Let's not forget the Ewoks. Apparently, even The Empire Strikes Back had its haters when it first came out. How can anyone not like a huge dose of Darth Vader and Yoda? Lucas originally worried people would say he put Kermit the Frog in Star Wars. I can't believe he had the guts to make him green.
2,202 2018-04-12 04:19:51
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,492 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Somewhere along the way, I discovered (and then forgot) that requiem also means funeral Mass (not just music), primarily in the Catholic Church. Seems like a good fit since the old heaven and old earth will pass away in the End Times (Revelation). It's also completely unused on Amazon. It requires a little Catholic knowledge to get someone to click past the title, but so be it. Its one down side is that the reference to Heaven may turn away people who might otherwise stop to click/read the summary for a supernatural thriller. I had the same problem with the word God in the title of my space opera story. That was the original reason I settled on Unholy Lords of the Earth, but that title has its own issues. You put Unholy and Lord together in a title, and Christians will fume and skip right past it. They're my primary target audience (2.2 billion Christians and 1.2 billion Catholics). I have 4-6 years to change my mind another fifty times.
Time for OCD medication.
2,203 2018-04-12 01:04:14
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,492 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Christine, you convinced me. Back to Kindle...
2,204 2018-04-11 23:27:11
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,492 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Thanks, Christine. I think Requiem for Heaven and Earth is a highbrow title, and it remains a potential choice. I settled on Unholy Lords and decided not to touch it again until I have something written. The story won't change because of the title, but the title may change depending on how I feel about the story once it's written. My favorites (e.g., The Unholy Trinity) are all taken on Amazon, usually more than once.
Welcome to my thread. :-)
2,205 2018-04-11 23:00:14
Re: A little turbulence (17 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Google Chrome. Latest version. I cleared the browsing history and cookies, and restarted the browser. The problem still exists. Was there any work done on x-line view?
If anyone else is seeing this, please comment here.
I'll email you a screenshot.
2,206 2018-04-11 20:38:54
Re: Christine Dreier Eyes of the River (4 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Welcome, Christine. You're in the right place. However, I suggest you edit your above post to change the subject line to something like: [story name] - Christine Dreier. Many of us in this group have such brainstorming threads for help with story issues, additional feedback, writing craft, etc. It's a great way to improve your story/writing, in my opinion, beyond just what the reviews provide. It's also where you can collect everyone's ideas in one place, making it easier to find stuff later. We also shoot the breeze in them. Try to snag Seabrass, Kdot, and njc as reviewers, if they have the time. Amy S is also excellent, although I'm not sure if she has much time at the moment. There are others, too, all very helpful. Check out our threads and subscribe to the ones you want to be notified about. I'm not currently very active on the site as I'm doing research for a new series about the Antichrist, but I'm posting to a thread called The Unholy Lords of the Earth. Would love your input, time permitting.
Dirk
2,207 2018-04-11 20:27:45
Re: A little turbulence (17 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Sol, check out the latest review I did for Stephen Carter's book, Germ Line: Revolution. It's not displaying the comments correctly (the comment boxes are huge).
2,208 2018-04-11 02:24:50
Re: A little turbulence (17 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Malcom, where's your portfolio? Tick tock. :-)
2,209 2018-04-10 06:22:09
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,492 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I watched a long YouTube video yesterday about Jesus, and I made notes on paper as it played. Halfway through I got bored, so I paused it. That's when I saw another tab in my browser with the same video, paused at almost the exact same spot. I checked my notes file and, sure enough, I had made virtually the exact same notes.
Another video was about the finding of a tomb that some argue contained Jesus and his family. There are bone boxes inside for a man named Jesus (son of Joseph), James and Joses (brothers of Jesus according to the Bible), one or two Marys (there's some confusion about the inscriptions), and a son of Jesus. The argument was that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and they had a son, which would have been the norm for men of Jesus's age (most or all of the apostles were married). It turns out, though, that Jesus and Joseph were two of the most common names in that period, making up almost ten percent of Jewish males. Probability analysis suggested that it was still very possible to find all those names in a tomb without them being Christ's family.
2,210 2018-04-10 05:44:38
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,492 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I'd never heard of her before. I'll definitely have to get the Other Bible you told me about. But only after my first chapter is up. Too many unread books right now.
2,211 2018-04-10 04:58:44
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,492 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
My estimate for finishing the majority of my research by the end of April wasn't even close. I'm still months away from having an outline for the first book. In the meantime I'm drowning in notes. What I would give for a better way to organize this stuff.
That book I read about the Via Dolorosa being the wrong route for Christ's final steps through Old Jerusalem is going to play a big role at the end of book one. $2 and time well-spent.
My latest book is called Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus, which I'm about 40% done with. I still have to convert all of my Kindle highlights to Word, though. Tedious.
