What's Next? Special Editions

Well, I took a diversion down a different road with my Cylon War propaganda art, but what's after that?

I've mentioned it before, but I'll be diving into special editions of both Lords of Kobol and Colonies of Kobol.  Want details?  Here we go:

This will be all five books, plus about ten deleted chapters primarily from Book One.  I will provide a commentary (a la a director's commentary on a DVD or Blu-ray) plus images and such I used "behind-the-scenes" in the making of the book.  (A significant portion of which, I'm sure, are available in this blog's archives right now.)  At the moment, I'm still considering the best way to incorporate the commentary, and I'm leaning toward a link at the end of each chapter that will take the reader to the end of the book where the commentary in its entirety will reside.  I think that's better than creating a lengthy footnote at the end of each chapter ... that would make it hard to just read the damn book because you'd have to scroll or swipe past multiple paragraphs of me rambling on about why I made certain choices or a pic of a Kobollian Cylon.

Tentative release date?  

December 8, 2023

Why?  That's the twentieth anniversary of the Battlestar Galactica miniseries and its first airing on TV.

This will be all three volumes (sixteen books) in one.  No deleted chapters to speak of, but there will be at least one additional chapter that wasn't ready for initial release.  There will also be a healthy amount of other pics and info, "behind-the-scenes" talk, and so on.  I'm also considering the "link at the end of each chapter" thing to take readers to my commentary.

The BIG difference here, however, is that I am leaning toward putting everything* in chronological order.  Because I kept everything contained to the colony of focus, different portions of the three volumes happened at different times, occasionally even intermingling.  Here I will be lining just about everything up 1, 2, 3, so that it all fits.

* - There will be exceptions.  Most notably, Book Sixteen: Earth.  Without getting spoilery, I don't want to disrupt the narrative flow of that book by splitting things apart chronologically.  I don't think it would work or have the same impact.

Without the individual books there to keep everything straight, how will the reader know (beyond context) that this chapter takes place on Virgon, for example?  At this point, I am leaning toward changing the chapter headings to something like this:

XXV
EDGAR
1,034 Years After Colonization
(Virgon)

At a glance, you can see exactly when and where the story is.

Tentative release date?

March 20, 2024

Why?  That's the fifteenth anniversary of the broadcast of "Daybreak, Part II," the finale of Battlestar Galactica.  

And after that?  I will truly be done with the Battlestar Galactica universe.  (Maybe.)

Thanks for reading.

NEW: "Cylon War" Propaganda Posters and "Kobol Phoenix" for sale!

I made a Cylon War propaganda poster for Colonies of Kobol - Volume Three ... and I liked it quite a bit.  So I decided to make more.  I've opened a shop on Etsy to sell posters, along with shirts, etc., with the "Kobol Phoenix" that has been my avatar for a decade now.

Let's see what's what ...

Kobol Phoenix

Just the plain Kobollian Eagle/Phoenix that I've used on my book covers for years.  It's simple and I love it.

• Premium t-shirt (six colors available)
• Unisex t-shirt (four colors available)
• Unisex t-shirt with smaller symbol (fourteen colors available)
• Unisex premium sweatshirt
• iPhone cases (multiple models available)
• Samsung phone cases (multiple models available)

(Coffee mug coming soon; I want to order a prototype first to make sure it looks right.)

Printful (which makes the items you order through Etsy) has LOADS of different things onto which I can put the Phoenix symbol or any of the following posters.  Check out the site here and let me know if you want a puzzle, blanket, mouse pad, or whatever.  I'm happy to create a listing for you.

On to the posters.  They come on high-quality matte paper.  I've got a couple already and they are beautiful.  Here are the available sizes: 8"x10", 10"x10", 12"x12", 12"x16", 12"x18", 14"x14", 16"x16", 16"x20", 18"x18", 18"x24", and 24"x36".  Because of the different sizes, I had to recompose each of the posters so they would look good in different ratios.

"Put It On Paper!"

This is the one that appears in Volume Three and, obviously, it's the first one I made.  

• Poster
• Notebook (seemed logical)

"Secure That Network!"

I figure IT people would like this one.

• Poster

"It's Watching You"

When I saw this WWII propaganda poster, I knew I needed to try and replicate it.  At a glance, one might think I just replaced the German with the Cylon and changed the text, but no.  This is a "from scratch" recreation.  Probably my favorite of all the ones I've made.

• Poster
• 50"x60" blanket ('cause why not)

"Bullets, Battlestars, Bombs"

Another replication, this one's based on a Canadian WWII poster.  I had to include a toaster and a Graystone-brand Holoband.

• Poster

"Don't Cut Corners"

I thought fans would get a kick out of this one.

• Poster

"The Gods Are With Us"

A simple one, I'm sure it'll make people do a double-take because that clearly was a Bible before I got it in Photoshop.  The Caprican Reformed Temple was a creation of mine in Colonies of Kobol ... a sort of "Protestant" split from the Holy Church of Virgon, their overlords at the time, and thus was the Caprican Reformation viewed as a political movement.

• Poster

"Battlestar Service"

It wasn't easy to find a bunch of saluting silhouettes, but I did.  Not a thousand, though.  Yes, that's the Blood & Chrome version of Galactica.

• Poster

"Fly High"

Fun one.  I got to include a Mark I, a Mark II, and a Mark III.  (Yes, that's Kara.  Cameo appearance.)

• Poster

"You Brought It Down"

Another replication; here's the original.  

• Poster

"Grow Your Own Food"

This went through many permutations, including an attempt to draw limbs on various vegetables so they could hold rifles.  Never could get it to work.

• Poster

"Attack! Attack! Attack!"

This one's inspired by a WWII poster, too.  Fun to include all manner of vehicles, especially the "Warhawk" Viper propeller plane and the jet.

• Poster

"Join or Die"

This one was inspired by a famous American Revolution political cartoon.  In Colonies of Kobol, after the committee came up with the Articles of Colonization, the legislatures of the colonies had to ratify them before they could go into effect and they could become the United Colonies of Kobol (just like in the US before the Constitution went into effect).

• Poster

"Keep Calm and Battle Star"

I don't posit that this was actually around  on the Colonies during the Cylon War like I might for the above, but this was a fun one.  It is obviously based on perhaps the most famous WWII propaganda poster.

• Poster in red
• Poster in blue

"So Say We All"

Uses the "Keep Calm" font and, since "SSWA" is essentially a religious phrase, I put the plain Kobol Phoenix up top instead of the Colonial Seal.

• Poster in red
• Poster in blue

That's all for now.  Please, order and enjoy and spread the word.  Reviews, as always, help.  And again, if there's another product at Printful on which you'd like to have the Phoenix or one of the posters, check their site and let me know.

Thanks.