Getting Back To Work

Well, it's been a good month, haven't written anything other than emails and blog posts. I sorta like the idea of taking off the entire month of December. It gives me the chance to sort out old business, plot and plan new works for the coming year, and catch up on the things happening around the world. December is great for recaps, all of the media outlets blasting at me with their "important events" of the past year.

Which gives me a chance to reflect on my own year, and point out a few things: in 2011 I published four novels totalling 452,000 words. Maybe not in the same category as some of my more prolific fellow writers, but, for me, that's an all-time high. Lots of writing going on this year and more planned for 2012. I am getting the rights back for my first novel and expect a second edition of A Chip In Time to become available as an eBook around the first of February. Next on my list of things to do will be the fourth installment in The Belt Loop series, look for that to be done on April 1st. Then the third installment in the Danny DeVille future Las Vegas series (working title: The G.O.D. Machine) should hit around June and The Belt Loop (Book Five) is planned for an August release. Rounding out 2012 will be the sixth Belt Loop book, maybe by November 1st. Then it's the month of December 2012 to relax and let my fingers heal.

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Detail of Mind Over Matter © 1983 R. Jones

Having set my course for next year, all I have to do now is stick with it. Make my MIND up to get it done, spend all of the available productive hours in the day on writing and more writing. Now, if I can only get the MATTER to cooperate.

Next post: A Chip In Time update.

Fan Art

The third book in The Belt Loop saga is published and I thought I would share some of the artwork developed by my son for the books. In the image below, the Malguurian strongman Bale Phatie is giving marching orders to some of his shock troops. In the militaristic Varson Domain, the commands of the Piru Torgud — Supreme Military Commander — must be followed to the letter or one might wind up losing his head. Bale Phatie's ceremonial sword removes more heads than a French guillotine.

Eventually I might be able to convince Chris to convert some of my books into graphic novels. Plenty of action, beautiful space scenes, fierce battles, and a strong cast of characters would make for an interesting visual read.

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Artwork © 2011 Christopher A. Jones

The Belt Loop (Book One) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HRNKA8
The Belt Loop (Book Two) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005SC002S
The Belt Loop (Book Three) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006GLJMCO

The Belt Loop (Book Three)

       Bale Phatie wanted to know more about the new weapon. He was touring the weapons facilities on Rauud Mithie and, as was his custom, he inspected every department, interrogated every department head, and made a general nuisance of himself. After all, that was what a Piru Torgud — Supreme Military Commander — did.
       He braced Admiral Regiid, his new facilities department head, and demanded information about the new super weapon. He reminded the admiral not to bore him with useless engineering details. He was a warrior and a commander of men and not some pencil-necked bookworm who had time to bury his head in a bunch of technical manuals. Bale Phatie was feared by his men and he knew it. His mere presence in the room was enough to cause even the most battle-hardened military men to buckle in the knees and get jelly-legged when he spoke.
       “So, tell me again, admiral, why do you feel this new weapon is the answer to my prayers?”
       Ceendi Regiid stood about 200 centimeters and was lean and fit but he still had to look up at Phatie. The Piru Torgud was hovering over him like a dense cloud of toxic smoke on a breezeless day. Phatie shifted his weight slightly and the resulting noise from the array of chains and decorations he wore on his sash reminded Regiid of glass breaking. “Your eminence, this design is one for the ages, one the Deliverer himself would be honor-bound to support. It has all of the essentials you requested, it is a ‘Planet Killer’ without equal.”
       Phatie curled his bottom lip and put both of his fists on his narrow hips. His flowing green robe made swishing noises as he pushed his elbows to the side. He was excited about what he was hearing but he questioned the man invoking the name of the Deliverer. In Malguurian lore, the Deliverer — commonplace name for the central star of the home world of Canuure — was the Holiest of Holies. The star was called Voorsuune, a word that had been corrupted by the humans into “Varson” during the previous war. For the Malguur the star represented their one true God, the bringer of life, the Deliverer from all evil, the One Who Casts No Shadow. While not really a religious man, Phatie liked it when someone used the name of the Diety, affirming their absolute faith and belief in the things they espoused. If they were wrong, it made killing them much easier.

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Book Three in The Belt Loop saga released today, another deep-space adventure with the intrepid sailors of the Colonial Navy. A few twists on the personal side for Uri Haad, as he finally meets the woman of his dreams!

Congrats to Christopher A. Jones (my son) for another exciting cover illustration.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006GLJMCO

The Bad Guy

Book Three in the Belt Loop saga is nearly finished and headed to the editor. In Book Two I introduced the Colonial Navy to the head of the Varson Defense Forces, Bale Phatie. A militaristic madman that almost single-handedly resurrected the Varson Empire from the ash heap of defeat and launched the Orion-Cygnus arm of the Milky Way into another battle of supremacy.

Just what does this madman look like? He struts around the Malguur Domain with his cape and sword, has a propensity to remove heads at even the smallest of infractions, wears a chestful of medals and baubles, and his decorative chains rattle like the sound of breaking glass when he walks.

Given this discription, my cover artist Christopher Jones (my son) developed a visual for me. I was so mesmerized with his depiction of my Book Two baddie I wanted him incorporated into the cover illustration for Book Three.

Here is the first look at the Malguurian Madman, Bale Phatie:

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Bale Phatie illustration courtesy Christopher A. Jones, November 2011

Look for this image to grace the cover of The Belt Loop (Book Three) - End of an Empire sometime during the first week of December. Next post: excerpts from Book Three.

Sometimes I Amaze Myself

Product Details - The Belt Loop (Book One)

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 374 KB
• Publisher: Robert B. Jones (August 16, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005HRNKA8
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

  3 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0) › See all 3 customer reviews...

• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,771 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  #34 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Space Opera
  #43 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Science Fiction > Adventure
  #53 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Adventure

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I got up this morning, having totally spaced out setting the clock back, and stumbled into my man cave to check on the overnight stats. Much to my amazement, The Belt Loop (Book One) moved up in the standings quite a bit overnight. I say to myself, this can't be happening, I can't believe my own limited success. But that's why I write, to tell a good story and hope others appreciate it.

