I don't really know you much at all, but I know good news when I hear it. Congratulations!
George, meet Jack. Jack meet George.
Problem solved. 
Nathan B. Childs wrote:Congratulations, Jack. How many published books does this make?
Thanks, Nathan! This will be my sixteenth, including three co-authored novels.
Wow!
Sol,
Marilyn noted this evening that the points math is still 5-to-1. We may have lost a newer member because of it.
Also, can you please give us an update on where things stand with recent bug reports? Are fixes still in progress, or are those on hold until you divide the site's workflow into reviewers-only and paying members?
Any ETA on any of these?
Thanks
Dirk
Nailed it! Inspired by my original typo. Go figure.
...Since the lay public could barely pronounce tritrarium, much less spell it, some fool geologist with a poor understanding of human nature, suggested holding a contest to rename it. The winning entry was Starry McStarface. Horrified, geologists refused to accept the result. After considerable public outrage and endless lawsuits, the judge overseeing the matter, caught on a bad day and fed up with the stupidity of it all, unilaterally imposed a compromise: McRock.
I'm truly McDemented. Total waste of a day, but I love the result.
Yes. I misread how you spelled it originally. I like yours better.
I fooled around with Gemini, hunting for names that *do* suggest interstellar travel, the revised assumption being that these mineral stones have a formal name (atreidite? trirarium?), but are commonly known as (one of) galaxy grains, cosmic shards, nova nuggets, starstuff, or stellar stones, a name that evolved once they began to be used for powering stardrives. All five of those names have been used, of course. Galaxy grains are a snack in the Star Wars universe. Starstuff (star stuff) is typically associated with Carl Sagan, which could be a nice tribute.
In descending order, I like starstuff, nova nuggets, and galaxy grains. I just have to pick one and stop wasting time.
EDIT: I went with trirarium and nova nuggets. Although I prefer starstuff, it would make for too many repetitive references to stars in the names (e.g., stardrives powered by starstuff - nyet). Nova nuggets are formed during supernovas, hence their nova name.
Thanks for everyone's help. Now go out and see if you can find any deposits of the mineral. The galaxy awaits!
Or joulestones may become a permanent part of the English language. I could organize rock-hunting parties, where I send people out to hunt for those incredibly valuable energy stones, with a substantial reward for anyone who finds one. Put that on Facebook, and watch the fun. 
Better yet, hold the rock hunt on April 1.
Joulestones is overly accurate. They'd realistically be called (inaccurately) Wattstones
Wouldn't wattstones be just as overly accurate as joulestones?. These stones not only have a maximum energy storage capacity (expressed in joules), but also a rate at which energy can flow in/out of a given stone (in watts). You need both to fully specify the two properties of these stones.
Also, only joulestones have the play on words (jewel). My assumption is these minerals have to be processed to change them from gemstones into gems (jewels) to maximize their effectiveness as batteries.
Great news, Jack. Congrats.
The first miner to find one picks it up and the heat from his hand starts a reaction and it begins to glow and become intensely hot. The miner calls it a handstar. Or perhaps handnova
The engineers that work on them can be called starlords (I could only find Star-Lords on the net). Novalord has been used.
Same issue as in one of my previous posts. These guys wouldn't be named for the stars since the stardrive has yet to be invented when the stones are found. I like the idea of the stones giving off energy, but it has to act like a battery, not like a radioactive substance. I could see it giving off electromagnetic energy that the stones absorbed naturally, perhaps from exposure to light and/or heat, including from the heat of entry in a planet's atmosphere
Interestingly, that means njc's joulestone deserves serious consideration, both for its reference to energy and its indirect reference to jewels. So, the mineral has to be processed to produce gems to maximize their potential as batteries, which was my preference anyway.
Going a step further, these stones could be rare remnants from planetary formation. I like the idea of it coming from certain asteroids/meteors that smack the planet and deliver the stuff to the Earth (and other planets), mostly from a star system's Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt, both features of every star system. That means humans should not only be looking for the stuff on terrestrial planets but also in the cloud/belt (needles in a haystack).
Joulestones is my new favorite.
I think I can leave out the reference to hyperbattery, although I still need to give a minimal description of what the stones do. I'll have to search my Word docs for any references to batteries.
