After wrapping Tendrils to the Moon, I thought I might try my hand at fantasy. I wrote a few thousand words and an outline for one-third of a novel before I realized I needed to meditate longer on the characters and how they fit together for the plot I was envisioning.
I shelved the idea for a short juvenile fantasy book. It seemed like something I could write quickly to cleanse my palate of Tendrils. But I stopped about 5,000 words into it due to lack of interest.
Another sci-fi novel, a spin-off from an idea I had 10 years ago (which seems to be where all my sci-fi ideas come from), started to percolate over a month ago. I wrote a snappy prologue and a snappier title: Seeds of Calamity. Despite the plant-based name, it will not be connected to Tendrils. The tone promises to be different, less sciency and more opera. It will have fewer characters and more (more than none, anyway) aliens.
I am focused on developing these facets of my writing with Seeds:
- Outlined start to finish before drafting
- Told from the perspective of just one character
- Prominent female character
- Shorter chapters (average 5,000 words)
I will release the paperback on the same day as the ebook. I have enlisted my wife to edit the book, one chapter at a time as I finish them, so this book will be pretty clean when it goes to production.
The wordcount goal is 80,000, significantly shorter than Tendrils (as well as, ironically, the original wordcount goal for Tendrils; I mean it this time). A publish date in January 2019 is ideal, but we could miss it because our second child is due in November. This is a strong incentive to write as much as possible before Thanksgiving, so it may account for a dearth of posts over the next few months.
Here's the back-of-the-book pitch:
A rogue asteroid with an exotic passenger strikes near a colonial settlement on Mars, killing thousands.
Brother miners Felton and Levi turn to theft in the outer solar system when their accounts are suddenly frozen. When they steal from the wrong man, they're compelled to follow him to the Red Planet, where the most destructive force mankind has ever encountered is gathering strength.
Let me know what you think in the comment section below! I'll reply to you as soon as I can.