Countdown to Escape Day: -149 years!

Hello, Dear Reader! I hope this post finds you well, or as well as can be expected in these ever-changing, strangest of times. For me, the last week and a half of watching the Cubs play ball (and fly the W!) has brought back a small, incredibly tenuous, sense of comfort. 

You might have noticed, I took a week off from posting chapters from Quest. It's been a little hectic around here plus I had to get the kids ready for Online School this week. Chapter 12 will be up Friday....

But, today, I'm wishing you a Happy Escape Day!

Countdown to Escape Day: -150 years away!

Fifty years ago, when Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong planted an American flag on the Moon, they had no idea they were also ensuring an escape plan - set to go down two hundred years in the future - would go off without a hitch. Yes, that means Escape Day is only 150 years away!

Happy Escape Day! (Only 151 years to go!)

One hundred and fifty-one years from now, Dr. Samuel Marks and his accomplices will travel more than six and a half centuries to escape the consequences of saving 100,000 lives. In doing so, they formed The Society in the Shadow of Civilization, and began work to protect themselves from the Future they had to flee.

The original Society members first celebrated the day in 1514, and so the tradition continues....

Midnight Rambling: Inspiration. Motivation. Purpose.

When I start writing a story, I don't think at all about themes. Characters and crazy plots, sure. But, themes? Those work their way into the story along the way. 

There are probably more underlying themes in my Society in the Shadow of Civilization series than even I realize. Some are more subtle than others. Maybe too subtle.

On the surface, it's a roller coaster of emotions following a woman who finds out nothing about her life is what she thought it was, and her journey to finding her place in both the real world, and another time. It's also a tale of time-crossed lovers. But, there's more to it than that.... 

Happy Escape Day!

August 5th, 2169 is when is all began ... The night two strangers appeared on the moon, and told Dr. Samuel Marks what he already knew, he and accomplices must flee the Colony before the govenment discovers his project - the Flamella tree. But, there's only one way to keep it from the U.C.E.; they must Escape 2169....

Fore Shadows is a Society in the Shadow of Civilization short story - both prequel and sequel to The Shadow Watcher. It's available free from:
Amazon (US & UK) http://bit.ly/10yV0XL     
Smashwords http://bit.ly/Smash2169
iTunes http://bit.ly/iTunes2169 

B &N http://bit.ly/Nook2169 

Final Front Cover Art, and First Chapter!

Time is capricious.

Sam's story continues - look for the first chapters on or Writing.com!

Midnight (and then some) Ramblings

I'm sitting here, thinking strange things, then thinking I should write a blog post about them, and then I realized my mind can be a very strange place - I'm not sure I should blog about it. (This is not the first time I've had this realization, I just intentionally forget about it every time.)

Tonight's ponderings? Give yourself a high five if you guessed time-travel! Yes, I'm re-weaving threads of time in A Shadow of Doubt, again, which is the cause for delay. Future Sam and Michael made me see the problem in the sequence of events, so I'm using them to help fix it.

But then my mind wandered off (it does that) to a conversation I had with the Love of My Life (or LOML) earlier, which we've had before, and was somewhere in the mess of inspiration behind the Society in the Shadow of Civilization, about the first time travelers (presumably) from the future.

I know, we talk about weird stuff. But, really, if you stop and think on it, eventually, if it is possible, time travel will become reality. So, theoretically, if it is invented in the future, Travelers have already been to the past - or are here among us in the present. Let's just go with the idea it might be possible....

Now, what if the prophets of our past (yours and mine), such as Nostradamus, were, in fact, Travelers from the future who either couldn't get back, never planned to, or for whatever-other-reason stayed where they landed. Well, that would explain how they knew things, wouldn't it?

And yes, we've gone through a Nostradamus phase before - some of his quatrains are just too on to be coincidence, but then there are those that aren't. Ah, but what if things changed because he came back and wrote them? Or other Travelers came back to change those events in an effort to discredit him to future generations?

Or, (potential plot hint) what if someone from the future came back to take the place of one of said prophets, to change the prophecies, or use their power to influence a change over the future. I'm not saying this is part of the U.C.E.'s plan ... but it might be.....

I could keep going, but, it's late. So, on that note, I leave you. (And come back to finish posting the next day, lol!)

I hope you're having a beautiful night, morning or afternoon, wherever you may be!
Roari


(Photos: all-free-download.com)

Time to Escape 2169

Fore Shadows: Escape 2169 by Roari Benjamin

Check Phase 1 of the Fall 2014 plan off my list -
Fore Shadows: Escape 2169 is now available!

This free 5400 word (approx.) short story is part of the Society in the Shadow of Civilization Series - both a prequel and sequel to The Shadow Watcher - told from Samuel's point of view instead of Sam's.  My initial goal was to keep it under three thousand words, and it got close to seven at one point, but I trimmed it back down.