In addition to the three x-stones I already mentioned, I also like njc's arcstone. I want to avoid names that tie it to powering stardrives (e.g., jumpstones) since stardrives won't exist when the mineral is first found and named.
Although energystones and powerstones are the obvious names I could (should?) use, they're rather simplistic/boring. I'm trying to decide if the stones should have a less obvious, more interesting name with a story behind it. I don't intend to go into those details, but the names could be more interesting. I imagine that whoever first finds this mineral notices some odd properties about it (related to energy?), and its name, which is probably chosen soon after it's found, could reflect those odd properties.
Let me suggest:
Fusolite (I have a hard time leaving fusion behind)
Heliogen (go a notch up on hydrogen)
Heliofuse
Tritarium (no long i's, long a, and emphasis on second syllable)
Thanks for those.
I was leaning toward firestones, using "fire" because these minerals (gems?) are used as hyperbatteries to store/release energy, mainly for stardrives. I'm also considering energystones and powerstones. Neither term is overused in the real world (energy stones are another name for healing stones, and power stones are used in some games, including as a way for players to unlock new abilities (powers)).
Any fusionish names won't work because the stones are charged using energy from either a neutrino annihilator (for big military ships) or a fusion generator (for smaller interstellar ships).
I like Trirarium too, although I still lean toward one of the stones above.
Preferences?
Dirk
Requirements for the revised chapter(s):
- Joseph tells his parents everything; this is necessary, even if only in a brief flashback. His goal is to convince them Michael et al are real, to renounce the throne, and be permitted to leave to become a prophet.
- His parents commit him to the psych ward and (foolishly) give the shrinks free reign as long as they don't harm him. I was considering using just one shrink, but I need at least two for their conversation about the illegal drug, and three allows me to use the Goofus, Doofus, and Rufus joke.
- Cut Joseph off from outside help, even if the guards are a mere shouting distance away (for emergencies). Torture him psychologically (e.g., the forced nudity) and physically (e.g., the dangerous tests) to bring him as low as I can at this point in the story, including putting his life at risk (I intend to do more with the latter; might as well kill him, even though only briefly).
- Introduce Catherine, and flesh out her character (this wasn't originally my intention, but given how it worked out, I'm going to keep her).
- Give the reader more background on Archangel Syndrome. The conclusion is he has the "condition". The implication is that Apollo has it to.
- Have Joseph take steps to get himself freed from the ward. Most of this one is currently missing since he depends mostly on Catherine for the rescue. As I mentioned in my reply to your review, I'm sure I can find a way for him to trigger the MIND to raise the alarm (e.g., with something he swipes from the testing station and takes to his room for later, which could be a sharp instrument).
- Finally convince his mother that Michael et al are real and to allow him to proceed with his destiny. This was actually the main goal of the whole tri-chapter, much of the rest having been unplanned. I need to involve Michael and St. James in his rescue, though, because it further demonstrates their importance to his safety, life, and future.
- "Revenge" against the shrinks in causing them to strip at the end. He has no control over anything else that happens to them.
With some changes noted above, I think I can put more of the plot and outcome of this chapter in Joseph's hands. He can trigger his own rescue, perhaps by stabbing himself, but I can't fully eliminate him relying on others for the actual rescue since that's the role of the guards. Naturally, it's great for the shrinks (i.e., the antagonists) to have their own goals, which run counter to Joseph's.
I originally intended this tri-chapter as the end of novella one, but I now plan to end it right before the above all happens, ending instead with the two prior chapters, when Joseph and Apollo commit to their respective destinies. The only disadvantage is that neither chapter ends with a cliffhanger, although committing to their destinies is a pretty big deal in and of itself.
Better?
Dirk
Moving Kdot's post here from the Connor thread:
I'm not sure how self-reliant I should make Joseph for the tri-chapter. After all, he gets thrown into the nutward by his parents, so it isn't like he would be trying to escape. And the ward is surrounded by his guards, so he's always just a few steps from receiving help anyway
Hmm "self-reliant" wasn't the angle I was thinking. More agency would be welcome, but he doesn't need to pull a Laurie and charge 100 orderlies / armed security guards with little more than duct tape and a pair of scissors.
