Four* Stories for "One Day in a Very Long Dominion War"

( * Two were selected.)

First off, download the whole book from Tranquility Press right here for free. 

Rewind with me to August of '25.  I was unemployed and the job search was going ... swell.  Just swell.  OK, it was not going swell.  Whatever.  I was ruminating on an idea or three for my next creative endeavors when I happened across a post by Tranquility Press on BSky.  They were accepting submissions for a Dominion War writing project.  The deadline was just a few days away.

The writing prompt was simple but thought-provoking.  One day in the middle of the Dominion War.  Not focusing on the major characters or anything ... just a day in the life.  Of anyone.

I think I went for a walk in the neighborhood and pretty quickly had an idea for and worked out the basics of my first story, "Loading Torpedoes," by the time I got home.

(You can read "Loading Torpedoes" below.)

I banged it out quickly.  Just a few hours for the first pass and then another pass or three in the following days.  I think it turned out well. 

As I wrote "Torpedoes," I had an idea for another story.  An interrogation of a Vorta series of clones by a Romulan operative who was tired of the whole thing.  Obviously, that became "Jolan Tru All Over Again."  I incorporated some Romulan lore created for Picard and threw in references to several events in Deep Space Nine's history around that time ... it's a fun story of two professionals trying to get at truths the other doesn't want to reveal.  Time is too short, of course, for progress to be made.  Writing this one took a bit longer as I kept wanting to adjust the dialogue, make it funnier here, hint at something else there ... Reading it in its final form made me want another pass, but that's OK.

(I might have caught the mistake I made ... did you spot it?) 

Art by Radinka Daynara

At some point while writing "Jolan Tru," I had another idea.  Something with Klingons.  I looked at a map of the Galaxy used on the series and spotted a little spot inside the Empire but near Federation space, so I had the thought that a colony there could be blended ... humans and Klingons together.  Far from the war in the Beta Quadrant but the war wasn't far from their minds.  That, of course, became "naD tetlh."

Art by Mika Kurzmann-Abrams

Like "Torpedoes," writing this one went very quickly.  The characters were fully formed in my head for whatever reason.  It was almost like I only had to transcribe what happened and what they said.  When the first pass was done, it was just about done-done.  Subsequent passes only tidied things up, made new word choices, and the like.  When it was done, it was immediately my favorite.

While writing that, I had the thought that I should do something with the "bad guys."  And I had a germ of an idea: a disgraced Jem'Hadar unit trying to regain their status, trying to regain their lives as only victory could.  It took another day, but I wrote "To Be the First."  A slight story, to be sure, intended as mostly an action piece with the Jem'Hadar we follow trying to survive a harsh planet and win the favor of the Founders.

With four stories now complete, I sent them off to Tranquility ... only to then see that they had extended the deadline.  Oh well.  A few months later, I got the good news that two had been selected.  I think they made the right choices.

To this day, I don't know what creative alchemy was going on and how I was able to crank out four complete tales in so short a span of time.  I wish I could bottle it and partake of it now and then.

Thanks to the editorial people and judges at Tranquility Press who chose my stories.  Thanks also to the two artists who depicted my characters (as seen above).  It's been fun. 

So, what are we writing about next?

(To read "Loading Torpedoes" and "To Be the First," click the JUMP)

"CAPRICA": Available now!

 

From the author of the acclaimed Lords of Kobol and Colonies of Kobol series ... 

In 2010, the Battlestar Galactica prequel series, Caprica, debuted and was canceled. We saw "The Shape of Things to Come," but what happened next? 

In CAPRICA, read the rest of the story. Follow the Graystones as they try to build a body for Zoe. Follow the Adamas as Joseph rebuilds his life and falls in deeper with the Ha'la'tha. Follow the Cylons as they spread throughout colonial society and are radicalized by the religious teachings of Sister Clarice Willow. And then it happens: revolution. 

The Cylon War ensnares billions. As the colonies struggle to unite in the face of this dire threat, the Graystones and Adamas are torn apart. The Messengers of The One True God work behind the scenes to ensure the survival of the species. And Zoe must make a choice: fight to protect humanity or fight on behalf of her "children," the Cylons? 

