Star Trek

Jul

2014

Spotlight – Phaseball

Phaseball was a fun invention! I needed something which would be a plausible way that two guys, not interested in each other romantically, might spend some time together. It would be a game which friends would play, and it could conceivably start up some friendly rivalries. In addition, it would play right into the idea of both Daniel Beauchaine and Tom Grant being somewhat macho guys.

Background

Particle rifle (meant to be similar to a game piece for phaseball)

At the start of A Long, Long Time Ago, various time traveler job candidates are approached by the current members of the Star Trek canon organization, the Temporary Integrity Commission. When bringing in Thomas Grant and Daniel Beauchaine, Kevin O’Connor finds these two friends playing this game together on a team.

I intend the game to be somewhat similar to paintball. However, it’s played with either phasers or even phase bows. Like paintball, it is a strategic type of game and the intent is to, in some ways, mimic warfare. Players form teams and work together to attain an objective.

Upshot

With few details so far, I can’t say that even I know the rules of phaseball.

However, I can see it as the kind of game that could conceivably take hours. Yet with phased light, instead of paint, no one gets dirty. Or at least they don’t get dirty from paint. However, sweat and dirt from the outside are a different story, of course.

Will it be back? I can’t say. I do not honestly know a lot about paintball, and Beauchaine ends up incarcerated, so the chances of it returning are currently not so good. However, there is a small possibility of adding it to the Barnstorming series. Because it is a strategic game, it could be a smart outlet for that ragtag team.

You can find me on Google+.

Jul

2014

Portrait of a Character – Phillip Green

Phillip Green is fun to write.

Origins

This a canon character, who has actually been played by two separate men, depending upon whether it’s The Original Series (Phillip Pine) or Star Trek: Enterprise (Steven Rankin). In either iteration, Colonel Green is a nasty villain and a killer of millions.

Portrayal

I prefer Rankin for this; I just see a guy who’s a little bit younger.

John Frederick Paxton watches an old image of Colonel Green

This has more to do with how I write his successor in Multiverse II than anything else.

Keep in mind, the canon character is Philip (one L) and lives during the earlier part of the Third World War. The character I’m talking about is Phillip (two L’s) and is from a bit later. But the idea that funngunner and I had was that the concept of a Colonel Green would continue as several men fill the role over time.

Personality

Ruthless and rapacious, Green has an appetite for the remaining luxuries in the ravaged Earth, power, and women, at least as funngunner and I write him. If absolute power corrupts absolutely, Green is the poster child for that.

Relationships

Liesl Green

In Multiverse II, Liesl is eventually revealed to be the kingmaker, that there have been several versions of Green and Phillip is only one of many. There are even three children, but they aren’t Phillip’s or Liesl’s, so the far-future descendant, Phillipa, who Richard Daniels meets and seduces, as is mentioned in Ohio, has someone else’s genetics.

The relationship with Liesl is more businesslike than anything else. There is no marriage – although they call her his wife. It is just an arrangement, and the two of them continue to do whatever they like. Donald Janeway eventually reveals that he kept a database of eco-warrior ‘volunteers’ and it was split up by gender, with obviously male names for Liesl, obviously female names for the Colonel, and anyone unknown to be determined. And, once they were known for sure, they would be set aside for either party. Then images would be scoured for imperfections and anyone imperfect would be eliminated from consideration. Anyone unlucky enough to be physically perfect would be ripe for sexual usage.

Otra D’Angelo

When Otra arrives, the Colonel only has eyes for her, and kicks Liesl to the curb. Liesl wouldn’t care, except she wants power. Plus Otra is an alien, and that bothers Liesl quite a bit. And then Otra plunges a knife into Green’s chest, just after he proposes marriage. It’s a nasty business, Chilo possession.

Mirror Universe

Phillip Pine as the Mirror Phillip Green

For the Mirror Universe, I go back to Phillip Pine for the portrayal.

In my Star Trek: Enteprise fanfiction, I see him as the Emperor of the Terran Empire, Phillip I. His true descendant, Phillip IV, is Emperor when Hoshi Sato, in canon and in Throwing Rocks at Looking Glass Houses, declares herself Empress. Hoshi herself assassinates Phillip IV.

Quote

“The fool’s paralyzed, and he’s unconscious. He doesn’t need guards or medics; he needs pallbearers.”

Upshot

It is great fun and more than a little satisfying to write a person who is more or less pure evil. It’s even more satisfying to try to find a way to make him even remotely sympathetic. Green is a trip to write, and there’s talk of there eventually being a Multiverse III. If there is, I want to write him again.

You can find me on Google+.

Jul

2014

Blogging Community (non-Trek)

Non-Trek is good, too. In order to dovetail with my recent blog post about the Trek Blogging Community, here’s a post about the Writing Blog Community I hang out with that isn’t Trek.

There are non-writer bloggers who I follow, too (well, of course everyone who blogs is actually a form of writer, but what I’m really talking about here are bloggers who also dabble in fiction writing). But this post is only going to be about fiction writers who blog – with one notable exception. These aren’t really in any particular order.

Puckishwird’s Blog

Joshua C. is an experienced blogger – he’s been doing this longer than I have! I love the old-timey look to the pages. The prose is fascinating, but the writing samples are even better. Very well-organized, this blog is clearly the work of someone who’s been doing this for a while, and loves it. I know Joshua from a NaNoWriMo group on Facebook.

The Frog Blog

Katrin Hollister is a friend from Wattpad who is new to the blogging scene. She’s a far busier student than I am, and is balancing a new blog, Pinterest, Deviant Art (she is also an artist), and of course her studies. One great use she recently made of her new blog was for a cover reveal for her Wattpad epic, The Windcaster.

RAvishing Thoughts

Miriel of Gisborne is a writer who I’ve seen on several sites, both Star Trek and non, over the years.

Currently, she’s immersed in writing Bilbo/Thorin Hobbit slash, and so her Tumblr blog is devoted to actor Richard Armitage.

Like most Tumblr blogs, hers is very visual. There are some great images of Armitage, mixed in with terrific covers that she has made herself. The blog also links directly to her fiction and acts as a cross-promotional vehicle.

Howlarium

SeeThomasHowell is another Wattpad friend. On Wattpad, he doesn’t just write, read, and review. Jason also conducts interviews of fellow writers. A lot of these interviews end up on the Howlarium, which is a mix of his own writings and promotions, interviews, and promotions of others’ work. It’s a grand and generous collection of cross-promotions.

Alex Karola

Another Wattpad friend, and another brand-new blogger, Alex is both a writer and a teacher. She is looking to break into the YA market.

Maniac Marmoset

Jessica B. is another NaNoWriMo Facebook pal and another new blogger. Her blog has been mainly devoted to writing snippets and all sorts of original poetry. She is currently in the query part of the process of becoming a published author.

Special Guest Star Blogger

Give it up for my publisher, Riverdale Avenue Books!

A mix of promotions, announcements, and guest blogs, RAB’s blog is intended as a cross-promotional vehicle for their books. This blog feeds a number of their other social media enterprises, such as their GoodReads page.

Beyond Blogging

For me, this kind of a non-Trek blogging community advances more than one purpose. It’s a place to cross-promote works, of course. But it’s become more than that. For me, it’s now another vehicle to making friends. It’s a joy to be able to, just like with my Star Trek friends, be able to talk to these people about a lot of things. And for them to immediately get it.

Jul

2014

Review – In Memory of Kelsey Haber

Memory matters.

Background

For a monthly prompt about remembering, I decided to go with the story of the death of a crewman who nobody really remembered that clearly. After all, this could very well be a common occurrence on a large ship. It’s much like a large school or a large company. There is no way you can possibly know everyone. As a result, some people are just “that guy”.

Plot

Chris Hemsworth as Kelsey Haber

It’s the post-Fortune time period, on acting Captain Malcolm Reed‘s ship, the Zefram Cochrane. Chip comes over to Deb and tells her that Kelsey killed himself. Shocked, Deb and Chip realize that she knew Kelsey better than anyone, even the man’s new boss, Aidan. As Malcolm confers with Dr. Morgan about Haber’s death (he swallowed a tricoulamine capsule, same as the future Melissa Madden), Deb recalls an incident with Kelsey, where he ended up revealing something rather private to her.

Story Postings

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Upshot

I have no reason to believe that suicide will go away in the future; instead, people will just find different ways to do the deed. Further, I’ve always been troubled by Star Trek not giving below decks characters their due. While I understand the constraints of a one-hour-long television format, it still feels wrong for seven or so characters to be the only people who anyone really knows. This was touched upon a bit in the Star Trek: Enterprise canon episode, The Forgotten. I just wanted to be sure that no one would forget Kelsey, either.

You can find me on Google+.

Jun

2014

Blogging Community (Trek)

As a part of Blog Like a Boss week, I wanted to comment a bit on the blogging community we have here, at both Ad Astra and also how it branches out a bit.

Keeping Up With the Bloggers

A dirty little not so secret bit of information is that there are a ton of abandoned or semi-abandoned blogs out there.

Hence I decided to showcase blogs which have at least one post in calendar year 2014. Fortunately, there were quite a few.

Been There, Geek’d That

Rogue Jawa is fairly new to the blogging community. I like his attitude and his direct way of confronting the oddities that we often find in the Star Trek fandom. It may be a big tent, but there’s always going to be some sort of odd squabbling. He takes it on, head on.

Ramblin’ & Writin’

When SL Watson gets cooking, her blog can get very active. I know she’s been writing in the Supernatural fandom; I’d love to see her back blogging and back writing Trek but I know that blogs are the kinds of writing that are often set aside for a while. Plus sometimes, you just get into a fandom and it kinda swallows you. No sweat. It’ll still be here.

Full Speed Ahead

I really love how MD Garcia has put this blog together. It’s visually stunning and stuffed full of all sorts of interesting tidbits about process, characters, scene setting, and more.

FalseBill’s Blog

FalseBill keeps up with blogging well, and his content is often tongue in cheek but never stale. Much like at Full Speed Ahead, the blog is pretty to look at, and covers a wide spectrum of writing, including original content only found on the blog.

Trekiverse

Truth is, Trekiverse is a different animal, as it is the home of more than one blogger and is intended to support the Trekiverse site. That site is an archive of much older Star Trek fanfiction, coming from the newsgroups alt.startrek.creative, alt.startrek.creative.all-ages, and alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated, and/or directly submitted. Great to see a new home for these old favorites!

zeusfluff’s Star Trek: TNG Fanfiction and Prompts Blog

Another new blogger, zeusfluff has jumped in without fear. This blogger is doing a great job with cross-promotions, which is (shh, don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret!) one of the points behind these blogs.

The Farthest Star

JayLR’s blog is mainly about Star Trek: Swiftfire, but he’s taken to answering some of our older blog prompts. It’s neat to see a new take on an older prompt. And that reminds me: I need to come up with some fresh prompts!

Miranda Fave’s Meanders

MF’s blog is another visual stunner, just lovely and filled with great images. What I also like about his blog is how he gets into his posts. They aren’t quickies; they’re well thought-out. He’s also a thoughtful reviewer, and that shows in his blogging.

Boldly Reading

No tour of our personal Trek Blogiverse would be complete without a glance at Boldly Reading, which is our book club’s blog.

Miranda Fave and I have tried to make it visually appealing and keep it fresh.

We’re taking this summer off, though, so that we can turn our attentions more fully to the 2014 version of the Twelve Trials of Triskelion. Plus I’ve got schoolwork.

Fan Fiction Archive Blog

Every other week, I write a blog roundup post, to cover all of the above bloggers. Furthermore, I’ve been promoting the 2014 version of the Twelve Trials of Triskelion. Fortunately, finding up to date content has been pretty easy this summer.

Whither Our Other Blogs?

There are a number of blogs that have gathered a bit of dust. And so I exhort you, fellow bloggers! Blow that dust off! You have nothing to lose but your chains!

Or, something like that.

I love blogging, and I love reading others’ blogs in the blogging community. ‘Nuff said.

Jun

2014

Progress Report – June 2014

June 2014 was busy.

Posted Works

This was another productive month and I wrote a ton of Star Trek fanfiction! It started with adding Legends, Seven Women to In Between Days context. For the Steal All the Toys challenge, I wrote a story in funngunner’s universe, called Hub of the Universe, and one in FalseBill’s universe, called Bomb(e).

Extras

In addition, in response to a prompt about the natural world, I returned to the Multiverse II universe with a sequel featuring Rita Spinelli, Sky (Speranza Memoria) Spinelli, and Donald Janeway, called Oh My Darling. In addition, I added a fundraiser story ($5/drabble) called New Toy, which is set in the HG Wells universe. FalseBill added a Daranaean story, called Third Worth More than First. For the daily prompt challenge, I followed Declan Reed’s spiritual journey, with Faith. Plus I posted the Daranaean novel, Flight of the Bluebird. FalseBill added another letter to the epistolary work we’re writing together, Dear Naurr, Dear Lili, which takes place in the period between Reversal and Intolerance. Together, he and I collaborated and created Dishing it Out.

More Extras

Also, I finished posting Reflections Down a Corridor on Fanfiction.net and began to spin out Entanglements. Reflections had the most reads and the most reviews (and the most follows, so people were truly engaged) of anything I had ever posted on that site, so I made sure to tell my readers that the next story was Entanglements in order to try to get as many as possible of them to read the sequel as well. So far, that has been paying off, and the new story is averaging about 92 reads per chapter. The first one averaged just over 179 reads per chapter, so Entanglements is still ramping up, I believe.

