Writing update as of June, 2011

This morning I was updating the Highways Writing Group, that I moderate on behalf of e-Quill Publishing, on writing projects and thought to shake them here.

They are:

• IRON FALLS: THE ENEMY WITHIN, completed at 49,240 words. It's been edited by several, and polished by me. Admittedly, am a tad paranoid and thinking if my editing isn't up to scratch, so am looking at professional editors but alas my limited budget would be stretched beyond breaking point and the idea of being in debt again is scaring me more. That's one of the disadvantage of writing, return can be slow.
• IRON FALLS: PUPPETS ON A STRING, only a week old and sitting at 9,700 words. It's a direct sequel to the above.
• IRON FALLS: REBIRTH, early draft mode at 920 words. Hoping this one will be focusing on Kevin Yamakawa and Emilio Heerdan.
• IRON FALLS: NOBLE ACT, yet another draft at 1,700 words, hopefully end the whole Bukowski and Yamakawa angle.
• IRON FALLS: TRANSFER POINT, a draft at 24,900 words. Set some time after, maybe a year or two after the above.
• THIRTEENTH'S LUCK, an absolute draft at 54,100 words. It's something I've been doodling on and off for ages now. Want this to be a full on military science fiction, space opera.
• RUMOURS, BARGAINS AND LIES, is at 18,100 and semi complete. 
  

Eeek.

And they're the ones I actually know about.

UPDATE - Iron Falls: The Enemy Within

I'm not going to reveal the cover just yet, though there are subtle clues present on my blog title and on my own website. But, the closer we get to the publishing date I'll let you all know. As to what the story's about, here's a clue: Random attacks against authorities occur throughout southern Africa, from Cohara Bassa to the safety zones in South Africa. Thrust into it all are two men; one the son of a Marine Corps general, and the other an uncle who is part of a movement to restore Afrikaner supremacy over a nation nearing confederation into a continental union. Both are manipulated by those behind the scenes, on a direct path to Iron Falls. November, 2100. Shock waves follow in the announced intentions of South Africa becoming incorporated into a neighboring continental union. Amid a media frenzy and general panic, as the country has managed to gain more displaced persons due to never recovering from the Third World War, the Afrikaner Freedom Front is determined to put a stop to this, and sends Emilio Heerdan out to test the resilience of emergency services throughout South Africa and neighboring Mozambique. Sergeant First Class Gene Bukowski, a U.S. Army Special Warfare operator, and his team are uprooted from a mission in Mali when Heerdan's group kidnap the daughter of the United Nations Energy Secretary. Yet his mission proves more dangerous than his team can handle. Bukowski is therefore forced to seek aid against the Afrikaner's sinister plot. Aid that comes at a steep price. It has a little of everything, and a lot of action.   I would also like to add however that the story isn't for the faint of heart, as I have some real racist and revengeful characters as some of the support cast. Please note that their views are not my views. More once I know more.

Project Lucky 13: The Location

Introduction

Locations are generally the backdrop where the story is set in, the "stage" if you like. For Project Lucky 13, I have opted for the red planet. Yes, I know that Mars seems to be the de facto other planet where writers set their science fiction stories on. While I'm not in the same league as Ben Bova, Kim Stanley Robinson and Gregory Benford (amongst others), I've had a fascination with Mars and had always wanted to write a bunch of stories centering on people living on Mars.

Background

So, let's look at the basics:

Mars is the fourth planet in our Solar System, and named after the Roman god of war. It's "Red Planet" nicknamed is derived from the iron oxide that is prevalent on its surface, which gives it a reddish appearance. Accordingly, it is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the volcanoes, valleys, deserts, and polar ice caps of Earth. The rotational period and seasonal cycles of Mars are likewise similar to those of Earth, as is the tilt that produces the seasons.

Until the first unmanned flyby of Mars occurring in 1965, there has been speculation about the presence of war, and even life. But follow on missions suggested that Mars once had large-scale water coverage on its surface, while small geyser-like water flows may have occurred during the past decade. Of course, recent unmanned exploration of the red planet, as early as 2005, radar data revealed the presence of large quantities of water ice at the poles, and at mid-latitudes.

Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly shaped. These may be captured asteroids, similar to 5261 Eureka, a Martian Trojan asteroid. Mars is currently host to three functional orbiting spacecraft:

Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. On the surface are the two Mars Exploration Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) and several inert landers and rovers, both successful and unsuccessful. The Phoenix lander completed its mission on the surface in 2008. Observations by NASA's now-defunct Mars Global Surveyor show evidence that parts of the southern polar ice cap have been receding. (quoted from Wikipedia)

I think one of the reasons why many a writer chose Mars as a setting is because it can easily be seen from Earth with the naked eye. Its apparent magnitude reaches −3.0, a brightness surpassed only by Venus, the Moon, and the Sun. And let's face it, Mars has some pretty impressive landscape to boot. It has Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain within the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon. The smooth Borealis basin in the northern hemisphere covers 40% of the planet and may be a giant impact feature. It's practically inviting itself to be used as a setting.

In The Project

So, how does this fit Project Lucky 13, you ask?

Easy.

A large chunk of the story will revolve in and around Valles Marineris, the longest stretch of canyons and labyrinths. It is roughly the same length as the continental United States, and has a number of craters and chasms. It and the Noctus Labyrinthus are notable locations within a fictional colonial territory I named Nueva Venezuela.

Nueva Venezuela and Karamchand

While a lot of it's still sketchy to say the least, and I need to create a more detailed fictional history for both, both colonial territories started of independent of each other. Karamchand, which centers around Olympus Mons and the Tharsis Bulge, started predominantly of as a collaborative project between the Indian government and several corporations in the 2050s. In turn, Nueva Venezuela started of as a dream of the Venezuelan mission commander that landed on the red planet in 2047. It eventually grew with continued financial backing from European, Latin League and NorSec interests.

By the time the story starts in 2202 and 2206, both territories are self governing extensions of NorSec. Naturally, there are other colonial territories controlled by other Earth-based power blocs and administered by a U.N. agency. Hopefully, I'll enlighten you on them in a follow up post.