Hey, all! Today I have a returning guest–author Kadee Carder. She has a new release. Just premiered May 9th actually. It is in the same series as the book she spotlighted several weeks ago when she was on my blog. Now, you all know I love my Historical Fiction/Romance, but there is a special place in my heart for Science Fiction…it was one of my first loves as I got into reading. So, I am just as eager to hear about the continuation of this series as anyone else. So, without further ado, I’ll turn it over to Kadee…
A Guest Post by Kadee Carder
Many sunsets ago, while Texas trees blossomed in the crisp spring air, my dad stood in our garage, drilling a hole through a softball. He threaded a yellow cord through the hole and tied it in a firm knot, then strung it up on a wide, horizontal branch from a big shade tree in our grassy back yard. “This will help you fix your aim,” he’d said. “Grip the bat, line up your knuckles, and swing away.” I spent hours in the sunshine and wind, smacking my Louisville slugger against that softball, as the ball flung itself up and around the branch. The harder I hit, the faster that ball flew.
See, I’m left handed. And while I adored the sport of softball, which I’d played since first or second grade, as a young teen I still struggled to hit strongly and consistently. Throughout the hours, I tired of the line up, grip, wind up, swing, follow through, wait for iiiiiiit, unwrap, and begin again of the practice. So as my creative mind wandered, I thought, what if this thing were ON FIRE and it was about to KILL ME?! You’d want to smack that sucker right into infinity, yeah? Me too. And that’s one element of how I created the idea of the “oxinal,” the killer artificially intelligent sentinels in my Insurrection trilogy.
My process of writing usually begins with a character, too. Often, that character has some element of myself that I like or dislike, and I make that bigger. What would I want to be? What do I not want to be? Let’s inflate that and go from there. Characters drive stories, and I hope my readers fall in love with my characters and root for them as they deal with the consequences of their decisions. These characters must accomplish some important task, and I’ll put them through the wringer to get through it. Because…well, life’s like that. Can a hero be a hero if he never has to help anybody? Heroes get to rise above the ashes, and that’s the real adventure.
Once I have a great couple of characters and I know what they need to do, I go to my husband and give him the plot, the tasks involved, the world, and the goal, and he helps me make it ultra cool. Because when I wrote the first draft of Insurrection, I gave my flying fiery creatures an awesome name. Are you ready for it? Fireballs. Yeah. That’s right. Let’s just say, hey, I was thirteen when I came up with the idea. So he laughed a LOT about that and said, “You cannot call them that! So lame!” Placing two fists on my hips and pursing my lips, I giggled, “Okay, then what should they be called?” He then asked me how they worked. Well, we talked through the process that a nanocomputer would use, how an inventor would make said creature fly (utilizing pulsing oxygen, in combination with fuel, and propulsion), I drew a sketch on a piece of paper, and he came up with the term, “oxinal.”
Ever since, it’s been a similar process. I’ll give a scenario, he’ll come up with a way to improve the idea because he has been watching Star Trek and Star Wars and basically every other sci-fi or action movie since he was born, and then we shape it up to make the idea shiny and fresh and just plain awesome. I’d definitely want to use all of the tech and gadgetry in the Insurrection series and I think readers will too.
To top it off, I like to put all of it in a hopeful world. I think humans are pretty incredible and can do so much more than they imagine, if they put in the work and get their imaginations get in gear. So I like to set my fiction in the future. Plus, setting the characters in the future gives some wiggle room for realistic purposes. I’m so impressed with people who can write historical fiction because you have to have all of your details correct. Instead of learning real facts, I like to create my own. (Ha! Just kidding, somewhat. You should see my notebooks and folders packed with information about military facilities, military process, tech ideas, and Australian slang terminology! Whew!)
Originally I had set the series in the 1980’s because the tech would have been mostly ahead of the times at that point, but as I tried to research I got absorbed in the era, found the tech wasn’t that outstanding within that setting, and then raised the stakes and switched gears to the future. Solar flares are an increasing risk that we deal with, and countries around the globe are currently creating emergency strategies in the event that a global disaster occurs where an electromagnetic flare wipes out our tech/electricity/power sources. Imagine what we’d do if all of our devices were suddenly useless? Imagine what we’d do if someone knew a huge flare was coming and stockpiled tech, data, and gold in a mountain? Who has the power (literally) in that brave new world? Ooh, aah! Raise the stakes!
Once all of these elements get charted out on my whiteboard, I get lost in the thrilling world of these exciting characters and their struggles. This is what’s worked best for me and my four novels so far. And then as I write, if anything starts to feel strained or slow, here’s my last tip: When in doubt, blow something up. Since we get to create these experiences, let’s make them an adventure, and build heroes the readers admire.
