Busy with Volume Nr .3

 Hello World,

Okay, I have to admit that I am late. Two days late. The original plan was for this blog to be written on Sunday. But stuff happened and now it's Tuesday. Anyway, this weekend was nice and quiet. Which was fine with me. Because it gave me time to finish typing the last chunk of Chess Games in Cairo.

So, next is finding somebody to double-check the text for typo's, missing words and logic errors. At the same time, I'm looking for a picture for the cover. And finally, there is issue of the title...

Chess Games in Cairo is the working title, so I need to consider if I want to keep it or if I want to replay it. (And if I do, what the new title will be.) I'm also going to have to write the a blurb.

Finally, there is the issue of promotion and sales. Yeah, I'm not going to lie. I stink at promotion part and the sales are practically zero. But for anybody who suggests I should throw in the towel. *Points at picture* Enough said.

Anyway, that's all for today,

Ruben A. Hilbers

Stargates and sales

Hello world,

So to begin with, the sales bit of the title. Alas, said sales have not been all that impressive. I sold some copies, but I am still stuck in the single-digit segment of the count. On the bright side, things have been happening on the Stargate side of the equation....

Stargate Nova Roma

Back in 2016, I had finished my Battlestar Xanthi fan-fiction and I was not very happy with the fact that MGM studios was not doing anything with Stargate franchise. So, just for fun, I started writing my own Stargate Universe continuation. I figured that my chances of getting noticed if I posted it on Fanfiction.net were zero (or less), so I created a blog called 128 to post it on.

The plan was to write other fan-fiction and thus create my own collection. But because other projects swallowed all of my free time, the other fan-fiction never crystallized. And lets been honest, this blog is currently still a dark, forgotten corner of the internet. And 128 is even darker and more forgotten.

So, I had zero readers. I even forgot about the story, for like....all of 2018 and a chunk of 2017. This year, however, has seen Stargate Nova Roma moving ahead again.

Moving to Fanfiction,net

Since I had zero readers, I figured that there was nowhere to go, except up. So I published Stargate Nova Roma on Fanfiction.net. I combined Season One and Season Two of Stargate Nova Roma to become Stargate Universe Season Three. The plan is for Season Three of Nova Roma to become the first half of Stargate Universe Season Four.

And, if I make that far, Season Four of Nova Roma to become the rear half. After that ?....euhm....let's just get there first. Finally, I want to discuss....

Removing some dust (and sneaky promotion)

When I was checking the traffic numbers on my Fanfiction.net page, I realized that my profile page was three years old, which is Ancient (see what I did there ?😛) by internet standards. So I rewrote said page.

And it was not the only thing that was getting dusty. My signature on the Gateworld Forums was the next to get a make-over. I update it with links to my Stargate story at Fanfiction.net and sneaked in some links to promote my book.

That done, all I needed was to update my blog and then to Twitter about it.

And that is all I wrote,

Ruben Hilbers

Pitch out the door

Well, the 11th has come. So - as promised - the pitch has been send. (At 19.30 hours, I threw it into the nearest mailbox.) Taking into consideration the 3 to 6 workdays it takes for it to get there, that means it should arrive somewhere between Monday the 16th and Thursday the 19th. After that, it's a waiting game. Now, the pitch itself is not going up until the 14th. However, I can post the bulk of the accompying letter. Be warned, it is more then a tad (not so) subtly angry. I tried to write it with the fury of a Time Lord. But I don't think I succeeded. Agree or disagree ? Decide for yourself.

The Letter

Regarding season three of Stargate Universe

Regarded Mr. M. Burnett, Mr. C. Brearton and Mr. R. Hastings,

In 2010, the Stargate franchise went off the air with the cancellation of Stargate Universe. This year, it was revived in the form of Stargate Origins. While the makers of Origins did a splendid job with the resources at their disposal, it is my humble opinion that the franchise deserves a continuation in the form of a full-budget television series. (Hopefully to be produced alongside a second season of Stargate Origins.) It is also my opinion that the best way to go about, is to finish Stargate Universe.

And I am not alone in this conviction. Let us take a look at the internet landscape since the end of SGU. There have been several petitions – including a 2013 one aimed at Netflix – a Facebook page, a Kickstarter campaign (in 2014) and Twitterstorms. All of which had totally ignored by both Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Netflix. Now, I apologize in advance if this makes me a rude fan, but…

If you care so little so for Stargate’s (on-line) fan base, why did you bother to make Stargate Origins (a webseries) ? Why do you even bother with websites at all ? I know that studios are about making money. But…..have the words Ars Gratia Artis become hollow ? Thus making the Stargate franchise nothing but a cash cow ?

