Hero of the Republic Update

Posted on May 20, 2016 by BR

Now that the first draft is done, the editing has begun. We’ve also started thinking about the cover and a description for the book. Here’s a first look at the draft teaser:

Caden Twist is destined for a life of service in the Brevic Navy, guided by his ambitious mother. Sabrina Twist knows a legacy of loyalty and honor is worth a great deal in their Republic. Her son distinguishing himself in combat during the Brevic-Hollaran War is a golden opportunity to advance their family name.

Far from the Brevic Republic, Aoife Covington comes from privilege but yearns for the military experiences of her older brother. She’s chosen the Seshafian Marine Corps as her branch of service, but will her family allow her to see real danger?

Already at the pinnacle of her power, Adira Fane means to see the Hollaran Commonwealth pay for its forays into Republic-controlled systems. When the outcome of the Brevic-Hollaran War is… unsatisfactory… the Minister of Intelligence launches a multi-year plan to restore the Republic’s honor. Maneuvering the General Council into funding a secret expedition, Fane keeps the true nature of her plan to her inner circle. Regardless of the outcome, her plan affects all of humanity, and puts Covington, Twist and Fane on a collision course.

There’s much left to do but it feels great to be editing at this point. Hero of the Republic is Book 1 of The Parasite Initiative, a series beginning in the same year as This Corner of the Universe. It is not necessary to read the original series to approach this one, although readers already familiar with Fane, Brewer, and others from the TCOTU books may have extra insights into events and characters in this storyline.

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Three Parts, Fifty-five Chapters, 167,000 Words

Posted on May 10, 2016 by BR

The rough draft of Hero of the Republic is complete! Even after condensing some scenes and deleting others, the novel in its raw form is over 50% longer than anything I’ve ever written. I’m hoping to slim it down more in editing, but right now there’s just not a lot of fat to cut.

Hero word count

Word count screenshot for Hero draft

Hero covers nearly 10 years in the TCOTU timeline (the entire original series covered roughly one year). The new book is certainly approachable if you haven’t read the first series but veterans to TCOTU will absolutely find easter eggs and a deeper understanding of the events unfolding around them. I’ve hopefully made it very worthwhile to have read the first series while reading this new one. I like to encourage reader loyalty.

This novel focuses on two primary characters (although there are plenty of other ones) and spans much of the known galaxy. In the coming weeks, I’ll blog a bit about the major players in Hero but, for now, I am basking in the glory of a completed rough draft.

Although, a funny thing is, last night, while drifting off to sleep, I was already mentally writing the opening chapters of the next book in the series.

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Final Stretch (Hero of the Republic Update)

Posted on April 9, 2016 by BR

I realize my blog has been inactive lately. That’s mostly due to focusing on writing first thing in the morning rather than taking care of other things like advertising, blogging, etc. I’m happy to say I’ve been making significant progress with Hero of the Republic, the first book in the sequel series. I am well into the final (and third) part of the novel.

My hope is to finish the rough draft by the middle of next month and I am on track for that. Of course, then there is the editing, and then editing and then editing but, overall, I’m optimistic to meet my goal for a Summer release.

I have 136,000 words down with maybe another 35,000 to go. It really depends on how long two specific scenes are that I still need to write. That would make the book a manageable 170,000 words. It’s a bit too long for my tastes but it could’ve been much, much longer.

I’ll start the marketing campaign for the book in the near future. As always, I appreciate those of you that give me “likes” and thumbs up and retweets and so forth. It really helps generate buzz.

My next post might give some clues and tidbits about the main characters in the new novel. The blog after that, maybe the synopsis (marketing blurb) for the book. Then, maybe the book cover.  After all, the first draft may be the hardest part, but there’s still plenty left to do.

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