Book Three is well along and should hit the editors desk (the right side of my brain) in about two weeks. My editing process works like this: First, I reread the entire manuscript on the screen. I write directly in html so I also can check my coding as I go; Secondly, I look at the file in my browser, and take notes as I read it. Then the original file is corrected and I print out a hard copy. Third, once the hard copy is marked up, it's back to the original and final edits are done. Lastly, once satisfied with the product, I create a mobi file and send it to my Kindle reader on my PC. Final final final editing is done and then it's back to the original html file for those last minute deletes of the word "that" and others I find unnecessary.

So when the book is finished, I have read it four or five times. Yeah, I know, another set of eyes would be helpful, but, really? Trying to find someone to actually read a book these days is problematic. I am so thankful for the many fans I have out there in the e-verse that are willing to take a look at what I have to say and buy my books. Without a strong fan base of interested readers, this whole writing thing goes nowhere.

Just as a side note, Book Two is now solidly in the top 100 in both the science fiction/space opera and the science fiction/adventure rankings. What a grand day this is.

Portrait of the Artist as an Old Fan

Back when I was a kid, growing up in Washington, D.C., I occasionally delivered the Washington Post newspaper for a friend of mine when he went on his annual summer vacation. Back in those days, a paper route catapulted you into the big-time, you had money to burn, you had all of the "first-kid-on-your-block" toys, you ruled the streets in your new Chuck Taylor high-tops and you could blow wads of cash down on 9th Street at Corr's Hobby Store.

There were three substantial papers back then: The Washington Post, The Times-Herald and the Daily News, an afternoon tabloid format weekday-only rag with all the best comics and the best sports section in my humble opinion. Each and every day during baseball season, I would cut out the latest box score from the previous day's loss by the Washington Senators and glue it in a notebook. The Senators were, by far, the worst team in baseball when I was growing up. The old joke was, "Washington: First in War, First in Peace and Last in the American League." I would dutifully go to the games at the old Griffith Stadium, sit in the cheap upper-deck seats, wear my "W" hat proudly and root for the losers.

Now, they have a new team, the Nationals. I don't get to see many Nationals games out here in the west, the market dominated by the LA Dodgers, the SD Padres and the SF Giants with an occasional Angels or Diamondbacks game thrown in on local cable to add some spice to the strong California mix. Anyway, for my last birthday my brother, a Nationals fan, sent me a jersey for a present. A Bryce Harper jersey. For those of you that don't know of Mr. Harper, he's a local Henderson kid that first attracted my attention when he was only 15 years old and whacking 450-foot homers all over Southern Nevada. I remember sending my brother a video of him hitting a monster 500-foot shot in Tropicana Park when he was 16. Now Mr. Harper is the Nationals latest bonus baby, having signed a 9-plus million dollar contract to play for Washington. I donned the jersey and had the following picture made, and titled it, Portrait of the Artist as an Old Fan. My apologies to Joseph Heller.

Photo by Shirley A. Bova
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Ahhh, if I could only return to those golden days of yesteryear, those halcyon days of my youth. Such are the dreams that keep us alive, rememberances that propel us to look back on kinder, gentler days.

Book One Review

Tense and gripping, October 27, 2011

By 

Elizabeth Jasper "-Liz" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Belt Loop (Book One) (Kindle Edition)

I'm not a huge Sci-Fi fan, but this story works not just on a sci-fi level, but as a gripping story about relationships, teamwork, leadership, danger and courage.

Right from the off, the reader is transported into a well-constructed alternative world in the far future where the crew of a time and space-travelling ship is forced to investigate another, alien vessel where they find new, dangerous species. I'll say no more as I would hate to give too much away, but anyone with an imagination and an interest in Sci-Fi will love this one. Highly recommended.

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Thanks, Liz, I'm always glad to hear from my readers. The Belt Loop (Book One) is now in the top 100 in the Science Fiction & Fantasy/Space Opera category on Amazon. I encourage all to help me push this exciting saga to the top spot, or just read it for the sheer enjoyment of a look at worlds you have never seen before.

Thank you to all my friends and followers, it gives me the impetus to push on with Book Three.

Book Three coming soon

Okay, here's the deal. The Belt Loop (Book Three) is well enough along that I can speculate on a release date: Sometime in the first week of December. Call Miss Cleo and confirm my psychic prediction. Since I can control the horizontal, the vertical, the focus, the sound of this story, the release date just serves to push me to write more each day instead of sitting here reading. I like reading almost as much as writing and sometimes that hurts my production.

History Repeats Itself © 1991 R. Jones
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Just as in the drawing above, there is a lot of strange stuff going on in the universe and this picture is my feeble attempt to show it. Completed during Easter Week in 1990 and subsequently published the next year, this is one of my favorite images. I was sitting on top of Conifer Mountain in Colorado when I drew this and, at a height of 10,000 feet was probably suffering from oxygen deprivation of some sort.

A lot of my writing is derived from snippets of story ideas I have dreamed up over the years; stories about the future, about space, about time. Science fiction is a wonderful place to lose oneself in any and all three of the aforementioned dimensions. In Book Three I make mention of Colonial Navy ships lost to the void, ships that approached folded space at speeds pushing the limits of causal uncertainty, destined to reappear where- and when-ever, but certainly not in the place they set out to travel to. Who knows, maybe they wound up in this drawing.

Perfect Weather

This is the best time of the year in the Las Vegas Valley. Clear skies, temps in the 80's during the day, clear crisp nights in the 60's. It seems like we go from summer right into a one month autumn then on to our brief winter here in the desert. April and October, the two most pleasant months out of the year.

Photo by R. Jones
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Sometimes I take the dog out for a walk while it's still dark. We explore a 2-mile radius from the house and often I have the camera with me. Sunrise over Henderson is beautiful most mornings and by the time I return to the studio I am all fired up to write or draw. I use the dog-walking time each day to plan my next plot moves in my books, try to define where the story is going, and generally just have to fill in the blanks when I sit down to the keyboard.

