Mark Henrikson's Blog, page 2
January 13, 2015
What's Next?
Since the series finale to Origins came out I’ve had a lot, I mean a WHOLE lot, of fans ask me what’s next. I gave it a think, and here’s where it led me:
I figured it would take quite a while to piece together my next project, working with a blank slate again had me more than a little intimidated, but the ideas, plots, twists and grand story have actually come together amazingly fast for me over the last couple of months. Way quicker than the original Origins series did, that’s for sure.
I considered moving on from the Origins universe, but as numerous fans have pointed out, there is a lot of human history still to tell with Hastelloy and his crew working their agenda in the background. Besides, I have entirely too much fun with the characters to just walk away. With that in mind, I’m envisioning a new 5 book series titled Origins: The Crew Chronicles.
These will be entirely rooted in the past (i.e. no parallel story line in the present to bouncwe back to) starting with Christopher Columbus and his voyage to the new world. The second will feature the American Revolution, followed by a novel focused on Napoleon and Imperial Europe. The fourth book would revolve around the American Civil War (sorry my non-American friends, this is a must for me since I grew up visiting battle field sites as a kid on our way to and from family vacation destinations). And finally the fifth book will wrap things up amidst World War I.
The plan right now is for each book to get told from a separate crewmember’s point of view. Hopefully the prospect of getting under the hood to see what makes Tomal, Gallono, or the others tick excites everyone. In addition, I have a whole new set of bad guys in mind for the crew to tangle with that will not involve the Alpha (that story has already been told).
Now there is still the question of timing. When will the first book be out, and how often will the others follow? I might, MIGHT, get the first one out before Christmas. Much depends on the amount of time my training to run the Ironman Wisconsin triathlon in September takes up – I expect basically every waking second away from work so...a lot. If that is the case, then it would not be until probably March or April 2016. From there I figure every 6 months to a year per sequel.
Now if the series keeps climbing in popularity and I by some miracle am able to quit the day job to write full time, that timing would be much shorter. So if you want it faster, get the word out… ;)
I figured it would take quite a while to piece together my next project, working with a blank slate again had me more than a little intimidated, but the ideas, plots, twists and grand story have actually come together amazingly fast for me over the last couple of months. Way quicker than the original Origins series did, that’s for sure.
I considered moving on from the Origins universe, but as numerous fans have pointed out, there is a lot of human history still to tell with Hastelloy and his crew working their agenda in the background. Besides, I have entirely too much fun with the characters to just walk away. With that in mind, I’m envisioning a new 5 book series titled Origins: The Crew Chronicles.
These will be entirely rooted in the past (i.e. no parallel story line in the present to bouncwe back to) starting with Christopher Columbus and his voyage to the new world. The second will feature the American Revolution, followed by a novel focused on Napoleon and Imperial Europe. The fourth book would revolve around the American Civil War (sorry my non-American friends, this is a must for me since I grew up visiting battle field sites as a kid on our way to and from family vacation destinations). And finally the fifth book will wrap things up amidst World War I.
The plan right now is for each book to get told from a separate crewmember’s point of view. Hopefully the prospect of getting under the hood to see what makes Tomal, Gallono, or the others tick excites everyone. In addition, I have a whole new set of bad guys in mind for the crew to tangle with that will not involve the Alpha (that story has already been told).
Now there is still the question of timing. When will the first book be out, and how often will the others follow? I might, MIGHT, get the first one out before Christmas. Much depends on the amount of time my training to run the Ironman Wisconsin triathlon in September takes up – I expect basically every waking second away from work so...a lot. If that is the case, then it would not be until probably March or April 2016. From there I figure every 6 months to a year per sequel.
Now if the series keeps climbing in popularity and I by some miracle am able to quit the day job to write full time, that timing would be much shorter. So if you want it faster, get the word out… ;)
November 30, 2014
A Greater Good available for pre order
Looks like small time authors like me can finally take advantage of Amazon's pre ordering system like the big boys. To celebrate this leveling of the playing field for us indy authors, and accommodate you wonderful fans who have been following the release of the series finale. Origins: A Greater Good is available for pre order for $2.99. The list price will be $4.99 once it's released on the 15th.
Link:
http://www.amazon.com/Origins-Greater...
Link:
http://www.amazon.com/Origins-Greater...
