Interview with Chris Kennedy

Jimbo’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Reviews: Welcome, once again to Interviews with Jimbo. Or sumfin’. Listen, I’ve done a few of these now and I’m starting to think I should have a name for them. I haven’t picked one out because I always the interview I’m writing will probably be the last one, but I always seem to be wrong. So, if you’ve got an idea for a good one, drop it in the comments. And look at me. I’m off topic already.

With us today is Chris Kennedy, author and owner of Chris Kennedy Publishing. Chris is one of the creators of the Four Horsemen Universe, so full disclosure: I am the Public Relations Officer for The Mercenary Guild: The Official Four Horsemen Universe Fan Association. I may be fanboying a bit here but, almost four hundred posts in, I’ve earned it. So let’s see if we can catch Chris off balance with a tough question up front. It’s an honor to have you, Chris. How are you today?

Chris Kennedy: I’m doing great. Thanks a lot for having me today, Jimbo.

JSFFR: Glad to hear it. I’m a little perplexed as to how to start this interview, so I guess I’ll just start here. I’ve read a whole freaking lot of authors in my life. I’ve been an avid reader since before I started kindergarten in <REDACTED>, and that was a long time ago. Offhand, I can think of like three who have started their own publishing companies. What made you decide to start yours?

CK: Like becoming an author, it just kind of happened. I published the first few books I wrote myself. They did pretty well, and a few people came up to me and said, “You look like you know what you’re doing. Would you publish mine, too?” I did, and after a (not really long) while, I had published fifteen books by other people. One morning I woke up and realized, “Holy cow! I’m a publisher!” With that realization, I started acting like a publisher and everything just kind of flowed from there. Now I have over 400 books published from other people, not counting all the ones I’ve done in German, French, and Spanish.

JSFFR: That’s awesome! So tell me a little bit about Chris Kennedy Publishing itself and whatever imprints you might have that are part of the company. What does each imprint specialize in? Drop a link to the website if you don’t mind.

CK: The main website is here: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/. Chris Kennedy Publishing focuses on fun, message-free science fiction and fantasy. It specializes in military scifi but can be found across the spectrum of both scifi and fantasy. There have been a few others in the past, but there are five imprints currently publishing:

Theogony Books: The umbrella imprint for most scifi like Salvage Title, The Last Marines, The Lunar Free State, and The Prince of Britannia.

Seventh Seal Press: The imprint for the Four Horsemen Universe.

New Mythology Press: The imprint for fantasy.

Blood Moon Press: The umbrella imprint for several post-apocalyptic series like “The Fallen World.”

Quillcraft Press: The imprint that helps novice authors build their craft and business.

All of these can be found on the main website. Readers can join the mailing list at https://chriskennedypublishing.com/newsletter-2/ to get a free short story in the Four Horsemen Universe and keep up with all the special sales and promotions.

JSFFR: Awesome! Thanks! I’ve always had a bit of trouble keeping that all straight. I know you probably can’t get to everybody, but who, other than yourself, are a few of your best-selling authors? 

CK: Wow, that’s tough. Where do I draw the line on that? Here are some of our best known, in no particular order: Kevin Steverson, Kevin Ikenberry, Mark Wandrey, William S. Frisbee Jr., Fred Hughes, Kacey Ezell, Marisa Wolf, Jon R. Osborne, Rob Howell, Nick Steverson, Melissa Olthoff, Casey Moores, and D.T. Read. If you’ve read all their books, let me know, and I’ll give you another group of names.

JSFFR: I know you’ve got some mega universes out there, and I frankly haven’t been able to keep up with all of them. Name a few, give me the titles of the first books in the series, and drop a buy link or two if you don’t mind. 

CK: Sure. We have four main shared universes. They are:

The Four Horsemen Universe, which starts with “Cartwright’s Cavaliers.”

https://chriskennedypublishing.com/product/cartwrights-cavaliers-ebook/

The Salvage Title Universe, which starts with “Salvage Title.”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H8Q3HBV/

Murphy’s Lawless, which starts with “Shakes.”

https://chriskennedypublishing.com/product/shakes-ebook/

The Fallen World, which starts with “This Fallen World.”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KHLG54J/ 

Of note, Salvage Title is also being made into a series of movies, which we’re really proud of.

JSFFR: Awesome. With a big series it’s important to know where to start. I bought a few books in the middle of a series when I was a kid and hadn’t learned any better yet. But help me out here: I know you and Mark Wandrey created the Four Horsemen Universe. Tell us all how that came to happen.

