IO Ep3 is UP!

Episode 3 of Interstellar Overdrive is up and available on Amazon, proving once again that Al Pacino was right (They pull me back IN!). We're actually getting pretty good at putting these out as our editing process gets more and more streamlined. We might even try to pop them out faster.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P1UX6CS

Synopsis: Interstellar Overdrive is an ongoing series set in a new world, a hard-charging romp into the future. 

Alec and Everett arrive on the cast off world of Astrakhan, intent on finding the killer of their former comrade, Pete Boothe, and exacting their form of revenge, but in the process they find that Pete was involved with an insurgency against the KPM/Sekai merger, against the new Ascendancy, and soon they find themselves facing more than even they can handle.
---

Initially, this was supposed to be our idea of doing a serialized story like back in the pulp paper days, and with Amazon as a partner, with their self-publishing system, we've been able to achieve what we might not have been able to just a few years back. Thank you Amazon!

Moving forward, the story has 12 episodes - then goes on. I'm excited to say that a character you meet in this episode has struck our fancy, returns later on in greater glory, and will probably be the subject of IO Series 2 EVEN MORE OVERDRIVERER.

As far as poor old, forgotten Blackjack, I'm working on that book too. I'm way ahead of these two other clowns (finished ep7 a few weeks back) and other than the publishing process and writing a few words here, I'm full at work on Blackjack 3: Dead or Alive. The idea is still to have my draft ready for edit by Christmas and the book out by April/May as were 1&2 (except skipping a year). Moving forward, the idea will be to skip a year on Blackjack to make sure I can do other projects, like IO.

After IO and Blackjack? I really want to finish Heart of the Jungle. That book had something to it, didn't it? A kind of a mix between Indiana Jones, Lara Croft and James Bond, with two characters that were a real joy to write.

But for now, enjoy IO3. Things get hot and heavy in this one and I'm sure you'll love it.

IO Ep2 here on Tuesday!

Well, near midnight on Tuesday, so Wednesday. Two days late ain't bad...

http://www.amazon.com/Interstellar-Overdrive-Episode-Steps-Hell-ebook/dp/B00NLLEFMY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1410893072&sr=8-5&keywords=interstellar+overdrive

I blame everyone.

IO Ep2 coming Monday!

Strange this is, to write one thing, edit another, polish a third, publish a fourth....

AND WHAT ABOUT BLACKJACK???

That's the first thing.

More later

Interstellar Overdrive, Episode 1 is up!

Get it here:

http://www.amazon.com/Interstellar-Overdrive-Episode-What-Worth-ebook/dp/B00M7GD9P8/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1406608130&sr=8-6&keywords=ben+bequer

Interstellar Overdrive, Episode One: For What it's Worth coming this Tuesday!

I know, it's not Blackjack, and I know, it's what's kept me from Blackjack, and I know, it's not terribly popular around here...but it's done and it's coming. And it's the best thing I've ever done. Now that this is out, and I've fulfilled my commitment up and until Episode 6 of the series, I can go at Fugitive hardcore. My plan is still to get back on an April/May timetable like books 1-2, and keep them coming as long as I have killer ideas coming.

See, this book was hard. Is hard. I've struggled. Anyone reading this blog for awhile will know this. I didn't want a letdown with this third book, I wanted to do something better than what we had before, and I'd kind of written myself into a corner. There's really only two logical places Blackjack can go from where we left off in book 2.

I wrote a good part of one of those two choices and it didn't feel honest. It felt rushed, and totally unreal based on the world Blackjack inhabits. So I went the other way, and I think it's made all the difference. Blackjack, though, is still fighting. For example:

I had this idea that Apogee takes Blackjack to her personal hiding spot - the home of Mirage. I had this idea that she drops him there, with the person that disapproves the most of their budding relationship and there'd I'd do "wax on, wax off" and what not. My people told me it's cliche, that it's been done to death, but I'm a stubborn old goat, so I went with it. Until I started writing it. That's what Blackjack said no. He didn't want to go. It's weird. It sounded stupid suddenly, what I had until recently been all excited about. It was passive, and my character objected.

So, yeah, Blackjack's got a mind of his own. We're redoing the whole Castle Black sequence and then Blackjack's leading me someplace else. Somewhere that's more fun.