There is a Plan and questions will be answered. 

(Note: this book was previously published as part of Colonies of Kobol.)

Get it for FREE here:

Smashwords
Apple Books
Barnes & Noble
Everand
Kobo


In other big news, since it's my birthday, I'm giving away stuff.  My scifi/horror ebooks are now FREE.

Read all about it here.

Thanks for reading.

EVERYTHING* IS FREE!

 

 

To celebrate my 50th birthday, I'm giving away my books.

Yes, Lords of Kobol and Colonies of Kobol are free (as is Caprica), but now my other scifi/horror ebooks are, too.  No longer will you have to shell out the princely sum of 99¢ to read these monoliths of modern literature.

DISPLACED: A Baltimore police officer awakens in his car, sitting atop a chunk of road in the middle of a cornfield. For the next several hours, he fights his way through strange creatures, meets up with odd companions and comes under siege by terrifying beasts. Displaced is an action-packed, sci-fi mystery that will keep you turning the page until the very end.  

DIARY OF A SECOND LIFE: Three hundred years after the end of the world as we know it, young Wess Marin feels compelled to leave his insular community and strike out in hopeful desperation on his own. He aims to stop the menace that still ravages mankind, but on his way, he will encounter terror, both from the living and the dead. Wess finds a gleaming city, but will they help him realize his goal?

8 DAYS: Imagine the end of the world is coming in eight days. What will you do in the time left to you? Now, imagine that the world doesn't end after all. How do you feel about what you've done? Follow the stories of several people and the world as they tackle these questions in the near-apocalypse novel 8 Days.

THE ART OF DEATH: An evil art museum curator has found a Babylonian artifact and performs a ceremony in the light of a Blood Moon to gain eternal life. He needs sacrifices, lots of sacrifices, and he gathers monsters from the world's folklore to do his bidding. Follow his victims as they fight for their lives in one hellish night at the museum. Vampires, werewolves, mummies, and more await you in The Art of Death!

Check out the Scifi/Horror tab on my website for links!  Enjoy!  And be sure you leave a glowing review, too!

* - Not everything is free.  My sexy adult books are not.  Neither are my shirts and posters and stuff on Etsy.  But the other books are.  Feel free to wish me a happy birthday by buying a poster or something.

"CAPRICA" FAQrica! plus an EXCERPT

 

 

Everything You Want/Need to Know about CAPRICA (the book) ...

"Is this fan fiction?"

Yes.  I wasn't paid by Universal to write this therefore I am not charging you to read it.  It's free.

"So did you just pull the story out of your ass or what?"

That's a little harsh, but actually, no.  I didn't.  The fansite Caprica Times published an interview with the last showrunner, Kevin Murphy, after the series was cancelled.  In it, he explained that season two would pick up five years after season one (where we see them in the finale's montage) and feature occasional flashbacks to show how they got there.  Now, I didn't feel like I could do that in my writing because constant flashbacks would get annoying/confusing, but I felt like I could tell a more linear story, showing the five years leading up to the "Shape of Things to Come" montage and then beyond.  A few story beats were also revealed by Murphy, but I won't be divulging those here as they're basically spoilers for the book.  To put it succinctly, I pretended like I was a one-man writer's room for season two and three of the show and Murphy's comments were my instructions.  (Anything that falls outside of his instructions, I guess, does qualify as "pulling it out of my ass.")

"Do I need to have watched Caprica to enjoy this?"

Are you serious?  Yes.  You should watch Caprica.  There are some references and story points that will only make sense if you've seen the show.  I wrote it right after a binge of the series, so I'm sure it'll read well after a binge, too.

"What about Galactica?"

Hmm.  Probably not.  You're OK there.  It'll be enhanced by having watched it, though, I'm sure.

"What about Blood & Chrome?"

You are thorough; I'll say that for you.  "Need to," no.  If you saw it once, that's enough.

And I'll stop you now.  No, you do not need to have watched The Plan before reading this, either. 

"OK, smart guy.  What about Deadlock?  Should I have played the video game Deadlock?