November 26, 2014
Book 5 Teaser
Let me know if this back cover description piques your interest to read what's inside:
THE FIFTH AND FINAL INSTALLMENT OF THE ORIGINS SERIES
The Novi have finally arrived, but is that a good thing for anyone involved? The Novi may look the same, but time has not been kind to their outlook on the galaxy’s other sentient races in the aftermath of the ‘Lost Fleet’ incident. Hastelloy and his crew have their loyalties torn between the Novi they once knew, the humans they now know, and who the Novi have become. Where should their allegiances lie?
The answer brings with it a day of reckoning for Hastelloy. All of his sins from the past: altering form, suicide, inciting war, and murder will finally be judged. New friends will attempt to exonerate him, while old enemies resurface to try and bury him once and for all. In the end, the only question that truly needs answering is, was it all done for A Greater Good?
Thanks all,
Mark
THE FIFTH AND FINAL INSTALLMENT OF THE ORIGINS SERIES
The Novi have finally arrived, but is that a good thing for anyone involved? The Novi may look the same, but time has not been kind to their outlook on the galaxy’s other sentient races in the aftermath of the ‘Lost Fleet’ incident. Hastelloy and his crew have their loyalties torn between the Novi they once knew, the humans they now know, and who the Novi have become. Where should their allegiances lie?
The answer brings with it a day of reckoning for Hastelloy. All of his sins from the past: altering form, suicide, inciting war, and murder will finally be judged. New friends will attempt to exonerate him, while old enemies resurface to try and bury him once and for all. In the end, the only question that truly needs answering is, was it all done for A Greater Good?
Thanks all,
Mark
November 19, 2014
Book 5 release date is December 15th
Well, that’s a wrap folks. Origins: A Greater Good, the series finale, is in the books. The release date is now set for December 15th. Actually it still has one more round with the line editors, but the story is set and it’s going to be a fun ride for all of you to the finish line with Hastelloy and his crew.
I’m actually really anxious to see how the book is received. This edition is a major divergence from the first four novels by not featuring a prominent historical time period. It is just straight up fiction pulled from my imagination. Will it still appeal to the same readers? Will most readers appreciate how everything ends up? I sure hope so, but only time and Amazon reviews and ratings will tell right?
This is a very bittersweet moment for me. On the one hand I have reached the finish line of a seven year long journey that at times consumed my every waking thought. It feels like I just pulled down the winning touchdown, threw down the game-winning dunk, and jacked a grand slam in the bottom of the 9th to win the World Series; all in the same day. It’s going to be a party in the Henrikson household this weekend, I can guarantee you that!
On the other hand, all of the excitement of creating something from nothing will be gone, at least for the next year anyway. It feels a lot like high school graduation when I gave all of the friends I made over the previous 5 or 10 years one last hug before we all moved on. Sure we promised to keep in touch, but that never really happened. Will I still spend time with Hastelloy and the gang in future writings or will I move on to others in the same universe or will I find something completely new to explore?
I wish I knew for sure, but I have a year of Ironman Triathlon training ahead of me to figure it all out. Either way, it was a heck of a good time getting to this point and meeting WAY more fans of my writing than I ever could have imagined.
Thanks everyone for sticking with me, you only have a couple more weeks to wait.
Sincerely,
Mark
I’m actually really anxious to see how the book is received. This edition is a major divergence from the first four novels by not featuring a prominent historical time period. It is just straight up fiction pulled from my imagination. Will it still appeal to the same readers? Will most readers appreciate how everything ends up? I sure hope so, but only time and Amazon reviews and ratings will tell right?
This is a very bittersweet moment for me. On the one hand I have reached the finish line of a seven year long journey that at times consumed my every waking thought. It feels like I just pulled down the winning touchdown, threw down the game-winning dunk, and jacked a grand slam in the bottom of the 9th to win the World Series; all in the same day. It’s going to be a party in the Henrikson household this weekend, I can guarantee you that!
On the other hand, all of the excitement of creating something from nothing will be gone, at least for the next year anyway. It feels a lot like high school graduation when I gave all of the friends I made over the previous 5 or 10 years one last hug before we all moved on. Sure we promised to keep in touch, but that never really happened. Will I still spend time with Hastelloy and the gang in future writings or will I move on to others in the same universe or will I find something completely new to explore?
