I bought a bunch of stuff for future cover art and other projects from Renderosity and Daz during their Black Friday sales. Sad, I was buying that stuff instead of other stuff. (Okay, I did get some virtual Christmas Shopping in but not much.)
Dad is sick so I've pretty much stopped any work on the cover art to GP, (as well as some discussion on the website and other projects) and have just been logging the corrections the guys have been sending me for GP for the past couple of days. If I can get dad to EAT and DRINK then we think he'll bounce back faster. But he's pig headed and just wants to sleep. Grr... Now you know where I get that trait from. :P We got him in to the doctor's today. Hopefully the meds will kick in and he'll start getting healthy again. He's going to be underfoot (Funny that since he's bigger than me at 6'8"!) for the rest of this week. Then he and the brat pack are off for Christmas break... whimper... ugh.
The good news is most of my holiday decorations are up... except 1 stupid set of icicle lights I need to exchange and then get back up on the roof. Joy. At least the tree and my 2 town scenes look good. :)
Oh, I almost forgot. I changed 'New Beginnings' to Battle Lines. The betas know why. Have fun trying to get it out of them on the FB group, they don't know much of the plot. I was driving myself 'coo coo' as my sister likes to say working on rewriting it from the ground up during Thanksgiving and decorating the tree Friday. ....That isn't really good news since I now have to rewrite the treatments for other books too and find somewhere I can stick the original plot of New Beginnings in somewhere.. :P
Buut... it should be a lot more... interesting to write. I will finally be able to write the space battles I've wanted to write!
Happy Holidays everyone!
Don't forget to look out for your own health as well.
ReplyDeleteIts a tough time of the year bro, but hang in their, focus on stuff like family (Your Dad especially) your well being and having a good Christmas Holiday break. I'd rather see a well set out final book for the Wandering Engineer than something rushed out for the fans, its that old British Military Adage about the 7 P's Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Chris and I wish your family all the best for the New year
Thank you John, Arthur.
ReplyDeleteDad's stubborn as the day is long, if we can get him to bounce back (it's simple, eat and drink!) then I can work on my medical problems and focus on other stuff. We shall see what tomorrow brings.
I was hoping to get GP out this month. I am still keeping my fingers crossed. But I know if I don't get it to Goodlifeguide next week it most likely won't hit the stores until January.
In prep for GP I came up with some questions:
ReplyDelete1) I know GP is the end of the Wandering Engineer series but will there be more books that deals with Irons (like after he rebuilds the Federation does he get involved in dealing with Hovorath? If there is some kind of timeline you can show of what books fit where that would be great.) So often a series ends but at least for me doesn't answer all the questions. From another series by another author the main character was to have a son by prophecy. The tail end of the series mentioned that his wife was pregnant again. It never said how many kids he winds up with. I have always wondered but can't ask since both author and his wife are dead.
2) In response to a previous comment of mine you said that we will find out what Irons meant when he said to Sprite that "we don't break security on that even internally". Was the reference to crossing that Rubicon in PB referring to that or to going back to Antiga and the factory station?
3)What does it mean for a smart AI to evolve? Can the dumb AI (like defender if I recall correctly) evolve or is it solely a smart AI thing? What about Smithy now that Sprite has reworked him? And what is Proteus smart or dumb?
4) Will we ever find out what the purpose of Trinity is?
5) Relating back to 1) I heard somewhere that the wandering engineer series was projected to be twelve books. I count only 8, 9 with GP. Or does that include the Jethero books too?
6) I have more questions but I am too tired to phrase them coherently for you to answer.
Hi Duncan, i can answer some of these
Delete1.) yes this is the end of this series, we are moving on to the new federation time line, Irons is still in it as he has stopped his Wandering.
2.) You will find out
3.) As smart AI grow older, they use the information they have learned to change themselves, that is how one evolves. Dumb AI can not write in their own core so they cannot evolve by themselves, look at Smithy from the books, he was a dumb AI now he is semi Smart thanks to Sprite
4.) Maybe
5.) Jethro is considered in the same series(TIME LINE) as the WE books
6.) If you have more post or message me on the FB group and ill answer what i can
one problem is that I don't use facebook. Referencing 3) So if they started as a class 1 or what have you they can't evolve into a higher class? And I remember that smithy is now a semi (or not so semi)smart AI. But that doesn't answer whether or not he would evolve.
