Project Black Book

The Series

Premise

The universe is filled with life, most of which is human. Human-dwelling parasites called Kemtewet, however, hold the majority of power. Their physically similar enemies, the Gertewet, have fought them since their rise to power millennia ago, but their numbers are failing. If the Gertewet want to win the war and free humans to rule themselves, they must succeed in the next two hundred years before their entire race becomes extinct.

The Kemtewet have ignored Earth throughout their entire reign, but now that the Air Force has found its way off-world, the Kemtewet notice a jewel of a new planet to add to the Empire. Not only is Earth full of ideal hosts, perfect slaves, and pre-mined resources, but it also shelters one of their elusive and troublesome enemies.

To Be

First book of the Ally Duology, featuring Sarah, Vinnet, and Rockefeller

Fourteen-year-old Sarah Anderson initially thought that being kidnapped by aliens saved her from mountains of homework. Only when she returns home with an alien symbiote nestled in her brain does she realize how wrong she was.

To Be News

02/2011: I signed up to spend the semester rewriting To Be. Looks like it's going to be a lot more work than I planned, so all prayers for studiousness in the midst of that and Aero Design are greatly appreciated. In looking ahead to this revision, I cut out 26,000 words and am working hard to put some back in... Or at least, I was until this past week. We'll see how it goes from there. The themes are getting strengthened, and whereas focus on certain characters was pretty scattered in previous drafts, Sarah and Stokley (and maybe Rockefeller, too) are getting emphasized a little more, to the benefit of the book's coherence. I hope to finish the next draft by the beginning of summer if I'm lucky and by the end of summer if I find a co-op. I'll keep no writing commitments if I go back to camp.

08/2009: First draft done at 56,800 words. Somehow, working 60-hour weeks kick-starts my muse. The editing process looks like it should take a while, but who knows? Second draft should go out to betas before January.

To Be should answer:

1. What are tewet?
2. Where did they come from?
3. Where does their technology come from?
4. In light of US interventionalist policies, how does the US respond to tewet?

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Reeses/Heart of Gold

Second book of the Ally Duology, featuring Sarah/Vinnet, Lauren Krege, Jenn, Chryson, and Matt.

The Gertewet find a great resource in their alliance with the USAF, despite Rockefeller's continued misgivings. As Katorin suspected, the US has plenty of volunteers for hosts, but the arrangement doesn't always work out the way either party planned.

Reeses/HOG News

2/2011: From August of 2009 to July of 2010: 89,000 words in eleven months! It's a rough first draft but much more enticing than the first drafts of To Be. That bodes well. As soon as I polish up a couple of the hosts and emphasize the kinks in Jenn and Chryson's relationship, plus the usual smattering of visual details, this book is going to rock! Give me another year at least.

9/4/09: 2000 words, two and a half scenes. Apparently off to too good of a start.

8-09: While I'm still editing To Be, I'm starting to work on developing new plots for this. It's kind of flat right now. Not enough fluff/tensions, though (God bless her) Ella is providing marvelous food for thought. (She's good at it.) Any ideas or thoughts or concerns can go directly into my e-mail inbox. Kthxbye.