First and foremost, I am NOT a Science-fiction writer! But my longtime friend Chuck Neighbors is!
I’ve known Chuck for over thirty years, and our families have grown together. I first met Chuck when I was assigned as an Army officer to the War Room of the old US Atlantic Command in Norfolk Virginia. During Operation GITMO I needed an experienced naval logistician on staff in the War Room to coordinate the operations at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba during the Haitian mass migration and someone recommended Commander Chuck Neighbors to fill the bill. Chuck was a Naval Reserve officer, and I was able to get him assigned as my assistant in the War Room.
After my retirement Chuck was promoted to Captain (O-6) in the naval reserve. When he retired, he decided to try his hand at writing and in the process, he wrote two excellent books and had a fabulous outline for a third. Thus, was born the Katy Sterling Saga. Chuck had never contemplated publication of his works.
A few years ago, Chuck suffered a debilitating stroke; we made a trip to the Nashville area to check up on him. I took a couple of my recently self-published books for him to read. During our visit Chuck told me all about his two books; he and his wife asked me to see if we could get them published and I agreed. But they needed some editing, and they asked me to assist in the process.
The only real contributions that I made were in adding some personal and local color to the characters and settings. I also created an ending that might inspire a reader to read the second book in the saga. We also had to determine a title for the first book, and we selected “Destiny” since it was the name of Katy Sterling’s home planet.
The books are set in the 26th century. Chuck didn’t want to bother his readers with in-depth scientific details so he writes in a way that the average reader can accept that things like faster-than-light travel exist. The reader isn’t required to understand the scientific principles that affect such a claim. He posits that space travel exists; other exoplanets exist in the solar system that are capable of supporting earthlings. He posits that old earth has become overpopulated and that the human species has moved to other planets.
What I found to be extremely interesting was that the hero of the novels is a young woman, not the muscle-bound space hero that most of the genre envisions as the space conqueror. Katy Sterling is a young country girl who is thrust into a totally different world when she leaves her simple village and enters the Planet Destiny Naval Academy.
Her military exploits are quite believable. Katy is just one of those people that happens to be in the right place at the right time. She had a knack for being able to react to dangerous situations and as a result becomes a hero to her planet. She saves her spaceship from destruction through her quick thinking and reactions to dangerous situations. She is thrust into situations while serving with the Destiny Marine Corps and as a result saves planets from destruction by rebels and marauding mercenaries and pirates. She sets out on a quest to end the scourge of interplanetary pirates and mercenary gangs with the hope of recovering her long lost sisters.
Katy is a natural leader and remarkably so at such a young age. By age twenty-five she is one of the most decorated members of the Destiny military.
The book’s romantic interludes are well written. This is a coming-of-age story in many ways. Chuck is definitely ‘old-school’ and the romantic scenes are in keeping with an older style of writing. You might suspect what is happening, but the doors are shut, and the shades are drawn! There may be a lot of blushing and innuendo, but none of the traditional rawness of the genre are present. His books are suitable for a mid-to-late teen reader as well as adults.
The planet Destiny was settled over five hundred years ago by 100 families who established the colony. These families became the rulers of their own massive land estates; the titleholder of these estates became the Lords of the realm with each family holding a seat in the planetary Senate. After a series of political struggles, the colonists are allowed to elect representatives to a “Peoples house” that controls the purse strings of the planet.
Katy Sterling is orphaned when space pirates attack her isolated farmstead, kill her brother and parents, and take her sisters into inter-stellar slavery. Katy, as the only survivor of the attack, is adopted by her Uncle Jock and lives on his farm until she is admitted to the Naval Academy.
At the Naval Academy she is introduced to her roommate, Lady Sandy RavensPeake, who happens to be the daughter and Heir to one of the enormous estates on the planet. Together they meet the challenges of first year midshipwomen and become lifelong friends.
Between each year of their academic studies midshipmen are assigned to naval spaceships to learn their craft in the Navy. During her midshipman cruises Katy excels and as a result of her extraordinary leadership, quick thinking and ‘blind luck’ becomes a highly decorated naval officer.
As I said, my part in the books was in doing some editing and adding some color to the characters. I’m an Army officer and not a member of the US Navy, a lot of the fictional ground-combat operations are expanded as a result of personal combat experiences. But we tried to stay true to Chuck’s original writings. I did have to make some adjustments to the last chapter prior to publication of “Destiny” because of the discovery of a second book “HomeFall”. There needed to be some adjustments to allow the reader to make the transition to the second book, although all three books stand alone.
Prior to the publication of the second book in the series, “HomeFall” Chuck informed me that he had an outline for a third book. His wife managed to locate it on one of his old computers. It was an excellent and detailed outline. I was able to again add some transition to a potential third book in the series as well as make some minor adjustments in the introductory chapter so that the reader could either transition from the first two books or be provided with an introductory setting to make this book stand alone as well.
Disaster struck. Chuck had a second stroke and what was started as a project to keep him mentally active turned into an impossible task. Chuck’s concentration and focus became jumbled, and he was unable to assist with the third book. Chuck’s wife asked me to complete the project for him since I knew the storyline, the characters and had his detailed outline. With her complete approval we completed the project. The third and ‘final’ book in the series “The Planet’s Revenge; The Katy Sterling Saga Continues” evolved.
Follow Katy’s Sterling’s adventures from that of a young, orphaned, farm girl to a galactic hero. From a rural ‘bumpkin’ to an elegant, cultured member of the planet’s elite as she becomes Katy Sterling, “Lady HomeFall”. From a young girl to a wonderful wife and mother. A hero to her galaxy, planet and family. Explorer the world of an exotic sensate creature, the Cat-hounds as well as Katy’s ever evolving relationship with Kevin, the cousin of her best friend, and Academy roommate, Sandy RavensPeake, heiress of the vast RavensPeake estates. Discover the intriguing story of uncovering the various assassination plots against Katy and how her quick thinking not only saves her life but how she uncovers the plots and the conspirators.
I think you will find this to be a wonderful series and well worth the time.
To order Chuck’s books go to my website: petetaylorauthor.com and find the listing of my published works. From the Science Fiction section, you can order directly from that page by going to Amazon.com. Chuck’s books are available in Kindle, Hard cover, and Paperback formats. All proceeds for the sale of the Katy Sterling series go to support the Neighbors family.
Next week a question: Who is the Most Hated Man in Clarksburg?
For more information visit my website: ptaylorvietnamadvisor.com
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