Whew! It's been a while since I posted anything, and I apologize to all my millions and billions of fans out there! I've just been very sick and weak. It's pretty annoying, because I'm sick a lot. I don't want to make any big deal out of it, but let me just quickly mention, that once I recovered from the kidney stone ordeal, I developed a Staph infection from the stint they had left within my urethra. THAT nearly killed me, but I got over it. The day after I recovered from Staph, my daughter came down with H1N1 (Swine Flu). So we all rushed to get vaccinated as soon as they were available in our area. She quickly recovered, being young and strong, but I got sick from the vaccine. My particular H1N1 vaccine was a type of nose spray, and it included live virus. The reason I didn't get the arm shot, which normally has dead virus in it, was because I was also getting vaccinated for the regular flu. So I got that as a shot, and the other as a nose spray. It took almost two weeks to recover from that. Then, just before I recovered, I got a sinus infection! That's what I still have, and I'm still not feeling at a hundred percent, but I've got things to do, so I'm doing them anyway!
OK, with that dull stuff out of the way, I've gotten back to work on my novel project. There is some interest in my work, so I'm trying to get the thing done and submitted to my editor. First, though, I decided it would be fun to post excerpts and rough drafts of some of my chapters here, so that you can take a sneak peak, and give me some feedback!
So, let's start out with the basic story line.
This novel is one I've been writing and rewriting for about ten years. It's taken me a long time, because I've had to learn how to write a novel along the way. I'm also a perfectionist, and my own worst critic. I think I've written and rewritten the opening chapters at least twenty times, if not more! The current working title for the book is "Dead Gods Weeping". I chose this title, because it is just obscure and weird enough to peak a reader's interest right off the bat. The title also describes the basic idea behind the story: that a man who had been worshipped as a god dies, which thing does not make him happy. Life after death is part of the story, so we can say that his consciousness continues. Assuming there is an afterlife, wouldn't your own murder be something to make you weep?
I also decided on this name because I'm a big fan of the work of the late Philip K. Dick. Most of his novels and stories had odd, obscure names, too. The one I've read most recently is "Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said". This title was taken from a dark poem, which was used in the story. Being poetic, the title doesn't really have much to do with the story. Rather, the tone and feel of the title mimics the tone and feel of the story. More than anything the title drove me to read the book, and I wanted that type of interest and excitement to come from the title of my book.
The novel is about a galactic empire, which has existed in relative peace for thousands of years. The empire has also ever only had one emperor...the godlike Padmir Michelus. A strange, unknown power has kept Padmir alive well beyond his normal years, and keeps him from aging. This has led most of the citizens of the empire to worship him as a god. Many, in fact, believe him to be the Creator Himself.
This faith in the emperor--and indeed the entire peace of the empire itself--is shattered when the emperor is suddenly murdered by an unknown hand. Thousands of worlds erupt in war as ambitious men battle for the crown. Back at the imperial palace however, the emperor's right-hand man, Consul Rione, assumes control and names Gladston Spindle, the captain of the late emperor's personal guard, as the murderer.
This is a shock to Gladston, as he knows nothing of the affair. He is as surprised as anyone when his god is killed. He fights against the temptation to dissolve in tears of grief, and instead decides to find out who the real murderer is. Going undercover with the help of his friend and robotics engineer Jadene, he not only discovers who murdered the emperor, but also a dark conspiracy which threatens the very existence of the entire galaxy.
What do you think of the synopsis so far? It is vast in scope, but too vast, I hope. I'm shooting for 100,000 words, which is a little less that four hundred typewritten pages. Seems to be a good length. Next entry I'll give you a more detailed outline of what I'm planning on happening within the story.
Until next time, take care everyone!
-Michael
Some of you already know I just started sculpting. Some of you may even know that I recently made a ventriloquist figure (or "dummy" as you non-ventriloquists call them). What you may not know is that I just sold the first figure I ever made on eBay!