CK: Like all good author deals, this one started in a bar. Mark and I were at a convention in Indianapolis one year, and he approached me with an idea for the series, for which he already had the first book mostly written. I liked the idea so much, I wrote the second book before he’d even completed the first. Everything just kind of exploded from there, and we’re now approaching 100 books in the series. It’s so much fun as a universe that lots of authors have wanted to play in it.

JSFFR: Sounds like fun! So, I know you’re just starting to sell your own work instead of strictly on Amazon. Help me out here. What’s the link to your store? Will all or only some of your titles be featured? I know a lot of CKP fans buy your titles on Kindle Unlimited. Will they still be available there? And, since I just looked and this part of the site isn’t up yet, when will books be available to purchase at chriskennedypublishing.com?

CK: Due to the way Kindle Unlimited works, if you’re in it, you CAN’T sell books anywhere else. So, when I sell a book on the website, I have to pull it out of KU first. Typically, that’s why we’re starting with a lot of the back catalogue that doesn’t get a lot of love on KU, but all are great books that are worth a read. The benefit of the shop is that it gives us the ability to run great sales that aren’t permitted on KU and sell signed copies of the books people want, as well as swag.

The shop is now live. You can find it here: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/shop/. 

JSSFR: I saw you mention something about a coming swag shop on your website. I know it’s not up yet, but what are you looking at offering there? Any idea when it will be open? No pressure, but it’s almost Christmas. Also, I know there are some Four Horsemen Universe pieces available for purchase already. Where can I find those?

CK: We’re still deciding, but we’re looking at selling a variety of patches, shirts, art, coins, and other things. All of these will be brought in as we can get them sourced.

JSFFR: Cool beans. That’s enough of the publisher Chris Kennedy. Let’s talk to the author Chris Kennedy for a minute. It looks like (assuming I’m remember correctly) your most recent work to be published in English is To Challenge Heaven with David Weber. Tell us a bit about the book, about the Out of the Dark series and let us know how it was working with David Weber. Drop a link.

CK: Actually, my most recent series is the Uplink Squadron series of books. In order to stop an alien invasion, we develop the ability to plug into your space fighter and control it merely by thinking about what you want it to do. There are, however, accidents that occur, and shenanigans result. I really love this series and am really proud of it. You can find it here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09X4W1R6T/

As far as writing with David goes, I’ve written two books with him, “Into the Light” and “To Challenge Heaven.” Writing with David is awesome—as you might expect—and I learned a lot as a writer doing it.

JSFFR: We’ve talked a bit about the 4HU up to this point, but tell us about some of your other works. I know I’ve reviewed some of your books here but I don’t think I’ve gotten to all of them. If you drop a link, people are more likely to buy. I’m just sayin’. 

CK: Uplink Squadron, for sure. I also have the Occupied Seattle series, which starts out with “Red Tide” (which is available on the web site here: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/product/red-tide-ebook/) and has “Occupied Seattle,” Janissaries,” and eight more books after it. My most recent books in the 4HU are “The Lyons’ Pride” and “World Enders.” “Pride” can be read without reading the previous books and is available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B96JZB1B/. 

JSFFR: Awesome. I don’t want to hold you up too badly, so we’ll skip to the last question. This is something I ask everyone I interview on the blog. What question did I not ask that you wish I would have, and how would you have answered it?

CK: One of the things I get asked about all the time is, “Do your anthologies have open spots for new authors?” The answer is, “yes.” We always try to save four slots for new authors to compete for so that they can get a leg up. I got into an anthology I probably didn’t deserve to be in when I was just starting out, and this is my attempt to pay it forward. New authors (and anyone else for that matter) can join the mailing list at https://chriskennedypublishing.com/newsletter-2/ to find out about upcoming opportunities. Readers also get the free short story mentioned above and info on all the great upcoming sales and promotions.

JSFFR: That’s all I’ve got for today. Thanks for taking the time, Chris. It means a lot to me and the rest of your fans. Enjoy your holidays, and know you’re always welcome here at Jimbo’s!

