and e-book on February 26, 2014

The oboist took Tompa’s hand and kissed it. She jerked her hand away.

“Ming,” Sir Charles snapped. “Pay attention to me, not the ambassador.”

Ming lifted one of the Detch’s tentacles and kissed it—or tried to; the tentacle had already been snatched away. “Sorry, sir.” His tone was defiant, making Tompa wonder if the alien recognized sarcasm. “We aren’t ready to play yet. We didn’t expect you for another hour.”

To Tompa’s ears everybody had an accent, but this man’s was intriguing. She looked from the instrument to his face. Also intriguing. He was thirty, tall and solidly built, with luxuriant black hair that matched his dark eyebrows. His sharp-featured face, wide shoulders and thick arms projected barroom-brawl strength. The exact opposite, in other words, of the prissy old gordo she’d pictured playing an oboe.

 “My interview with the ambassador zoomed beyond all speed limits,” Sir Charles said. “She informed me that I am a dirty old man.”

“She did what?!” The oboist’s startled eyes bored into Tompa as though trying to read the fine print on the last page of her soul.

Don’t forget to check out other great excerpts from the SFR Brigade Presents:

1.
Veronica Scott
5.
Sue Ann Bowling
9.




2.
ML Skye
6.
Rachel Leigh Smith
10.
Deborah A Bailey



3.
Greta van der Rol
7.
Shona Husk




4.
Edward Hoornaert
8.
Heidi Ruby Miller

A Touch of Futuristic Humor

Most everything Mr. Valentine writes includes touches of 1) love and 2) humor.

Click the pic to see more great samples from new and upcoming SFRom books.

The love element may provide a character’s motivation (it’s one of the most powerful human emotions, after all), or it may be the focus of the story, as in my early Silhouette romances.

The humor element … well, it just keeps creeping in. I can’t seem to help myself.

Disagreements between humans and intelligent aliens could lead to disaster–but they can also lead to humor. Here’s an example from my upcoming release, The Tribulations of Tompa Lee.

Background: Tompa Lee, science fiction’s greatest underdog, became the human ambassador to planet Zee Shode almost by accident. Now she is meeting with an important visitor from the Galactic Trading Council, who has the power to save–or destroy–mankind’s fragile presence on the planet.

Enough background already!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 “Please forgive me, Ambassador Lee,” said the four-foot tall caterpillar. “I am young, inexperienced, and apprehensive, as this is my first off-planet mission.”

“Me too.” Tompa sniffed, wishing she had a handkerchief. Snot running down her face would not be correct protocol. “Young and inexperienced and in space for the first time, I mean. And it’s not your fault. To make myself less nervous I was—”

Don’t say it!

“—trying to imagine what you looked like naked.”

Oh, maggots and cockroaches. She’d said it.

The Detchvilli screeched. Tompa leap to her feet and cast her eyes toward the nearest exit.

“My profound apologies,” he said. “In order to converse with humans, I must plan several words ahead, like a human playing chess. That was a burst of surprise and pleasure, and not, as you obviously feared, a threat.”

Tompa sat. To read his expression, she realized, you had to ignore his face and watch his tentacles, which were suddenly loose and graceful.

He waved a tentacle in an oval. “Humans, and especially planetary ambassadors, are usually insufferably punctilious. I must compliment your superiors on choosing an ambassador for her affinity with other species, rather than for mere business acumen.”

Tompa grinned through her tears.

“And now,” he said, “you and I must disrobe.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don’t forget to check out other great excerpts from similar books at the SFR Brigade Presents.

The Best Weekend Ever

What was your all-time best weekend ever? The weekend you got married? Lost your virginity? Won the lottery?

Mr. Valentine just had his best weekend ever. Here are the top ten reasons why:

10) The weather was sunny and warm, even for Arizona. Unlike back east, this has been one of the mildest winters in history.

9) I got a rare bag of Milkfuls, a fantastic hard candy that’s available in Canada but not in the States.

8) I baked an orange cake and made one of the family’s favorite desserts, cherry cream pudding.

7) My wife had both Thursday and Friday off work. True to his nickname, Mr. Valentine loves to spend time with the wife.

