Peter Hodges

Kate Baker, my longtime friend and collaborator on this site, has recently had her narration career explode. She currently reads for Starship Sofa and Escape Pod. She’s also landed the job of Podcast Director over at Clarkesworld Magazine. In her latest production, she’s read a truly awesome Peter Watts story, telling the perspective of The Thing from the 1980′s cult classic. Peter has some great things to say about the narration, over on his Rifters blog.

Cruise over to Clarkesworld and check it out if you haven’t already. In the meantime, give Kate a vote of encouragement over at her site.

In the near future and humanity has finally decided that expanding stale frontiers is a necessary priority. In this prologue, we follow a dedicated crew as they test the boundaries of their ship, pushing a manned vehicle further out into the solar system than ever before…

Prologue – “First Contact”
Written by Peter Hodges
From the novel A Loss of Innocence

Narrated by Kate Baker

Prologue

Everyone has a teeny-tiny corner of their psyche that wonders what it would be like to be a writer. Here’s a list of reasons why you should.

1. Work at home in their underwear. (Plaid boxers for the win!)
2. Create villains based on friends, family, and enemies…then eviscerate them on the page.
3. Learn how to spel gud and uses proper grammer. (Hookt on fonix wurked fur me!)
4. Tell stories that instill a sense of awe. (Frank Herbert’s Dune or Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings.)
5. Exercise their imagination and stimulate their creativity. (Who else would imagine a demented Alchemist who dismembers teenage girls becoming the leader of a people similar to the Mongols?)
6. Have a legitimate reason to be a hermit. (Retreat to your room,office, coffee shop, etc.)
7. Have a legitimate reason to be an asshole. (“Don’t worry about him. He’s a writer. He’s supposed to be moody.”)
8. Tell people at parties that you’re a writer, so that people can immediately tell you what to write about. (Random dude: “I had this great idea for a story one time…”)
9. Have a habit that is harder to break than drugs, alcohol, or MMOs. (Truly–writing is as compulsive as any other behavior that I’ve read about or tried.)
10. “Pay it forward” to future generations with other tales of speculation. (Heinlein’s ideas at work.)
11. Earn less, on average, than a fast-food worker. (If you break down the hourly rates for a first-time author or someone slaving away in the trade ‘zines, it’s actually much less.)
12. Shape the opinions of those who read their works. (Their minds are like clay, or even putty in my hands!)
13. Live on after their time with their words and observations. (Temporal immortality. It’s the only sure way I know.)
14. Bug their friends. (“Hey! Read this! Please?!?”)
15. Get to be anonymously famous–people may know who you are, but you can generally walk through airports and restuarants without being accosted.

Here’s the summary of the novel that I’m hoping to include in the query letters to agents. The instructions that I’ve received from various sources tell me that the description needs to be short, concise, and give potential readers a good idea about the content of the book. I need to know if you, as potential readers, would read a book given this description. If not, why not? Is it the way the description is written, or is it that this is just not your “cup of tea?” If you have additional comments, please include them below. I’m interested in making this as tight as possible.

Alchemy and Empire is not your typical fantasy novel. There are no elves, no dwarves, and no vampires. There are no unpronounceable names. There are no mythical creatures bent on destroying the world, nor is there some unnamed dark shadow that has lain in wait for centuries. Instead, Alchemy and Empire is a character-driven narrative of betrayal and intrigue, set in a world similar to Renaissance Europe. It is a society transitioning from a religious worldview to a humanist, scientific one. Nobles vie for power in a rapidly changing society in three, closely linked plot threads.

In the first, Tobias, a renegade Alchemist, escapes from an imperial dungeon and convinces a merchant sea captain that their world is round. Together, they discover a new continent beyond the sunset, populated by a vast and savage people gifted with strange abilities. Tobias isn’t certain if they practice magic or alchemy. Armed with their knowledge and power, Tobias pledges vengeance on the the society that imprisoned and forced him into exile.

Far to the northwest of the capital, William Lancaster has been educated by parsons, soldiers, and alchemists. Discovered as a boy by a parson and a city watchman in the flaming ruins of a brothel, he is potentially the heir to one of the five richest and most powerful families in the empire. His choice to rebel against the established order is a catalyst for change throughout the known world, sparking civil war among the elite.

