Today
there has been a Science Fiction invasion by my good buddy Jeffery
Goff and his upcoming novel Hope 239. As Jeffery is a writer, I think
we can let him drive the bus, giving us insight in to his story.
Hope
239 blurb:
Year
239 is the beginning of the final stages of Hope’s one-way voyage.
For over two centuries Hope has been traveling through space to reach
its destination: the ten habitable planets of the Hope System.
Generations have lived and died without ever knowing they were inside
of a spaceship.
Captain Sterris, who has occupied her command chair for thirty-eight years, ventures into the taboo realm of questioning. She wonders what they are really doing on Hope and why, along with bigger questions of who are they and where they came from.
As the final phase commences and the questions mount, Captain Sterris confronts the terrifying possibility that someone has planned a devastating end for her ship and its crew. Through an unlikely alliance with Dr. Mahmud, Hope’s Chief Medical Representative, and the inquisitiveness of two youngsters in the Leadership Corps, Sterris discovers her fears are shared by others.
Among the tens of thousands of people on Hope, there are only a very few who suspect things are not the way they’ve been taught to believe. And these few need to figure out how to override the preprogrammed plan of destruction before it is too late.
Captain Sterris, who has occupied her command chair for thirty-eight years, ventures into the taboo realm of questioning. She wonders what they are really doing on Hope and why, along with bigger questions of who are they and where they came from.
As the final phase commences and the questions mount, Captain Sterris confronts the terrifying possibility that someone has planned a devastating end for her ship and its crew. Through an unlikely alliance with Dr. Mahmud, Hope’s Chief Medical Representative, and the inquisitiveness of two youngsters in the Leadership Corps, Sterris discovers her fears are shared by others.
Among the tens of thousands of people on Hope, there are only a very few who suspect things are not the way they’ve been taught to believe. And these few need to figure out how to override the preprogrammed plan of destruction before it is too late.
Tell us how this story came about
Hope
239
Two
years ago I began writing an historical horror tale set in a creepy
dance pavilion built a half-mile into the Great Salt Lake. The actual
building, called Saltair, was built in the 1890’s and looked like
it had been picked up from somewhere in the Ottoman Empire,
transported thousands of miles, and then dropped into the Great Salt
Lake. One could only reach it by taking a train across the long
trestle a few feet above the salty water. The Great Salt Lake isn’t
very deep, even out in the middle, so constructing a building a
half-mile from shore isn’t as daunting a task as it might initially
sound. Hell, back in the day, the Southern Pacific Railroad built a
bridge all the way across it. This first pavilion mysteriously burned
down in 1925; however, it was quickly replaced by a new larger,
grander structure. Saltair II, as it was called, shut down around
1960, but if anyone has seen the old movie “Carnival of Souls”
then you are familiar with the building and the setting I was writing
about. Anyway, I was well into this project, when a different voice,
from a different place, in an entirely different genre started
whispering in my ear.
Hearing
voices is nothing new (being a fiction writer, I’m quite accustomed
to an assortment of the disembodied begging for attention). In this
particular case, the female voice was a persistent one. I was able to
ignore her for a few weeks. But it was a losing battle. So I decided
a little appeasement was in order. I wrote a short story, thinking
she would drift away, happy to have a few thousand words of her own.
She
proved to be a stubborn individual. Those words turned a nebulous
voice into a solid one. Before I knew what I was doing, I had
backtracked 13 years in story-time, and was hard at work telling her
tale in more detail, from a much earlier point-of-view. Over the
course of my musings, scribblings, rewrites, and revisions, the plot
of the original story was obliterated, but the spirit remained. It
became a key component of what is now Hope
239.
In
the strange, unpredictable life of a fiction author, I went from
writing a horror story with a historical setting to creating a sci-fi
world built around a generational arkship (named Hope),
set some three hundred fifty years into the future. Some time ago I
learned to not fight where my imagination wants to go, though, at
times, I am still a bit resistant. However, I am pleased with how
this novel came out and I’m looking forward to continuing the story
of all those voices (and believe me there are many more clamoring to
be heard). And yes, I still have the historical horror to return to
one day. Until then, Hope
and its crew and “passengers” will have the lead.
 |
| I don't care what Lincoln thinks, I root for the Pirates! |
A bit of background on Jeffery
Jeffrey
was born in the Salt Lake Valley in 1971. The earliest writing he
remembers composing is a Bugs Bunny fan-fic from the late-70’s.
Needless to say, Chuck Jones never used that particular story.
Jeffrey spent some time at Westminster College of Salt Lake City,
with an idea of becoming a history professor. Alas, life had a
different idea in mind. He spent a decade bartending and bouncing,
before rediscovering that early love of writing. While he has no
immediate plans for writing another piece about Bugs, he has never
said he wouldn’t. One never knows what the next creative
inspiration might be. Hope
239 is his first
novel. He still lives in the Salt Lake Valley, with his inseparable
German shepherd, Bismarck, snuggled close to his feet. He’s an avid
reader of all genres, gardener, and unfailing supporter of the
Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Red Wings.
Got
some Bugs Bunny Fan-fic that Jeffery needs to know about?
Think
the Pirates stink, again?
Want
to ask more about Hope 239?
Links:
For
Hope
239:
http://widopublishing.com/hope-239-by-jeffrey-goff/
also available on Amazon (paperback and Kindle) and from your local
bookstore
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/jd_goff
Now
before anyone asks, yes, I will be buying a copy of Hope 239.
I
support Indie authors. They work hard to give us a good story.
You
should do the same.
Final
work has begun on The Soulless Monk. It should be ready by late
August. More danger, more monsters, and more madness. In the middle,
Brother Sebastian, who is in trouble and not just from the powers of
darkness.
In
the mean time, Junior Inquisitor is already available at the low
price of just 2.99
Smashwords
- http://goo.gl/XsGgAC
Nook
- http://goo.gl/MVLXia
Google
Play - http://goo.gl/g2kNPa
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