Authorpreneur Dashboard – Archer Swift
Eden, Dawn
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Fleeing an Earth inferno, thirty thousand humans landed on a terrifying yet beautiful planet, they named Eden, hoping to find a new start. Ten years later three hundred and sixty-seven survive; staving off the brutal, carnivorous creatures that prey on them, holding out against a formidable humanoid species known, initially, only as them, while facing insidious deceit and betrayal from within their own ranks. Wrestling through his own inner turmoil; plagued by the galling memories of Earth’s final hurrah, the death of his parents, and awakened feelings for a girl his best friend loves, shy seventeen-year-old Ristan Abel finds himself plunged into a cauldron of turmoil, treachery and treason. In trying to rescue a clan in chaos, he discovers the truth about his mortal enemies, and the human traitor allying with them to exterminate what’s left of mankind. And in the crucible, he finds himself and becomes a reluctant answer to mankind’s predicament. Welcome to planet Zika, named such by the planet’s native species, the Zikalic. A planet of stunning contrasts—unspeakable wonder and matchless horror—ruled by the monstrous Xakanic. Bent on annihilating the human race, the Head Chief of the Zikalic serves his own twisted agenda: to strengthen his rule over the bejewelled City of Zika. ‘Eden, Dawn’ is the first book in ‘The Chronicles of Paradise’ trilogy.
Book Bubbles from Eden, Dawn
Eden, Dawn's Earth
The Venus Syndrome is a worst-case doomsday scenario. A quick Google search spins out over 3.8 million hits on the topic. It has to do with a runaway greenhouse effect which results in the boiling away of the planet’s oceans. The name stems from the planet Venus that suffered, some speculate, this fate. The idea is simple. Rising planetary temperatures causes excessive evaporation of the Earth’s oceans, fomenting a global greenhouse that traps heat, leading to further increases in temperature. Eventually, so it is hypothesized, the temperatures begin to double on themselves and ultimately, it cooks the planet. Most credible scientists state the Venus Syndrome is unrealistic and point out that the Earth has swung through warm and cool periods throughout its history. We’re in a warm swing, and what scientists refer to as the “gain of positive feedback” is well below conditions required to boil away our oceans. My trilogy is not intended to promote fear or to predict some future destruction of the Earth. It’s a simple work of fiction, and I chose the Venus Syndrome simply because it’s as far-fetched as the Western world’s revisionism of the Mayan calendar and its supposed 2012 doomsday prediction.
Eden, Dawn's Heart
The dictionary defines identity as “the characteristics determining who a person is.” While I certainly won’t argue with that, I find it too simplistic. Too vague. Identity consists of four things: Whose you are, who you are, whom you do life with, and a sense of where you’re going. While certainly not a definition, I think it sheds far more light on the concept of identity. A common theme in YA literature is, of course, the protagonist’s coming of age. And at the heart of finding oneself, lies this issue of identity. We’re not victims of our upbringing, for example, nor are we machine churned by-products spat out, left to accept our fate. For every person who blames their crippled past, there is another who defies their handicaps, and through courageous choices, creates a brave new future. And herein lies the crux of the matter. As the butterfly finds the strength to fly only by wrestling free of its cocoon; we find ourselves only as we battle through our past disadvantages and present sanctions. And it’s in this crucible that young-adult fiction comes alive.
Eden, Dawn's Choices
Crafting a story involves moments of delightful inspiration and periods of agonising internal debate. Flying high, fresh from a spike of insight, an author can quickly plummet into a mental meltdown, crashing into a crucial decision, an at-the-fork-in-the-road choice in which he or she, hoping for longer-term gains, runs the risk of being misunderstood (or criticised) by readers for sacrificing a short-term thrill. My challenge here? Do I keep the reader in the dark and try to build the reader’s suspense around the murder—with either a “He’s dead? Who dunnit?” moment, or even better, a shock reveal: “Who’s dead? Boy, I didn’t see that coming!” surprise? Or do I use this event to rather show the protagonist’s anguish? (That is, the shock happens to the main character; the reader watches him squirm, and observes how he handles the pressure).
Eden, Dawn's Description
There are many tools to keep a story engaging and to keep a reader turning the pages—and most of them involve a degree of conflict. Whether it’s an internal conflict within the mind of the protagonist, or a clash of wills in a conversation, or a full-throttle action scene; without a measure of conflict, a chapter can feel shallow and lifeless. Without description, the story has no context. Too much description and you may as well depict the Mona Lisa as a landscape painting. Yes, the masters of literature could hold a reader with line upon line of description, but most readers tune out when faced with too many paragraphs of narrative clumped together. At best, some skip read (and run the risk of missing out on key information to the plot); at worst, some close the book … and don’t return. While the secret lies in bleeding description into scenes that involve conflict, there are times that description needs to be the focus itself—especially when you’ve thrust your characters into a new planet … and you want your readers to experience this new world.
Eden, Dawn's Flashbacks
Plunge your protagonist deep into trouble from the off, mess him up sideways from every angle, and don’t give him a whiff of relief. How does he respond? And more importantly, why does he respond the way he does? Herein lies the value of well-worked flashbacks and its lesser-spotted cousin, the flashforward. Books (and movies) that kick-off with some version of “Once upon a time” put me to sleep instantly; unless, of course, it’s a movie featuring a green ogre with a Scottish accent, and you know he’s irreverently going to tear strips off every fairytale you know. And there’s only one book that can start with the words, “In the beginning…” So unless you’re writing Holy Text, steer clear. A good flashback seamlessly introduces the reader to a past event, explaining the development of a pertinent character trait or flaw in the protagonist while providing necessary backstory.
Eden, Dawn's Love Quadrangle
In a recent, popular book newsletter, I saw an article ditching some regular features of YA lit, one of them being the love triangle. Now, don’t get me wrong, a mushy, wind-swept snog-fest that tries to make up for a poor plot and bland characters should be tossed overboard. And quickly. Those who’ve survived the teen, hormonal-fuelled hurricane are not particularly interested in being dragged back into the fury of the storm; those in the middle of the tempest cannot wait for safe harbour. Does she, or doesn’t she? He loves me, he loves me not? In small doses, this thundershower of emotional upheaval shines the flashlight on the turbulent realities that we face at this coming-of-age time of life. Ploughing through page after page after page of relational squall, ad nauseam? Who wants to end up seasick?! Shipwrecked? However, a young-adult fiction novel without the quandary of relationships is like a superhero without superpowers, a mystery book without a mystery, a thriller without the thriller. Unless your young protagonist is an android, or you’ve abandoned him on a distant planet with only a football for company, he’s going to face himself in the mirror of his feelings for others.
Eden, Dawn's Prologue
In the original draft of Eden, Dawn, I didn’t include a prologue. Unless an author has a good reason for a prologue, and gripping content to fill it with(!), a prologue can be meaningless. An unnecessary distraction, an attempt at being too clever. I’ve skipped over more prologues than I care to remember. Yet, I learnt once more that there’s truth in the statement: never say never. So, when my editor suggested carving out a part of the first chapter and turning it into a Prologue, my immediate reaction was, “Why? What for?” I can’t recall her reasons because, to be honest, none of them convinced me. However, I gave it a shot. After making the change, I let the dust settle in my mind and returned to the manuscript a day or two later. And I loved it! Why, I don’t know. It just seems to work. So, there’s a reason an author needs a good editor, and in my case, it helped me get over my aversion to the concept of a prologue.