In the capital, Jessica Blaisewell, scion of another of the five families, must learn to represent her family’s interests at the imperial court after her uncle disappears. Her integrity and honesty are challenged by the decadence and corruption at the heart of the empire. As her society begins to fragment, she must commit her family to choosing sides in the looming conflict.

Alchemy and Empire is not your typical fantasy novel. There are no elves, no dwarves, and no vampires. There are no unpronounceable names. There are no mythical creatures bent on destroying the world, nor is there some unnamed dark shadow that has lain in wait for centuries. Instead, Alchemy and Empire is a character-driven narrative of betrayal and intrigue, set in a world similar to Renaissance Europe. It is a society transitioning from a religious worldview to a humanist, scientific one. Nobles vie for power in a rapidly changing society in three, closely linked plot threads.

In the first, Tobias, a renegade Alchemist, escapes from an imperial dungeon and convinces a merchant sea captain that their world is round. Together, they discover a new continent beyond the sunset, populated by a vast and savage people gifted with strange abilities. Tobias isn’t certain if they practice magic or alchemy. Armed with their knowledge and power, Tobias pledges vengeance on the society that imprisoned and forced him into exile.

Far to the northwest of the capital, William Lancaster has been educated by parsons, soldiers, and alchemists. Discovered as a boy by a parson and a city watchman in the flaming ruins of a brothel, he is potentially the heir to one of the five richest and most powerful families in the empire. His choice to rebel against the established order is a catalyst for change throughout the known world, sparking civil war among the elite.

In the capital, Jessica Blaisewell, scion of another of the five families, must learn to represent her family’s interests at the imperial court after her uncle disappears. Her integrity and honesty are challenged by the decadence and corruption at the heart of the empire. As her society begins to fragment, she must commit her family to choosing sides in the looming conflict.

I’m going to be revisiting my first completed novel, which was titled Loss of Innocence. It started as a serial right here on this site at the launch of my blog (way back in 2006). I initially conceived it as a near-earth military science fiction novel. The dialogue was somewhat campy, attempting to pay homage to Heinlein, Haldeman, and Drake, and instead sounding like a poor imitation. It’s only as I’ve grown as a writer in the past few years that I’m able to recognize the work for what it is. However, underneath the all of the stylistic issues, there is a pretty neat plot, with several interesting concepts. To my knowledge, no one has done a near-earth military science fiction story.

Among the most grievous of mistakes was my attempt to use first person point of view. This was a mistake in the framework of the story, because there were too many things that needed to happen “off camera” to advance the plot, and I ended up with awkward narration as the main character would “watch video” or “research previous actions.” It not only affected the pacing of the story, it was also terrifically jarring to the reader. Another way in which I intend to excel is to incorporate elements of hard science fiction. There is so little of this on the market now that a good attempt at it (and rest assured, the science in this story will be right) really has the potential to differentiate the story from others under consideration. To do this, I must walk a narrative tight rope. I need to maintain real, poignant character interactions as well as a light tone among some of the “grunts” in the story. The resulting story needs to be accessible and comprehensible without sacrificing plausiblity. Furthermore, it must build suspense until the end, with the readers feeling as though characters in the story are in real danger at every turn.

That means my work is cut out for me. It also means that this will be a complete re-write, and not a revision. Wish me luck, ladies and gentlemen!

An orphaned 8 year old hides in the ruins of his former home, pursued by a dangerous attacker.  Plainly obvious by the rubble at his feet, someone wants to kill him and will go to any means necessary to complete the task.

“Alchemist - William Introduction”

Story by Peter Hodges
Dramatic Reading by Kate Baker
Music: William’s Theme by Kate Baker

[podcast]http://www.peter-hodges.com/podcasts/Alchemist_William_Intro-Peter_Hodges.mp3[/podcast]

I finished what I like to call Revision 2.0 on Alchemist, my fantasy novel in preparation for an impromptu invite-only writer’s workshop this weekend. I stayed up most of the nights of last week to put the finishing touches on the book. By the end, I was astonished to discover that it weighed in at 661 manuscript pages (about 130,000 words). I still felt as though I left certain things incomplete.