Interview with Hans G. Schantz: The Based Book Sale

Jimbo’s SF/F Reviews: Greetings! We always aim to please here at Jimbo’s and I got to thinking. How could I share the most books at the best prices just in time for Cyber Monday? Enter Hans G. Schantz and his Based Book Sale. Mr. Schantz, while an author himself, has taken time to put together a sale where everything is on sale for ninety-nine cents or less. No, really. He took his own time to put this together to help out his fellow authors. I think that’s awesome. He was also cool enough to say he would swing by and tell us all a little bit about what he’s got going on. So, in the interest of the (never) hard hitting journalism we practice here at Jimbo’s SF/F Reviews, let’s throw him a softball to get him started. Hi, Hans! How ya doin’?

Hans G Schantz: Doing well! Now that the Based Book Sale is running, I had the opportunity to have a relaxing Thanksgiving with the family.

JSFFR: Good! So I know you’re here to talk about the Based Book Sale, and we’ll get there, but for now, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself.

HGS: I’m a scientist. My doctoral research was in theoretical physics studying how bound or reactive electromagnetic energy decouples from an antenna and radiates away. I put that theoretical expertise to work designing some of the first commercial ultra-wideband (UWB) antennas, developing the theory to describe near-field wireless links. I’m an inventor with about forty U.S. patents to my credit including UWB antennas, near-field indoor location systems, and a host of other inventions. Finally, I’m an author. My first book was The Art and Science of Ultrawideband Antennas in 2005 which went to a second edition in 2015. I’ve also written a series of science-fiction alternate-history technothrillers, The Hidden Truth, A Rambling Wreck, and The Brave and the Bold. My latest book is The Wise of Heart, a courtroom drama of biological science versus transgenderism that brings the Scopes Monkey Trial into the twenty-first century. My current project is Fields & Energy: How Electromagnetism and Quantum Mechanics Work and Where Physics Went Wrong.

JSFFR: Good to know. Now, Hans, we are not Communists. We believe that you should be compensated for your time. In order to do that, I’m going to need to get some people to buy your books. It is Christmas time after all. So, tell me about about your latest book, The Wise of Heart: A Modern-Day Re-Imagining of the Scopes Monkey Trial. If you throw in a buy link you’ll save me from having to do it myself. Not that I’m lazy or anything.

HGS: No problem! One evening in the early summer of 2022, I settled in to watch Inherit the Wind on YouTube - not the 1960 film starring Spencer Tracy, but rather the 1988 television movie version starring Jason Robards and Kirk Douglas. I got a few minutes into watching it, and I had a sudden epiphany. This would make a great story set in the present day, featuring a high school biology teacher caught up in the transgender craze arrested for teaching the facts of biological science in defiance of a state law requiring unquestioning gender affirmation. I turned off the movie, and instead, I hunted down the transcript for the Scopes Monkey Trial.

And so, The Wise of Heart was born.

I commissioned Elin Chancey to illustrate my novel. As we got close to release, I decided to launch a crowdfund campaign to pay for the art. Kickstarter approved my campaign. I was fully funded and days from closing when they changed their minds, cancelled my campaign, and returned all the pledges. I described what happened here: https://wiseofheart.substack.com/p/cancelled-by-kickstarter The evil they intended turned to good. I replatformed on Funding Into Comics, and the resulting publicity on Fox News, The Blaze, Bounding Into Comics, and Upstream Reviews more than doubled the pledges Kickstarter took from me, including funding an audiobook production. I described how “cancelled by Kickstarter” became the new “banned in Boston,” here: https://wiseofheart.substack.com/p/cancelled-by-kickstarter-is-the-new 

The real-life story behind the book was an adventure almost as exciting as the story itself. The real heros are the backers who refused to let my cancellation stand and who followed me over to Fund My Comic and the additional backers who supported me when they heard what was going on. I’m very grateful for the wonderful support Elin and I received to get this project funded. 

JSFFR: Sounds like fun. Actually, I follow your Substack, so I’ve seen parts of it already. Speaking of which, why don’t you go ahead and drop links to your Substack, your author page and anywhere else the fans can find and interact with you and/or purchase your work. Enquiring minds want to know. 

HGS: I’m serializing The Wise of Heart at my Substack: https://wiseofheart.substack.com/ 

And I’m also serializing it on Arktoons: https://www.arkhaven.com/comics/drama/the-wise-of-heart 

Or you can buy the book in ebook, paperback, or hardcover, here: https://amzn.to/3QZfBPM 

My Amazon page gives you access to all my books: https://amzn.to/3GfwH7l 

JSFFR: Thanks! I appreciate it. Now, I know that The Wise of Heart: A Modern-Day Re-Imagining of the Scopes Monkey Trial isn’t your first published work. Tell us a bit about your earlier work.

