I’ve begun work on the third and final book in my Infinite Sky series, which should see release sometime late this summer. I’m really excited about this one because I get to stitch in some connecting threads that you’ll be able to follow into books I plan to write in the future. Anyone who’s read Another World knows that the company named Diamond Aerospace (first seen in Mission One) is still around and building neat toys. Further connections between these seemingly different series will be revealed in the future.

After I wrap up the last chapter of Infinite Sky, I’ll be diving into the sequel to Another World. I came up with some great ideas while writing the first one that aren’t going to leave me alone until I write them down. The events in that book (and its follow-up) fold nicely into plans I have for several larger-scale projects down the road.

And so, the question might eventually arise as to why I’m writing trilogies instead of a single, longer series.

I like the idea of writing a long series, but at this point in my career (and writing journey), I feel confident admitting I’m not that kind of author. I like the idea of a trilogy because there’s a natural flow to a three-part story. How I plan to get away with trilogies instead of a single, longer series is to make the three-parters interconnected; to draw on similar events, and occasionally similar characters, to paint a consistent universe with a shared history that informs every major event down the line, all the way to the end.

That’s my plan, anyway. It’s ambitious, but it’s going well so far. The first trilogy in this universe, Infinite Sky, is nearing completion. Then it’s on to the two follow-ups to Another World.

After that? You’ll have to wait and see.

Thirty thousand words into my next manuscript, I thought I’d come up for fresh air.

Another World is shaping up to be quite…something. My last novel took two years to write, primarily because I was hardly doing any writing. With Another World, I’ve written more in 12 days than I did in the previous 700+. My brain feels flooded with the universe I’m creating; consumed by it. Every day, more and more details unfold as I type, wiggling their way into the story and latching on like remora.

It’s a lot to keep in the mind all at once. Breaks are healthy, but I don’t want to slip into the lackadaisical schedule I adopted last year. I’m terrified I’ll lose the urgency propelling the narrative, and that all the details, which seem so fleeting right now, will slip away. To heap even more onto the schedule, my wife and I are working hard to master the business side of being an independent author, which, as it turns out, can be more time-consuming that the actual writing. Fortunately for me, she has a good head for it, otherwise I’d spend the rest of my days writing books I didn’t know how to advertise.

I hope to post some more details about Another World soon, including an excerpt (once I have a chance to look it over). I’d like to introduce you to some of the characters and to the state of things in the world of the story. As an aside, I just discovered I named the main vessel after the ship in a lackluster scifi blockbuster from a few years ago, so my first task is picking another one that fits. The original name kind of popped in there without much thought, the sneaky little devil. These are the things one must Google before hitting publish. With all the books and movies out there, chances are you’ve unknowingly named your alien protagonist after a main character in the year’s most popular television series. Guess I should watch more TV.

I’ll close with a related lament that seems to shoulder its way to the forefront of my consciousness on a daily basis:

Alas, time.

There’s nothing like being able to put the final touches on a manuscript that’s been gestating for two years. As I get closer to hitting the publish button, I realize I’ve forgotten how good it feels to actually finish something.

Deep Black is in the final stages of editing, and each day is better than the last because I’m approaching the horizon. Sure, I have almost twenty pages of notes to get through, but it’s exciting more than it is daunting.

I’m already looking forward to writing my next book, which I hope to start right after Deep Black hits the digital shelves. I’m slowly building up my notes for that one so I can churn through it with minimal delay. It has a slightly different flavor than the Infinite Sky series, but the time period and the technology feel very similar. I hope, anyway. I guess we’ll find out when it’s finished.

Until then, happy reading.

Just for clarity’s sake, I thought I’d let everyone know what’s going on with my different pen names.

I don’t publish everything under one name because I write in several different genres, and having a different name for each style helps with marketing and minimizes brand confusion (buzzwords!).

Currently, I have three:

1. Samuel Best – science fiction
2. Sam Best – horror/fantasy
3. A.P Kensey – Young Adult action/fantasy

More might come along in the future. I’d like to write a thriller and maybe something leaning toward the literary. We’ll see.

That’s it for now. Happy reading.

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Thomas Marks, a man who hasn’t slept for more than one night in one place ever since his personal quest to prepare for what he calls “a terrible war” started almost a year ago. He was kind enough to swing by my office on the way to his next meeting and fill me in on the book Long Road to Phoenix which sheds a little light on his exciting adventure. Continue reading →

Continue reading →

Blood or blisters.

Either of those on my hands at the end of the day means I’ve earned it.

Earned my sleep. Earned the right to call myself a man. It sounds like macho posturing. I guess everything needs a label. So be it.

The feeling is primal and deep, pure and unfiltered.

It is not an emotion I gleaned from reality television or the newest lifestyle magazine. It cuts through the everyday bullshit and reminds me that I did something today. Something real. Something that will leave a scar. Continue reading →

Crime writer Jim Thompson may have said it best:

“There is only one plot — nothing is what it seems.”

Yet I’ll go one further and say there’s only one genre: mystery. Continue reading →

The idea of a true frontier has always been romanticized and is almost always a false notion.

What was a frontier to the American settler was actually home to the Tribes. They knew what it meant to walk a true frontier — a blank canvas.

They didn’t paint all over it like we did, though. We painted the hell out of it. Continue reading →