Star Train -research phase

Trains have fascinated me for a long time. Steam powered trains, in particular, with their style and raw power. The trains of the 1800s opened up the western states to settlers, entrepreneurs, and fortune hunters. Without trains the United States of America would have continued to rely on rivers, canals, and lakes to transport people and goods over great distances.

Steampunk is a genre of fiction defined in this way: A subgenre of science fiction and fantasy featuring advanced machines and other technology based on steam power of the 19th century and taking place in a recognizable historical period or a fantasy world.

I have always loved science fiction and at last I have an idea for a book series that works and I am totally consumed by! 

Star Train is going to take you on a wild ride! It is future earth in Kansas, USA. After the heartbreaking loss of his space yacht and its pilot, Dallas Applewood starts a summer project with his grandchildren to restore an 1800s steam train engine to its former glory. But the project expands as they transform the train into a space-worthy vessel capable of ferrying tourists from planet to planet. Someone else wants the project to succeed, too, but not for honest purposes!  

I am over 20,000-words into writing this novel; almost a quarter of the way finished. I am in the research phase, reading a book on steam locomotive history and doing various other research. The pictures included in this post I selected to give you an idea of the style of train that I am going to make fly through space. The picture at the top of this post is almost exactly how I picture it... albeit with technological advances attached to it! Expect the first book to be written by end of this summer.

 

Why the dark and the light?

Fantasy fiction has been widely criticized in the Christian community, and I think this is justifiably so. Much of the fantasy published by Christian companies is little more than an attempt to do one of two things: 1) sell to fans of major phenoms such as Harry Potter, or 2) make fantasy friendly to readers who don't care for the genre. I would like to quickly focus your attention on the second point because in the last few years I have found that most would-be-authors are writing something that is either too generic or too watered down.

In writing my stories, especially in creating The Sword Of The Dragon series, I make the good as bright as I can, and the evil as dark as I can. Why? Because in the contrast of these, readers find the power to move outside of the 'gray' moral area and become the heroes and heroines they wish to be. Light shines brightest when seen against a dismal background.

It is my hope that, when reading my books, readers find themselves drawn to Specter, Ilfedo, Oganna, and other heroic characters. It is my hope that readers cringe in the darkness, then thrust it aside with a cry of "I will not be vanquished!"

Which examples of heroes (or heroines) gives you the courage to stand for God?

Expanded storyworlds

Some of the best examples of expanded storyworlds are science fiction series such as Star Trek and Star Wars, as well as fantasies such as Dungeons And Dragons. These series have been expanding from their original storylines for many years. For the purpose of this post, let's focus on one of the best examples of an expanded universe: Star Wars.
Star Wars at my last check has 6 feature films, 4 television season, and over 200 novels. That doesn't even touch video games, book series for kids, guides, etc. This is an impressive record. It tells fans "Star Wars is a classic. Star Wars is here to stay."

The success of The Clone Wars series on Cartoon Network is now bringing in the next generation of young fans to Star Wars. Not only is an expanded universe smart from a business perspective, it is also a whole lot of fun!

As an author, I consider the potential in my stories for expanded universes. My series The Sword Of The Dragon has a lot of expansions in-the-works, and my newest project Star Train has similar potential.
Expandable storyworlds are important to readers and pivotal to establishing a loyal and growing fan base. In my next post I will discuss the expanded universe of my series The Sword Of The Dragon.
What expanded storyworlds do you follow?

Character names--potential often left unexplored

Merlin, Voldemort, Frodo, Captain Nemo, Lancelot, Aslan... when you hear these names they immediately draw you into other worlds. They are distinct in their application to stories we know and love.

There is a trend with some editors at publishing houses that seems to ignore the power of original character names; names that have been invented by the author. In Christian fantasy there is little encouragement to be creative with names. I was pushed a few times to change several of my characters' names in The Sword of the Dragon series, but I think it is essential to creating a story world that people are drawn to and will live on as a classic.

When readers are finished with the third book in my series The Sword of the Dragon, I think they will not be able to hear the names of Specter, Oganna, Cromlin, and Valorian without their minds racing back to The Sword of the Dragon series.

Q: What character names have the power to pull you back to a favorite book or series?

Thoughts on book promotion?

As you all know I focus a lot of my efforts on hand-selling my books. But things are financially very tight right now and so I am trying to focus on other ways of spreading the word to new readers who will enjoy my series.

I am looking for an hourly job at the moment. Once I have secured one, I will look into doing some advertising.

But what primarily interests me is growing my online following. I would love to hear ideas from my fans on how to reach readers by growing my online presence. I know that there are ways to do it, but I'm not sure how.

For certain, I know that I need to exchange my current website (which is flash-based) to an html format. This is especially important due to the popularity of iPads, smartphones, and similar devices. Flash sites do not translate on those devices, and an html site can be optimized for better search results, thus driving more traffic to my website.

If anyone can recommend a good book for online marketing, please do.

I am skilled at sales. Now I need to translate out of my comfort zone and learn how to develop a truly impressive online presence.

"Key Of Living Fire" It has arrived!

Today, at long last, FedEx dropped off my author copies of my third novel! This is good news for all my eager fans. The book has shipped from the publisher's warehouse and will begin hitting stores and online retailers next week. If you have already ordered this book, I know you'll enjoy it! And if you have not: What are you waiting for? (-:

Coming soon! I promise!

I have received a lot of complaints that my third novel isn't out yet. I've heard from a LOT of readers who are impatiently waiting this book's release. I just looked at Amazon and Barnes & Noble; they are saying May 10th is the release date.

So hang on just a little longer... Key Of Living Fire is coming!