HGS: Sure. When I was updated The Art & Science of Ultrawideband Antennas to a second edition, I made a remarkable breakthrough in understanding how electromagnetism works. Conventional wisdom is that electromagnetism is due to one entity: a photon that is a union of opposites encompassing both wave and particle behavior. Instead, I realized that electromagnetic energy flow consists of two distinct phenomena: fields or waves guiding the flow of energy. And since the fields and the energy take different paths through electromagnetic systems, they cannot be the same thing.

 I am amazed that the idea I uncovered wasn’t picked up on by Hertz or Heaviside or one of the other nineteenth century electromagnetic pioneers. What if they had? What if the result had been suppressed by an evil conspiracy? After all, Hertz, Fitzgerald, and even Maxwell himself died young. Could it have been murder? And what if that conspiracy were the secret masterminds who pull the strings behind all the other groups and coalitions people think are trying to run the world? That was the premise behind my Hidden Truth novels: https://amzn.to/40Szz3v.

I wrote the first novel in 2015, and I set my stories in an alternate history timeline, because I was afraid such far-fetched and outrageous concepts as hopelessly corrupt government agents doing the bidding of their evil technocratic and oligarchical overlords in a massive plot to establish totalitarian social control over global society might defy readers’ suspension of disbelief.

While a number of readers have expressed their delight at realizing the physics actually works out as described in my novels, far more enjoy just reading them: “…[A] masterpiece of alternative-history techno-thriller science fiction.” “Like a Heinlein juvenile, but frankly, better.” You can check out The Hidden Truth and its sequels and judge for yourself.

JSFFR: Let’s get down to the purpose of this interview: Tell us a little bit about The Based Book Sale. First things first, why is it important, and what made you decide to start it?

HGS: The Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance held a monthly “Booknado” with a similar concept. Authors would all pick the same week of the month to offer books for sale and then all mutually promote the sale and each other. I thought that was a great concept, so when they discontinued it, I picked up the ball and ran with it. 

JSFFR: Terrific. Just to confirm, let everyone know what the pricing for your sale looks like and why you picked those numbers.

HGS: $0.99 is the lowest price Amazon lets you set a sale price. Some people like setting books to free for a sale, but I prefer pricing at $0.99 so the reader has a bit of skin in the game and incentive to read the book to make their investment worthwhile. Many authors will set the first book in a series to $0.99 in hopes that a reader will like the first one and buy the rest at full price, or perhaps read through the series on Kindle Unlimited.

JSFFR: Cool. Now, give us a list of a few authors that are on the list. Also, since you’ve had these types of sales in the past, how would an author get put on the list in the future? I am well aware that there is one going on now that ends on November 28, 2023, but do you have your next one planned yet?

HGS: It’s easier for me to just give you the complete list. We have works that have previously appeared in one of my sales from these authors: P. Abbott, Kyle Adams, James Alderdice, P Alexander, J.M. Anjewierden, Hawkings Austin, Daniella Bova, Leigh Brackett, Graham Bradley, Timo Burnham, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Howard Butcher, Jonathan P. Brazee, Henry Brown, Rachel Fulton Brown, Bokerah Brumley, V. A. Boston, Jacob Calta, Blake Carpenter, Carlos Carrasco, Kit Sun Cheah, Paul Clayton, Travis J.I. Corcoran, Lucca Dejardins, Jon del Arroz, Declan Finn, Marina Fontaine, Milo James Fowler, A.M. Freeman, Jake Freivald, Adam Furman, Dennis Garcia, Leonard Getz, Peter Grant, Steve Griffiths, Paul Hair, David Hallquist, Eric M. Hamilton, M. Anthony Harris, Harry Harrison, Julian Hawthorne, Frederick Heimbach, Alexander Hellene, Robert E. Howard, Daniel Humphreys, C.S. Johnson, Becky R. Jones, Michael R. Kayser, Joseph Knowles, Robert Kroese, L. Jagi Lamplighter, Moe Lane, Christopher Lansdown, N.R. LaPoint, Frank B. Luke, Robert A Lupton, Loretta Malakie, T.J. Marquis, Russell May, Yakov Merkin, Connor Mccoy, Plum McCauley, Jack Mikkelson, Jonathan Moeller, Neovictorian, Brian Niemeier, Richard Nichols, Andre Norton, Christopher G. Nuttall, John M. Olsen, Chance Paladin, Julie Pascal, Richard Paolinelli, Iris Paustian, George Phillies, P.A. Piatt, Francis Porretto, Justin Robinson, J. Trevor Robinson, Matthew W. Quinn, Hans G. Schantz, Thomas Sewell, Richard Sezov, E.E. “Doc” Smith, R.H. Snow, Steve Stinson, John Taloni, Michael Tierney, Kevin Trainor, Kalkin Trivedi, Henry Vogel, Erik Waag, David J. West, H.G. Wells, Benjamin Wheeler, Ryan Williamson, Christopher Wilson, Dawn Witzke, Fenton Wood, and John C. Wright.

