Brand New Science Fiction Series

I wanted to write a blog post as I've recently published a brand new science fiction series called 'Phantom 500' for kindle. Its about Captain James Riker, a veteran of the Mars Wars, his blue-haired pilot, Aurora, and his large, alien weapons expert, Kakura who fly on the ship the Phantom 500. They are trying to create a legitimate merchant business by importing the valuable frozen water from Jupiter's moon of Europa to Earth. Space is not a safe place though, but the business is extremely lucrative. So, Riker and his crew think the risk of lurking Lycan Destroyer's and a corrupt Starfleet is worth the gamble.

At the time of this blog post there are currently 5 episodes available for kindle and a sixth book that is an anthology of all five of the first episodes. For a limited time between the 19th of April, 2015 and the 21st of April, 2015, the first three episodes in the series are free. However, if you are reading this blog post after those dates don't worry, I plan to have future giveaway days. Plus if you purchase the first episode in the series you can get up to episode 4 for free if you leave a review on amazon. Just a small way of me saying thanks for taking the time to leave your opinion for other readers.

I have always been fascinated by Europa's moon of Jupiter and I began developing this story when I took a writing course at University. It fascinates me how some scientists believe that there could actually be a moving ocean underneath the frozen surface of the moon. Of course, as a writer, I have taken some poetic license and created a world where Europa water is extremely expensive and sought after due to its anti-aging properties. 

The universe where 'Phantom 500' is set, is a place where human's explored their solar system and finally landed on Mars. However, what human's found was something nobody could ever have imagined. Remnants of a super-advanced civilization. 

However, when they turned on the technology it alerted the Lycan's. A savage warring race, bent on taking the technology discovered by human's. Scientist's were able to quickly assimilate the technology and soon created an army that defeated the Lycan's. This was known as the Mars Wars.

'Phantom 500' is set after the Mars Wars and Captain James Riker is a retired and decorated veteran.

There will be more episodes of 'Phantom 500' for lovers of science fiction to enjoy soon! 

A Sequel and More

Hi there everyone, thanks for visiting my blog. If you are here for the first time...welcome! For those of you who have visited before...welcome back!

My post today is about my book 'Jasmine Evans and the Master of the Lamp' and what is planned for the future of this brave young heroine. If you haven't come across Jasmine yet then let me introduce you to the cover of the first book of the series; 'Jasmine Evans and the Master of the Lamp'.

You can pick it up for only 99 cents right now on amazon. Here is the link;

http://goo.gl/xngbe4

It's received some great reviews from people I don't know, which is inspiring as I hoped it would find readers who loved this kind of adventure. What reviewers are saying;

"It has that type of magic about that can't be taught."

"Fast-paced and dynamic."

..and my personal favourite...

"The book is awesome..."

Thanks to those readers who have taken the time to review my book on Amazon. There'll be receiving a free copy for their kindle or electronic reading device of the next book in the series. Titled 'Jasmine Evans and the 40 Thieves' when it is released.

This brings me to revealing what plans I have for the series. Right now there are three books planned for the series.

Jasmine Evans and the Master of the Lamp - Available Now

Jasmine Evans and the 40 Thieves - Draft Finished

Jasmine Evans Untitled - Plan for book completed

I do have a title in mind for the third book in the series, but I don't want to reveal it just yet as it may change. I also plan to write and publish a short novella titled 'Aladdin and the Magic Lamp', which will be the story of Aladdin in the context of the Jasmine Evans series. In later plans, I would like to write more stories from the Arabian Nights/A Thousand and One Nights stories. Such as; 'Alibaba and the 40 Thieves' and 'Sinbad the Sailor'. If you have read 'Jasmine Evans and the Master of the Lamp' expect an extended version of the story of Aladdin told in the book to be available closer to the end of 2015. (Big battle scene is afoot.)

The big news is that I have just received my editors initial notes about my first draft of 'Jasmine Evans and the 40 Thieves' and they have been extraordinarily positive. However, there are a lot of notes and many points for me to consider. So, I'll be working hard to get the story ready. I have told one reader, who e-mailed me, to expect an April release. I'll do my best, but above all I want the book to be good. If there are any delay's I'll announce it on my Facebook page, Twitter page and here on my blog. One teaser I can let you know about though is Jasmine is going to learn more about the laws of wish-granting.

