Author Archives: Jimm

Baktu first manuscript is done

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The first manuscript for Baktu, episode two of the Tomek series (after Negative Zero) is written. It is off to the editor for the initial high level developmental edit. Once my editor gives an official report, this will result in me having to rewrite various parts to improve the plot flow and character development.

Baktu is mostly a romance that happens on a different planet (called Baktu) between human Tomek, and bakti Spri. Once they are paired up, they will be almost unstoppable and ready for the final episode.

Now I am impatiently sitting around waiting for my editor’s report. And working my day job.

Merry Christmas.

4 out of 5 stars review from Forward Clarion

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I am ecstatic. My book Negative Zero got rated four out of five stars by Forward Clarion reviews. They also gave several paragraphs of glowing commentary. I like it! I will repeat the review here:

Negative Zero is an action-packed space opera that will appeal to lovers of mysteries, crime novels, and conspiracy theories.

In a distant future when an evolved human race coexists with fantastical creatures, infamous vigilante Negative Zero brings criminals to justice. In classic science-fiction style, Jimm Grogan has created an action-packed world with innovative characters, interplanetary intrigue, and diabolical schemes that threaten the future of the Azten Empire of Federated Worlds. With illustrations by Duncan Long, Negative Zerocaptures the spirit of the righteous avenger.

Tomek Nois Plantona Regalia 1294 2 is a man of many talents. He divides his time between his day job as a spacecraft engineer and his hobby of tracking down dangerous criminals as a vigilante assassin. Using disguises that are unique down to facial features and mannerisms, Tomek feels secure in his anonymity until his involvement in two deadly cases leads to the unmasking of his alter ego, Negative Zero.

The book opens with a suspenseful action sequence involving the takedown of a criminal who feeds human flesh to her exotic, hypnotizing birds. While the book is largely plot-driven, Grogan does include some backstory on Tomek’s transformation into Negative Zero, a change shaped in large part by the tragic, unsolved murders of his mother and father. The dangerous cases that Tomek takes on, including a government conspiracy that has cost thousands of lives on the planet Zimvia, all seem to interconnect with clues that could unlock the secrets of the past. Grogan has neatly set up Negative Zero for a sequel or series.

A smattering of grammar and punctuation errors exists, including an occasional dropped article and extra spacing between words; these minor details are easy to dismiss thanks to the fast pacing and page-turning suspense.

An illustrated appendix of races provides a convenient reference point for the six major species mentioned in Negative Zero, although Grogan does specify that the “Azten empire is home to citizens of about twenty different races. However there are significant populations of only about seven of them.” Duncan Long’s drawings complement the text, outlining complex social customs and appearances of each, whether they be human, orwallin, zimvi, or navino.

Although Negative Zero, with its futuristic technology and civilization, is pure science fiction, it will also appeal to lovers of mysteries, crime novels, conspiracy theories, action-adventures, or any genre wherein good overcomes evil.

– Forward Clarion Reviews

My Review of Phantasia

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I read a novel called “Phantasia” by R. Atlas (who I have never heard of) as an free advance reader copy from StoryCartel.com, and then bought it from Amazon. I gave it four stars with an Amazon review.

This was a fun read. I enjoyed the author’s imagination. The book kept me interested to the end. The story takes you through various environments: the academy when Red and his friends are training to be warriors against the dreaded Xenosites, the test battle in the desert gone out of control, the bizarre and exotic caves, the glacial swamps, and the royal palace, all with wondrous and often dangerous creatures. The mysteries and suspense pile up. I liked it and thought it a worthwhile read.

The book was was sprinkled with a few wrong words spelled similar to the words he should of used. I think some professional editing would of helped it. Also, the end is just a cliff hanger, with no resolution. I think each book in a series should have a conclusion, where some subplot is resolved with a satisfactory end, even if the overall series plot continues to build up.

My New Novelette Available Now

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It is finally done. My new novelette, Hermione’s Day Off, is available. It will be available in paperback on Amazon on the third of August 2014 (Monday), and probably before then. You can get the PDF file version here for free. You can also read more about the book here.

This science fiction book is a stand alone story, or read as a prequel to my Negative Zero novel.

HFBookCover5x8_Color_30 trimmed

Alternate Beginning for Negative Zero

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Rejected Prologue and Chapter 1

Attached is one of three beginnings to my Negative Zero novel, before we settled on the hypnotic birds.

This candidate that was later rejected told the story of young Tomek as a child, and introduced the death of his parents, a mystery that will arc through the series of all three planned books. However there was a worry the the time discontinuity between chapter 1 and chapter 2 would disorient readers. I still told Tomek’s childhood story in the novel, but as a series of flashbacks sprinkled throughout. The prologue here, setting up some indirect clues about why his parents were killed, never did get published.

 

By starting with the current chapter 1, we showed an introduction to what normalcy was for Tomek, before he got entangled in the complicated Cane-Lua plague mess that took over the plot. We thought the current chapter 1 would serve as a better hook, and help establish the base venue and situation to build on going forward.

A New Novelette

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I had been working on my sequel, but now I am taking time out to write a short story. A short story is from 1000 to 7500 words, so this is getting to be a ‘novelette’ instead. My plan is to make this ebook available for free. The story is somewhat related to my novel and to Tomek and was interesting to write. It still has a week to go I think, and another week if I get it edited, and another week if I try to get some custom book cover illustration.

The central character is a alien woman that has four legs, two arms and is furry all over. Like a cross between a centaur and a dog. Has anyone see any images like that I could use as a book cover?

Why I became a writer

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For decades I have enjoyed reading science fiction. For decades I imagined different plots and situations in science fiction worlds. I started five different novels, only getting one to four chapters done before getting distracted with life. I drew maps, imagined alien cultures, and investigated the scientific plausibility of different technologies and worlds.

Finally, in May 2013, I decided I needed to write a real book. I made it a goal to complete one in a year. It was fun. I did have to discipline myself to write at least three times a week for a couple hours each, instead of watching Netflix.

Actually my progress was discouraging. I have made a huge complex plan for my story, about 50 chapters, and I was not keeping up with the two chapters each month. Then I decided to break it up into a trilogy. After planning again so that book 1 would be a good stand alone novel, and fit into a trilogy, I was ahead of schedule. A new wave of enthusiasm hit me, and in January 2014, I was done.

Except then I found out there was more work than just getting the first draft done. I hired Anjanette Oborn as my editor, and she convinced me I needed to make some changes to the plots and rewrite several chapters, adding material to important events that I had just summarized in the draft. After considerable more effort, and starting to worry if I would ever get it done, and running out of energy, she coaxed me on. And we finished.

She suggested that I try to get it published through a traditional publisher, but I did not have enough confidence to try that. Maybe I should of followed her suggestion, but self publishing was a lot of fun, if less profitable. I got to make all the decisions about illustrations, price, book size, and everything.

I am happy with my first book. The second edition (of the same book) will be available in a few days with different illustrations. Also, I have made some progress on the sequel.

I still have my full time day job as a computer engineer, and I have not made even close to the money I spend on the book, but it was cheaper than a vacation to Hawaii and the fun lasted longer.