I wish I knew for sure, but I have a year of Ironman Triathlon training ahead of me to figure it all out. Either way, it was a heck of a good time getting to this point and meeting WAY more fans of my writing than I ever could have imagined.
Thanks everyone for sticking with me, you only have a couple more weeks to wait.
Sincerely,
Mark
September 8, 2014
Book 5 Update
I managed to finish the first draft of the Origins series finale over the weekend. In a lot of ways this book was much tougher to pen than the first four. With the predecessors I had the luxury of ending them wherever the story and characters took it, but this one needed to funnel everything back together and wrap it up nicely at one specific spot. That is extremely tough to do and still keep it a nice, flowing story rather than forcing it. I think I’ve done the job well, but in case I didn’t, well…that is what second drafts are for.
I must say that I now have a whole new level of respect for Rowling and the way she put a bow on the Harry Potter series. I also understand how Collins missed the mark concluding her Hunger Games series. I also have a great deal of sympathy for George RR Martin in his struggles to finish up his Song of Ice and Fire (aka Game of Thrones) series, though 5 years between books is more than a bit indulgent.
Now it's on to draft two where all the real magic happens. Stay tuned.
Mark
I must say that I now have a whole new level of respect for Rowling and the way she put a bow on the Harry Potter series. I also understand how Collins missed the mark concluding her Hunger Games series. I also have a great deal of sympathy for George RR Martin in his struggles to finish up his Song of Ice and Fire (aka Game of Thrones) series, though 5 years between books is more than a bit indulgent.
Now it's on to draft two where all the real magic happens. Stay tuned.
Mark
July 8, 2014
Origins Book 4 Now Available
All right literary fans, Origins: The Reich is now available on Amazon.com. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did researching and writing the novel.
Enjoy, and tell a friend!
Enjoy, and tell a friend!
June 26, 2014
Book 4 back cover - feedback wanted
All right Origins fans, I’d love some feedback from you on the back cover blurb for book 4 - The Reich.
Distilling a 400 page book into a couple short, punchy paragraphs is real, real tough. Let me know if this hits the mark, grabs your attention, makes you want to dive right in. If it doesn’t, then I need to fix it a bit. Any feedback is good feedback.
Here it goes:
“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
These words were spoken by the Manhattan Project’s scientific director after the first atomic detonation, but in truth they applied to any number of men during the rise and fall of the Third Reich. The question is, do they also describe the actions of Hastelloy and his crew in the past or present?
NSA agent Mark Holmes must determine the answer amid the Alpha’s rampaging Terracotta Army in China, a rogue NSA Executive Committee member about to provoke World War III in Egypt, and First Contact from outer space. The only one who can help him, is a man he cannot trust.
How can he trust a being who engineered the First World War? How can he trust someone who facilitated the rise of Joseph Stalin, or Adolf Hitler? Can he trust that it was all done in order to defeat an even greater threat? Hastelloy will do his best to plead his case, but will it be enough?
Old enemies become friends while old allies turn enemy in this gripping thriller that challenges everything you thought you knew about the formative years of the twentieth century. Once again, the Origins of all will be revealed.
Distilling a 400 page book into a couple short, punchy paragraphs is real, real tough. Let me know if this hits the mark, grabs your attention, makes you want to dive right in. If it doesn’t, then I need to fix it a bit. Any feedback is good feedback.
Here it goes:
“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
These words were spoken by the Manhattan Project’s scientific director after the first atomic detonation, but in truth they applied to any number of men during the rise and fall of the Third Reich. The question is, do they also describe the actions of Hastelloy and his crew in the past or present?
NSA agent Mark Holmes must determine the answer amid the Alpha’s rampaging Terracotta Army in China, a rogue NSA Executive Committee member about to provoke World War III in Egypt, and First Contact from outer space. The only one who can help him, is a man he cannot trust.
How can he trust a being who engineered the First World War? How can he trust someone who facilitated the rise of Joseph Stalin, or Adolf Hitler? Can he trust that it was all done in order to defeat an even greater threat? Hastelloy will do his best to plead his case, but will it be enough?
Old enemies become friends while old allies turn enemy in this gripping thriller that challenges everything you thought you knew about the formative years of the twentieth century. Once again, the Origins of all will be revealed.
