In the Shadow of the Dragon -- Behind the Scenes... (Part One)

 

Okay First things first....

Update on Poisoned Honor. The first draft is in the editor's hands and I'm waiting to see what the notes are coming back. It's been a slog, but it is done. Now I need to wait for what needs to be rewritten....

My free story from June, The Specter of Winter, has been published in the Tales of the Inner Sphere anthology and can be found here: Tales of the Inner Sphere Anthology There are a lot of good stories in it.

Now, the purpose of this blog, talking about In the Shadow of the Dragon.

I'll admit, I did this one ass-backwards. The normal procedure is you send John pitches for novels (And you have to be an author he knows and trusts to get him to look at your pitch -- so if you want to write a Battletech novel, first prove you can wrote Battletech short stories for Shrapnel and do it consistently.) But I didn't do it that way, and the only way I got away with this was because John knew what I could do, having several Battletech novels already under my belt. If I had tried this as a newbie, he would have rejected it out of hand.

Nope, like an idiot, I just started writing it.

I felt there was a story there and when I started writing, it kept growing. I had the basic plot running through my head, a murder investigation leading to a political thriller. What I didn't have was anything to reference. I had two known characters : Yori Kurita and Matsuhari Toranaga and that was it. No political situation, nothing to reference. I had a blank slate.

I'll go over characters on another blog post, but I had to create a slew of characters to populate the novel, and I also had to create things like the CGC CID, as it had never come up in fiction before. Even dictatorships need police detectives to handle the street crimes. I used the excuse that Imperial City had been flattened during the Jihad to make changes to parts of the city. For example, the Imperial Palace now sits in the middle of an open plaza, while the Basin Lake Rehab Center come into being to take the characters outside the city and to facilitate an action scene.

I didn't work on it all the time; other writing projects came up and I worked on them, Since I wasn't on a timetable with Shadow, it took a couple of years to get it into a somewhat coherent form. 

Once the early first draft was complete, I sent it to John and asked, "Can you use this?" At the time, the draft I sent him was about 75% of what was actually published and somewhat raw. John replied that it was something he could use, and that lead to more work polishing it and  getting it into shape.

That's enough for now.... Next post will be about the characters and how they came to be.

Until then!!

Craig

What have I've been doing for two years?

 

I wish I really had a good answer....

I guess the only excuse I can five anyone who reads this that right before my last post, my mom died. It hurts at such a level I cannot describe it without getting teary.

So, I threw myself into my writing Since then, I have two stories and one gaming article published in Shrapnel, (#12 and #17 for the stories, #19 for the gaming article), had a novella published (Blood Rage), and the longest and the best received novel so far, (In the Shadow of the Dragon. I'll go over the novella and the novel in separate blog posts.

I've also doing some game material when I can, but most of my writing time right now is on the stories,

After all that, I've been writing the first novel of a trilogy about the Wars of Reaving. It is called Poisoned Honor and covers the start of the war that consumed The Clan Homeworlds while the Inner Sphere tore themselves apart in what became know as the Jihad. 

While I am writing the first book, Jason Hansa is writing the second book, Corrupted Honor, and Phil Lee is writing the third book, Shattered Honor. As I understand it, all three books will be out next year.

Now, I'm going to give you a insight into the writing of these books, (no spoilers).

The War of Reaving sourcebook was out go-to document for this this trilogy. It is a densely packed sourcebook, at times a boon to our writing, but also a bane at times. Because it's so dense, it had to be read and reread, to make sure we were getting it right. And it took a while.

While we are writing a trilogy, it's not a conventional one. While there are characters that appear in all three novels, the novels, for the most part, are self-contained stories. Yes, plot points are throughout all three books, but they're more like the Element of Treason Novels in that they have varied sets of POV characters with different stories that happen within the events of the Wars of Reaving. For example, most of my POV characters are not in the other two novels, and there are POV characters in their novels that are not in mine. There is overlaps between each novels timelines, so some events that happen in Jason's novel happen earlier than events in mine, and some of Jason's events occur in the middle of Phil's Novel. But the stories are written to give the reader a solid story without side trips into the other authors' stories.