I feel my question is what the story is "About". Right now it's about the rise and fall of the doctors:
In the beginning, Dr G aspired to claim goal X.
Middle: In his pride, he shot to shortcut the righteous path and erred.
Crisis: He makes a decision to force his results. To clean up his mistake he lays a trap
Denoument: G is thwarted and dealt his punishmentAs you may observe above, the 4-step story I wrote is not about Joseph; he merely happens to be in it. The stakes are light for him (and the danger relatively low if his guards are near). There is little he can win aside from his parent's recognition.
Michael even says this himself: "Nothing here really mattered except that Catherine came out as your friend" (My paraphrase of course)
You should file my question for later after you've reached the end, but I think it'll solve the length problem / thinning problem you're dealing with. If you can make this *about* Joseph, meaningful to him, a journey that transforms his greater journey, the length won't even be noticeable
I prefer last stand to last gamble/gambit in part because of Custer's Last Stand. My target audience of course knows/expects Satan will lose in the end, but I think the reason people read those end of the world stories is to see how. Although his last challenge is a key driver for the story, ultimately it's about Connor being able to overcome Satan's control over him (genetically programmed to obey daddy, raised to believe his father has been wronged, etc.) and ultimately triumph in the end, albeit as the Lesser King and the Unholy Shepherd (if Gandalf can have a billion names, why not two titles for Connor (in addition to Antichrist).
Of all of the above, I like Satan's Last Stand best.
Other possibilities for the trilogy title:
Satan's Last Stand - granted, it implies he will lose, but a Christian audience expects that anyway.
The Last Challenge - meh
Satan's War - nice and short, kind of boring though
The Millennia War - a possibility since the Last Challenge unfolds over two millennia
Kingdom of Fire & Faith - still in the running, albeit long
A title similar to Burn it all Down, which I like, but has been used too often
The End - simple, but impossible to find given the number of books with The End as part of the title.
Great Deeds Await
Great Deeds Await You
Killing the Messiah
Lord of the Earth, while slightly shorter may not help much. For example: in addition to naming the trilogy, the wording will most likely be something like: Lord of the Earth Book One (or Book 1).
Earth's Lord - yup, too short
Earth's Supreme Lord doesn't work too well because the winner could be Christ, Satan, or Connor. Referring to Satan or Connor as Supreme Lord seems a bit much.
Final Gambit - hmm, not a fan of that one
Hmm. Per my previous post, I was hoping to shorten the title of the series from "The Lord of the Earth" because, when combined with the title of each novel, it strikes me as very long to have on a book cover. All three of those I was considering (The Lesser King, The Immortal Sinner, and The Unholy Shepherd) are too suggestive of the fact that Connor is not Christ, which is the big twist of book one. The Lesser King and The Unholy Shepherd are great titles for book three, though.
I really like Google AI's suggestion of Kingdom of Fire & Faith, but that's even longer than the current series title. The abbreviated title of Fire & Faith hasn't been used too much, but I find it too bland. I may just say to heck with it and use the full title (Kingdom of ...).
I like Unholy Shepherd best too. The title is meant to reflect the difference between who he was, and who he became in the end.
The Lesser King is nice too because Connor is crowned king at the end (i.e., he not only survived but came out on top), but unlike his father, Connor freely acknowledges that he is not the greatest king.
The other one I like is the Immortal Sinner because Connor becomes immortal at the end.
Since the name of my trilogy (The Lord of the Earth) is rather long, especially when it has to appear alongside the name of the novels, I'm probably going to rename the trilogy to one of the above three (probably the Lesser King) and perhaps one of the others as the title of book three. Except I don't think I want Connor to be both Shepherd and King.
Not a fan of End War. Not lofty enough.
Needless to say, The Day of the Lord is taken.
I could also see giving Connor a different title than king, like The Shepherd or The Caretaker. The book could then be called the Unholy Shepherd or the Holy Caretaker.
Great Deeds Await, with or without You at the end.
The Antichrist Burns or The Burning of the Antichrist, which, technically, he does.
