Stellar

I still miss some comments on here with the new GA system, so apologies for taking so long to reply since I didn't realise you had commented! Thanks so much for letting me know you're enjoying it! I hope I've crafted a book that will stand the test of time. There's a lot left to come, so I hope you'll stick around for that.

Thank you, you're very kind. It's my passion I suppose, and it's looking likely that I will write my fantasy novel since that's what the responses seem to want, few though they are.

A break might be a good thing. Thanks for the input! Fluff can be a nice interlude, can't it? Thanks for letting me know. Thank you! This fantasy novel might be fun. We'll have to see. Ah, well, fantasy is as broad a field as science-fiction, but I have something particular in mind. Thanks for your thoughts, Bleu. WELL -- that's a few opinions, but I'm not yet satisfied. There must be more of you out there, surely. Come on, lurking people -- let me know!

So, the second book is done -- finally. I'm in the position now where I don't know what to go on with next. For any author with a smidgen of creativity, the possibilities are basically infinite. However, there are some definite probabilities as far as I'm concerned, and I'd like to lay those down here. Book Three. It's natural that readers would want to know what happens next, since this series is 99% of my GA content. However, it's worth taking a step back to get a balanced perspective. Don't get me wrong, I loved it to bits, but there was a ridiculous amount of work involved in writing a book like Veil of Shadow. It ate three years of my life and was burning a hole in my brain for a lot of that time. So, while I do want to complete the trilogy, I am wary of charging directly into what will be another all-consuming project that will probably take until at least 2018 to be done. Ambivalence is the key word for how I feel about this one. Fantasy Novel. Since some time in 2015 I was making notes for a modern fantasy novel, during the writing of Veil. It would have plenty of action and epic moments, as well as the familiar theme of young gay love, albeit much more troublesome and darker than Shay's fairytale romance. I have a plot, characters and backstory already well prepared. All this one needs is for me to sit down and begin. Miscellaneous Fluff. There's two parts to this one. The 'miscellaneous' bit is a collection of chapter length short stories set in Hidden Sunlight's future that I want to write. It's tangential stuff related to minor characters or events that was not appropriate or required to be part of the series narrative, but for keen fans it may fill in some background blanks and give some more context. If this were a movie, think of it as DVD bonus features with some deleted scenes. The 'fluff' refers to Shay and Mira being stupidly boring and domestic, doing fluffy couple type stuff and spending a lot of time together. Also ... sex. A lot of sex. There have been many times during all the high drama and big events where I just sat there thinking: 'I want to give them a break, so they can watch movies in bed, eat their favourite foods and fuck like rabbits for at least a week.' This is an opportunity for that! Also, this isn't so much an option as something that will be happening in my spare time, but Hidden Sunlight is going to receive a tweak and a polish, particularly the early chapters, so it is more in line with my later style. I was simply waiting for the GA upgrade to happen before I began doing this. SO .... dear readers, what would you like to see? I posed a similar question to this on my profile a month or two back and got precisely zero replies. This is a little baffling, because there are enough people following both me and my books for there to be plenty of opinions. I want to know those opinions! Presumably you are reading this thread because you care, and on that note: PLEASE let me know in this thread what you think, or in a private message if you're shy. Tell anyone else you know that reads to do the same. Vote in the poll I'm attaching to this post. Ask me questions if you want! Just don't stay silent.

Thank you for reading! I think the plot was not done any favours by the serialised nature of the chapters and the long writing time, because memory of detail can easily fade with time, especially when there is so much of it. Nonetheless, I am thrilled you took a liking to the characterisation and the effort employed to make the cast as real as possible, not least of all the main pairing. I can say that *some* of the cast will live to see a happy conclusion, but certain individuals will not. Veil of Shadow was actually quite light on the character death count, but you can bet your ass Book 3 will pull no punches. There is a LOT left to come! Haha, yes! The invasion has begun, the civil war is underway and the Herald has come to finish things, not to mention the Hartley family back in the picture! Couldn't get much worse than that, could it? I am glad you enjoyed Veil of Shadow, though I cannot yet give an sort of ETA on when you will see the sequel begin production. Watch this space.

