Wow, it has been a really long time since I’ve posted anything worthwhile. I bet you all thought I was abducted by aliens or something. I assure you that I’m still here and I’m still writing.

Some Changes I’ve Been Making

As you may have learned from earlier posts, I have been trying to create more tension between the various characters, especially for the two main characters, Jori and Hapker. I’ve been trying to deepen the plot and to add more suspense to each of the chapters. Lately, I’ve also been making a lot of name changes in an attempt to have the character names relate better the various Earth cultures. I’ve also realized how much some of my characters are too close to the Star Trek: The Next Generation characters. So I’ve been trying to change some of their characteristics and histories. Because of this parallel and because one of my editors insisted I make the crew members more militaristic, I’ve changed the dynamics of how the Alliance works. It is now called the Cooperative, by the way. And instead of one aspect of the Cooperative that was similar to the Federation of Star Trek, I’ve created two distinct aspects of the Cooperative: One that is more diplomatic and service-oriented in the form of the Prontaean Colonial Cooperative (PCC) and one that is more militaristic in the form of the Prontaean Galactic Force (PG-Force), both operating under the Prontaean Cooperative for Galactic Synergy & Security, aka PCGSS or PCgus. Since I don’t want a militaristic crew, Hapker is part of the PCC.

Why It’s Taking So Long

Can you believe this story was started four years ago in July, 2014? Each time I think it’s done, I realize it needs more work. Then there was the complete and utter bashing by a content editor in 2017 that disheartened me for many months. Now there is a better reason as to why it has been taking me so long to get this book published – family. When I started writing this book in 2014, it was just me, my husband, and my two dogs. Then in 2016, we became foster parents. We started out only fostering one child and for only short-term periods (called respite care). But in April of 2016, we agreed to foster two teenage kids and for a longer-term period. That period was only supposed to be a month, but then it turned into two, then four, then six. And the day before Christmas 2017, they asked us to adopt them. We said “Yes!”, of course. This was also the date we brought home a two-year-old boy we adopted from China. Even though we had the two teens for a while, our status from a two-person family to a five-person family officially changed on December 24th, 2017. And I couldn’t be happier!

As you can probably surmise, our lives have changed dramatically and I have very little time to work on my book. But never fear. I still find the occasional time. My teens are back in school and my two-year-old, who just turned three, still has nap times. So please subscribe and look for new posts. One way or another, I will continue to write and finish this book!