'It may not seem so, considering I already have 45+ books in the bag, but I only began my publishing journey in late 2018'
G J Ogden is a sci-fi author who loves to write action-adventure space sci-fi stories with real heart, humor, and drama. He has published over 45 sci-fi books with a combined 13,500+ 5-star ratings, including several Amazon Best-Sellers, and is the winner of the Kindle Storyteller Award 2023.
Visit G J Ogdens site
Click here to check out Forsaken Commander, the winner of the Kindle Storyteller Award 2023!
Click here to check out Master General, Book 6 in The Aternien Wars Series! Out June 24
From as early as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to tell stories. Star Trek played a big part in this, as I mentioned elsewhere, but I fell in love with alien worlds and epic fantasy settings even before learning about the Starship Enterprise.
I was a kid during the early days of computer gaming (BBC Micro, ZX Spectrum and up) and RPG games really helped to drive my interest in storytelling, along with the wonderful “Fighting Fantasy” novels.
I was also a role-playing nerd and gamemaster (Paranoia and Role Master mainly), which is the perfect outlet for someone who loves to tell stories.
I tried to write my first novel in my early 20s, but I didn’t have the patience or discipline back then. I did eventually finish that book (and series) more than 15 years later. It’s called The Planetsider Trilogy, and it’s still popular today, having held No.1 slots in Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction on Amazon US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Age and experience have their benefits, I suppose!!
I’m extremely organized when it comes to planning and writing. I create detailed notes about the characters and the world they inhabit, and I always have a series arc in mind before I start. That means I have 5-6 books worth of story in my head before I begin.
When it comes to writing, I create a detailed outline first, using a three-act structure. And I mean detailed! I go chapter by chapter and the outline itself usually ends up being 15-20,000 words. I keep trying to trim this down, but never succeed.
The benefit of having a detailed outline is that I can write a chapter a day, every day, when I’m in writing mode. I sometimes take a day off writing (if something else is pressing – marketing work etc.) but generally, I don’t. That means I have a 1st draft done in four weeks. And because of the outline process, it’s usually pretty clean, because I’ve made sure to include all the important elements from the three-act structure.
It can be quite intense, especially at the start of a five or six book series, knowing how much work is ahead, but the routine is important for me.
I was shopping for covers and cover designers one afternoon, as authors often do, and part of that process (for me) is checking the Copyright pages of books with covers I liked. Tom’s name kept appearing, which led to his website and an awesome list of pre-mades, which were sold out! That was a good sign (though not for me), but by that point, I’d decided I wanted a series of "Tom Edwards" covers, so I bit the bullet and got in touch. That was a great decision.
In a word, it’s quality. I’ve worked with some great cover designers, but Tom’s art style and creativity elevated the books and I think definitely contributed to their success. I’ve even adjusted my written descriptions of some of the characters depicted on the covers to match Tom’s designs because they were so on the money.
I have a bunch of social channels but I’m terrible at posting content and updates. I’m just not a very ‘social media’ sort of person, in general. I have a newsletter, which I’ve curated over many years, and the membership of that is ~7,000 strong. That’s my main method of communicating with readers.
I do encourage feedback and I get a lot of comments, particularly on the adverts I run to promote my books. I engage with everything, even the snarky comments! However, I think it’s important to take these comments with a pinch of salt, and the same goes for reviews. I read the bad reviews and the good (thankfully, most are good!), in case there’s anything I can learn (common mistakes or peeves, for example), but ultimately, it’s my story and my decision. I write what I would want to read.
It may not seem so, considering I already have 45+ books in the bag, but I only began my publishing journey in late 2018, so I’m still relatively new. I remember finishing my first novel and putting it out there to very little success. I read a bunch of “how to publish” books and marketed it in the best way I knew how back then, but the launch went off with a whimper rather than a bang (or even a fizzle).
I remember being really discouraged by that. All that work and effort and… nothing. I asked myself, what’s the point of carrying on? As a new writer watching their first book vanish into the quagmire that is Amazon, you’ll probably ask yourself the same thing.
My advice is to stick at it. Chalk it up to experience and keep writing and learning. Both are really important. Learn your craft, learn what sells and why (tropes, genres, covers), and learn how to market your books. A lot of authors don’t want to mess with that side of the business, and if that’s you, then go the traditional route instead and find a publisher. Indie publishing means being a writer and a marketer. It sucks, but to succeed you have to advertise, or be a social media genius. Since I’m not the latter, I have to do the former!
