The End Is Near

On March 10, I will present my novel, OurGlass, to my group of peers, industry professionals, Red River College instructors, and members of my family. It is an accomplishment that has been a long time coming, and it has created a feeling of personal achievement that I have never felt before. While it has been tough at times to visualize this project to its completion, I am very glad that I chose to write a novel for my Independent Professional Project.

I am a writer. I love the creative process. I love the feeling of crafting events and visualizing situations and worlds outside my own. OurGlass posed a particularly difficult challenge in that it is a novel in the science-fantasy genre, a genre I never thought to consider, much less complete an entire novel for. The story itself lent to the genre. That is just how it turned out.

OurGlass exists as a finished manuscript at 120 pages on a 8″ X 11.5″ formatted data file. For the remainder of 2011, I will enter the marketing phase of this project and work at finding a publisher for OurGlass. This process may involve using the expertise and connections that an agent has to offer, or I may go it alone. I have created this mock-up cover of how I think the novel might look.

During my final edit, I read OurGlass from front to back. I can be very critical of books (especially since I’ve attended CreComm), and I surprised myself in that I actually liked my story. This may sound self-serving, but after writing a novel for an entire year (editing, fixing grammatical errors, re-edits, re-consideration of certain events), I was growing tired of reading OurGlass in small, unfinished sections as it progressed forward.

I may choose to print copies of OurGlass in the latter half of 2011 before any official launch. In the event that I do, stay tuned to my Twitter feed. I will advise you to the time and place where this event will take place.

Cheers, and thanks for listening.

Aqua Books Reading

Last weekend I participated in a reading that was held at a bookstore in Winnipeg called, Aqua Books. One of my instructors, Karen Press, asked me to read for a series entitled, The CreComm Reading Series, a Creative Arts department initiative at Red River College.

Good friend and classmate, Jeff Ward, hosted the event and did a great job introducing me and accomplished author, Matt Duggan. Matt’s novel, Cherry Electra, sounded very crisp and the parts he read from really grabbed my attention. I read three pages from my novel, OurGlass, and those who I spoke with afterward liked what they had heard. I really enjoyed talking with some of the people “post-read” even though I felt a little bit out of my league. I am amazed at how far my comfort level has come in terms of speaking publicly. All of this is great practice as I will prepare to publish my book, either by myself, or with the help of an publishing house. I will return to Aqua Books when I prepare to launch my novel upon the reading public in the latter half of 2011. What a great atmosphere.

If the plumbing holds in the house and the stove doesn’t go on the fritz (again), I will wrap up the ending of my novel today. I think my story has built to a great climax and conclusion. All that will remain after I finish this scene is to write a prologue that will bring the novel “full circle” from the way it was introduced.

The Climax Builds

I feel this is the time when a writer becomes excited about their progress. My classmates who are also writing a novel have a certain gleam in their eyes when they talk about their stories steaming toward conclusion.

I’ve written 12 pages (total 109 pages) of new material since my last post and I can only express the feeling as “full steam ahead.” The conclusion which has been in my mind for several months is finally being expressed in the written word; or at least, the word-processed world. My characters are acting exactly they way they should and the action sequences feel entirely believable. I sense the internal concept of “cinematic writing” as my mind works independent from outside influence, and I have placed myself as a bystander within the world of OurGlass. Imagination is a wonderful thing, and I love that I have storytelling as an outlet.

In less than a week I will be reading an excerpt from OurGlass for the second time. Karen Press, my Creative Writing instructor from last year, invited me to read at Aqua Books, a bookstore in Winnipeg. My first reading was at Red River College, so this is the first time I will read outside the protective wing of the campus. I learned from my last reading about how to present my material better, and I look forward to reading in a real-world bookstore environment.

If you would like to attend, the evening begins February 4 at 7 pm at Aqua Books.  Matt Duggan is the highlight of the evening, and this will be the first night in a series of readings that Karen Press has entitled, The CreComm Reading Series.

I hope to see you there!

Project Update

It’s funny how a major project can take on a life of its own. It’s easy to become a servant to it depending on any other commitments you may have, and the amount of time involved flirts with enormity. But at the end of the day it’s something that requires nurturing and care if one wants to be taken seriously.

