Given the span of the new book, Hero of the Republic, I should’ve known that there would be a good number of significant action scenes. What I didn’t realize while writing it was just how many and how different the scenes would be. Hero covers the gambit from major fleet actions between competing governments and races to “down in the weeds” one-on-one fights. The breadth of combat made creating each action scene a pleasure to write because no two scenes were the same. I’ve written a fair amount of fleet battles by now but I was thrilled to watch these ship combats evolve as the creative process happened. I’ve always wondered “what if a fleet admiral decided to do this”? Writing Hero allowed me to explore those types of questions.

Another fascinating aspect of the combat scenes is the different technologies in play because of the time span of the novel. It’s fun to watch how improved technologies (Javelins and Greyhounds are just two missile examples) demand an adjustment of tactics and it’s fair to say that where the Brevic Republic starts out in Hero is not where it ends. I love the evolution of the universe. It’s certainly not some static background that never changes as the stories unfold. In fact, I had to recreate my stellar map because so much of the new story takes place after the Brevic-Hollaran conflict.

I’ll be ramping up my blog posts as Hero’s publish date grows near. So, please check back frequently. I plan to talk a little about the new characters you’ll be introduced to if you read the story. The book will be released in early September. I’m getting feedback from my final two beta readers this week and then I want a couple more weeks to scour through the novel to make it the best product it can be. Until then,… Sights tight!