DeleteBeyond that i cannot answer any more on #3
Deleteokay but I came up with some other questions:
DeleteA) In GS Irons mentioned that the station has several different classes of fusion reactors. What defines the classes of reactors? If it is size/output what is the breakdown (ie random numbers here but like a class 1 puts out 1 terawatts while a class 2 puts out 300 terawatts)?
B) In GS Irons mentioned several different classes of replicators. Aside from the military/civilian distinction what separates the different classes? If it is something like size that what is the breakdown?
C)Will we see other sectors of the galaxy as they are in the Wandering Engineer era? And for that matter how many were there at the time of the Federation-Xeno War? How many now?
D) Is the Stargate Program mentioned several times in the books the "current" mentioned in TTTS?
E) How many books in what time periods does the current plan call for? (ie 4 books in the period of Federation Founding, 15 in the Gottenburg, 7 in the Wandering Engineer, and 58 {one can dream can't they?} in the Federation Reborn period.) I realize authors reserve that right to change the plan on a as needed basis.
Whoops I forgot to ask in referencing 3) Is Proteus a smart AI or a dumb one?
DeleteFor question C) I would have to say we need to find out how bad the damage is to the hyper bridges. In TTTS we found that certain stars had them attached to them. If a lot of the stars were destroyed near the end of the world that might have collapsed the hyper bridges. You have to remember that the sector they are currently in is something like 15,000 light years from sol.
DeleteProteus is a Dumb Hive AI
DeleteYes Proteus is a dumb hive AI. Some Trinity answers will be in GP but I am reserving some for short stories and Gottenburg.
DeleteReactor classes are separated by yes, size, power output, design, fuel use, military, industrial, commercial purpose, and so on.
I too do not do FB. :)
So Mike you are saying that the answer is no to D)? If that is the case then what does the Stargate program mean in this case. (I really really enjoyed the Stargate SG1, Atlantis, Universe shows. though I don't think Chris meant it in that sense.)
ReplyDeleteYou'll get to see the Stargate program when I finally finish the short story for it as well as the Gottenburg books.
DeleteI think I explained a bit about them earlier. No they aren't hyperbridges. Those are separate though studying them did lead to advances in hyperspace tech and moving the wormhole (stargate) project forward. For a reference... SG-1 super gate. But bigger and it needs a LOT of power.
I have been putting together a general time line in my head that I posted. As near as I can figure I think the wandering engineer series started sometime around year 3330-3430. Did I get that about right?
ReplyDeleteOh, and what is the Admirals official age?
ReplyDeleteI think it is 104 but *Shrug*
ReplyDeleteI have one really nagging question, from Short Story "Searchlight: Pyrrhic Victory"
ReplyDeleteWhy did u kill off one whole ships crew and Sandra from Io 11? I couldn't see why she(Sandra) was off the Bridge. So many Red Shirts. So many good characters used as canon fodder.
I follow the Josh Wedon/Ringo/ Weber standard. no one is safe. The betas have been complaining about that for a while. It is a war zone. People get killed, people you care about. It sucks I know. EVERYONE is a redshirt, including Irons...
DeleteSandra had to leave the bridge to take a break. It just happened. (Kind of like what happened to Trip on Shield the other night? Or what's her name on Buffy? Or Buffy's mom?) It rips your heart out but it is part of storytelling.
Gee Chris I see you are very PC about Christmas Break good for u. Well I'm Christian and proud to Call this period in our calendar Christmas Holiday.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to u Chris and your Family and may the New Year bring u all want.
I am actually agnostic, I just love the holiday cheer, gifts, lights, and food. I have to take this time off, I am being constantly distracted. (case in point, I'm being dragged off to go Christmas shopping again in a few minutes, and then 1-2x next week) If I tried to go full tilt writing a book I'd go insane with frustration. I am however doing a few things... like oh, working on the cover to GP, modeling my first take on a Xeno Warrior, adding scene bits to Battle Lines and other books while also talking with Jory and Brandon about designing ships. :)
DeleteMerry Christmas, Happy Honokaa, Cuanza, whatever. Happy Holidays to one and all.
