Epic

October 14, 2014 By Lee Stephen

The Dawn of Destiny Audiobook

After 4.5 long years, the Dawn of Destiny audiobook is finally available! The nearly ten-hour, eardrum-blasting album can be found on on CD Baby at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/leestephen.

Over thirty actors participated in this project, which includes a full soundtrack and sound effects. The aim was to put you there, and this puts you there. Thank you to everyone who waited so incredibly patiently for this album to be produced. The end result is something I think you’ll find truly special. Now snag some headphones crank up the volume! This beast of an audiobook is ready to roar.

Preview some clips from the audiobook below!

September 29, 2014 By Lee Stephen

TNBT Cast: Adam Gregory (Scott Remington)

Scott was five feet and eleven inches tall, with a body as toned as one would expect from a soldier fresh out of Philadelphia Academy. He was a handsome young man, or at least she thought so. And her opinion was the only one that mattered.

Want to know what this is about? Check out this blog entry!

Though the pace of these entries has slowed down (I view this as more of a long-term thing as opposed to a bunch of quick hits, just ’cause hey – it’s fun that way), but I wanted to be sure I got this one before the audiobook dropped. I teased this in the last entry, so those who have kept up should have known what was coming. Epic is not Epic without Scott Remington…and we have our Scott Remington.

I’m going to be honest and admit that I wasn’t even sure I’d cast Scott in this series. He’s hard because he’s Scott, the “face of the franchise,” so to speak. He’s also the reader. As people read the story, they’re reading Scott’s head, his thoughts, his transitions from one idea to the next. I had feared that he’d be far too personal a character to put an image to. I am exceedingly happy to say, I was wrong.

[stextbox id=”black” image=”null”]Excerpt from Epic 3: Hero

Beside Scott, Nicolai kissed his blood-encrusted dog tag—the one belonging to the man he’d presumably murdered. Scott would have been disgusted if he hadn’t grown used to it long ago. He looked sidelong at Svetlana. She would never have experienced anything like this before. This was a different situation than the one she’d been in previously with the Fourteenth. Now there were twice as many Nightmen in the unit, and they were ten times more radical than the Nightmen before them, Anatoly and Baranov. This new crew took totalitarianism to the extreme.

At that moment, Scott did something that surprised even himself—he gently squeezed the back of Svetlana’s neck. Unspoken reassurance. For a moment, he felt her tension release.

“Coming down hot!” Travis yelled from the cockpit.

Scott latched on his faceless helmet. It attached to the clamps of his armor. He stared through its interior view screen, where a transparent map of the church appeared. He watched as Svetlana removed her helmet briefly to pull an insulated layer of rubber over her head. The blond tips of her hair disappeared, and she slipped her helmet back on.

The Pariah’s inertia shifted. They were about to drop.[/stextbox]

I came across Adam Gregory, ironically, while looking to fill another role in this casting series. The moment I saw him, that search I was on (and I don’t even recall who it was for) came to a halt, and I said to myself, “That’s Scott – I’ve got to reach out to this guy.” He was extremely gracious about the concept of this casting series and was completely down with my tabbing him as Scott for this entry. Believe it or not, this all went down over a year ago! Just goes to show you how time flies.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking about Scott the character, because if you’re a fan of Epic, there’s nothing I can tell you that you don’t already know. If you’re not among the Epic faithful, all you need to know is that Scott Remington is the protagonist of this entire novel series. Not one of the protagonist. He is the protagonist. So putting a face to the name – even for imaginary purposes such as this one – is a really big deal. Without spoiling anything (and Epic fans just know this), Scott is a man of strong faith who has been to the depths of emotional hell and back, and who has a dark streak because of it. He describes himself in Dawn of Destiny as a “nice guy with a guy,” but I think we all know there’s a lot more to him than that. He’s a battle-scarred soldier with an inclination to take things over because, well, he can do it and you can’t. He’s a one-woman man who can’t seem to escape love-triangle-infused personal demons. In other words, he’s a very challenging cast. That I was able to ask for and receive Adam’s blessing for this is very, very meaningful. So I’m going to turn my focus for this entry on Adam himself, because he’s got some ridiculously cool things going on!

What most people who already know Adam will know him from is Bold and the Beautiful, where he played the role of Thomas Forrester for several years, and the CW’s adaptation of 90210, where he played Ty Collins. You can find ample information about those shows online, as they’re both ginormous and have massive, massive followings. But what I want to touch on in regards to Adam is something different that people may not know about – something called The Janus Project.

