parent nodes: Saga Novels | StarSpawn

The Novels

Most of the material on this page is also included on the individual novel pages (see The Saga Novels).

Spoiler Alert!

Some of the later novel descriptions contain spoilers about characters in earlier novels. I have attempted to be somewhat obtuse, but there are areas where that just does not work.

The Novels

This is a list of the novels as of this date. Like all things, it is subject to change, based upon any number of factors, including my interest in writing one or more of the stories. Right now, there is a strong possibility that I'll not write the Chato Demtris story and possibly will add a story on cloning, based upon a short story called "Clones to Us."

Over the course of three years with an agent, I became unhappy with the results and realized that unless I could get meaningful feedback, all I was doing was paying for someone to do clerical work. When the agent started to increase their fees, I decided it was time to bail. After three years, I asked that our agreement and contract end.

I attended a seminar (sometimes it takes only one) in which a published author talked about her experiences with agents and I had the opportunity to ask some revealing questions. Basically, long books, while they may be good, will never sell easily and almost never from an unknown author. I knew that I was in trouble and had to go back and revisit the first three stories - I needed to reduce them in size to 120,000 words (the upper limit placed on submissions by Del Rey) or less.

But I wasn't in the mood for doing any rewrites at that time and so tackled three more stories in the series, limiting them to 120,000 words or less. During 2005, I rewrote the first two stories and split the third into two separate books. In addition, I completed the fifth, sixth, seventh, and ninth books.

During 2006 and the early part of 2007, I completed the remainder of the first eleven stories in the saga. I also completed the twelth book (Carrrollton), but realized that I had some issues with midieval life and had to turn to the books. This is forcing a needful rewrite to Return of the Sky People and Carrollton.

The following list reflects the current state of affairs as it now stands (see the last updated date at the bottom of this page for the current date).

The Star Spawn Saga

  1. First Encounter. 117,199 words. Originally titled Star Spawn a.k.a. The Waken Incident, and running 184,000 words, I renamed it to give me a better choice of a name for the second encounter with the Intruders. Now, instead of focusing on the general crew, the story centers around Jules Ann Stollack, the young and green captain the warship ADF Waken and the crew's encounter with a Star Spawn and fight with the intruders.

    The condensed story received its "final" pre-publication edit in February, 2008, but after attending Capricon and exchanging some e-mails with Jennifer Stevenson, I pulled this back and am now in the process of completely rewriting it, which I hope to complete by Summer, 2008. The reason is because my writing continues to "age" (whether that means it is getting better or not is questionable) and therefore, the first novels will all be rewritten before being submitted. My readers will get an opportunity to see the novels once the rewrite is finished.

    In looking at the story, I have decided to do a complete rewrite, to provide as much background as possible and still keep the word length down. The story still focuses on Jules Ann Stollack, but now includes the original plot lines. My target completion for the rewrite is now mid 2008.

  2. Renegade, 125,000 words (a little long at this point). A.k.a. Star Spawn II: Renegade; a.k.a. The Stormy Island Incident, originally 217,000 and then 172, 000 words. (Two versions existed. I went back and captured the longer of the two, reducing it in size and keeping most of the original elements.) - Stollack and her crew are assigned to the prototype Stormy Island to investigate the loss of Monitor. They encounter and are trapped by a renegade Star Spawn and its storm. Rewrite completed in June, 2005.

    I have decided to do another rewrite to fill out the story and bring it to my current level of writing. Target completion is mid to late 2008.

    I decided, with the final name decision on The Waken Incident, to rename this to The Stormy Island Incident.

  3. Rebirth Part I: Matthews - 120,000 words. This book is the first half of Star Spawn III: Rebirth. 235,000 words. Matthews escapes and is tracked by Stollack. When she returns with him in tow, she is assigned as First Captain of the dreadnought Eclipse. Matthews' true nature is revealed in this story. Rebirth Matthews

    In doing a read pass, I discovered a significant problem with Rarrurker's speech. It does not match the style I used in later novels - likewise, his personality needs to be tamed. Planned rewrite target: late 2008.

  4. Rebirth Part II: Eclipse - 116,000 words. The second half of Star Spawn III: Rebirth. By the time Stollack gets the ship up to staff, the Alliance charter is in shambles and Eclipse stands alone in a war with the Coceedn. Rebirth Eclipse

    I will take a long look at this with the idea that it may need a rewrite. If so, my planned rewrite will be early 2009.

  5. The Cleric, 101,000 words. - Jon-than, a cleric of the Saba'the-en monastery, is summonded to rescue a young maiden and finds himself transported to a world of two suns. There, he falls in love with a soothsayer's daughter and rescues her from the dreaded Heuriskein. Initial write completed December, 2004.

