Coming And Going For The Week Ending 12/3/2022

New/Upcoming Releases:

• Rick Partlow: Pirate Bounty: A Military Sci-Fi Series (Space Hunter War Book 1)
• 365 Infantry: 365 Infantry #3 Debuts Electric Tales (more here), and please check back on Sunday for even more because they're launch the Third Quarter and you'll want to be there for what they've got.
• Nick Cole & Single White Medusa: CTRL+ALT+REVOLT podcast 197 (here)
• Antelope Hill: In His Own Words, audiobook version now available in addition to ebook and print (site); Lord Miles in Afghanistan, Paperback (site).
• Aureus Press: Aegeon Science Fiction Illustrated: Issue 4 (link)
• Cirsova Magazine of Thrilling Adventure and Daring Suspense Issue #13 / Winter 2022
• Escape from Crescendo Station One by Justin Knight in Kindle and Paperback at Amazon.

Notable Videos:

Mercury Falcon continues to deliver good stuff. Grounding Harlock in the decade wherein he emerged, and properly attributed Matsomoto's influence on Space Battleship Yamato, is the sort of attention to detail I wish I would see as commonplace in video essays about media. He has not disappointed me yet.

A few months old, but worth a watch. I commented that Big-O is a reaction to Lang's Metropolis, which a comparison between the two supports as you have the protagonist occupying the same space between Head and Heart in order to resolve the conflict driving the story. His other videos on this show should be worthwhile.

Dave Stewart did another stream today, and you can count on nuggets of wisdom being found therein.

Signal Boost: "Overmind" by Jon Del Arozz

The Leading Hispanic Voice in Science Fiction, Jon del Arroz, has a new comic-and-novel project up at Kickstarter: Overmind.

OVERMIND is a 66-Page graphic novel in the tradition of the great science fiction European comics, made for a modern era with the best art and storytelling in comics!

It is accompanied by a full-length sequel novel starring Special Agent Ayla Rin by #1 Bestselling Sci-Fi author, Jon Del Arroz.

We have a number of great rewards and add-ons with amazing collectibles and tons of books for your reading pleasure.

THE TEAM

This project is already funded. That makes this a sureshot, so feel free to pile on now as it's all about the Stretch Goals.

$6,000 - All backers will receive a courtesy digital copy of Flying Sparks Volume 1

$10,000 An Ayla Rin Origin Short Prose Story digitally for all backers

$12,500 OVERMIND logo Stickers for all physical backers

$15,000 Ayla Rin trading card for all physical backers

$20,000. Bonus Pages! Process sketches added to the OVERMIND book with a deep look inside Ayla Rin's gadgets and life!

$25,000 Aya Rin bookmark with physical every order

$30,000 We will create an Audiobook version of the Ayla Rin prose novel

You'll find the campaign page here. Rewards start at $17(US), and there's options to get other work that Jon's published such as Deus Vult.

Signal Boost: "Amaranthe Angels", Coming Soon From Yakov Merkin

The leading Israeli voice in Science Fiction, Yakov Merkin, has an announcement to make:

I figure that since it’s currently Chanukah, and that I just earned my freedom from quarantine, a good way to celebrate would be to publicly reveal my next project, which I plan to work on concurrently with Light Unto Another World.

So, I’m very pleased & excited to introduce to you all my upcoming manga project, Amaranth Angels.

Amaranth Angels (yes is also has a Japanese title because why not), is a sci-fi starfighter adventure inspired by military-esque anime such as Girls Und Panzer (though it’s decidedly not a sports story), and things like The Last Starfighter or even Star Wars‘s Rogue Squadron series (the book series, not the canceled/on hold tv show).

Girls Und Panzer is my favorite anime of all time, so I wanted to do something in a sort of similar vein (cute anime girls doing military-esque things) but in more of an adventure setting. And since my favorite parts of many sci-fi franchises is starfighter combat, the rest fell together pretty quickly. And it quickly became clear that a story like this needed to be told in a more visual format, a manga it became. The art will be done by Philip San Gaspar, who you might recognize as the artist who worked with me on Light Unto Another World. I’m really looking forward to working with him on this, and to continue working with him on Light Unto Another World, which isn’t slowing down at all.