May 6, 2014
Book 4 Release Date Set
Short answer: July 7, 2014
Longer answer:
Holy cow have I been delinquent in providing this update. Book 4 The Reich has been off to my peer reviewing group for about a month and the feedback has been really solid. I usually have to change or add a whole bunch to bridge plot gaps and other things people point out. This go around it is all just commas and spelling fixes which has let me move the release date up from some time in the fall to early July.
I’m sure every author thinks their current book is their best yet, but I am really excited for this one to hit the virtual bookshelf. Nazis, Communism, CIA, NSA, Roswell, first contact, tons of character movement. It was tough to go wrong with this material.
For you early birds, the book will be discounted from the regular price to $2.99 for the first week only. My advice is save yourself a couple bucks and mark your calendars, or send me an email at originsauthor@yahoo.com and I will get you added to the email distribution list that will receive a notification the week of release.
As for the pending finale in book 5? I have the entire story outlined and have already written a few chapters while the editing happens on book 4. Believe it or not, the first chapter of the entire series that I wrote some five years ago is the last chapter to book 5. I always had a vision where it was going, but I am still amazed it has all come back together to that point with surprisingly few alterations.
The best is yet to come
Mark
Longer answer:
Holy cow have I been delinquent in providing this update. Book 4 The Reich has been off to my peer reviewing group for about a month and the feedback has been really solid. I usually have to change or add a whole bunch to bridge plot gaps and other things people point out. This go around it is all just commas and spelling fixes which has let me move the release date up from some time in the fall to early July.
I’m sure every author thinks their current book is their best yet, but I am really excited for this one to hit the virtual bookshelf. Nazis, Communism, CIA, NSA, Roswell, first contact, tons of character movement. It was tough to go wrong with this material.
For you early birds, the book will be discounted from the regular price to $2.99 for the first week only. My advice is save yourself a couple bucks and mark your calendars, or send me an email at originsauthor@yahoo.com and I will get you added to the email distribution list that will receive a notification the week of release.
As for the pending finale in book 5? I have the entire story outlined and have already written a few chapters while the editing happens on book 4. Believe it or not, the first chapter of the entire series that I wrote some five years ago is the last chapter to book 5. I always had a vision where it was going, but I am still amazed it has all come back together to that point with surprisingly few alterations.
The best is yet to come
Mark
February 7, 2014
Book 4 Progress Report
Okay, the first draft of Origins: The Reich (aka book 4) is complete.
I honestly expected to be at this point a month ago, but the historical flashback sequences wound up being a lot more difficult to write than I expected. With World War II there is just so much history that the story needed to adhere to. With Egypt, Rome and the Reformation eras there was relatively little written about specific events. I could get away with filling in the blanks to fit my narrative, but writing about WWII is a whole new ballgame.
The history is recent enough that many readers actually lived it, and accredited media outlets documented events in extreme detail. Reading my way through all the research material took time, but I found the real challenge was maintaining the character of my story (Hastelloy and the gang pulling the strings for their own reasons) rather than just giving a boring history documentary. That was my main issue with Ken Follett’s novel “Winter of the World” which was based in the same era. He was so busy telling history that his story suffered. I was determined to not let that be my fate with writing book 4 in the Origins series.
There was actually an added level of fun and satisfaction with writing this one. Have you ever finished a book, put it down, and said to yourself ‘I could have done better than that’? Well this was my chance to put my writing where my mouth was when I finished “Winter of the World’ and uttered those exact words to my wife. There is still a lot of changes and improvements to make, but based on the first draft it is looking very likely that I am a man of my word.
I will conclude by saying this last month has taken a very heavy mental toll on me. Diving deep into the psyche of Hitler and his closest advisers, the Third Reich, the Holocaust, the Hunger Plan against the Soviets was profoundly disturbing. Evil is the only word I have to describe it. I have spent a solid month with a profound evil that was inflicted upon the world, and scary as it may sound, was actually planned to be far worse had the Nazis gotten their way.
Far too often in the media we hear someone likened to Hitler or the Nazis for dramatic effect I suppose. I’m sure I’ve done it, but I never will again. Anyone who does that has not done their homework on the subject.
