Coming Soon: Something New and Different

Dipping My Toes into Sci-Fi

So, how's everyone doing? You hanging in there? Are you talking to people? Staying connected? Are you eating enough? To say that it's been a long and challenging month understates the situation out there in the world, and I wanted to start off this post by just doing a check in. And just a reminder to all of you, it's okay to ask for help. People out there care about you.

Well, like you, I've been affected by the events of the Coronavirus outbreak. I've been furloughed from my job, which means that I have more time to write. Am I using it? That's still somewhat TBD. It's been a stressful time, and I'm not ashamed to say that it has hampered my creativity to an extent. Mind you, I recently watched a video of one of my writing heroes Neil Gaiman talking to chickens and admitting that he's having a hard time with the lock down too, so I don't feel so bad about my own creative struggles under the circumstances.

While there's no good time for a global pandemic, being stuck at home has allowed me to do some brainstorming and some writing. In this case, I've decided to jump into a completely new project. With the second book in the "The Forbidden Scrolls" trilogy, "Redemption & Ruin" off to the betas, the timing was right for me to take a break not just from Teren'vei, but from the Fantasy genre altogether. To step beyond the earthly coil and explore the space between worlds. That's right folks, we're talking Sci-fi.

Well, Sci-fi and Fantasy are usually in the same section of the book store, so maybe it's not that big a break after all (insert nervous laughter here). But I did need a break from the "Scrolls" trilogy so that I could step back and do the finale justice with a fresh mind.

Either way, much like "The Forbidden Scrolls", "The Miranda Project" started as an idea from a table top role playing game. One of my friends was running a Hero campaign set in space, and I created a character that was meant to be a cross between Jason Bourne and Nightcrawler of the X-Men. Basically, a teleporting super assassin on the run from the agency that created him. The game never got very far, and not much remains of that original character except for the concept.

However, unlike the game I was supposed to be playing in, this novel is not set in deep space. In "The Miranda Project", mankind has spread out into the solar system, but not yet reached for the stars. The "Miranda" in question from the title is the small moon of Uranus of the same name. In the story, this is where the people with special abilities are brainwashed/trained.

The main character's name is Trevor Alexander, but he goes by Alex. Like all the others individuals with powers, his are psionic in nature. Many other "Mentals" have telekinetic or telepathic abilities. Alex's teleportation skill is rare, and what made him such a dangerous assassin.

I'm currently exploring the incident that freed Alex of his brainwashing and caused him to go rogue. I expect the book to take place on Earth, Mars, and a couple of other destinations within the solar system. There's also a good chance that like "Scrolls", "The Miranda Project" will end up being a trilogy as well. Like "Scrolls", "The Miranda Project" will be dark around the edges. This isn't the idyllic future we were promised on The Jetsons as kids. The worlds are going to feel used and lived in. And with Alex spending much of his time on the run from the shadowy Agency that does the dirty work of the Centralized World Government, I would expect things to get dark on occasion. So far, I'm only about 12,500 words, or 50 pages into this new book. So I wouldn't expect the Miranda project anytime soon. Luckily, "Redemption & Ruin", book 2 of "The Forbidden Scrolls", will be out sometime this summer. You can look forward to an exact release date and cover reveal in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, stay safe out there. I know this is a scary time, but we'll all get through it together. Hopefully when we do step out into the sun once again, we can build a better world that makes times like these a thing of the past.