Exciting Egress into Episodic Entertainment

There’s something I’ve been waiting impatiently to tell you guys about for weeks now, and Andrew has finally given me permission to do the honors.  I’ve spent the better part of an hour trying to find a suitably dramatic way to frame this news, but nothing quite achieved the blend of heady anticipation and immense gravitas that this announcement truly deserves so I’m just going to give it to you straight:

Andrew and I are combining our creative powers to bring you a full-length, weekly updating serial novel.  In short, this blog is about to get a lot more exciting.

Now that that’s out in the open, I’m sure you’ve got a few questions.  Fortunately for all of us, I’ve got a few answers.  Read on for all the juicy details, friends.

#1. What sort of novel are you writing?

We’re working on a science fiction story called Aldaeus.  Here, have a lovely synopsis!

Sean O’Ryan is a young pilot fresh out of university and ready to explore the universe, but when his grandfather Aldaeus dies and leaves Sean in charge of the family salvage fleet, it seems as if adventure will have to wait. A struggling business, unsavory creditors, and a mismatched crew aren’t the only things Aldaeus left for Sean, however. Hidden in his grandfather’s will are the first clues that will lead Sean to a family secret greater than anything he can imagine.

Daniel Reese was born and branded in the tumultuous aftermath of his parents’ failed revolution. The people of the Alpha Centauri colony once gave everything for the chance to be free, but their defeat left them hopeless and now they suffer quietly under the spiteful heel of the government they had tried to overthrow. Even in exile, Daniel still believes in his parents’ lost cause, but he’s going to need all the help he can get if his under-qualified team of visionaries is to have any hope of taking back their homeworld and rescuing their people.

When the news of O’Ryan Deep Space Salvage’s remarkable find begins to spread, the race is on to see who will get to it first – a race that could change the very course of history.

#2. How is this whole co-authorship thing going to work?

Andrew is going to write the first chapter and every odd-numbered chapter from there on out, and I’ll be taking the even-numbered chapters.  His chapters will focus mainly on Sean while mine explore Daniel’s side of the story.

#3. How long is it going to take you guys to write this?/When can we expect to see the first chapter?

Andrew and I will both be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo starting on Monday and lasting throughout the month of July.  Our goal is to collectively write at least 70,000 words of raw material (35,000 apiece) during the event itself, then we can take what we have from there and begin polishing it up for release a chapter at a time.  We plan to release the first chapter sometime in early August, and then one each Monday on into the future until the story is done.

#4. Early August? I thought you said this blog was about to get more exciting! Sounds more like we’re in for a month and a half of boring.

Ah, but I know something you don’t know! I am not left-handed Andrew and I will be updating often during July with character sketches, updates, and maybe even an excerpt or two if Camp NaNo is treating us particularly well.  So fear not, we won’t leave you in the dark while we prepare Aldaeus for her maiden voyage.  We’ll keep you informed and (hopefully) involved at every step in the process, and I think I speak for both of us when I say that we’re insatiably eager to get started.

Just a little more than twenty-four hours before the adventure begins!  Here’s to summer, stories, and deep-space salvage!

Summer Solstice Soliloquy

According to reliable sources, today is the first day of summer.  Given that, I think it’s safe to assume that spring is over.  As some of you may have noticed, I did not write fifteen short stories during the aforementioned, recently deceased season, even though I had announced that I would, and for that I am sorry.  I kicked my unreasonable optimism into high gear, set your expectations high, and proceeded to get bogged down in the second story I put my hands to.  I got discouraged, told myself “you’ll tackle it tomorrow” an unfortunately high number of times, and failed spectacularly to do anything of the sort.

Writer’s block and lack of motivation are poor excuses, I know, but now is not the time for dwelling on the past.  Now is the time to disentangle myself from all of those excuses and blunders that were holding me back and take another stab at contributing to this blog! I’ve got a few ideas and snippets from the whole short stories ordeal that are sure to make their way on here in some form at some point, but there’s something even more exciting coming in the nearer and more definable future.  I can’t give you all the details yet, that’s something Andrew and I are going to have to do together, but I can say that it’s going to be big, it’s going to be fun, and it’s going to embody the spirit of Newton & Newton, Inc. more fully than we had ever dared to dream when we decided to throw in our creative lot together.

I hope you’ll forgive me my awkward silence just when we were supposed to be getting to know one another, and I especially hope that you’ll enjoy this new project that Andrew and I are brewing. Things ought to get a lot more active around here very soon.

Stay tuned!