And content? Without revealing anything, we had a lot of fun

deepening the events covered in the War of Reaving Sourcebook. The Clan Snow Rave's Watch missed a few things, which is understandable, as they were getting out if Dodge at the time. Expect some surprises, and a lot of battles.

I saw an early proof of the Cover for Poisoned Honor, and it's a great cover. I haven't seen the final cover, so I'm not going to reveal it here, but it is a great cover.

As for progress, The first drafts are down or nearly done. I need to start going over Poisoned Honor, which is going to be a long slog, because it's not a lightweight novel. The plot is complex, the POV characters are many, and keeping track of them all was a hard thing to do. I think I'll start Monday and see is there are things and words I can trim.

While that has been going in, I'm, still writing short stories, sent seven in this year, have another I need to edit/rewrite, and about a dozen in various states of completion. So, I am being productive, I'm just not saying much about it. I want to get these out of my way, so I can take the time to plot and pitch more Catalyst novella/novels and work on my own original writing.

So, I'm still here, I'm still writing, and I'm still missing mom. The Writing is helping, but I would be lying if I said I was 100%. But enough of that. I hope you enjoy life with the people you love and let them know where they stand with you every day.

Craig

Icons of War (Mild Spoilers)

Okay, I'm writing this a few days before Icons of War is out, but won't be posting it until after the novel is out. If you haven't read the Back Cover Copy, here it is:

Symbols of Power

After the Word of Blake exacts an incalculable toll on Clan Wolf, Elemental warrior Garmen Kerensky is tasked by Wolf Khan Vlad Ward to undertake an audacious, top-secret mission in the Clan Homeworlds. While other covert teams help the Wolves evacuate Clan Space, Garmen’s command will steal the most prized relic of Clan history: the body of the Great Father, Commanding General Aleksandr Kerensky, Garmen’s ancestor. But the father of the Clans’ founder is entombed aboard the McKenna’s Pride, a Star League-era WarShip in permanent geosynchronous orbit above the Clans’ capital city, a staunchly guarded vessel that will take ingenuity, a warrior’s spirit, and more than a little luck to reach.

Stealing his ancestor’s remains is a tall order under normal circumstances, but the Homeworld Clans are on the verge of open warfare with each other, and this mission threatens to blow Clan society apart entirely. As the elite warrior guards of the Ebon Keshik hunt Garmen, he and his hardened team must navigate the intrigue of the shadowy Dark Caste to have any hope of reaching the Pride alive. But no plan ever survives enemy contact, and Garmen must overcome the forces arrayed against him or risk forever losing the Great Father’s body to the chaos and destruction of the Clans’ internal warfare.

So, when John Helfers, Catalyst's Director of Fiction, IMed me with the an offer of writing Icons, I took it. He asked how many words would I need for it, and I, like an idiot, told him 20,000 words....

Blaine Pardoe (who had the original idea) told me that stories will take all the words they need, and Icons fits that. I had gone in, expecting Icons to be a novella (20,000 words) But Icons, for several reasons, refused to fit into a novella. Instead, it has become a short novel, nearly 50,000 words, and it could have been much longer. While it mostly takes place long before IlKhan, it has a direct tie-in with a major event that occurs in Children of Kerensky.

After actually digging into the background (Note to would be BT authors: RESEARCH!) , I realized that was optimistic in the word count. First the body is on a battleship, in orbit over the Clan's capital city; accessible, it isn't. Second, I could not see Vlad Ward ordering a team into post-War of Reaving Clan Space. Six years of no knowledge of what was happening. During the Jihad? That don't make sense, as the Wolf Clan is fighting for its life, and in that case, is retreating a dead body high on their list? Also, if Vlad wanted the body, why wait until years later to do it? the Wolves have been Abjured, they had no assets or intelligence left in the Clan Homeworlds. That approach I couldn't see working. If Vlad wanted all the Kerensky Legacies, he's do it all at once. That's why the story starts in 3071.

