Inspiration, the Universe and everthing

[Paul]

If you would like to know more about the Astronomicon universe, the inspiration behind it and the technologies used in the books so far, please ask here and I will do my best to answer everything.

[Paul]

I always try to make a point of writing down my ideas. Currently I have a list of almost 20 partially formed ideas for books. Many of them don't make it as far as being a complete book plan as such but I often seem to combine two or more book ideas to make a fuller, deeper story.

Astronomicon: Those Left Behind was a combination of two ideas. The first, the main theme, was a side-effect of a storyline in Astronomicon: Distant Relatives. In distant relatives the Eridani arrived at Earth on the run and in need of help. Those Left Behind was a natural progression to cover just why they were on the run. The other book idea, which never got as far as a name, was that of a man trying to save his family in the face of alien invasion. The combination made for an excellent storyline.

Astronomicon: Icarus - my current project - was a combination of my original idea for Icarus, a mining vessel competing in the asteroid against rival mining companies and bandits, and a loose plan for a horror story about a vessel which, after completing Earth's very first interstellar faster-than-light jump, returns modified by an alien race to locate Earth and send back intelligence data.

Obviously, in both cases, many story strands were removed or drastically altered, which is sad at times, but the results make it more than worth it. Of course there is always a chance that some of the shed strands may be of use in other stories.

[Paul]

No-one's actually reading this, are they?

[Paul]

It's weird how the act of planning one book usually conjures up lots of ideas for my other future books, or even ideas for entirely new books. I have to get these ideas typed up for future reference even it really slows down progress on the one I'm supposed to be focussing on.