Huh.  You got me.   No, you don't have to have played Deadlock.  A few ships get their names and designs from the game, but no storylines or characters.  The base game starts in year five of the Cylon War and this book only covers the first few years of the war.  There's no real crossover.

 "Maps?  Where did you get these maps?"

I made them.  The "stellar" maps are based on the QMX map released a decade or so ago, which was based on a writer's room document by Bob Harris, Kevin Grazier, and Jane Espenson.  A lot of tidbits about the various colonies come from that document and I used them in writing Caprica and Colonies of Kobol.  The map of Caprica itself is based on the very tiny bit of land visible on the QMX map and a couple of shots from the show.

"Wait a minute ... Colonies of Kobol?  This book isn't really 'new,' is it?"

No, not really.  CoK is an enormous book (over 2,000 pages in Word) so I'm sure that's daunting to potential readers.  Plus, some people might not care about rando characters centuries before the TV shows on other worlds.  There is a hunger for more Caprica, however, so releasing just that portion of CoK made sense to me.  Caprica fans will get a taste of what might have been, and maybe they'll want to try out the rest of my books.

There are a couple of new pages, however.  You can read those after the JUMP.

"CAPRICA": coming June 9!

To celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the TV series Caprica, on Monday, June 9, I'll be publishing this:

 

I'll be clear right up front: this isn't a new* book.  If you've read Colonies of Kobol (Special Edition, preferably), you've already read this.  This is what was originally published as Book Thirteen in Volume Three.

"So why publish it separately?"  Well, to ensnare new readers.  Colonies of Kobol is huge so many people didn't give it a chance.  Or maybe they just weren't interested in some guy's unofficial made-up history to a twenty-year-old TV show.  (I don't take it personally.)  If, however, it were more inextricably tied to a TV show ... like Caprica ... maybe people would give it a shot.  And, if they liked it, maybe they'll back up and read Lords of Kobol or Colonies of Kobol.

Plus, I see people posting all the time about Caprica, so this might scratch that itch for many.

There's more news coming on June 9, but I'll save it for later.  Thanks for reading.

* - There is one part of Caprica that is new, but I'll post it on the blog for everyone to see when we get closer to the date.

"Colonies of Kobol - Collection: Special Edition" - DOWNLOAD NOW

 

Visit the sixteen Colonies of Kobol in a single volume ...

Two thousand years before the Cylons destroyed the Twelve Colonies and the Battlestar Galactica led a ragtag fleet to Earth, the Lords of Kobol fell and mankind fled for the Colonies.

See the settling of the first colony on Gemenon.  Behold the destruction of Earth and the flight of the Final Five.  Witness the rise of empires on Virgon and Leonis and the thousand-year-war waged across the plains of Tauron, the seas of Picon, and the mountains of Sagittaron.  Visit the jungles of Libran and Scorpia, the mines of Canceron, the farms of Aerilon, and the volcanoes of Aquaria.  Read the continuation of the short-lived TV series Caprica and watch the horrors of the Cylon War and the creation of The Colony.  Revisit New Caprica and then, on our own world, go on one last journey with Bill Adama and Saul Tigh, and get a look into our own future as the Messengers of The One True God work to free mankind of the cycle.

This is the definitive special edition collection of these books in chronological order, complete with additional chapters, behind-the-scenes information, art, pics, and author's commentary.  Learn all about the writing of these tales, connections to the Battlestar Galactica and Caprica TV shows, and much more.

There is a Plan and questions will be answered.

Available for FREE from:

Smashwords
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Everand

Please rate and review it where you got it!  Spread the word!

Writing the Special Editions Part XI: Finally, "Lords of Kobol - Special Edition" available for download everywhere!

It took a month-plus, but Lords of Kobol - Collection: Special Edition is now available for download from multiple retailers.  The links are below; a needlessly detailed recounting of what happened immediately follows.

So LoK SE was published on Smashwords on Dec. 8.  Smashwords is the free site through which I publish my books.  Because I can't charge for my BSG-related work and Smashwords lets me make books free to download, it makes sense.  And, Smashwords has what they call the "premium catalog," which means they distribute it to other online retailers (Apple, B&N, etc. ... not Amazon; they won't let me charge $0.00)  Typically, it takes about four-ish days for a book to be uploaded and then get distributed elsewhere.

