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Inkabout L. Darby Gibbs

Science Fiction & Fantasy author

time travel series

A Stab at a Self-interview: Question 7 ~ prequel to a series?

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 Would you consider writing a prequel for either of your series?

Actually, I do have a prequel in mind for the Standing Stone series. It would focus on the backstory of the Wielder Wain which is an important event that occurred 16 years prior to the first book in the series. The focus characters would be Mahre Pratter (Donnel) and Tran Pratter. My daughter has suggested that I should also write about the sinister sisters and the An Faire migration mythology which is 300 years earlier than the first book. They both intrigue me. I’ll let the ideas putter about awhile and see what comes to mind.

I don’t think I’ll be writing either anytime soon as I am currently drafting book 3 of the Standing Stone series, have murky beginnings for a book 4 in the series, have book 5 of the Students of Jump series waiting behind the door, along with a contemporary novel, an anthology of poems and another series sitting on the back burner.

So a quick answer to the question: Maybe, but breath holding is not advised.

Since this turned out to be a short post, I’ll mention my current activities. I have, as I said, started writing book 3. As added incentive to new readers, I reduced the price to 99 cents for The Sharded Boy, book 1 in the series (available at all major eBook retailers).

I am also considering setting up a mailing list which would probably be a monthly newsletter combining updates for both my series and anything newsy I want to include. I’m a newby in the process, so I need to do my homework before I make it available for signup. When and if I do, I’ll post the signup link here, on my Facebook page, at the end of each of my books, and perhaps on my Google and GoodReads accounts.

A Stab at a Self-interview: Question 5 ~ Students of Jump favorite character

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Who is one of your favorite characters from the Students of Jump series?

That depends on what you mean by character. Human character: I would say Mick Jenkins from books 1, 2 and 3. Non-human character: Puff from book 4.

Mick Jenkins: I really like Mick because he is a good mix of the tough old bird that won’t take anything from anybody and the kind fellow with a soft spot for those he cares about. (I always imagined he looked like Brian Dennehy. His face always came to mind when I thought of Mick.)

Image result for brian dennehy movies
Brian Dennehy was the inspiration  f or Mick Jenkins

Mick is used to being the boss, running the show, the guy with the last say. At the same time, he pays attention to people, and he has serious limitations that keep him from doing the things he wants to do, so when someone else is facing terrible loss or feeling frozen with uncertainty, Mick can sympathize. But he doesn’t approach the issue soft. He hits you where it hurts so that you know where the pain is coming from and can begin to figure out what will get you through it. And he’s not gentle with his own flaws either. He faces them head on. Mick and his better half, Emily, are the main characters in book 3, No-Time like the Present.

Puff – Book 4 ~ That’s the Trouble with Time

 
Puff: Well, that’s a critter of an entirely different type. Doesn’t everyone want that secret weapon, the seemingly innocuous thingamajig that in a tough moment can turn Doberman Pinscher on trouble when you most need it. That’s Puff. He’s a soft white frothy furred thing that can fly, squeak, cuddle and when needed tear the eyes and brain matter out of something with claws, high speed reflexes and no interest in asking questions.

In a sense, Puff is Mick in miniature and on split-second steroid injections. And he can hold your hair back in a mean French braid, which is what he does for his best human friend Sarrah Marsh.

A Stab at a Self-interview: Question 4 ~ next possible genre

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If your next book was not science fiction or fantasy what genre would it be in?

I’m a bit split on which it would be. I write quite a bit of poetry. I have the beginnings of a series of selections all based on pieces of heirloom china I have received from various family over the years. I also have about 18,000 words done on a contemporary women’s fiction about three best friends enjoying their retirement years. One of the ladies is fashioned after my mother, a very vibrant, dramatic woman who could walk into a room full of people and make them turn at once to see who brought the exuberance into the place. She passed away this past September and I really miss her.

I’m expecting that after I finish with the Standing Stone series and the fifth book in Students of Jump that I will probably get back working on the contemporary piece Joanie and Friends. It’s a standalone work. I would then move on to working on the collaboration series my husband and I are planning.

I am pretty much booked up on ideas for writing. Don’t have to worry about writer’s block for at least the next three years, assuming I am going to keep up my new pace of three books a year.

General plan (subject to change because life is not predictable)
Book 2 in Standing Stone (out June 2017)
Book 3 in Standing Stone (predicted out in September 2017)
Book 5 in Students of Jump (predicted out in Jan. 2018)
Book .5 in Standing Stone
Joanie and Friends
Maybe that china poetry collection would fit here
Book 1 in the Mantle Series

Of course, this ignores the fact that I have four books outlined for the Students of Jump series and another book or two wandering around the back of my mind for the Standing Stone series. Sometimes ideas leapfrog. For instance, The Sharded Boy was supposed to be a short story, but it blossomed into a book and then a series.

#genre
#writing
#series

A Stab at a Self-interview: Question 3 ~ a new series

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Do you have another series planned?

My husband and I have a time travel series planned. We will not be writing on it until the Standing Stone series is complete and the fifth book in the Students of Jump series is out.

It will be written for the New Adult market. Though I don’t want to get into the plotting aspects of the piece, we are thinking at this time it will involve four college students who find themselves pulled back in time after they rent a house together. At this time the location of their shift back in time will incorporate the Victorian or Elizabethan periods. Our research will determine the final decision.

In the mean time, Standing Stone book 3 is in process and Standing Stone book 2 will be ready for publication quite soon.