Right now, I am heavy into The Belt Loop (Book Three) and so far the working title is up in the air. I think the destruction of a couple of human colonies by the Varson will upset a lot of folks in the Colonial Navy and I look forward to writing the  pivotal chapters in this continuing story.

Unlike the Mojave Desert, the Loop and the Fringes are very dangerous places. People meet sudden death at every turn and sometimes the outcome of the battles do not favor the home team. There are no easy solutions to war. Violence begets more violence and each and every time mankind has tried to carve out another foothold in our vast universe, many don't make it home. We have seen this scenario repeated many times in the pageant of life here on the planet; here in our orbital skies; here in our oceans. Thousands of years from now, in my mind, these scenarios will often repeat. In an infinite numbers of universes, they will repeat an infinite number of times.

The Belt Loop (Book One) Review

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Belt Loop (Book One): A Review

Product Description:

Captain Uri Haad is plunged into one of the most terrifying voyages of his Colonial Navy career. His ship, the CNS Corpus Christi, stumbles upon a derelict alien vessel out in the void of Orion's Belt -- The Belt Loop as it is known by the sailors of the Third Colonial Fleet out of Elber Prime. He launched a Search and Rescue mission to the hulking derelict after his scans detected surviving life forms. What started as a mission of mercy quickly turns into a nightmare of epic proportions and as the horror spreads to his ship and crew, Captain Haad must make life and death decisions to avoid his own destruction and possibly an interstellar war. This taut deep-space adventure bridges the gap between distant suns and gives us a glimpse into the workings of the Twenty-eighth Century Colonial Navy.

My View:

The Belt Loop (Book One) takes the reader on a mundane, routine deep space patrol with the crew fast attack boat CNS Corpus Christi. Captain Uri Haad and his crew simply go about there business unaware of a 12 year old Stowaway lurking about their ship. Of course, if the Belt Loop patrol stayed mundane and routine, I doubt we'd be reading about it.

Soon enough, the Christi stumbles upon a derelict craft launched by a previously unknown species. Haad and his crew began referring to the segmented and tubular vessel as "The Worm". Given that humanity's only other contact with an alien species resulted in a destructive and costly conflict known as the Varson War, tensions run high among the crew, many of whom are veterans of the Varson War and have the scars to prove it.

 A S&R team is dispatched to the Worm to securing it and located the 12 surviving alien crew, While the Corpus Christi stands by to assist, or destroy the worm if needs be. The team quickly discovers, not one, but two sentient alien species aboard. The Birds and the Worms. The Birds appear to be captive in a large cargo hold, Communications Officer Maxine Hansen quickly draws a parallel to Ancient Earth History. The Worm is a slave ship.

Then things it ugly. Security measures aboard the Worm gruesomely and quickly down a contingent of the Marines sent with the Away Team.

The rest of the story is a tense, exciting read, that takes an interesting approach to Science Fiction. With a focus on exobiology and the moral implications of what is a fundamentally culturally based conflict, Robert B. Jones' "The Belt Loop" Series is off to a great start and frankly grabs the reader by the face and refuses to let go. The author does a great job of pulling the reader into the Colonial Navy, where the enlisted and officers lead boring routine lives that are punctuated by moments of sheer terror. Overall The Belt Loop (Book One) is a great read and priced great at $2.99. I'll be picking up the next one as soon as I'm able.

If you're a sci-fi fan, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. 5/5 stars

**note: I was in no way paid for this review. The only compensation I received was a promotional copy of the book and advertising revenue from this site.

5-Star Review!

Excellent Sequel!!!!, October 16, 2011

By 

jt kalnay (cleveland, ohio) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: The Belt Loop (Book Two) - Revenge of the Varson (Kindle Edition)

The Belt Loop (Book Two) Revenge of the Varson.

The war between the Varsons and humans went very badly for the Varsons. But now, a decade later, they have a plan to achieve by subterfuge what they had been unable to gain through force of arms. The plot has been hatched by a brilliant and ruthless leader who single-handedly is relentlessly whipping the men and weapons of the Varson fleet into fighting trim. Captain Haad, XO Yorn, Chief Penny, and even stowaway Har Hansen have nursed the Corpus Christi back from their encounter with the Kreet worms just in time to land in the middle of the Varson plot. See what hapens when the irresistible force of revenge meets the immovable object of brains and bravery. Midshipman Hornblower, Master & Commander Aubrey, and Dr. Maturin would all feel right at home on board the Corpus Christi and at the Naval Headquarters where battles, intrigue, and traitors are confronted with bald-faced bravery. Keep 'em coming Sir! This series has a chance to be great...

JT Kalnay
Author of The Pattern and Mina's Eyes.
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Thanks JT, always great to hear from the fans.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005SC002S (Book Two)
http://www.amazon.com.dp/B005HRNKA8 (Book One)

The Belt Loop - Book Three

The third Belt Loop novel is underway, should have it ready before the end of the year. The saga continues with the all-out space war between the Colonial Navy and the Varson Empire. No spoilers, no red alerts, no DefCon announcements, just another action-packed space opera starring Uri Haad and Davi Yorn, keeping up the colonial end out in the Orion-Cygnus arm of the Milky Way.

Home © 2001 R. Jones

Look for excerpts from the new book around the first week in November. Well, back to the key pounding and thanks for your interest and support. So far, the  series is doing much better than even I thought it would.

Decision Time

Okay, here we go again. Should I continue my space-opera saga The Belt Loop and try to get Book Three finished before the end of next month or should I go ahead and finish The GOD Machine, the next Danny DeVille sci-fi adventure novel?

Right now I'm thousands of words into The GOD Machine and while I like writing about a future Las Vegas, I'm really drawn to the space-opera saga, and the book is already outlined, plotted and awaits a commitment from me to start pounding away at the keys. The story takes an unusual twist and some of the lead characters in Books One and Two don't fare too well in the renewed war with the Varson Empire. But, hey, space is a dangerous place and The Belt Loop is one of the most dangerous places in the galaxy.

Decision coming by Sunday. Watch this spot.