And the sale has new works from these authors: Tony Andarian, J.M. Anjewierden, D.S. Blake, Graham Bradley, Henry Brown, R.J. Burle, C.J. Carella, J.D. Cowan, C.M. Craig, Richard Davis, Mel Dunay, Jeff Dunteman, Declan Finn, Milo James Fowler, Julie Frost, Karl K. Gallagher, Mark Goldblatt, Josh Griffing, M. Anthony Harris, Seth Hobbs, Rob Howell, Michael F. Kane, Joseph Kellogg, Chris Kennedy, L.S. King, Robert Kroese, L. Jagi Lamplighter, Frank B. Luke, TJ Marquis, Russell May, Christopher Menkhaus, Diana Murray, Ron Nielsen, M.A. Nilles, Melanie Nilles, John M. Olsen, Chance Paladin, S.Kirk Pierzchala, George Phillies, Thomas Plutarch, Francis Porretto, James Pyles, Alexander Robb, David Rowlett, Denton Salle, Steve Stark, K Steele, Kevin Steverson, James R. Strickland, Donald Jacob Uitvlugt, S.C. Vincent, Allison Wade, Matt Waterhouse, Thomas J. Weiss, David J. West, Ryan Williamson, Marisa Wolf, John C. Wright, and Page Zaplendam.

Email has become unreliable. For instance, if I send an update to the fifty or so of my authors who use GMail, GMail assumes I’m a spammer and blocks the message. 

The next sale is tentatively scheduled for: (LibertyCon) Wednesday, June 19, 2024, 12:00 AM PDT through Wednesday, June 26, 2024, 12:00 AM PDT. The best way to keep in the loop is to follow me online or at one of the author groups I’m in:

• Telegram: 𝔸𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕫𝕒𝕣'𝕤 𝔸𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕞 http://t.me/aetherstream 

• Gab: @aetherczar https://gab.com/aetherczar 

• Twitter: @aetherczar https://twitter.com/AetherCzar 

• Wise of Heart Substack: https://wiseofheart.substack.com/ 

• Facebook (Write of Center Authors): https://www.facebook.com/groups/writeofcenter 

• Facebook (CLFA Group): https://www.facebook.com/groups/CLFAgroup 

The sale has grown so big, I’m going to have to evolve my processes to deal with it. But I’ll make announcements through my social media and in the Facebook groups.

JSSFR: Good to know. Tell everyone where they can find the sale.  Drop a link. 

HGS: Right here: https://aetherczar.com/black-friday-cyber-monday-based-book-sale-starts-soon/ The sale runs through Tuesday November 28.

JSFFR: Thanks! Last question, and I ask this of everyone I interview: What question should I have asked that I didn’t, and how would you answer it?

HGS: I’ll take the opportunity to discuss my current project. I’m serializing Fields & Energy: How Electromagnetism and Quantum Mechanics Work and Where Physics Went Wrong. At a separate Substack: https://aetherczar.substack.com/ If you’re interested in a novel take on electromagnetism and how it works, check it out.

JSFFR: Awesome. Thanks for spending some time with us! It’s been an honor having you. Let me know next time you have a sale I can help promote it again. Stop by again sometime. You're always welcome at Jimbo's.

Check Out This Trailer

Wow. So Mr. Never Intentionally Watches a Trailer Twice (that being your friendly neighborhood blogger) can't get enough of this one. Seriously. It's weird, too because I can't stop myself from watching it. Anyway, enjoy!

Seriously, that's the whole post. I'm just posting a link to a trailer from a movie that I'm totally excited to see that's a sequel from a franchise that I love. I'm not going to point out that this trailer makes its movie look exciting. I'm totes going to keep silent about the fact that it focuses on story. I won't even point out that it shows characters that we all know and care about. I'm going to shut my mouth about all of that.

