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Scarfy
April 18th, 2013, 06:37 AM
Does anyone here remember Project Starfighter, the game from 2001?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Starfighter

and

http://sourceforge.net/projects/pr-starfighter/

Well, I've started to write a novelization of the game! It'll feature all the characters and some of the events from the game, as well as a number of extras (as would be expected, as it's a book and not a game). Just wondering if anyone would be interested in reading something like that? Or maybe you've all forgot about the game a long, long time ago ;)

Steve ;)

Scarfy
May 1st, 2013, 11:52 AM
Okay, so no one seems that bothered. Or you're just lurking ;)

I'm about half way through what I hope will be the final edit, and the book is looking to be around 125,000 words when it's all done and dusted. I've got the plot and characters nailed quite nicely, I believe: Chris Bainfield, Sid Wilson, Kline Kethlan, Krass Tyler, and Phoebe and Ursula Lexx are all in there, plus plenty of other characters. The Firefly itself also forms a significant part of the story.

I've also performed a reverse acronym on WEAPCO, so that they are now known as the Wade-Ellen Asset Protection Corporation :D

Will updates if and when I have any more news ;)

Buntu Bunny
May 1st, 2013, 03:21 PM
I think it sounds very cool. Just make sure there are no copyright issues with the original game, characters, etc., etc!

Scarfy
May 1st, 2013, 03:23 PM
Ah, no worries about the copyright - I'm the original creator of the game, so I own the copyright ;)

usernforce
May 2nd, 2013, 08:17 PM
Would love to read it!

Scarfy
May 2nd, 2013, 10:39 PM
I'm going to try and go the commercial publishing route with this book, rather than self publish it, so that we can get paperbacks, foreign language translations, and all stuff happening :D

Buntu Bunny
May 4th, 2013, 02:33 AM
Keep us updated. I'm going the self-publishing route, but it sounds like you have a shot at getting this commercially published. I'd be interested in the process as well as your progress.

Scarfy
May 28th, 2013, 03:10 PM
I finished off the novel over the weekend, so now I get to go through the business of looking for an agent / publisher to take it on. For anyone who is interested, here is the first chapter:

http://stephenjsweeney.com/news/24/project-starfighter-sample-chapter.html

Naturally, it's author-edited, so there will be some mistakes.

Scarfy
April 4th, 2014, 11:18 AM
I hope no one minds me dragging up this old thread. For anyone interested, the novel is going to available on July 5th.

Despite desiring to do otherwise, it's going to be self published, as the publishers and agents were't keen on it. Shame. Still, at least it won't go to waste.

You can find out more here:

http://www.stephenjsweeney.com/books/ps

Buntu Bunny
April 4th, 2014, 11:38 AM
Scarfy, I'm very glad for the update. I know it's disappointing that you couldn't go through a publishing house, but take heart. Self-publishing is truly the trend of the future and, indeed, will not only give the traditional houses a run for the money, but likely reshape their concept of what the public wants.

In just over 4 months I've sold over 700 copies of my self-published book (paperback). The hardest part is getting the word out. Reader reviews are the author's best friend!

Scarfy
April 4th, 2014, 11:57 AM
Thanks Buntu!

I've actually had quite a lot of success with other self-published titles in the past, so it's not a huge disappointment to me. The novel is currently going through some proofreading, so it should hopefully all be ready for July. It was cool to see the pre-order link on iTunes this morning. Kobo should follow soon enough ;)

That's excellent that you've sold 700 paperback copies in 4 months! Most don't even manage 100 copies in a lifetime! Keep it up!

Scarfy
May 18th, 2014, 10:11 PM
Novel is progressing well - I'm into the post-editing stage, and am now proofreading the book. The full novel will be available on 5th July.

In the meanwhile, anyone interested can grab the first three chapters (as a PDF) from here:

http://stephenjsweeney.com/downloads/ps/Project%20Starfighter%20-%20Stephen%20J%20Sweeney%20%28sample%29.pdf

Scarfy
June 1st, 2014, 10:29 AM
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, the novel is out! Yes, it's out over a month earlier than planned. I overestimated the time it would take to work through the edits and whatnot, so I was able to finish and upload to Amazon this weekend.

For those interested, you can get it here:

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KOSACGU/
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KOSACGU/
Amazon CA: http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00KOSACGU/

I'll be making epubs of the book available in the next few days on my own website - www.stephenjsweeney.com/books/ps/

Hope people enjoy reading it.

Steve :)

Buntu Bunny
June 1st, 2014, 12:52 PM
Congrats! May you sell many copies!

Scarfy
June 1st, 2014, 01:01 PM
Thanks, dude! :)