The mother of all research efforts will be my recently acquired Ignatius New Testament Study Guide. Fortunately, mostly I just need the Gospels for now.
2,212 2018-04-05 21:55:16
Re: Spanking new (5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Basic)
We must be related, Claire. :-)
Welcome to the site.
What genre(s) do you write?
2,213 2018-04-04 05:22:21
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,492 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
V2 of the book summary. I shortened 'living in a Catholic orphanage in Rome' to 'an orphan in Rome', and used K's word order. I also trimmed elsewhere. Although not strictly required, I chose to keep Catholic in the summary, but moved it down. 'from the possessed' also isn't strictly required, although I prefer to keep it for now. I also decided to limit the dying to bishops and cardinals, no priests. The Antichrist would be after the Vatican leadership. Although 'Council of Cardinal Advisers' is a mouthful, I chose to use the Council as the proxy for the Pope. The Pope is ailing, so the head cardinal (the Secretary of State) will serve as my main Vatican leader. Connor will meet the Pope at the end of the book.
Fourteen-year-old Connor, an orphan in Rome, has special gifts. He comforts the grieving, heals the sick, and casts out demons from the possessed. As the Catholic Church struggles to understand his supernatural abilities, bishops and cardinals in the city start dying at an alarming rate, either by accident, suicide, or murder. Soon the Pope’s Council of Cardinal Advisers concludes the Church is being stalked by the Antichrist, and Connor becomes his main target. The Council must move swiftly to save Connor, who may be their long-awaited Christ returned in the flesh. Thus begins a desperate struggle between good and evil that could decide the fate of humanity.
The two paragraphs take up 2/3 of a well-spaced Word page, so that should easily fit the back of a book cover.
My thanks to K.
2,214 2018-04-04 00:56:00
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,492 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Well-reasoned, Obi-Wan. Fortunately, I have 4-6 years to rewrite it twenty times. I finally like the title, though. :-)
2,215 2018-04-03 23:39:52
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,492 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
In definitely thinking about trimming it to be sure it all fits on the back of a book, but I hadn't considered shortening the first sentence since the target audience is Christians, especially Catholics. Also, I think the fact that I mention the setting being in Rome is a plus, although it's mentioned later, so I don't need it in the first sentence.
Ponder, I will.
2,216 2018-04-03 22:56:20
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,492 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Actually, it's not an either-or thing. I need both. The first paragraph describes the series while the second paragraph on each back cover will describe the individual books. The two paragraphs above will appear on the back cover of book one, called Saving Connor.
2,217 2018-04-03 20:31:01
Re: Savior of the Damned (the Connor series) by Dirk B. (1,492 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
About this Series:
The End Times have come and the Unholy Trinity — the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and Satan — are gathering for war. But the Bible has already foretold their doom: Jesus Christ will return in the flesh and conquer evil forever. In a desperate bid to avoid an eternity of suffering, Satan has issued one last challenge to God the Father that could upend the prophecies, destroy the Messiah and His Church, and give Satan everlasting dominion. But why would the Father agree to such a dare? What is so important that He would risk it all? Find out in this trilogy, The Unholy Lords of the Earth.
The above summary is primarily to help me plan/focus the story (along with a pending synopsis and outline). The above will appear on the back cover of the book, along with a paragraph like that below, specific to each book.
Living in a Catholic orphanage in Rome, fourteen-year-old Connor has special gifts. He comforts the grieving, heals the sick, and casts out demons from the possessed. As the Church struggles to understand his supernatural abilities and reconcile them with accepted doctrine, priests, bishops, and cardinals in Rome are dying at an alarming rate, either by accident, suicide, or murder. Soon the Pope’s Council of Cardinal Advisers concludes the Church is being stalked by the Antichrist, and Connor becomes his main target. The Council must move swiftly to save Connor, who may be the Church’s long-awaited Christ returned in the flesh. Thus begins a desperate struggle between good and evil that could decide the fate of Christendom and all of humanity with it.
The above two paragraphs won't leave room for anything else on the back cover. Is that a problem? They seem like the most important things I could place there.
2,218 2018-04-03 06:45:23
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
No, I want him to suffer the extraordinary guilt of killing her. I think it's fair to say, keeping both mother and grandmother, and only using them as needed won't fly, as noted above. Unless I can think of something better, I'll probably go with antidepressants and mania to get him to resume his quest. The mania could explain him going off the deep end while in prison, with his loony ideas about the universe, evolution, reincarnation, etc. He'll also get King David as his first father ever. I need to keep Jesus out of the larger part of the story, although He and/or God the Father may make a brief appearance at extreme moments in the story. That's another way I could get Joseph to resume the quest. He could be visited by God after his suicide attempt.
