Being a lowly self-published author has its perks: you make your own hours; beer for lunch without any judgement; pants are optional. Also, you meet a lot of fantastic, talented writers happily grinding away at their keyboards like you. Through my many travels across the infinite blogosphere I've been lucky enough to discover author Mark Gardner, and through him, Greg Dragon.
And guess what? We're collaborating on a kick-ass Science Fiction Epic.
The serial will run each Wednesday, starting with me, followed by Greg, and with Mark wrapping up the cycle. We’ll alternate like this for 21 chapters, one chapter per week. The character I'll be writing is one of the asteroid miners. Greg will tell the story of one of the bridge crew, and Mark will cover an Engineer.
So, the basic premise is that a spaceship is on a mining mission to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The mining is all done, and the ship is preparing to head back to home to Earth. DISASTER! Something blows up, the ship is disabled, and a bunch of the crew is driftwood. Think Gravity but cooler. Now, each of us is going to assume that our faction is responsible for the disaster. We’re not going to say precisely that we did it, but we’ll be dropping red herrings, and our POV will be that we’re the bad guys.
But we don’t know who done it. You guys will vote around week fifteen or so on who you think done it. Whatever faction gets the most votes is the faction that done it. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Of course, we invite you all to let us know how the serial is going in the comments. You’ll have fifteen weeks to gauge the story, and make suggestions, etc, but when the votes are tallied, we’ll have our villains.
I'm excited as all hell to work with Mark and Greg. Mark's a seat-of-the-pants writer, which contrasts with my Must-Outline-Everything style. Greg sounds like he's somewhere in the middle. It'll be a fantastic mix, and I think we'll mesh together in a wonderful way.
The disaster begins next Wednesday, March 16!
Greg Dragon brings a fresh perspective to fiction by telling human stories of life, love and relationships in a science fiction setting. This original author spins his celestial scenes from an imagination nurtured by being an avid reader himself. His exposure to multiple cultures, multiple religions, martial arts, and travel lends a unique dynamic to his stories. You can enjoy excerpts from his work by visiting his website.
Mark Gardner lives in northern Arizona with his wife, three children and a pair of spoiled dogs. Mark holds a degree in Computer Systems and Applications and is currently attending Northern Arizona University, enrolled in the undergraduate Applied Human Behavior program.