So enough about why I’m making this manga. What’s it actually about?

In the year 2265, Earth is at peace. However, as humanity expands, gradually, out into space, many understand the importance of developing new starfighter technology–just in case there is something nasty out there. As a way to prevent countries from growing suspicious of one another as they develop new technology and fighter models, Performance Squadrons, which hold stunt flying demonstrations, simulated battles, and even competitive squadron-on-squadron combat–without live ammo, of course–became popular as both entertainment and a way to test and demonstrate new starfighter designs.

Despite being a little younger than average for a starfighter pilot, Saya Nishizawa is widely recognized as one of the best pilots in the world, and that skill got her a prime spot on one of the most popular and successful performance squadrons, the Amaranth Angels.

Due to a recent personal tragedy, however, Saya currently wants to be as far from a starfighter cockpit as possible. But a sudden crisis of a different kind is about to force her back inside of one as she and several friends, both old and new, find themselves stranded halfway across the galaxy, with no choice but to help a small alien starfighter squadron defend a key installation against a relentless, seemingly endless foe.

Saya and the others will each have to find a way to make the best of their new situation, and learn how to effectively work together, if they’re to survive and find a way back home.

You like cute anime girls? You like pulse-pounding starfighter combat? Expect a ton of both, along with just general fun, with a relatively large cast of characters.

You can find the rest, including additional concept art of one of the starfighters, at the blog post linked above. This looks like a good time, and I look forward to seeing what Yakov makes of this. Leave any comments on Yakov's blog; they do him no good here.

The Business: "Combat Frame XSeed: SS" Is Live On Amazon!

Space is a graveyard.

They came to destroy us…

…Now they’re humanity’s only hope.

The Guardian Angels race home to confront a traitor. Instead, disaster forces them into a savage battle with an invincible enemy bent on Earth's annihilation.

Can Jehu Red lead his team to victory over a power even greater than their XSeeds? Or will humanity burn on the funeral pyre of history?

Click on the link to hit the Amazon page and order your copy. Available in digital for Kindle and in Paperback.

Signal Boost: "The Cosmic Courtship", by Julian Hawthorne

The folks at Cirsova have decided to do another recovery project. This time they aim to recovery and republic "The Cosmic Courtship", by Julian Hawthorne.

To quote the project:

While most are at least somewhat familiar with Nathaniel Hawthorne as one of the great American authors, less well known is that his son, Julian Hawthorne, was an incredibly prolific writer in his own right. Julian wrote on a wide variety of subjects, ranging from literary analysis of his father's works to poetry to period romances and adventures. Late in his career, Julian even dabbled in the emerging genre of Science Fiction [Hugo Gernsback had only recently coined the awkward term "Scientifiction" when this story was first published.]

The Cosmic Courtship was serialized in Frank A. Munsey's All-Story Weekly across four issues, beginning with the November 24, 1917 issue and running through the December 15, 1917 issue. While this story has been in the public domain for some time, it has never been collected or published elsewhere until now.

Cirsova Publishing has partnered with Michael Tierney and Robert Allen Lupton to preserve this story for posterity and ensure that it is not lost to future generations.

This is a worthy project, so I have pledged to it. It's already well past its goal; it's going to happen, so you're safe in backing this project and now we're only dealing in Stretch Goals- and if the next one --$8K--gets hit then backers get digital as well as physical copies and a copy gets donated to Project Gutenburg to further ensure that this tale remains available to future generations to enjoy and learn from.

There's more; click on the image to go to the project page, read the additional Stretch Goals and pledge your support. Remember that this is aleady a done deal; you're getting a copy if you put your money down, so this is now about making bigger things happen.

Signal Boost: "Combat Frame XSeed SS" Now Live On Indiegogo!

The Dragon Award winner Brian Niemeier is back with the next episode: Combat Frame XSeed: SS!

