A story of writing using gifs

I am struttin’ my stuff today, because I am quite close to completing the first book of Rocket Fox.

So I feel it’s appropriate to do a jig.  Or a shimmy, as the case may be.

There were times when I took a look at what I was doing and just thought…

It seemed a great deal larger than I had originally planned.  But, I managed to carry on and pounce on the idea.

Oh, I know there are going to be those who will bemoan what I’ve been doing, saying it’s not worth it, you really shouldn’t try, so on an so forth.  I, however, have a few things to say to that.

There are those that have stuck by what I’ve been doing and have taken note of several things.  This is a first draft, after all. While the writing of the first book is near completion, there’s still a long way to go.  So, to those who support me…

So, because I’m in such a good mood, and my work is nearing completion…

(animated gifs are not all of my creation, save for two from Champions Online, the remaining are from YouTube, Star Wars, Star Trek, Treasure Planet, Firefly, the Office, Pirates of the Caribbean, M*A*S*H, and Robin Hood)

 

Rocket Fox – Chapter Fourteen

The senior staff of the Nighthawk has been chosen.  Graduation is only two days away.  Senia has surrounded herself with trusted peers and each has put together a good team of engineers, scientists, doctors, and pilots.  She’s even found that there are some colourful characters, what with the two Felanus barbers in Simon and Hector Longfur, and the veteran galley cook with Angus Longear.

But most importantly, the crew has learned just what the plot was that affected the academy.  Fillias Stigian reveals there is indeed a nefarious plot at work.

Rocket Fox – Chapter Fourteen

Download Chapter Fourteen of the Rocket Fox adventure, or catch up with the entire series to date with Rocket Fox – Flight of the Nighthawk.

 

Rocket Fox: The next story

As I’m writing the last few chapters of Flight of the Nighthawk, I’m jotting down some notes and getting some ideas for the next story.  It’ll definitely continue on from this first one, as the crew of the Nighthawk will try to uncover this nefarious plot to undermine the safety of the Vulpine Star System.  But I’ll also add some to the next story.

This first story is what I would hope the future would look like for us (even though it’s with anthropomorphized foxes, cats and raccoons), where society has ridden itself of ills, accepted equality and made even more steps toward progress.  War, disease, poverty, all eliminated in this future.  Which is nice to think of that we’ll one day move past the aspects of segregation and bigotry that we face today.  And yes, we are still facing that.  All you have to do is watch the evening news and see it.  Every.  Single.  Day.

Well, having a utopian type society to look forward to is nice, but it doesn’t really make for an overall story arc.  There are obviously dangers that the Vulpinians recognize, otherwise they wouldn’t have a military to help protect their star system.  Many of those dangers are outside forces like the Jackai raider and even the Raptory that has been hinted at.  But there’s one danger within the star system itself.

Introducing Pau Theta II.

Pau Theta II will be an original Vulpine Colony, but many of the societal changes that happened on Vulpinia Prime did not take place on Pau Theta II.  After Vulpinia Prime went through its Gender War (which will be explained in the second story) and went to a Matriarchal system, Pau Theta II gained her own independence and broke off most ties with Vulpinia Prime.  Within the last three hundred years, the Royal Vulpine Policing Authority placed a base on Pau Theta II and a maximum security prison was also placed there, but they have no jurisdiction with the citizens of the planet, nor is their location close to the main city of Rondu.

Pau Theta II’s society will be a stark contract to the clean paradise of Vulpinia Prime, and this even though the planets are right next door to one another, both orbiting the Vulpine Sun.  There is a decided difference in wealth, as Pau Theta II has kept her own currency system (whereas Vulpinia Prime has no banking system, and persay, but they do have a barter system).  There are several different sections of Rondu, which include a more affluent section which resides on one side of the river, while the poor sections are right across the river, behind a forty foot wall (this is assumed to have been built so that anyone living in the more wealthy area wouldn’t have to look at the poverty on the other side).  In this more poverty stricken area, disease, hunger, crime are all high.  Females are treated as second class citizens, even though Vulpine and Felanus are not segregated.  There is four different sections, however, which includes a Vulpine Section, a Felanus Section, a Critainian Section and a Lupine Section.  Many of the Critainians and Lupine were merchants who would find their merchant hauling ships impounded for one infraction or another.  Because Rondu and most of Pau Theta II broke off contact with Vulpinia Prime and the RVAF, a large number of those from Critainia and Lupinia found themselves in front of unfair judicial systems.  Many were jailed and released after a few years, only to find their merchant haulers were confiscated to help pay for the fines levied against them.  Usually this happened to the captain of a merchant hauler only.  The crew (which in Lupinians’ case was the family or pack) were often pushed out into the streets, told they would have to await the final decisions.  Most never heard from the judiciary body again.

