Very exciting!
Entry 1-130: May 4, 2013
Starting with a bang
I have noticed that as the world's collective attention span grows shorter, some movies have resorted to starting out with an explosion or chase scene then rolling back in time leading up to that event.
For example, in the first Iron Man, Tony Stark is shown blowing things up then they go back in time to show you how he ended up here.
So I made up my mind to start out both The Ark Lords and Rome's Evolution with an explosion.
In The Ark Lords, it was pretty lame. It was just a grease fire. In Rome's Evolution, it is actually a bomb and it isn't just for dramatic effect. It is actually at the core of the plot. So thank you would-be assassins for letting me start the new book with a bang!
Entry 1-131: May 5, 2013
Sex, Drugs and Money
My new scifi novel Rome's Evolution has all of the above, just in the 35th century.
As far as sex, well, the scene is not very explicit and not as funny as the one in The Ark Lords but it is still gives Rei and Rome an intense period of intimacy.
As far as drugs, the Onsiras have a drug that converts Vuduri into Zengei. What is a Zengei? You'll have to read the book to find out.
And money? This is has been the subject of a previous post but in the new novel, money is introduced into Vuduri society. The why is explained and I can tell you Rome is none too pleased. Please read the book and find out all about it.
If you haven't read the original novel, Rome's Revolution, you might want to start there.
Entry 1-132: May 6, 2013
The problem with Aason
I like Aason. I really do. He is a curious combination of brilliance and child-like demeanor. However, a lot of times he gets in the way because Rei and Rome are responsible for all the action and I can't have him exposed to danger.
My solution in Part 3 of Rome's Revolution and in The Ark Lords was to send him away a lot. Fridone took him once; before he was reunited with Binoda then the grandparents took him again. I expressed my guilt over always getting rid of him through dialog between Rei and Rome. Several times, Rei asked if they were being poor parents by always sending their child away. Rome always pointed out that it was for his safety. She never mentioned the fact that also the author had trouble dealing with his presence in action scenes.
In the new book, Rome's Evolution, I had a similar problem and found a similar solution. I sent him away with the grandparents. However, this turns out to be a tactical mistake for the parents but you'll have to read the novel to find out why.
Aason's reward for all his patience is he gets to be the star of the following novel, which takes place 17 years later, called The Milk Run which should be out by the end of the year.
Entry 1-133: May 7, 2013
Back to the beginning
Now that my new novel Rome's Evolution is out, I thought I'd travel back to the beginning of Rome's Revolution and go through it page by page. I don't mean reprinting it but rather go through the scientific analysis of what led up to the current long form.
The version of Rome's Revolution that is out now is actually three books in one. The first book was originally entitled VIRUS 5. Later, when I decided to write the second book, I knew I had to go back and subtitle the first one. They couldn't all be entitled VIRUS 5. So I elevated VIRUS 5 to the series title and called the first book VIRUS 5: Asdrale Cimatir which is Vuduri for Stareater.
The second book became VIRUS 5: Bez Onquoade which means "An Uneasy Peace" in Vuduri. After I wrote the second book, I knew I had to write the third so it became VIRUS 5: Pedele Ta Asdrales which means Battle for the Stars.
After I had finished them, I came to the conclusion that since most people did not speak Vuduri, the titles would seem like nonsense. Since I didn't want to give away the major plot twist of the first book, rather than call it VIRUS 5: Stareater, I decided to rename each book after the planetary system in which the major elements of the action took place.
I also decided that the VIRUS units were really only bit players and it was Rome's transformation that was the single most important element. So out goes VIRUS 5 and in comes Rome's Revolution.
Book 1 became Rome's Revolution: Tabit and Book 2 became Rome's Revolution: Tau Ceti. The third book, technically, should have been called Rome's Revolution: Sol but that seemed dopey so I renamed it Rome's Revolution: Earth.
And that's where the books remained until I decided to boil them down to the omnibus which is Rome's Revolution today.
More tomorrow.
Entry 1-134: May 8, 2013
The original plan
My original plan for the then-titled VIRUS 5 was to write a "you are there" style sci-fi action/adventure drama. I had the clever acronym Virtually Identical Replicating Unit System already worked out back in 1973 so it seemed like a good place to start. The basic characters, Rei and Rome, were the same. OMCOM was there. The Stareater was there and Rei used VIRUS units to destroy the Stareaters.
There was so much different back then. Rei was from the same time period as Rome. She was part of a culture that had remained behind and was considered more advanced than Rei. I don't remember how OMCOM transferred his consciousness into the mass that destroyed the Stareater but I did have the mutations. I remember making them seem more ominous and accidental. It wasn't until the modern version that I actually figured out a reason that OMCOM let it happen.
In fact, when the series was still entitled VIRUS 5, the mutations were autonomous and some were truly evil. I just loved the idea of having evolution occur at machine speed. I was even thinking that they would have VIRUS-based dinosaurs, etc.
Ask me about Lawlidon. No, wait, I'll write about Lawlidon tomorrow.