For those needing the transcript:

Space is a graveyard

They came to destroy us ...

... Now they're humanity's only hope

The Guardian Angels race home to confront a traitor. Instead, disaster forces them into a savage battle with an invincible enemy bent on Earth's annihilation.

Can Jehu Red lead his team to victory over a power even greater than their XSeeds? Or will humanity burn on the funeral pyre of history?

If you like Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Mobile Suit Gundam, you’ll love the gripping continuation of #1 best seller Brian Niemeier’s Combat Frame XSeed saga! Back the project now and read the book before anyone else!

Featured perks include:

• A digital copy of Combat Frame XSeed: SS for all backers! Need to catch up? That's OK. All perk tiers also include the new series' 1st book, Combat Frame XSeed: S!
• Be in a Book: Become a canonical XSeed character!
• Build-a-Mech: Make your mark on combat frame evolution with your own mech design! This fan favorite goes fast, so claim yours while availability lasts!

Back it now.

Brian's nailed the Real Robot subgenre, and successfully blended it with Clancy-style technothrillers and truly alien invaders from beyond. The campaign includes not only Perks to get you up to speed with what's going down in XSeed: SS, but you can get a full series catchup in ebook form very cheap. Take a look at the Perk list and you'll see that Brian's very good at getting new folks up to speed and delivers massive value for your money. This will be the 5th book in the series now, so you'll have plenty to read while you wait for the finished product to arrive in your inboxes, be it electronic or hardcopy.

Yes, I am one of Brian's editing clients, so I am biased in his favor, but one you read his work you'll share my enthusiasm for everything he's written. This is a sure bet. Back it today.

Signal Boost: "Combat Frame XSeed: SS" Coming Soon!

Dragon Award winner Brian Niemeier has a new installment of Combat Frame XSeed coming soon. Here's the teaser.

SPACE IS A GRAVEYARD

They came to destroy us. Now they're humanity's only hope.

The Guardian Angels race home to confront a traitor. Instead, disaster forces them into a savage battle with an invincible enemy bent on Earth's annihilation.

Can Jehu Red lead his team to victory over a power even greater than their XSeeds? Or will humanity burn on the funeral pyre of history?

If you like Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Mobile Suit Gundam, you’ll love this continuation of #1 best seller Brian Niemeier’s Combat Frame XSeed saga!

And if you haven't gotten into this so far, you can find the series to date at Amazon.

Signal Boost: Combat Frame XSeed: Illustrated Combat Frame Tech Guide

Now that there's four--soon to be five--Combat Frame XSeed novels out there, publishing a tie-in product for such a tech-heavy property becomes a viable project.

Dragon Award winner Brian Niemeier has done it, and to my knowledge he is the first independent author to do what otherwise is only done by Big Brand properties like Mouse Wars. This is the illustrated tech guide tie-in, and it will be a great addition to your bookshelf, especially when you go back to re-read the series.

I cannot overstate the importance of publishing this book. Independent science fiction authors are notorious for not fully exploiting the properties that they create, as they are often unaware of the full implications of the very technologies that make their writing careers possible as well as the spread of the core concept--Print On Demand--to things other than books, most relevant being merchandise.

Should you get a copy? Why not? All it does is add to your enjoyment of what you already enjoy. Don't balk at the price; look at the description. This is a coffee table book, 8.5" x 11" in size (i.e. a spiral-bound notebook), which is as good as Amazon's POD capacity allows, and not your standard 5" by 8" or 6" by 9" novel. If you've been looking to use a tabletop RPG or wargame ruleset to play XSeed scenarios then this book is your huckleberry, especially if your ruleset makes it easy to convert real-world measurements into game terms (as Mekton Zeta and Dream Pod 9's full build system for Jovian Chronicles does).

If you want a copy--only available in paperback--click on the image and it will take you to the Amazon store page.

Star Knight Update: Making New Vienna Happen

The big goal this year is to put out both "Hounds of Nimrod" and Book Three, currently titled "Siege of Second Salisbury". But there is more to come after that, and I've mentioned that a spin-off will be done. Today I took the first concrete step towards that objective, purchasing some research materials.

