DONE

I finished editing tonight. I changed a lot less than I expected, mostly just cleaning up awkward sentences and fixing unclear parts. I think it stands as it is, perhaps a bit silly and uncomplicated at times, but hopefully an enjoyable read.

I look forward to seeing what the real-life inspiration for the main character has to say about it!

I happily say goodbye to Rob and Sera, though there is still a bit of cover work and final editing to do to get the book actually into print. I need another late night, perhaps, and then I'll be good to go.
Some final silly artwork will likely make its way into the back of the book, too.

More drama

Knocked out another chapter and a half of Earthbound. I must say, while not a lot happens, there is a lot of arguing and consideration. Part of that is because I'm doing several scenes from the viewpoints of both characters, or overlapping scenes at least. Although, when I think about it, the competition, stuff like Twilight, doesn't have a lot of action and stuff happening, either. It's just the fluctuating of feelings back and forth as they all try to decide what they really want to do...

Earthbound takes a more adult look at it, namely because the characters are older than the ages or approximate age of appearance of the undead characters in Twilight. It's written for high school and college age readers, as well, rather than tweens.

I must say, more than anything else I've written in awhile, this is enjoyable. Shadowcaster, the first volume of the sworn lands, was a difficult write. I had things I wanted to do, but I just couldn't get into the mindset of Marcus as easily as I can with Rob Dunn.

I hope the real Rob Dunn, the basis for the character, enjoys all I'm doing with the book.

Ongoing

I'm still waiting on my co-writer for IR2, so I put out another chapter of Earthbound. Things are moving on dramatically, and the openings for more action and romance are rapidly approaching. Also, with a tangle with the law, things get more dangerous for Rob and Sera.

I'll post more later this week with the next chapter. For now, check it out!

Earthbound - Something Different

When writing Earthbound, I constantly have to put myself in the mind of someone not of our world. If an intelligent young woman from a place with technology probably around the Roman Empire level arrived in modern America, how would she cope? I think most intelligent people would pick up on some things very quick, even if they didn't understand the technology behind them.

Refrigerators, for example, shouldn't be that hard. They're cold. They hold food. Why does it work or how? Who cares. They keep food fresh.

Similarly, sinks and bathrooms shouldn't be too hard.

Technology devices like cell phones - good luck. Other than a few rote commands like pressing #2 and quickdialing, it would take a lot of practice to learn.

Of course, this is all supposing they could speak our language (which in Earthbound Sera can).

Anyway, I'm having fun exploring the mundane stuff about a college kid's everyday life from the viewpoint of an alien girl. Albeit, she's a hot blonde, but still an alien.

Serafina & Robert

Inspired by all the teen drama/romance/fantasy out there, I'm writing earthbound, a story about a girl that seems to be an angel that has come from another world to escape her life there. Robert, a young guy who just wants to finish school so he can start his real life, happens to rescue her from a burning crater in the woods when she falls to earth near where he was driving. So starts a strange chapter in Rob's life.

The character of Robert is actually named and based off of one of my real life friends, Rob Dunn. He found the whole premise hilarious and exciting, and said I could do whatever I wanted, so long as I didn't make his fictional counterpart 'have a small weiner.' So far, that hasn't happened, so he seems pretty supportive.

This actually isn't my first time writing drama. I wrote a novella several years ago called 'The Keys to Soul' - a drama about a teenage girl that falls for an older piano player. I also wrote a more lighthearted comedy novella called 'Imagine That' - a story about a teenage boy who has no control over his mouth and finds his secrets and thoughts are actually involuntarily spoken aloud for everyone to hear until he loses his virginity (that's the real storyline, honestly). There are a couple others, too, but not necessarily so long.

This is my first real attempt at modern fantasy/sci-fi set in our world. It might not rival twilight or other popular series, but give it a read and see. I'll post some samples next time around. If you're curious about those other stories, they're available on my website. Check the links beside the post.