R.R. Campbell's Blog, page 11

Updates on the EMPATHY Sci-Fi Saga

It’s been more than six months since I last provided an update on the EMPATHY sci-fi saga, and with book one, Imminent Dawn, having debuted as the number one new release in LGBT sci-fi and book two, Mourning Dove, making it into readers’ hands as of a little more than three weeks ago, now feels like a good time for an update.

Imminent Dawn

As this site’s headers and its debut status on Amazon might imply, Imminent Dawn has been very well received. It’s hard to believe it hasn’t even been out for four months yet, either; it feels as though many of the folks with whom I’ve spoken at conferences or other book events have at least heard of it, are reading it, or have it on their list of to-reads.

If you’ve had a chance to read it and enjoyed it, have you left a review on Amazon or Goodreads? Those reviews go a long way into spreading the good news about the EMPATHY series, and every last one of them makes a difference. Even if you didn’t buy the book on Amazon, you can leave a review there that’s as little as twenty words long!

Or, if you haven’t yet had a chance to nab your copy of the book New York Times bestselling author Matt Forbeck has hailed as “an incisive techno-thriller that gets more tense with every page,” you can get in on the action at any of the links below.

Find Imminent Dawn here:

Mourning Dove

Like I mention above, Mourning Dove has hardly been out for three weeks, but with the EMPATHY spring and summer tour in full swing, it feels like it’s been around for much longer than that.

So far, I’ve visited Beloit and Eau Claire as part of this tour, and I’ll be in my hometown of Madison this weekend for WisCon, a sci-fi and fantasy conference at which I’ll be discussing writing a series, scene structure, and conflict as part of panels or seminars I’m leading. The response to Mourning Dove at both the Beloit and Eau Claire events has been incredible, and I’m looking forward to sharing it with the rest of you as the tour continues through June.

All in all, it’s still early for Mourning Dove, but I’m loving the responses that have come in to date, especially those from readers who have said they’re already jonesing for book three in the series!

Find Mourning Dove here:

Event Horizon and Rubicon

Speaking of book three in the series, this is actually where I have the most updates. Before you read on, though, know that here there be spoilers. As in if you keep reading without having read books one and two, you run the risk of having a few things spoiled for you. Fair warning.

Let me start by saying Event Horizon has proven to be an extraordinary challenge to write. As I near the completion of a fourth draft, it’s looking like this will be the longest installment in the series yet—and it only features half of our perspective characters.

Half of our perspective characters, you say, what madness is this?

It is indeed madness, but it’s less mad than the alternatives. Let’s explore why and what I’ve done to counter some unforeseen challenges.

Firstly, due to matters beyond my control, I’m hard-capped for word count at 140,000 words per book. For perspective, Imminent Dawn is about 118,000 words, and Mourning Dove, 116,000. With the original vision for Event Horizon set to include twelve perspective characters, it became apparent after a first draft that I could not effectively tell this chunk of the story while keeping our total word count below 140,000 words.

To address this, I elected to split Event Horizon into two concurrent installments, now known as Event Horizon and Rubicon. The former will focus on Ty, Kyra, and Chandra primarily, while the latter will center around Ren and the Halman siblings, as well as the overworld plots to which they belong.

What this means, then, is that Event Horizon will walk us through six to eight months of the lives of Chandra, Kyra, Ty (and some other POVs) before Rubicon walks us through those same six to eight months for the other half of our character set.

So what can you expect from these installments, and when will they be released?

Event Horizon is, per a draft of its back cover description, “a dark, haunting exploration of isolation, self-worth, and identity.” In this way, it is a much more character-drama-driven book, with Kyra, Chandra, and Ty forced to confront the darkest bits of themselves and their circumstances yet. This has made for a book that is much more personal for all three of these characters. And though separated from one another, they’re on journeys that will greatly impact the others as they themselves, grow and (hopefully) overcome their inner demons (and the circumstances in the outside world that are forcing them to confront those demons).

Rubicon, on the other hand, is where we get back to the “wonderful” world of tech-driven drama. Though much of this installment will center around the politicking Alistair has at play in attempting to garner support for EMPATHY throughout the NAU, we’ll get a fair share of Heather and Peter as they work toward actually, you know, making EMPATHY work with “help” from a ghost from their past.

Event Horizon is nearing the completion of its fourth draft, and I’ve written about 40,000 words of Rubicon. At this time, though, only Event Horizon is on the publishing calendar, where it’s scheduled to debut in Spring 2020. I should have more information concrete information about the release date in about two months’ time, so stay tuned.

Rubicon will (hopefully) be out in late 2020, but we’ll see. Once Event Horizon is in my editor’s hands, I plan to take some time to work on a romantic suspense novel outside the EMPATHY universe, but I might also write a novel focusing on Chandra and Kyra’s lives before the EMPATHY study took place.

That’s right—you might get a HappyTimes romance origin tale to help tide you over until Rubicon comes out.

