Barb Caffrey's Blog

Writing the Elfyverse . . . and beyond

Posts Tagged ‘military science fiction’

Think you know Peter Welmsley? Think again…#milSF rules! Time for a #MFRWHooks Bloghop!

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Folks, it’s been a while since I participated in the Marketing for Romance Writers BookHooks Bloghop. The main reasons for not doing so have been due to family illnesses, not to mention my father’s passing last year. But as I have a new story out, co-written with Gail Sanders as I’ve said before, in the Tales of the E4 Mafia military SF anthology, it seems prudent to actually write a blog post and take part this time.

Mind you, I have tried to help the other members of Marketing for Romance Writers (MFRW.org) whenever possible. Because I know how good this (absolutely free) organization is, and how helpful it is for writers, I wanted to make sure my fellow writers in the Tales of the E4 Mafia anthology knew about it.

So, before I get into my bit about Peter Welmsley (introduced in my and my late husband Michael B. Caffrey’s novella “To Survive the Maelstrom,” available on Kindle Unlimited), I wanted to say this about Marketing for Romance Writers: It’s for all writers. You do not, absolutely do not, need to have romance in your stories to be part of this wonderful group. All you have to do is decide you want to be part of it, and join. (There is an Io Group and a Facebook Group. You can be part of either or both, as I understand it. For whatever it’s worth, I am.)

So, let’s get to the #BookHooks part forthwith, shall we?



As I said, #milSF rules. It’s fun both to write and to read, and because Michael left behind the huge, sprawling Atlantean Union universe for me to play around in, I have been able to write some stories that Michael never conceived of (or at best, never got a chance to write for himself).

For example, I have been working on a novella about Ryann Creston, the XO of the HMS Wendigo, presumed dead like so many others due to a violent attack by pirates. Peter, who is a Sergeant-Major by that time (highest-ranking enlisted Marine on the Wendigo), must take command of the ship and fly it out of there, saving whoever is left from the pirates. He nearly loses his life, and does lose the love of his life, Lydia, one of the ship’s nurses. But the more I write about the young Ryann Creston (she’s fourteen in my work-in-progress novella), the more I realize she must’ve found a way to get to an escape pod. She just hasn’t found a way to report in yet, that’s all. (This doesn’t at all mean she’s not injured. But dead? Not likely, not from this young lady.)

Anyway, Ryann will have her day, and soon…but right now I want to talk more about Master Sergeant Peter Welmsley, on TDY to the HMS Hyperion, helping another Master Sergeant keep the young Marines busy as the Naval contingent charts stellar nebulae. Note that Peter is younger in this story; he hasn’t yet met, much less lost, Lydia; he is far more relaxed, far less haunted, and altogether was just a joy to write about.

He’s not the main character in “Into the Night.” The main character is a guy named Marcus MacGruder. He’s a member of the E4 Mafia…at least, he’s a member in training, as he’s a Lance Corporal. And he knows a guy who knows another guy…that resourcefulness, not to mention willingness to help troubled shipmates (or at least one troubled shipmate, only partly because he desperately wants to date her), is why Peter picked Marcus to take part in an important mission that’s not as it seems…

So, “Into the Night” starts with a legal inquiry. MacGruder was found in an area of an orbital habitat he shouldn’t have been, all because he was trying to find a guy Peter wanted him to find. For three days, he and his legal counsel have been doing their best to bamboozle everyone as to what he’d been doing there; all he’ll say is he’d wanted to find a nice, clean sex worker, as they’d spent eighteen months on the rim charting nebulae and he needed some sexual relief.

(If you’ve ever known young military members, male or female, you will understand this right off, even though as far as I know, none have been out doing what these folks were doing on the Hyperion…yet.)

So, why did Peter want MacGruder to find this man? What purpose did it serve? Who is this other guy, and why does he matter…and also, who’s the shipmate in serious trouble and how can this mysterious other guy help her?

…have I hooked you yet? (I sincerely hope so!)

And mine is just one of eleven different stories in the Tales from the E4 Mafia anthology. Think about it. There are eleven stories, all about various aspects of the (possibly mythical) brotherhood of E4s everywhere called the E4 Mafia.