To look back within this blog and see that this project has spanned the past eight months is inaccurate in of itself. OurGlass was partially written before it became my college project. That being said, it was in such a raw, unpolished format that a ten-year-old would have had a heyday with a red pen. As of this moment, OurGlass is being evaluated by my professional advisor and literature extraordinaire, Chris Petty. The manuscript is 97 pages and for the most part, unformatted. Due to the atomic level of activity that college has been the past 40 days or so, I was unable to submit OurGlass as a complete story from beginning to end.

From this point forward, my focus can be directed to complete my stated goal.

In three short weeks, I will be entering semester four of Creative Communications. I anticipate this semester to be less demanding than the past three months, but that being said, I’m sure it will be no walk in the park. If testimonials from past grads are any measure, semester four has much more breathing room. This is where my focus shall lie. As the first three weeks of January will be in work placement, I anticipate having my evenings back and a more time to complete this project to acceptable standards.

My focus will change for this blog as well. I’ve offered enough teasers on the story-line up to this point, so no new content from the novel will be posted here. In its place, though probably less exciting, will be progress reports on the status of the novel and how my project was assessed by my aforementioned advisor. Beyond this, there are several things that need to be considered outside of the actual writing of OurGlass and I will address them all here. These things to consider are: printing, publication, presentation, and readings. Several of my classmates are writing novels as well, and there have been discussions as to how we may work together in some of these areas. I am excited for the level of time and energy I’m now able to commit to OurGlass, and I’ll keep you posted regularly to my progress.

An Empty Home

Halliday felt something was wrong right away. The room had an quiet, empty feeling. Earlier that morning, Karen had rushed him in when he had come home, now she was nowhere to be seen. He looked over to the open hall closet. Her red running shoes and blue hooded jacket were gone.

“Karen?” Halliday uttered into the void, as Silas came out of the hall. Halliday scanned the apartment, but no one appeared. “Wait here,” he whispered to Silas, guiding him inside the open closet.

The room was eerily quiet. Halliday walked into the apartment softly, trying to make as little noise as possible. He looked into the kitchen and it looked like she had left in a hurry. A bowl of whisked eggs was on the counter and the side of the kettle was still hot. The door to their bedroom was open. Halliday walked across the carpet in Silas’ view, the boy staring at him worriedly as he passed by. Halliday raised his hand, motioning Silas to stay hidden for the moment.

Halliday entered the bedroom to see clothes strewn about the bed and dresser drawers left wide open. Boxes and mementos lie on the floor outside the open closet.

He looked to his bedside table and saw his computer from TerraCode was flipped open. He couldn’t remember if he’d logged off from his last session. He walked over to it and waved his hand over the display. All of his files were still open.

Halliday saw a new message blinking at the bottom of the screen. He clicked on the icon and the short message screamed back at him. ‘HOW COULD YOU GIVE THEM A FAKE!!!’

Panic shot into every nerve in Halliday’s body. He stepped back, stunned, knocking the computer off of the table. He happened to look into the closet on the other side of the room. There was a gaping hole in the items that had been neatly stored away. Karen’s suitcase was gone. Silas heard the crash and came into the room.

“Dad, where’s Mom?” Silas asked, a lilt in his voice. He was almost in tears.

Halliday slumped against the wall, shocked to what must have taken place since he’d left. His face was an image of torment. His mouth gaped open and he squeezed his eyes shut in a silent cry. As Silas came over and placed a hand on his knee. Halliday opened his eyes searching the face of his son for forgiveness.

Halliday has returned home to find that Karen, his wife, has discovered information about the existence of the Earth sphere. Worse still, the harsh message she has left behind is a realization that she knows about the plan Terracode developed to ensure Munro’s return. Now she’s gone.