Anyway, this week it's Interstellar Overdrive until I get it uploaded tomorrow (and it should be ready to go by Tuesday)...then the big guy comes up to bat.

Soon.

Blackjack Fugitive Update #6

Blackjack Fugitive continues. I've put IO down for the moment and I'm going full bore on Blackjack's next adventure.

As far as realistic expectations to when it will be ready for publish, it's hard to say. I'd like to think I'll be done by Christmas, and in fact I'm sure I will be. But with the editing and formatting that follows, I don't think we'll see it on Amazon until my usual publishing date of March/April. So I blew a year with this other project, and with a 200 page diversion into what's going to end up as book four. I thank you guys for your patience in letting me find my voice. Blackjack three is turning out to be harder than the previous two combined.

But I'm back at it and Wow, how weird getting back into Blackjack's head after running around with guys like Alec, Everett, Galan and Canino. IO is third person, so it's a transition I'm getting used to.

One of the issues I had with book two was how passive Blackjack was, and I think that it's written in first person has something to do with it. We're inside his head, so I'm tempted to go places I normally wouldn't have access too. Book two was weird, too. I chose to write about something most movies/books/comics do in a quick 1 page narrative, or in a 2 minute montage with a hard-rocking Survivor song blaring in the background. Blackjack took me there, though. He was moving through a strange phase in his life, becoming more and more self-aware. In retrospect, I might've made a mistake in making him mope so damned much in the desert, forgetting to make him a master of his fate.

I had an interesting discussion with my IO writing partner, Len Pimentel the other night about a character problem we're having in Interstellar Overdrive. He said something every interesting that is coloring what I do, moving forward, with Blackjack. The nearest parallel to the IO character we're having a problem with is Conan of Robert Howard's epic stories, and Len said, a normal guy, when facing difficulty, is changed by his environment. A guy like Conan changes his environment as a result of the conflict in the story. I'll admit, it was something I hadn't given much thought to, and in retrospect, it's what I like the most about Blackjack. He's not a guy you can shoehorn into a team like the Avengers and hope Cap can "keep him in line".

Blackjack is now a master of his own fate, leading us (including the writer) as he forges ahead.

Interruptions, interruptions, interruptions (Blackjack Fugitive Update #5)

Interstellar Overdrive is in progress and for six days straight it's taken the wind out of Blackjack's sails. Wait til Blackjack gets his hands on those bastards for interrupting.

But to update, I've reached the end of Act 2b of Blackjack 3, 200+ pages or so. All that's left is a massive 30 page battle with the evil forces of <REDACTED> in a Transylvanian castle on the Carpathian mountains. Yeah, that's all going into the book. It's a big set piece, and I feel like Michael Bay the morning before he gets to blow up something. In a way, I'm glad for the brief break from Blackjack so I can come into this scene fresh and full of juice.

With Interstellar Overdrive, we're going to put together 5-6-7 episodes, each 50+ pages before coming out with the first one. This will give us enough lead time to make sure we can stay monthly. That's the idea anyway. I'm very excited about the project for a ton of reasons, but primarily because it's a vast departure from Blackjack. Hell, it's 3rd person, with multiple point of view characters and it sprawls a galaxy filled with different and interesting planets.

But what is it? At it's core, it's a buddy cop movie. But they're not cops. Nor is it a movie. It's an old-style shoot-em-up, as inspired by Peckinpaw's Wild Bunch and Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia as it is by Whedon's Serenity. It's a story about uncompromising men in an uncompromising universe, where everyone is strapped and deadly. I've had a blast putting it together, and I have two partners that are not only amazing people to work with, but have show the talent to make my original drafts shine and the story truly stand out.

What does it mean to Blackjack? I've already written the first six episodes, so Blackjack is now - with the occasional interruption. I've got enough time to finish the third book before I have to tack back to Interstellar. I can edit it as I return to work on IO. Editing requires a different mental muscle.

My plan is to have IO Episode 1: For What It's Worth available by August and Blackjack 3 out by the end of the year. I'm also going to put together a Blackjack 1-3 omnibus (out at the same time as 3) for people that haven't read it, or just want it all consolidated. At the same time as Blackjack 3 so you don't have to blow 3 bucks on 3, then more on an omnibus if you want it. I hate it when they nickle and dime you like cheap bastards.

