Hello everyone, I'm new to writing. I just finished my first novel. Before I tell you about that, I'd like to share a few things about myself and how I got into writing. I retired in 2021 after nearly 40 years as a mechanical engineer visiting customers all around the Pacific North West, USA. I also worked with customers in Mexico, Canada, Egypt, Singapore and Indonesia. I used to spend about 135 nights a year in hotels. I had a lot of time for reading (100 novel read per year or more). I'm avid reader, especially science fiction, space opera, first contact, time travel, etc. On September 3, 2023, I was diagnosed with Leukemia. When I first retired, I spent my time on hobbies, such as playing in my woodturning shop or painting photo-realistic landscapes in my studio. With the Leukemia diagnosis, I was not permitted to do anything in my wood shop or any painting. The chemotherapy causes problems, such as a compromised immune system and platelet issues with the blood. Simple things like a simple cold, fungal infection, flu virus, etc. could kill me. I couldn't go to restaurants, grocery stores or be in public places. Many wood dusts are toxic, so no wood turning. The solvents in my oil paints could cause problems too, so no more painting. I was basically in a Covid type lockdown. Only going out to visit my Oncologist. Fortunately, the chemotherapy was successful in getting me into remission. To try to cure me, on April 24, 2024 I had a bone marrow transplant, which so far as been a spectacular success. I'm doing extremely well and my outlook is fantastic! Now, about how I got into writing. I was bored. I love reading, as you learned earlier in this introduction, but a person can only read so much, before it loses its' shine. My choices for a long time were reading, eating, sleeping and watching TV. My wife noticed how bored I was getting and said, "You know, you've always said that you thought you could write a book. Why don't you try it? I took her advice and started writing in February 2024. Yesterday I finished my first book. I've been self editing furiously through the entire process. I'm hoping to self publish on kdp by January 31, 2025. I have one Beta Reader so far. He just started on it today. The book is part a series. The title is Lemuria - Book One, Expansion Series. It's nearly 75,000 words. Book Two is going to be Elysians and book three will be Antillians. I imagine there are rules here, that will prohibit me from seeking Beta Readers until I reach a certain level of participation in the forum. Thank You Scott Ickes
Great story, nothing like a life changing event to inspire your new passion. Good news on your remission, I work with a fellow who had the bone marrow transplant procedure for Leukemia and he has done splendidly. A moderator will have to comment on your book submission plans and the process.
Hello and welcome Scott, nice to see you over here, too. Looking forward to seeing you in the forums!
Welcome to .org, Scott. I've seen you about on .com. Hope to see your input on many different threads.
Welcome, Scott. Science fiction is a great genre indeed. Is it the genre you have your first book in? Looking forward to hearing of your writing progress.
It is the genre. Imagine spending over a millennium exploring space all around our local part of the galaxy and not finding anything more than sentient life. Finally, in the year 3458, a research vessel visits a system with a potentially habitable planet, hoping to set up a human colony, only to find sentient life is already there. They blame humans for the atomic wars that occurred 300 years before in their history, which nearly destroyed their planet and culture. They learned about atomic power and atomic bombs from our radio broadcasts, and they believed it was intentional to weaken them before we invade. Our protagonist, Captain Robert Chris, who is a mere research captain, is thrust into the role of a warship captain.