I won't rub it in your face that this is one of the very few sequels of movies that had decades between releases that was actually worth watching. I won't mention that Ghostbusters: Afterlife was also a very good movie or that I reviewed it on this very blog. I would never do anything like that because, let's face it, that would be taking your attention away from a damn fine trailer.

So go back up there and watch the trailer. 

Huh?

You watched it before you wrote this? Watch it again.

Because, let's face it, Hollyweird doesn't really care about providing quality entertainment anymore and it's becoming increasing rare to see a decent movie anymore. Their product is full of angst, whining and post-modern claptrap. They've become so obsessed with subverting norms that it is the norm what is subversive now. They think they're clever, but they're not.

So I'll leave you alone and ride off into the sunset, content with a job well done. Peace and love to all.

Some Ghostbusters related merchandise can be found below. If you click a link and purchase literally anything from Amazon I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

Hints for Hollywood

Usually, when I need help with something, I will look at someone nearby and say, "Help your boy out." Their boy being, of course, me. This time, however, I'm going to take a different tack. This is me looking at the writers, producers and businessmen in Hollyweird and saying, "Let your boy help you out." Seriously, I'm going to list a few simple rules below to help these yahoos succeed with all of these reboots, remakes and "you waited how long to release a" sequels so that they'll stop failing. I'm not going to tear anyone's particular product apart. I'll simply ask how often big budget Science Fiction and Fantasy movies have succeeded since Avengers: Endgame hit, and how often they've failed. 

It's not burnout folks. The problem is the industry itself. You have sucked the life out of your own product. Most of these will also apply to totally new universes as well, if the current crop of cowards actually decides to show enough courage to make something that hasn't already been made. I'd actually like to see it, even if that's not the same thing as expecting to.

1.) Make a Quality Product

This should go without saying, but unfortunately, it does not. I've seen to many big budget special effects masterpieces with scripts that feel like they were written by amateurs the last few years. Story is important. Acting is important. When Star Trek: The Original Series was in development, the producers teamed up with the writers to invent the transporter. It was a cost saving measure. Instead of doing expensive stop motion landing sequences every time they came to a planet, they could throw glitter in the air and voila! They were on the planet. What made Trek work was a good story week after week (with the exception of "Spock's Brain." There's no defending that mess.) and not an expensive effects department. A good enough story will make your audience fail to notice that you didn't include tens of millions of dollars of CGI. Seriously. 

Poor writing killed the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Seriously, I just finished watching The Secrets of Dumbledore for the first time. It's the best written of the Fantastic Beasts movie, but that's a lot like saying it was the best idea that Dr. Doofenshmirtz ever had. Poor writing murdered The Flash. That movie had massive potential before it went face first into a wall at near light speed. I could provide more examples but you should get the idea by now.

This is important because...

2.) Fans of the Franchise are Under No Obligation To Support Your Product If It Sucks.

This sounds harsh, I know, but it's true. I placed the trailer for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire above because I'm a believer in what's coming. Ghostbusters: Afterlife convinced me that the people in charge of the current iteration of the Ghostbusters franchise know what they're doing.  Afterlife was a terrific movie. The plot made sense. The characters were entertaining. We all cared about the outcome. They brought back some fan favorites and gave us new people to care about.  It was amazingly done. I've seen it several times and will watch it again.

Keep this in mind: The fans don't owe you continued success. You owe us. You need us. We're the people who have bought the tickets, watched the TV shows and bought the merchandise. Without us, there's no you. Without you, we'd find something else to spend our time and money on. 

3.)  Leave the Characters That Exist Substantially As You Found Them.

No, this does not mean you can't have a female, black, brown, transexual, gay, bisexual, asexual, whatever else character. It does mean to leave existing characters alone. Seriously. I'm convinced that at least part of what killed the last Star Trek movie was that there were rumors that they were going to give us a gay Sulu. Does that mean Trek fans won't support a product with a gay character? Not at all. Star Trek Discovery has a gay couple and it has a fifth season about to start in a few months. But, and this is the key: They were new characters. Changing a fundamental part of a character to meet your political agenda is an insult to the people who have spent years of their lives and thousands of their dollars supporting the character the way they've always existed. George Takei agrees and he's married to another man.

So, it's simple: 

4.) Include Diverse Character(s) if You Like, But Make New Character(s) to Do So.

This is also known as doing your job. Any good writer can conceive of a new character. Creating characters that the audience cares about is the be-all end-all of a writer. So, if you want a transsexual minority member of the bridge crew in Star Trek make one. If you need a love affair between two male Stormtroopers, just make sure that Finn isn't one of them. If you want a war movie with female soldiers...