What is Blackjack 3 about? Well, we've talked about it a little on this blog, but basically it's a continuation of what happened in 2, almost without pause. Blackjack is recovering from injuries that would have killed Epic, and even though he showed great courage and selflessness during the events of Washington D.C., he's still a convicted felon, he still owes a debt to society.

And forgiveness comes hard...

A sample from the opening of Blackjack 3. It's a very rough, first draft - don't get your panties in a bunch if there's spelling/grammar/logic errors.

Then the plane banked violently without warning, hard right to almost forty-five degrees to starboard. A repetitive popping rang out along the rear fuselage that I figured was the auto-chaff firing off. Obliterate stood almost immediately, somehow ignoring the effects of the sudden maneuver and keeping his balance. Warspite rose from his slumber as his body pressed hard against the seat. The four guards’ eyes opened wide, staring forward as if for guidance, but the men up front were thrown about, some to the floor, shouting and screaming.

The big C-17 nimbly soared back, the chaff firing without pause, the maneuver now reversed just as aggressively to port, with the nose pulled back hard.

“What the fuck-“ The warden shouted, grasping onto a wall harness to keep from flying across the deck like some of his men. One man slid down the floor towards the rear of the plane, saved from slamming to the back by Obliterate, who stepped forward – still unaffected – and barred his path, stopping the man.

“What the hell’s he doing?” Warspite asked of the pilot’s maneuvers to no one in particular.

“We’re under attack,” I said, knowing of no other reason to explain the violent flying.

“What?” he said, but it was Obliterate who turned to me, staring intently. He could tell the manacles weren’t working on me. His red eyes flashed down to my wrists, then back to my smiling face.

“Don’t move,” he said, his voice an ashen whisper, a mailed finger jutting in my direction.

Again the pilot banked defensively, firing off more flares. Obliterate helped the guard at his feet reach one of the chairs along the sides of the craft and Warspite struggled to hold in his lunch.

“Oh, man,” he said, belching. “This isn’t good.”

A moment later, something streaked by, audible to us inside the plane, exploding so close that it shook the Globemaster like a depth charge rocking a submarine in one of those old World War Two movies. The explosion was to starboard, and aft, peppering the tail with shrapnel and shaking the plane with such violence it slipped in its track, almost losing attitude. The pilot was skilled, though, yawing the tail in the direction of the explosion to keep the C-17 from going into a flat spin.

He overcorrected once, then again before getting full control of the plane. There were small windows the sides of the ship, but hard as I could try to catch a peek, there was nothing visible outside save for the passing clouds.

“What is it?” the warden said, looking at me, then running to the window himself and looking. Angling back, he saw something that blanched his face. When he faced me again, he was filled with fear and shock.

“It’s you,” he said, shaking his head in confusion. “It’s you.”

I laughed, “You’re mad.”

But Obliterate ran up to the warden, shoving him aside to see. He stared back at me.

“How are you doing this?” he roared with his rasp of a voice, drawing for his sword and making towards me, but the warden looked out the window and interrupted him.

“Incoming,” he shouted, diving away from the edge of the fuselage.

A moment later, a shower of pebbles rained on the body of the ship.

“That’s it?” Warspite said, taking off his seatbelt, expecting another explosion.

The pebbles were stuck to the C-17’s outside, rolling across the metal frame and increasing in speed with a loud grind. They rolled faster and faster, staying tight against the plane despite popping off rivets and edges, scraping against the sides. Soon the effect of each of the metal pellets tearing around the ship was visible, leaving long burning streaks around the midsection.

Without warning, the Globemaster split amidships with a howling gust wind blasting into our faces. The warden, Warspite, Obliterate and several of the guards flew out of the gaping maw, screaming for their lives. The four guards strapped to the rear of the C-17 with me also screamed as the nose dipped and the forward part of the plane was lost to us forever. Without the aft section, the nose, wings and engines would spiral out of control, foundering and falling apart. Not like we were going to fare much better. Freed of the rest of the plane, the tail caught the wind and began rolling back.

