Being A Hero

Each of us can be a hero.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, all scales of action.  This is obvious, of course, but Hero is such a big word we often use it for only the absolute biggest things.  Superman saving a city is a hero.  We can all agree on that (excepting those tiny voices of dissent -- there's always someone who disagrees).  But what makes a hero?  Do you have to save a city?  How about setting aside a day to help a friend do something they can't do alone?  Does that make one a hero?

My contention is that it does.

I'm not out to skew the definition, but most of us know what constitutes heroics.  You know when you're in the presence of one.

The official definition of a hero is this:

"A person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities."

That's a good definition.  Put that way it seems we could all be heroes, almost on a daily basis.  Being a hero has a broader meaning than saving a city or even a life.  Heroics great and small.

At the end of the day heroes make it better.

The Star Angel books are entertainment, but there's no reason we can't practice heroism in our everyday actions.   People are watching, and the things we do get noticed.  By setting a heroic example we spread that message, even if only a little, and the positive effect travels.  Be a hero in all things, great and small, and the effect will be wide.  Leave a trail of good deeds behind you.

It could be fun.  If more of us made a game of it it might spread.  In truth there's more positive in the world than negative.  More good.  Despite the merchants of chaos running the typical news hour, despite all the bad things made all the worse, all the more serious by the fact that they get the most alarming coverage, the evidence supports the fact that, mostly, we're good.  We haven't killed each other yet.  Wars, yes, terrible crimes against each other, of course, but over the millennia we've gotten better.  The world has advanced.  If the balance of our actions were destructive than we wouldn't be here today.  Man -- the vast majority of us -- is good, and no cynic, no matter how clever, can change that.

But there's room for improvement.  To turn the spiral in the other direction.  To push it up, rather than down.

In Star Angel the hero, Jessica, inspires others to action, and by the end of the story each of the major players has become a hero in their own right.  Star Angel is filled with those who rise above.

And so let me stop rambling.  That's the message.  Be a hero, in every way you can.

Can you imagine a planet full of us?  :-)



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Note, this is taken directly and shamelessly from the Team Star Angel web site.  I had a huge hand in the creation of the site, so I feel within my rights to borrow.  :-)

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The Age Question

I've been getting some questions about Jessica's age.  No one's complained, but I think there's been a little discomfort that she's younger than your typical "young" protagonist -- especially in view of the harrowing situations she has to face, many of which would have an adult curled up in a ball.  In answer, and to quote myself from an interview question: these are modern considerations.  People ruled empires at 15 and 16 in the past.  We aren't any different now than we were then; modern society has imposed these conventions, and they have nothing to do with real ability or actual readiness.  In fact, probably a lot of modern issues in the "difficult" teen years (that weren't an issue a thousand years ago) would go away if we let kids get the show on the road.

This isn't to say all 16-year-olds are ready to be leaders.  They aren't.  But then neither are all 30-year-olds.  :-)  And so if the talent is there, if the ability is clear, age is an arbitrary limitation.

When I began writing Star Angel I felt the hero needed to have the resilience of youth.  Jess goes through so much more than an average, fictional adult would be expected to endure, absorb, and keep going.  We find later why this is true for her.  At the outset her age may make us a bit skeptical, but by the final installment we're no longer giving it a second thought.  Only that she is who she is, that she's done what she's done, and that the reality of her accomplishments is all that matters.

I did the following on the Team Star Angel site, and I'm going to do it here.  Something that's getting a bit ahead of plans, but because this question is coming up it will probably be a good thing.  Following is an excerpt from the final book, Book Five: Prophecy.  This is Jessica, and her own thoughts as she muses over this very thing.

Here it is.

FROM BOOK FIVE:

Jess thought maybe what she’d done so far, all she’d accomplished, took the sort of perspective only a teenager would have.  Not yet weighed down by the failures and impossibilities of life, able to have the insane optimism needed to make the attempt.  To believe it could be done.  To absorb the kind of trauma such epic events entailed and move on.  Even that shocking trip to Anitra -- she found herself thinking all the way back, to where this began -- events that would’ve left an older mind scarred ... even after that she managed to fight her way through and survive.  Then slip back into normal life.  Though she seemed too young to be the hero of this crazy story maybe youth was exactly what was needed to make it work.  Maybe that sort of durable optimism was the only thing keeping the whole charade in motion.

Things failed.  But they never failed unless you tried.  Likewise, things succeeded.  And, likewise, things never succeeded unless you tried.  And so the only way was to try.  To make the attempt.  And she had.  Often terrified, often wanting to do nothing more than curl into a ball and wish it all away she’d persevered.  And, so far, the greater part of her attempts had been successful.  Success outweighed the failures and here she was, having achieved what she set out to do and, voila, the teen girl had done the impossible.

Writing And Music

I've been asked about music, and whether I listen when writing.  In general I do.  Especially during the initial phase, when creating the first draft.  That's the "writing into blank pages" part, getting it out for the first time, and in my experience the right music helps.

During the editing phase, after the initial writing is done, I prefer quiet.  It's easier to catch everything without distractions.  However, living in a small house, with lots usually going on, the isolation of music -- and a good set of headphones -- can become a necessity to get anything done.

So I've listened to a lot.  Across the writing and editing of all five books, I'd have to say I've probably listened to thousands and thousands of hours.  Maybe more.

Funny thing is, most of that was incredibly repetitive.  Certain songs worked for certain parts of the process and so I listened to those ... over, and over, and over again.

