Teasers

WARNING: This blog post contains some minor spoilers. If you haven't read Another Shot or In the Shadows, you might consider skipping this one. (The obvious solution is to read them now!)

I just watched a trailer for the new episode of "The X-Files," which will air next Sunday, Jan. 24. It's one of those shows that my significant other and I enjoyed for years. We loved the creativity of the storylines, we enjoyed most (but not all) of the conspiracy theories, we laughed at the corny jokes, but mostly I think we enjoyed the relationship between Mulder and Scully. The trailer makes me think the series will keep those strengths and add some new elements. I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do with it.

It occurs to me that some of you might be thinking of The Other Side in the same way. Will it have the same characters? Will it have the same chemistry? Will I crash another spaceship? Will I be able to do anything new? (I am very aware that crashing another spaceship would not be new, and I think I've managed to avoid it this time!)

Unfortunately, The Other Side won't come out right away, due to some extensive rewriting, but I haven't said much about it ... so maybe it's time to give a few teasers.

First of all, this novel will include the return of Sean Foster. He won't be a major factor in the story, but he will make an appearance. I hope that's good news for you.

We'll need to see how Reggie Hawkins is recovering from what happened near the end of In the Shadows. How inactive has he been? How long can he stay that way? What's his brother like?

If you recall, Lamont's crew had a mission for In the Shadows that they didn't get to fulfill: investigate the new wormhole. This time around, they're going to take a look ... and there will be some unexpected results. What is on the other side?

You'll see a little more of Gwen Radcliffe and pay a return visit to T.J.'s Bar. And you might want to review Another Shot before you read this one, although it isn't necessary.

I think that's all I'm willing to divulge for now. I hope it's enough to keep you interested while I try to finish the novel. I'll keep you posted!

Thanks, as always, for reading my blog. Feel free to leave a comment.

Closet Spaceship Part 15

Sometimes I like to go to Penumbra and just hang out. Sometimes the present gets to be a little much, so I slip away to regroup, recharge, recover. Maybe to escape. Most of the time, the crew can’t see me, which is what I want. I can settle in to watch people without having to interact with them. It’s what introverts do.

But I guess I know the truth: when I’m feeling a little unhappy with humanity, it’s best if I talk to someone who can show me it’s not all bad. I don’t learn anything if I’m by myself.

I was all grouchy and grumbling in the rec area one day when someone sat down in a chair nearby. I didn’t really pay attention because I wasn’t feeling sociable.

“You’ve never come to see me,” said a voice.

I looked up and it was Mark, which surprised me. That’s funny, isn’t it? I didn’t think he’d like me to surprise him, so I avoided him … until he surprised me instead.

“I didn’t know if you’d want me to,” I said.

Mark smiled. “People always say I don’t like surprises.”

“It’s true, isn’t it?”

“Oh, sure,” he said. “But I’m getting a little better at handling them.”

“I’m not so sure I am.”

“I said ‘a little better,’” Mark said. “Not a lot.”

He finally got me to smile.

“Okay,” I said. “Are you here to cheer me up?”

“I don’t think so. I didn’t even know you were here until Gwen said she saw you.”

Gwen. She’s sneaky … and pretty insightful, apparently.

“So are you okay with me being here?” I asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” Mark said. “It’s a little creepy, you have to admit, but you’re not exactly scary.”

“I hope not!” I hesitated, but I think he could tell I was going to say something else because he kept quiet.

“Let me ask you something,” I said. “The hardest thing, I think, is trying to do all of you justice. It’s not always easy to sum someone up, to make a reader see who he truly is. Do you think I’m even close?”

Mark laughed, which wasn’t what I expected.

“You’re asking me?” he said. “I don’t have a clue who I truly am, so how could you? I don’t think you should worry about that.”

“Well, I’m going to,” I said. “I want to get it right. So, seriously, tell me: am I even close?”

He did get serious. “I don’t know. I haven’t read it.”

I sighed melodramatically. “You’re not the only one.”

“I know,” he said. “None of us has.”

“None of you?”

“No. Can you blame us?”

I tried to think of it from his perspective and that’s when I got it: there was no way for me to get it completely right because I can’t know any of them completely. I know a lot more than the average person, but I can’t ever know all of it, so I can’t really know them. And I can only tell what I do know. If the crew tried to read one of my novels, they wouldn’t be able to ignore the glaring omissions.

Besides that, maybe they didn’t want to know what was going on in their crewmates’ heads.

“No, I can’t blame you,” I said. “I think it’s better that way.”

Mark nodded. “I know you’re trying your best. I think that’s all we can ask.”

“You sound like Ben,” I said.

He smiled and stood up. “Thanks.”

Then he walked to the doorway and paused. “Maybe someday I’ll tell you some more. Maybe we all could do that once in a while.”

I blinked at him. “Okay. If you want.”

Inside, I was doing a happy dance. That would be great, wouldn’t it?

Closet Spaceship Part 10

Gwen was one of the more elusive crew members. I tried to catch her several times, but she has good peripheral vision and saw me coming. By the time I got there, she was nowhere to be seen.

I could respect that, so I tried not to let it bother me. After a while, I gave up ... so that’s when I stumbled upon her, of course.

She was in the rec room reading a book, tucked into a corner of the couch there. The book must have been good because I was able to get within a few meters of her before she looked up with an expression of dismay. Maybe fear. Or maybe dislike.

I suppose I should have built up some thick skin by now, given how some of the other crew members had reacted to me, but it stings a bit to be on the receiving end of a look like that.

“Okay, okay,” I said, raising both hands. “I’ll leave you alone. I don’t want to interrupt someone who’s reading a book anyway.”

Okay, I’ll admit it: I did check to see if it was my novel. It wasn’t.

She scowled at me for a few seconds, so I took a few steps back.

“As long as you don’t ask me that damned question,” she said.

I stopped backing up. “What question?”

She rolled her eyes. “The one about what’s it like to be a woman in a man’s world.”

I laughed. “Man’s world? What does that even mean?”

She actually smiled. “They don’t ask you that?”

“No,” I said, “but I’m not exactly famous, so they don’t really ask me anything.”

“So I’ll ask you,” she said, putting down her book.

“Wait a minute,” I said. “I don’t want to talk about myself.”

That’s right: I did it. I walked right into her trap. Not a clue.

“Exactly!” she said. “Now you know how we feel!”

Ouch. How do you respond to something like that?

First you say, “Okay, you got me.”

Then you let her smile triumphantly at you.

Then you say, “Excuse me while I go fly the ship.”

She laughed. “Good luck!”

“Well, someone has to do it while you’re asking me all these questions and writing up the results,” I said.

“Don’t oversimplify,” Gwen said. “I’ll fly the ship, you’ll write about somebody else.”

“Who?” I asked. “You think what your captain and crew do should go unnoticed?”

“Well, no, but … you don’t have to include me, though.”

“Okay,” I said. “When you come down to pick up the crew from the middle of a firefight, I’ll just say some pilot did it. Or maybe I’ll say it was Nick.”

“Don’t you dare! Nick? I’d never hear the end of it!”

“Okay, it’s settled, then,” I said.

She shook her head. “Just remember that I have a minor role, okay?”

“Try to be as boring as you can.”

She nodded as she picked up her book. “Done.”

We’ll see how long she can live up to that.