2,219 2018-04-03 02:03:01
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Does anyone have any suggestions on how best to handle the fact that Joseph has both his dead grandmother in his head AND eventually his mother, too? Both women have strong personalities and both play key roles, one military and the other motherly/decisive, although I rarely need them both in the same chapter. I'm thinking of killing off the mother completely and giving her lines to grandma. If I do, I need to come up with a powerful reason for Joseph to resume his quest after abandoning it completely and trying to kill himself following his mother's death, which he caused. Currently, he resumes the quest with relish because he believes his mother has joined him in his head, telling him that the quest is the most important thing he'll ever do. Or do I keep both and simply use them only as needed? In that case, one or the other might not appear for at least three full chapters, since Apollo's story lies in between as well (e.g., grandma advises Joseph, Apollo gets a chapter, Joseph's mother advises him, Apollo gets another chapter, then finally back to grandma). Even when they do appear, these ghosts have very limited lines since God and Andrew are Joseph's main ghosts. I think it would weaken the roles of both women. I suppose I could have Joseph O.D. on antidepressants rather than sleeping pills. Antidepressants often make one drowsy. He would then be manic long enough to get to Earth.
Thoughts?
2,220 2018-04-02 06:13:01
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I need to fix the overlap of personalities between Joseph's mother and Admiral St. James. Also, Joseph's mother should be a queen again since his religion will be Anglicanism on the world Britannia, which allows for a queen as head of state and the religion. Need to explain why Britannia's main royal palace is a modest mansion with a limited security force, whereas the British monarch lives in real palaces.
Apollo's father will end up in his head.
2,221 2018-04-02 05:04:40
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
v4 note:
There will be three books total in this series. Book one v4 converts God into archangels as part of Archangel Syndrome. Apollo will get Germanus (his executed best friend) in his head so I can do humor without making the archangel silly like Apollo's God currently is. Germanus will be Apollo's version of Andrew. Colonel/General Lucilius will be killed off in the attack on the Imperial Palace by Lupus and Hadisius. Gaia then steps in as her replacement, hopefully making her a stronger character. There will be one news anchor droid/news organization used throughout the book, except for the one with Fox Blitzen & Bunny Divine. Acme products should have more failures/near failures.
Book two will be Joseph growing/managing his chaotic religion, which takes off among the Maya after he releases the prison video of his resurrection near the end of book one. Apollo will be trying to grow the Imperium at breakneck speed while also converting it to Christianity. Gaia, Caligula, and Leonardo (with Stronza) will have roles to play. The real cause behind Archangel Syndrome will be revealed as Dr. Francis from the future and the news droid from book one. The year will be 4021.
Book three will be set in 7329 AD. With the help of the news anchor droid and Professor Hinkley (the time traveler), Joseph and Apollo travel to the future, where they play key roles in the overthrow of the galactic government by Joseph's fanatical followers. They go "wild Fremen" when they realize who Joseph is. Joseph will lead his followers in a plot to overthrow the sprawling Imperium that Apollo helped create. Apollo will appear to oppose this. Secretly, the two cousins may be working together. Need to involve Dr. Francis. Try to include Leonardo (with Stronza), Gaia, and Caligula. Acme and Mama's Big Butt Shipping should still be around.
Heaven help me work out the causality problems caused by Dr. Francis. He personally should be immune to the causality problems, which is what allowed him to keep tweaking the future even as he changed it. Use technology for that.
Galaxy Tales never really worked as a title for this series. The new title will be Archangel Syndrome.
2,222 2018-04-01 17:01:38
Re: Can I reference a real song and artist in a work of fiction? (15 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Thank you, Lynne.
2,223 2018-04-01 16:20:17
Re: Can I reference a real song and artist in a work of fiction? (15 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
The song is in the public domain. I was asking if I could mention the name of the singer. According to numerous web sites, I can, but that won't stop someone from taking frivolous legal action if they don't want to be mentioned. I'll mention the song but not the singer.
Thank you, Malcolm. I tell other people to use Google, but I often forget to do so.
2,224 2018-04-01 06:49:28
Topic: Can I reference a real song and artist in a work of fiction? (15 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
I'm in the middle of planning a Christian trilogy, and I would like a devout Catholic teenager to listen to Battle Hymn of the Republic by Lee Greenwood. What are the rules in a case like that? Do I need the artist's permission? The song is in the public domain. My reason for wanting to name this particular singer is to promote his version of the song. He sings the historical Civil War lyrics, not the modern version.
Thanks.
Dirk
2,225 2018-04-01 05:57:35
Re: Tech (5 replies, posted in Science Fiction, Steampunk, and Space Opera)
Too bad I deleted my Facebook account. Too many cat videos and half-naked Russian women wanting to be friends. Too much like the Kardashians. Somehow, I don't think they're my target audience for Christian-friendly books.