Thanks for reading my blog. If you have or do pick up a copy of 'Jasmine Evans and the Master of the Lamp' and you leave a review, you'll be one of the first to get a copy of Jasmine Evans and the 40 Thieves' for your kindle or ebook reader for free.

Have a good day!

Alex C. McDonald is the author of the urban fantasy novel, 'Jasmine Evans and the Master of the Lamp'.

alexmcdauthor@gmail.com

Follow me on Twitter @AlexMcDauthor

http://alexmcdauthor.wix.com/writer#

My Book is Now Permanently Free

Yep, that's right.  'Jasmine Evans and the Master of the Lamp' is completely free on Smashwords! If your into Young Adult Fantasy novels go and get yourself a copy now. Here is the link;

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/428088

All her life Jasmine has moved from place to place with Dad never settling anywhere for long. When they move to a small coastal town in Australia Jasmine Hopes that all this will change and she will have the change to be an ordinary girl. However, things do no go according to plan and one fateful afternoon she discovers that she has the power to grant wishes. Ger new powers unlock a dangerous secret that threatens her new home, her friends and her very existence.

Now as she begin to solve the mystery of her past with the help of ancient societies and mythical creatures, she realizes she is being stalked by a dark enemy and must race against to to stop them from imprisining her forever in the mystical and fabled lamp of Aladdin

"It has that type of magic about it that cannot be taught."
Samantha Grayson, top amazon reviewer

"A skillful and earnest integration of realism and fantasy, complete with action and a girl's search for connection."
Amazon Review

If you would like to send me a message or leave a review would be very much appreciated.

Alex C. McDonald is the author of the urban fantasy novel, 'Jasmine Evans and the Master of the Lamp'.

alexmcdauthor@gmail.com

Follow me on Twitter @AlexMcDauthor

http://alexmcdauthor.wix.com/writer#

What Happened to Aladdin's Genie?

Growing up my family had a huge collection of Disney Home Movies and for me, 'Aladdin' was my favourite. I loved the thought of finding a magical lamp and instantly being able to wish your dreams true. Plus, I loved the character of the genie and how Aladdin almost didn't set the genie free, but showed his true good nature in the end and the genie gained his freedom.

Most version's of the Thousand and One Nights story of Aladdin end in the same way, the genie being set free. When I first devised my Young Adult Fantasy novel 'Jasmine Evans and the Master of the Lamp', it made me think about what could have happened to the genie after he was set free?

My brainstorming came to the idea that if the genie in Aladdin was set free, then essentially he would also become a mortal. This means that the genie could also marry and have children. However, the genie that came from Aladdin's Lamp would never lose his wish granting powers and when the genie died (Because the genie is mortal) they would pass the power to grant wishes onto his first born child.

Hence, we come to the modern day, where my main protagonist, Jasmine Evans, discovers she has the ability to grant wishes. The story is a magical adventure where Jasmine uncovers her family tree and learns that she is descended from Aladdin's genie.

This is where the lamp comes in. An ancient society, known as the Antediluvian Order, has possession of the lamp and they send Vishka, an ex-Russian KGB operative to capture Jasmine and imprison her in the lamp.

Disney's version of Aladdin is the most well-known and the naming of my main character, Jasmine, is in no relation to Disney's character, Princess Jasmine. In fact, the Princesses name in the original version of Aladdin is, Badroulbadour. Princess Badroulbadour appears in my novel when Jasmine travels back in time with an inter-dimensional spider, called Hoonhay. The name of Jasmine actually two students in a class that I was teaching when I first began writing the book. In fact, most of the names in the book are actually named after people I have taught. I find it an easy way to name characters.

I also have two genies that appear in 'Jasmine Evans and the Master of the Lamp'. Jasmine is the first and the second is an old, eccentric genie called Eduillian or simply 'Ed' for short. Ed is still imprisoned by a ruby ring that Vishka wears and he is called upon to help Vishka instantly travel from place to place. This is the limit of Ed's powers and he cannot grant any other wishes, besides travel.

This first book in a planned trilogy is set in the Australian town of Albany. A place that I have visited many times. It was the perfect setting and has many natural landmarks that feature in the book. It culminates in an epic battle where Jasmine and her new friends must decide who is the Master of the Lamp.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

If you're interested in reading 'Jasmine Evans and the Master of the Lamp' it is available on kindle for only 99c. If you leave a review and send me an e-mail to let me know, I'll give you the sequel 'Jasmine Evans and the 40 Thieves' due out in April for free.
Here is the link;

http://goo.gl/d7lcch












Alex C. McDonald is the author of the urban fantasy novel, 'Jasmine Evans and the Master of the Lamp'.

alexmcdauthor@gmail.com

Follow me on Twitter @AlexMcDauthor

http://alexmcdauthor.wix.com/writer#

Is World War 3 happening right now?