That spin-off is centered around New Vienna, and the story is based on the events of the 1683 Siege of Vienna that Sabaton returned to popular awareness with "Winged Hussars". Starting this weekend (according to Amazon), the first two books will arrive; these deal with that siege. A second book on the siege will take another week to arrive.

One of the books ordered is the Osprey book on the subject. Osprey is fantastic for getting started on a research project; in addition to being a good survey on the subject, the Bibliography is a gold-mine of options for following up specific threads. I expect that Amazon will have these in hardcover or paperback, and whatever they lack I can acquire via the county library or by using my Alumus privledges at my Alma Mater (which is tied into the national university system).

The Enemy At The Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans, and the Battle for Europe is one of the books that goes into depth on the events of Vienna. The Siege of Vienna: The Last Great Trial Between Cross & Crescent is the other.

Between these two, and the aforementioned Osprey book, I should be able to map out the sequence of events as well as the players making the moves. The purpose of that task is to discern where the dramatic potential lies for my purposes, and from there come up with a draft plot outline.

Osprey's related books to the siege cover the men that fought it, but I haven't bought them yet because that's for when it becomes necessary to delve into those details. The Hussars get a few volumnes, the Janisarries get a book, and I may pick up one or all of them if I find it necessary.

There is one recent film that also depicts the events, The Day of the Siege, which some Sabaton fans use to make music videos for "Winged Hussars". Sabaton's song is on The Last Stand.

There's also plenty of other books on the 1683 siege and the war giving it context. If you'd like to help, gifting me anything I haven't purchased is welcome; I maintain a History Wish List on Amazon, so have at it.

At this point, I should remind you that I don't intend for this to be a straight Space Opera retelling of history. As is my usual habit, I will be blending other inspirations into this project; I'll address those in detail in later posts. Just remember that Star Knight is, at its core, a blend of Space Opera and Chivalric Romance with giant robots and laser swords.

But you can be damned sure that, once again, the Winged Hussars will save the day.

Signal Boost: "The Second Sojourn", by Alexander Hellene

The Second Sojourn is the follow-up to The Last Ancestor, so you're in for another fantastic Planentary Romance adventure in the tradition of A Princess of Mars and Pirates of Venus.

Terror strikes the heart of Pysh!

The Global Union has tracked the Canaanites across the galaxy, hellbent on finishing the job of extermination. But first they need to recover a secret, one that will explain everything.

A distress signal from the East brings Garrett, Ghryxa, and their friends closer to the answers about what happened on Earth. The lost ship survives! But to find it they must cross the Waran Steppes, and an endless swamp filled with ancient, deadly creatures.

Pursued by assassins, Garrett must make the hard choices and be a hero like his late father. Escaping the High Lord was just the beginning.

That sounds like a good time. Click on the image above to go to the Amazon store listing. Only available for Kindle as of this post.

Welcome to Book Two: Terror In Terra (Tentative Title)

Says all that needs saying.

It begins. pic.twitter.com/Le4o8nR9XF

— Bradford C. Walker (@MrBCWalker) June 14, 2019

Star Knight, Book Two: First Draft Begins

Now that Reavers is in the wild, and I am home from hospital, it's time to start putting words down for Book Two. No, I don't even have a working title yet--unlike Book Three, which does; it's "Red Eye's Revenge: The Siege of Second Salibury" and will likely get chopped down before publication. I'll figure that out as I go. What I do have is a working outline for a draft, which I want to bang out over the next few weeks and then get before some other eyes before I revise and rewrite.

I mentioned some of the things that Book Two will have at the main blog a few days ago. I'll repeat them here.

• Jack and Roland's rematch, fighting a sword duel in freefall over Mars.
• Oklahoma and Revenge going head to head, not-Yamato facing off against not-Arcadia.
• New mecha designs.
• An assault on Mont-Saint-Michael, Lord Roland's home.
• The debut of Sibley's wife, and Creton's mother, Henrietta.
• More intrigue by our mastermind villain to manipulate events to serve his ends.