I received quite a few complements in the area of plot. While nothing in the novel should particularly surprise anyone (there’s only two major twists, but I provide enough clues that the reader doesn’t feel like it’s a deus ex machina), the intricacies of how it all fits together drew some admiration. (Thanks, guys! You know who you are.)

Where I fell short, and where Kate has long told me that I fell short, is in the realm of writing believeable female characters. I don’t understand my mental failing. I either make them too man-like (and rob them of their feminity when giving them strength), I make them a Disney princess, or I so completely screw them over that my readers will wonder if I have a closet disdain for the female gender. I need to find a happy medium, especially given that one of the four main characters in the book is a female, and her role in the story is absolutely pivotal.

Contrast this with the fact that two of my characters, according to comments that I’ve received thus far, are absolute stand-outs. I actually jerked surprised gasps unwillingly from folks at one point (one of my villains is a real bastard). I need to capture the essence of what makes them pull someone’s emotional puppet strings and apply that realistically to the women in my story.

The other area that I have difficulty with is the (taboo to criticize among some writers) element of point of view. I have written Alchemist as third person limited omniscient (that’s a mouthful) with an ensemble cast of seven viewpoint characters. (If I have ever have more than seven viewpoint characters in a novel, Foxbat and Dez have my advance permission to drive up to DFW and kick me in the nuts for pulling a Robert Jordan.) However, I’ll have lines here and there where I jump into the head of someone else and then step back out. To me, it flows, because I wrote it and I’m trying to reveal information. To people who don’t know the story and don’t understand where I’m going, it’s a jarring switch that throws them out of the narrative.

Alchemist has gone from rough draft (beta), to Release Candidate 1.0, and now to Alchemist 2.0. Before I seriously attempt publication again, we might have to upgrade to Alchemist 2.1.

I’m currently buried in grammar, plot, and character while I try to finish the second re-write of Alchemist.  I’ve been, in the words of good friend Taylor Anderson, “writing my fool tail off” in an effort to prepare for an impromptu writing workshop that I’ll be attending next weekend. I intend to begin submissions again shortly after.

My hope is that the end result will be a cleaner manuscript, and one that is not rejected so easily by potential agents and/or publishers. 

Among the changes I’ve made is a complete re-write of one of the main female POVs. This is more difficult than I’d thought, because my tendency is to crush women under plot devices until they cry, then provide some sort of resolution. While this can be entertaining if done properly, it has the potential of alienating female readers, especially if there is not a sympathetic female viewpoint upon which to fixate.

I’ve also gone through flip-flop number 583; in this revision, I have significantly toned down the language and tried to use curses/swearing that would make sense within the world as developed. That means fewer f-bombs, less overt “carthartic” cursing, and more dialogue that makes sense without being gratuitous. I’ve had comments before that my writing under-utilized this language device, resulting in dialogue that didn’t feel “real.” Hopefully, I’ve come to a compromise without having to sound like Quentin Tarantino. 

My presence here will be sparse through the end of next weekend, whereupon I’ll hopefully have some decent feedback to share with you guys.

Three hundred years after the fall, we follow a small batallion in the desert of New Mexico. Pursued by  The Lord’s Saints, an army twice their size, the desperate decision is made to fight in what could be their last stand.

Please click on the post for the podcasting player.

[podcast]http://www.peter-hodges.com/podcasts/Zealotry.mp3[/podcast]

Story: Peter Hodges

Dramatic Reading: Kate Baker

It sucks.

No, really.

“Entropy of Memory” was just rejected today by Clarkesworld Magazine. (This is a great publication very much deserving its Hugo nomination this year. They reportedly publish only twelve stories from slush each year, and they get hundreds of submissions. I would have been honored to be included in their magazine, but I fully understand the demands of the market, the state of the genre, and my own previously unpublished nature.) This makes a total of seventy-three (73) rejections for me over the past several years. Some of them are shorts submitted to various markets, most of them are query letters to agents, and a couple of them are attempts at getting one of my novels out of the slush pile. 

It begs the question, doesn’t it? Everyone says: “Persevere!” Part of me is struggling with this idea. I want to curl up in the fetal position and protect my ego from any further body blows.

The best thing to do is what I’m doing right now. Hunker down, punch away at the keyboard and keep slugging. 

Reject me, will you? Hah! I’ll just send you MORE!