It was at that moment that I saw him. Or me, actually, if I could actually believe my eyes. I had never built nor used the flying device this version of me was using. It was as if a cross between a Harley and an F-22, winged and fast, but with handlebars and a leather seat, making the pilot of the thing fly it like a motorcycle. This guy was letting the flying bike soar without him at the controls, because he was spraying the nose section of the plane with explosive arrows, drawing and firing them with a motion that was almost exactly like mine. He fired his arrows by feel, not aim, never bothering to look down “the sights.” His hair was black and short, like I liked it, with a long, hooded cape that fluttered back from his shoulders. He also had my old facemask and goggles, in the exact old configuration I had kept before joining the Impossibles. His bow was a hand-made English bow, not an easier to find compound one that you could buy from any store, and even his quivers were the exact types I had used in the past.

Everything down to his clothing, musculature, hell, even his boots were a perfect match.

He was Blackjack.

Who ever said it's called Fugitive? (Blackjack Fugitive Update #4)

Yeah, I have no idea what it's going to be called, or when I'll be done. I do know that I'm going to have a kickass cover...

It's 3am... (Blackjack Fugitive Update #3)

And I just wrote the 180th page of the manuscript. I'd say it's closer to 200 with all the missing junk I have to add. I'm closing in on the 2nd act finale, which is pretty kickass. I've never had an action sequence as elaborate as what I'm planning.

I've put together a whole month of writing at a Stephen King-like pace, and it feels good. It also helps that the story is sort of telling itself. I finish a scene with the next one ready to go, and it's just a few more Red Bulls/Cuban coffees that keep me from going to sleep. As my head hits the pillow, I get more ideas, and I have to force myself to sleep.

And this is happening as we're putting the finishing touches on the other project that's consumed me the last year, Interstellar Overdrive. Not going to sell it here at all, and I only mention it so you know why Blackjack 3 isn't an April/May release like 1 and 2. Anyway, I'm just doing spot edits on IO so I can dedicate myself to this.

I can't guarantee I'll keep the pace, though I will as long as I can remain semi-functional the next day. This is what happened with book one, I went into vampire mode. There's also something about March and April...this time of year is very productive for me. 

Anyway, if it sounds like I'm rambling, don't worry, I am. I need my bed. But the book is breezing by, faster than I had ever expected, and I'm hoping to bring it to you as fast as possible...then right onto book 4.

Where's he been? (Blackjack Fugitive Update #2)

I get so into my replies to the comments that I tend to forget to make actual posts...It's a character flaw, we're working on it.

So where's book three? I'm ahead of where I was before the restart. Thirty days and I've got what had taken me months. My plan is to finish by the Summer, get all the edits done DURING the Summer and then finish by September or something like that. At this pace, it's doable.

I've already commissioned Erik Von Lehman for the art and he's starting to throw together ideas. Here's a little sample:

That's Blackjack on the left there, pounding some guy's face to ash. It's like a reverse cover (Erik's from Colorado - I don't pass judgment), but the idea's pretty cool.

But the book is going, which is more than I could say for what we had before. Blackjack's got me going, folks!

Overview

Just a quick update...

So I was thinking about what would be next, what's the next thing that happens to Blackjack, and my first instinct was to have him get a break. He knows some pretty influential people, after all. To turn the backstretch and throw the throttle to full, in his character arc.

But something's been eating at me. In my own life, I've had a few moments like this one. None as dramatic, of course, but there were those moments when I had some bad karma built up, and due to the natural goodness that's in all of us, I'd stepped up and done the right thing. I'm sure you guys can relate. Well, in everyone of those moments, I've had the authority figures in my life behave the same way; punitively. The first time was a simple mistake I made, tempered by an honest effort to correct it. It ended in failure and public humiliation. It's one of the most emblematic moments of my life, and I carry that scar with me to this day.

The other was something similar. Perhaps due to being in one of the lowest moments in my life, I tempted the law and the law won. It's not a situation I recommend to anyone, but we learn by doing, no? Well, at the end of a process that lasted a few years, I came forward in an act of full contrition, and was rewarded with a nice stay in the local jail. It was an opportunity for those in charge to behave with restraint, something I hadn't done, but instead, they threw the book at me. It's only the efforts of a particularly good attorney (and the inspiration for our old friend from book one, Sandy), that I didn't spend a few years in jail.

If that translates to any of you guys, to anyone reading this, then you'll know where we're headed next. The last thing you want is to be an undesirable, like Blackjack; who, despite saving the world twice, finds himself categorized as an escaped and convicted felon. Remember, he took the wrap for the events of book one (something I have some experience with - law enforcement doesn't care for nuances when they have their man), and there's little proof that he was the victim of Zundergrub's attack on Utopia in book 2. For all people know, he was in on it. After all, weren't they all chummy chummy in book 1?