Let me expand on a few of those points.

Mont-Saint-Michael, besides being a real place and a fantastic visual reference, reminded me of watching Go Lion back in the '80s, when we knew it as Lion Voltron, specifically of the castle that our heroes operated out of since the pilot. That it is also in the region that the historical Roland came from was a welcome bonus, and together it prompted me to change my plan to introduce Roland's home to that location. Yes, the resemblance in form is meant to imply resemblance in function; "fortress-cathedral" will appear in the manuscript for a reason. Other plot elements shifted with that change, making France the focus of the action early on in Book Two, but the minor characters I intended to use there remain.

The mecha designs introduced serve two purposes. The first is the most obvious; the plot requires that they exist. The aforementioned assault requires at least two of them, and may force two more depending on rewrites, simply to satisfy verisimilitude requirements. At least one of them will be a variant of a design in Reavers. The face off of the battleships will feature at least one more new design, teased in Reavers and rolled out here. The second is that the readers expect it, again as a require of that very verisimilitude. As I finish them, I'll be doing lore posts about them; as those get posted, a new tab will be put on the main page to allow for easy navigation to them.

I'm not intending on more starship designs as yet, not as a matter of plot; some will be teased for verisimilitude reasons. Yes, that may change with revision, but the outline I have now doesn't need more new ships as the focus of action. Gabriela's yacht Love Heartgets mentioned in passing, along with its destruction, for the first time in the series here. Count Qis's own yacht is also mentioned in passing.

More than that I can't talk about right now because it's not in a definite form.

NEW RELEASE: Reavers of the Void is LIVE!

Reavers of the Void, Book One of the Star Knight Saga, is live. You can buy it at Amazon here, in electronic format. Link embedded in the cover art embedded below.

With this release I take my place alongside my fellow #AGundam4Us authors and raise my flag along with theirs. Backers, I would like you to post reviews at the Amazon page at your earliest convenience; it's critical for getting the algorithm to work in its favor. Again, paperback will follow after I return home and am settled.

New Release: Combat Frame XSeed: Coalition Year 40

Dragon Award winner and nominee Brian Niemeier has released his second novel in the Combat Frame XSeed series: Combat Frame XSeed: Coalition Year 40. He's making a return appearance on Geek Gab today to talk about it. Embedded below.

You can--and if you're a mecha fan, you should--pick up your copy at Amazon. Kindle version is 99 cents for a limited time; paperback is $10.99.

The Pitch: Prepare The Spare

A while back I bummed around on YouTube and watched this clip from Mobile Suit Gundam.

And then I watched this clip from Episode 2 of The Vision of Escaflowne. (Poor Balgus.)

And then I read Ben Cheah's post on isekai, which you can find at PulpRev https://www.pulprev.com/2019/04/isekai-is-not-japanese-europe-in-video.htmlhere. I got out my notebook because I remembered that I had an idea on how to do this that hadn't been done, or done well, in some time. I wrote this down after watching those two clips and another from Final Fantasy XV.

This is the pitch.

A magical kingdom is under attack by an evil empire. The king dies. The princes are all dead save for one, the youngest, who suffered an apparent death but actually survived and is secretly hospitalized. He's stuck into a sensory deprivation tank and hooked into a VR simulation to speed up his recovery. One of the king's chief retainers has to retrieve the prince from the facility before it's found and destroyed.

The prince comes out when he's shown that the man who betrayed him, the man who was both his friend and his rival, is behind not only the attacks but personally slaughtered his family and threatens to subjugate his people to the empire's yoke. But he can't fight the man right away; he has to rally the remnants together, resolve threats to his position and authority, and then he can renew the war against the empire in order to get his revenge.

The VR sim is the key, as it's actually something of an MMORPG; the medical establishment uses it to facilitate communications across borders and language barriers. The prince and others have to use it to avoid Imperial entanglements, and the sim world is more like our everyday life than the fantastic world they actually live in. That's a realm full of intrigue to be had.