6) I finished editing and okayed the proofs of the softcover edition of The Trial of Tompa Lee. After originally coming out in hardcover, then eBook, it’s now available in trade paperback.

To celebrate the release, Trial has a new cover, shown at right.

5) We had Christmas in February, complete with Christmas tree.

The tree wasn’t decorated, but knowing that a Feb Xmas was likely, we left it out of its box. We opened a handful of presents that weren’t opened back in December.

Available in trade paperback and e-book on February 26, 2014

4) I received my proof copies of The Tribulations of Tompa Lee. The book is coming out in both Kindle and trade paperback on February 26.

3) I got a contract offer for my science fiction romance novella, Farflung Angel. It features lots action, a heroine who is one of the most stunning characters I’ve ever created, and a kick-ass princess who doesn’t get the hero. More on Angel in a later post.

2) My son Chris flew in from Vancouver, where he is a researcher at the University of British Columbia. We hadn’t seen him since June.

1) And the number one reason I had a great weekend:

My daughter gave birth to my first grandchild, Wesley! Mother and child are doing great.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What about you?  What was your best weekend ever?

The Writing Process Blog Chain

Thanks for including Mr. Valentine in The Writing Process Blog Chain, Paula Millhouse!

Paula is a good writer friend of mine, even though we’ve never met.  We’re both members of an online chapter of RWA, “Futuristic, Fantasy, and Paranormal” and have critiqued each other’s work on FFnP’s Mud Puddle.

Be sure to check out Paula’s website.  She writes fascinating tales of dragons and leprechauns, suspense and romance, all with an indefinably gentle touch that I admire but couldn’t begin to duplicate.

With a new release coming out in a month, I was thrilled when she asked me to follow her post from Monday, January 20, 2014.

All of us in the chain are answering four questions about how we work.  Here they are.

What am I working on?

I usually have more than one work in progress (WIP, in writing jargon), but at the moment, I’m downright schizophrenic.

I’ve formatted The Trial of Tompa Lee, book 1 in the Tompa trilogy, for release as a trade paperback.

The book was first released in hardcover by Five Star Speculative Fiction in 2005, and it is currently available as an e-book. I’m awaiting the galley proofs, and have nothing to do until they arrive.

I’m nearly done formatting the Tribulations of Tompa Lee, the sequel to the above book.  The book will be available by the end of February.

Tribulations is completely written and edited, and it’s a good one—the bad guys whom Tompa defeated now strike back, leading to lots of action, strange predatory beasts, and romance.

It’s book 2 in the trilogy, and if you read book 1, you might have guessed that I was influenced by Romeo and Juliet.  Dante Roussel dies saving Tompa’s life, but in this book he lives in her head, though only she can hear him.

I’m getting the word out about Tribulations.

This blog chain is one example of that.  Publicity is by far my least favorite authorly chore, however, and I’m not very good at it.  I vastly prefer devoting my energy to writing great books—so if you want a great read, take pity on me and buy Tribulations even if I am a lousy self-promoter.

I’m editing my completed draft of book 3 in the trilogy, The Triumph of Tompa Lee.

This time the full weight of the Galactic Trading Council is thrown against Tompa. Poor lass! To get out of this jam with her friends alive, all she has to do is change the galaxy’s whole power structure.

I have a nearly complete outline and one chapter of an SF-rom (science fiction romance, more jargon), a novella loosely based on The African Queen.

The story of Hector and Katie is mostly on hold, although if I wake up at 2:00 am with a great idea (which happens with annoying frequency) I jot it down.  My subconscious does a lot of work even when I don’t.

I’m awaiting word from publishers on the prequel to the above, The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station.  I’m prejudiced, but I think it’s one of the best things I’ve ever written.

You’ll notice that I’m not actively writing anything new.  Who has the time?

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My science fiction always has elements of romance, if it isn’t an outright SFRom.
 I concentrate on my characters, unlike most SF authors who concentrate on an idea.

The Tompa Lee trilogy is a good example.  Even though I wrote the first book years ago, my diminutive, feisty underdog kept haunting my thoughts.  She deserved an unequivocally happy ending.  In The Tribulations of Tompa Lee, she nearly gets one, but not quite. Hence book 3!

Before I start writing, I simply have to have something unique that I haven’t seen before. Without that, I can’t get anywhere.