During the time of the Great Lupine Land War, the “government” of Pau Theta II declared any RVAF ship found within her orbit would be considered an act of aggression.  This was ratified to make accommodation for the Main Authority and the maximum security prison.  While officers of the Main Authority can go to Rondu, they are not allowed to go into the more influential section.  They are assigned an administrator of communication should they have any of their own issues, and that same administrator reviews all communications from the Main Authority before they are sent on to Starbase Omega One.

Many in Vulpinian society know that Pau Theta II has problems, and even the global government has been trying to help change things, offering suggestions how to make relations more friendly, but the ruling powers of Rondu don’t really care about changing at all.

None of this includes the conditions which the main indigenous population of Pau Theta II has endured.

Yes, there is a native population of the planet, though they aren’t as simple and backward as some might think.  They are considered a threat by Rondu ruling class, and have branded them terrorists.  This native population is called the Chiroptera, nicknamed the Flying Foxes.  They have gained some sympathy and empathy from the poorer sections of Rondu, but the Flying Foxes have taken a longer time to feel sympathy for them.  For many Flying Foxes, they still see any Vulpine or Felanus as an invading oppressor.

So that’s some of what the next story has in store.  I realize I have a lot of work ahead of me.

 

Why Women in Fiction is Important; Round 3!

I’ve discussed this topic a few times before, so here’s part one and part two (part one includes LGBTQ people, while part two just focuses on women).

Why we need them

Women in Fiction is Important; Round 2!

I honestly wish I didn’t have to do this again, but it looks as though this is going to end up being a monthly conversation.  The reason why is that a lot of people just still don’t get it.  There is a reason why women in fiction, every medium of fiction, is important.

I’m focusing on women in this post, because there’s still this stigma that if a product has a woman on the cover, it won’t be as wildly popular than if generic, white, cookie cutter man is on the cover.  That stigma is the problem, and some can’t get past it, which means that a lot of marketing for video games, movie titles, books, comics and so on drops off because the head honchos don’t believe a female lead title can sell.  Which is weird because a lot of female lead products have been wildly successful in the past.

• Xena: Warrior Princess
• Wonder Woman
• Batgirl (all three incarnations)
• Birds of Prey (the comic)
• Spider-Girl (and a good deal of the MC2 universe)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer

And quite a few more that I can’t think of off the top of my head (though, I’m sure others can add to this list).  So why are we always taking a step back whenever a new female lead title starts to make it’s way through the press?  Why are we forced to deal with the same nay sayers over and over again over female characters in print, film and digital media formats?  Is it an insecurity that suddenly women will become more ubiquitous then men in fiction?  I doubt that considering that the number of female lead titles that exist is still only a small handful compared to the number of male (and white) lead titles that exist in the world.  Keep in mind, for decades it was always a male power fantasy to be the shining knight and save the damsel in distress.  This was the way of things.  It’s old and tired now, but those who like old and tired things are trying to hook up the white knight to a heart monitor and keep him alive via external machines.  Well, it’s time to just let him die, he had a good life, now let him die with dignity and let the new stuff happen.

This is another reason why women in fiction is important (and this part doesn’t just cover female characters, but female writers, artists, creators, and not just white women, but women of all colours); women bring something new to the table.  A different point of view that can bring about new stories and keep the world’s creativity alive.  Let’s face it, we’re starting to hit the bottom of the barrel, creatively speaking, and we need new stuff.  After all, why the hell are we doing remakes of Total Recall and Psycho in movies when we could be searching for something different.  The main answer to that is business people really don’t like taking risks and they’d rather play with a sure thing.  When they do take a risk, doing so with something that has a female lead is often way too risky for them to go through with it.  And even when they do go ahead with it, they don’t promote it enough in order to allow that thing to work.

Bottom line, let more women be creative leads in every aspect.  Let women be the main characters of popular culture.  But make sure it’s not in some patronizing way.  Make it believable.  We’ll all be more creatively richer for it.

 

Rocket Fox: Chapter Thirteen

When last we left our story, the cadets of Chattingham academy along with Colonel Tyrell and Captain Mallard were trying to track down Colonel Stigian.  Stigian, it had been revealed was attempting to set a bomb at the faculty building, when discovered, he fainted and was taken to the academy medical facility.  Meanwhile, Senia Felix has been informed by General Gerring she has been chosen to captain a new breed of starship in order to root out this conspiracy that could affect all of Vulpinia Prime.  Why exactly did Stigian faint, and is he in dire medical need?  And who will Senia recruit to join her as part of the crew of the latest ship in the fleet; the Nighthawk?

The latest chapter of Rocket Fox: Flight of the Nighthawk is now available.  Download and read via pdf reader.

Rocket Fox – Chapter Thirteen

 

Well, how are they different?

I’ve been asked this question a few times about the different characters in Rocket Fox.  How are they different?  Usually, at first I think they mean as in their character, their likes and dislikes, how they react to situations.  But no, what the question ends up meaning is what is their physical differences.

