Jan 08 2018
Happy 2018
Well, now that the chaotic blur of releasing The Eridani Convergence is done, the crazy schedule of the holidays is over, and the kids are back (or about to be) at school, I can get to writing again.
Next up will be Alpha Centauri: Kakuloa. It’s not really the fourth book in the trilogy (Douglas Adams thoroughly mined out that joke years ago with his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series), because the focus and time scale are different. Yes, some of the characters from the earlier books will be appearing, especially in the first part, which follows the ships Victoria and Vostok to their landing on Kakuloa, where the crews will research the intriguing properties of squidberries and generally further explore and start to settle the planet. The later parts of the book follow the cycles of settlement and economic boom and bust on the planet, against the larger background of exploring further out into what becomes known as T-Space. It covers a span of about forty years, in four parts. (That’s the current outline, anyway. It could change.)
Also in progress is The Pavonis Surprise (that title may also change), the sequel to the The Eridani Convergence in the Carson & Roberts series. There are actually two stories that need to follow the latter, and I haven’t decided yet whether it makes more sense to combine them into a single volume or split them out. We’ll see how it goes.
I’ve noticed that my Alpha Centauri series seems much more popular than the Carson & Roberts books. I suspect part of that is due to the timing of the releases of each. The first three Alpha Centauris were released over the course of a single year, but the first Carson & Roberts, The Chara Talisman, came out six years ago. And while they’re both set in T-Space, they’re some fifty years apart in the timeline. I’m curious as to how you see these two different-but-related series, and why (if you do) you prefer one over the other. Let me know what you think.
And, Happy New Year!