Adam Gregory is a bad, bad man.
(he’s actually not)

The Janus Project is listed as a psychological fantasy thriller, which is a category in and of itself that catches your eye. Off the top of my head, I can’t remember ever hearing a title listed as that sort of “genre” before, so it’s immediately intriguing. There’s a lot of info about how and where the film is being produced, and the tagline for the trailer, which you can see below, is pretty direct: The relationship of SHANE, an ex-special ops soldier, and LEXI, a gifted psychology student, is tested as supernatural forces threaten to transform reality as they know it. Targeted by this evil, an ancient secret society called The Vii, SHANE must overcome the trials of his past to embrace his true self and unlock his power.

You guys should know by now that I’m a big fan of being different and taking chances. That’s one of the allures of this project to me. It most decidedly looks different, and as far as independent films go, budgeting one for between $10-30M is a pretty big chance. So I have this one slated as one I’d like to see, however it ends up being distributed. I can say this with all certainty: I’ve seen a lot of independent films advertised, as I tend to run in those circles with moderate frequency. This is hands-down the highest-quality one I’ve seen, judging by the trailer and sheer size of the production. I almost don’t even want to call it independent, but it is what it is. The production value is definitely several steps up from what you’re likely accustomed to seeing in indie film. I don’t mean that as a slight in the least to other indie projects! This one just seems to have a truly titanic budget to work with.

There are other projects, of course, that Adam has either in the works or being released, such as Saints and Soldiers – the Void, which released about a month ago, all of which you can learn about by tracking Adam on IMDb or at his Twitter account here. What you’ll find (and it’s always refreshing to find this) is a normal guy doing the whole husband/daddy thing when he’s not busy on set. I can relate to him on a lot of these counts, as we both have toddlers at about the same age. You’ll find a lot of kid photos, and family-related tweets, which is always just nice and a reminder that people aren’t the roles they play. I’m so grateful that I was able to discover Adam and that he was kind enough to lend his likeness to Epic’s little casting series.

It’s getting those blessings that makes this casting series what it is – something above the norm of just sticking people’s photos on a blog entry. Hearing back from someone I contacted and hearing that they’re game for this just makes it special. Adam is a perfect Scott Remington, from his look, to his style, to who he is as an individual (he, like Scott, is a man of strong personal faith). It actually can get a little bit frustrating, as finding these spot-on actors and actresses just makes me want to start filming a movie! But that’s a good kind of frustrating. It’s the kind of frustrating that makes you want to push harder and reach further. Slowly but surely, we’re getting there.

Thank you, Adam, for your willingness to be a part of this. I’m excited to see what Janus has in store.

No more casting entries in the immediate future, folks, though I have some targets on my hit list! But there will be a kind of “Season 1 summary” entry coming up, just kind of recapping where this unique little set of entries is now. There will be more to come at some point!

Take care, people!

September 23, 2014 By Lee Stephen

Enemy When?

The question was posed to me today whether or not I’d get back to writing Enemy One now that the audiobook was completed and only waiting for release. The answer to that is an emphatic yes. I have a lot of ground to cover, and I want to cover it quickly. I wrote today for the first time in a very, very long time, managing to get in almost five hundred words in the span of a toddler’s 90-minute nap. Five hundred words may not seem like much, but five hundred words a day would duplicate TGB in less than a year. Not only do I not intend for E5 to be that long, I absolutely plan on writing more than five hundred words per day.

Five hundred words per day is my target minimum, and my target length for E5 is 120,000 words (in-between DOD and Hero). If I meet my minimum, E5 will be written in 240 days, assuming E5 is indeed 120k in length. For those curious, that puts E5’s finish date at May 21, 2015.

Don’t treat that as gospel. Just like on some days, my word count might be 3,000-5,000, there might be some weeks when writing anything at all is just not a possibility. Life never stops or slows down. If you don’t believe it, have a kid. But here’s the promise I want to make to you: I will work my tail off to get E5 finished as quickly as possible. I will never sacrifice quality for quantity, but quantity nonetheless is an area I’m putting more emphasis on now than ever before.

Enemy One has been a challenging experience, to say the absolute least. It may surprise some to know that I’ve already written about 100,000 words’ worth of the book, so there has been great effort taking place on my part to write Enemy One even though the fruit of that hasn’t materialized for the reader. You see, the problem with those 100,000 words is that, so far, they’ve only comprised of the first 10,000 words of the book. More has been deleted and rewritten in E5 than with any other book, bar none. I write, I realize it’s awful, I delete. I write, I realize it’s awful, I delete. The cycle has gone on and on since TGB‘s release. There have been a lot of factors to this. First and foremost, though I hate even bringing it up, getting cancer did a number on me mentally and emotionally. I just did not want to write Epic. Some might find it curious that I’ve actually written a few other projects during that same stretch of times, including the Xenonauts novella (Crimson Dagger) and a yet-unannounced project that is BIG. I can only offer this as an explanation: Epic is my heart. I can write other things rationally, methodically, like a job. But Epic has always come from deep within, and every time I reached deep within while dealing with cancer, I found sadness. I tried to write nonetheless, but the results were never good, and so they were deleted.