  6. Cleric's World, 121,000 words - a.k.a. Star Spawn V: Troubled Skies. The Cleric and Stollack must team together to resolve a problem in the ethereal world, but not before they deal with the Heuriskein. Initial write completed March, 2005. Several passes have been completed and while this story is over the upper end of the word count, I am not going to reduce it like I did the first two stories. Clerics World

    I have noticed some minor problems with the speech patters used by the Medieval characters (Jon, Miorden, etc.) and as such am doing an edit pass with completion targeted for mid to late 2008.

  7. Visit to a Small Planet, 161,000 words - This could be considered part of the saga, but may not be published since it is my tribute to Stargate SG-1 and involves the characters of that series. The story was co-authored with Chad Blythe, one of my reviewers and takes place within the Stargate world about the middle of the fifth (or seventh) season (I've forgotten which). I have worked the events of that story into the saga, but the saga is not dependent upon the story. It could be considered one of the spin-off novels. It also exceeds my 120,000 word limit for novels, which is another problem. Should we succeed in obtaining permission to publish the story, it will become the seventh novel in the saga.

    For Stargate fans, the story takes place after Daniel Jackson returns from being ascended and before Janet Fraiser dies (in the seventh season). It is slightly out of step with the Stargate series in that it puts a final end to the conflict with the Go'auld and permanently resolves the replicator problem, though, it appears to work well within the Stargate SG-1 History. If I do not obtain permission to publish the story, then I will eventually publish it to this site as fan fiction.

    Because this was a joint effort, my editing passes are centered on typographical corrections and making sure I have complete consistence of the Dracs with the rest of the saga.

  8. Second Encounter, 116,500 words - Julie and her crew are finally on their way to the Intruder home world. She resolves the mystery surrounding the murders aboard Eclipse and turns her powers against another race of the Alliance - the Zurthians. Ordered to leave the political intrigues behind, she concedes and lets her tacticians take command and the mighty ship out to Intruder space. Along the way, they make some incredible discoveries about Eclipse and the universe.

  9. Mutant, 108,500 words - New to the saga, January 2001. Stollack returns home and resigns from the ADF (with good reason). This is a tribute to several science fictions shows - X-Men and Angel in particular with a nod to the late Andre the Giant. The star spawn encounters life in The Pits and beyond.

  10. The Final Battle, 120,000 words - A continuation of the Mutant story, this novel features Julie's exploration efforts to find the ruins of ancient civilizations and some interesting battles with the forces of evil.

  11. Originally, Walker (or Last Flight of the Howler), this novel grew to the point where I realized I had at least two books. Return of the Sky People, 119,500 words. The "sky people" return to the Cleric's World as a bubble of space is popped loose. As they settle in, making the planet their new home, the sky people discover a remarkable connection to creatures of legend. Little wonder, then, that the Goddess came from their ranks.
  12. Carrollton, 111,000 words - the continuing story of the Return of the Sky People and the adjustments that must be made to "fit in" with a midieval society.

  13. The Order of the Knife, 120,000 words - A continuation of Carrollton. The Midieval City is taking shape and the governance of the surrounding country is declared to be ruled by "The Order of the Knife" or those so declared to be Kings and Queens by the "King's Knife." The Heuriskein threat is ended, but a new threat is revealed.

  14. The End of the Matter - In progress. The marriage of the four queens takes place and the resulting RFD swells the number of people coming to Carroll's Lands. Plot line - marriage, kids, maturity, and Bicker's Bandits. The final plot line has been established and sets this as the final part of Last Flight of the Howler... hopefully.

    I am finishing this novel amidst rewriting the first novels of the saga, but my target completion date is still 2008.

  15. Eve - I've worked on this from time to time and am not quite sure what all will be included. Currently, I do not expect it to exceed normal novel length, but it the story expands (as some of these tend to do), then there may be more than one novel on the story of Eve, from her becoming the Goddess to godhood to seeing her own offspring start off on his own journey. (The end of this novel was completed while I was still working my way through the iterations of the first book! While I won't reveal the ending, suffice it to say that it will leave readers wondering if time really does march on or is circular.)

Tagalong Novels

The following is a list of novels which are not part of the saga itself, but are connected with or take place in the Star Spawn universe.
  1. Prime Contact - This is the prequel to the saga. Join Captain William Franklin Stollack as he flames to Shashoon and Drackind's first contact with the Coceedn. I've actually written part of the opening sequence to this story. I know where it is headed, but I'm not sure how it is going to get there. I changed the name from First Contact, since Prime Contact is more representative of the events of that novel and because the original name had already been used for a major Star Trek story. The two stories are completely different and is a solid throwback to the heady days of science fiction in the nineteenfifties.