Of course, there were other problems: the McKenna's Pride itself. It was used by the Grand Council in Clan Steel Viper's Trial of Annihilation in 3075. It was also used as a meeting place for the Grand Council for a while -- which meant heavy security. With the War of Reaving exploding through Clan Space, security was going to be tight in the Stana Metchy system. So I took the long approach when building the plot -- a plot-line that covered several years. I had to gloss over a few years, but I do have a few pieces lying around that might be enough for a short story that takes place doing those years I skipped. Maybe in a future issue of Shrapnel....

If I has to describe the story, I would say it was a heist story (maybe the wildest one in Battletech history), a love story, a story of revenge and redemption, and a story about duty and going up against the odds. It sets up events that play out sometime in the future (when I don't know), and answers a couple of questions about the Dark Age/IlKhan era that have been hanging around for a few years. 

Writing this was tough, but rewarding. It forced me to bone up on things like Jump drives, WarShips, and space combat. It also allowed me to take a look at Clan Homeworld Society before and during the War of Reaving. It also allowed me to expand on areas of Clan Homeworld Society, like the Dark Caste, the Free Guilds, and the Ebon Keshik -- all had some information out there, but nothing like I created for this novel.

An impossible mission and I hope you will find it a wild ride and a unique story, with characters that are engaging and interesting. I had the honor of writing in an area of time and space that hadn't been explored before in any Battletech fiction. It was both scary and thrilling to create and expand on things that hadn't been really looked at. While I had a couple of anchor points from sourcebooks, most of what I created was taking a reference here, a line there, and expanding on them into fully realized aspects that some people won't expect.

Now, for some reason, as I write this, Icons isn't available in the Kindle format on Amazon, but the POD version is. It's here: Icons of War -- Amazon. The E-book version(and POD version) is available on the Barns and Noble Website (EPUB) here: Icons of War -- Barnes and Noble. Or you could try the Catalyst store and get the E-books (Both MOBI and EPUB -- a value deal!) here: Icons of War -- Catalyst Store.Or, you could try DriveThroughFiction here: Icons of War -- DriveThruFiction. Please pick it up and enjoy it!

If you have any questions, post them here or on the Battletech forum; I will do my best to answer them.

Later!

Craig

Forever Faithful -- The New Beginning of the Novel Line

Forever Faithful is the new Battletech novel, written by senior veteran Battletech writer, Blaine Lee Pardoe. While it isn't a Dark Age novel, it does flesh out some events leading up to several Dark Age events. I won't get into spoilers here, but there is a lot of groundwork about a certain group and the final fates of several characters from the Twlight of the Clans series are given their due.

As I have said before, the Jihad suffered from the lack of novels. The main reason was because it was caught in the gulf between FASA and Wizkids -- Wizkids wanted a new start, so they had a "Jihad" and moved the timeline forward sixty years. Fanpro, then later on, Catalyst Game Labs, had to take the Jihad and flesh it out. With the novels in limbo (In a legal sense, I think, but don't quote me on that.), the Jihad had to be explored through sourcebooks, short stories, and other products. The closest we got to a Jihad-era novel was Embers of War by Jason Schmitzer, which is set at the very beginning of the Jihad.

But Brent Evens, Battletech's Lead Developer, decided to concentrate on the IlClan era. And leading the way for this new era of Battle, the 35th anniversary of the game, would be the fiction. Novels and novellas would fill in the events around Shattered Fortress and IlClan, to take the Universe forward into the new era. (I still have no knowledge of any short stories plans. All I've heard is rumor, and even if I knew, I couldn't say anything.)

On a personal level, I hope that one day, Catalyst will go back and fill in the Jihad and some of the other eras with no novels or novellas. There are so many rich events that had yet to be written about in fiction. The Reunification War, The Amaris Civil War, the First and Second Succession Wars are untapped sources of stories that are the equal of any we've already seen. I, however, see Brent's reasoning. The need to fully flesh out the new era is the priority, and with this being the 35th year.

But Blaine isn't done. he has a novella and another novel that will get things rolling in this new era. I don't know when they'll be out, but I betting around Gencon. After that, I don't know.