You know, I have NO idea what you're talking about. None!

I will admit, the dialogue Yugan got as Dagen's reincarnation was unabashed humour -- I could not resist turning it into a joke -- "You are less than six feet tall now and you speak like a fricking weirdo. You have changed, brother." Shay is definitely not a Mishith in stature, and his counterpart knows it. Three years. Three very long years -- I am glad you have stuck with me this journey and been so vocal in your opinion of it. I thank you for that and for when the sequel appears, in advance, for that too.

Oh, he is very much a super-villain! The Hartleys are back! Though, it'd be more accurate to say they never left. They were here all along, in the background, watching and waiting and planning in secret. Thank you!

Thank you! Everything has reached snapping point! The worst case scenarios are coming true all round, but now the plot has been concentrated down to two very important places: Earth and Dagen's Grace. Anyone of narrative relevance is at one of these locations, and in true fashion for the middle book of a trilogy, the situation for the good guys has hit rock bottom. During the third book, we'll be getting so far down that daylight is a fond memory only. Things are going to get rather bad before they get better.

Well, the book is done. Chapter 20 and the epilogue are both here.

November 12, minutes before 2pm: "Sir?" The queries that came from the directorate CEOs were expected, and prepared for. "I am sorry, sir." The CorpSec representative shook his head. "He will be late. I apologise for the inconvenience taken." "Really?" The PM&S magnate seemed confused. "My only experience has been constancy." "As has mine." ParaTech's CEO was unequivocal. "I don't believe this should take so long. What's the hold-up?" "Just a minor glitch," he informed the man, "and fi