I'll do my annual 3D card when I get a chance. :)
Thanks Chris keep the Credit Card Low, and the Fun High Cheers bro
DeleteAny responses for questions A and E? And what about answering the other parts of C?
ReplyDeleteIn reference to A what about the MAM reactors? Do they have a classification?
Here is your E) answer from a earlier post, in 2013 in Feb.
DeleteThere have been several questions about my progress and my future books.
I have a lot of books planned, and a many are in various stages of completion.
Here are the books for the Federation Universe.
The Federation Universe is broken into 4 story time periods. (arches)
Founding of the Federation:
Just what is sounds like, this series deals with the founding of the Federation. It will touch on a lot of various subjects. Here are the titles:
1 First Steps -completed
2 To touch the stars (Forthcoming, 1% complete)
3 AI war (Forthcoming)
4 First Contact (Planned)
5 We the people... (Planned)
6: Short story book (Forthcoming 10% complete)
Twighlight of the Federation trilogy: (Gottenburg)
These books take place during the Xeno War. None of these have been written, just blocked out.
1 Sparks
2 Inferno
3 Embers
4 Bonus: short stories book (Forthcoming 1% complete)
Wandering engineer:
This is the main series (for now)
1 New Dawn New Dawn -completed
2 Fools Gold -completed
A: Jethro goes to War -completed
3 Destiny's choice -completed
4 Ghost Station (Rough draft complete, currently undergoing corrections before 2nd proof read)
5 Plague planet (Forthcoming, 25% complete, undergoing research)
B: First to Fight (sequel to Jethro, currently in production, 25% complete)
C: Short story anthology book Currently in production, 12% complete)
6 Pirates Bane (Forthcoming, 10% complete)
B: Jethro 3 No place like home (forthcoming)
7 Ghosts of the past (Forthcoming, 5% complete)
B: Jethro 4 (Forthcoming) Recruiting drive
Federation reborn:
(books 8-12 of the preplanned Wandering Engineer story arch, and then others)
These books take place right after book 7 and Jethro 4 (no timeskip) and will detail the new Federation and the start of the Horathian/Federation intergalactic war. I had planned them as part of the Wandering series but then broke them off when the focus changed to the bigger picture.
8 New beginings, POV book (Forthcoming)
9 Pirate Rage (Forthcoming)
B: Jethro 5 Ares god of war(Forthcoming)
10 Enemy of my enemy
B Marines of the reborn Federation (2-3 stories)
C: short stories (Forthcoming 10% complete)
11 Federation Academy (Forthcoming)
12 Short stories (anthology) 2% complete
13 spec ops
Wow that list is a bit out of date.
DeleteBTW New Beginnings has been retitled Battle Lines. I may throw in another short story book too.
It's a list that's begging to be updated..
Deleteokay that answers E. Now what about B and the rest of C? And for that matter what about the MAM reactors?
ReplyDeleteHmmm.
DeleteB: I thought I answered that? Replicator classes right? Wait, okay, I guess I did it in an email. Okay, the classes are broken up in size, volume, manufacturer, purpose, materials it can use, and civilian, industrial, or military grade. Each has their own programming and database to draw from. Usually a class 1 is small, the largest is about the size of a makerbot z1b I think.
http://store.makerbot.com/replicator-z18
I think I freaked out my family when I put that on my Christmas list. lol
Purpose built smaller ones (about the size of a breadbox) can be made too. And don't get me started about food replicators...
Fusion reactors are also similiarly graded. Power output, manufacturer, fuels, size, civilian/industrial/military grade.
MAM reactors will eventually put in an appearance. There are still some out there. (hypermines for instance) They will start to creep into things in the future.
C: Yes we will see more of the galaxy. But in a bit. I started creeping a few things in a couple of the short stories. You'll have to wait and see.
Why Gothenburg? I know its second largest city in Sweden and was founded by Gustavus Adolphus II who is the main character in a alternated history book series by Eric Flint and other authors. Maybe I should just go back and read a little more.
ReplyDeleteIt is supposed to be Gotterdammerung, the Twilight of the Gods. Not quite Ragnarök since something survives.
DeleteI wrote that list in a text file and didn't double check it. :) Oops, my bad.
Technically, now that I am rereading the wiki, it should be retitled the Ragnarök series. Hmmm...
Thanks Chris
Delete