…kind of like this…
I have started a fiction narrative in the Garry Clan newsletter, the first issue of which went out last night. Its effectively a communal ‘choose your own adventure’. The narrative stops at a cliffhanger and then the group of readers must vote on what option to take next. I will continue the narrative on for the next newsletter using whatever action wins the biggest number of votes.
This is your chance to influence the backstory of the Garry Clan.
Simple? You bet!
The Catch?
You have to join the Garry Clan to get the newsletter and the link to vote. Join the crew, get free fiction and backstory delivered to your inbox and take part in the clan community.
Click here to join:
Here is a small sample from the newsletter:
Starlight flashed and the Lakon disappeared into hyperspace.
“Tracking?” Robert asked the bridge of the Wayfarer as he watched space return to normal.
“Right on course, cap’n,” Griff said.
Robert nodded, not turning from the viewport. Leo’s intel was spot on. Again. “We’d best be following then.”
From the corner of his eye he saw Matt’s hands move over the piloting controls. Within seconds the blackness outside was swirling blues and whites. Then just as quick the black and white of space returned. Half a light year in two seconds.
The Lakon was not in sight. Robert half turned in his acceleration couch towards Griff. The kid’s red hair twisted in the zero-gee as he checked the scanner. “Location?”
The kid looked up. “Heading for Denver’s World.”
“Engage frame shift.” The stars wobbled as the ship surged forward. Dust streaked toward and past the viewport. A distant speck expanded into a grey sphere.
“I’ve found the Lakon,” said Ralph at his station behind Robert. “And another ping too.” There was a smile in his voice.
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When I first ran my Indiegogo campaign to fund Elite:And Here The Wheel I used a nominal release date of March 2014 for the novel. Well that has come and gone and we’re pushing into Easter and the cold season (well down here anyway, boy it’s been arctic here the last week, bad time to get the fire place dismantled for repair!)
So when IS the novel coming out?
Soon.
We could have released in March but that would have been a disservice to us and the fans. We want to release the books in a controlled fashion and work alongside Frontier Developments to launch together if at all possible. We need to make that first punch connect with as many people as possible and this wouldn’t have happened in March. Now we will have ebooks, paperbacks, hardbacks and audiobooks all ready to go.
Fantastic Books Publishing have been doing a lot of work behind the scenes and we are getting close to the official release of dates and formats. I’m not going to spoil it for anyone so you’ll just have to wait! Everything else is proceeding along nicely, with cover design, kickstarter pledge rewards and Dan will be releasing the news on the Fantastic Books Publishing blog very soon.
We’ve also changed marketing gears as well and I’m getting information ready to spread the ‘Wheel Gospel’ to the world. This is a pretty exciting phase when all the hard work of the last year starts to come to fruition. I’ve got an awesome story edited to a professional level and now its time to tell the world about it.
Who’s with me?
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I’ve talked with Fantastic Books about the appendices for Elite:And Here The Wheel and we’ve decided to alter the focus slightly. It will now be more of a complete guide to the Garry Clan, its history, its crew, its past missions, its alliances, etc. A one stop shop for everything you ever wanted to know about the Clan. I’ve rejigged the content and added even more information about the Clan, truly beyond anything in the story. Its a vault of information for those that are interested in the Clan beyond the novel.
What this does mean is some of the backstory developed for the Appendix is no longer being used, which means I’m free to share it with you here. So enjoy reading about the planet of Villist, below:
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Located in the Brohman system, the planet of Villist was colonised by corporate backing in 3068. The first settlement, Vaporum City, nestled against the Sognefjord, the largest of the northern fjords. The initial exports were fish and wood but interesting game was found to the South and hunter tourism quickly out-paced all other industries.
A second city, Tranquille Base, was established in 3099 to support the booming game hunting industry. Imbrium, on the eastern continent, grew from a collection of dissatisfied traders wishing to be free of the hunter-owned Villist Council, the effective government.
Events that had played out many times before through human history reared their ugly head again. Despite warnings and threats of legal action from the Federation, the last of the great Jumbxta, a feathered four legged carnivore, was killed in 3165. The hunters withdrew their attention and money and Villist threatened to collapse in on itself.
Vaporum City, led by the dogged Kristoff family for four generations, had kept interests in many industries and were able to weather the loss of the tourism industry. Imbrium applauded the collapse, but Tranquille Base was hit hard, the population dropping by 90% over the next year. Whole blocks of city were left abandoned and abused and the cities debts continued to increase. The leaders of the city desperately rallied to find some beacon of hope and they found it in Gary Shrike.
Shrike, a retired game and thrill hunter, knew of the potential for white-water action on the river Serene. In a genius marketing move Tranquille was transformed into an outdoor adventure city, attracting the young and fearless. As part of the marketing campaign the university was renamed to Shrike University. “Come to Tranquille to study, come to Tranquille to LIVE.”
Tranquille Base regrew from its own ashes and became a hub of learning and commerce, igniting the telecommunications revolution. The bright star of this revolution, Villist Transfers, moved to Vaporum City in 3270. By 3290, Leonardo Ramunujan had helped established Villist’s revolutionary planetary network, rivalled only by Earth and Achenar. This gave Villist Transfers a dominant marketshare and made it a Galactic brand.
The rise of Tranquille Base also started the tradition of great statues which became the hallmark of Villist society and history. The first of the statues, a giant stone Jumbxta, was erected two blocks from the last statue, the ______ ________ statue in the Battle of Villist memorial.
Prospecting had been common place in the Shepard Mountains, to the east of Tranquille Base, since 3100 but it wasn’t until a chemist from Ayethi made a connection between his home world’s naturally occurring (but nearly depleted) minerals and the vegetation of Villist. He had discovered a new anti-hyperspace drug and it wasn’t long before both the Federation and the Empire had sent fleets to secure the planet.
(NOTE: I’ve stopped it there as the next paragraph has a bit of a spoiler in it, but that gives you a taste of Villist anyway)
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Thanks for coming over. Hope you enjoyed reading about Villist. I’ve also added more information on the website about the Garry Clan so happy hunting!
Cheers
John