The Ring © 2000 R. Jones
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http://deevade.deviantart.com/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YTMNUS
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HRNKA8
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005SC002S

Thanks Guys and Gals

Just a word of thanks to all of my friends and followers that support my writing and artistic efforts. I have a lot of fun writing and even more fun sharing my books and drawings on this site. Every day is a new adventure, each morning a new challenge waiting to happen.

The success of my space-opera saga, The Belt Loop draws me to the keyboard often, makes me want to continue the trials and trevails of my characters. The whole process of indie publishing still amazes me, still leaves me with an awesome sense of wonder that I can reach so many people from around the world and let them glimpse some of the things rattling around in my head.

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Amazing! © 1991 R. Jones

Hop aboard the CNS Corpus Christi for an exciting jaunt into Orion’s Belt:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HRNKA8 (Book One)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005SC002S (Book Two) - Revenge of the Varson
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YTMNUS The Hand Is Quicker (A Danny DeVille sci-fi mystery)

The Belt Loop (Book Two) - Revenge of the Varson

The new Belt Loop advanture (Book Two) is published. Description:

The Belt Loop saga continues with Captain Uri Haad and Commander Davi Yorn nursing their crippled ship back to port. It doesn't take long before things start to go horribly wrong in the Third Colonial Navy Fleet: one of Haad's crewmen is brutally murdered; one of his senior officers is kidnapped; a competition is instigated between Haad and several of the senior captains for a coveted promotion -- all seemingly unconnected events that plunge Haad's crew into a nightmarish fight for survival. Complicating matters, without warning hostilities begin anew with the once-defeated Varson Empire and spiral out of control as the new Varson madman launches his Operation Decimation against the Colonial Navy, the planets of the Colonial Alliance and Captain Haad himself. This soaring adventure is set in the Fringes, that gaseous portion of the galaxy light-years from the Belt Loop and both Haad and Yorn make discoveries that will alter their lives forever. Approximately 97,000 words.

In the Kindle store: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005SC002S

Feedback is welcomed!

My Favorite Artist

It's raining in Henderson today and the forecast is for showers all week. Yeah, I know, we need the moisture. In an environment that is habitually dry an occasional shower sort of breaks the monotony of so many glorious sun-filled days.

I get asked a lot about the books and especially about the covers. My son Christopher has been my cover artist since the first book was published. He is easy to work with, gets my ideas in a heartbeat and has never missed a deadline. Now he is working on some "fan art" and will bring to life some of my fictional characters for the world to see. He sends me all of his sketches and notes, and he has his own art page on deviantart. In the future I plan to share some of his work, some of his "pre-cover" sketches with my followers here.

Christopher at the Grand Canyon, photo by R. Jones.

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The new Belt Loop novel will be available sometime tomorrow (10/5/2011) and once again I would like to tip my hat to my favorite artist!

http://mawnbak.deviantart.com/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005SC002S

New Month

Greetings to all. Well, October is upon me and I have two things staring me in the face. The first: my birthday is this month and I'm not so much enthralled by the two very crooked numbers looking at me. Oh well, it could be worse. There is only one remedy to stop the aging process and I'm not quite ready for that cryogenic tank yet, too much dang work to do. Secondly, I have to put The Belt Loop (Book Two) to bed. The book finished at almost 97,000 words and all of the editing has been done. I only have to go back and check a few continuity facts from Book One to make sure that my facts in Book Two agree with those previouly published.

Finishing a novel is a major undertaking for me. It starts with an idea, is nurtured through its growing pains, it reaches a pleasant old age and then it gets published. Not many other endeavors have given me the same feeling of accomplishment.

The Great Ashtray Nebula © 1991 R. Jones
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It's hard for me to believe that this drawing of mine is now 20 years old. Boy, time really flies when you're having fun.

Look for The Belt Loop (Book Two): Revenge of the Varson to be available on October 5, 2011. Continuing with the saga starring Captain Haad, Commander Yorn and the rest of the crew of the Corpus Christi, find out what happens to them as they limp back into port and run smack into a Varson uprising.

When Book Two goes live I will post the appropriate link here.

Robert.

Book Cover

The Belt Loop (Book Two) is in the final stages and here is a look at the new cover created by my son Christopher A. Jones. Yeah, lots of battles in this one as things get serious in the Fringes. . .

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Look for the new book on or around October 5th, 2011. Don't fall behind in your reading, get Book One today and start reading it so you'll be up to speed when the second installment hits. Action and adventure with a twist, things to keep you awake at night, a good read.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HRNKA8

Sneak Peek: The Belt Loop (Book Two)

      “We are at the re-building stage, Galnal. I know that as well as any. But my concern is focused on what we are re-building for. It took us, as a race, hundreds of tanuude to get where we were, masters of our domains in space, masters of this arm of the galaxy. It only took a couple of alien bombardments for us to lose that status. The people are not used to being told what to do, being told where to go, what is permitted travel, what is not. The humans did not elect to occupy any of our worlds which to me was a sign of weakness. Their blockade of our territorial space is thin and porous. What we do now must shape our future as a species, and that future should not be clouded by the ashes of war or the overbearing domination by another race.”
      “And I agree with what you just said. But until we can effectively find a way out of this bottle, find a way past the blockade, how do you see us regaining what we have lost?”
      Phatie grunted. “It is your lack of vision that disturbs me most, Galnal. You were appointed by the Orduud politicians; I reached my position by way of battles won. We seem to be at an impasse here about the future of the Malguur. Do you not agree?”
      “You seem to forget that I served in the Hyfuur campaign, eminence. My experiences there led me to where I am now.”
      Phatie stood quickly and yelled, “Your experiences on Hyfuur! What a joke! What did you do, Galnal, hop the first ship out of the system when the bombs started to destroy your birthplace? You certainly didn’t rally any resistance to the incoming Elber Fleet.”
      Galnal stood and leaned in. “What you say is pure rubbish. We were outnumbered and our ships were no match against the humans. I did what was necessary to survive, as did many.”
      This insubordinate geluur, thought Phatie, summoning up the most outlandish curse he could think of. He reached down and opened one of his desk drawers. When his three-fingered hand came out of the drawer it was holding a high-powered projectile weapon. “Survive this,” he said casually as he pulled the trigger.
      A loud report filled the room and Fleet Uurgud Wan Galnal grabbed at his chest. His hand almost disappeared into the gaping wound. He looked at his eminence with a quizzical stare before he crumpled to the floor, his ceremonial sword making a clattering racket as it fell with him.
     Phatie walked around the desk and kicked the sword away with his boot. “You’re not fit to wear this, not even in death,” he said.