  2. Elvnisle - a fantasy set on the Cleric's world - Follow the fighter-healer cleric Jon-than and his soulmate Miorden (central characters in book five of the Star Spawn saga) as they explore the secret and mystery of Elvnisle, home to the elves in the binary star system. From a scrap given to Mordona on the celebration of her day of birth, she and Jon are led to explore and free the elves of their world. I've written some significant portions of this story and look forward to exploring more of elflore. I've exchanged some e-mail with the creators and owners of ElfQuest and have a pretty good idea of what not to write.

    Within the past couple of years, a new collection of talented women have appeared on the scene, known as Celtic Woman. In their first album, a young 15-year-old singer, Chloë Agnew, provides a beautiful rendition of "Walking in the Air." When I first heard that track, I was transfixed as it conveys the feeling of part of this novel.

  3. DreamWeaver (was The Dark - name and story change in February, 2001) - The story (maybe?) of Annie and others. This novel contains stories within stories and culminates in "The Dark" (a horror set in The Pits of the Star Spawn universe). Join young Annie as she takes part in a story told down in The Pits of Al-zed and encounters a mysterious dark creature of the underworld (referenced in book five of the Star Spawn saga). Includes several short stories, including "Bummers," which sets the stage for the telling of this tale. This story as establishes the stage for Mutant. I use this story to showcase some of the short stories that I've already written and published.

  4. Mail Order Annie - The title is inspired by a Harry Chapin song, but the story is pure Star Spawn. Annie escapes from The Pits of Al-zed only to be captured by slavers. She is rescued by Captain Julie Stollack of the ADF (book three of the Star Spawn saga) and eventually gets what she wants: A flight to the colony worlds and a mate. (There is a lot of story to tell in this one and only those segments that are part of the third book are complete. I've written the beginning, but not the ending... A lot to do and this one needs to be completed before the second "Annie" story.

  5. Wonderland (was Annie and Hexem) - Annie's adventures continue as she and her husband go on a picnic (to Pick Nick?) and find themselves in a fantasy world of Leprechauns and Pixies. My tribute to Lewis Carroll of Alice in Wonderland, this isn't another Alice book, though there are some similarities -- where they begin and end will be for you to find out. Part of this was also inspired by an Original Series Star Trek episode where the crew finds themselves on a "theme park" planet and in one portion, in the Alice in Wonderland world. A little screwy, but so are the leprechauns. A lot of fun and some unique folklore of my own concerning "the little people."

  6. Echoes of the Past - The scum of the universe must be stopped! Fly back in time as a team of aliens in an UFO set up conditions to keep mankind permanently moored on their planet, never to venture into space. The short story of the same name provides the basis for this novel and six or seven related (but unwritten) short stories will tell the larger story of the Norkei and their mission. I believe that before I am through, I'll have enough to tell a pretty good yarn about why we humans are not part of the Star Spawn universe. After all, do you think we are worthy of such an honor?

  7. Chasing George (title tentative) - The Fountain of Youth is real; only, the elixir must be taken on one's death bed. When one does this, they are whisked into a new body in a new universe. Join George Washington and Benjamin Franklin as they find themselves in Al-Zed, the headquarters city for the Allied Races (see the short story "George"). I will likely tell this entire story from a first-person perspective.

  8. The Chato Demtris Story - Here is the story of the individual whose actions forever changed and molded the laws of Dracus. And if there is a story that might be scrapped, it's this one. The story is a dark period in Drac history and I'm not sure that it is worth telling. How many would be interested in one of the most perverse times for the Dracs?

  9. Clones To Us - A continuation of the short story of the same name. This is another idea for a story that I may scrap. It could develop into an interesting tale, especially if I handle it in the same way I wrote the short story. I possibly would turn it into a mystery novel of the Mickey Spilane vareity.

Independent Novels

These two novels are independent of the Star Spawn universe and are set on earth. One is science fiction, but the other is Indian folklore. One of my aunts wrote a series of Indian or Indian-related stories for young readers. These two may be either adult or young readers, depending on my mood when I sit down to write them.

  1. Aftermath (Native American folklore) - Ever wonder why some remote Native Americans in Central America have fair skins, blue eyes, and red hair? The last great battle has taken place and a young warrior barely escapes with his life to elude the bands of roaming enemy.

  2. The Survivor - On an earth where all adults have been captivated by a world of virtual reality only the children remain. One survives to become the leader in a brave new world. The short story "Come Into My World" will be the prologue to this story. This is definitely an "Earth Abides" type of theme, but one that is a little more up to date. I'm not sure how this one will work out, but it will be an interesting challenge.

Planned Order of Writing and Current Status

Note: Stories that are definite (as much as possible) have wiki links.
Page created July 24, 2002.
Last updated March 30, 2008.