Entry 1-135: May 9, 2013
Lawlidon - A VIRUS dinosaur?
When I originally came up with the idea of VIRUS 5, the rapidly reproducing VIRUS units mutated and quickly became autonomous, self-aware entities. Originally, my plan was to show evolution occurring at a tremendously fast-paced rate.
I even had a little story where the amount of source material (aka the body of the Stareater) was becoming difficult to come by and the VIRUS units resorted to cannibalism. Once that had been established, one of the more intelligent VIRUS units made a defensive pact with another and they became basically a two-celled VIRUS-based organism. From there, they increased in complexity.
I had this vision of VIRUS-based dinosaurs fighting each other over the remains of the Stareater.
What has this got to do with anything? After I decided to write Book 2 and realized I had to write Book 3, I wanted Book 2 to end on a cliff-hanger. So it ends just the way Part 2 of Rome's Revolution ends now: Rei and Rome and Aason all comfy in Rome's room at the Vuduri complex. But then in the old book, Rei and Rome scream and pass out. Then the sky goes black. Pretty cool, huh?
Turns out, the sky went black was because a gigantic VIRUS-based creature, called a Bridadira, which is Vuduri for Protector, blocked the sun. I wanted to have a "dinosaury" name for him so I called him Lawlidon. He did battle with another group of VIRUS-based mutants called Cecetiras which means Hunters. There was a titanic space battle, it took all the forces of Lawlidon, the Vuduri space armada and even MINIMCOM to defeat them. MINIMCOM was transformed into who you see today.
But I have to tell you, the whole thing seemed stupid. The battle served no real purpose other than provide some action. It made OMCOM seem pretty foolish to allow for the mutations in the first place and it meant no one would ever be safe ever.
So bye-bye Lawlidon. I
eliminated the whole concept of the Bridadira and Cecetiras and allowed MINIMCOM to transform into who he is today all on his own. Thank you Steve Troyano.
But what about the mutations? They are still out there. What do we do with them?
More tomorrow.
Entry 1-136: May 10, 2013
So what about those mutations, anyway?
I couldn't let go of the idea of OMCOM releasing mutated VIRUS units into the universe. I loved the idea of machine evolution into autonomous self-aware entities. I even allowed OMCOM the luxury of having allowed the mutations on purpose.
This was much more consistent with OMCOM. He thought everything through. But why? Since I had eliminated the Bridadiras and Cecetiras, I didn't know.
This is where trusting your characters comes in. I knew OMCOM would tell me why eventually. It wasn't until I was coming to the end of The Ark Lords that I found out. He sure did wait till the last minute!
OMCOM allowed the mutations to occur and allowed them to become autonomous self-aware units to roam the universe to look for the origin of the Stareaters. He correctly deduced that natural selection would produce a greater variety of entities than he could have designed himself. Some developed novel forms of propulsion (null-fold anyone?) and some were have thought to have left our universe altogether.
This is a nice tie-in to the next book after Rome's Evolution. I included a little epilogue which takes place 17 years after the conclusion of that book. It shows that Aason and his sister Lupe are taking off in Junior for a "milk run" in space. How does that relate to the mutations? You will find out in The Milk Run which should be available by the end of the year.
Entry 1-137: May 11, 2013
Why the 35th century?
Why did Rei and his Ark II arrive at Tabit in 3455, not 2800AD or 3600AD?
My guiding principle behind the book(s) was that anything that could be fact-checked, would check out.
The Arks traveled at a top-end speed of 5% of the speed of light. So the theoretical journey from Earth to Tau Ceti should have taken 240 years. If they continued on at full speed to Tabit, it should have added in an additional 420 years to travel the 21 extra light years.
But the whole premise of the book is that the Ark II hit something, probably an asteroid, and caromed out of the Tau Ceti system at an odd angle, straight for Tabit. My further assumption was that the propulsion module was damaged and therefore they could only coast.
When you put those two items together, you come up with about 1400 years of total travel time. If you add that to the launch year of 2067 AD, you get 3467 AD but I didn't want it to be exact so I cut back the trip by a few years.
The small difference doesn't matter. What does matter is that Rei ended way the hell from where he expected and an incredible amount of time had passed. And then he met Rome...
Entry 1-138: May 12, 2013
Happy Mother's Day
When I started writing the original novel, VIRUS 5, I never thought about the mothers of any of the characters.
Once the story took on its modern form, I mentioned Rome's parents when Rei and Rome first put on the Espansor bands and Rei got to see Rome growing up inside her mind. He got to see her family life and that was the first time I learned that Rome came from a mixed marriage.
I never knew I was going to write Part 2 but when I did, that was when I found out Rome was pregnant and she became a mother herself at the end of that part.
I never knew I was going to write Part 3 but once I finished Part 2, I knew I had to. So we got to finally meet Binoda, Rome's mother, and she turned out to be a fairly impressive individual. She became a constant supporting character through the rest of the books. Her reunion scene with Fridone, Rome's father, is still one of my most favorite scenes in all the books.