Sylvie

Jens reached over to the drawer at his bedside table. He pulled it open and looked at his most personal possessions: a pocketknife, a gold watch, a jacket pin, and a small strip of photos all neatly tucked away in a clear nylon bag. He picked up the bag and took out the pin, rolling it on the tips of his fingers, polishing the face with his thumb. The metal brightened as his thumb rubbed the silvery body of the dove, its wings spread out in flight. A small branch extended from its beak, its five green leaves and low-hung grapes swept into the air completed the symbol of peace. Jens sought solace in the pin, but he knew it would not be that easy. Too many miles lay between him and the angel who had given it to him. Jens took out the small photographs and put the bag into the drawer. He lie back on his bed, clutching the pin in the palm of his hand, trying to remove his mind from the present and drift back to a better day in his memory.

Jens looked at the little girl who sat beside him in the photos. It seemed like only yesterday when Sylvie pulled him into the corner store. His grand-daughter had insisted on pulling him into that shop even though he had the day planned for them. She had practically led them straight to it. Inside, there was every type of stuffed animal a young girl could imagine. He remembered his immediate reaction was  that he would be leaving the store with much less money than he came in with.

Sylvie dragged him by the arm even though he went freely. Her little body leaned into the effort like a one-way tug-of-war. She led them past row upon row of displays filled with toys, and gadgets for young and old alike. He began to worry the most expensive items were at the rear of the store. He protested a little and her tugging became less insistent. ‘We’re almost there,’ she said, trying to reassure him. Once they reached her goal, she stopped and turned to face her grand-dad.

“All right, which one is it?” Jens asked, resigned to making a purchase, “we can’t stay here long.”

“Which one what?” Sylvie replied.

“Which gizmo is it you want me to buy for you?” he answered, scratching his beard nervously.

“It’s not a gizmo, whatever that is,” Sylvie answered, “It’s this here!”

The days on The Eye are growing longer as Jens feels further apart from the grand-daughter he is helping by doing Khai’s bidding. Seeing how Munro has been mistreated at the hands of Khai has not set well with him. His only hope is that Sylvie is safe and being treated much better while he is away.

There are new photos to take, and new memories to make.

NASA and the Seven Spheres

NASA’s Rover missions to Mars nearly fifty years ago had proved to be more valuable than hoped. The rovers had operated long past their intended use, sending back reams of climate and geological data. In 2022, Opportunity, discovered several non-organic materials on the martian surface. A complete lockdown inside the control room of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory followed. Opportunity radioed back an image of three spherical objects protruding out of the soil. All images from the rover from that day forward were confidential. Media were informed that contact with the rover had broken down, and a staged conference took place at Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

For three weeks, Opportunity exposed seven spheres in an area of sand the size of an Olympic swimming pool. Each sphere was a representation of all the planets in the Milky Way galaxy. The rover mapped and recorded each sphere’s location to prevent them from being lost in dust storms. During the excavation, another object was found nearby beneath the sand; something much larger. No one thought it was possible to become more electrified to what had already been found. It had a name even before it was uncovered.

The structure was four metres long and was shaped like a two-ribbon coil of DNA. A collective gasp had went through the room as Opportunity removed the final clumps of rock and sand. The helical strands blazed a fiery orange, reflecting the rays of the sun and the soil of the Martian surface. The Strand looked like chrome on fire.

The spheres that lay near it looked like stones in comparison. Ashen and grey, the spheres were like forgotten articles whose use had long since been spent.

This element of, OurGlass, sets up the theme of the whole story; the search for the Earth sphere. I tried to introduce elements of truth into this section by including the fact that one of the rovers had malfunctioned. In real life this event has actually happened and it is my hope to create a bit more mystery around it.

The Hunt for Khai

The wind ripped across Halliday’s face as the boat carved through the water. Silas sat beside him in the passenger seat of the speedboat. Halliday had handed over his credit card to the boat rental attendant, ‘I may need this longer than you’re used to seeing,’ he told the man. He was happy for the business. The TerraCode card had a forty-thousand dollar limit.

The exchange had been a nightmare. Radio communications with the other agents looking for Munro’s captors had all but disappeared. No trace of them had been found. Silas had never seen his father look so worried. They had driven to three marinas before his father decided to change plans. No one so far had seen anything strange in the past few days, especially an exotic-looking boat. Silas watched his father clutch his chest after one of his returns. Each time he came back to the car, he was breathless. Silas knew this was not a good sign, but his father dismissed his concern. Now they searched every dock in the harbour. Silas was not only looking out for a strange boat, but anxiously looking at his father to make sure he was okay. Silas knew there was something his father wasn’t telling him. He was afraid to find out what it might be, but he needed to know what was going on.