As I did my morning rounds of news websites yesterday, once again I found an article about another cyber attack on the Internet. Now, I don't really know what it all means, but I am aware that it has serious security breaches and can cause issues for millions of users around the world.

Our world has changed and we have grown into a very technological society. You can be anywhere in the world and gain access to your e-mail from a smartphone device. The power of technology is massive, we all know this. However, there seems to be an electronic war going on. We are all pretty oblivious to this as we are used to wars being carried out in the physical world with guns, tanks and bombs, not lines of code being pushed through clouds that interrupt or breakdown websites.

As a writer I began thinking about how this could possibly effect the spy/action genre. These so called 'bad guys' are not easy to find and hide behind elaborate firewalls on their computers not in elaborate underground lairs with sharks that have lasers attached. As well, the guys protecting the worlds servers are not driving around in Aston Martin's and sipping on Vodka Martini's, they are in office cubicles trying to manage thousands and thousands of lines of code. Kinda sounds like a pretty boring premise for a spy versus spy movie or book.

Sure, you could have people's servers going down and the mahem that could ensue, but the story would go something like this. Jack Knight (Cool spy name) then typed in 101101100110 and restored everyone's bank accounts to its previous state. He then sent several Trojan viruses back at their enemy and victory was won. Jack went home and played Call of Duty on his X-Box to celebrate. It was totally frickin' awesome!

It even gives a huge challenge to writers of video of games whose best games are about war with soldiers. Could someone produce a popular game that is about hacking computers or protecting them from hackers? Sounds pretty tedious and could get pretty old quick. Maybe need some really imaginative people to pull that one off.

I suppose we might see a really great movie or book come out soon from some really great writers that will explore this new digital war that is going on. Let's wait and see.

A Colonial Story About a Convict Rebellion

By the time high school was coming to an end my dream of being a writer was being marred by way too many ideas. Despite having a heavy workload at school I always managed to find some time now and then to write a few words. However, my biggest problem was I had too many ideas and couldn't focus on one of them. I would start one idea and in the midst of writing the first few pages something would inspire me and I would drift off and leave that project. This was happening time and time again. I just couldn't focus.

Until one day I found an idea for a movie that stuck. It was the nineties and I had taken a particular interest in all the historical movies that had been released; Braveheart, First Knight, Gettysburg and Saving Private Ryan, were all films that took its audiences to a new visual experience. So I wanted to find a historical event that I could write about. Something no one had ever heard of before. I scoured libraries and encyclopedia's and read tons of accounts of great historical moments. Until I finally came across something in the Australian edition of the World Book Encyclopedia. The article was about convicts, within that article were maybe two lines of an account of a convict uprising on March 4th, 1804, called 'The Castle Hill Rebellion'.

I was shocked and enthralled to be reading this information. Unfortunately, there wasn't really much to go on. I thought about inventing the names of the characters, but realised that I needed to do some hard research in order to piece together the story.

I scoured libraries and the internet (which was at its infancy in those days) and did not find much. Until one day, I found a small pamphlet book that detailed all of the people involved, why they had been sent to Australia as convicts and all the events of the 2 day rebellion. This was perfect I could finally write my script. I had everything I needed.

So today, here is a very brief synopsis of the movie that was never made. Of course, I used a bit of "poetic licensing" and weaved a romantic love story in there as well. 

Castle Hill Rising - In Search of Freedom

1798 - Ireland

Phillip Cunningham sneaks through an Irish town to a secret meeting in the basement of a tavern. Joseph Holt, one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion stand in front of an assembly of men and preach about the atrocities conducted by the English. The meeting is soon broke up as a watchmen runs and warns of a British garrison that has been tipped off about the meeting. All attendees scramble out of the tavern and begin escaping. Phillip Cunningham escapes to the rooftop of a building and watches in dismay as two of his countrymen are shot in cold blood.


Phillip Cunningham rides into a farm and meets with his fianceé, Mable, a tough hard-working young lady. Phillip tells her of his plans to join the rebellion and Mable is not happy. Phillip leaves the next morning.

