As noted previously, the original title for what became Castaway Resolution was Castaway Peril, and dealing with hard-edged science is always a danger. The models and sites I had accessed gave me a particular view of what would happen towards the end -- a view that turned out to be quite wrong and in need of correction.
But it took several chapters before even my beta readers were able to recognize it and start helping me figure out where I was going wrong....
2021-09-08 00:37:54 +0000 UTC
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Anchorcon (https://www.anchorcomicon.com/) is a small Comicon in the resort village of Clayton, NY. They kindly offered to pay for us to come and stay there, so how could we turn that down?
I'll be recording and putting up the final rewards for this month (Read Me Something) next week, along with -- I hope -- finishing the reward shipping for the Kickstarter. (Next up, a new Kickstarter for The Apocalypse Maiden...
2021-08-19 11:44:00 +0000 UTC
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In Castaway Resolution (originally titled Castaway Peril), the two groups of castaways on Lincoln find themselves facing a terrible final danger: surviving the impact of a dinosaur-killer asteroid on their new homeworld, long enough for an approaching spaceship to effect a rescue.
This is an event that is, quite literally, earthshakingly huge, beyond easy grasping in any reasonable sense. I work hard in the Castaway and Boundary series to get the science right, b...
2021-08-06 00:53:33 +0000 UTC
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Yeah, you read that right.
I have been a part of many fandoms over the years, with some of the most enduring being general SF and anime fandom. This has of course led to various works of fan fiction, ranging from the million-plus words of Saint Seiya/Samurai Troopers/Dragonball fanfic written with my wife to little drabbles like _Doc Smith Fashion_, a few ancient Star Trek and Marvel fics, and others.
In this case, I was on an anime discussion group in which the series G...
2021-07-07 00:35:04 +0000 UTC
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... the audio for the Read Me Something rewards recorded; I think I can post them over my vacation, which starts this weekend.
Another reminder -- help push Shadows of Hyperion if you can! (link https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Hyperion-Ryk-Spoor-ebook/dp/B095PTXJV8 )
Thanks for all your support!
2021-06-24 00:41:39 +0000 UTC
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There's nothing you can do to help me more than letting people know about Shadows of Hyperion -- as a new book, and part of a series. The link for Shadows is:
https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Hyperion-Ryk-Spoor-ebook/dp/B095PTXJV8
If someone says "but that's...
2021-06-07 12:09:33 +0000 UTC
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As with many books, Grand Central Arena went through some changes. The largest obvious change was that the original draft starts with the Holy Grail about ready for launch, while the final version introduces us to all the crewmembers before we get to the action. In some ways, I regret the change, because it really, really slows down the start of the book -- but without it, we have much less connection to the characters.
Still, that original beginning still exis...
2021-06-04 00:33:26 +0000 UTC
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Announcement: Shadows of Hyperion is now up!
Request: Please spread that link (https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Hyperion-Ryk-Spoor-ebook/dp/B095PTXJV8 ) everywhere you can! Tell people about the Arenaverse! It won't cost you any more, but it might help...
2021-05-27 10:38:02 +0000 UTC
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Most books have components that have been cut from them, and mine are no exception. Often the cuts are material that turned out to be irrelevant, and has no effect on the book once cut.
This chapter's a bit different, in that the event shown here DID happen, and is even referred to in a couple of places in Boundary and Threshold. It had a bit too much exposition in it, however, and for that and a few other reasons it was cut.
Still, I kinda...
2021-05-16 18:38:56 +0000 UTC
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... to some new patrons who've come on board in the past few weeks. I hope you'll enjoy what I post (or have posted, since new patrons get access to all the old stuff), and as always, please feel free to ping me with any suggestions or requests!
2021-04-25 18:43:50 +0000 UTC
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And we continue this look at one of my books in its nascent form, from about thirty years ago (and about twenty years or so before its final version was written).
This chapter is a bit longer, and just as clumsy, including several sections from different points of view. I'll make a few more comments after the chapter.
-----
...
2021-04-09 02:11:40 +0000 UTC
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The most positive thing I can say about this early draft is that it MOVED. Three chapters in and we're getting to the event that sets everything else in motion.
Otherwise, this is an example of my old writing that really makes me wince, for multiple reasons you'll probably see as you read it. I'll comment a bit more afterward.
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&...
2021-03-07 17:48:13 +0000 UTC
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Continuing our look at the earliest version of the story that became Phoenix Rising -- let's see the first appearance of our villain!
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The figure sat in shadow, long fingers caressing the packet
of Cards. The single lightglobe, hanging over the doorway, did not
illumine the high-backed chair or its occupant; in fact, it seemed
almost that the light avoided the lone figure.
The door ...
2021-02-08 21:13:05 +0000 UTC
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... posted the Read Me Something rewards for the month. I couldn't record the fourth chapter I normally would -- life interfered and then COVID doubled down for life. Hopefully I'll recover and be able to do 5 chapters next month and get us back on track.
2021-01-30 23:12:37 +0000 UTC
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... I have tested positive for COVID-19. Hopefully this will not have a huge effect on my work, but I am pretty much hammered right now.
2021-01-26 01:31:37 +0000 UTC
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To my great surprise, this week I discovered a file that has the ORIGINAL draft of Phoenix Rising -- then, of course, called Fall of Saints -- in it.
This is a story written in 1991, almost thirty years ago. It's clumsy in a lot of ways, and I'm VERY glad that it wasn't published back then -- the modern version is better in every way.