If you haven't read The Shadow Watcher yet, you won't be lost, but you may get some spoilers ;) The events in Escape 2169 are some of the most important in the series, and it's been screaming to be written for some time, but it's also a stand-alone story.  As tempted as I am to write full length novels about Samuel, it's not part of the plan, right now.  More short stories are coming though, I've already started two. 

At the moment, the mobi, epub and pdf formats are available - for free - at Smashwords.  (Distribution to the iTunes and Nook stores will take a day or so.  The Kindle version is live, but it's priced at 99¢ until the price-match goes into effect, I'll update this post once that happens.)  And, don't forget to check out The Shadow Watcher - now just 99¢ in the Kindle Store.

I hope you'll enjoy reading this glimpse of Samuel's world as much as I enjoyed writing it.  Have a beautiful day!

Roari

A Letter to My Muse

Photo: Kathy VanDeventer All-free-download.com

I am listening, waiting, for you to whisper in my ear. Sing to me your song, of wordless meaning  that creates life with paper and pen. Speak to me, evasive spirit! I anticipate our next encounter, that I might find answers for questions left on the last page we wrote together. I am selfish, demanding You devote your time to me. You are timeless though, and so much of mine is devoted to other mundane daily rituals. Tell me, what can I do? I begin these tasks at your beckon, And you leave me at your whim, How do I finish... (See what I mean?) I wrote that one awhile ago, but it seemed appropriate for today.  Tonight, and hopefully over the weekend, I'll be working on the Fore Shadows, and the first of the stories supporting Isiterra - my next series.  (It will be posted by next Friday.)  Maybe there will be another post here in there somewhere.  Until then, back to my other mundane daily rituals :) I hope you're having a beautiful day! Roari

New story - sneak peek!

It's been a quiet week.  Wasn't feeling too well over the weekend, and it carried over into Wednesday.  I think I feel human again.  

I haven't been entirely unproductive, though.  No, I've been busy.  Well, my delirious little mind has been.  What has my delirious little mind been up to, you ask?  Why, of course, I'd love to share!

Obviously, I knew sending The Shadow Watcher out there all by its little lonesome wasn't going to amount to a massive flow of sales.  I knew this before I wrote it.  Not because I don't believe one day it will, it's just all by itself right now, and needs some company.  Takes me awhile to get a novel right though.  

Oh, but wait!  Remember those side notes I talked about before?  

Yes, well, here's the latest.  Or part of it, anyway.  These short stories I plan on putting out for .99¢, or some for free, to help get more content out there faster.  A Shadow in Doubt is still planned for fall, but Fore Shadowing: Shadows on the Moon will be sooner, I think.  For now, please enjoy this entirely unedited excerpt :)  

08/05/2169 - Moon Colony - Gamma Structure

Paranoia is a mild state, relative to the one in which I lived after we administered the vaccination to the colony. Nearly two weeks have passed since the U.C.E. requested a sample of the compound we used.  I couldn't seem to sleep for more than twenty minutes at a time. At two thirteen a.m., I sat up, feeling someone else was in my room, and saw the shadow pass before the clock.


My heart started pounding. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I saw a man, wearing what appeared to be a cloak and glasses, standing near the window to my right.


To my left, a woman whispered, "Samuel, we need to talk."


I wanted to cry out, my father might hear in his quarters next door. But not likely. 


She spoke again, "We mean you no harm, but they're coming."  This time I could see her.  She was wearing glasses too, with tinted lenses. 


I snapped on my bedside lamp. They were both strangers - I'd never seen either of them on the Moon before. I assumed the worst. "The U.C.E. sent you, didn't they."


He answered, "No. But like she said, they're coming."


"What do you want from me? Who are you?"


"The truth is often not expected." She smiled. Her eyes, still visible through the lenses she wore, were familiar to me, like I'd known them my whole life, but I couldn't place it. "We're here to help you. Telling you who we are doesn't help right now.  You'll understand, in time."


"Samuel, you have to escape now, you and anyone who helped you with the vaccine."


The story the lab gave the U.C.E. was they accidentally administered all of the vaccine, and they had not been able to replicate a new batch. Time was running out for them to send something back to the labs on Earth - probably Sky Geneva, otherwise Sky Milan - for testing. They won't replicate a new batch, because they didn't make it. My friends at the lab, Tollack, Voorhia and Marcus took a great risk in helping me distribute a juice from a fruit-bearing tree I created. They called it a vaccine, and when everyone one the moon was cured, we destroyed the rest.


I couldn't let the U.C.E. have the real thing, because then they would know about my project, my tree. We were not surprised when they designated me to the Time Travel project, as the U.C.E. considers it my sibling, my parents its parents. But my true love was bio-chemistry, and I couldn't stay away.


The quest for eternal youth from within, long linked to the fuel we put into our bodies, lead me down this path. It was an answer to a question, a problem I wanted to solve from the time I was a boy and read of quests to find the Fountain of Youth. I had no idea what I was creating, and had not thought of the implications - or possibilities - it truly meant for the future.