“Why would we give them a fake, dad?” Silas yelled over the sound of the rushing water. It was a question that had dogged his mind since he had heard his father say it. Silas had kept his thoughts to himself as long as he could because none of it made sense.

He saw his father’s shoulders slump out of the corner of his eye. The thrum of the motor slowed, and the boat began to slow down. Halliday turned the boat toward shore, the wake of the boat catching up to them as they bounced over the waves.

Halliday didn’t know where to start, but he knew he was finished with lying.

 

Currently I’m feeling unwell as the onset of flu season has decided to invade my body. So, I apologize for not having any interesting “tid-bit” topics to add to the latest online installment of OurGlass.

I anticipate being in better health before next week arrives. By then I will have the energy and focus to provide something interesting to share.

Regards,

Greg Berg

The Betrayer

Khai sat on the deck of The Eye, his legs up, sipping a cup of tea. The Eye sat at the outer limits the Dolphin could travel underwater. He felt fortunate and furious in the same breath. As a rule, he hated surprises. In his business, it almost always meant delay, hardship, or gross expense. Oil had built him and broke him without warning, the sweet crude leaving a bitter taste in his life. If Jens spoke truthfully of the sphere’s value, it would handily return him to power and influence. The Judas self-interest of Richard Kent had demonstrated this with his visit.

‘The sphere is a fake,’ Kent had told him, ‘take nothing with you. Transmitters have been placed inside the box and within the fabric.’

‘What a coward,’ Khai thought. He despised disloyalty. It’s impossible to accomplish anything worthwhile if you can’t trust those around you. Kent had not even told him why. ‘It’s in my best interest,’ was all he could say. Khai couldn’t deny it had worked in his favour, this time.

‘If there is anything else you feel I should know, feel free to contact me,’ Khai had told Kent, handing him his card. The heat of Khai’s hand activated the imagery on the thin-film. Pictures of oil refineries, drilling platforms, and construction sites faded from one to the next. Khai’s contact information appeared after the last scene of him standing proudly in front of the doors to Aidel Oil, the face of the building stretching high into the searing desert sky. Kent had hesitated in taking the card, wanting to avoid any physical link to Khai. In the end he gave in, not knowing where this relationship would end. He had come this far already.

This is just a very quick post with an update to the story-line. I’m in the midst of a valiant effort to get as many words written tonight as possible before the rigors of the week begin again. Chai tea and Ghirardelli 86% Cocoa squares will help to get things done every time. Mmmmm…

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving!

 

Ocean Crisis

Jens was exhausted. The underwater trip in the Dolphin had stretched his nerves to the limit. Severin had pushed the submersible forward at full speed even though they could only see a few metres in front of them. The entire time, Jens imagined they were seconds away from being pulverized; a sunken barge would appear in front of them or a rip in the ocean floor would appear and his life would be over. Then, his efforts would be for nothing. Once they had made the surface, he could feel himself breathe again. Jens promised himself to avoid any future rides in the Dolphin as much as possible.

With despair and regret, Jens replayed the scene of Munro’s hair being dyed and hacked away. All he could do was stand and watch in fear as the girl had been terrorized. It had been completely unnecessary. Nothing could be gained from such a thing, unless you thought like Khai. His actions were becoming increasingly erratic and heartless.

In this scene, Jens is reacting to what he knows can sometimes lie on the ocean floor. In OurGlass, by 2052, many port cities like Halifax have seen their harbours become underwater junkyards. So much so that certain areas are nearly unnavigable.

Sinking boats and other man-made materials to create an artificial reef has been done in a number of places in our oceans, but the long-term effects are not entirely known. In one instance in the 1970’s, tires were placed underwater off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to create Osborne Reef. The plan ultimately was declared an environmental disaster and the United States military was brought in to clean up the ocean floor. After the cleanup, the reef was recreated using concrete blocks called dolos instead.

Tires people? Really…