Over time, you’ll build a following. There’s an oft-quoted saying that “nothing sells your last book better than your next book” and I think that’s true. Keep writing good stories, make sure people know about them, and you’ll steadily climb the mountain.
For me, good sci-fi is a good story first and foremost. I like to think you could take all of my books and put them in another setting and the stories and characters would still work.
Forsaken Commander, for example, would work in the age of sail, or modern times. It would only require adjustments to who the antagonists are and where they are. For example, they wouldn’t be post-human in the age of sail, but could be another minority group, and the setting could be remote islands instead of planets. The elements of story and character I think would remain the same, because they’re universal.
I create documents that include important elements like a character’s wants and needs, their conflicts (internal and external), how they change as a result of the story, what impact they have on people and the world, and so on. I flesh all this out in advance so I know who they are and how they would react in given situations.
I use a tool called Scrapple to create massive scrap books of character or worldbuilding notes, which then becomes my master reference. After a while, you get to know the characters and settings well enough that it becomes second nature, but just as I like to outline my books in detail, I find that the initial work of piecing the characters together is invaluable.
I would say that I’ve been most heavily influenced by Star Trek, in particular The Next Generation. I’ve watched pretty much everything from Farscape to Buck Rogers, but TNG sticks with me. I love the camaraderie of the crew, the moral quandaries they face, the impossible odds they always manage to conquer, and the dignity with which they conduct themselves. I think my stories and characters owe a lot to TNG, even if they’re generally darker, grittier and harder-hitting.
In literature, I read a lot of classic sci-fi, and while elements of these 50s, 60s, and 70s novels have aged badly (especially in how they treat women), the stories and characters have stood the test of time.
I love Alfred Bester, for example, and The Stars My Destination and The Demolished Man are books I can re-read over and over again. In terms of modern influences, I think John Scalzi is great. He has great style and humour.
As I write this, I’m currently reading the Silo series by Hugh Howey, after falling in love with the Apple TV show and… wow, wow, wow! What a set of books. Absolutely fantastic stuff. And Hugh Howey is an indie author too, which makes the series all the better in my eyes!
I like structure and having a plan, so my writing is heavily influenced by the sort of episodic sci-fi shows I grew up watching, such as Star Trek, Babylon 5 and their ilk. I use a three-act structure and think of each book as a ‘season’ in a wider story arc. Each book / season tells its own story, but builds toward an over-arching conclusion.
This allows me to put the foundations in place for long-term storytelling, while ensuring that each book stands alone, and contains all the juicy story beats, tropes and hooks that readers expect and love. Moral Ambiguity: Science fiction often explores moral and ethical ambiguity.
Navigating thorny moral and ethical considerations is a common element in all of my books, some more than others. The Omega Taskforce series and its follow up, Descendants of War, cover these aspects perhaps more than in my other series. It’s serious ‘needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few’ stuff.
I love the idea that achieving the best outcome sometimes requires making a truly terrible choice. And I love dark, conflicted characters, who struggle with their own humanity, but are at their core good people. Commander Dalton Reeves from Descendants of War is perhaps my darkest character in this regard. His moral compass points in the right direction, but his dark side and explosive temper can lead him to take extreme measures. You might not agree with what he does, but deep down, you’ll probably cheer him for doing it!
Do the ends justify the means? I let the reader decide!
The Aternien Wars series was actually inspired by Elon Musk’s Neurolink chip, and questions of where human augmentation might eventually lead us. We’re just at the beginning of this ‘post-human’ age now, which is scary and exciting.
In this series, post-human experimentation leads to the creation of the god-like leader of the Aterniens, Marcus Aternus, who styles his empire on the myths of ancient Egypt.
I wanted to explore how an advanced, post-human branch of humanity might co-exist with the old-fashioned flesh-and-blood kind. It turns out not so well.
Prejudice and fear of change and technology are central themes throughout the series. In the books the Aterniens are considered perversions of nature and a threat to human purity. It’s because of this that they’re persecuted and exiled, eventually leading to two bloody wars.
