This week has seen the release of Corsairs, my brand-new sci-fi serial published exclusively through Amazon’s Kindle Vella program! And in this post, I’d like to tell you a little bit about how this came to be.
Even though I’ve been writing novels for the past fifteen years, that’s not how I got started in writing. What got me started was actually serialized fiction. Specifically, serialized fiction published in regular installments online.
My biggest reading influences when I was a kid were probably different from most novelists of my generation. I didn’t grow up reading Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings or Ender’s Game or any number of books many of my contemporaries are likely to cite as their influences.
For me, my biggest influence was comic books. And comics are historically a serialized medium.
So when I began experimenting with writing as a young kid, I mimed the kinds of stories and structure that I was most familiar with, which meant I wrote serials.
Unfortunately, the publishing market hadn’t yet caught up with my style. While there were some people experimenting with serials in publishing, there wasn’t really the mechanism to support it, so I had to transition into writing novels. I made an attempt to experiment with serials in the Kindle format (shoutout to my superhero series Vanguard), but the format and pricing scheme weren’t really suited for it. The few serial platforms that existed either provided no compensation, were invitation-only, or only catered to the romance genres (no disrespect to romance writers or fans, but that’s a genre I have neither the talent for nor the interest in).
Enter Kindle Vella. I’ve been watching this platform since it was announced and I’ve decided to finally dip my toes into the water.
Many years ago, I came up with the character of Elias Starr. I had the itch to do a pulpy, space opera story and this was the name that popped into my mind. I’d written about a quarter of a novel, tentatively titled Elias Starr and the Prometheus Engine, but it petered out.
Like most ideas, that character stuck with me. I always knew I wanted to do something with him and the idea of doing a space opera in the vein of Firefly and Cowboy Bebop really appealed to me. I just didn’t know when I’d really find the time to jump into it.
Kindle Vella has finally given me that opportunity. The concept has evolved a lot from what I originally wrote, and all of it for the better (I hope). And that’s how Corsairs was born. Here’s the description on Amazon:
Earth is gone and humanity has moved to the stars. In a galaxy where corporations are the new governments, the crew of the Corsair must find their own way to survive by taking on odd jobs–sometimes legal, and sometimes not so legal. Join Elias Starr and his crew on their adventures in a universe filled with space pirates, synthetic cultists, genetically engineered monstrosities, and more!
This serial has been a lot of fun to write so far. The first five episodes are now available on Kindle Vella, and you can read the first three for free. I’ll be publishing new episodes weekly for the time being.
But if you’re not into the serial format, then I’ve got you covered, too. Once the first season is complete, those episodes will be collected in a book available both in digital and print formats.
I hope you’ll give this format a try, though. I’m really enjoying it and would love to hear your feedback.