Not this time.

When I publish through Smashwords, I upload a Microsoft Word "doc" file which then gets converted into everything else.  LoK SE is a large book with a LARGE amount of hyperlinking inside.  The Word file is 1,314 pages long and 13.8 MB.  There are over 400 chapters, plus commentary on about 85% of those chapters.  Fifty images.  It's big.  The problem, as it turns out, was the table of contents.  Not the one I made; the one that was automatically generated.  

If you've read the book, you know there's a table of contents that links to all the chapters, the maps, etc.  At the end of most chapters, there's a link to the author's commentary on that chapter.  Each of these links require two things: a bookmark and a hyperlink.  For example, for chapter one of Book One, I select the heading for that chapter, click "insert bookmark," and give it a name ("I1" - for Book One, chapter one).  Then, in the table of contents, I highlight "I - PYTHIA," click "insert link," select "place in this document," and then the "I1" bookmark.  So I had to insert bookmarks and hyperlinks for all 420-ish chapters, plus the maps, prefaces, the acknowledgements at the end, the list of other books, etc.  That's 430 pairs of bookmarks and links.  This doesn't include the commentary.  I'm guesstimating that there are about 350 "author's commentary" sections, which means that's another 350 pairs of bookmarks and links.  Because the automatically generated table of contents looks for these bookmarks, that's a whole mess of stuff that could end up in the ToC that shouldn't be there.

(This does not include the "hidden bookmarks" that Word creates for some godsdamned reason every time you open the file, make a change, or look at the screen funny.  By the time I was ready to upload the finished doc file, there were literally thousands of these bastards.  I had to create a macro in Word to delete them all because doing so by hand would have been impossible.)

So, when I uploaded the LoK SE doc file, the system struggled to reconcile the ToC as I had it (just the chapters, maps, etc.) against the massive number of other bookmarks not in that ToC.  The epub file generated by Smashwords, when downloaded and its ToC opened, included scores of oddball links at the end, plus missing legitimate links.

After conversation with Smashwords support (shoutout to Matt T.), I learned that there is a special way to create bookmarks you don't want in that auto-generated ToC.  Prefixing a bookmark with "ref_" means the auto-generator will ignore it and it won't end up in the epub's ToC.  That means every "author's commentary" bookmark would need to be edited to add "ref_" at the start and every link pointing to those bookmarks would need to be redone, too.  

Needless to say, this took a while.*

Reupload.  Better, but still had bad, "stray" links in the ToC and missing links, too.  Edited and reuploaded again.  No change.

At this point, I decided to the back-and-forth navigation was just too complex.  Support said a well-crafted epub file would likely be the solution (and Smashwords allows those uploads, too).  I started down that path with the program Calibre.  Days later, the epub file was finished and I uploaded it.  I downloaded the epub from Smashwords and it looked OK ... but would it pass review and get in the premium catalog?  Nearly a week later, the answer was "yes."  

TL;DR: here are the links:

Smashwords (in all file formats)
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Everand
Gardners
Kobo
Odilo

Please, download the book from your online service of choice.  But, most importantly, be sure you give it a rating and leave reviews wherever you can.  This helps spread the word and get more readers on board.  I really appreciate it and hope you enjoy it.

* - Holy shit.  Colonies of Kobol - Special Edition is going to take forever.  That's well over 500 chapters and author's commentary sections.  It'll take weeks to get it in shape, but at least I knew I would be starting with an epub file thanks to the 15MB Wall.  I better get started now if I want it to be ready to go for March 15.

Thanks for reading.

"Lords of Kobol - Collection: Special Edition" - DOWNLOAD NOW!

 

All five acclaimed Lords of Kobol books collected in a single volume ...