Well, aside from the obvious (there are three species, one is fox like humanoids, another is cat like humanoids and the third is raccoon like humanoids) there are some major differences in the types of “races” within each species.  The Vulpine and the Felanus so far have the most varieties, with the Procylon having very rare differences (mostly because I haven’t completely done a lot of research on raccoons).  The Vulpine are made up of different peoples, such as the Arctish, Fennesh, Kit, Auburn and Swift.  Each has a different fur colouration, while the Fennesh, who are the smallest of the Vulpine people, are known for their large ears.  With the Felanus, there is the Ocata, Lynx, Carac, Serva, Sandicia, and the Sphynx.

Of all the animals I’ve used in Rocket Fox, the Sphynx is the only cat that was purposely bred in domestication.  And, the Sphyx was a complete accident.  The first Sphyx cat was born in Toronto, Ontario, making it the only domestic cat which has it’s origins in Canada (there is the Russian Sphynx which came after the Canadian Sphynx).  The Sphynx is known for being a hairless cat.

In the world of Rocket Fox, the Sphynx are a race of Felanus who live primarily in the island nation of Mayalasia.  They call themselves Mayalans, and like the real life animal, they have no fur.  When the first Vulpine and Felanus explorers met the Mayalans, they believed the island chain to be a quarantine zone for those Felanus (believed to be mostly Sandicians) who were suffering from one of the worst diseases known across Vulpinia Prime; the Mange.  It wasn’t until much later that they realized they did not in fact suffer from Mange, but were hairless to begin with.  The Sphynx are a very curious, inquisitive and intelligent race of Felanus.  Not many join the ranks for the space fleet or the global military, but Sphynx are known for their use of the sciences.  Many of the medical breakthroughs of Vulpinia Prime began thanks to common practises with the Sphynx people.  The Sphynx are not usually known for their love of snowy climates, which may be a reason why not many join the RVAF.  One of the survival classes at any academy is to hike for three weeks during winter in the northern areas of Kanata.  Keeping warm is a very important thing during this time.

There will be a character coming up in the Rocket Fox story who will be one of the fighter pilots on board the Nighthawk who is Sphynx.  Her name will be Chloe Grivana, and she’ll be a bit of a show off, but will prove she’s more than capable of the task at hand and becomes a very valuable member of the crew of the Nighthawk.

 

A good addiction

As tyroper commented recently on Monday Morning Stuff and Things, Kindle is a good addiction.  And I have become quite addicted to my Kindle.

I read more with my Kindle now than I have in quite a while.  I’m not sure why, it may have something to do with the fact that It’s one thing to hold onto and it’s rather easy to use.  Plus, I can store all sorts of books on it.  I’ve even begun categorizing the different books I’ve got.  I love the fact you can buy books anywhere, and it’s uploaded to your Kindle right then and there.  I recently bought Phil Rossi’s book Harvey for the Kindle.  I bought it through Amazon on my computer, because it was a special offer through Rossi’s facebook event page, and within seconds it was updating on my Kindle.

I also like the fact there’s a ton of free kindle books out there, direct from Amazon in many cases.  I picked up the complete works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes for free.  That’s all the short stories, the couple of novels and the serial series as it appeared in the Strand Magazine.

I even love the fact you can categorize your books into different shelves.  So far, I’ve got two; sci fi and fantasy.  Soon, I’ll be adding western, nature, drama, and a couple others.  Though, it will be difficult to categorize a book; Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy can be both a comedy and a sci fi.  Even my own Black Mask & Pale Rider can be a fantasy and a western.  Though, I doubt I want to go that far with organizing everything.

Needless to say, I do find this device addicting.  But I also find it wonderful that I’m able to carry a library around with me in my coat pocket.

 

Science Fiction – Rocket Fox: The Appendix of Terminology Appendix Two: Events – Page 1 – Wattpad

Science Fiction – Rocket Fox: The Appendix of Terminology Appendix Two: Events – Page 1 – Wattpad.

Second part of the Rocket Fox appendix, which goes into greater detail about three events that are mentioned in the story.  Those being:

• The Great Crossing
• The Great Lupine Land War
• The Vulpine Pantheran War
• The Five Nations War

Tomorrow, chapter six will be up as I go back to posting the different story parts of the series.

 

Readin’ stuff!

I’ve been working on a few posts on tumblr for Black History Month, which I might share here because it’s history and history is cool.  But I also have a couple of new entries over on Wattpad as well.

The Rocket Fox Appendix which contains entries for terminology, ships, cities, countries, and various other things mentioned in the first book of Rocket Fox: Flight of the Nighthawk.

Black Mask & Pale Rider: The Tales of Terra Kal.  I posted up an old story there, which most here are familiar with, How I Wish I Were In Sherbrooke Now.

 

Science Fiction – Rocket Fox: Flight of the Nighthawk – Wattpad

Science Fiction – Rocket Fox: Flight of the Nighthawk – Wattpad.

Each chapter of Rocket Fox will be posted to wattpad.  They’ll be posted up each weekday morning, Monday to Friday.