As I work through my next book idea, I’ve been concentrating a lot on the milieu of this story. It’s a science fiction story, taking place far into the future. Freedom is one of the themes I’ve found myself playing with as I develop this story. Beyond just playing with the theme, I’ve been looking at the way it affects other aspects of the story.
The theme comes from the environment of the story. That environment, or milieu, helps to shape the characters in much the same way people’s ideals and thoughts are affected by the beliefs and events we’re exposed to.
Thinking of stories and working through ideas in my mind is interesting and it helps with the stress of my day job. Writing is a release, and helps me think about other people and their situations. This next book I’m working through is going to be even better than the last one.
My latest book, For All the Stones, takes place in a world that is coming to terms with the rising technology and the waning magic. Even though the magic has faded, some are still after the ancient glories of the mages who once ruled the land.
My book, Collected Lives, takes place near the end of the twenty-second century, with vacations and tourism to Earth by off-worlders controlled by major corporations. The largest corporation, Collected Lives, has several enemies. The story follows the events as four people from different portions of Collected Lives’ process are thrown into the middle of a larger problem.
My fantasy, A Map, a Mage, and a Sacrifice, is set in a world with ancient technology where sacrifice of lifeforce brings magical power. The greater the pain and suffering, the greater the magical energy generated. The Forty mages controlling the empire use voluntary sacrifice of the citizens to generate power they use to protect and defend the empire. But their rule may be coming to a close.
Malignance, my third book in my time travel series that began with Resonance and Dissonance, is on Amazon as a kindle and a paperback. That was a fun series to write, and for now, it is completed. I have also placed all three books from that series into one volume titled The Machina of Time.
If you’re looking for a science fiction story, try my book The Promise of Dust, which takes place in a cloud city floating in the atmosphere of Venus. Or Progenitor’s Legacy: Deceit, which takes place many years in the future on a tidally locked world that orbits a red dwarf and has been reached by humanity in their search for the alien progenitors who seeded the galaxy with nano machines.
If a young adult science fiction is more to your liking, check out my series This New Earth, that starts with Demons of a Dead World and Secrets of a Dead World.
If you are looking for a young adult fantasy, check out my book The Threads Unbound.
DANIEL R. BURKHARD 