From the Butlerniverse

Just a few quick updates for those trying to follow my happenings:

1. We have not heard back yet on the WARS Earther novella still. Decipher is busy with the relaunch of one of their properties, so we’re in a sort of waiting period or holding pattern. We just passed the two month mark in Decipher having the manuscripts for approvals, so we are hopeful we will hear something soon. At this point, I do still plan (hope) to write the second Earther novella, but it will end up being during the hectic school year again, most likely, which is fine, just stressful.

2. A while back, I reviewed the video game The Eye of Judgment and its PSP quasi-sequel, The Eye of Judgment: Legends. If you were intrigued by those reviews, but you have not picked up the original PS3 EOJ game, I would now pass on that purchase if you intend to play online multiplayer. That functionality is soon going to be terminated when the servers are shut down. The PSP version, however, is still going quite strong and will continue to allow multiplayer.

3. A new episode of The EU Review (our John Jackson Miller interview) went up on July 3. I’m hoping to have show notes up for it sometime on July 4 or 5. I’m a tad behind on that.

4. Expect the first episode of The Obscure Side to hit sometime between now and July 20, either on July 6 or 13. It will be the one covering Star Wars 3-D.

5. We are probably putting off reviewing Fatal Alliance until the August episode. It doesn’t look like we’re getting review copies of this one from Del Rey, so we’ll end up buying them ourselves.  Unfortunately, the release date of The EU Review: Episode 7 is the same day that Fatal Alliance is released, so we can’t review it in this episode without review copies this time around.

6. The new edition of the Star Wars Timeline Gold should arrive sometime in the first week or so of August, I believe. I want to be sure Fatal Alliance gets on that one as well, along with, if possible, the final issue of Legacy.

7. On the collecting front, I have now finished my Ewoks collection. I now only still need, as far as I can tell, two comics to complete my Star Wars single-issue comic collection. Those are two of the 2002 Toys R Us exclusive tie-in comics for AOTC, entitled Most Precious Weapon and Full of Surprises.

8. I will be continuing my coverage of Playstation Plus as it rolls along. For what it’s worth, I’ve gotten a lot of use out of Wipeout HD (the free game of Month 1), certainly the $19.99 worth that the game would cost by itself. I have also gotten quite a bit of enjoyment out of Cuboid, which I bought with the PS+ discount, which, along with its DLC, turned a $20 game into an $8 game. Thus, I’ve gotten about $32 in value (not counting Age of Zombies or anything else this month) for my $50 in just those two items. So far, it’s worthwhile for me.

Today is a landmark day for me. Aside from being Easter Sunday (and Happy Easter to my Christian brothers and sisters out there), today marks the completion and submission of my WARS novella.

My WARS journey began the night of October 30, 2009. That’s when Josh Radke of Grail Quest Books contacted me via Facebook with an invitation to write one in a series of several novellas, based on the WARS Trading Card Game from Decipher (and tie-in WARS short fiction from Decipher and WARS Roleplaying Game by Mongoose Publishing).

At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about, but I was very excited at the chance to write a professional novella for a licensed property. I had previously written a professional comic book story for Star Wars licensee Dark Horse Comics in the form of Equals and Opposites in Star Wars Tales #21 (and later in Star Wars Tales Volume 6 and included as part of a Hasbro comic pack). I had also previously self-published my own original novella (Echoes) in 2006 and a novel (Greater Good) only a few months before in August 2009. I had never, though, written a prose story in a professional, work-for-hire sense.

I had also never heard of WARS. Ever.

I immediately began researching the WARS universe, growing more enthralled the more I learned. I eventually wound up with an almost complete set of the cards (and if you have any, I’d love to do some trading to finish that set) and a complete set of the RPG materials.

After abandoning one story proposal that would have been quite different, I began work on the proposal for what became the actual novella. Once that proposal was approved, I created a full synopsis to be part of the approval process through Decipher. Once that was approved, I finally began writing on the actual novella.

With a target length of between 30,000 and 35,000 words, the novella was meant to be about the size of Echoes. At first, I worried that I would exceed that limit, and then, nearing the end of writing in March 2010, I started to think I might end up right in the middle of that range. As it turns out, I barely missed exceeding the proposed word count limit by less than 100 words. (Still, given that mine will be the first novella released, I figure that the length is understandable, since I had to lay a lot of narrative groundwork for the state of the Solar System and its three human factions as of 2388 in the WARS universe.)

I find that I had a great time writing the story, especially the latter portions that seemed to write themselves as my fingers zipped around the keyboard. I believe that the tale sets up several very important characters and relationships quite well, and I’ve left a lot of room for future exploration of certain characters and situations that should be interesting to see fleshed out (perhaps) by future authors in the series.

