Chrenobyl is in the hands of the first editor, getting critiqued and likely ripped apart and put back together. One question we don’t answer in the book is the underlying why. Why does the Unity send a group of soldiers to kill the Flintons?

I could have put this in the book, true. It’s a valid take. But the book is told from the eyes of Chrenobyl, and the teenager was never privy to that information.

She knew who her parents were, she understood they were deadly in ways she could only dream of being as they trained her for survival. But, she didn’t know why they sometimes disappeared for three days at a time, coming home with fresh wounds and huge smiles.

So, we interviewed members of the resistance to get the ground truth of what actually happened that night, and why the Flintons and their neighbors had made the Altiad’s list.

Check out the article on the series’s Substack, and make sure you subscribe to the We Are Earth Book Series newsletter to get the latest!

I’ve started following a lot of writers recently, reading about their techniques for getting a novel out. People out there have some amazing tips, I’m glad I started paying more attention. The one area where I know my method just works is my actually writing process.

I don’t sit down for two hours each day and force myself to put something down. I don’t block off time, or have a certain word count aspiration. I applaud people that find these methods useful. They just aren’t for me.

I hit roadblocks a lot when I’m staring at a blank page. I know some semblance of what I want, an outline of an idea, but there’s often a struggle for how to transition, or what the conflict should be.

Admittedly, what works for me will likely not work for most people, but my process is fairly simple. If I can’t come up with the answer within thirty seconds of writing, I table it. Let it fall into my subconscious to-do list and move on. The next morning, or later that morning, when I’m out on a trail at 6 a.m., I resurface it.

When I’ve hit a 2,000 feet elevation climb, and I’m huffing up it wondering why in the world I can’t have normal hobbies, I let me brain pick apart my to-do list. I recommend wearing some earbuds and having a way to record voice memos (I typically just use the app on my phone). The sheer number of solutions I’ve puzzled out while walking along a razor edge, or trying not to fall off a mountain face, or stumbling up mile 14, is remarkable honestly.

Now, I am not recommending you follow in my footsteps, especially if hikes that make you question your life choices isn’t your thing. But, maybe try going out for a walk or a light jog, talk it through with some fresh air and blood circulation.

Drop a comment with your process, would love to hear about it!

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Still Standing is officially published and available for purchase! Huge thank you to everyone that has supported this journey.

First, some notes:

• We will be releasing a nice hardback version from IngramSpark as soon as the cover is finished (hopefully within two weeks). I will announce here when it is available.

• A nicer quality paperback will be available …

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I know, I know, everyone has been anxiously waiting on pins and needles to read the ACTUAL book, because these sneak peeks are only a portion of the story. Don’t worry, it won’t be long! I am excited to announce that Still Standing will officially be released on 13 July!! Stay tuned for information on where to pick up…

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https://weareearthbookseries.substack.com/

Don’t forget to subscribe to the new newsletter so you’ll receive all of th…

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The rebellion in Crete is, for the most part, a well run machine. Neil trusts the leaders he appoints under him, while also holding them to a high standard. He can trust them because they always meet that standard.

Part of that trust is proven as teams bring on new members. The standing policy is that each team lead is giving autonomy to pick the individ…

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Looking over the next few weeks before the book is published, what do you want to learn more about pre-release? Here’s your chance to sway the upcoming topics!

What have you enjoyed? What did you find boring?

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The strange, blue world filled the entire window of The Weish. Chchaeusten marveled at how quickly it had grown from a distant star shining across the darkness of space, to a large ball with wonderful designs of land. Her eyes fell on the large, swirling mass over one of the oceans. My first hurricane.

“Chchaeusten, I mean… Shea… Captain Jiliqui is reque…

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Prim’s first task of the day was delivered by Kim at 5:47 a.m., scrawled on a folded piece of paper shoved into his hands as he left the sleeping bay.

Wake Brian. Tell him Neil needs him. Don’t come back without him.

He read it twice, hoping the words would say something different the second time.

This was the job. Not heroics. Not cave routes or combat mi…

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The beam of Charlie’s headlamp cut a lonely path through the dark, dust motes dancing in the light. On limber toes, he walked down the familiar tunnel, his aim a branch of tunnels that hadn’t been explored. He began to whistle, a funny tune his friend Hook had taught him at school this week. The echo rang in his ears, a welcome companion as he inhaled the cool, dusty air.

The ground disappeared ahead of him. No, not disappeared—it had not been there to begin with. Charlie stood at the edge of the cliff, clicking his headlamp to a high beam. A far wall revealed itself, too far away to reach, but a jumpable distance. I know I’ve been here before, how did I get past this? At thirteen, he trusted his memory, but the caves had a way of humbling anyone. He scanned the area, his eyes taking in every detail. There! A ledge. It was maybe ten feet below his current location and on the other side of the gap. That must be it. He shrugged before stepping back to give himself some momentum.

The ledge was wide, allowing for plenty of error, but his heart still sped up as he ran to the cliff edge and lept off.

Knees bent, just like Dad always instructed, as feet landed in the center of the ledge. I made it! Charlie let out a loud laugh, exhilarated as he looked back up at the tunnel he’d just left behind. No going back that way. The gap continued far below, with no end in sight.

The ledge was large enough for him to lay flat on and spread out his arms. Three sides of air, one sheer wall. No obvious handholds, no connecting tunnels. First rule of getting lost: figure out where you are.

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October 31, 2051, ended the same way it always had.

Somewhere, children were still sorting candy by type on a living room floor. Somewhere, a late-shift worker was clocking out, pulling on a jacket, thinking about nothing more complicated than what was in the fridge at home. Somewhere, a ten-year-old girl was in bed in a farmhouse on the outskirts of a s…

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There are twenty-five alien species currently in Earth’s orbit.

Most of them you’ve never seen. The Altiad lead. The Jung enforce. The Wayai watch. And then, tucked into the administrative heart of every Altiad facility on the planet, running the desks and managing the information and handing you your room assignment with a warm smile and whiskers that b…

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On Waygan, in a galaxy called Iyaga, there has never been a word for surrender.

The Wayai don’t have one because the concept doesn’t map cleanly onto how they think. Their society has always been governed by a single unwritten law: the flock follows the strongest flier. Leadership isn’t a title you’re given. It’s a contest you win, over and over. Flock e…

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The Altiad took Zen on a Tuesday.

She didn’t come back. The girl who went into Elystra was not quite the same girl who would eventually come back out. That transformation is quiet, and it is ongoing, and it is the story running parallel to everything happening in the dark below her.

While Neil plans operations in a cave under a mountain, and Charlie navig…

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The resistance didn’t begin with a manifesto or a war room or a plan.

It began with Neil Appage signing a peace agreement while his neighbors watched, and it began with what that decision cost him. And then — quietly, in the dark, before anyone else was ready to move — he started building something they couldn’t see. Fueled by loss, his wife Anya, and h…

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There are twenty-five alien species currently in Earth’s orbit.

Most humans don’t know that. The Altiad didn’t advertise it. They arrived as the leaders of the invasion — simultaneously, globally, in every major city at once — and they deployed the Jung and Wayai, the warrior and the watcher. The others… well ,we’ll get to them.

For now: the Altiad. The b…

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Every family has a language.

Not the words, exactly-the rhythms. Who pushes whose buttons. Who the others measure themselves against. Who goes still when they’re upset. Who loves you anyway.

The Appage family’s language …

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