The first week of January, 2018 I sat down to write a short story about Ryan Jameson, the reporter from The Fundamentals. It quickly grew into a larger project than I expected. The result is Special Correspondents Lottery, a novella length tale of how Ryan Jameson found his way to the Santa Maria and in the center of the biggest event in human history.
Special Correspondents Lottery Novella in Serial Order
An invite to Explorer Corporation’s Special Correspondent’s Lottery forces Ryan Jameson to face his old addiction or miss an opportunity of a lifetime.
I needed a hook for Ryan. Writing The Fundamentals was a catharsis for me. I stopped drinking alcoholic beverages. I used to consume a vodka martini every night, now I don’t drink at all.
The Terra Channel was born in Ryan Jameson’s childhood. Telling stories was his gift, and now he was late to the biggest story in human history.
I knew I would need to kill Keith Hobson in The Fundamentals. The secrets of his wheelchair and diaries will shape the stories to come. But I needed a reporter, a storyteller for the rest of my books. Ryan Jameson was born.
Lying Ryan Jameson discovers his Special Correspondents lottery ticket was the favor of Kitty Kaili, his ex-girlfriend, the dark goddess he named Kali.
Kitty came to me from an incident I witnessed on Sixth Street in Austin, Texas. Putting Kitty and Ryan in Austin seemed like the right choice for my story. Close to New Mexico, but too close.
Ryan Jameson’s attempt to get an interview with the Captain Smart and her daughter Erin could cost him his chance at the lottery, and Earth’s biggest story.
When we meet Ryan in The Fundamentals, Jenna Smart acts like she knows him, and is annoyed by him. When I wrote that, I knew they had met The Frontier Diner, but not how they had met.
In the bloody conclusion, the Viking forces Ryan to face his addiction. Will he be the Viking’s patsy, or will he overcome his addiction to join the First Expedition Crossing?
The Viking was born in this story. Now that I have him, he will play a bigger role in the future.
