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I’m happy to announce the winner of the LDS Author Blog Hop for this blog is Dana Square!






Thanks to all of you who entered and left wonderful comments!

I’m excited to be part of the LDS Authors Giveaway Hop!





I’ll be giving away an autographed copy of my first book, The Hidden Sun.



Entering is easy. Simply leave a comment on this blog with your email address so I can contact you if you win.



While you are at it, go ahead and follow this blog. I post all sorts of goofy, interesting and thought provoking stuff.










I’m excited to announce that the sequel to The Hidden Sun is . It’s called The Waxing Moon.










In addition, my short story Howler King .












Visit these other amazing websites for more chances to win!

The Orphan Ship is Sterling R. Walker’s first sci-fi book. Spaceships? Check. Humans living on other planets? Check. Advanced technology? Check. In other words, it has all the elements you’d expect in a sci-fi book. However, it also has something that you may not expect: heart.





Walker introduces and develops many wonderful characters that bring this story alive. For example, Deane Shepherd, captain of the spaceship Ishmael, is complex. She struggles between being the rational, take charge captain while at the same time, dealing with a significant loss in her life. And she is only one of several compelling characters in the story.





What is the story about? The blurb on the back of the book does a better job than I ever could. It reads:





“Stranded 225 million kilometers from home on Mars Station, cousins Jake O'Brien and Lorina Murphy are drawn into a fledgling effort to help the hundreds of abandoned street children who call the station home. Jake becomes a medical apprentice in an outreach clinic, while Lorina volunteers at a juvenile shelter. They soon discover that their efforts may be in vain because something much more serious than poverty plaques Mars Station.





Also stranded on Mars Station, ship's captain Danae Shepherd faces the difficult task of hiring replacement crew after an alien virus claims the lives of four in her employ, including her husband. She stumbles upon the same problem that has Jake and Lorina stumped: why are the homeless children disappearing without a trace?��





The book can be enjoyed for the surface level story. There is plenty of action, intrigue, and humor for The Orphan Ship to be satisfying. However, it is the deeper look at poverty, greed and inhumane behaviors which give the book weight—especially when Walker skillfully portrays how children are impacted.





Did I enjoy the book? Yes. Very much so. It was engaging with enough sci-fi gadgets to bring out the inner tech geek in me. But it was the characters and the story than kept me coming back for more.

It’s a clean read with no bad language or sex scenes. There is some violence, but it’s not graphic and it’s needed to fully give the impact this story requires.





While it can be read as a stand-alone book, it leave the door wide open for one, if not more, books—much to my delight.

I had the opportunity to attend the LDStorymakers conference last week. During the opening remarks, Sarah Eden, the MC of the event, made a cute remark about we should all watch out for “introverts��.





As a group, writers tend to be introverts—or prefer to be alone. Granted, that doesn’t include everyone. My good friend Randy McNeely, who was at the conference with me, would have no trouble standing up and singing in front of a large group.





For me, if I was given the choice between going to a party with a lot of people I knew or staying home by myself, 9,999 times out of 10,000, I’d stay home. It’s just what I’m more comfortable doing. At the same time, I really enjoy giving presentations to groups about writing. Heck, I don’t even mind giving talks in church.





It’s almost that you need to be part Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to be a writer. For a good part of the time, you are alone as you write and edit. However, successful authors also know how to promote. While this can be done on the computer from the safety of a quiet room, there is something about connecting with people at book signings, presentations and conferences.



For me, I feel more inclined to write when someone tells me how much they liked my book. I’m sure part of it is ego, but I believe it’s also a reaffirmation that what I’m writing is touching people’s lives.





To my fellow LDStorymakers, I applaud all of you who stepped out of your comfort zone to attend the conference. I met a ton of wonderful people, some of who I could tell were uncomfortable in a big public setting.





I personally left quite rejuvenated after the conference. Yes, most of the time, I’m alone when I write—as are most writers. But the conference helped me understand something. To borrow a quote of the musician Sting: “Seems I’m not alone in being alone.��

I’m flattered to be featured on Author’s Boutique’s webpage.



The article is called “Shopping Around for the Right Publishing Fit��.




The blog describes my experience with getting my first book, The Hidden Sun, published.




I also share some insights for those looking to get their book published for the first time.




The article can be accessed by clicking on this .




I want to thank the good folks at Author’s Boutique for the opportunity to share some of the things I’ve learned that will hopefully be of value to other authors.

Here it is.



The cover to my novel The Waxing Moon.