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The above dialogue takes place between the Supreme Military Commander of the Malguurian Armed Forces and one of his underlings. Things didn't go well for poor Wan Galnal.

When asked later by one of his staff members how Ganal took his demotion, Bale Phatie replied:

      “He took it in the chest.”

Look for Book Two to be published before the 10th of October.

Tomorrow's post: The new cover by Christopher A. Jones (my son, Yay!)

Update: The Belt Loop (Book Two)

I've been very busy the last two weeks getting the second installment of The Belt Loop ready for publishing. It should be right around 100,000 words and continues the saga from the first book.

Lot's of interesting things in this story, as much of it is told from the other side: the alien perspective. Needless to say, the Varson Empire is not a happy place to be. Humiliated in their short war with the humans some ten years back, the Varson plot and plan their retribution against the Second Fleet of Elber Prime and the action is non-stop and riveting.

And, as is typical of stories from the twisted left-side of my brain, there are a lot of plot twists and the tale eventually comes to a rousing finish with a lot of sustained battles taking place between the warring fleets.

I am hoping the book will be ready sometime during the first week in October, 2011, depending how much time is devoted to edits and re-writes.

Nest post: Excerpt from The Belt Loop (Book Two): The Varson Uprising.

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The Omega Point © 2000 R. Jones

Check out my books at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HRNKA8
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YTMNUS
Artwork at:
http://DeeVade.deviantart.com/

New Month, New Challenges

Okay, here I am again, looking at a new month. Last month was a rush, getting the new novel done and published, and I expect this month will be even busier. Now that I have pretty much all the time in the world to write I find that it is a good way to pass the time and it satisfies my creative compulsions.

I talked to my illustrator (my son Christopher) and detailed what the next book cover should look like. I gave him a month to work on it and I hope to have The Belt Loop (Book Two) finished sometime in the first week of October. Yeah, I know, a little ahead of schedule. But why wait? I want to strike while the iron is hot and since Book One is selling well (for me, anyway) I figured that a quick-released sequel will further cement my vision of the Loop into my readers' minds. Can't hurt. As usual, the new chapter in this space-opera will be loaded with action, humor, and plot twists. Amazing, huh?

Zero-Gee Plumbing © 2007 R. Jones

In The Works

I am really encouraged by the initial success of  The Belt Loop (Book One). The five-star review went a long way to help push the book up the sales chart and I look forward to another super month of writing and reading.

At this juncture, with two manuscripts in the formative stage, I've decided to put The GOD Machine on hold until I finish the second book in the space opera series. Now that the characters have been fully developed and the story line firmly established, writing the sequel will be a piece of cake. I'm already 15,000 words deep into the story of Book Two and the opening part, the first seven chapters paint a very dismal picture from the other side of the canvas -- from the alien's perspective.

They are not pleased with the defeat handed them by the Second Fleet of Elber Prime over ten years ago. So they plot, they plan, they get really hyper and seek revenge. Having three planets destroyed by atomic weapons from orbit will tend to do that to a species.

The Belt Loop (Book One) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HRNKA8

The Belt Loop -- First Review

First Of What I Hope Will Be Many In A Series!, August 30, 2011

By 

jt kalnay (cleveland, ohio) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: The Belt Loop (Book One) (Kindle Edition)

Horatio Hornblower and Lucky Jack Aubrey have company in the person of Captain Haad. In our distant future, Captain Haad commands a fast patrol craft in the most distant regions of the universe. After encountering a previously unknown lifeform, Captain Haad fights epic battles of discovery and good old fashioned ship to ship cannon bashing. With a supporting staff of brilliant cryptographers, stowaways, exobiologists, and fighting marines, Haad is ready to take on all comers, no matter what form they take. Get ready to start an obsession with a Napoleonic era captain who strides the quarterdeck of a high-tech, sci-fi, Star Trek bridge. I can't wait for the next installment in the series.

JT Kalnay
Author of The Pattern and Mina's Eyes
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Thanks, JT. Book Two is already in the ole pipeline and should be ready to read sometime in late October. I have consciously tried to write this first book with the thought of an epic series spanning many volumes, taking some of the characters from adolescent years to becoming ship captains in their own right many story years down the road. The problem is, since the Belt Loop is such a violent place where death comes in many forms, it's hard to keep the characters alive. Oh well, I know of at least a half-dozen that will make the trip without losing too many body parts.

In the Meantime. . .

Wow, very exciting two weeks. My new novel went live, I participated in a blog tour and got two 5-star reviews for my second novel, The Hand Is Quicker.

What am I doing now? Well, writing, as if you couldn't guess. What am I writing? I have two books in the works: The third Danny DeVille novel and Book Two of my space opera series. Right now I'm encouraged to continue the Belt Loop series and get another deep-space adventure published before the end of November. The initial response to Book One in this series has been positive and I am anxiously waiting for my first review. But the work goes on, and I will still try to keep my fans interested enough to join me in another far-fetched tale centered around what I know least about: The Universe.

One Universe: Some Assembly Required. © 2007 R. Jones
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See more of my artwork at http://DeeVade.deviantart.com/

Another 5-star Review

Viva Las Vegas, August 26, 2011

By 

Elizabeth Jasper "-Liz" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hand Is Quicker (Kindle Edition)

One of the stars of this show is Las Vegas, 2078. The buzz of the city, the gambling, crime, violence and the futuristic, yet realistic descriptions kept me right there as the action unfolded. Danny DeVille is an excellent MC, whose intelligence, insight and experience puts him in the right place to investigate the financial problems being experienced by the biggest, newest and most exciting casino on the block. With his close-knit team of operatives and support staff, DeVille's detective agency soon gets to grips with the villains and the story takes off in a fast-paced, imaginative and well described series of encounters with various opponents. Who is friend and who is not? Why can't these look-alike killers be killed themselves? Who is behind the conspiracy that reaches into the upper echelons of Las Vegas corporate life - and even higher than that? With the action moving from land to sea and back and with time travel adding a little relish to the plot, this book is a must read for SF fans.