Before I go, I want to say two more things. First, here’s another Tweet from my writer and friend Kayelle Allen that you can use if you wish to talk about the Tales from the E4 Mafia antho (and do, do talk about it! Tell everyone you know. Please?):

Mastered a niche and adopted the best wisdom out there: Work smarter, not harder. If you need to bend a few rules? Well, that’s just effective leadership 😏🚀 #SciFi #MilSF #Military

Second, please check out the other authors taking part in this blog hop. There are all sorts of different writers doing different, valuable things out there, and the best way to check out these writers is to go to this page.

So, let’s get to getting, or at least get to hopping!

Written by Barb Caffrey

June 11, 2024 at 11:59 pm

Posted in Atlantean Union, Books, Informational Stuff, Michael B. Caffrey, milsf, Writing

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Comparing Joey Maverick to Miles Naismith Vorkosigan, and Vice Versa

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Folks, a good friend recently asked me this question: “How would Joey Maverick compare to Lois McMaster Bujold’s hero Miles Naismith Vorkosigan?”

And it got me thinking.

You see, my late husband Michael wrote about space Navy Lieutenant Joey Maverick — something I’m doing my best to carry on — and my friend felt there were a number of similarities between Joey and Miles. And since the two stories haven’t found a wide audience as of yet (stories are available here and here), perhaps a comparison might prove useful . . . and at least it’s something new and different to write about, always a plus.

So here are some of the similarities and differences I saw with regards to Joey and Miles, with a side order of my own hero Bruno the Elfy from AN ELFY ON THE LOOSE thrown in for good measure:

Similarities:

Miles is a very smart young man who out-thinks others and has any number of adventures, most of which he can’t talk about on Barrayar itself due to security concerns. He’s steadfast, resolute, has morals and ethics and principles, and will stand by them to the death, if need be — though thank goodness for cryosuspension. He has an unusual sense of humor.

Joey is a very smart young man who thinks faster than others and has several adventures, most of which he can’t talk about on the planet of his birth due to security concerns. He, too, is steadfast, resolute, has morals and ethics and principles, and like Miles, has an unusual sense of humor.

And just for kicks, Bruno the Elfy is a very smart young being who is used to out-thinking others, but gives himself no credit for doing so because he’s been told he’s stupid his entire life. He figures talking about any adventures he has is pointless, because at the start of AN ELFY ON THE LOOSE, he has no friends worth mentioning . . . and afterward, well, his new friend Sarah has been with him the whole way through, so why bother talking about anything? (She already knows it.)

Bruno’s sense of humor is so odd, it’s downright bizarre . . . and while he has morals, ethics and principles, he comes at things from a sideways angle that may or may not always be fully understood by those around him.

Differences:

Miles is handicapped with brittle bones. He’s actually died and been revived, which left him with a seizure disorder. He’s retired from his main career as a commander of a mercenary unit (that did a great deal of spying for Barrayar on the side) due to his injuries, suffered in the line of duty. He’s a man who’s maximized the totality of his existence, and knows it, and is satisfied by it.

Joey, as yet, is still a healthy young man, though eventually he’s going to lose an eye (Michael’s story “A Dark and Stormy Night” references Joey’s cybernetic eye in the prequel section, where Joey’s an old man). Only one life for Joey . . . his military career is ongoing. He’s still in the process of coming to his full adult capabilities, and many adventures await as he comes to terms with the totality of himself. Eventually Joey will bond with an empathic, sentient creature . . . but that, too, is in his future.

Bruno the Elfy is a very young being — an adolescent, in our parlance. While Bruno has enormous magical gifts, he’s not fully aware of what to do with them, and because he was intentionally mistrained at the behest of the Elfy High Council, he’s having to throw off a whole lot of nonsense in addition to becoming the Elfy he was meant to be.

Mind, it’s not that easy to compare a fantasy world — even if it’s an urban fantasy like my own AN ELFY ON THE LOOSE — with either Bujold’s own Vorkoverse or my husband’s Joey Maverick universe. But it is fun, talking about three of my favorite heroes . . .  especially as I never once thought Joey Maverick had anything whatsoever in common with Miles Naismith Vorkosigan before my friend pointed it out as a possibility.

At any rate, what do you think of this comparison? Does it make any sense? Or is it just odd? Please let me know in the comments.

Written by Barb Caffrey

April 19, 2014 at 1:47 am

Posted in Elfy, Elfyverse, Joey Maverick, Michael B. Caffrey, Writing

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