So, as of right now, I simply await editorial feedback from Grail Quest Books and Decipher, while hoping that very little will need to be changed. I had set myself the goal of finishing the manuscript by the end of my Spring Break from teaching, and, as of yesterday, I had upped the ante and set a more specific goal of finishing before recording with Republic Forces Radio Network at 9:00 p.m. Eastern tonight.

I met my goal, and I feel immense satisfaction in completing what has been one of the most challenging experiences of my limited writing career. Writing in someone else’s universe is always in interesting process. Doing so in a universe with which you were originally entirely unfamiliar and internalizing it until it becomes one of your favorite sagas in which to play is something else entirely.

Yes, I mean that in a good way.

So, I look forward to updating readers on the remainder of the process, and I hope you will both keep an eye out this summer when the novella (for which I’ve now proposed a title) is available or perhaps even take advantage of the current pre-order promotion to purchase a copy in advance and receive the pre-order exclusive version per the promotion.

Things are really moving now!

If you are following my work on the currently-untitled WARS Earther novella that will be released this summer, then you may want to check out the brand new Quest Cast from Grail Quest Books.

The first episode features, among other things, the audio of the first part of my WARS Primer, discussing the storyline and universe of the WARS saga for those new to it.

Future episodes promise to include more of my WARS Primer (focusing on the TCG and RPG), author comments on the writing process (including hints on some elements of mine, which will be the first one released), and so forth.

The first three WARS novellas in the series are being written by yours truly (Earther), Jim Perry (Maverick), and Sean E. Williams (Gongen), with future novellas by such writers as Josh Radke and Sabrina Fried.

Also, don’t forget: At some point early this summer, my solo podcast, The Butlerniverse, will have a contest running to win each of the Starter Decks for the WARS Trading Card Game (six decks total), plus some other card game goodies. This will include some signed (by yours truly) cards that feature characters and/or situations from my novella, but those cannot be revealed in some cases until after the novella has been published.

(This is in addition to my Kyle Katarn and Yuuzhan Vong Equals and Opposites Comic Pack contest, which will be held this summer to win that very hard to find comic pack, signed as well.)

The schedule for The EU Review has been tweaked a few times lately. As of now, here is where we stand on what is coming up in the next few months.

On March 16 (or 23 if delayed), we will release The EU Review: Episode 3, which will feature our reviews of the following:

• The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
• The Force Unleashed (comic)
• The Force Unleashed (novel)
• The Force Unleashed (cellphone, iPod/iPhone)
• The Force Unleashed (Nintendo DS)
• The Force Unleashed (Playstation 2)
• The Force Unleashed (Playstation Portable)
• The Force Unleashed (Nintendo Wii)
• The Force Unleashed (Playstation 3/Xbox 360)
• Knights of the Old Republic: Vol. III – IV (Days of Fear, Nights of Anger, Daze of Hate, Knights of Suffering)
  
• Crosscurrent
• Star Wars Adventures: Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes

Then in early April, we will release our Clone Wars Special (or whatever we call it, presumably “Episode 3.5“), which will feature our reviews of Wild Space, No Prisoners, and Gambit: Stealth, along with our interview with Wild Space and Stealth author Karen Miller.

In late April, we will release The EU Review: Episode 4, which will feature reviews of Star Wars “fighting games.” That includes:

• The Force Unleashed: Duel Mode (Wii)
• The Force Unleashed: Force Unleashed Mode (PSP)
• Soul Calibur IV
• Revenge of the Sith: The Video Game (fighting mode only)
• The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels
• Masters of Teras Kasi

That episode will also include reviews of Knights of the Old Republic: Volumes V – VI, along with Fate of the Jedi: Backlash. The episode should arrive around April 20.

In May (shooting for May 18 release), we will release The EU Review: Episode 5, featuring reviews of Knights of the Old Republic: Volumes VII – VIII and the feature topic of the seven film novelizations (ANH, ESB, ROTJ, TPM, AOTC, ROTS, and TCW).

In June (shooting for June 22 release), we should be releasing The EU Review: Episode 6, covering the final TPB of Knights of the Old Republic, Fate of the Jedi: Allies, and other content not yet determined.

Also, for those who follow my other podcast, The Butlerniverse, you can expect to have new episodes this summer (if not before), featuring commentary and behind the scenes info about Greater Good, the likely sequel to Echoes, my WARS novella that is due out this summer, and recordings and wrap-up from ConCarolinas 2010 (which will be attended by yours truly, Jim Perry, Joe Harrison, Andrew Gilbertson, Sarah Gilbertson, and Chris Walker, all current and active members of the Star Wars fan audio community). Jim and I will also be hosting a WARS panel this summer at ConCarolinas.