Here's a sample of some of my best options for the creative (first draft) phase:

Anjuna Beats - most

Armin van Buuren - much

Tiesto - many

George Accosta - some

Thrillseekers: Nightmusic - lots

And others of similar type; vocal trance, trance and house.  Less or no words, transcendent music.

Some video game soundtracks, such as Deus Ex: Human Revolution and others.  For certain scenes, some mixes like those by DJ Baby Anne, other breakbeats and dance stuff, old New/Dark Wave and Industrial, like Depeche Mode, The Cruxshadows, Assemblage 23, Front 242 and others.  Even a few pop songs; whatever might've been popular at the time I was writing.  In fact for one scene I remember listening to Selena Gomez on repeat for almost an hour.  I'm just being honest.

Please don't hate.  :-)

Writing some of the more intense action scenes I amped the aggression and/or pace.  Metal and similar styles, fast hits and hard beats, epic choruses if possible.  Specific tracks that worked:

Korn ft. Skrillex - Get Up

Static-X - Push It

Hadouken - Turn The Lights Out

Ministry - NWO

Volbeat - Warrior's Call

Stemm - Face The Pain

Eric B & Rakim - Follow The Leader

Five Finger Death Punch - Lift Me Up

Slipknot - Duality

Die Antword - Fatty Boom Boom

Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song (Trent Reznor)

The Prodigy - Warrior's Dance

And others.

And, of course, throughout the books a few specific songs are named.  Generally I listened to those when writing those parts, just to get the feel of what was being referenced.

Music.  Not every writer uses it, but I believe many do.  I definitely find a use for it at certain stages.

Plus music is just awesome.

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Stand Alone, Walk On Water

A catchy post title, which I have to credit to my brother.  The story behind it is long, and involved, but the "stand alone" part applies to this post.  :-)

For this reason: Some stories that are part of a series can also stand alone. Book One of the Star Angel pentalogy fits this mold. Yes, it's the opening chapter of the five book series, and part of the whole, but it ends in such a way that it can stand on its own. It was written with that in mind. Kind of like the original Star Wars (1977). You could watch that one and walk away. Or, if you wanted more, you could go on to the next (The Empire Strikes Back) and jump on the train. Once you watch the second movie you're along for the ride.

So enjoy Star Angel Book One. Walk away if you're done. Or, if you want, go on to Book Two, and hang on as we spool out the rest.

Check the Star Angel site for dates.

[ TeamStarAngel.com ]

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Star Angel Release Schedule

We've laid out a schedule for Star Angel [ The Books ], and are on track to keep it.  The books are written, which means no waiting on the creative side of things.  Polishing, editing and so forth has been mapped out and we should hit these targets.  Books One and Two are released, and Book Three is on track for December.

In short, if you're enjoying things so far don't stress that you'll have to wait longer than expected.  These dates should be realistic.  :-)

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Two Types Of Reader

It occurred to me that, if you distill it down to the very basics, there are essentially two types of readers: Fast, or, you might say, skim readers (I fall into this category), and detail readers.  The best stories can be enjoyed by both.

At times the details of a story can get lost to a fast reader, and if those details later become important, especially if they become very important, key to the story, then those readers lose the story entirely.  They feel it wasn't good when, in fact, maybe it was.

Conversely, detail readers, those who get the minutia, no matter how small, no matter how obliquely mentioned, even things only vaguely hinted at, can get bogged down with over-explanations.  The same sort of "Hey!  Pay attention to me!" that might be needed for a fast reader becomes arduous and painful for a detail reader.

As a fast reader I've experienced the "too subtle" story points, missed them in my haste, then had to go back and find where some key bit of info was mentioned in passing which I missed the significance of.

And so what occurred to me is that the best stories (the best-written, at any rate), successfully play to both types of readers.  They manage not to bog down the detail readers, while at the same time enforcing the important points in a fast, stand-out sort of way that the fast readers get and that still manage to impel the story forward at an engaging clip.

I've spent time in editing trying to get this right with the "Star Angel" books.  My hope is that the stories flow well for both types of reader.

In the end a good read is one where you're immersed in the story and, honestly, forget you're even reading.  All writing is a transfer of ideas via another medium -- words on a page.  The best writing makes that "via" disappear.  In the best writing/reading exchange the reader gets the exact images, feelings, ideas and all else as they existed in the writer's head at the time of the writing.  That's a great read.

Here's to that experience!  :-)

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Uncharted Territory

With the upcoming release of Book Two I'm entering somewhat uncharted territory.  I've released a follow-on book before, but it was a prequel and, while the universe for those stories was the same, with shared history and worlds and all else, the characters were new.  With Return to Anitra, the second book in the Star Angel pentalogy, the characters are very much the same.  In fact, as "Book Two" this is most definitely a continuation of their story.  :-)

As such there's a bit of nerves.  Many people have said how much they loved the first book, and as a result the pressure's on.  Did I get it right?  I'm not sure exactly how I could "get it wrong", being as I'm unfolding the story as I see it, however there are a lot of people who will likely have differing ideas as to how it should, or should have, progressed.  These are my readers, the people who matter most, the people I'm out to entertain, and so, while I myself most definitely love the story as it plays out in the second book, there's no guarantee others will.

That being the case, here's raising a glass to the hope that, mostly, at least, I got it right.

Of course, there are three more books to go, so even if I got this one spot on, I'll have ample opportunity to mess it up.  :-)

Enjoy!

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