In the trilogy’s first book, it was an alien justice system based on trial by combat.

In book 2, Tribulations, it was two things: national parks and a James Bond-type who plays the oboe.  (I play the oboe, too, but that’s strictly a coincidence, I assure you.)

I’d never read a science fiction book set in an alien national park.  What would aliens think worthy of preserving in their version of a Yellowstone?  The thought consumed me.

My alien Shons are cute and cuddly, but with a bloodthirsty streak—witness Tompa’s bloody trial by combat, which was broadcast to the whole planet.  And so PallaPellyPark was born.

Palla Pelly is set in spectacular mountains, yet, Shons care less about preserving the beauties of nature than they do with preserving as many lethal predators as possible.  Tourists come to Palla Pelly to test their mettle against the killer beasts. If they fail the test, tough luck. (Shons obviously do not have a lawyer caste intent on law suits!)

Creating unique killer beasts was a delicious challenge.  Tompa and company are forced to take the two-day hike across Palla Pelly, fighting off both weird predators and Klick pusuers.

Why do I write what I do?

I have little choice in the matter. My work reflect the duality of who I am: a technically oriented geek who loves science fiction, and a romantic guy who thinks that not only does love makes the world go round, it makes other worlds go round, too.

How does my writing process work?

 I believe in rewriting and rewriting and rewriting.

I rarely get it right the first time, and my subconsciously is constantly surprising me by making great suggestions about something I wrote months ago.  This makes me relatively slow compared to other writers, but (in my dreams, at least) it also makes me better than other writers—or at least better than the dreck in my first drafts.

Who’s Next in the Chain?
Pamela Keyes

First up is my long-time friend, Pamela Keyes. I first met Pam in a writer’s group here in Tucson back in the early years of this century.

In addition to being a brilliant and multi-published author of young adult fantasies, Pam is also the best darned critiquer it’s ever been my pleasure to work with. Be sure to check out The Jumbee–it’s a masterpiece.

Jessica Kong

Jessica A. Kong is an avid reader of all things fantasy, futuristic, and paranormal. When she is not reading or writing, she enjoys puzzles, arts and crafts, crocheting, horror movies, and video games.

Mr. Valentine has reviewed her novel, A Lost Kitten.

Jessica created the Sea-anan Saga out of inspiration provided by her love for movies like Star Wars and Deep Space Nine, along with an avid appreciation of romance novels. She makes her home in Somerset, New Jersey, with her loving husband of twenty-two years and their teenaged triplets.

Her  most recent book is A Forgotten Kitten (Sea-anan Saga).

Many readers enjoy Star Wars-esque stories of conflict on faraway planets, while other readers tend to stick to epic romances. Few authors have managed to combine the two genres in such a seamless way as Jessica A. Kong has in her Sea-anan Saga. Creating a highly complex story with fully developed characters, A Forgotten Kitten zips along at just the right pace.

The story revolves around Sev, a young, handsome prince and member of a royal family who rises to become king of the Oceanan race. Sev is raised in the midst of a vicious family feud, but all seems worth it when his adoptive aunt gives birth to a beautiful little girl whom Sev falls instantly and irrevocably in love with. But when Sev’s planet collides with its own sun and collapses, he must bear the loss of his entire family, including his love as well as any memory of her.

Areo, the heroine of the story, is that little girl that Sev fell for during his childhood. When her empire is brutally attacked, everyone is scattered throughout the universe. Where does she land but the planet that Sev is currently occupying.

What follows is a continually building conflict interlaced with one of the most fervently passionate love stories seen in these kinds of novels. Kong chooses not just to write about space travel, or war, or love, or family, or even racism; instead, she chooses to combine all of these classic literary themes into one amazing story. The result is a mysterious and ultimately deeply satisfying story that only leads to the craving for more from this gifted and astoundingly creative writer.

The task of any science fiction writer is to take alien, unbelievable concepts and present them in a way that convinces the reader they are plausible in reality, and Kong has certainly hit the mark with her second novel in this delightfully mystifying series.

A Musical Coda

In honor of the writer’s process blog chain, and referring to no one but myself, here’s one of my favorite songs by Aretha Franklin: