Messages from God

Last summer I wrote:

When you set your mind on a vision that fires up your dreams, it's as if the forces of the universe align to make it happen. Try not to think too hard about why that's true, but understand it is true. Maybe it's simply that people sense your enthusiasm and are drawn to help. Maybe it's that catching the fire of your inner passion generates an energy that makes you do what's necessary. Maybe it's God; yep, that's how I envision it, but if you have issues with the idea of supernatural power, don't dwell on it. The important thing is overcoming the illusion that you might fail.

Last month I wrote:

Refuse To Be Afraid, a book based on the themes of this blog, and The Imaginary Revolution, a novel that embraces the Zero Aggression Principle as its theme, are the creations that will scream "This is what I believe. This is how I try to live my life." As such, I have embued them with too much significance; I have been reluctant to pull them together, for the same primal fear we all share: What if we were to say "This is true and important," and the vast mass of folks out there sniffed at it and said, "No, it's not. You're a lunatic. Worse: You're irrelevant."

Maybe I am. But you know, books that are never published touch no one. So I plow ahead.

Sunday, my pastor preached on the theme "refuse to be afraid." This morning, I find on Sunni's blog a dialogue that contains insights into the themes I'm exploring with The Imaginary Revolution. The conversation spins from a beautiful insight from Bill St. Clair.

The forces of the universe aligning to assist my work and encourage me? Messages from God to help me now that I'm on the right track?

Who cares? I am grateful for the insights and plow ahead.

Life is what happens to you ...

Many of us who gather here had a friend named kyfho, who died at the end of April 2008 after a life of thoughtful reflection in the name of liberty. He comes to mind of late as I kick-start projects that I originally intended to complete in time for him to read them.

Kyfho said it's important to have a philosophy of life — perhaps paraphrasing what Shepherd Book says in his exit lines of the brilliant film Serenity: "I don't care what you believe — just believe!" I haven't necessarily completely embraced his urgency — I don't mind a little fuzziness and uncertainty — but his point was, in part, that your life will reflect the principles you believe, so it's probably important to know what those principles are.

Refuse To Be Afraid, a book based on the themes of this blog, and The Imaginary Revolution, a novel that embraces the Zero Aggression Principle as its theme, are the creations that will scream "This is what I believe. This is how I try to live my life." As such, I have embued them with too much significance; I have been reluctant to pull them together, for the same primal fear we all share: What if we were to say "This is true and important," and the vast mass of folks out there sniffed at it and said, "No, it's not. You're a lunatic. Worse: You're irrelevant."

Maybe I am. But you know, books that are never published touch no one. So I plow ahead. I've provided a taste of RTBA in an ebook (go ahead, click over there), but there's much more to say. I've gotten a podcast of the first two chapters of I-Rev done only to turn around and start over, but the arc of the tale is now in my mind and it only needs to be written down. They were going to be ready by Christmas 2008, and now I expect to offer them up in 2010. Two years too late, or right on time.

And wherever kyfho is, I hope he'll somehow enjoy the final products.

The return of Uncle Warren?

Well, now, this looks interesting.

I may have to edit my "Mute-Ant Fellow Travelers" category, it seems.

In case anyone is wondering how this affects the plans to podcast my forthcoming novel, The Imaginary Revolution, let's say that project is in "rework" mode and has been made independent of Uncle Warren's Attic. No, don't worry, Warren and I aren't mad at each other, as those who know the situation understand full well. Or, at least, not any madder than usual.

Buffalo Springsteen

She was born on Sirius 4 and thus was ingrained with the fiercely independent spirit of that planet's settlers. Brash and confident, she knows her way around weapons of all sorts, most important the use of her hands to defend herself. A small handful of men, drawn by her substantially striking appearance, have found this out in small but convincing ways. Buffalo Springsteen is compellingly attractive, but — especially since she found her soulmate — she is more than capable of turning back any man who attempts to act on such compulsion.

When she learned the Zero Aggression Principle, Buffalo was transformed, not because it changed the way she handled herself but because it rang true in her soul. She always believed the use of violence to make a point was nonsensical because all that was actually proven was who’s bigger and stronger, but she made herself stronger so she could counter violence effectively. Initiating force seemed a counterproductive exercise, but neutralizing force with an equal measure of force made great sense.

She willingly but not eagerly took part in the Sirius 4 insurrection, uneasy because the response to oppression had its own oppressive elements, and something in the back of her mind wondered if the revolutionary government would be willing or able to abandon those elements once the need for them passed. Sure enough, she soon found herself growing alarmed at the new regime.

An independent woman who fights for independence, Buffalo Springsteen is a distant cousin of a great-great-great-great-granddaughter of musical royalty, and so she enjoys a well-played tune. She really has only one demand of others: Whatever you do, never, under any circumstances, ever call her Buffy. Never. Ever.
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When I planned out the story of The Imaginary Bomb, it revolved around two men who made a living as independent freight haulers. As I wrote the tale, they met a man I'd never imagined named Baxter Hetznecker, who made a profound difference in the way the story was told.

When I planned out the story of The Imaginary Revolution, it revolved around two friends with different ideas about how to win freedom. Once again I've fallen in love with someone who arrived on the scene late but has made herself essential to the telling of the tale. I've often read how characters tend to hijack the story from the person who presumes to call himself the creator of their books, but it's delightful to see that play out in "real life."

Two down, 22 to go

Chapter 2 of The Imaginary Revolution podcast is available at Uncle Warren's Attic although Bluhm has not yet produced Episode #55, which will also include Chapter 3. Who, us? Behind schedule? How'd that happen?

Oh wait, I can save you a step. Download Chapter 2 here.

What? What do you mean, you haven't heard Chapter 1 yet? Fer cryin' out loud ... Here.

Belated shameless self-promotion

I literally forgot to tell you that the first chapter of The Imaginary Revolution has been brought to life in Uncle Warren's Attic #54, which was posted Monday. You can listen to UW's dramatic reading of my new novel over the next few weeks, as it emerges from my mind and keyboard.

Based in the same universe and approximate time frame as The Imaginary Bomb, this book is about Sirius 4's declaration of independence and how things worked out. The events and characters of the first book are tangential to the new one, but the climax of I-Bomb serves as a catalyst to the events of I-Revolution.

The first short chapter sets the stage and introduces Raymond Kaliber and Badiah Sinclair, our hero and his main protagonist, although they're only about 12 years old at the time. You'll also hear a couple of teasers about two other characters, former football player Rev. John "Hemmy" Hemlock and the gorgeous Buffalo "Don't call me Buffy" Springsteen.

Although it was almost two years between the I-Bomb podcast and release of the book, my plan is to have the download/print version of The Imaginary Revolution on the market within a month of the new podcast series' finish. Goal is Oct. 15; we'll see how that goes.

You can listen or download the show featuring my first episode here. And if you're in a real hurry, we're also making the eight-minute reading of Chapter 1 available here. But you'll miss the pomp, circumstance and the glimpses of Hemmy and Buffalo.

Return to podcasting

You may or may not have stumbled onto Uncle Warren's Attic #53, now available in a podcatcher near you. But he made an announcement that I'm kind of pleased about, in that OMG-what-am-I-getting-myself-into kind of way.

UW, who launched into the podcasting world with his reading of my first tome, The Imaginary Bomb, will be doing the same for my novel under construction, The Imaginary Revolution. We have worked out a weekly schedule where he will read three chapters a week for eight weeks, beginning Aug. 10 with UWA #54 and concluding with a gangbusters UWA #61 on Sept. 28.

This is partly a shameless marketing exercise and partly an incentive to keep me writing the remarkable story of Raymond Kaliber and independent Sirius IV, which I plan to inflict on the world around mid-October. As such, it may remind longtime readers of the debacle that was The Imaginary Lover. The difference between that uncompleted novel and this one is that, unlike that one, I know how this one ends. In fact, I have the final chapter mostly written already. This puppy is coming. The only wild cards that could throw off the schedule are the day-job factor and unexpected life events.

Uncle Warren's technology has advanced a bit since he bragged about the wonderful analog system he used to record the I-Bomb. That iMac of his has capabilities to do things that would have been pretty unwieldy to accomplish with the old stuff alone — but the old stuff is still part of his system. So the new novel may sound, shall we say, different from the I-Bomb.

And it is different. It's not a sequel in the sense that the I-Lover was, although it does take place in the same future universe as the I-Bomb, and there will be some references to the events of the first novel, as the time lines of the two books intersect at one point. In the first book, the declaration of independence by the encampment at Sirius IV was a subplot that partially drove the action. In this book, that declaration is the main plot.

Alas, I have not figured out a way to bring Bob Whelan, Pete Wong and Baxter Hetznecker into this story, so this is not a continuation of their story. Do you have to have read The Imaginary Bomb to fully grok The Imaginary Revolution? Probably not — but if you want to buy The I-Bomb anyway, I ain't stoppin' ya.

I heartily suggest you visit or subscribe to Uncle Warren's Attic over the next couple of months if you haven't made it a habit already. The geniuses at Richardson & Bluhm are working hard to make it worth your while. OK, we're playing hard, actually, but the result is very similar.

First look: The Imaginary Revolution

It's kind of cheeky for me to be talking about my October book release when my July book is a week late, but I'm kind of pleased with the way this turned out, so take a gander, folks. Target date is Oct. 15.