I’ve discovered something about myself when it comes to my books: I’m protective. It’s often said that books are like an author’s child. I understand why. Aside from the time and effort it takes to write a book, it’s a part of you. Or perhaps to say it another way, the book is in many ways an extension of you as a person.





To that end, when it comes to editing the book, it can be hard to step back and listen to what your editor says. Around 6,500 words were cut from The Waxing Moon. It wasn’t whole sections. It was extra details that bogged down the book.





I didn’t have that issue with my first book, The Hidden Sun, and I couldn’t help but wonder what changed this time.


I came to a conclusion.

Whereas The Hidden Sun was nearly 100,000 words, when working on The Waxing Moon, I realized I didn’t have enough story to make it similar in length. Somewhere in my mind, I must have thought, I really need this to be longer—let me add more details. Even with the extra fluff, I ended at 60,000 words.










What to do, what to do ��





So, I wrote an addition several chapters and tacked it on the end.



However, the preview, or “beta�� readers picked up on that. It was like two different books.

And then, inspiration struck. During this time, I was getting feedback from readers about The Hidden Sun. As it turns out, one of the popular characters was a villain. I had no intention of continuing his story, but I thought, why not?





I ended up cutting the extra chapters (some of which will be rewritten and included in The Zealous Star) writing a parallel story to the main one and had them intertwine. In the end, it works really well.





Lessons learned? Be protective of your vision for your book. At the same time, be willing to realize that outside perspectives can make it better and will help you realize things you may not see because you are too close to the book.

In an episode of The Simpsons, a recruiter for the Navy says they are using a three-pronged attack to get people to join. The three ways are: Subliminal, Liminal and Super-Liminal. Obviously this is just the writers being silly.



However, I came across a YouTube video that claimed there were all sorts of subliminal messages in modern media, including Disney movies.

I won’t link the video, because frankly, the guy was bonkers. Granted, I’m sure some of his claims held merit, but he went so far the other way, he was seeing things that were more than just a stretch.





If you aren’t familiar with subliminal messages, let me explain. They are words, images, or sounds that are hidden that supposedly your mind can process on some level without you realizing it--but it can influence you. I’m not going to debate the validity of the claim. However, my goal is to add another aspect to the discussion.





One of the most common examples of subliminal messages in a Disney movie comes from The Lion King.

See if you can spot it:












Let’s just say for the sake of argument that this was intentional. My question would be “why?�� Was it just a disgruntled artist trying to pull a fast one on the Disney company? Was it some sort of evil master plan by Disney? Or was it just a coincidence?





If it was intentional, what was to be gained from it? Sex isn’t inherently evil. (Spoiler alert! It’s how babies are made.) Even if this message planted the seed of everyone who saw it to have sex, what would either the artist or the Disney company gain from it?





To show an example of how extreme people can get when it comes to looking for subliminal messages, here’s another example:











Really?





But, it doesn’t end there. This example is truly unbelievable:














Need more proof that you can find anything if you look hard enough? How about this:







Yeah, the number ��666�� is all evil and that. I better double check my signature for subliminal words like, “Spam is tasty�� or “Call your mother��.





I’ll finish with two examples.





People will buy things without the prompting of hidden messages. The sun won’t explode. It follows, free will lets you make good choices. You can see better without critically looking.





Here is the cover of my book, The Hidden Sun. See if you can find the subliminal message:










So what is the second example? I already wrote it. Didn’t see it? Look at every third word in this paragraph.





People will buy things without the prompting of hidden messages. The sun won’t explode. It follows, free will lets you make good choices. You can see better without critically looking.





Now if sales of The Hidden Sun triple after this post, maybe there is something to this whole subliminal notion.

Like many authors, my mind is full of different story ideas. From those, I have to choose which ones I’ll focus on.



I wrote a short story some time ago called The Howler King. It certainly has enough going for it to be made into a full novel, but I have several other books that are lined up first.



I’m in the lull right now before the full blown final stages of The Waxing Moon begin, so I decided to revisit The Howler King.



I cleaned it up, added a few things, and hired the talented Kelley Morgan to design the cover. To help it stand out, I dropped “the�� from the title. I put it on Amazon.com as an ebook.



I clocks in just shy of 5,000 words. I’ve tried to make it clear as much as I can that it’s a short story.



Like everything I write, I doubt that it will be what people expect—but in a good way.



You can get your copy by clicking .

It was time. I had had my phone for two years and I was eligible for an upgrade. With the advances in technology, my current phone was woefully out of date and I was looking forward to getting something new.



