The Ark Lords Effect

In a very early post, I explained how The Ark Lords came about. Mostly it was after Rome's Revolution was published and I was daydreaming about what came after the book concluded.

Long before that day, the same wandering mind sparked Part 2 of the VIRUS 5 saga to occur which in turn created Part 3 which in turn produced Rome's Revolution. I lived in Glen Mills at the time. I had a beautiful house and a beautiful deck and I was sitting on that deck staring out at the woods, trying to figure out what to write next. I had been working on VIRUS 5 since 1973 and now that it was done I wasn't going to wait another 40 years to figure out a new novel.



Sitting on the deck, my mind drifted back to the conclusion of VIRUS 5. Rei and Rome were on their way to Deucado. OMCOM was evolving into Planet OMCOM. The mutations were running wild and while we had a defense, there were still Stareaters on the loose. I couldn't help but wonder... OK, we've sent this romantic couple off into space with an Ark full of frozen colonists, heading toward their new home. So what happens when they get there? I was just as curious as I assumed the reader would be. So I started daydreaming again. The story itself started with the need for some action. Wouldn't it be cool if they finally get to Deucado and the first thing that happens is that the Vuduri there want to shoot them down?

That was the key. I was off and running. What was VIRUS 5: Tau Ceti evolved into Part 2 of Rome's Revolution.

Back then, before I decided to "English-up" the titles, the original titles were:
VIRUS 5: Asdrales Cimatir (Stareaters)
VIRUS 5: Bez Onquoade (An Uneasy Peace)
VIRUS 5: Pedele Ta Asdrales (Battle for the Stars)

As I embarked on writing Book 2, I started worrying. What if somebody picked up Book 2 without having read Book 1? So I came up with a "What has gone before" preface. I'll present this little capsule summary to you over the next two days.