So we have Garma coming back from near-death to get Char, having to play guerilla war online and in meatspace to do it like Van had to do, and he has to be like Neo here and there. Add giant robots, laser swords, and some romance to suit and we've got something to work with.

The Business: When Your Teaser Betrays You

One thing that the teaser for the final Reylo Mouse Wars film makes clear is that we who are out to Fork & Replace Mouse Wars can clearly beat them on the writing front.

Holy shit, that has "Bad Writing" all over it.

The setup with Rey backflipping atop a TIE Silencer, implied to be flown by Kylo, and the ending with a piece of the second Death Star on a planet with the implication that some remnant of Skeevy Sheev dwells within like Yet Another Sith Specter are two giant red flags that this film doesn't take storytelling to entertain an audience first and foremost; it is going to be a secondary concern.

What is the primary concern? Count on the Muh Rey Sue arc reaching its conclusion, with her somehow being retro-actively spliced into the Skywalker line and--as the only Jedi--tasked with making a new Jedi tradition to do what, again inexplicably, neither Luke nor the Prequel Jedi could accomplish. Count on Rey taming Kylo despite him being Emperor in all but name purely because of what she is and not by any effort on her part. Count on Leia, Lando, and the rest being wasted on things that ultimately don't matter. Count on the story being nihilistic and pointless, even if Rey wins and saves the day.

Count on the Star Wars Galaxy, by the end of the film, being one where only Rey matters. As she will embody the whole of the Force, since Kylo's odds on surviving to the credits are slim to none, "The Force Is Female" will indeed be the case for Mouse Wars. Expect Finn and Poe to die or otherwise get permanently sidelined by the end, along with Lando, with only Chewbacca still being up and able due to being a glorified morality pet by Mouse Wars reckoning. In short, this isn't a sincere apology; it's insincere bullshit that's still meant to push an agenda--it's still propaganda--but they're going to lay on the Mea Culpa thick between now and December to sucker people into seeing it.

All they had to do, instead, was write an honest Space Opera. You can still have a heroine lead, and she can still be an action girl, without making propaganda; we had plenty of that in the pulps. (We also had action girl villainesses then, and they weren't mouthpieces either.) But no, the ideologues running Mouse Wars can't have that so here we are- and, being incompetent, they telegraph their intentions without being aware of it. Don't expect better from the trailers to come; expect more tells warning you away. The Mouse doesn't respect you; jump away from Coruscant.

The Business: Star Knight In Full Color!

ArtAnon emailed me some colorized versions of the concept art he did for the Star Knight Indiegogo campaign. You folks ought to see them.

Click through to embiggen them to full-size, where you can see them in their fully glory. That beam lance, by the way, gets some screen time in Book Two.

As this post implies, I'm getting close to launching Reavers of the Void soon. No, not next week, but soon. You'll know soon enough when it's time to send all your friends and family to the Amazon listing to buy a copy of a book dedicated to action, romance, and giant robot combat in that old-school Space Opera way that you otherwise have to look to Japan to give you these days.

In the meantime, I again point you to my colleague Rawle Nyanzi and his Shining Tomorrow which needs the support of readers like you. If you're looking for more indie mecha action to hold you over, and you haven't gotten a copy already, then Brian Niemeier's your huckleberry. Get yourself a copy of Combat Frame XSeed today.

In The Works: The Parts Coming Together

The manuscript for Book One is in the hands of my editor. The cover piece is now going from Black & White to Color. While I'm figuring out Book Two, I'm also figuring out something for Cirsova to consider when their submissions window opens in a few days. This week was also the week of my sister's birthday, so that did disrupt things a bit; I do like my routine.

Assuming that both parts come out as expected, I remain on target to deliver the e-book to backers by December.

The next part will be fulfilling the editing/rewrite process on schedule, so that the target remains firm. Once artwork and manuscript is finished, the file formatting will be next and after that I can double-check before delivering to the backers and I can put the Amazon launch together. Once I get closer to that, I'll be sending out emails to the newsletter subscribers to help make that launch successful. At this time, I'm looking to stagger the ebook and paperback versions to make the most of that 30-60 day window that Amazon's algorithm- a double-dip, if you will.