The prejudice the Aterniens face is mirrored in the way the central character, Carter Rose, is regarded. As a post-human soldier created to combat the Aternien threat, he’s ironically treated with the same fear and intolerance as the enemy. He’s forsaken by the very people he fights to protect. Real history shows us that soldiers are often treated poorly by the governments who use them, and sometimes even by society, as was the case with those who fought in the Vietnam war, for example.
It’s not a very optimistic vision of the future, but as in all of my books, there are strong themes of hope and redemption, camaraderie and of the value of remaining principled even in the face of extreme adversity and intolerance.
For me, there’s nothing more cathartic than someone overcoming seemingly unconquerable odds to win the day!
It’s a really easy process, which is important when you’re pressed for time, as authors often are. I can describe what I’m looking for, and Tom will nail the brief first time. After that, it’s just about details and revisions to get to a finished cover. It’s a hassle-free process.
Click here to check out Forsaken Commander, the winner of the Kindle Storyteller Award 2023!
Click here to check out Master General, Book 6 in The Aternien Wars Series! Out June 24
'I think stories of good vs. evil resonate with people through the generations. They might sometimes go out of style but they’ll always keep making comebacks'
Daniel Arenson is a bookworm, proud geek, and USA Today bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction. His novels have sold over a million copies. The Huffington Post has called his writing "full of soul." He's written over forty novels, most of them in five series.
Arenson gained widespread recognition with his "Song of Dragons" trilogy, which captivated readers with its epic tales of war, magic, and dragonkind. His "Earthrise" series further cemented his reputation, blending military sci-fi with rich character development and intricate plotting. Over the years, Arenson has published numerous bestselling series, including "Requiem" and "Moth," each known for their immersive worlds and compelling narratives.
I first hired Tom in 2015 to create the cover for my first science fiction novel, Alien Hunters. A few months prior, Tom painted the cover for Nick Webb’s bestselling novel Constitution. The cover for Constitution really impressed me (and all who saw it). At the time, I had already written several fantasy novels, but I was new to science fiction. I contacted Tom and was very lucky that he agreed to create the cover for Alien Hunters. Since then, I’ve written 44 science fiction novels, and Tom created the covers for every one.
Tom is a real pro. He always communicates promptly, works to understand what I want, shows me drafts, updates me on the progress, and will make any necessary changed until the work is perfect. I think he creates some of the best covers in the industry.
I've written 87 novels. 89 if you include two unpublished books. How would I describe my writing career? I’m an indie author who loves fantasy and science fiction and writes a lot. That’s about all there is to it. I was five or six when I read my first book by myself. I was thirteen when I started writing my own stories. I just kept going with it, and it’s an honor to share my stories with other people. For me, it’s all about the joy of storytelling and literature.
I have two very old, very unpublished books. I wrote one when I was 20 (back in the year 2000), another when I was 23. They are my second and third novels. This was from before the days of Kindles and indie publishing. My first novel, which I wrote when I was 19, was published by a small press. But I couldn’t find a publisher to take on my second and third books, so they never saw the light of day. At some point, Kindles and Amazon became popular, and I began indie publishing. Those old unpublished novels are probably still sitting somewhere on a dusty hard drive somewhere.
One reason I love fantasy is the worldbuilding. Universes like Middle Earth, Realm of the Elderlings, The Cosmere—they all have such lush, beautiful worldbuilding. Moth is a much smaller universe (there are only six novels in the series), but I wanted to delve into the worldbuilding and make the experience immersive.
I'm often inspired by ancient Semitic mythology and history. You can see that most clearly in my series Kingdoms of Sand, which is set in a fictionalized ancient Middle East. But there are also many influences of Hebrew mythology in my latest series, A Prayer for Earthrise. One exception is my series Soldiers of Earthrise, which was influenced by the Philippine–American War. Many elements in that series were inspired by Filipino culture and folklore.
I don’t think you can come up with one definition for each genre that captures every work perfectly. The two genres are related. Star Trek is clearly science fiction. Lord of the Rings is clearly fantasy. Star Wars? Not so clear. It includes elements from science fiction, obviously, such as starships. But it also includes traditional fantasy tropes, such as knights, princesses, wizards, monsters, and magic. I think the two genres often meet and intersect.
No, not really. I don’t intentionally set out to include themes or messages, though maybe some themes – loyalty, honor, the value of friendship – naturally make their way into my works.