On Wattpad, I continued to post the Social Media Guide. I added The High Cost of Dissidence, Detroit Rock City, Gainful to the Before Days collection. On a lark, I added a little contest story called My Favorite Things (like kibble). I also added A Perfect Note to the Future Matches collection.

In addition, on G and T Show forums, I finished posting Take Back the Night. I posted Some Assembly Required, Temptation, and Debate. I started posting Flight of the Bluebird.

Finally, on the TrekBBS, I answered their Other Universes challenge with the Quantum Leap crossover story, Theorizing.

Milestones

Revved Up exceeded 20,000 reads. The Social Media Guide received over 200 reviews for only a little over 1,000 reads. See the Stats page for individual read and review counts.

WIP Corner

I did some work on the wholly original story, The Obolonk Murders.

Prep Work

I split up Entanglements into chapters for posting on Fanfiction.net. Also, I did a small amount of work on the Star Trek Wiki. In addition, I worked on SEO a lot.

This Month’s Productivity Killers

So as ever, school work at Quinnipiac took a lot of my time. I also spent a great deal of time correcting and perfecting the SEO on my professional social media blog.

You can find me on Google+.

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Jun

2014

Recurrent Themes – 42753

42753?

Background

What is it about this particular number?

I have no idea why this number became my go-to number. I just like it. It’s easy to type on a keypad, as the 4 and the 2 are typed diagonally from left to right. And then the 7, 5, and 3 are typed diagonally in the same way, but from one row higher.

So it’s a zip code in central Kentucky and really has no significance in my life whatsoever.

Yet it creeps into my Star Trek fan fiction all the same.

Appearances

The Puzzle, A Tale Told in Pieces

When Travis is kidnapped for an alien experiment, he meets several people, including a ‘defective’ (not overwhelmingly alluring) Orion slave girl who has no name. But they only know her as a number. So that number is 42753.

The Three of Us

In The Three of Us, Jay Hayes reveals that 42753 is his serial number.

Hayes dogtag

Yet he only gives out this number while the Imvari are torturing him.

The Continuing Adventures of Porthos – The Future Cat

So this story includes a scene of reading Porthos’s microchip. The number is 2149-42753.

The Tribe

In The Tribe, when Mary Reed is trapped in a transport that isn’t working, the number of the car she’s in is 42753.

Multiverse II

So in Multiverse II, 42753 is the panel number for where Branch Borodin has to place the pulse shot collector.

Level 2 multiverse

Later, the number also refers to the last message Levi sends to Maren O’Connor before his PADD dies.

Untrustworthy (Original Fiction)

So one rather long designation includes this particular string of numbers.

Things to come

Play contains 42753 in two places. First, it’s the number of a secure channel Admiral Alynna Nechayev uses. The second time, it’s at the end of a string of numbers denoting Dana MacKenzie’s radiation band. So this proves that she has some Mirror Universe ancestry.

Upshot

This quirky number will be back. I guarantee it. Like this post? Tweet it!

Jun

2014

Review – Finnan Haddie

Finnan haddie?

Background

Finnan Haddie

The Star Trek fanfiction prompt was about family. This led me straight to the below song, which I had wanted at my own wedding, but the DJ forgot to bring it (true story)!

Plot

It’s a wedding, on Lafa II. Joss is marrying his longtime sweetheart, Jia Sulu. The family is there, but a few people are missing. It’s time for finals at Oxford, so Declan can’t make it. Doug has died, and Lili has married Malcolm. Marie Patrice has finagled a business trip, and is present with Ken Masterson, the child of Chip and Deb. Tommy has leave. Neil is there with his two women, Yinora (Yimar‘s daughter) and Ines Ramirez, daughter of Jenny and Frank. Melissa and Leonora are also there, as is Jia’s sole family on the planet, her mother, Mai.

It’s a slightly bittersweet day, as Lili misses Doug, and Declan is absent.

Plus, sadly, Kevin Madden-Beckett’s grave, next to Doug’s, is an all-too painful reminder of a child who never had a chance. For Jia, it’s harder for her to be there without her father, Geming, who is also gone.

Lili and Joss are going to engage in a ritual mother-son dance, even though the dance floor is the outside area under the carport. Lili offers to not bother, if it will upset Jia. But it’s Jia who insists on it.

Jia approaches Malcolm and asks if she can call him father. Bowled over, he looks to Lili and Mai for their approval. When their blessings are given, he consents, and he and Jia dance to the below tune.

