08/15/13 - The Next Project: "Mated Souls"

Now that "The Fault Lies Not..." is finally finished, I've started working on the next unfinished project. There are a lot to chose from, but I decided on one titled "Mated Souls". It takes me back to the late twenty-second century, though I'm still working with characters employed by EarthGov Security.

"Mated Souls" is the story of Special Agent Debra MacNally, a courier with Division Two of EarthGov Security. As the story begins, Debra is on her way to make deliver information to Division One. She realizes she's being followed just as her division director calls her back to Orlando, Florida to tell her she has to chaperone Constable Sertsa Gorodenkov, from the Russian Consortium National Police, as she observes the operations of Division Two.

It's not long before Debra is accused of murdering the man who was following her, and is also accused of being a traitor.

Throughout the story, Debra is plagued by the feeling that something has is very wrong (aside from the obvious), and that there is more to Constable Gorodenkov that has been let on...

And here are our two main characters:

Debra MacNally

Name:  Debra MacNally

Race:  Human

Age:  30

Date of Birth:  18 May 2161

Place of Birth:  Christchurch, New Zealand

Citizenship:  Debra is a citizen of Earth

Legal Status:  No criminal record

Relatives:  Unnamed parents

Height:  5’10” (177.8 cm)

Weight:  149 lbs (67.59 kg)

Eye Color:  Blue

Hair Color:  Brown

Religion:  Catholic (not devout)

Intelligence:  Above Average

Strength:  Normal

Speed:  Normal

Stamina:  Normal

Durability:  Normal

Agility:  Normal

Reflexes:  Normal

Profession/Rank (Current):  Courier for EarthGov Security, Division Two

Profession/Rank (Former):  N/A

Current Alias:  Artemis

Former Alias:  N/A

Personal Weaponry:  Waller-Jackson P210 Phased Plasma Pistol; various others, as

             needed

Usual Base of Operations:  EarthGov Security, Division Two, Orlando, Florida, NorAm

Friends/Allies/Confidants:   Maureen Rogers, Alexandra Sinclair, David Troy

Enemies:  Sunbeam Brigade

Skills:  Debra is an extremely efficient courier, able to make her deliveries no matter the circumstance.  She is also a trained fighter, able to defend herself against most adversaries, and is a good marksman.

Special Abilities:  None

Source of Special Abilities:  N/A

Interests/Hobbies:

Sertsa Gorodenkov

Name:  Sertsa Gorodenkov

Race:  Human

Age:  36

Date of Birth:  2155 (exact date unknown)

Place of Birth:  Russian Consortium

Citizenship:  Sertsa is a citizen of the Russian Consortium

Legal Status:  No criminal record

Relatives:  None mentioned

Height:  6’1” (185.42 cm)

Weight:  162 lbs (73.48 kg)

Eye Color:  Dark Brown

Hair Color:  Black

Religion:  Atheist

Intelligence:  Above Average

Strength:  Above Average

Speed:  Above Average

Stamina:  Above Average

Durability:  Above Average

Agility:  Above Average

Reflexes:  Above Average

Profession/Rank (Current):  Constable with the Russian Consortium National Police

Profession/Rank (Former):  N/A

Current Alias:  N/A

Former Alias:  N/A

Personal Weaponry:  Waller-Pantheon CT45 Phased Plasma Pistol; various others, as

             needed

Usual Base of Operations:  Natsional’noy Politsii (National Police Headquarters),

             Moscow, Russian Consortium

Friends/Allies/Confidants:   Unknown

Enemies:  Unknown

Skills:  Unknown

Special Abilities:  None

Source of Special Abilities:  N/A

Interests/Hobbies:

08/15/13 - Progress

In the wee hours of the morning, I completed "The Fault Lies Not..." Like many of the projects I've been working on lately, it's a story that had been started years ago, stopped, restarted, stopped, abandoned, gone back to...it's been in progress so long, I don't even remember when I started it.  I know I was still living on Long Island when I started it. I moved to New Jersey in 1993.

There were many times that I wanted to abandon the story as a bad idea and find something else for the characters to do. For some reason, though, I just couldn't let it go. So I fought through it, removed plot points that didn't work (there was originally a political angle at one point). I do have another story that I had started, titled "Jedna", but I'm not sure when I'll get to it.

At the moment, "The Fault Lies Not..." stands at 18,637 words. It is going to need a lot of work when I start editing it next month; I'm not completely satisfied with the ending, and there's some details that popped up later in the story that should've come up earlier. And though it's set in the late twenty-sixth century, the characters don't really take advantage of the advance technology at their disposal. It's set in a city with a very low crime rate, but there's no sign of the press hounding the characters, no outcry from the public, no pressure from the city's administration...

Yeah, it's gonna take a lot of work to get it right. Now, it only fulfills the literary axiom, the first draft doesn't have to be perfect...it just has to be finished.

It's finished.

Now I need a nap.

08/07/13 - Progress

Just a quick progress report tonight.

I've been working mostly on "Rae" and "The Fault Lies Not..." these last couple of weeks. BEFORE THE DAWN is going to take a little more time to figure out before I can continue with it.

As of now, "Rae" is at 7,327 words, and "The Fault Lies Not..." is at 17,474 words. Both of them feel like they're close to being completed. I just have to get there.