Do the cast and crew whom have worked their rears off for two years making the first two seasons not deserve better ? And the fans ? And what about the brave men and women of the United States Air Force ? Do they not deserve better than to suffer character assassination by suggesting that they would abandon Destiny’s crew ? Or is that not what you are suggesting by abandoning Stargate Universe ?

Now, in order to get the ball rolling, two things are needed. One, a proposal for season three. I have taken the brazen step of writing one. Is it actually any good ? I have no idea. And two, a place to call home. So why not SyFy Channel ?

Well….there is no polite way to say this, so…..I do not trust them as far as I can throw them. It is not just what happened with Stargate Universe… (Bad air times, insufficient commercials, etc.) It is as if Battlestar Galactica ended, SyFy Channel developed an allergy for the very thing the channel was supposed to stimulate, science fiction. Eureka, Warehouse 13, Sanctuary….in my humble opinion, the post-Galactica history of the SyFy Channel is a string of bad choices and cancellations.

Netflix on the other hand, has its act together. And with Disney soon beginning its own streaming service and taking their properties with them, they will be in need of new content. What better content then a third season of Stargate Universe ?

Edit: A little something that was gathering dust in the archive

Hail Marys and Choices

Hello world,

So today I took a (desperate) gamble. I created a twitter account in the hopes of using it to promote Stargate Universe 2.0. To be honest, I am no fan of Twitter. So why not ?...well, it kind of turns life into a competition. 'Look at me, I'm so much fun, I'm so much better then everybody else.' And the same is true for Facebook. (I tried that for a week once, then ran away screaming.) But at times, you have to try everything but the kitchen sink.

Also, why did I not post before today ? Well - maybe I am contradicting myself here ? - there is such a thing as trying to hard. (And being downright impatient. And the content of the post would not have been any different. But that is hindsight, which is always 20/20.)

EDIT: At this time, I think I should really take a good, hard look at my ego. I've been going yack, yack, yack about this pitch of mine....which I think warrants the question.....is it really that good ? Maybe the reason I have not been getting any replies is not because the people whose attention I've been trying to get are busy, maybe the pitch is simply rubbish ? And that is probably true. (But I was hoping to at least get back a note/reply that said...this is rubbish !)

But if can make enough noise, maybe I can get the discussing about SGU coming back going again. If I can pull that off - which would be minor miracle - (maybe) that's enough. So what's the plan now ?....

Well, like I said earlier, I will (E-)mail the pitch on the 11th. As for this Blog, the plan is up go back on silent until the 14th. (Barring any major developments, of course. But my instinct is telling there won't be.) On the 14th, I will post the pitch on this blog. (It'll have to be pieces, because it's to big to fit in one post.) That way....rubbish or not ?.....(You'll be able to) Decide for Yourself.

Finally, for long-term readers (Hi, mom ! waves), the Star Trek Frontier Fleet is down. But if this is a technical issue or if the site has already been taken down is unknown as of this writing.

Edmond Dantes

And That Makes Three

Hello world,

Yesterday I finished a major effort to complete my third - and last - Battlestar Xanthi story....Four Lost Chapters. The little sort of says it all. These chapters were not added to A Collection of Memories, because they would make that tale to clunky. And some it was not in line with that story's rating. But enough chatter, back to work....

Another Jump

The final chapter of Battlestar Xanthi: Project Destiny is up. As for what exactly Project Destiny is....well, that would be spoiling the surprise.

Chapter 9 is up !

Hi all,

Chapter Nine is ready, steady, go ! So, time to start work on Chapter Ten....

Oh no, you don't !

It almost happened again, my blog nearly started to gather dust again. But not this time...

I've planned Chapter 9, 10 and even 11 of Battlestar Xanthi: A Collection of Memories. There's a major twist in there, but where ?....well, you'll just have to read them. Chapter 9 has reached the writing stage, so it's coming ASAP. Speaking of which, time to get back to it....

Chapter 8 is up !

Hello all,

Well...Chapter 8 of Battlestar Xanthi: A Collection of Memories is up. And Chapters 9 and 10 will soon enter the planning stage. So there will be more new content on my FanFiction.net site. (Yeah !) But I'm keeping further details under wraps for now. (Gotta keep the fresh content going here as well.) So, stay tuned for further updates as they come out. folks.