So as I am ever so slowly advancing towards publishing the 'Different Skies collection I thought it was time to post about what's actually in it in and because I'm an orderly sort I'll start with the first story; 'Changing Times'.
Picture a world where spaceflight advanced more rapidly than it did in ours; the first satellite is launched in 1949 not 1957, the first man in space flies in 1954 rather than 1961 and somewhere in the 60s the US has built a 'wheel' type space station. This is the world in which Changing times is set and the story is about the point at which it diverged from our own.
Not going to give away the details but essentially it comes down to one act of journalistic stupidity that happened in our world and doesn't in the Changing Times world. We are talking about an 'epic fail' on the part of one writer (who fortunately for their reputation penned the article in question anonymously). How bad could it be? Well consider such infamous headlines as 'Dewey beats Truman' and 'Titanic sinks; passengers saved'; my chosen 'point of departure' is in my opinion far worse and far less forgiveable as a mistake in the heat of the moment.
The 'fail' may have annoyed and perplexed me on occasion but the story itself is a wistful homage to what might have been; or at least that's how I see it, if you want to find out for yourself? Well then I'm planning to publish Different Skies at the end of June... :)
A blog about writing; my own and other people's. Whether it's books, TV, or movies, I'm interested in the mechanics of writing and the pitfalls that face the unwary.
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