Once I've finished the start-to-finish process of making a book done, I can get a better feel for how I can improve this process and where to put proceeds to do just that; it's mapping out the upgrade path that Mech Pilots do when creating character builds. Much like learning how to outline, learning how to map your path (and how to deal with forced changes do it) is necessary to controlling your destiny.

In The Works: Book Two's Aesthetics

Reavers of the Void is a pirate story in frontier territory. Book Two is not; it's a tale of intrigue in the heart of Civilization, albeit no less fast-paced and action-packed. While giant robots and space battleships, singularly and in great numbers, are present the action's scaling down closer to the man-to-man level for much of Book Two; we scale back up for the climax.

Besides, you don't do this sort of thing without taking the time to show off the scenery, and Book Two has some truly fantastic locations:

• The Court of Stars, based out of Rome. While many affairs regarding the Court can be--and are--done via remote conferencing, the most sensitive matters are only done in person and this time we see that happen. You don't make use of a location with Rome's history and majesty without making time to make the most of those very qualities. As George Lucas showed with his location choices for Naboo, you can expect some furious fights to occur in this ancient capital of Civilization.
• The Barsoom War College, base on Mars. Located in geostationary orbit over Olympus Mons, tethered by beanstalk to the ground and serving also as a transit hub for the planet, this is the school for Solar Guard officer candidates as well as the graduate school for those career officers looking to make it into the upper ranks and join the Admiralty. As such, experts lecturing on a vast array of applicable subjects (such as military history) can be found here either as faculty or visiting fellows. The orbital museum is the key tourist attraction.
• Lord Roland's Estate, based on the shores of Lake Mille Lacs in North America (present day Minnesota). This is my backyard (so to speak), and how it went from resort to feudal manor is a long story, and if you've never been to the Minnesota lake country then you don't know the glory of being able to see the horizon on a fresh water lake (and then be surrounded by literally hundreds of other lakes). I spent many weekends and summer vacations here, so you're going to see what this is like when violent men with mecha stomp around it.
• St. Mayo's Hospital, which is today's Mayo Clinic. In the feudal future, this is a Church holding- specifically held by the Hospitallers. A Very Important Person is kept here in secret, guarded 24/7/365 by the Knights, and the key of the plot revolves around discovering that this location has the VIP and then what happens when the villains move to deal with the VIP.

You can see why you're not going to see giant robots right away, or a lot. But you will see mecha, just smaller mecha. We're looking this time to see more stuff that you'd see out of Armored Trooper VOTOMS, Bubblegum Crisis, Genesis Climber MOSPEADA, Megazone 23, and so on. Maybe as big as Orguss, and the ships we see will likely be the smaller ones until we get to the final act.

The Business: On To Book Two of #StarKnight

I'm working on the plot outline for Book Two. As Book One was out on the frontier, Book Two is at the heart of Galactic Christendom: Holy Terra (and the solar system).

This is less of a story about fleets and naval action, and more of an intrigue-focused adventure, because we're out to thwart an assassination this time out. The mastermind villain has a loose end to tie up, lest everything get undone, so the loose end needs to die so the plot can go on. Sir Ramsey figured that out, so that loose end is in a safe location; the trick now is to figure out who's trying to kill the secured individual.

Sir Ramsey shows his pro-active practice here, starting the plot with initiating a fake leak. He sends out a rumor, varies the substance several times as he tells several people, and then waits to see which version shows up in the gossip circles. Once he determines who's prone to leaking, he sets up a trap by announcing that the secured individual will appear to testify before the Court of Stars on the recent pirate matter.

The mastermind senses that this is a trap, but cannot afford to ignore the possibility, so a duel of wits begins. Less with the fleets and the giant mecha, more with the smaller mecha, single ships, and running beam sword fights across Rome, Mars, the Moon, and other notable locations.