I honestly expected to be at this point a month ago, but the historical flashback sequences wound up being a lot more difficult to write than I expected. With World War II there is just so much history that the story needed to adhere to. With Egypt, Rome and the Reformation eras there was relatively little written about specific events. I could get away with filling in the blanks to fit my narrative, but writing about WWII is a whole new ballgame.
The history is recent enough that many readers actually lived it, and accredited media outlets documented events in extreme detail. Reading my way through all the research material took time, but I found the real challenge was maintaining the character of my story (Hastelloy and the gang pulling the strings for their own reasons) rather than just giving a boring history documentary. That was my main issue with Ken Follett’s novel “Winter of the World” which was based in the same era. He was so busy telling history that his story suffered. I was determined to not let that be my fate with writing book 4 in the Origins series.
There was actually an added level of fun and satisfaction with writing this one. Have you ever finished a book, put it down, and said to yourself ‘I could have done better than that’? Well this was my chance to put my writing where my mouth was when I finished “Winter of the World’ and uttered those exact words to my wife. There is still a lot of changes and improvements to make, but based on the first draft it is looking very likely that I am a man of my word.
I will conclude by saying this last month has taken a very heavy mental toll on me. Diving deep into the psyche of Hitler and his closest advisers, the Third Reich, the Holocaust, the Hunger Plan against the Soviets was profoundly disturbing. Evil is the only word I have to describe it. I have spent a solid month with a profound evil that was inflicted upon the world, and scary as it may sound, was actually planned to be far worse had the Nazis gotten their way.
Far too often in the media we hear someone likened to Hitler or the Nazis for dramatic effect I suppose. I’m sure I’ve done it, but I never will again. Anyone who does that has not done their homework on the subject.
October 29, 2013
Book 4 Update
Alright, it has been far too long since my last post and it is high time for an update.
I’ll start by mentioning something fun that happened to me last month. I had my first honest to God random fan sighting. I play in a sand volleyball league and half the fun of that is having a pitcher of beer with my friends afterwards. I went to pay the tab at the end of the night and the server was passing the time by reading a book on her kindle. I kid you not, she was reading Origins and put two and two together when she ran the credit card through. That was just plain fun.
As for an update on the Origins series; the outline for book 4 is done. I didn’t plan to start writing until November but having all these ideas and a compulsion to get them out was just too much so I sat down and wrote the first chapter this morning. Chapter two should come to life tonight and I am off an rolling after that.
It has actually been pretty hard getting the creativity fires lit again, don’t worry it is all systems go now. With that in mind though, it is highly likely that I will writing books 4 and 5 at the same time. I’ll get two drafts of book 4 out of the way and sent off to the peer review folks and then press on with book 5 rather than taking a month or two off while they do their thing. Then get book 4 back, hand off book 5 and finish things off in order from there. The bad news is this will keep the book 4 release in the late summer/early fall timeframe rather than moving it up, but book 5 will likely be out in time for the holidays rather than fall 2015.
Is that applause I hear? I sure hope so because that server at the bar gave me an ear full about getting on it again otherwise she was going to cut me off. Can’t have that now can I?
I’ll start by mentioning something fun that happened to me last month. I had my first honest to God random fan sighting. I play in a sand volleyball league and half the fun of that is having a pitcher of beer with my friends afterwards. I went to pay the tab at the end of the night and the server was passing the time by reading a book on her kindle. I kid you not, she was reading Origins and put two and two together when she ran the credit card through. That was just plain fun.
As for an update on the Origins series; the outline for book 4 is done. I didn’t plan to start writing until November but having all these ideas and a compulsion to get them out was just too much so I sat down and wrote the first chapter this morning. Chapter two should come to life tonight and I am off an rolling after that.
It has actually been pretty hard getting the creativity fires lit again, don’t worry it is all systems go now. With that in mind though, it is highly likely that I will writing books 4 and 5 at the same time. I’ll get two drafts of book 4 out of the way and sent off to the peer review folks and then press on with book 5 rather than taking a month or two off while they do their thing. Then get book 4 back, hand off book 5 and finish things off in order from there. The bad news is this will keep the book 4 release in the late summer/early fall timeframe rather than moving it up, but book 5 will likely be out in time for the holidays rather than fall 2015.
Is that applause I hear? I sure hope so because that server at the bar gave me an ear full about getting on it again otherwise she was going to cut me off. Can’t have that now can I?