Thousands of years before the Cylons destroyed the Twelve Colonies and the Battlestar Galactica led a ragtag fleet to Earth, the Lords of Kobol lived among mankind in peace and harmony. Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Athena, Ares ... the gods provided and the people worshipped. But who or what were they? In Book One: Apotheosis, see Kobol in its golden age, with gods and humanity working together, and witness the creation and exodus of the Thirteenth Tribe. In Book Two: Descent, learn the origins of the Olympians and the tale of their coming to Kobol, as well as their war against non-believers. In Book Three: The Final Exodus, watch the end of the Pantheon's reign as Cylons revolt and mankind flees for the Twelve Colonies. In Prelude: Of Gods and Titans, spend more time with Zeus and the gods, and meet their parents, the Titans, and observe the beginning of the cycle. And in the background of it all, The One True God and its Messengers seek to preserve humanity in the face of doom. Finally, in Alternate: Tales from Ancient Days, read a different take on the end of the world and how the gods played their parts.

This is the definitive special edition collection of these five works, complete with deleted chapters, behind-the-scenes information, art, pics, and author's commentary. Learn all about the writing of these tales, connections to the Battlestar Galactica and Caprica TV shows, and much more.

There is a Plan and questions will be answered.

Available for free from:

Smashwords (in all file formats)
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Everand
Gardners
Kobo
Odilo

Please rate and review where you got it!  Spread the word!

Writing the Special Editions Part X: LoK is Locked!

I've finished another read-through of the Lords of Kobol - Collection: Special Edition.  Didn't change much at all, so I believe I'm at the "walk away" point.  I'm locking it and eagerly anticipating publishing it on Friday, December 8.  Two weeks from today and right on schedule.

For kicks, I created this graphic showing the various covers I used over the last twelve years:

Click to embiggen

(Doesn't include the "marble edition" covers since those were never actually published.)

I'll make another post in a week or so detailing the timing of it but if you're following me on social media, it'll be hard for you to miss it.  (Here's my Linktree page so you can get a quick look at my social accounts and choose whichever one floats your boat.)

Thanks for reading.

Writing the Special Editions Part IX: ONE MONTH AWAY

Just finishing up my last readthrough ... Thankfully, I'm not having to change much.  Just dotting "i"s and the like.

It's almost done.

Writing the Special Editions Part VII: "Colonies" is Done

Well, it took a couple of months, but the commentary for Colonies of Kobol is complete.  The whole thing is 2,631 pages in Word with about 400 being the added commentary.  That's a lot of pics, show connections, linguistic discussions, and so on.  A lot.

You may recall a previous blog post wherein I was worried about the file size.  Well, yeah.  That's still a concern.  (Warning: lots of talk about how the sausage is made follows.)

Smashwords, the ebook publishing site I use, has a limit of 15MB when it comes to uploading .doc files.  The final version of CoK SE (with low-quality images) is 20.1MB.  So that's out.  However, they also allow uploading epub files and the limit on those is 20MB.

I've experimented with this and here's how it went.  Calibre can make epub files from .docx files, so I converted the book from .doc to .docx and then ran it through Calibre.  I don't know what black magic it utilizes, but the final epub file was only 5.9MB.  Seeing that, I decided to create a version of the book with high-quality images.  Well, that .doc file was 33MB, but after converting it to an epub, it was 18.7MB.  Huzzah!

But there's a problem.  Smashwords apparently employs rigorous standards for the epubs they allow to be published and their site specifically mentioned Calibre (and other programs) as often providing files that get rejected.  They run the epubs through EPUBCHECK, which is apparently a standard for those files agreed upon by some sort of international cabal.  I downloaded a program that allows me to check the files myself and, expecting the worst, I went ahead and ran CoK SE through.  To my unending surprise, it got a green check mark and "OK."

I mean, my formatting isn't crazy because Smashwords also has rigorous criteria for their .doc uploads.  I assumed with all of my footnotes and links to and fro in 90%+ chapters, it would throw off something.  But it didn't.  

I'm cautiously optimistic for next March when CoK SE will be published.  My plan is to upload the epub to Smashwords and see what happens.  If it ends up getting rejected, I'll have a contingency standing by, perhaps the barebones "no commentary" version that barely fit under 15MB but includes links to my Google Drive with the full version.

So there you go.  I'll let both LoK SE and CoK SE sit and marinate for a bit.  Then, in the fall, I'll give the commentaries another pass and be ready to publish the first one in December.  As planned.

Thanks for reading.