Professional writing, strong plotting and excellent pacing, along with intricate and unusual twists to the story make this book hard to put down. Highly recommended.


-Liz

Lying in Wait

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Gee, I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks to Elizabeth Jasper for her evaluation of "The Hand Is Quicker". http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YTMNUS

Book Review

Hand is Quicker but DeVille is Slicker, August 25, 2011

By 

jt kalnay (cleveland, ohio) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: The Hand Is Quicker (Kindle Edition)

Robots, time-travel, and futuristic weapons combine with old-fashioned greed and revenge in this fast paced detective story. Follow retro-detective DeVille and his team of loyal misfits as they unravel the threads to a decades long conspiracy hatched by the intended target of a failed mob hit. A conspiracy that threatens to set friend against friend until no-one knows who to trust. Set in the near future in Las Vegas, readers will recognize the emotions and experiences of Vegas, winning, losing, loving, and dying. Readers will also recognize the universal themes of trust and doing what simply has to be done. This is the first book by Robert Jones that I have read, but it won't be the last!

JT Kalnay, Author of The Pattern & Mina's Eyes.
------------
Thanks to Mr. Kalnay! It's always comforting to hear what others have to say about your work, especially other authors. I will continue to create "fast-paced" reads for my fans and hope to have the next Danny DeVille installment available by the first of the year.

The Hand Is Quicker is available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YTMNUS

Guest Post by Martin King

I am happy to participate in the 100blogfest tour! Return with us now to those Golden Days of Yesteryear, where you had to be the First Kid On Your Block to have the latest TV toys. The following is by Martin King:

I remember so many great TV programs when I was a kid. The likes of
Star Trek everyone remembers because its longevity. But what about
some of the others? But more importantly back then, it wasn’t all
about the TV program and how good it was for the audience, but it was
all about the toys.

I remember owning a SS Enterprise ship that you could press a button
and it fired round discs. Then there was a sci-fi show, now I think
I’ve got it right, called UFO. They had these space ships that looked
like a sort of helicopter, but instead of having two runners, they had
a third one at the front.

They also had a huge torpedo missile at the front and you pressed a
button to fire it. I had one of them that I swapped some rubbish car
with this kid for. What an easy swap. But that was the best thing
about sci-fi toys, they always seem to have extra working gadgets on
them compared to most other toys.

I could talk about so many great programmes and toys, but my all time
favourite had to be Space 1999. I loved that show, but better still
were the Eagles. And I had a full set of them. They had to be the best
toy ever.

You could disconnect it’s undercarriage and fly the ship off
separately. But also there was this one type I had that had these
toxic barrels on with magnets on the top. A winch and rope was
connected to the craft and you could lower it down and pick up the
barrels, amazing stuff.

Just as a side point, I remember there was a recall or something
because the little plastic barrels had paper wrapped around them with
toxic symbols. Apparently the paint they had used was toxic. My mate
sent his back and got a replacement – plain boring plastic barrels. I
kept mine, they looked better!!!

These blogs are all about fun and sharing. Thank you for reading a
‘#100blogfest’ blog. Please follow this link to find the next blog in
the series: http://martinkingauthor.com/blog/7094550076

Sin City

I get asked a lot, "What's it like to live in Vegas?" Well, actually I live in Henderson (about 7 miles from downtown) and it's a nice bedroom community with many positives. I know, Las Vegas leads the nation in just about every bad category there is (forclosures, crime, car thefts, etc.) but so far, in my 12 years here I have not suffered through much on the negative side.

Actually I kind of like the place. I have lived in many cities (Denver, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Ft. Washington, Maryland) but I find this one seems to agree with me. I like hot weather (sometimes it's so hot you can see Superman in a taxi) and the dry air is easy to breathe. The conditions outside limit what you can do in the summer, but, hey, the heat propels me into my office to draw and write. Las Vegas was the driving impetus for my first two books and I enjoyed the mental challenge of trying to depict what this place would look like 65 years from now.

While Las Vegas is not for everyone, I call it home. Look for the next Danny DeVille future Las Vegas installment around the first of the year.

The Belt Loop is Published

Wow, waiting for a book to be published is reminiscent of waiting for a child to be born. You know it's coming, but you just don't know when.

Anyway, the new book is out and I hope you will take the time to read it and post a review on Amazon or leave me a comment here.

Link to the book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HRNKA8

Bobby The Demon © 1991

The New Book

Captain Uri Haad is plunged into one of the most terrifying voyages of his Colonial Navy career. His ship, the CNS Corpus Christi, stumbles upon a derelict alien vessel out in the void of Orion's Belt -- The Belt Loop as it is known by the sailors of the Third Colonial Fleet out of Elber Prime. He launched a Search and Rescue mission to the hulking derelict after his scans detected surviving life forms. What started as a mission of mercy quickly turns into a nightmare of epic proportions and as the horror spreads to his ship and crew, Captain Haad must make life and death decisions to avoid his own destruction and possibly an interstellar war. This taut deep-space adventure bridges the gap between distant suns and gives us a glimpse into the workings of the Twenty-eighth Century Colonial Navy. Approximately 95,000 words.

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Well, here it is! As you can tell by the blurb above, the "Loop" is one dangerous place. The text is completed and in the final editing throes. Look for the book to be available in the Kindle store sometime around August 21st, barring any unforseen misfortunes on my part.

Hats off to Christopher A. Jones for another great cover. See more of his artwork at:
http://mawnbak.deviantart.com/

Now I have to go back to Las Vegas in the year 2079 and figure out how I'm going to get Danny DeVille out of the mess he's found himself chest-deep in. The third book of the future Vegas series has the working title of The GOD Machine and should be ready for publication before the end of this year. Assuming, of course, that I don't take time off to continue the Belt Loop saga.