But it's still amusing to look at this and see the differences. In this original draft, we start without a prologue, simply with the aft...
2021-01-10 20:03:34 +0000 UTC
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... over the next few weeks I'm making _Polychrome_ publicly accessible. It's been over a year since I completed reading that novel, and far far longer since I started. Since there's no audiobook of it in existence, this will sort of make up for it. I posted the first prologue before, but now we're moving forward with it.
Here we go: Polychrome, both prologues and the first two chapters!
Prologue 1:
2021-01-02 05:05:39 +0000 UTC
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Originally, I started Kyri's story much earlier -- gave a glimpse of her family before disasters started in on them. Eventually I realized this slowed the book down, and started trimming and trimming until we ended up with the final version -- her parents several years dead and Rion just having achieved the rank of Justiciar.
But that was far in the future with this draft. So, alas, was my grasp of writing that avoided clumsiness and cliche. Zarathan was less clear in my writing than in...
2020-12-02 01:43:18 +0000 UTC
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My "Read Me Something" reward series -- the highest reward tier -- has been ongoing ever since the beginning of the Patreon, starting nearly four years ago and now encompassing three books.
The first of those books, my Oz-based novel Polychrome, I finished reading almost a year ago. It's time to make this material available for anyone interested, especially since Polychrome has no audiobook available.
Forgive the early variability of these recordings; I was learning ho...
2020-11-22 20:35:24 +0000 UTC
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There are often a lot of changes between the beginning of a novel or series and its final form. The next few posts here will be looking at the changes between the start of the Balanced Sword series and the final version.
The original title of Phoenix Rising was Fall of Saints, with the second volume intended to be titled Demon, Dragon, Phoenix, Toad and the last Promise of the Dying God. The "Justiciars" were called "Saints" in the original, and...
2020-11-11 01:11:58 +0000 UTC
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... their patronage: let me know why, so I know if it's "I can't afford this now" or if it's "I don't like the way Patreon's doing X" or if it's something that I am failing to do as a person running a Patreon.
I totally understand that people can end up deciding even small amounts per month are not something they can afford. I'm not going to argue with anyone reducing or quitting; it's your money and your time.
I just want to KNOW why, so I can keep track of...
2020-10-29 14:47:11 +0000 UTC
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My computer is sorta-working (needs to have a separate keyboard and mouse plugged in) but that's good enough for now, so I get to do updates!
The first story set on Zarathan, my main epic fantasy world, was the Balanced Sword trilogy (Phoenix Rising, Phoenix in Shadow,, and Phoenix Ascendant. I have finished the second, the dualogy called Godswar (The Mask of Ares and The Spear of Athena), and I'm currently working on The Spirit Warriors (tentative ti...
2020-10-11 16:33:00 +0000 UTC
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... and without internet (I'm borrowing this access for a minute). Once that's restored I'll be able to start posting rewards!
2020-10-09 12:36:13 +0000 UTC
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... that I welcome any requests or suggestions for appropriate reward material. If there's stuff you're not seeing that you want to see, don't hesitate to let me know!
2020-10-06 13:16:11 +0000 UTC
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... I have asked Patreon about the possibility of taking any taxation and similar fees to myself.
Unfortunately, the laws surrounding taxation apparently require that the individual be the one charged, so I can't do that.
I could, of course, modify the "categories" into which I put the various rewards, but I dont know which would be proper AND which would result in no taxes.
If I can, I will do so, since I don't want any of you charged more than you actuall...
2020-09-27 20:40:10 +0000 UTC
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I've been writing in the universe that includes Jason Wood, Demons of the Past, Phoenix, and others for a very long time. Besides figuring out the past, I've also outlined the future of that universe to a considerable extent.
There's one set of stories I have fairly clearly in mind which I may write, eventually, and that take place in the far future of that universe -- I think roughly 500-1000 years after Jason's era. They connect to events that go back that far and even to things...
2020-09-08 23:59:18 +0000 UTC
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... to all of you for supporting me. In my current financial state, this isn't just paying for things like covers, it's sometimes paying for things like power bills. I try to keep most of it for my writing career, but in any case it always makes a huge difference.
Thank you.
And as always, if you have any requests or suggestions, please don't hesitate to tell me!
2020-09-08 23:34:29 +0000 UTC
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One of the great looming mysteries/background events of the Arenaverse is Hyperion -- the secret project that created Marc C. DuQuesne and his friends Oasis, Wu Kung, and others, a cosmic-scale effort to create the heroes of a thousand fictional worlds that succeeded in a terrible and great fashion, and collapsed in Wagnerian tragedy. It is one of the major influences on the plot of Grand Central Arena and sequels, with the current in-progress sequel even being titled Shadows of ...
2020-08-07 00:39:18 +0000 UTC
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This series of posts covers stories for which I have a general idea or even a fairly detailed outline, but for one or more of several reasons I am unsure whether I should or can write it.
For this month, it is the story of The Wanderer.
Those who have read the Balanced Sword trilogy (Phoenix Rising, Phoenix in Shadow, and Phoenix Ascendant) are familiar with the Wanderer to at least a small extent, and if you've read Godswar: The Mask o...
2020-07-08 01:11:21 +0000 UTC
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... not only will I be having a Virtual Reading/Release Party for GODSWAR: The Mask of Ares, but also host Joshua Marpet promises an SF trivia quiz with prizes! Join us on Tuesday night here!
2020-06-14 16:28:05 +0000 UTC
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