Big Wheels Turning

After losing some time to work and other real-life related projects, things are once again humming on Book 09. This is going so much more smoothly than Book 08. Book 08 involved a whole lot of rip-it-up, start-again, but Book 09 is just so straightforward:

1. Here's the task.
2. Here's how they carry out the task.
3. Here's a complication.
4. Here's how they deal with the complication.

One thing that has shifted is I originally thought Book 09 was going to be a Trajan Lear book, with him as the major focus of one of the story-lines. But poor Trajan is stranded in a sandstorm, and the one calling the shots is Anaconda Taurus-Rook. Now, she is the central character of the main storyline. Good for her.

Creep, Spaceships, and Long Range Planning

Book 09 is going to be at least 15 Chapters instead of the original 12. Why? Because I think one of the few things I do quite well (based on emails) is getting into the color and texture of the different worlds Pegasus visits. As I was writing some of the scenes in Book 09, it just nagged at me that there was more going on and I was short-changing the story by not getting deeper into it. So, the new chapters will deal more with the challenges the crew faces in evacuating a planet, in providing more color and texture about life on that planet, and more time to explore Keeler's past-life on Sapphire, which is the other part of the story.

As for ships, I'll be re-working the ships page on the main website to add new designs and perspectives.

Finally, I've had an idea of how Book 12 will wrap up the series for years, and now I'm starting to question it. The resolution would have had quite a bit to do with Tarmigans, their origin, and their relationship to humanity. Now, I'm tempted to alter the focus of the story-line. Partly, it's a reaction to all the anti-war propaganda that permeates our culture. Even to the point where those who recognize the occasional necessity of a just war will defensively bleat that "No one is actually pro-war." Out of sheer contrariness, I am tempted to put pro-war themes into Book 12. Not 'War is awesome,' or anything, but more in the spirit of 'sometimes war works.' Put the characters in a position where they can choose between a long, drawn-out struggle or a quick decisive battle, let them argue the merits and come out on the side of the decisive battle. It's an idea that is seldom explored in literature, and I like to do things differently.