The Rest

Once Event Horizon and Rubicon were out, my original plan was to finish off the main series with two installments, Consolunarity and Nightshade. The former might end up having to be split like Event Horizon and Rubicon, though, so for now I’d better leave it at this: you’re going to end up with six or seven total books in this saga, and we’ll get back to the five-alarm, Halman-help-us techno-thriller feel for the final three books especially. So strap on those VR headsets and secure the room around you. It’s going to be a wild ride.

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Published on May 22, 2019 07:00

Mourning Dove featured on Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Thanks to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words for this release week feature of Mourning Dove!

It’s always great when another blogger is willing to share books from the EMPATHY series with the world, and this occasion is no exception.

So check out the excerpt from Mourning Dove at the link above, and don’t forget to grab your copies of the EMPATHY sci-fi saga’s first two installments at the links below.

Imminent Dawn

Mourning Dove

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Published on May 21, 2019 07:00

This Week: r. r. campbell at WisCon!

I can’t believe it’s already here!

This Friday, May 24th through Monday, May 27th, I’ll be at WisCon as an invited speaker, panelist, and vendor.

Though I’ll be posted outside the Dealers’ Room with my full EMPATHY setup throughout the conference, the conference will really kick-off for me on Friday with a 4:00 p.m. panel on writing a series!

A scaled-down version of the booth I’ll have set up during the conference!

Then, on Saturday evening, I’ll be talking scene structure before closing out my sessions with a workshop on conflict and tension Sunday morning. Once that’s wrapped up, I’ll hang around the rest of the day on Sunday and Monday to meet other conference attendees and chat all things sci-fi and fantasy.

Can’t wait until this weekend to get your hands on the books in the EMPATHY series to date? You can find them at the links below.

Imminent Dawn

Mourning Dove

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Published on May 20, 2019 07:00

Dammit, Otto, You’re a Roadblock Writer

Otto? Otto! Come on, man.

Here we are again—you, me, and an earnest attempt to improve your manuscript stymied by a relentless outpouring of “yeah, buts,” “I don’t knows,” and blank stares.

Why even bother asking for an extra set of eyes on your work if you don’t plan on considering anything anyone says?

You’re killing me, Otto. Seriously.

We all know an Otto. Whether in the world of writing or beyond it, Otto’s the guy who wants your opinion until the moment you give it, the guy who swears he’s interested in making a marked improvement in his work until he has to actually make the improvements himself.

Simply put, Otto’s a locked door, a boulder on the tracks, a roadblock to his own success.

And the worst thing about Otto? He’s actually pretty relatable.

It’s hard to take constructive criticism, especially when we’re so invested in our work. At times, even the most resonant feedback can feel like we’re being personally attacked. This makes it difficult to process and channel the criticism we’re receiving into something that will bridge the gap between our story’s intended presentation and how it’s actually being perceived by readers.

Don’t get me wrong, though; not all feedback is created equal. If comments like “this isn’t working” or “I really don’t like this” or “this is just bad” have you downtrodden, you have every right to be upset—particularly if you’ve solicited that input from someone you trust.

Why is it okay to be an Otto in these circumstances? Because quality feedback isn’t feedback that exists for the sake of existing or for the sake of putting others down. On the contrary, quality feedback will get at the why of what’s not working (and what is working!) and, from there, suggest what might be done to achieve the scene’s desired effect.

Let’s say, however, that you’re still struggling to implement feedback from your pool of beta readers, critique partners, and editors who are already really great about providing actionable feedback that’s in line with your vision for the story.

If that’s the case, I’ve got bad news.

You might be an Otto. But you don’t have to be!

Overcoming the Otto Within
Timing

Not all times in life are created equal. Sometimes personal or professional struggles can bog us down in our day to day, and the stress and anguish of confronting those dimensions of our lives can bleed over into the world of writing.

If you feel as though you’re getting quality feedback but are emotionally exhausted from it or calcified against it, maybe now’s simply not the best time to read those criticisms or take on those revisions.

Instead, you might consider working on a new project, one that could help you process the challenges of your daily life in a way that is both healthy and productive. Once you’re feeling refreshed, the feedback on your original project will still be there waiting for you.

Distance

On some occasions, though, our lives become so hectic that transitioning to a new project isn’t feasible or even wise. If that’s the case, distance might be the best way to overcome our inner Otto.

By distance, I don’t mean to suggest anyone move across the country or dig a hole to the center of the Earth (though I won’t stop you if that’s what makes you happy). What I intend to get at here is that we need to grant ourselves a full separation from our writing to really focus on our general well-being.

Our inner Otto feeds on turmoil, and sometimes the only way to send him packing is to burn his granaries of angst to the ground. Self-care is not to be overlooked.

Feedback Pool

Another way we might overcome our inner Otto is by switching up our pool of beta readers and critique partners. Even if we’re getting input that meets the “good feedback criteria” mentioned above, the manner in which it’s phrased or the person from whom it’s coming might not resonate in the same ways as the past.

Perhaps it’s time to shop your project around to a few new test readers. Think of it like looking for a contractor to do some work in your home. You might have a go-to gal, but every once in a while, you might have a project that isn’t perfect for her team’s skill set.