Update

Here we are in the final stages of the new book. The "pounding the keyboard" part is almost done. I talked to my illustrator and he assures me the rushes on the cover will be done sometime next week.

Writing speculative fiction and science fiction is not an easy thing to do. The idea behind The Belt Loop was born many, many years ago and was put in a drawer along with a lot of other writing projects. Trying to get a good balance between characters, story line, plot twists, and a redemptive conclusion can take the life out of a project that was not well thought out in the first place.

How do the characters interact? What is the emphasis of the story? Is it just a lot of words to describe the action or do the words really have meaning and carry the tale to a logical conclusion? Will there be a sequel to feature the main characters again? Is the story believable, assuming the reader can suspend his or her disbelief to take into account all of the "science" in the fiction?

These are all questions I ask myself as I'm creating. If I can't answer "yes" to all of them, I do a little tampering with the tale until I can.

Next week begins the real drudgery: The Edit. I tend to edit as I go when I write and use my spellcheck and other tools but my eye tends to insert things that are not really there and my head seems to read what I meant to say instead of what I actually wrote. Generally, I will proofread a fresh manuscript about ten times and once satisfied I print out a hard copy and read it again. Lots of time involved but I'm compulsive like that and committed to putting out the best product I'm capable of. Hope it works.

---------
Fabric Of Space © 1999 R. Jones

In the story I wanted to "invent" a new kind of space travel that used a high-energy field to "push" space into folds as if it were a carpet being bunched against a wall. This folded space can be navigated from fold to fold thus greatly reducing transit times from planet to planet without going through the hackneyed "hyperspace" that most of the future starships seem to be able to access at will in a lot of stories. This folding technology as employed in my new novel produces a very realistic approach to interstellar travel and creates realistic timelines for unfolding events in the process. (I think I just made a pun.)

Next post: The New Cover (I hope).

Where The Action Is

The Corpus Christi slowed its enormous bulk to a groaning stop some 1,200 meters from the flank of the derelict ship. Displacing 435,000 metric tons, the Christi was a lot of ship to move in any given direction and when the main anti-matter drive engines idled down its magnetic field and the boat shuddered to a complete stop, Uri Haad sent out a couple of drones and waited for the images to resolve on his console. So far, the derelict had told him nothing. In his years of service Haad had come across some strange sights out in the Belt. Generally, after almost six hundred years of manned exploration, of the 17,000 systems explored and cataloged, only eleven harbored any kind of life at all. Out here most of the planets—the ones orbiting the double- and triple-sun systems in the direction of Orion—were gas giants with hard radiation-scorched moonlets. Back towards Alnitak, the triple star system that represented the end of the Belt, and the Flame Nebula beyond there were thousands of worlds that could have supported human existence, but none did. The small rocky planets were constantly buffeted by the harsh solar winds that scoured them clean of all life, stripped away their atmospheres and rendered them quite useless. Only one other planet in the Elber system played host to a rudimentary form of animal life and surely that life was not sophisticated enough to put together a ship capable of reaching star gap distances. This had to be something else, he thought, something from the Fringes, something very old, but, then again, something very new. Maybe something coming under human scrutiny for the first time.
-----------
Excerpt from The Belt Loop.

False-color image taken from detail of "History Repeats Itself" © 1991 R. Jones

Things are indeed strange out in The Belt Loop where binary star systems are the norm and small yellow dwarfs lose millions of tons of mass to their bloated blue-giant companions. It is out here that the action of my next novel takes place, out here over 800 lightyears from mother Earth, out here where death comes at you before you know it.

Look for The Belt Loop in the Kindle store around Labor Day, 2011. Keep track of my progress here; all comments are welcomed.

Book Review

A tight, well written detective story with a futuristic twist, July 18, 2011

By 

Michael Thomas "Author - Star Crusades Series" (Bristol, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hand Is Quicker (Kindle Edition)

This is the second detective based story I have read in the last few days and it sure didn't disappoint. I've never visited Las Vegas though I have travelled through Reno and I could easily imagine it turning into the world created by R B Jones. The case is a classic and convoluted tale that keeps you guessing and desperate to keep reading. Without spoiling the plot let's just say it has action, excitement and enough twists to make you want to read it again. Great book and I will definitely be keeping an eye on the author in the future.

----------
Thanks Michael! It's gratifying to know that the story and all of the intricate plot twists are appreciated by my readers.

The space-opera novel (The Belt Loop) is progressing apace, still on target for Labor Day. Cover illustrations by Christopher Jones are being developed in that far-off colony of Maryland.

By the way, the third Danny DeVille novel--working title: The GOD Machine--is also in production. My huge research staff (me) is hard at work developing realistic scenarios and pulling together all of the loose ends. This high-Earth-orbit thriller should be ready to publish around the first of the year.

Back in the day. . .

When I was a lad back in the 1950's, I often dreamed of flying to the stars. That dream was bolstered by watching every type of sci-fi movie that I could find. Some of my favorites? Forbidden Planet, War Of The Worlds, This Island Earth, Earth vs The Flying Saucers, Gog, Invaders From Mars, Angry Red Planet. . . the list is quite long.

Around the time of my eighth birthday, I got a library card and every Tuesday I would run down the street to the waiting Bookmobile to get my alloted armful of books. I was into Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury, Knutter, and the like and would devour books like they were Necco Wafers.

So the twig is bent, so grows the tree. Fifty plus years later, I still read a lot of books. Science Fiction, Legal Drama, Murder Mysteries, High-Tech Thrillers, Spy Novels, Military Adventures, Police Procedurals, you name it. My reading list is also speckled with a good assortment of hard science and physics books from Stephen Hawking, Brian Greene and others.

Yesterday marked the 42nd anniversary of the historic first Moon landing. Today marked the end of the NASA Space Shuttle flights. My whole life has been spent wondering about the origins of life, the nature of the universe and now I have the gratifying knowledge that I was around to see Man's first feeble attempts to leave the planet of his birth and reach out into the void.