But I don't want to neglect the two novellas that  came out at last year's Gencon. Blane Pardoe's The Anvil and Phil Lee's A Splinter of Hope. Both cover events written about in Shattered Fortress and gives depth to those events.

Brent has said that fiction was the driving force of Battletech in the past, and he wants to see the fiction driving the new era. I hope to be one of those who does the driving and I do have one or two Battletech projects that might see the light of day one of these days.

In the meantime, some of my stories are out there -- In the Battletech anthology Legacy I have a story, as well as the soon-to-be widely released Battlecorps Anthology 6: Front Lines. Hopefully other Battlecorps anthologies will be released.

In the meantime, I had a good month of February writing-wise, exceeding my monthly goal by almost two thousand words. Most of that was involved in related Battletech products I'm working on, mostly speculative as to whether or not they'll ever see the light of day as official products.

So, that's it for now. Trying to write blog posts isn't easy and I know little about what's going behind the scene is so little to begin with and what little I do know is covered by my NDA, so even if I knew anything juicy, I couldn't say anything. That's how it goes....

Later!

Craig

Embers of War is in My Hands

With great thanks to Phillip Lee, I now have a copy of the Battletech Novel, Embers of War by Jason Schmitzer.

The first new novel in what, five, six years? It's been sitting on my desk, enticing me to start reading it. I haven't started yet, but this is a step forward, one that is long overdue. I had a first draft of a Non-Battletech novel to finish, and with Embers sitting there, I managed to hammer out the last couple of chapter and set it aside.

I am not privy to the reasons why there was such a delay, That was something, as the saying goes, "Above my pay scale." But now they have started again, and the first four have been announced. Embers is the first, followed in no order that I know of by Loren L. Coleman, Victor Milan, and Michael A. Stackpole. As expected, Catalyst is bring out the big guns to get the novels off on the right foot.

I have two reasons I am glad to hold Embers in my hands and look at the cover. The first is as a reader. I still have (almost) all the Roc Battletech books, including The Sword and the Dagger. I still read through them when I want my Battletech fix and don't want to write it myself. I have the last half of the MechWarrior novel series, as most of the ones before The Scorpion Jar were disappointing.

My second reason is purely selfish; I want to write a Battletech novel. I want to see my name on the cover of a Battletech novel, to see the word I wrote on the page, staring back at me, and know my efforts were good enough to be. It has always been an ambition of mine, before I ever submitted to Battlecorps. And now I am in a position to be able to pitch a novel idea or two. This is my chance, and I've already started the process. Will I succeed? I have no idea. There's a X number of novel slots and a Y number of authors pitching for those slots. Those with Battletech novel experience have an advantage, one I need to overcome with great novel ideas.

Note that doesn't mean I will be given a novel to write; I still have to prove to the novel editor that I deserve the chance to write a novel. That's no different then every story I send to Jason Schmitzer for him to either buy or reject. In either case, I have to prove myself every time.

Well, no review here for Embers. I will start reading it tomorrow, because if I start now, I'll go until I'm done, and it's midnight here as I write this. But I am so looking forward to reading this. . . .

Craig

The Announcement from Catalyst Games Lab

Well, Catalyst Games Lab finally made the announcement that everyone's been waiting for., You can read the entire announcement here: http://bg.battletech.com/news/news-and-announcements/drop-pod-sequence-initiatedthree-two-one/

Now, for my thoughts:

The Interstellar Operations rulebook has been, along with the recently released; Housebook: House Kurita, has been the company's Moby Dick, refusing to be cornered and harpooned for years. Even after parts were taken out to be included in a new product  the book is still around 400 pages of all sorts of things. Things like era weapons and equipment, rules for building Tripod, Quad-Vees, LAMs, Primatives, and Super-heavy 'Mechs. There are also rules for Nukes, bioweapons, and Chemical weapons too, for those who want them. And there is Strategic BattleForce, an expansion of the BattleForce game system from Strategic Operations, and the rules for a strategic game called Inner Sphere at War.

All in all, it gives any BT fan another layer that they can play with.. It's in Beta, which means you can buy the PDF for $10, look for any problems and report them to the company via the special thread on the official forum.