Writing the Special Editions Part IV: Hitting the 15MB Wall and a POLL

 

I'm hitting a wall.  And it's 15MB high.

How big is 15MB?  Well, that will get you about one minute of an HD movie.  About one quarter of a podcast.  About ten high-quality photos.  

On the ebook publishing site Smashwords, that's the maximum file size allowed for an uploaded book.

Smashwords is the site I've used for all my books, primarily because they allow me to publish free ebooks (since I can't charge for my BSG spinoffs) and because they convert the source file into just about any format for ebook readers.

When I finished Lords of Kobol Special Edition, I was concerned about the file size since I added a bunch of pics and such in the commentary.  The total at the end of it was 13.7MB.  

I knew, when it came to Colonies of Kobol Special Edition, I would be in trouble.

I have since sorted all 526 chapters from the three volumes into near-chronological order and I finished the laborious task of bookmarking/hyperlinking the chapters for the Table of Contents.  I was well over the limit.  I reduced the quality of the pics to blurry-ass JPGs ... still over.  I deleted all of the maps ... over again.  I deleted all but the two most important (low-quality) pics in the book ... 14.8MB, as you see above.

"Whew," you're thinking.  "You did it!"

No.  No, I have not.

I haven't even started the author's commentary yet.  For me, that's the most important part.  I really enjoyed reading Lords of Kobol again and writing my thoughts about it right afterward, sharing stories of its creation, where ideas came from, pictures and maps, homages I included, linguistic jokes and tricks, and so on.  Since I just finished Colonies a little over a year ago, all of that info is fresh in my head and I won't have to rely upon my archives of old Word files or ancient blogposts to fill in the blanks.  I have PLENTY of thoughts to share on Colonies, stories to tell about its inspirations, LOADS of linguistic insight, connections to the TV series, pics and maps and flags and covers, and much, much more.  I desperately want to have that info readily available for readers in the same way it will be for readers of LoK.

Unless Smashwords changes their file size limit, I can't.

But ... I have an idea.  And a Plan.  (You BSG fans should like that.)

Here's the Plan: I'll publish what I have now via Smashwords next March.  For most readers I'm sure, they'll be happy to have all three volumes in one ebook and with the chapters sorted in chronological order.  For those readers who want all of the additional information (and to salve my own ego), I will have, standing by, a FULL VERSION of the Special Edition ready to be downloaded from some file sharing site.  This will be the version of the book I'd make if Smashwords had no limit.  I will place links to that version right at the beginning of the Smashwords 15MB edition so readers can't miss it.  Then, they can choose if they want the whole shebang or decide they're happy with what they've got.  

Meanwhile, I'll keep checking Smashwords to see if they decide to up their file limit in the next year.  The FULL VERSION will be ready to go, if they do.

TAKE A POLL: Which version of Colonies of Kobol - Special Edition are you likely to download?

VOTE HERE

NEW PLAN: I'm going with the epub file from the get-go.  I've tested it before and a fully annotated and illustrated Special Edition comes under the 20MB limit, so no worries there. 

Thanks for reading.

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.

"Colonies of Kobol - Volume Three": DOWNLOAD NOW!

 

Thousands of years of history have come to this.  Larsa, Kobol, Earth, the Colonies ... will the Messengers of The One True God finally help free mankind of the cycle?

In Colonies of Kobol - Volume Three, you'll see the conclusion.  In Tauron, the people kick the empires off their world and create the Ha'la'tha to fight an unjust government.  In Caprica, revisit the characters and events of that short-lived television series and witness the beginning of the Cylon War while the colonies, thanks to their long histories, struggle to come together.  In The Colony, watch the arrival of the Final Five, their changing of the Cylons forever, and the machinations of John Cavil.  In New Caprica, gain new perspectives on humanity's brief but consequential stay on that world.  Finally, in Earth, go on one last journey with Bill Adama and Saul Tigh and see the shape of things to come in our own future.

Fans of Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, and Lords of Kobol can't miss the final volume in a trilogy detailing the history of all the Colonies of Kobol.

There is a Plan and questions will be answered.