So . . . more is coming, even as the school year moves toward 2.5 months remaining and summer finally comes within view, during which I will be spending some time working on The Star Wars Timeline Gold and possibly even a new film commentary from The Butlerniverse. We shall see.

Fans of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game (SWCCG) from Decipher, Inc. were certainly sad to see the Star Wars card game license leap over to Wizards of the Coast, but many found themselves enthralled by Decipher’s later card game with the same great SWCCG rules and mechanics – the science fiction universe known as WARS.

Today, the WARS franchise is once again heating up. After the release of two card sets (Incursion and Nowhere to Hide) from Decipher and a roleplaying game from Mongoose (in three guidebooks: the starter book; the Battlefront sourcebook; and the Incursion adventure), plus numerous free online short stories (including contributions by noted Star Wars author Michael Stackpole), the core of the WARS saga and its universe had developed into an intriguing new science fiction tale with a core dynamic that leaves “right” and “wrong” up to the player or reader. It is a universe where the Solar System is politically and conceptually torn, where one side’s heroes are another’s villains, and the ethical questions that arise rival those of our modern world.

It is a Solar System split into five factions by the era of the card and roleplaying games: the three divisions within humanity (Earthers, Gongen, and Mavericks) and two alien races new to the Solar System (Shi and Quay).

Now, as the WARS saga emerges again into development by Decipher and new creative licensee Grail Quest Books, I am pleased to be a part of this new era in WARS publishing.

This summer, Grail Quest Books will be launching two new projects in the WARS saga: a new comic book series by Sean E. Williams, and the first three graphic novellas in a nine-book line dealing with the lead-up to one of the most pivotal moments in the saga: the Battle of Phobos.

The novella series (featuring three novellas for each of the three human factions) begins with the first Gongen novella by Sean E. Williams, the first Maverick novella by my fellow Star Wars fan audio producer and podcaster Jim “Indiana Jim” Perry, and the first Earther novella by yours truly, Nathan P. Butler.

For those unfamiliar with the saga:

In the era of the Battle of Phobos, the “Rift” has not yet occurred. Given that the Rift is what brings the Shi and Quay alien races into the Solar System, that means that the era in which the novellas take place is one in which there are three, rather than five, factions at play. The Earthers (subject of my novella) are a corporate culture, led by the Central Governance Corporation with many other corporations handling various other societal functions, such as intelligence-gathering, weapons projects, shipbuilding, and more. The so-called “Gongen” are the people of Mars, largely Asian in culture, who have recently declared independence from Earth, sparking the forthcoming Battle of Phobos. The Mavericks, meanwhile, are the outlaws of the era in the Outer Rim, consisting of various gangs rather than one cohesive whole.

My novella will be focusing on the defection of an Earther scientist from the XeLabs Shroud project to the Mavericks. Given the nature of his knowledge and the cargo he carries, machinations are underway within CISyn, Earth’s primary intelligence corporation, led in the efforts by Jylan Rathe. XeLabs has its own team involved, however, led by the medical and support vessel Shadowsurfer, whose crew is led by Captain Rogan Hallard, a man torn between the violent duties of war and his calling to “do no harm” in pursuit of aiding those in need of medical attention.

My Earther novella will be the first to be released this summer, thus laying some of the groundwork for the stories to come. Moreover, these are not just “regular ol’ novellas.” Instead, these novellas are being produced in the same vein as the Dark Forces graphic novellas from Dark Horse Comics, in that our WARS novellas will feature approximately 120 story pages and ten lithograph art pages by WARS artists.

It is a great time to be getting into this saga as things are heating up, and I would encourage anyone who has enjoyed my previous work in Star Wars Tales, my original fiction (Echoes, Greater Good, or otherwise, to check out this new series.

What’s more: There is currently a major preorder push going on right now that will provide exclusive incentives to those who preorder now, rather than waiting until release this summer. (There will also be some drawings and/or contests relating to this that will be touched upon at a later date through my podcast, The Butlerniverse.

So, without further ado, I would ask that those interested check out these two links:

Press Release for Novella Series

Preorder Promotion*

* My novella is the Earther one currently listed on the page. The preorder price, which includes shipping and an exclusive variant cover, is currently only $20, which is $5 less than the Dark Forces graphic novellas were several years ago. It’s a heck of a deal during preorder time . . .

Thanks for checking this out. I am (and we are) really excited about this new series.