BTW, the rest of what was to go into Interstellar Operations has been moved to a new product, Campaign Companion, listed Here: http://bg.battletech.com/books/upcoming-releases/, (9th item down)

The next big news: The Iconic BattleMechs that were known collectively as the Unseens are being reimaged. The announcement page has a couple of pictures of the reimaged Warhammer, and them image at the top of this post  has the reimaged Griffin and Marauder. I expect that Catalyst will release the other images, which I've seen refereed to as "Newseen" once their look has been finalized.

And the last item on this list I want to talk about tonight......

The first new physical Battletech Novel in years!

We finally get to have novel-length fiction again. This one is by Jason Schmitzer, but the announced novels to this point include Loren Coleman's complete Shadows of Faith, Victor Milan's Case White, and a trio of Kell Hound Novellas by Micheal Stackpole, two of which have never been published before.

So, it appears the novels will pick up where they left off, the end of the Fed-Com War and the start of the Jihad. I plan to start pitching for a novel as soon as I finish working on the non-BT I am currently writing. I have several novel ideas which I hope I can bring to you the action of the Jihad in a way the Jihad sourcebooks couldn't.

Writing a Battletech novel is going to be a challenge, and its one I'm looking forward to.

There are also going to be new PDF product lines coming out, just check the coming products page from above and I hope you enjoy the new stuff as much as I will!

Later!

Craig

Anthologies

According to Randall Bills, Battletech's Line Developer (And chief game creator, and chief bottle washer....) the above image is the cover of the first new Battletech novel in several years. (He posted this to Catalyst's Tumbler Page, so it's already public!) But I still don't know anything about these new novels.....

So, let me talk about something I do know something about --- Battlecorps anthologies. I have written stories for several Battletech anthologies and hope to continue doing so. Battlecorps anthologies come in two different 'flavors' --- Print and Thematic.

Print anthologies consists of stories drawn from the Battlecorps website for a particular year. Volume 1: The Corps consists of the best stories from the first year of the Website's existence, Volume 2: First Strike has stories from the second year of the Website, and so on. In addition, there is a new story written just for the anthology that isn't from the website. None of my stories have made it in any of the print anthologies, but I'm hoping this year I will see one of my stories in the print anthologies.

Thematic anthologies are different. For one, all the stories are commissioned by Jason for the anthology --- We pitch story ideas and Jason chooses which ones he want to see. Second, there is theme for the anthology. For example, the currently running Honor Code anthology's theme is the Draconis Combine --- the stories had to have the Combine as a major part of the story. Other than that. we were free to use any event or set it in any time. Most of the time, an anthology is tied to a sourcebook coming out, sometimes for another reason.

But the theme is what ties all the stories together. It can be an event (Operation Rat,  Klondike) a group (Honor Code) or a period of time (Like this new anthology). We generally have free reign to write whatever we want, as long as we use the theme as the central part of the story.

Now, just because I send in a completed story, on time doesn't mean it'll be accepted for the anthology. Jason may not include it in the anthology, but still buy it anyway for the website. It's up to me to give him what he wants and hope he's satisfied with it.

As I said above, I have written stories for several anthologies. Salvage was written for the Operation Rat anthology. Family Ties was written for the Klondike anthology, The Blood of Man was a part of the Jihad Hot Spots: Terra anthology, and My Father's Sword was written for the Onslaught anthology. Another one was written for an anthology that never got off the ground, but was published.

What's the difference between writing an anthology and writing a normal story? The biggest difference is time. A regular submission you can write some, leave for a few days, come back, work on it a little more, lit it sit for a week, and so on. In the anthology submission, there is are deadlines: the first is for pitches, the second for the actual story. This Anthology has about a four-week window from announcement to sending in the finished story. So, it's a tight window to create, plot and write a short story.

Second difference is the story length. Usually, a word count is given (In the case of this new anthology, 4,000-7,000 words). Now, Jason's not going to get angry if the story's a little longer than that, but it's usually best to try and keep the word count as close to the solicitation as possible.  For the Jihad Hot Spots: Terra anthology, we had a 12,000 word limit, which is why The Blood of Man is my longest story.