Available for FREE:

Download from Smashwords HERE (available in all file formats, including Kindle)
Download from Apple HERE
Download from Barnes & Noble HERE
Download from Kobo HERE
Download from Scribd HERE

Please, rate and review it where you got it.

Thank you and enjoy.

The other volumes can be downloaded here.

"Colonies of Kobol - Volume Two": DOWNLOAD NOW!

 

Before the Cylons rebelled and the Battlestar Galactica led a ragtag fleet to Earth, two empires warred for control of the Twelve Colonies.

In Colonies of Kobol - Volume Two, you'll visit eight worlds.  In Virgon, the Blue Colony is racked with civil war.  In Sagittaron, witness the exploitation of that planet and its people.  In Canceron, democracy is founded and then wounded with greed.  In Aerilon, a wild frontier must be crossed to stop a rebel.  In Picon, there are battles on land, on the sea, in the air, and in space.  In Libran, the Empires' vassals try to unite in peace.  In Scorpia, Leonis' last colony stakes their claim on the future.  And in Aquaria, a small band must survive the elements and the Cylon attack.

Fans of Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, and Lords of Kobol can't miss the second volume in a trilogy detailing the history of all the Colonies of Kobol.

There is a Plan and questions will be answered.

Available for FREE:

Download from Smashwords HERE (in all file formats, including Kindle)
Download from Apple HERE
Download from Barnes & Noble HERE
Download from Kobo HERE
Download from Scribd HERE

PLEASE, rate and review where you got it!

Thank you and enjoy.

(Get Volume One HERE)

"Colonies of Kobol - Volume One": DOWNLOAD NOW!

 

Two thousand years before the Cylons destroyed the Twelve Colonies and the Battlestar Galactica led a ragtag fleet to Earth, the Lords of Kobol fell and mankind fled for the Colonies.

In Colonies of Kobol, you will learn what happened next.  In Earth, you will behold the end of that world and the flight of the Final Five.  In Gemenon, you will see Kobol's exiles make landfall, as well as strife between believers in the Pantheon and believers in The One True God.  In Leonis, you will witness the beginning of a thousand-year war between that world and their enemy, Virgon.

Fans of Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, and Lords of Kobol can't miss the first volume in a trilogy detailing the history of all the Colonies of Kobol.

There is a Plan and questions will be answered.

REVIEW:

"Having already read Lords of Kobol, I’d been anticipating this series since it was first announced, and downloaded it from Smashwords the day it was released. WELL. It was everything I’d hoped for, and more. Edward T. Yeatts certainly knows his source material, and he tells an amazing story with that knowledge. The next book cannot come fast enough for this reader. 10/10." -- Dee

Available for FREE:

Download from Smashwords HERE (in all file formats, including Kindle)
Download from iTunes HERE
Download from Barnes & Noble HERE
Download from Kobo HERE
Download from Scribd HERE

PLEASE, rate and review where you got it!  

Thank you and enjoy.

Writing Colonies XLIV: How to Read Volume One

"Um, duh.  I can read."

I'm sure one of you said that.  There's more to it than that.

First, the technical stuff.

On February 7, at around noon Eastern Time (US), I will post it on Smashwords.com.  It will be available there in all formats (Apple, Nook, Kindle, PDF, etc.).  In the days after it goes up, Smashwords will distribute it to the other stores around the web, like iTunes, B&N, etc.  I will post those links as I become aware of them on my personal webpage here.

(Smashwords now has a pre-order option and I attempted to use that.  I thought it would be cool for everyone to sign up for it in the week leading up to the release, and then you get an email saying it's ready or whatever.  Nope.  To do a pre-order release, I have to charge money.  Because I am still afeared of lawyers, I won't do that.  I do, however, still have a tipjar, in case anyone feels so inclined.)

Now, actually reading the thing.

Lords of Kobol was, primarily, dated at the top of each chapter with the phrase "X Years Before the Final Exodus," obviously referring to the exodus of mankind from Kobol.  In Colonies, the phrase you'll see most often is "X Years After Colonization."  This refers to the day civilian ships landed and human feet trod upon Gemenon with the intention of staying.  