Ok, Starship Troopers did that and did it well. It has a cult following and a slew of sequels decades later. So do your thing. We'll pay for it if it's done right.

Well, most of us. There will be some whiners who take their ball and go home. Of course, there will be some whiners who will take their ball and go home if you DON'T include that diverse character. The middle road to attract the most fans (while acknowledging that you'll never make everyone happy) is to follow my advice. You'll offend the least amount of people on both sides and sell the most tickets/draw the highest ratings by doing things my way. And by the way...

5.) Make All of Your Characters Including, But Not Limited to, Diverse Characters Relevant to the Story.

In his book I am Spock, published in 1995, Leonard Nimoy states that he wouldn't do Star Trek: Generations because the Spock character served no purpose in the story. When he decided not to do the movie, Deforest Kelley decided he wouldn't either and that's why Generations was minus two of the most important characters from ST:TOS. This is a valid point. If the character is there, have them do something that matters to the plot. Seriously. 

I've heard a lot of complaints about the Rose Tico character in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Despite claims to the contrary, this is not because no one wanted an Asian in Star Wars. No one had a problem with minority characters before Rose Tico. Lando Calrissian has been a popular character since Empire. The problem is, and always has been, that she added nothing by being there. She was there simply for the color of her skin.

And listen folks, I don't know why minorities would accept this, either. Are you so easily led as to accept the insult give to you when someone includes a character that looks like you and won't find an actual spot for them in the story that matters? I mean, I guess showing a marginalized minority with a marginalized character is somehow reflective of the real world, but why would you not demand better? Seriously, if you believe in stuffing irrelevant characters into stories just to show off their minority-ness without mattering, please explain that to me below because to me demanding that minorities be including as no account characters strikes me as being more racist than not including them at all.

6.) Don't Market Exclusively to a Woke Crowd

I'm also convinced that Donald Glover lost a big chunk of his audience by proclaiming the Lando character as being pansexual. I don't even think it's a problem with pansexual characters for most of the people who refused to see the movie. Here's the thing that a lot of people don't realize: There are many of us out there (and yes, I am including myself here specifically) who see your bragging about the diversity of your characters as admitting that your script sucks. Yes, I did say that.

If you want to sell your product to both sides and maximize profits, you need to spend your time bragging about how good your product is and not how diverse you are. People will pay to see your dark-skinned and/or LGBT characters. Black Panther and Brokeback Mountain both made money. Here's the thing, though: When the people who marketed the movies wrote the advertising they talked about how good the movie was instead of focusing on demographics.

That's not to say that people didn't notice. Black schools took black kids to see Black Panther, but there were plenty of white/Asian/Middle Eastern/etc. people that saw the movie because they expected to enjoy the experience. There is a lesson to be learned here if you are willing to pay attention. 

It's weird too, because I've never heard a woke person complain about a story being too good. They don't seem to be offended by good scripts or good acting. Sell your product based on its quality and not on skin color and genitalia and you'll do much better. You're never going to force a non-woke person to see your movie by screaming something ending in -ist or -phobe if they don't. I can't put it more simply than that.

I'll take this a step further: I'm a Christian. I like Christian movies. I own a couple of Bibles and have given some as gifts. I know, having seen it happen, that there are many other Christians out there who consume Christian entertainment. But here's the thing: There is no way that I would make a blockbuster style Christian movie with a budget comparable to those of the latest few superhero movies. Why? Because I would know that I'm limiting my audience and I wouldn't make my money back. Too much of the population would turn their backs against it because of its Christian message. Touting your wokeness works the same way. You can expect the same results.

And that's really it. Follow those rules and it's bound to get better. If your creators won't follow the rules, get new ones. I can recommend plenty of people who know how to write. I've been publishing reviews for almost nine years now. (Actually about eight years and nine months for you pedantic types.) I can point you in the right direction and I'm willing to do so for a modest finder's fee to be negotiated later.

TS Ransdell's The Last Marine: Book Three

You know guys, not much that I read honestly scares me. I mean, I've read more nightmare images of combat than I care to count. And the depiction of nightmare creatures like vampires and zombies is something I've enjoyed over and over again. Still and all, no dragon, no demon, no fireball casting wizard, no flesh eating zombie or crazed alien hits as hard as this TS Ransdell's The Last Marine: Book Three. This is the kind of book that will keep me awake at night. 