Enemy One follows TGB, and that in itself has been a huge problem. I knew what was going to happen in Enemy One to the point where it became boring to write, and when you’re writing while bored, the writing will be boring. I was going through the numbers. They do this, then they do this, then they do this, etc. etc. It wasn’t even Epic anymore. It was the same kind of self-published drivel I’ve fought my entire writing career to separate myself from. It would have sparked review headlines like, “Was this even written by the same author?” and I wouldn’t have been able to refute them at all. It was a predictable story that was just going through the motions. I can’t write something that I know will turn out like that.

You see, there comes a problem with planning too far ahead, because you become so familiar with the story, the writing becomes more a chore than a passion. It’s a catch-22, because without a plan, you literally have no idea where you’re going, and the story reflects that. I actually tried that, too, scrapping the plan entirely and just writing with no direction. It didn’t work. 10,000 words deleted (again). Just the same, the plan I had was no longer exciting me, so I wrote a new one. It’s the one I’m working through now, and it’s great. I’m not just saying that. It has many elements of my original vision for E5, but with much stronger foundations, convictions, and flat-out excitement. It was a fresh coat of paint that Enemy One desperately needed.

I do know where Epic is going. It isn’t a directionless tale with no ending in sight. The series has an ending (which I know) which will take place in either 7 or 8 books. I know what will happen, for the most part, in those books. I just don’t know if E7 will be enough to wrap everything up. I’ll see when I’m finishing E6. But it has a plan. I just try not to look at it too much.

So those are explanations and a general update about where E5 has been, is, and is going. This is kind of a crossroads for both the series and the Epic brand. You’ll know what I mean in time. Just know that things are getting back to good, this writer is trying hard, and there’s no reason to be anything other than optimistic about Epic’s future.

In the meantime, I’ll be posting about the progress I’m making. I want you in on this journey with me! I’ll never spoil things, but on occasion what I’m writing might spur a thought which I’ll share. I like to be interactive, and your interactions mean more than you’ll ever know. Thank you for bearing with me, thank you for always being an encouraging word, and thank you for being a part of Epic. You’re as big a part of it as Remmy himself.

I’ll post again soon!

-LS

September 17, 2014 By Lee Stephen

‘Dawn of Destiny’ Audiobook Coming Oct. 14th!

I am ecstatic to announce that after four-and-a-half years, the Dawn of Destiny audiobook officially has a release date! On October 14th, DOD will go live on CD Baby, iTunes, and Amazon under the vocal category of music album.

Because DOD is being uploaded as a music album as opposed to an audiobook, it will not be available on Audible. There are several reasons for this, one of which is that the file quality of Audible uploads is not up to par with the quality of the DOD production. Years were spent making sure the sound quality was top-notch, so it seems a slight to the consumer to have that quality reduced on the market. By going through CD Baby, the audio will be released as intended: with the absolutely highest quality. This actually makes purchasing the audiobook easier, as listeners would be able to purchase it the same way they’d purchase a release from their favorite band. DOD will still be available on Amazon, just not through their Audible platform.

I’m excited to talk more about this as the release draws nearer. Until then, enjoy the official launch trailer below!

September 18, 2013 By Lee Stephen

TNBT Cast: Danielle Larche (Tiffany Feathers)

The brown-eyed blonde, Tiffany Feathers, unzipped her flight suit. “You two are totally meant for each other,” she said, smirking. — The brown-eyed blonde, Tiffany Feathers, untied her ponytail. “You two are totally meant for each other,” she said, smirking.

Want to know what this is about? Check out this blog entry!

O.M.G.

(and yeah, that felt completely appropriate for an entry about Tiffany Feathers)

But seriously. OMG. The time span between my last TNBT entry and this one has just been ridiculous. For those who want the in-depth explanation as to why this took so long, go read my last entry right before this one titled, “A Difficult Year.” I’m not even going to give you the abridged version. This is Lee Stephen, movin’ on.

So yes, the wait has been long, but oh so worth it, as I’ve got three awesome entries in TNBT series lined up for everyone. And that lineup begins with Tiffany.

Tiffany, like all awesome characters, was an unexpected arrival. I’m just gonna be honest: she completely ripped the spotlight away from Catalina Shivers. Both characters made their arrival in Epic 4: The Glorious Becoming. Catalina was intended to be the star of this little dynamic duo, with Tiffany serving the role of fun-loving sidekick. Then one thing led to another, plot lines twisted and turned like they always do, and all of a sudden…well…a new blond fan favorite was born.

Tiffany entered Epic as a Vulture transport pilot fresh out of EDEN Academy. As a character, she defies the pilot stereotype. She’s not ice cold. She could actually come off as a little bit dingy. But that’s where the beauty of Tiffany comes into play. She’s a gifted, borderline genius trapped in the body of a girl from San Fernando Valley. She’s a character who begs to be underestimated.