If you know this going into considering her for the work, do you still hire her even though the final product might not be of the same quality you’ve come to expect? Maybe, but you might also run what you’ve got in mind past a few other folks before you finally find a shared vision (and budget) that really speaks to you.

So go ahead—try working with some new betas and see what you get. Maybe that’s all you’ll need to send your inner Otto packing.

I am Otto, and so are you.

Can I tell you a (maybe not-so-secret) secret?

Despite all of the above, despite our best intentions, despite what we might think of ourselves and our ability to process feedback, we’ve all been Ottos at one point or another.

And you know what? That’s okay.

Sometimes we need to put up roadblocks for the sake of tending to our infrastructure. Even the strongest bridges will collapse if not inspected, repaired, and maintained. That might mean we need to shut them down for a time, that traffic will get backed up, that a few angry letters will be sent to one’s local alderperson, but we can’t neglect that upkeep forever—at least not if we want to prevent what would otherwise be a well-rounded, fulfilling life from buckling beneath us.

In some ways, then, the inner Otto—for as pesky as he can be—is there to help us, too, to signal that there might be danger ahead or that we’re already in the midst of it.

So dammit, Otto, you can be a real menace, but we wouldn’t be the same without you. Thanks, I guess.

Now haul these roadblocks onto the shoulder and let us hit the road.

Like what you’ve read here? You can find more content like this on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and in my newsletter. Or, hey, you can check out what I write when my inner Otto’s not in the way by nabbing copies of my books on this site, my publisher’s site, Amazon, or by requesting them at your local bookstore. And I’m on Goodreads over here. Come say hi!

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Published on May 17, 2019 05:00

Mourning Dove featured on Stories That Make You Smile

Author Addison Albright recently hosted Mourning Dove to celebrate its release. We’ve had a great wave of publicity carrying this book forward to date, and it’s showing no sign of crashing anytime soon.

You can check out the feature on Mourning Dove here, and then nab your copy of it and book one in the EMPATHY series, Imminent Dawn, by visiting the links below.

Imminent Dawn

Mourning Dove

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Published on May 14, 2019 07:00

EMPATHY on Tour – Thank You, Eau Claire!

The EMPATHY spring and summer tour continued last weekend with an event at Dotters Books in Eau Claire! I had a wonderful time visiting this new, blossoming bookstore in the heart of the Chippewa Falls area. Thank you, Dotters, for hosting!

Prior to the event, my wife and I were able to visit a number of local mainstays, including Phoenix Park, Tangled Up in Hue, The Local Store, Ramone’s, the Acoustic Cafe, and more. Eau Claire really is a beautiful city, and I definitely recommend anyone in the area or passing through stop to take at least an afternoon to enjoy all Eau Claire has to offer.

The EMPATHY tour will continue on Memorial Day weekend with my visit to WisCon 43 in Madison, Wisconsin, but, until then, here are some of my favorite photos from last weekend’s event!

Imminent Dawn already had a home on the shelves before I arrived!
image2 EC

Letting a pause linger at a tense moment during one of the evening’s readings.

The setup at the store’s entrance.

Someone thought they’d have fun with their filters on this one.

Still need to get your copies of Imminent Dawn and Mourning Dove? You can find them at the links below.

Imminent Dawn

Mourning Dove

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Published on May 13, 2019 08:00

Eau Claire Event Featured in Leader-Telegram

This Saturday’s event in Eau Claire at Dotters Books has been featured in the Leader-Telegram!

Come join me and readers from across the Eau Claire area to celebrate the launch of Mourning Dove, book two in my EMPATHY sci-fi saga. And don’t forget to RSVP at this link.

Unable to make it to this event or any of the others I have planned for this spring? I’ve got you covered. You can find Imminent Dawn and Mourning Dove at the links below!

Imminent Dawn

Mourning Dove

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Published on May 09, 2019 08:00

Mourning Dove on “Deek’s Rhewminations”

The EMPATHY series has made another appearance, this time focusing on book two, Mourning Dove, on the “Deek’s Rhewminations” blog for author Deek Rhew.

Check out the Mourning Dove book trailer and more at this link!

And don’t forget to get your copies of Imminent Dawn and Mourning Dove at the links below.

Imminent Dawn

Mourning Dove

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Published on May 08, 2019 07:30

MissPrimm.com Hosts Mourning Dove!

Last week, Angelica Primm hosted me for an author interview as part of Mourning Dove‘s launch week. So what did I have to say about the the EMPATHY saga’s themes and misconceptions some have had about book one, Imminent Dawn?

You’ll have to read this interview to find out.

Still need to get a copy of either of the first two books in the series? You can find them below.

Imminent Dawn

Mourning Dove

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Published on May 07, 2019 07:30

What a Deal! Mourning Dove Paperbacks 40+% Off!

The almighty ‘Zon has seen fit to put paperback copies of Mourning Dove on sale for only $10.43. That’s more than 40% off the cover price of $17.99!

Get in on this deal before it expires here, and don’t forget to nab a copy of book one in the series, Imminent Dawn, while you’re at it!

You can find these books everywhere else below.

Imminent Dawn

Mourning Dove

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Published on May 06, 2019 09:58