Indelible
We humans have to be stronger than we ever imagine, love ourselves in the process, and dig in when the ground seems to sink. We not only relish adventures, we create them. That’s the basis of Saylor’s story in Kadee Carder’s young adult science fiction trilogy, Insurrection. Volume One, Insurrection, and Volume Two, Incomplete, is now available on iTunes, Amazon Kindle, and Barnes & Noble Nook, and Volume Three, Indelible, will be available May 9th! Scintillating gadgetry, crackling romance, and endless riddles fill the pages of this trilogy, in a fresh adventure for the restless reader.
Beneath the façade of covert laboratories and military exploits, Saylor’s story twists further in this thrilling final installment of the Insurrection trilogy. Concealed identities. Puzzling truths. Cryptic alliances. Amid hasty exits and curious arrivals, Saylor pursues the answers haunting her conscience.
Dealing with the consequences of her decisions, will Saylor find herself invincible, or drawn even closer to Breame’s conniving promises? And with humanity’s existence at stake, will Saylor advance toward the brimming war, or succumb to the battle bubbling in her blood?
Saylor must decide.
Humanity will always be worth fighting for.
Enjoy an Excerpt
“Look.” I squared off, planting my boots, shoving my fists in the pockets of my pink jacket. “Many of you were sent to Isla Barina, or joined Alliance, thinking your last stop would be the Caribbean. Now you’ve gotten a taste of home. I know the risks ahead outweigh common sense. Breame equipped me to take on this project on my own. I am stable, but to a certain extent, I’m extremely dangerous. I can’t promise—”
“What are you saying, Mack?” Annoyed, Logan scuffed one boot in the dirt.
“You can all jump ship if you want. No judging. It’s not even jumping ship. It’s getting out of the sinking ship and reclaiming dry land. This is the last stop before it’s too late. I’ll be fine on my own. I’ll get a plane and make it overseas and take this on. If I fail, I fail, and nobody’s worse the wiser.”
“Are you kidding?”
“Not at all. I don’t want to take anybody else down with me.”
“That’s not your call,” Logan argued.
“I feel a little insulted right now,” Micah said, whipping her head toward me. “Who says you get all the fun?”
“What?” I asked.
“And the glory,” Logan added.
“No, I’m trying to give you an out here.”
“No, thanks. I love swimming.” Logan leaned back on his heels. “And besides, it’s not up to you.”
“Fine!” I rolled my eyes. “You each get to decide. Your contracts with Alliance are being reviewed, I’m guessing?”
Logan exhaled, before a slight nod. “Possibly. The chips are still settling. Contracts have yet to be renegotiated.”
“Well, then.”
“As far as I’m concerned,” O’Leary jumped in, “I made ECB because I wanted to. And I’ve stuck around this far, so I might as well finish this war.”
Chisholm nodded. “Too many hours of training to give up right when we get the upper hand.”
“But guys,” I tried to wave them off.
“You have no argument.” Canaan radiated enthusiasm.
“We’re the team. You’re stuck with us. Plus, you need someone to run the coms. So, I’m in.”
“There’s no guarantee about this,” I reminded. “We don’t have — we may not—”
“Never had a guarantee,” O’Leary stated. “Except that we’d face dangerous circumstances. That’s why I signed up. You don’t get to kick me out the second it gets rough. Rough is my playground.”
“Yeah!” Other voices agreed, rallying.
Eight faces shifted, eyes shining, reflecting those immense stories.
“Alright, then.” I accepted, my team lining up to face the field and our Commander. “Play ball.”
Buy Links
Purchase Insurrection, Incomplete, or Indelible for only $4.99 each
Insurrection (Book 1) on Amazon
Incomplete (Book 2) on Amazon
Indelible (Book 3) on Amazon
Barnes&Noble (Nook)
More About the Author
Deep in the heart of Texas, Kadee Carder resides with her husband and daughters. Carder earned a BA in Public Relations at Howard Payne University and an MFA in Creative Writing from National University. She teaches English courses on the university level and plans her schedule around coffee availability. When she’s not dancing around the living room with her daughters, she helps at church activities, creates encouraging blogs, and orders pizza like a boss.
Connect with Kadee and Her Books
Website: kadeecarder.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kadeecarderink/
Instagram: kadeecarderink
Twitter: @kadeecarderink
And please feel free to subscribe for encouraging blogs! Kadeecarder.com
FROM KADEE: I am giving away a free, empowering e-book to those who subscribe to my email list at kadeecarder.com. The book is called Ignite and offers a serving of inspiration, a dash of hope, and a cup of grace to help you get kickin’ on those challenging tasks you’ve got to do!