Hello, dear readers. You will be reading this post because you have finished the second book, Veil of Shadow. Before I get down to the business part of this post, as with Hidden Sunlight, I will post a bit of random story trivia. Once again, if you aren't interested or don't care, you can skip to the end of the bullet points. poor Lindani had a rough ride in the second half of the book. In the original draft for his arc, there was a good chance he was going to be killed in the Brotherhood rescue attempt. I wrestled with the concept for some time, but ultimately decided he had to make it out. The substitute for that was having Kenji see two friends executed right in front of his eyes. War is a very messy business. the naming of the planet before Dagen's Grace - Yahet - was a hat-tip to the ancient and noble race of the Yehat from the old DOS game StarControl 2. My mind must have been subconsciously focused on this, because maybe a half-dozen times in the final chapter's draft, I spelled it the latter way. One of the betas picked up every instance, the other didn't spot a single one -- funny how the brain can gloss over pronouns like that, isn't it? the girl in chapter 6 who helps Mira was (at the time I wrote it) the only co-worker from my employment that knew I was writing a book. She asked if I could add her as a character, and since Janaya is pretty damn cool, I did just this. She loved the fact she got Mira to slice up a bunch of bad guys with a katana; greater context be damned, it was just fucking awesome. To this day, no-one else I work with has any idea I've written two Tolkien-length science fiction novels, and that's the way I intend it to stay. who amongst you realised that the incident at Taiqing is a paradox? Specifically, it is a bootstrap/predestination paradox, otherwise known as a causal loop. Causality is a basic function of reality that means everything needs to have an original cause, and a consequent effect. This paradox occurs when there is no original cause, only a loop of effects all preceding and proceeding one another. Consider this sequence: a) through the ability to augur, the Herald foresees humanity's defeat in battle at the planet Taiqing b] an arbiter taunts Shay with this information, provided by the Herald, in a vision: Taiqing is important! c) Shay leaves a message for Konstantin, informing the military of Taiqing's apparent relevance d) because of this information, an ambush is planned at Taiqing, because it seems to have strategic value to the alien enemy e) the ambush fails because of hubris and other technological factors, and the human forces are massacred, providing fodder for the augury After reading the above, ask yourself: where does this information first begin? this one was a complete fluke, but the day that Konstantin declares martial law is November 11, which is also the day the armistice for the First World War was signed. Even more so, because it is exactly 400 years to the day; 1918 to 2318. How's that for coincidence? there was a clue to the real identity of Guiterrez a little earlier on than chapter 19's reveal, but it was well hidden. Who remembers him giving a speech in Paris before a great big crowd, in chapter 17? That speech was performed in the Place de la République, at the centre of which lies a bronze statue of Marianne, the avatar of the French republic. Surrounding the statue are three smaller ones, personifying none other than Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité. speaking of the premier, Anton Guiterrez was a man of Hispanic descent who rose to the top administrative role on Earth in the year 2318. In another random bit of coincidence, a man by the name of António Guterres is the incoming Secretary-General of the United Nations beginning in 2017, a solid 301 years before the story starts. What is this madness?! Must be the Illuminati. my favourite chapter is still probably chapter 6. Mira is totally an addiction, and everything from him fearlessly skydiving, to killing bad guys with impeccable finesse, to making love like a teenage Casanova, was just a dream to write and explore. He is such a satisfying complex personality that says so much with so little -- if I could make an entire book about him being awesome, I probably would. Mikom's fate was planned from the start. She is the toughest bitch you ever met, and her age has little bearing on her ability to survive. In combat she could best anyone from their home of Otsin, Yugan and Ralot included, and though she suffered a LOT of damage, she survived the encounter at the telutuk hive by falling off the tree-bridge ... into the water, far below. Remember: I never actually said she died, or showed it happening. Don't believe ANYTHING unless it's stated definitively. the kitten did actually receive a name! I just never had a good time and place to reveal it. So, you, the audience, is none the wiser after a couple hundred thousand more words. The next book will say it, I promise! conversely, the ship was never destined for such an intricate role in Shay's part of the story. It evolved to the point where my long-time beta threatened me to not treat Liberty as I did Morgan from Hidden Sunlight (i.e. sudden and brutal death) or she would be very upset with me. Uh, yeah. Jury is out on that one, since I left it ambiguous at the end of the book. just what is the deal with the Mishith and the 'blood and stone' thing and how they have physically changed from before they were Sundered? I can hear the questions already, and Shay recognises the moment he meets Yugan, that this creature before him does not fully resemble the image of Dagen that Shay saw on Elkos. There are probably a few of you wondering what the hell is going on with this part of the story. This is all very important stuff for the final part of the trilogy, where the remaining gaps will be filled in, and all questions answered. Suffice to say that the Dagenith are all that's left of a truly enormous civilisation that puts humanity to shame. Yugan has some very large shoes to fill. for the record, there were twelve official Star Wars movies in my canon version of events. Hopefully Disney won't try to sue me or anything, but I'm expecting another three to be made after Episode IX, just to prove me right. C'mon guys, get filming. Also, Mira thinks Samuel L Jackson is the coolest motherfucker in the room, because of the purple lightsabre and also because he had the focused analytical nous of a powerful swordsman and tactician. Anakin? Man, Anakin was stupid. He never thought things through. All Mira could consider was: If I was him, Palpatine would be in a dozen different pieces on the floor of that building and the Empire would never have happened. What a moron. Now this is where I say, again: This ... is how I tell a story. Thank you for sticking with me and reading it, if you have made it this far. If you want to say 'thank you' to me for writing it, there are three things you can do: I dislike the reputation system on here and I think it's flawed, but it's the only material way of measuring 'approval.' So I would ask that if you loved Veil of Shadow, then please go through and like each chapter and the story itself if you have not already done so. Any registered user can do this. If you don't, I won't be upset or anything, but anything that helps raise my profile as an author is valuable to me, as well as being a token of thanks. Reputation is one of those ways. The other way is to simple tell me what Veil of Shadow was like to read, for you. Seriously. Send me a PM or write it here, whatever you feel you'd like. I love hearing from people about my work, what they enjoyed, what they didn't and why. Reader reaction gives me enormous satisfaction. Don't be shy, I won't bite or be rude. Both of the above, not just one or the other. I also want to give thanks to my betas for all the work they have done for me over the past three years. Cassie, Marc, Olivia and Dayne -- you guys have helped immeasurably and I could not have completed this to the quality I desired without your input. You have my thanks for what you have done. Lastly: yes, there is going to be another sequel -- you hardly thought I was going to stop here, did you? Whether or not I begin on this sequel straight away or go to something else first is anyone's guess. I have some notes, and some ideas, but a lot of it is still up in the air, floating in the ether, you could say. I will not know how it looks for sure until I sit down and begin that incredibly visceral consuming process of creating it. One that will, with no doubt, take another few years of my life. But, that is what is required, and that's what I'll do. So, there you have it.