Instantly, after deciding to write a series of space opera novels, I looked toward Orion, my favorite constellation. Easily discernable in this photo is Bernard's Loop, a 300 lightyear-wide bubble of expanding gas thought to be the remnant of a massive multi-stellar explosion some 2 million years ago. This area of space is the background of my stories and, just as always, I'm certain that once Man actually explores this region of the Milky Way, the truths found there will easily outstrip the fantasies. Nature is more creative than we give Her credit for.

The Belt Loop - Sneak Peek

    Washoe touched controls on his console. “Ahh, sir, at present course it would be headed directly for Sol. Looks like the ship was headed for Earth, captain.”
    Earth! The Corpus Christi was roughly 810 light years from Earth patrolling the void between Alnitak and Mintaka, two huge suns that were almost 100,000 times more luminous than our Sun. Yet here was a vessel, if Mister Washoe was reading the algorithms correctly, heading right for the dim star that birthed the Human race. Captain Haad shook his head. Was such a thing actually possible?
    “Double check your figures, Mister Washoe,” Haad said.
    “Astrogation confirmed, sir. At her present speed and course, she would have made Earth in, ahh, six point six billion years.”
    Thin laughter rippled across the bridge. “Good thing we came along, captain,” Ensign Hoge said.
    “Should I alert all commands, sir?” from Nono Gant.
    Haad had to laugh out loud. “That’s going to be the highlight of my Threat Assessment Report: incoming alien warship at the speed of snail. Power up the defensive shields, the planet is in peril. . .”
    Finally some of the edge came off the blade and the bridge was relaxed again. Haad considered what he had just been told. The alien ship was on a course that would have taken it into the home system but was moving so slowly that more than likely the Sun would probably not even be there when she arrived. Kick this can down the road? Not on your life. As long as that ship was capable of moving, as long as she showed any kind of life at all, a potential threat existed. Even now, with Yorn’s team probing the inside of the derelict, they could accidentally trigger some kind of defense mechanism, some kind of intruder alert protocol that would bring the worm out of its hibernation. Maybe even activate some version of a star drive engine that would be powerful enough to burn it out of the confining Higgs Field and propel it on its original course. As unlikely as those scenarios seemed, Haad had to put the bantering on pause and get his crew back on mission. Slow or not, the worm was still active.

The above excerpt is from "The Belt Loop" and the completed novel should be ready to download as a Kindle eBook before Labor Day, 2011. Filled with high adventure and alien mysteries, follow Captain Uri Haad and his crew on the Colonial Navy Ship Corpus Christi as she plies the void within one of the most interesting places in this arm of the Milky Way.

What I Do When I'm Writing

My creative environment is important; my "office" or "man cave" is important. I surround myself with the necessary tools I need when writing: the computer (of course), printer, reference books, and lots of music. My creative space is surrounded by CDs and usually I put on a mix of music to write by.

Some of my favorites? Old-school jazz (Grover Washington, Jr., Gato Barbieri, Peter White, David Sanborn and the like); old-school R&B (Marvin Gaye, The Miracles, The Impressions, Eddie Kendricks, The Temptations, etc.); space music (Star Wars, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek, Alien, ET, etc.); and miscellaneous moving music to keep me interested in what I'm doing (James Bond themes, soundtracks, etc.).

My favorite music to write by: Enigma. Hands down. I find that the thumping rhythms and chants are often reminiscent of space-opera themes and sometimes, not conciously, I find myself writing to a tempo, a back-beat on the keyboard, a soaring melody that often corresponds to the action I'm depicting. My full-immersion mode is complete with noise-canceling headphones to keep my mind on the task at hand.

Needless to say, I'm sort of compulsive when it comes to the tunes. I have a few (ha!) to choose from and on any given day, writing or drawing, the back-beat is present in the cave.

The first part of "The Belt Loop" is finished, 5 more parts to go.

Progress Report

Back in December of 1999 I was driving I-70 from Las Vegas to Denver and saw a very bright Orion rising over the eastern horizon. It filled my windshield for a few minutes, and I waited for a lull in the traffic and doused my headlights. This portion of "Road Trip" needs no explanation:

This image (taken with my six-zillion megapixel organic-ocular imaging system: my eyes) is what I saw. I started this drawing a few months later and it still is unfinished.

But wait, there's more! Now that I am writing a new sci-fi novel, working title "The Belt Loop" I think it is time to finish this drawing. The book will take place in the Orion "belt" (between the two outer stars of the belt -- the middle one is a huge blue giant some 500+ light years further out than the other two) and it is about 10,000 words deep so far. Pure space opera with social implications and a lot of action.

Look for it this fall.

The Eye

Developing a style is important in art as well as writing. I have been creating a style of black and white pen and ink drawings for the last forty years. Dark images, full of detail, thought-provoking things from my imagination.

Isn't that exactly what I've been doing in my writing? I would like to think so. The gushing rush to judge my own work is down to a slow-moving stream in the great river of imagination. I feel no safe harbor is at hand. So I plan to sail on, get more detailed, darker, and hope the next book will find a niche of its own. That is the goal, that is the plan.

As this old piece of artwork attests, I have much to do. Compared to my latest artistic efforts, this piece is a little thin on detail, a little light on the thought-provoking thread. But, as with all things that age well, it stands the test of time and lets me know that I am still on the right track. As with the art, the writing will get better, and the light behind my eyes will burn bright again.

The Eye: © 1973 R. Jones

My Third Review

Just when you think you know what's about to happen next ..., June 30, 2011

By 

NateSumm99 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: The Hand Is Quicker (Kindle Edition)

A casino on the New Strip of Las Vegas, year 2078, is losing money and lots of it. The Luna Vista calls on the most reputable man in Sin City, and Danny DeVille is on the case. This story takes off quickly and doesn't relent. Things start going wrong when DeVille's car explodes, and he starts to believe he is the target of a murder attempt. DeVille and his young staff of investigators employ their extensive experience in attempt to solve the mystery of the otherwise top-notch casino's sudden cash leak, but ultimately it becomes clear Danny is up against his toughest opponent - himself. "The Hand is Quicker" is fascinating as it unfolds, is written with great attention to detail and is full of surprises. Recommended.

Another 4-star review! As I slowly, slowly build a fan base, I am encouraged by input from my readers. See all three reviews at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YTMNUS