Music

Story Postings

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Upshot

So I wanted a quick, sweet love story where what could have been a dark and difficult day turns into a triumph. But at the same time, I wanted to address Malcolm who, in the canon E² episode, dies without a family. Here, he gets one.

May

2014

Progress Report – May 2014

May 2014 was another busy month!

Posted Works

I posted Conversations With Heroes, and began posting The Social Media Guide on Wattpad. I added The Cure is Worse Than the Disease, and started spinning out Take Back the Night, on the G & T Show Forums.

In addition, I continued posting Reflections Down a Corridor on Fanfiction.net. I added to the Before Days collection of prequel stories on Wattpad. More specifically, I added The High Cost of Dissidence, Gossip Gossip and The Mess. On Ad Astra, I added The Decision to a Weekly Free Write about Aging. The Twelve Trials of Triskelion started, and I posted Seven Women for the Ficlet Flashdance challenge.

Also, I added A Perfect Note; Dear Naurr, Dear Lili; Gilded Cage; and Gossip Gossip to In Between Days context.

Milestones

Revved Up hit 17,000 reads on Wattpad!

I was equally thrilled to see combined reads for Take Back the Night top 10,000!

See the Stats page for individual read and review counts.

WIP Corner

I worked a bit on The Obolonk Murders but my final project plus all of the other work I wanted to do often made that wholly original story take a back seat.

Prep Work

I spent more time optimizing the blog and the jespah website. The website is now considerably cleaner and more streamlined, although it could use some design work and I really should better optimize it for mobile usage. I added several pages to the Star Trek Expanded Universes wiki as I have gotten some traffic from there and hope to get more.

I also created a Google+ page for Star Trek fanfiction in order to see how much that could potentially help me with not only readers, but also SEO.

This Month’s Productivity Killers

My final project for Quinnipiac class ICM522 was due the first week of this time period, so I was busy getting that together and handing it in. I got a 96 on it!!

Then I had about two weeks and change before the next semester started, but I was also visiting my parents and so was offline more than usual.

ICM524 started on May the 19th and I got into the thick of writing essays and creating videos almost immediately.

Furthermore, I spent time optimizing and updating my social media blog. I created a Google+ page for my social media work as well.

You can find me on Google+.

May

2014

Review – The Continuing Adventures of Porthos – The Future Cat

Future cat?

Background

Tarisian Dreams suggested that I somehow find a way for Spot and Porthos to meet. The only methods were, I felt, either time travel or a holodeck simulation. I chose the former.

Plot

It’s during the Xindi War, and Lili has only recently been hired. While starting dinner, she brings Porthos to the galley. He sits, hoping that’s she’ll drop something tasty. Will comes in and scolds Lili, as this is a Health Code violation.

Review – The Continuing Adventures of Porthos – The Future Cat

English: This is an orange/yellow tabby cat.

He insists that she return the beagle to Captain Archer‘s quarters. Lili does so, and departs as the ship is hit by a spatial anomaly. This creates a hull breach on B Deck. But this anomaly is temporal as well as spatial, and so it also results in Porthos being whisked away. And it’s over a century into the future, to the Enterprise-D, where Data, Spot, Geordi, Wesley Crusher, and Captain Picard all are.

On the NX-01, they fear Porthos is deAD. On the Enterprise-D, they try to get him home.

Plus I tell the whole thing from the perspective of Porthos, including his conversations with Spot.

Does Porthos get back to the right time period? Who helps him? And what happens to him and Spot, before he departs?

I guess you’ll have to read in order to find out.

Story Postings

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Upshot

I love writing animals’ points of view, and Porthos is always great fun. Spot was much more of a challenge, but readers have told me that I got cat POV correct. That was rather satisfying to read. Will they return? Absolutely, although I have no idea as to how to (if ever) get them back together again.

Spotlight – Phaseball

Background

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Phillip Green

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Liesl Green

Otra D’Angelo

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Blogging Community (non-Trek)

Special Guest Star Blogger

Beyond Blogging

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Review – In Memory of Kelsey Haber

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Blogging Community (Trek)

Keeping Up With the Bloggers

Whither Our Other Blogs?

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Progress Report – June 2014

Posted Works

Extras

More Extras

Milestones

WIP Corner

Prep Work

This Month’s Productivity Killers

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Recurrent Themes – 42753

Background

Appearances

The Three of Us

The Tribe

Multiverse II

Untrustworthy (Original Fiction)

Things to come

Upshot

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Review – Finnan Haddie

Background

Plot

Music

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Progress Report – May 2014

Posted Works

Milestones

WIP Corner

Prep Work

This Month’s Productivity Killers

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Review – The Continuing Adventures of Porthos – The Future Cat

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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