A few months later and Phillip is now on top of Vinegar Hill, with 20,000 other Irish rebels. Armed with pikes they engage in a battle with the British army and lose, due to the superior weaponry of the British Army. 

Phillip survives the battle, but is captured and taken to court along with several other rebels, which includes Joseph Holt. He is found guilty and is sentenced to the penal colony of Botany Bay.

5 years later - Castle Hill Penal Farm Australia

Phillip Cunningham is now working on a farm and befriends a fellow inmate, William Johnston. Life on the farm is cruel and harsh and regular lashings are used to keep the prisoners in check.

One day a young Irish lady and her new husband come to the farm to look for a convict to come and help them on their new property. Phillip feels like he recognizes the Irish lady, but cannot make her out from a distance. The Irish lady is Mable, Phillip's once Fianceè, who has immigrated to Australia with her new husband. Mable and her husband choose a young convict, known as Thomas, whom Phillip had befriended.

The convicts continue to live through the hardships of the new colony. Their treatment is getting to boiling point and Phillip and William devise a plan to rise up. On the 4th of March, 1804, the convicts rise up and take down the penal farm and steal all of the weapons. That night they march towards Parramatta and raid properties on their way, freeing enslaved convicts. 

Phillip personally rides down to a property and knocks on the door asking for all convicts to be set free. When the door opens, Phillip sees Mable. Shocked at the appearance of his beloved, he shuns away seeing Mable is now married. He takes Thomas with him and they rejoin the rebels.

Phillip sits with the rebels in the bush and is in a deep depression. His fellow leaders are worried that Phillip has lost the will and are annoyed with him for not making a decision. He then stands and declares that they will meet the colony's army in open battle as they have now learned that troops are on their way to put down the rebellion. His fellow rebels advise against open battle and try to persuade Phillip to use more guerilla tactics. However, Phillip declares "Death or Liberty".

The rebels fight the British soldiers led by Major Johnston and are defeated. Phillip is captured and along with his fellow leaders are sentenced to be hung.

Mable turns and cries as she watches Phillip being hung as he says his final words "Death or Liberty". 

The final scene is Thomas sneaking aboard a French vessel and leaving Botany Bay.

THE END

Hope you enjoyed reading my brief synopsis of my script that I never sent to any producers. It is all part of the story of how I became a writer and what stories influenced me to write.

#Writing #Australia #history

Alex C. McDonald is the author of the urban fantasy novel, 'Jasmine Evans and the Master of the Lamp'.

Follow me on Twitter @AlexMcDauthor

Could Star Wars episodes 1, 2 and 3 be remade?

After my last post I began reflecting on major events during my final year of high school. It was 1999 and finally, after years of waiting, George Lucas was releasing a new Star Wars movie, 'Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace'. Fans all around the world could not wait for the movie to come out. They lined up in ques weeks before the release date just to purchase a ticket. Movie theatres around the globe had cinemas booked out for days and days for the scores of fans desperate to see episode 1, the back story of the infamous Darth Vader.

At the time I had a part-time job at a movie theatre and I was just as impatient as the next fan. I would sneak into each cinema while the previews were playing, just to watch the Star Wars trailer again. When the time finally came around, I went to watch the movie with a couple of friends. The prequel to the 'Holy Trilogy'. I cheered at the start and enjoyed the whole spectacle of the event. Fans dressed in costume and everyone in a jovial mood about watching the film. Honestly, the first time I watched it, I was just simply happy to be there. Happy to be watching a new Star Wars film and I enjoyed it only for the fact that it was Star Wars. However, after time and reflection I am definitely on the team of haters for that particular film. It just didn't fulfill my expectations.

What happened next? Well episodes 2 and 3 did improve on episode 1 and were certainly more enjoyable, but they never lived up to the greatness of the original films and I don't consider them timeless like the originals.

It almost felt like the prequels were focused more on the spectacle that was Star Wars and forgot about the deep character development and strong story-line that helped to hook in loyal fans. I don't really feel like the prequel trilogy flows nicely into the original trilogy. Firstly, there is a huge gap between episode 3 and 4 that could be twenty something years! Darth Vader didn't appear in the prequel films until the end of episode 3, leaving countless possibilities for more films as his character develops into the evil Darth Vader we see in episode 4.