As it stands right now, I've completed the first draft of the story. Now, I'm letting it sit for a couple of days, then I plan to go back and do some cleaning up and editing. It's a little longer than Jason wants, so I need to see if there's anywhere I can trim it without losing any of the story.

I need to get back to writing!

Later!

Craig

There Will be Battletech Novels!

I'm not letting the cat out of the bag --- it's been mentioned several times on the official forums and backed by people in the know. There's been no official announcement, but it looks like we're going to be getting Battletech novels!

Before anyone asks for any details -- I don't have any. The reveal was a much as a surprise to me as to any one else. And me asking around behind the scenes has not produced any details -- everyone is as tight-lipped as an ISF agent at a Black Dragon Convention. Even if I could, I can't tell you anything because I don't know anything. I am as much in the dark as everyone else.

No, I have not been asked to write a novel. My guess -- and only my guess, with no facts to back it up --- they would be looking for proven names to get the new series up and running. And despite the number of stories I've written for Battlecorps, I'm not a name author.

So, what does this mean? It means that I have a new challenge ---  prove to the Powers That Be that when they start looking for other authors, I'm worth a shot. That means more stories, maybe longer stories, maybe novellas. It's an opportunity, and I need to make the most of it. Need to write more and faster. I pitched for a slot in a BC anthology this morning and have several stories I need to work on. That means working more on this non-BT novel so I can clear it off my board.ASAP.

It also means I need to stay off the Internet more.....

So, here's my shot and I need to take it. Follow me as I try to grab the brass ring.

Later!

Craig

Booktalk – Wolves on the Border

While I have written a number of stories and been involved with several sourcebooks, my contribution is but a drop in the buck in the amount of stories and source books that have been written. I’ve decided to highlight some of these earlier works, and show how they are still relevant to day. These won’t be book reviews, but why I think they’re important.

I’ve decided to start with one of the first Battletech Novels: Wolves on the Border by Robert Charrette.

Many Battletech fans consider this the best Battletech novel ever written, and it’s hard to argue with that claim. This is the first novel that the reader sees large-scale warfare. In Decision at Thunder Rift, the main thrust is small-unit action, less than a company of ’Mechs involved. In the Sword and the Dagger, it’s political intrigue. In Wolves on the Border, it’s warfare.

Minobu Tetsuhara is a loyal officer in the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery. When he spares the life of an enemy, he is stripped of his position and reassigned as a liaison officer to a newly hired mercenary unit --- Wolf's Dragoons. He discovers that the enemy he spared was the Dragoon's commander, Colonel Jamie Wolf.

As he works with the Dragoons and Colonel Wolf, Tetsuhara find that he is more accepted by the mercenaries than he is by the Combine. Tetshura and Wolf becomes friends, finding common ground as warriors, As the Dragoons win victory after victory, Tetsuhara finds that their success is also his success.

He is given the task of training a new division of warriors, in the image of the Dragoons. But when Warlord Samsonov tried to trap the Dragoons into becoming a permanent part of the DCMS, the Wolves refuse, and Tetshura is forced to fight his friend Jamie Wolf and his Dragoons.

It’s our first good look at two important parts of the Battletech universe: The Draconis Combine and Wolves Dragoons. The Combine soldier as Samauri is established here, and the reader see it in Tetshura's actions and manner. We also see the power games and vicious backstabbing that hides behind the image. In the Dragoons, we see a highly profession unit of soldiers, with hints of a background that doesn't become known until twenty-five years later.

The story is solid, the action well-imaged, setting the standards for every other author that follows. The events have consequences far beyond the novel, and it's after effects felt for a long time. Several major characters are introduced in this novel --  Jaime Wolf,  Natasha Kerensky, Takashi Kurita, and The Bounty Hunter. Besides the Dragoons, this novel marks the first story appearance of the Sword of Light regiments, the Ryuken, and the Eridani Light Horse.

I consider this novel to be the most important novel in the fist several years of Battletech. It is one of the foundation stones on which the Battletech legacy is laid, and without it, the Battletech Universe would have been different.

Craig