Sunday 24 February 2013

Dreaming of Aboriginal characters and a future Australia

Whenever I find myself deep in the development and completion of a project, I tend to let go of secondary concerns to have single minded focus on my top-level goal.  This has been the case with my blog, as I have been completely engaged with finishing up The Technology of Dreaming over the past few weeks.  Completing this work has been particularly difficult, as the plot and subject matter center on Aboriginal Australians in a mid-21st century Australian Republic. 

My primary concern has been to develop and present a fictitious group of Indigenous people with traditions that pay homage to the many individual cultures across Aboriginal lands without causing offense.  Inference to or mention of the specific knowledge of a real group of people could be deemed offensive by some, and would go against the spirit of what I have tried to create.   Thus, the names and locations of the lands of the tribe at the core of the story are purely fictitious.  Although the Ceremony and Laws of a fictitious group of people are presented in the story, what is presented is an amalgam constructed from research across a wider group of cultures in Australia and neighboring states.  I attempt to portray these subjects with sensitivity, but with purpose.

Ceremony and custom are of paramount importance to Aboriginal identity, as is their special relationship with their lands.  These are some of things I most admire about their cultures, in addition to their resilience and willingness to share their stories with others.  As they are the protagonists in my work, I wanted to showcase these values to a wider, global audience who might not be aware of them.   Finally, it would be an understatement to say that Australia's historical relationship with Aboriginal Australians has been difficult; there are yet many serious and real issues that remain unresolved to anyone's satisfaction.  This real conflict in identities and crossed purposes is at the core of the plot.

The Technology of Dreaming contains a detailed account of the future Australia itself, with particular reference to how it arrived to its predicament in relation to the politics of today.  This is also a tricky subject to deal with, as an effective cautionary tale must be both earnest and frightful at the same time.   Having a good depth of knowledge of the true history of a place can help to develop a thematic bridge to a realistic, but bittersweet future.  Economic prosperity and illegal immigration are real themes that lend credence to this story's thesis, but also set the stage for some of other stories in future volumes of Altstralia: A Speculative Republic.

The Technology of Dreaming will be available on Amazon.com in April.

Sunday 3 February 2013

News on Primae Noctis, Tempus Belli, and The Technology of Dreaming

Primae Noctis continues to receive some pretty good reviews and sell progressively more copies, especially after the decision to discount the eBook for a limited time.  Review copies of Primae Noctis continue to be on offer to reviewers with a literary blog or other sci-fi genre related stop on the web.  It takes a while for word to get around about an independent genre author, so I need to continue to remain patient and carry on with new projects.

Groundwork continues on the next novel in The Once and Future Lords Trilogy, titled Tempus Belli.  Although a continuation of the storyline, the novel will have a substantially different tone and pace due to the events within the greater continuity of the Trilogy.  At present, the novel remains largely in outline / waypoint form.  I find myself wanting Primae Noctis to gain greater readership before I commit myself to the extended campaign of fleshing out the draft, due to the significant time investment involved.  Also, there's the need to see bills paid while concurrently pursuing my emerging vocation.  I expect that Tempus Belli will continue to see release in 2014.

I have dedicated my present writing and editing hours to a mostly-completed novella, unrelated to the world of the Trilogy, with the working title of The Technology of Dreaming.  I feel passionately about the subject matter and themes in the story, and have desired to see it published it for a while. 

The Technology of Dreaming examines the intersection of politics, technology, and traditional culture in a mid-21st century Australia.  This work was originally envisaged to be part of a larger collection of speculative fiction short stories set in Oz.  I have chosen to set aside the other stories from the collection for now to be able to get my favorite to readers on an accelerated schedule. Now seems to be the right time to move forward to get it out, with the eBook available on Amazon by the end of March / early April 2013.

Thanks again to all of the people who have kindly supported my writing so far, and I hope to bring you another update with progress soon!