As the big news rolled in last year that George Lucas has sold the rights to Star Wars to Disney and that Disney were going to make episodes 7, 8 and 9, it made me wonder, could episodes 1, 2 and 3 be remade? Batman was remade over into a fantastic new series of movies, Spiderman got rebooted in 2012 and Superman has been done tons of times over if we include TV series and movies. Fans of these great superheroes came and watched all of the reboot's and can't wait for more. So, why not Star Wars?

Firstly, it would be great for the studio's, because lets face it, they would make a ton of money. The fans of Star Wars, however, could have the real benefit with the opportunity of getting the prequel story they really wanted, along with all the great special effects that the prequel movies already have.

If Disney were going to go down the reboot track, they could clean the slate. Characters like Qui-Gon Jinn, Darth Maul and Jar Jar Binx could no longer exist. The writers  could explore the Star Wars universe from the orignal trilogies stand point and allow the storyline to flow, like the original series did. 

Here is a rough outline of what I would have loved to see from the prequel movies;

Episode 1

Much like the original episode 1 this movie should focus on the origin of Anakin Skywalker. The clones storyline should already be developing.

The general political outlook of the galaxy, should be bleak. The people of the galaxy should be in difficult economic times and several protests should be held. The Jedi should be seen as gentle, sympathic and wise to the people's cause and should assist those in need.

However, an influential speaker who is able to captivate minds appears. (The Emperor or Palpatine) The people of the galaxy begin to rally behind his radical ideology and they make a stand against the Galactic Government. This is when the Galactic Government roll out the storm troopers(Or clones) on the people. The Jedi's side with Palpatine and his followers in order to help them survive the Galactic Governments campaign of terror.

They rally the people and in a great Star Wars like battle, defeat the clone army and Palpatine begins to take hold of power.

Anakin's storyline in the film would build him up to become a big part of the final battle. He would be mentored by Obi-Wan, with the Emperor/Palpatine always whispering in his ear. At the end of the film when the great battle is won, Anakin should stand in front of the remaining clones/stormtroopers and they would look upon him as their new leader.

Episode 2

In this film, Luke and Leia should be born, maybe at the end of the film. Anakin would have had a love interest by now (Maybe Padme) and is older than the first film. Obi-Wan has realised that Anakin is going down the dark side and discovers him studying with Palpatine. Obi-Wan will alert the Jedi Council.

During this film Anakin will lead his stormtrooper army in several victories as he moves his master to Palpatine and together they begin taking over the galaxy. Anakin becomes Darth Vader more and more, often losing limbs in battles and having them replaced with robotic ones.

At the end of the film Anakin devises a theory that in order to enhance his powers with the force he needs to focus his energy not on the physical, but on the spirtual/force world. Anakin makes a conscious decision to become more robotic than man, making him an extremely powerful jedi and officially becoming Darth Vader.

The Jedi's rally against Darth Vader, trying to stop his evil power. However, they are defeated and we see the full extent of Darth Vader's power.

Obi-Wan escapes with Luke and Leia. Darth Vader's love interest is killed.

Episode 3

Obi-Wan and Yoda should be on the run from the Empire, with Luke and Leia as infants or very young children. 

Darth Vader and the Emperor cement their rule on the galaxy. The rebellion is formed as the people of the galaxy suddenly realise the ulterior motive of the Emperor. 

Throughout the film their are discussions about the Death Star. 

At the end of the film, the newly formed Rebellion mount their first large-scale attack, but are crushed due to an informant in their ranks. Several Jedi's should die in this battle.

Leia is taken to the planet of Alderaan and the Royal family of that planet, sympathetic to the rebellion, take Leia in. Obi Wan takes Luke to his Uncle on Tatooine and decides to settle there in order to keep a close eye on Luke. However, before Luke is given to his Uncle he should visit the planet of Dagobah where they will leave Yoda. This is because in episode 5, 'The Empire Strikes Back', Luke mentions that he feels like he had been there before. This was completely ignored in the real prequels.

So, there you go my brief take on what a reboot of the Star Wars prequel trilogy could look like. I know there is a lot left out, in particular side characters and how they would push the story along. However, I wanted the aim of the prequel's to be about the creation of Darth Vader and make it flow nicely into episode 4 more.

Anyone out there got a different take? Let me know. Would love to hear from other who have a different take on the Star Wars prequel's and what they would have loved to have seen.

#writing #starwars

Alex C. McDonald is the author of the urban fantasy novel, 'Jasmine Evans and the Master of the Lamp'.

Follow me on Twitter @AlexMcDauthor