[stextbox id=”black”]Travis rolled his eyes.
Tiffany inhaled sharply. “Did you just roll your eyes at me?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did.”
“No, I didn’t.”
She sneered back. “You totally did. You did like this,” she said, rolling her eyes in demonstration.
“What? I so did not!”
Her eyes narrowed scathingly. “You’re a sucky eye-roller and a liar.”[/stextbox]

It’s difficult to get into too much detail when it comes to Tiffany simply because her role in The Glorious Becoming is both huge and spoiler-laden. One could almost make the argument that of all the characters who move the plot of book four along, none do so to the magnitude that Tiffany does. Those who know the story, just think about that. If not for Tiffany, what happens to the Fourteenth? To Novosibirsk? In a book with a million dominoes, she’s among the first ones to fall.

Without knowing the ins and outs of the character, it might be easy to classify Tiffany as a humorous, quirky plot device who happens to be good at what she does. But that would be such, such a major disservice to the character. There is a lot about Tiffany that readers don’t know yet, some of which will be revealed in Epic 5: Enemy One. But if you paid attention to her through TGB, you might have caught those little moments (they are few) where those layers hint at themselves.

[stextbox id=”black”]

Leaning her head back, Catalina blew out a breath. Running her hand through her hair, she fell solemn. “You think Remington had days like this?”

Tiffany smiled. “Like, yah. Who doesn’t?”

“You never have days like this, Tiff.”

The pilot laughed. “Whatever. I’ve totally had days like this. Remember the onion stain?”

Caught off guard, Catalina cackled. “Right, the ‘onion’ stain. That was definitely an emergency.”

The mirthful grin remained on Tiffany’s face before the corners of her lips slowly leveled, her bemused expression becoming heavier. “Some days can be worse than today,” she quietly said.

Catalina’s brow arched curiously at the Valley Girl’s change in tone, before she too was struck by a new emotion. Sitting upright, she moaned remorsefully. “Oh, Tiff. I’m so sorry, I didn’t even…”

“It’s okay.” Tiffany smiled through shimmering lids. “I know.”[/stextbox]

If you enjoyed Tiffany, if you found yourself caught up in her story in TGB, just wait. Of all the characters in Epic, I would count her personal story among the most emotional. One of the challenges of Enemy One will be giving that personal story justice in what’s already to be a jam-packed novel. It needs to be in there to its fullest capacity.

For those who’ve been keeping up with these entries, you know that behind every character cast there’s an incredible person who was generous enough to grant me permission to reference them. Danielle Larche is anything but an exception. If you live in the US of A, you’re probably not familiar with Danielle. That wouldn’t be the case if you hailed from Down Under. That’s because in 2008, Danielle was crowned Miss Australia Globe. But believe it or not, that’s not the most impressive thing she’s done.

I love to see people use their success as a platform for making a difference. Few things get me as excited. That’s why I love to hear stories like Danielle’s. Shortly after winning Miss Australia Globe, Danielle founded Project Dovetail, an organization dedicated to bettering the lives of underprivileged children. So what does Project Dovetail do, exactly? Something that I feel is vastly overlooked. They give children joy. It’s very easy to look at a child, see their immediate needs, then assume that once those needs are met, the child will be fine. But that’s not the case, and that’s where Project Dovetail steps in. Beyond just having food, clothing, and shelter, Project Dovetail recognizes that underprivileged children need something to look forward to – a reason to believe they’re special beyond just having their basic needs met. This can range from taking children on camping trips, to having volunteers bring them cake on their birthday, to making sure they have access to toys and good school supplies. These are the emotional needs, the “I matter to someone” needs. These are the needs most often taken for granted.

If you want to make a donation to Project Dovetail, get in touch with them at info@projectdovetail.org to find out how. I would love to implore you to consider donating. It’s become somewhat cliche for organizations to say, “every little bit counts,” but in a case like this, it’s absolutely true. Five dollars won’t get you much here in America (or whatever first-world country you’re from), but it could completely fund a child’s school supplies in another country. Those dollars can go farther than you could possibly imagine.

Danielle, thank you so much for allowing us to reference you for this casting series, but thank you even more for stepping up and using your success for something truly special. You’re making such a difference.

Anyone who wants to keep up with what Project Dovetail is doing can follow their Facebook page here!

All right, I’m getting that back-in-the-groove feeling. I sense another entry over the horizon. Stand by for character no. 6! He’s not happy. Not one little bit. Kick back, make yourself a Vegemite sandwich, and wait for the show.

“Har, har.” Untying her ponytail, Tiffany shook her head back. Her hair fell down in shiny locks.

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