After reviewing the options, I picked the phone I wanted. The store had all sorts of specials and such at the time. With my loyalty discount, their in-store promotions and a manufacture rebate, I would be getting the phone for free—along with a free protective case. Granted, all the cases they had in stock were pink . . . (I was able to trade the pink one for a black one later.)



But then there was the matter of the rebate. As with most rebates, the process is fairly involved and if you don’t do it right, you’re out of luck. To make matters more complicated, there was a twist to the process.



In order to get the rebate, not only did I have to fill out a lengthy form, but I had to include the customer agreement, a copy of the receipt AND the barcodes off the side of the box the phone came in. For the barcodes, I had to physically cut the box and remove the side where the barcodes were located—this was made quite clear in the rebate instructions.





(Actor portrayal of me removing the barcodes from the box)


However, when I started to perform surgery on the box, I noticed that if I had to return the phone within the allotted time, I had to do so in an undamaged box or there would be a restocking fee. So, I was stuck. If I didn’t send in the barcodes (copies wouldn’t work—they were clear on that), I would have to damage the box. But if the phone stopped working within a small time frame, I could return it, but only in a complete box. The company’s solution was to give me six weeks to submit the rebate—longer that the time I had available to return the phone to the store in the perfect box.



But this causes yet another issue. Life is busy. There are always thing demanding your time and attention. For me, if I don’t take care of something right away, chances are it may be forgotten.



And that brings out the cynic in me. I have no doubt that companies offer rebates and make them fairly complicated to make it difficult for people to follow through. It’s all well and good to say, “The phone is FREE . . . after the rebate.�� But I’m sure they have their research that shows what percentage of people actually follow through on the rebate, and they adjust accordingly.



For example: if only 40% of the people actually follow through with the rebate, than the company can keep the other 60%. If they use that to their advantage, they could offer higher rebates to entice people to buy, knowing full well they won’t have to pay out all the rebate money. Taking our example one step further, let’s say the company could afford to do a $25.00 rebate, but instead, they offer a $50.00 rebate. Using the 40% / 60% assumption above, the company would be paying out less than half the claims, therefore paying less than the $25.00 they could afford. Yet, the sales would be higher because $50.00 is a higher draw.



Again, I know it is cynical to think this way—but working in and with big corporations has given me plenty of reasons to be that way.



Here’s a wild concept: stop with the games and actually charge a fair price without all the gimmicks to make it look like a better deal than it is.

Know your audience.



That was the phrase that kept popping into my head as I read Defenders of the Covenant by Angie Lofthouse. Why? Because early on, it became quite clear this was an LDS Sci-Fi book, in contrast to a Sci-Fi book written by an LDS author.



Lofthouse has unapologetically ingrained into the book cultural references, practices and traits of the LDS religion. In my opinion, the elements of faith, prayer and forgiveness are as important to the story as the Sci-Fi elements.



I state this because I can see other reviewers writing, “This Sci-Fi book is filled with Mormon propaganda!�� To those that say that, I respond, “You’ve missed the point.��



As with most Sci-Fi books, the setup, or premises of the book, is a vital component. Defenders of the Covenant takes place in an undefined time in the future. Earth has been conquered by “The Great Ones�� that have enslaved humanity. However, there are pockets of refugees hiding here and there in the world.



The book centers around four young adults—refugees, though there are also other prominent characters. The characters are faced with their own challenges and each plays a major part of the fight to free Earth.



Defenders of the Covenant clocks in around 360 pages—but it zips along at a good clip. The story is epic in nature, juggling several storylines that converge at the end.



I really enjoyed Lofthouse’s writing style. It flowed very well and I found myself reading dozens of pages at a time without looking head for the chapter ending where I could find a good place to stop. The four main characters are well defined. Even though the book jumps from storyline to storyline, not once was I confused about picking up where we left off.



Lofthouse’s love for Sci-Fi is evident in her writing. Yet, she balances it with the emotional and spiritual nature of humans. The result is a thrilling story with a strong human element—something that many Sci-Fi books lack (from my experience).



Who would like this book? It’s a safe, clean read for teens and up. It’s clearly marketed for an LDS audience, however those who enjoy an engaging adventure who have an open mind will also enjoy it.



In the end, I think Lofthouse stayed true to her target audience—something with which many authors struggle. While it could limit the appeal of Defenders of the Covenant, I, for one, think she needs to be congratulated for sticking to her (laser) guns.



For more on Angie Lofthouse, click .





To purchase her book, click .



**Disclaimer: While I received a copy of this book for reviewing purposes, it in no way influenced my opinion of the book.**