See, the thing about The Last Marine, both as a series in general and when dealing with the third book in particular, is that it's exceedingly possible. This is a story of the American government turning on the American people. It is a story of a so-called "liberal" government that forces its agenda down the throats of the people it supposedly serves. It is the story of  a population that believes what it is told and that everything its government is doing is for the greater good. In book three, the government has seized majority control of the narrative both online and on television in the form of the Office of Balanced Media. 

This is a story of government run amok. It is the story of patriotism being branded as extremism, former and retired members of the military being branded as security threats and children taken from the homes of parents who believe in freedom. It is, in short, the story of what the United States turns into if the extreme left gets their way.

What makes Book Three (and please allow me to voice my wish that the books had more creative titles, but that's all there is.) different from the first two is they were based heavily on recollections and flashback. The primary subject of those books was the Sino-American War (which obviously hasn't happened in the real world) and the way the American government turned its back on its own veterans. They were horrifying and indicative of a particular worldview (which I happen to share, for what it's worth.) but removed in a way from the concerns of the average American. Not so, Book Three.

Book Three is a story that takes place in rural Arizona. Many of the main characters are, themselves, veterans, but most of the side characters are not. The effects on the man in the street are obvious. So are the effects on their children and spouses. In the world of The Last Marine no American goes unaffected. Most suffer. Some profit, especially those with government connections. At the end of the day though, freedom suffers.

Ransdell's Amazon bio states that he has an MA in History. I believe it. I wonder if, and how closely, he has studied Erich Fromm's Escape From Freedom. I would guess that he's studied it quite closely, given how closely The Last Marine follows Fromm's thesis: That true freedom comes from freedom to (freedom to speak one's mind, own a gun, conduct one's business with a minimum of government interference) as opposed to freedom from (freedom from hunger, from medical bills, from offensive speech, from global warming, from exploitation by the rich, etc.)

There's more to the book than just the politics of course. The characters in The Last Marine are all easily believable and that just makes it more haunting. Whether it was a corrupt government official, a non-corrupt government official who turns a blind-eye to what's going on around them because they believe the party line, the military veteran who can see it for what it is and refuses to get up, or just some common person who is swept up in the insanity around them, it was easy to get into the mind frame and come to grips with the point of view of the character I was reading. 

The action sequences are well written and exciting. Ransdell is a veteran of both Desert Shield and Desert Storm. I was unable to determine whether or not he ever saw actual combat but, based on the way his action scenes read and how easily things go wrong for the aggressor, I wouldn't be surprised if he had. Either way, things moved quickly and held my attention well. Ransdell is a bit graphic at times, but it's combat and it needs to be graphic. This is not a Berenstain Bears book, it is the tale of a war.

Just in case I haven't made it obvious enough (and Lord knows I've tried.) Ransdell's worldbuilding is amazingly well done. The United States he has constructed feels like it exists. The characters live and breathe, but so does the setting. Ransdell placed the vast majority of Book 3 in rural Arizona. This makes sense as his bio indicates that he's from Arizona, so he knows the place well, but it's more than just getting the details right. The Last Marine is a truly immersive experience. I've never been to Arizona, but I almost feel like I've driven those streets and eaten in those homes. 

The rise of FedAPS, the Federal Agency of Public Safety is, in many ways, reflective of the rise of the SS in Nazi Germany. Scarily, it's also not that far off from the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in the United States that actually exists. The majority of people in pretty much any time and place will accept the creation of a government entity if they believe that it is meant to protect them from a threat. What that threat looks like changes based on time and place, but the basic drive does not. Mission creep (the Office of Balanced Media is part of FedAPS, as is CSS, the national department of Child Safety Services) is something that exists in the United States now and has since...

Well...

Uhh...

I'm honestly not sure when it started, but we've got it now and it's been around a lot longer than I have. 

Anyway, it's a concept that has a place in any realistic depiction of the US government, and realism is what makes this series so creepy. 

Ransdell has not released any information about whether or not there is another book coming, but there better be. The fight is just getting started. There is a long way to go and it looks like the rebellion is just getting started, assuming FedAPS doesn't snuff it out. And, while it's small enough that the rebellion could fail, I don't think Ransdell would do that to his series or his fans. I'm waiting for the next book (im)patiently. We'll see where he takes it from here.

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Head of Stolen Cattle

The Last Marine: Book Three
TS Ransdell
Self-Published, 2022

The Last Marine: Book Three is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and purchase literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.