Open Letter to Fans of The Deep Space Chronicles

First, I'd like to thank you, my loyal readers, for all of the support you give me. It is both humbling, and appreciated. It write these words because I enjoy doing so. If you take something from these words, all the better. With that being said, I must now apologize.

 

I'm sure you've noticed that I've been doing a lot of writing lately. Whether songs, poetry, satire or short anecdotes, I've had many a word trickle its way through my mind and onto the proverbial page. There is something in which I am sorely remiss, however, and that is completing The Deep Space Chronicles trilogy. And for that I am sincerely sorry.

 

You should know by now that, while writing may be my passion, it is not my career. This fact is a sad reality and frankly one I wish I could change, but for the time being my writing can be nothing more than a hobby. As a result, yes, I am able to write songs and shorter pieces readily and frequently because they do not require the level of complexity otherwise present in the writing of a novel. Add in the pitfalls of continuity, character development, plot progression, and other tenets of conventional novel writing and, well….

 

There was a great deal of time that passed between the publishing of The Diligent and Phaedrus, and I have already surpassed that temporal gap in having not yet published Ultionis, the conclusion to the series. I've not forgotten about it, rest assured, but I simply have not been able to devote the time and effort required of the project in order to complete it.

 

I hope you'll accept this apology and understand that I would rather suffer a delay in publication rather than rush to print an inferior product. And let's face it – In self-publishing on a shoestring budget I still have enough editing errors as it is in my works.  For the most part though, you've been able to see past that and enjoy the stories for what they are. For that I will always be grateful.

 

So, now that I've rambled on, I'll leave you with this – I will be re-reading my work on Ultionis thus far over the weekend, with the intent of continuing and hopefully completing the work in the next couple of months. As it stands, Ultionis sits at approximately 187 pages, or roughly two-thirds the length of Phaedrus.  Thus, there's really not that far to go, but oh, what an arduous journey it will be….

 

Oh, and for those who complain that it's "Space Opera" and militarily unrealistic – What did you expect? It's dime-store, pulp-fiction, easy-read, Top Gun-in-Space fluff. It's not meant to be a scientific manual, nor is it intended to be a military handbook. It's FICTION, people. If you can't appreciate that fact and feel the need to bash my work because you're too ignorant to see it for what it is and nothing more, well, then, go read Asimov and call it a day. I write because I enjoy it, and hope that you will to. If you don't like it, that's your prerogative…. Just take your negatively elsewhere. Whether you like it or not, in the immortal words of Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon, "I don't give a f*ck."

 

For the rest of you…. Thank you for your understanding, and I hope you'll all enjoy the conclusion of The Deep Space Chronicles when we get there.

  

Truly,

 

JJ