Thematically, it makes sense to go in the direction I'm going. Remember that he "fell" in book 2, hitting rock bottom in typical Blackjack fashion: at full speed. When he "died" as he lay on the gurney on the back of Superdynamic's plane, he didn't see a bright light at the end of a tunnel, bidding him come to a better place. No, he fell to a pit of cold endlessness, to a place where he would be haunted forever by his dark deeds. How much of that was a mental projection, or how much of it is a divine finale, is really up to you as a reader. I don't make you question your value systems, but I do put Blackjack's under the hot spotlights, and as is typical for our wayward villain, he usually doesn't fare well. Book 3, should therefore be the long climb back. Remember the classic movie "Excalibur"? Remember the line, near the end when Percival hands Arthur the grail to drink from, "I did not know how empty my soul was, until it was just filled." Blackjack didn't know how far he'd fallen, until he slammed, face-first into the darkest depths of his soul. And from that depth, will begin the hardest part of his life, the long climb out.

What it means is I've written a the first third of a book that doesn't go next. It's good stuff, and the core of what I have makes for a fantastic book four. But book three has to resolve the issue of Blackjack's comeback. That comes first.

I've also gotten some great character ideas from you in the recent weeks. Most of what you guys threw down on this blog is rolling into one of the two books, but the next story is going to deal with something that we only hinted at earlier in book one. I don't want to say much more, save to say this new revelation has me more inspired and motivated than I've been in awhile.

Yeah, but when are you going to have a freaking book for me to read anyway??? I know, this isn't good news if you're in a hurry, but it's good news in the long run. Starting book 3 from scratch isn't what you want to hear, but I'm more focused than before, and I have book 4 one-third done. The plan is to do 3 for this year, and 4 for March/April of next year, so we get back on track with a book a year.

Interstellar Overdrive sucked up a ton of my time, and will continue to do so, but I've got a great new partner to spread the load, so I'll be able to spend 75% of my time on Blackjack 3 & 4, and get those to you as soon as possible.

So, Blackjack 3 will be "Fugitive", Blackjack 4 will be "Hero".

Blackjack 3 Cover!

No, not the final cover. Calm yourself! But Erik Von Lehman is on the job and here's his first rough drafts:

Yeah, Blackjack's back, baby!

Off and running

Not an official update, just a note to let you go that we're back in pro-mode, after a lot of nonsense at the end of the year.

But first isn't Blackjack, I'm afraid. We're finalizing the first few episodes of Interstellar Overdrive. I know, I suck, but I made that commitment to my partner (he wants his name out there on the cover of something), and we were so close to being done that it made no sense to shelve it.

The good thing is that I'm done with IO for the most part. I'm waiting on Josh to do his magic on the edits and I have someone polishing the episodes (who's sloooow), but in the meantime, starting Monday, I'm on Blackjack 95% of the time. The last 5% is to input changes from the Editor and to do the formatting on IO1 when she's done. Then put it up.

IO isn't Blackjack, it's a shoot-em up space western that has more in common with The Dirty Dozen and Mass Effect than to the previous superhero stuff we've done before. It's also 3rd person, so I don't have go agonize over feelings every fifth page.

As far as Blackjack Three, the title is in flux. Blackjack Hero doesn't full encompass what I have planned for him, so don't freak out if I bounce a few ideas here in the next few weeks. The good news is that act one is basically done, save for a few scenes. I'm going to tackle that stuff first, give it a quick polish, then put it up so the guys that follow the blog can get a first look of where we're going with it. It starts with him trying his hardest to become a hero, but you know how Blackjack can muck up just about anything, so things will go South fast.

Oh, and I'm going to do another contest. I need a villain, and you guys are going to design him. It's kind of a blank slate (unlike the previous contest where I just needed a new name). The only rules are that it's someone that can solo Blackjack and that it be someone that will pose a viable threat to the whole world. Yeah, I'm looking for a Dr. Doom/Magneto/Ra's al Ghul. It doesn't matter with what kind of powerset. If you come up with the winner, I'll not only give you full credit in the book, but I'll give you a free episode 1 (in mobi/pdf/epub) of Interstellar Overdrive, and a free copy of Blackjack Three when it comes out.

So, any ideas?