I didn't know I was going to write The Ark Lords. It just came to me one day. At that point, Rome's role as loving mother became a central element as did the love and support of her mother, Binoda.
But what about Rei? I knew nothing about his parents. I didn't know I was going to write Rome's Evolution but when I did, suddenly there was a flashback to Rei's "last day on Earth" and we got to meet his mother, Ruth. She was very loving and supportive.
Having started out with none, I ended up with three. So Happy Mother's Day to Rome, Binoda and Ruth; you are all great parents and provide an inspiration to your children and those around you.
Mike
P.S. My mother's name is Ruth so this was just a tricky way of throwing that in. Happy Mother's Day Mom.
Entry 1-139: May 13, 2013
Silas Hiram, RIP
For somebody who was never in any of the books, Silas Hiram was the most important non-character ever. His importance was through his journal. He was mentioned in Rome's Revolution as the discoverer of the first star, Alnilam, to disappear. He later made a historical appearance in The Ark Lords, when Rei and Rome read from his journal again and gained valuable insights about the Gray vs. White civil war. The gift of his journal was the dessert at the end of The Ark Lords, when MINIMCOM delivered Virga's gift to Rei for presenting her with a genetic up(down)-grade.
There was even a passing mention of the journal in the latest book, Rome's Evolution, in the scene when they investigate the break-in at Rome's Library.
But, in the end, Silas has been escorted off-stage and out of the story. When I originally wrote VIRUS 5: Asdrale Cimatir, the entire Prologue, some 12 pages worth, was all about Silas. But then he got killed or eaten by the Piranha Rats. His story got excised from the current version of Rome's Revolution because I needed action, action, action.
Good news: I am compiling an entire book of short stories, deleted scenes and other inside information and finally, the story of Silas Hiram (one of my best-written pieces, in my opinion) will finally get its moment of glory. My working title for the last book is The Vuduri Companion but that might change after I publish The Milk Run.
Stay tuned.
Entry 1-140: May 14, 2013
Act 1, Scene 1
When I started writing VIRUS 5: Asdrale Cimatir, before it became Rome's Revolution, I always thought in terms of how to make it into a movie. I called it writing cinematically but I'm not sure that's even a style. Anyway, the beautiful little prologue about Silas Hiram (see Silas Hiram, RIP) was for literary purposes only. It was meant to set a lyrical mood.
I wrote the first scene of the old book explicitly to be the scene behind the opening credits. It was the dramatic rescue of Rei's Ark II by the Vuduri tug pilots.
My thinking was the movie was going to open with Rei's resurrection by what he thought were monsters or aliens in the airlock/isolation chamber on Dara. But when VIRUS 5 got cut down and squashed into Rome's Revolution, I now think that scene would take place behind the opening credits and the actual movie would open just as the book does now... Rei awakening in the airlock chamber, seeing his sarcophagus in the corner and realizing it wasn't a dream.
I'll review the science behind Rei's freezing and awakening in a few days but I did want to mention that even though I was sad to let go of those two scenes, I think the movie will open better because you meet Rei, you meet OMCOM and you meet Rome right away. In the current form, you are presented with the immediate issue which becomes a crisis. In the older version, it took a lot longer to develop.
Don't worry though, you'll get to read Rei's resurrection scene, in its entirety, when I roll out The Vuduri Companion next year.
Entry 1-141: May 15, 2013
290
When I first realized I could self-publish Rome's Revolution, I started dreaming about how much
money I would make when I sold thousands of copies. Kind of like when you buy a lottery ticket.
At the time, the e-book was on sale for 99 cents and I was on the 35% royalty plan which meant I made 35 cents per copy. I miscalculated how many books I would have to sell in order to make the minimum requirements to get a check from Amazon and mistakenly believed it was 290 copies.
So I started a spreadsheet called “290 Units.xls” and started tracking my sales. I added in a column for the paperback and then a column for the Nook and then a column for iTunes and pretty soon had to add formulas.
As I was writing The Ark Lords, I became afraid that 99 cents was too low so I raised the price to $4.99 for Rome's Revolution. This allowed me to sell The Ark Lords for $2.99 and not undercut Rome's Revolution.
Then I decided to publish a book I wrote 8 years ago called Future Past, not because it was great but because I already knew how to e-publish. So I added a third tab to my spreadsheet and then a fourth to keep totals.
Now with Rome's Evolution, I had to add a fifth tab and the spreadsheet is getting very complex.
But I still call it 290 units.xls and I am proud to say I have finally, finally sold 290 units! All I have to do now is sell 10,000 times that and the lottery dream will come true.
Entry 1-142: May 16, 2013
E-publishing made (not so) easy
Since I discoursed yesterday about e-publishing, I thought I'd give you a little insight into what is involved. Keep in mind, you still have to write a book but that just requires talent (cough, cough) and a computer. It's publishing the e-book that takes a blend of skills.
First, you need a cover. I have my fabulous, incredibly talented brother, Bruce, to thank for that.