The UCE had, and they labeled their quest the Sovereign project. They believed if they could defy the aging process, they could rule the universe. Once they'd spread out to conquer it. Which they would do when they could live long enough to travel far enough to do it. Crazy, right? My father would say that's why he went with science, and not politics.


The man snapped me back to the present.  "Their representatives will be here in less than twenty-four hours. You have to execute your plan, and get the tree out of here now."


I was dubious. The fact that I had only just discovered the healing properties of the fruit a week before patient zero booked his flight for the Moon, and brought the Antarctic flu to our virus free colony, was only too convenient. I made my father eat it the minute he showed symptoms of the Antarctic flu, but within minutes of biting into the core, his hair thickened and darkened, and the wrinkles in his face began to smooth. I shrieked out loud, startling him because it was not a manly sound, and all I could do was point to a mirror across the room. 


The age-reversing effects of the fruit were not as apparent in a cat as they are in a human, but I realized what happened the instant it happened. My experiment was a success. I could save the colony. But I had to conceal it from the U.C.E., because otherwise they would take it from me, before I could even study it. I filled a sack with the fruit, and ran called my friend, who worked at the lab. He was sick too, but when he drank some of the juice from just the flesh of the fruit, he felt fully recovered. His fever was gone. We headed to the lab, and called two more of his associates. I couldn't enter, without record of my being there, so I stayed outside.


"I still don't know if it's a good idea." I went on the assumption they already knew my plan. 

"Going back that far, it poses too many risks."


The man handed me an envelope, "Which is why you'll need this."


"What is it?"


"Instructions."


"For?"


The woman sighed, "How to make it all work."


"From who?"


They looked at each other, moments passing that seemed like hours. Hours I apparently no longer had to waste. I could tell they were weighing the outcome of what they told me. She shook her head, he answered. "My instructions were to deliver you the coordinates you need to set the time machine for, and other notes attached. I think you'll know who they're from when you read them."


I opened the envelope, the contents of which consisted of several aged leaves of paper, scratched and scrawled upon in a hand I knew - unmistakably - was my own. 



And, the rest is coming soon to an e-reader (hopefully) in your hands!  

I hope you're having a beautiful day!
Roari 

Side Notes Turned Stories

Here I am blogging again, when I should be editing the sequel to The Shadow Watcher - which I keep calling The Shadow Society, but I already know that's not what the title is.  It doesn't work, at least not yet.  I'll worry about that later.

What's really distracting me?  When I started The Shadow Watcher, I had no clue what I was getting myself into.  The idea was to get away from complicated histories and such - I've got enough of that going on in the Isiterra universe.  I needed a break!  What started with two people meeting in an alley, having a strange conversation, evolved into a complex cast of characters with widely varied goals and motivations.

Those two people are still the core of the story, but I found the need to explore some of the other characters more, because their goals and motivations are equally important.  I've already written some short pieces I'm calling "Fore Shadows" - stories from Future Sam's perspective and from Michael's.  I'm saving the first one for after the second book, possibly will include it at the end.  Probably.

Kristoff wasn't supposed to become a main character, but he's becoming one of my favorites.  He was going to die in the attack, but I couldn't let him.  But, there's another book, so no one's safe!  I spent a couple days working out his back-story a month or so ago, which made me like him even more.

And, yesterday, I started on Tollack Pennington's story.  I knew it vaguely, but when I got into the exact reasons behind his resentment of Daniel Marquet, his best friend's son, things got interesting.  I spent too much time goofing around on the internet, but I did nail down some dates and locations that were still floating somewhere in the general fog of back-story.  I also got a much clearer picture of Samuel's life from 1513 on.

Those will be the future installments of "Fore Shadows."  I was going to include them in the sequel to "The Shadow Watcher", but I think they slow down the plot.  They'll make for interesting reading, but won't be central to Sam and Michael's story.

Well, that's what I've been up to, but now it's pool time.  More writing after the sun goes down!

I hope you're having a beautiful day!
Roari

The Wrong Characters Are In My Head!

All day, while procrastinating with blog and Facebook posts, I've been trying to work on "The Shadow Society" - but I can't get in Sam's head today.  The most progress I've made is deciding The Shadow Society won't be the title.  Those words may be involved, but not in that order.  I don't know....

Instead of editing, I've been thinking about "The Land of All But Forgotten Things,"  I wrote lyrics to an imaginary song in my head, and then there's another character - Kaylie/Tah - who woke up today for some reason.  She's been out for well over a year, and then all of a sudden, here she is babbling away about her past lives, and their relevance to the story.

Charlotte Fairgrey has been bugging me as well.  And then there's Aria, and the whole world there on Isisterra.  It's past time to go back there.

There's a lot on my plate, but the sequel to The Shadow Watcher is what's coming next!

I hope you're having a beautiful day!
Roari