Also, a phrase you'll see often is, "Unknown Years Before Activation."  That's cryptic and it's supposed to be.  (Perhaps it's something that won't be resolved until, say, Volume Three.)  Regardless, that phrase means what you're reading is outside of time and space and you're witnessing the Messengers of The One True God as they conduct "interviews" with people from humanity's past.  Yes, this is how I finagled my way into writing chapters with some beloved characters from Lords of Kobol, BSG, and Caprica, living and dead.  

In other words, with shifting dates and the possibility of extra-dimensional interviews, I'm saying, "Read carefully."

Related to this, I'll mention that I'm working on a chronological reading and viewing guide for inclusion in Volume Three.  Meaning, a list of what to read and watch in order, including all of Lords of Kobol, Colonies of Kobol, Caprica, BSG, and more.  I briefly toyed with making Colonies a strictly chronological story from jump, but that would have meant bouncing from colony to colony on a more frequent basis.  I thought keeping the separate books, one for each planet, worked best, and I believe the larger narrative doesn't suffer because one part of Book Two, for example, takes place after Book Four.

Oh, one more SITREP before next week:

I now consider Volume One locked.  I've read through a few sections since the last full edit and tweaked some things, but that is at an end.  While I craft the social media posts for One's release next week, I am now beginning the next editing read-through of Volume Two.  As Two is nearly twice as long as One, those edits will require more time, so I can't rest on my laurels yet.

February 7 is just one week away.  Thanks for reading.

Writing Colonies XLIII: SITREP - "Paper Edit" of Volume One is complete

 

The "Paper Edit" is complete.  As before, seeing the words on pages is a different experience than having them on a screen, so I see things I missed before.  Once those changes are made, I'll proceed to the next edit, likely the "Kindle Edit" wherein I read it on a handheld device.  Again, the different medium helps me see things I've previously missed.  Since I've pegged the release of Volume One for February 7, the next few edits/passes will focus only on those books.  

This is probably the last update for 2021, so let me wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays.  2022 promises to be a big one for me, so I hope I can count on your help to spread the word.  Thanks for reading.

Colonies of Kobol RELEASE DATES

Well, it's been nearly five years in the making, and I appreciate your patience, but the time has nearly arrived.

Colonies of Kobol - Volume One: Foundation ...

That's ten days shy of five years from when I first created the Word document and got the ball rolling.  

That's the first Monday of the month, so I continued that into the next books, too.

Colonies of Kobol - Volume Two: Evolution ...

Colonies of Kobol - Volume Three: Revolution ...

The cool thing is, Volume Two is out on 4/4/22 and Volume Three is out on 6/6/22.  Not important.  Just neat.

The dates are subject to change due to calamity or what have you, but I'm pretty determined to get them finished and published as I've listed here.

For Lords of Kobol, I released them one month apart.  Then again, those books are only about two hundred pages each.  With Volume One being more than four hundred, Two nearly eight hundred, and Three pushing a thousand, I figured two months in between releases would be better for the readers.

(Speaking of Lords of Kobol, now would probably be a good time for you to go ahead and re-read those four great books.  If you haven't already, you can download them for free HERE.)

More news and info to come.  Thanks for reading.

Writing Colonies XLII: SITREP - Phase II editing done, release date announcement soon, and an IMPORTANT request

Graphic:

So I've finished two read-throughs, editing as I went.  Largely for spelling, word choices, clarity, tone, etc.  Next, I'll be printing out the books and reading them, marking errors and such with a red ink pen.  Good ol' fashioned editing, that is.  (With about 2,100 pages, I fear for how much that'll cost me in toner.  If you'd like to make a donation, here's my tipjar.)

In other news, I think I've settled on a release date for Volume One and a schedule for the remainder.  Assuming my editing continues at the same rate, it should work out, but I'm not going to reveal it just yet.  Maybe I'll post it next week as a Christmas present, of sorts.

Lastly, over the last couple of years, I've sent out PDFs of various parts of Colonies to winners of contests and so on.  If you were a recipient, PLEASE email me at ety3rd@ety3rd.com to let me know what you think, any detailed criticism you might have, suggestions for clarity, whatever.  I'd like to incorporate any good suggestions into the books before publishing.

Thanks for reading.