User blog:Brandon Rhea/Alternative Saga Update: February 16, 2009



Hello, and Happy US President’s Day to you all! Today is a great day, isn’t it? When else will we have such a great excuse for every car dealership to have a sale? Rather counter-productive when you think about it. I fail to see the logic behind saying “oh yeah, we have no money and need government bail outs, SO LET’S LOWER OUR PRICES!”

Anyway, I just wanted to give a few updates on the progress of the Alternative Star Wars Saga, both for general information purposes and for the next edition of the Completely Unofficial Star Wars Fanon Newsletter. For CUSWFN, however, I request that the co-editors not simply copy and paste everything I said like last time. That just makes things too easy for you. ;)

Anyway, Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One is still coming along pretty well. I’m currently working on the third chapter, which puts a heavy focus on Jar Binks and gives a bit of biographical information on him. You also get to see a bit of Lord Maul and Gunray, as well as the internal strife present in the Gungan Empire. I was never really able to convey that in the first version (which was chapter four, but now the third chapter since I merged the original two chapters together into the current chapter one), so it’s something I’m putting more focus on. I find it really helps to flesh out Jar Binks’s character and give some insight into things that will be seen later in the novel (which were also shown in the original draft). Just as a note, by the time the next CUSWFN comes out, this third chapter will likely have been released. Be sure to check to see what chapter I’m working on before going to print.

Moving on, the Trials of War series is coming along nicely. A few months back, Edward Oliver, who’s penning most of the series (save for two novels which I’ll be doing), sent me the prologue and the first chapter of the first novel, Shadows of Utapau. It immediately starts off with action and, let me tell you: it’s incredible! Oliver’s a great writer and he really knows how to make you feel like you’re in the thick of battle, so I think you’re going to really enjoy it when it comes out. The story that he has worked out for the novel is great and I’m looking forward to seeing how it all turns out!

Last, but certainly not least, great news for the Alternative Saga! CurrentBigThing’s novel Star Wars: The Alderaan Affair is the co-winner (with The Drewton Legacy) of the Best Fan Work Award in the Fourth Star Wars Fanon Wiki Awards! I was torn between voting for both of those, so I didn’t vote for either. They both deserve the award and I’m glad to see that they’ve received it! Just to recap, since a lot of newer or less active members seem to read this blog and may not know what it is, The Alderaan Affair is an Alternative Saga novel set in 7 BBY and it’s planned to go to about 2 BBY. It follows my yet-to-be-released novel Star Wars: Episode III, and CBT will be writing two novels after he finishes this one. The first is Veil of Darkness, which details the main character, Epin Lanmaw, giving service to the Empire. The second, Betrayal, is a prequel about Darth Traya and how she factors into the Lanmaw family bloodline. CBT currently hasn’t had a lot of time to work on the novel since he’s had a hectic work schedule, but he’ll be back to resume work soon.

Well, that’s all for now. Hope you enjoyed this post. Comments and feedback are always appreciated.

- Brandon