As soon as the message was received, Konstantin was on his way to the quarantine on the Beta 5 orbital. The station commander had done as requested, with the standard debriefing procedure suspended until the supreme commander could perform his own evaluation. The attendant military doctor warned him on arrival that they had confirmed only the basic requirements: planetary landfall had occurred during the mission and therefore quarantine was still required by military law. There had been no time

I will say my imagination seems to work like cinematography, so your description does feel accurate. Thank you! I am glad it was so well received. The politics phase of the story is drawing to a close, as the various pieces on the board are now more or less in place for the large-scale conflict to begin. Their actions and motivations are mostly clear by now and there are only a few whose ultimate purposes and drive -- and even identity -- are still secret. It is very much as Konstantin realised: the time for debate is just about over and soon, the story will fully enter the period of decision, action and consequence. Most of this will take place in the final book, but of course, chapter 20 is yet to occur.

Hahaha no worries!

The technology exists in this future time for two men or women to have their DNA blended in an artificial process that creates a child. Mira does not know about this, of course, but he would be very happy to find out. The Veil of Shadow is not an enemy of anything. It's a medium; a natural phenomenon like gravity and electromagnetism, and it is simply there, existing. The real enemy is the Master and its servants; the Herald, the arbiters and sharpelings. Guiterrez is also not the only foe on Earth (MFM really does intend to achieve global domination, as Quân was not shy about telling Kenji last chapter) but as a closeted fascist extremist masquerading as a legitimate democratic leader whilst running Earth's government, he is most definitely a dangerous man.

Me and my promises, eh? Well here is Chapter 19 anyhow.

The lunar fortifications were being strengthened as per the most stringent recommendations Konstantin had received. The distance between Earth's child and the homeworld was small in terms of mankind's ability to cross space, but the defences needed to be as resilient as Earth's and those at Mars. There were people living and working on all three, and the Russian had no intention of leaving any of them undefended. All of the military-industrial capacity available was dedicated to the reinforcemen

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading!

I knew he had been in hospital recently, but I did not know it had become this serious. This is very sad news

Nyx is indeed a much safer guess Thanks for reading!

Thank you! My aim has always been a complex narrative with many interlocking parts. The characterisation is the ultimate driving force, so I am glad the protagonists stand out as individuals worthy of notice. There is more to come, so stay tuned!

Thanks for kind words, and I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Elia is no longer on Lucere, because she was captured and taken by the Herald, but ... there are indeed other possibilities for the identity of that person Konstantin has always been a capable person, with the sort of personality well suited for leadership. He might not have intentionally sought it out, but he is very able to manage where he has found himself. CorpSec is doing what it does! That is to say: doing the bidding of MFM's elite and making things happen -- mostly unpleasant things to their enemies. Writing that scene was rather satisfying, I won't lie; though poor Lindani had to suffer for it. Shay, Mira and Yugan will feature the most in chapter 20, though they will be back for chapter 19.

Thank you!