How it all Began - Stars of Darkness

Last week I talked about Char ne Rayft.  And I did a lot of the prep work for the storyworld (like, a TON of prep) before realizing I didn't have the skills necessary to write all the books.  So I went on a journey to discover JUST HOW I WROTE.  And that journey led me to Stars of Darkness.

“So I snuck in a corner, still under my cloak, and kept my ears wide open.  The men began joshing each other for the longest while, and I heard nothing of importance, and that’s when I realized something.”  Jack lowered his voice and glanced at everyone around the table.  “I desperately needed to use the restroom.” 

Yeah.

To sum up: I had just watched The Avengers for the first time.  I wanted to write some kind of cool spy/space/team-up story....but I wanted to also write about me and my friends having adventures with our horses.

So I compromised and smashed it all into one book.

I created a team of Agents on Horseback, all based off me and my friends and our horses (or dream horses).  With Sarah's plotting guidance, I made character sheets, plot arcs, and a chapter-by-chapter outline.

And I did it.  I finished the book.  36,614 words.  I was so proud of myself.  I went on to write the second book.  And finished that one (at a lovely 40,161).

Boy, was I thrilled.  Two books!!  Finished!!!  In less than a year!!!

Then I took a deeper look at what I was actually writing.  The sci-fi aspect fell flat.  I simply failed at describing the high-tech weaponry and space travel.  The characters (especially the MC, who was a completely made-up character) were rather flat.  And the whole "horses in space" thing just didn't get pulled off very well.  And above all, everything just seemed rushed.  It was very "they came, they saw, they conquered" with almost no description and emotion and suspense.

After some careful thought, I decided the cause was two-fold: I didn't like the MC, and I was not a plotter.  Writing from Charlie's POV was boring, and the chapter outline made my writing feel forced.

Not to mention "horses in space" is just corny, and who would want to read that??

So I put Stars of Darkness aside and went on to what would eventually become The Red War Trilogy.  Darkness would always be "those books which shall not be named" in my mind.  Until Havok started looking for submissions.  After a few rejections, I really started reading what was actually getting published on their website.  After a while, I came to the realization: the zany aspect of "horses in space" is just the sort of thing they're looking for!

Cackling madly, I whipped up a story and submitted it for the "Redo" theme.

And got another rejection.

Me:

With the confirmation that the Fire Horse team was just not publishable, I put them aside one more time.  I focused on my current WIP.  I didn't worry about submitting anything else to Havok.

And then, one day, I got an email in my inbox.  "Evacuation Assistance" didn't make the Redo theme, but the folks there at Havok loved the story, and thought it would fit nicely with their theme of music from the 50's.

So, the concept that I've always considered as my biggest fail is now my first-ever story to be published.

Think about that guys.  That story you think is just a mess and should be tossed...there's still hope for it.  Don't give up.

(Next week I'll be talking about The Red War!!)

Want to know a little more about Stars of Darkness?  Enjoy these excerpts!

~~*~~

“I’d much rather stay here,” Isak continued. “I’ll gladly do whatever I need to do to stay. I’ll get murdered and eaten if I go back to my planet.” His eyes wandered briefly over to the buffet line, where a few Riders were standing and chatting over the food. 

Lauren sighed. “We’re trying to decide what to do about that.” 

“Maybe he could work for PASS?” Coraline suggested. “I can imagine he’d have a hard time getting a job down on Earth.” 

"Walmart would take him in,” Jack spoke up. “You should’ve seen the alien who works at the one close to my house! Why, last time I went…” 

“We don’t want to know any more, Jack,” Ginger stopped him from saying anything else.

~~*~~

I clambered into the saddle behind Katrina, and wrapped my arms around her waist.  “Can you steer?” she asked faintly.  “I don’t ride on horses often, and never on Valor.” 

Not mentioning that I had never ridden Valor either, I picked up the reins, and felt Valor chomp on the bit at the other end of the strips of leather.  He was ready to go.  Falcon fired his gun, and we used it as a signal to run.  Valor surged ahead with a powerful burst of energy, but Shadinasty was already up ahead on her pony.  Jewel was close behind her, her gaited horse eating up the ground with blurring strides.  Coraline shot past us, loading her crossbow, the reins draped over the pommel of her English saddle.  

Stretching to see well over Katrina’s shoulder, and holding on as tight as I could with my legs, since I was sitting behind the saddle, I tried to steer Valor around the parting, gasping crowds.  He did well enough on his own, so I stopped, and focused on staying on. 

Falcon dashed in front of us, his blue roan Morgan galloping for all his worth.  “They’re mounted!” Falcon bellowed.  “We need to loose them!” 

~~*~~

“A stick of dynamite would work,” Carlos offered.  

“We’re not trusting you anywhere near something that blows up when you’re loading out for a mission,” Coraline glanced over at him, and then turned back to the panel.  “There might not be any fire trucks nearby.” 

“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” Carlos looked offended.  “The fire trucks only came out because the neighbors got scared!  We totally had everything under control.” 

~~*~~

Scanning the battlefield, I found that a few new Kill-Blitzers had come up from behind, and some of the Riders hadn’t gotten to them yet.  I galloped Suzie towards them, and then reined her to the right as one took aim at us.  We dashed into the woods that grew right up to the wall, and skirted around the KBs until we could approach them from the rear.  When we were right behind the last one, I leaped out of the saddle and grabbed for anything to hold.  I managed to get a grip on part of one of the mounted gun bases, and from there, I was able to climb onto the top.  I quickly found the hatch, and as quietly and quickly as I could, tied one end of the rope to the handle.  I undid the latch, sliding it a fraction of an inch a minute, so it was be noiseless.  Then I whistled for Suzie, who had still been trotting below me.

~~*~~

“Oh, really?” Lauren’s eyebrows shot up.  “Well, maybe so, but you don’t know what we have decided to do, do you?  Need I show you my papers?” 

“Yes, do so.” 

Lauren paused, and I had a feeling she hadn’t planned on actually presenting papers.  Carlos took a slip of paper from his pocket, however, and presented it to the guards.  “Here you go, then,” he drawled in his thick Southern accent.

The guard took the paper and studied it.  The room felt tight, as we all held our breath.  After turning the paper over and over in his hands and studying it from all angles, the guard looked suspiciously at Carlos, and said, “What’s the meaning of this?” 

Carlos took the paper, looked it over, and handed it back.  “What’s the meaning of what?” he asked innocently.  

“What does this say?” the guard slapped the paper angrily.  “I can’t read this!” 

“That’s because you can’t read,” the other guard ripped the paper from his hands, and studied it himself.  

“You can’t read any more than I can!” the first guard snarled, and reached for the paper.  The other didn’t let go, and it ripped in half.  For a second, they stood and looked at each other, then at Lauren and Carlos.  

“Request to open the door accepted,” one said, handing his piece of the paper back.  

Anyway, enjoy!  :)