This past Cinco de Mayo (Fifth of May) was a birthday of mine. The party was nice. Having family nearby and happy was rewarding all by itself. I even indulged in a little birthday cake. Chief on my mind, though, was the nearing completion of a long-standing project—publishing Touch the Stars: Diaspora, sequel to Touch the Stars: Emergence.
The day-long festivities were enjoyable, but I kept sneaking away from them to push the final edit toward completion. Then I noticed that my main character, Gordon Roanhorse, was celebrating his own birthday away from family, doing what he loved—flying his starship to other star systems and planets. I also noticed that I had made Gordon’s birthday to match my own. Why? Because a part of me has long wanted a starship of my own and to be flying to other star systems and planets.
Since this all takes place in the future, I then wondered about this Gordon Roanhorse character. When was he born? A simple calculation pegged his birth at 2015:0505. That’s a year from now. So, it’s an early happy “birth” to Gordon Roanhorse. But also, it’s a different kind of birth. A novel which had taken me thirty years to produce was finally nearing its completion. Why so long? I’ve wondered that for some time. John Dalmas and I wrote the first of this series together, published August, 1983 by Tor Books, New York. I had gladly accepted his help on completing my first novel. I knew I had much to learn. My first solo attempt came with the heavy burden of knowing that I was venturing out of the nest. This first “baby” of my own received an inordinate amount of fussing. Even before finishing this book, I had published several others—two of fiction and a few of non-fiction under the pen name Rod Martin, Jr. For Diaspora, I was in no hurry.
Touch the Stars: Diaspora—Book 2
This new book is now available on Kindle at Amazon. I hope soon to have it available also in trade paperback and hardcover. This is Book 2 of a series which originally started out as a trilogy. The last title of the 3 is Touch the Stars: Resolution. I had started writing it several years ago and it seems destined to be a long book like Touch the Stars: Diaspora. In fact, Diaspora is nearly three times the length of Emergence. So, if you like a nice, long book, hopefully this will scratch that itch. If the book is a good one, the nice thing about greater length is getting to know the characters better, and getting to live with them for a longer period of time and to share more adventures with them.
The ‘Got it Solved’ Attitude of Touch the Stars: Diaspora
One of my personal favorite aspects of the new novel is the growth of its central character—Gordon Roanhorse. Jason, his father, is still a prominent figure, but Gordon takes center stage. He moves from childhood to maturity far faster than most, partly due to his positive surroundings, but also to the challenges given to him on a gradient which helps him to maintain an ever-expanding foundation of confidence and responsibility. One of the tools Gordon uses to maintain his edge is his “Got it Solved” attitude. If faced with a seemingly insurmountable problem, he will simply snap his fingers with a rush of apparently unwarranted enthusiasm and say with unshakable conviction, “Got it solved.” Delusion? Quite the contrary. Results are what matter. And the solutions found by young Gordon Roanhorse are what make Touch the Stars: Diaspora worth more than one read.
Yes, I’m prejudiced about the book. After all, it’s my baby. I wrote it. But I get a thrill every time I read it. When I need that same “got it solved” attitude, I merely read Diaspora to see the master at work. Though Gordon Roanhorse does not yet exist in that other universe, I wish him an early “happy birthday.” And I hope his story is as inspiring to others as it has been to me.
Even though the story is my “baby,” I always welcome constructive criticism, even if critical—especially the critical stuff, because I learn from all input. If you get a chance to read the novel, let me know what you think.
You can find more information at the Touch the Stars: Diaspora page of Tharsis Highlands publishing.
This article was originally published 2014:0508 on Blog.AncientSuns.com
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