Burned Alive! possibly with The Destruction of the Antichrist as the subtitle, although the subtitle is a little misleading; he is burned alive and destroyed, but he is brought back to life by God, who declares the Antichrist part of him to no longer exist/been burned to nothing)
The Immortal Sinner - since Connor will become immortal at the end.
The Antichrist Triumphant.
EDIT: Oddly, the Unholy Shepherd has been used before too, although only once, released in 2019 or 2021, for a murder-mystery. 4.8 stars on Amazon, although only from 9 reviewers (friends & family?). So, I consider that title usable.
EDIT: A Kingdom of Fire and Faith. -- Google's AI suggested this one.
From the looks of the two lists (including my previous post), it will almost certainly be one of the titles in blue. Right now, "The Lesser King" and "The Unholy Shepherd" are in the lead.
The War for Souls Begins/Has Begun - possible alternative title for book 2; Nnamani's line was "The war for souls has just begun."
Great Deeds Await - possible title for book 3
My preference though is a title that could apply equally to Connor and Jesus. Something like "Rise of the King", but that title would only work for Connor, whereas "Return of the King" would only work for Jesus, assuming it wasn't already slightly used.
Crowning of the King - primarily refers to Connor.
The Lesser King - unused, I really like this one, but it also only applies to Connor.
All Hail the King - relatively unused title; I like this one; applies to both Connor and Jesus
King of the Stars
Into the Lake of Fire, Beyond the Lake of Fire
The Father Chooses His Champions Wisely - a line from the epilogue, refers to both Connor and his mother; a bit long, though.
The Lord of the Earth - currently the name of the trilogy, but I could rename the trilogy and use this title for book 3
Continued next post...
Well, crap! An end times novel was just released called "The War for Souls", which was to be the title of my second book. It's from the line Nnamani speaks as he and Campagna flee the Vatican at the end of book one.
Cool additions:
- Depending on how bad you sinned in your life, the harsher the planet will be that you will be sent to live on.
- At the end of the story, I can have the real Christ crown Connor on Earth as king of all those worlds.
- Possibly with the ability to see what is happening on each of the worlds he has to rule. Probably using some special orb filled with water from the Sea of Galilee.
Satan will indeed be thrown (sucked) into the lake of fire, which, as you may recall, is an interstellar portal, but it can also send you elsewhere on Earth. God decides who goes where. Satan will end up on a small moon being sucked into the black hole at the center of our galaxy. Haven't figured out if I plan to send all demons there as well, or elsewhere. Some hellish world, perhaps, with instructions from God that no one ever go there. But will humans obey him this time?
I have two options (or both together) for someone going into the lake of fire. One is that time in the lake of fire is much slower than real time, so before you pass through the portal you will be punished by the lake for the unabsolved misdeeds of your life. However I make it, it can't be forever since I want to get all mortal sinners to other worlds. Which brings me to option 2, which is to state that they are, figuratively, in the lake of fire forever since they'll be on other worlds forever (they can never get back to Earth). I'll probably combine them, so you get some burning, then get transported.
Connor/Adam burn to nothing except for one thought: Agony! That's because Adam agreed before returning to Earth to personally accept everyone else's punishment. But he's too afraid to jump into the lake when the time comes, so Connor does it (one of the great deeds that awaits him). Then they get transported back to Megiddo, to the other waiting characters.
One issue to resolve is that I want the portals to be able to take you between worlds, so Connor, Campagna, and Romano, among others, can travel everywhere in the future since Connor, who is now immortal, has to rule all of it. Connor's throne will be on a renewed Earth.
Satan will, of course, burn worse than anyone else. And he'll never get away from the black hole.
Just to clarify my previous comments, many Catholics consider Revelation heavily figurative, but since there's 1.3 billion of them, I'm guessing a huge number of them don't know much about it. Even if they've read it, much of Revelation seems bizarre, so you probably need help understanding it, and if you go to the internet for your info, there are tons of Protestant websites that give their interpretation, but I don't recall any saying that they're a Protestant website and that interpretations differ.
The Catholic-specific study guides can vary quite a bit too. If you like, I'll send you the name/author of what I thought was the best one. When I first read Revelation, I thought John was off his meds. But, the aforementioned book was terrific at explaining things, and by the time I was done, I thought John was brilliant.