Spreadsheets. Lots of spreadsheets that keep track of characters, locations, and alien species. And Word documents that include timelines and details on weapons, starships, organizations, and so on. I still end up forgetting a lot, and sometimes I must go back over old novels to remember.
All the time. My characters tend to lead the way. I usually have a general pathway for them to follow, but they take detours on their own. Many big things that happened to my characters – deaths, weddings, characters who get together, who divorce, who have children, who lose limbs, who discover new powers – those were never planned in advance.
In this century, there’s been a trend toward morally ambiguous characters and conflicts that don’t necessarily involve good vs. evil. Examples are works like A Song of Ice and Fire or The Stormlight Archive, where it’s not always clear which side is “good” and which is “evil.” Those works can offer complexity and, arguably, a more realistic view of how our own world works. Personally, I think that classic good vs. evil – which can sometimes be seen as naïve or simplistic -- has an important place in our genre. Through good vs. evil stories, we can explore the nature of morality and sacrifice. Tolkien understood this. I think stories of good vs. evil resonate with people through the generations. They might sometimes go out of style but they’ll always keep making comebacks. As humans living in a world full of evil, we crave stories that can show us the heroism of good people.
I'm currently working on the last two novels in A Prayer for Earthrise. After that, I’ll be writing a series titled Freedom Fleet, a spinoff to the Starship Freedom series. You can learn all about my works on my website: DanielArenson.com
I was born in Israel in 1980. Back then and there, we only had one TV channel, which broadcast in black and white, and only for a few hours in the afternoon. There wasn’t much to watch. And I didn’t yet have a computer or game system. And I was no good at sports. But I did have a local library. So much of my childhood was spent reading. I kept returning to the library for more. In 1991, I stumbled across a book called Dragons of Winter’s Night. It was the second novel in Dragonlance Chronicles. I loved the cover and picked up the book, not even realizing it’s a sequel, and read it. I was blown away. It was my first time reading fantasy. Since then, fantasy and science fiction became my favorite genres, and I’d grab everything I could find from those genres. I started writing my own stories when I was thirteen. When I was fourteen, I wrote a novella – it was about 50 pages long – about a post-apocalyptic world, in which the last human survivors battle against robots (the robots were basically ripped off from the Terminator franchise). When I was fifteen, I began to write a fantasy novel. I reached about 400 pages, then ran out of steam and stopped. I was nineteen when I wrote my first “real” novel, titled Firefly Island. Now I’m 44 and still going.
I create basic outlines divided into the main acts, with bullet points for the big plot events I want to happen in each act. I want to have some roadmap, but I leave enough room for the writing to flow and the characters to have some control.
For me, creating the characters is the most important part. That’s my top priority. Before plot, before worldbuilding, before anything else—I want to make sure I get the characters right. I think the greatest stories, the ones that stay with you forever, have great characters. Years later, we might not remember the plot of Lord of the Rings, but we’ll remember Gandalf. We might not remember what happened in Dragonlance, but we’ll remember Raistlin and Caramon. I want to create characters that resonate like that. I don’t always succeed. But it’s something that’s always on my mind.
I think my work has gotten less “dark.” In the early 2010s, I was inspired by grimdark works, for example A Game of Thrones. And I tried to write grim, dark fantasy, full of violence and despair (though always with some hope shining through). About fifteen years ago, I went through a phase where I wanted my fantasy works – trilogies like Dragonlore and The Dragon War – to basically feel like a death metal album. Just intense and brutal and unrelenting. I think my current science fiction works, such as A Prayer for Earthrise, are less grim. While they still depict loss and violence, they tend to include more humor and moments of levity.
Love reading and love books. Writing is a career. But books are also a hobby and a passion. Understand the business of writing—how to market, how to make money. But never forget that writing is about the love of books.
"Thank you for interviewing me, Tom. And thank you for all the great covers!"
You can download three of Daniel's books for FREE on his website: DanielArenson.com
*The title and text design for Daniel's covers was done by Rebekah Haskell of Vivid Design.
Meet some of the amazing authors I've had the privilege of collaborating with. In this interview series, I delve into their writing processes, influences, inspirations, techniques of worldbuilding, and the advice they have for aspiring writers.
All images copyright Tom Edwards, please see my Copyright Notice for more details.
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