Author: jrushing1

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So, you’re deep into planning your nine book epic space fantasy focusing on twelve equally important families from different planets. What’s that you say? There are divorces and adoptions, and bastards? Oh My!

How are you going to keep all that straight? How much graph paper will you burn through trying to lay out this tangled web of genetics?

The answer could be “a lot” or “none.” I swear. Here, check this thing out.

I get jazzed about ancestry both in my books and real life. It’s like a scavenger/treasure/easter egg hunt all in one. I got deep into a search of my own heritage a few months ago and found a simple, streamlined family tree website called Family Echo. It’s easy to use and does a great job of organizing your info. I’ve managed to trace one of my family lines back to the 1500’s and the program handled the volume of data just fine. It would let me go on forever if I was able to do so.

The best part is, none of the people you add have to be real. Zorkblat born on Bleetnar Prime in 6743 P.C. can fit just as nicely as Bob Jones born in Akron, OH, in 1974 A.D. There are no restrictions to the data you enter and if you sign up (free, no spam) then you can save your progress and edit as you go. Here’s a quick mock-up to give you a taste of some of the features.

 

Family Echo Demo

 

If you’re a planner or more likely an over-planner, then you need to put this baby in your digital tool belt. Check it out, have fun, and you know, if you want to write me in as the grandparent of the mistress of the cousin of the main character, I’d be okay with that.

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Everything everywhere should be questioned deeply and often. Everything new should be examined. Everything old should be re-examined. By questioning everything we can come to the best possible answers or at least the best possible next questions. This is the core of my personal belief system. Dogma is the antithesis. It goes against everything that makes us human, it’s unfair, and it’s completely wrong.

Before I dive in, let’s define dogma. Mr. Webster or the Merriam brothers or more likely, who ever edited the dictionary’s “D” section most recently, defines dogma as, “A belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted.” A simple sentence yet absolutely terrifying.

No questions. No doubts. No checks and balances. No analysis. No proof, facts, or reason necessary. It’s forced belief, pure and simple. “If you want to belong to our club you have to drink the entire glass of Kool-aid. Bottoms up!”

Here’s the funny thing about dogma. It’s used as a way to strengthen or at least maintain belief in a specific subject but it only affects those who already believe or those subjected to the outcome of that belief (the true tragedy of dogma). To anyone outside that particular belief system, dogmatic practices only manage to signal weakness, a lack of confidence, and falsehood. Not exactly the outcome those being dogmatic are looking for. (more…)

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Believe it or not, I actually write things other than inane blog posts. I’ve realized that I haven’t been very good about discussing my writing work and how it’s going. Not exactly good practice for a writing blog. Then I was struck again (more forcefully) by the fact that I haven’t even included details about any of my projects on my Works in Progress page. For all you know I might be some creeper who just likes to put on glasses, self-doubt, and a rough wool cardigan in order to play writer for a while.

I assure you, I do write. I really do. Honest. Here, I’ll prove it. Let me clue you in to what I’ve been up to.

 

The Coals – Novel

Life is learning. For fifteen year old Syd, her first supply run into the Now, the corpse of a world that died when she was two, is no different. Guided by her Uncle Will, Syd learns the hard reality of how the world and it’s survivors fell into decay. She learns how most were driven to their breaking point and that some (now the most dangerous) had finally snapped. As Syd and Will find themselves stalked by these “snappers”, the survival of themselves and their family hangs on every decision they make. Some decisions are better than others.

Hey at least I didn’t start off with “In a world…”

The Stable – Novel

The Stable is in its early stages of development. By that I mean I have a ton of planning completed but only a few chapters written. It’s a sci-fi novel set hundreds of year into our future and based around an isolated colony in the walled city of Domus. A virus that leads to shifting mutations has been terrorizing the Base class of Domus for over a century but there is rumor that one man’s mutations have become stable. The catch? He’s in hiding beyond the territories of Domus. The ruling Prime class wants the Stable found to produce a cure for their poor, hard-working Base class. Reva, an Immune and the Tracer Corps’ newest and most promising Tracer is sent to find him. Of course, nothing is as it seems. (more…)