Author's Notes

One down . . .

Hey, it's only nine books . . .

-Alvin Ng (Real life)-

20 January 2004

Singapore, Earth

Sol System

Phew! Alvin Ng thought as he hit the 'Save' button and watched the lights on his old, beat-up computer flickering as it struggled to process his request. The lights stopped and the hourglass symbol returned to its arrowhead form once more, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

It was finally over. More than 215,000 words, 41 chapters . . . his mind tried to grapple with those numbers. He had started the project late in the October of 2002. And it was finally complete. His very first complete work.

What had started as a outlet for some imagination and a pastime had evolved into something far beyond what he had imagined or set out for himself. He felt the fatigue creeping into the back of his mind, eroding the euphoria of having finally completed his book.

As much as he wanted to jump for joy, he stares at his work file and notes that he is less than 15 through the storyline that he had drafted after years of refining. Well, one down. Maybe eight more to go. He shrugged. It was not quite time to rest yet. Opening a fresh document, he stared at the white page staring back at him. It was as blank as his mind was. But he knew he had to say something. He knew that he had much to be thankful for.

And so, he forced his fatigue-clouded mind into action one last time before he returned to the temporal sanctuary of the sleeping. The words began to appear on screen:

History

The Arcadian Conflicts was an amalgamation of more than ten failed attempts that I had made at writing an original sci-fi story. Having dabbled into Wing Commander and Star Wars stories (albeit atrociously written in retrospect), I tried on numerous occasions to come up with something of my own creation.

Originally, the Arcadian Conflicts was never meant to be a long term project. In fact, it had been something done out of fun an obligation to contribute since I was a member of But then the reviews started coming in and I realized that there was promise and so I went ahead to do something I've never done before. I planned a story arc.

And that was how I finally completed my very first work, drawing on the best bits from all the previous, incomplete works that laid gathering dust at home.

I never wrote the story with the title in mind. 'The Arcadian Conflicts' was simply something that came to mind, given that the good guys were from this stellar nation known as the Arcadian Alliance.

Influences

Many other works have had extremely strong influences on the story as frequent readers should be able to attest. I shall try to present as complete a list as possible here. Where ship-to-ship combat was concerned, much of the imagery and ideas came from David Weber's novels, particularly those based on the Starfire game. In terms of physics, I opted for the simpler and less hardcore science that governed the Wing Commander universe.

Tom Clancy's works, particularly titles like Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising were particularly influential in my use of minor characters and jumping from 'set to set'. Carrier-based action drew much inspiration from movies like Top Gun as well as the Carrier series by Keith Douglass. Where PC games are concerned, the most influential would certainly be Homeworld, Conquest, Wing Commander and Starlancer, drawing on what I felt were the best elements from each. In terms of scale, I was most impressed with what I saw in the Robotech: Macross series, Exo Squad and the Lord of the Rings movies. It was my dream to create a story that spanned several decades with an epic sense of scale.

Where drama and character development are involved, I was most touched by Michael and Jeff Shaara's Civil War novels: The Killer Angels (which spawned the excellent movie, Gettysburg), Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure. All three novels presented historical figures as truly exceptional characters, yet retained a sense of humanity that has so often impressed me.

Processes

The Arcadian Conflicts is certainly not an original story from the start and I knew it. The idea of fighting World War Two or a Cold War gone hot in space is really nothing new. It was decided from the start that this would be more of a story of human drama, where war serves as the catalyst and science fiction as the backdrop.

Hence, I dispensed with much of the technicalities that would have likely slowed down the plot and sought instead to create a cast of believable characters. In this endeavor, I turned to my most abundant source. My friends.

Many of the major characters in the story are people I've known in real life. While it may have seemed plain lazy to simply slot people I know into my plots, I realized that it was good for a fledging writer like me since I had no idea how to create really good characters.

The toughest part was trying to get the entire ensemble to come together to put across a story of human drama that was both honest and believable. I chose myself as the central character since I realized that he was the person I knew best. So I took him, for all his flaws and strengths and made him the lead.

Certainly, I've had my fair share of complaints about me being egotistical, but I guess that perception has changed as the story progressed and the character of Lieutenant Commander Alvin Ng became more alive and three-dimensional to the readers.

Future Plans

As stated before, the story arc for the Arcadian Conflicts has already been written and this is only the first book out of a planned nine. The length would certainly vary but it is safe to say that this story is far from being complete.

I'm also writing up some notes for another series that will be based on the RPG from Dream Pod Nine – The Jovian Chronicles. While I have not set a date of release yet for that story, I'm already in the midst of writing the 'episode guide' for that anime-inspired mecha flick. It would be something that I'd write when I feel the urge to do something a little more light-hearted so rest assured, The Arcadian Conflicts will be my primary work.

For the moment, I plan to take a very short 'sabbatical' before starting on the second book of the Arcadian Conflicts. As it stands, I have the plot pointers already tacked to my wall and it's just waiting to be written.

Thanks

With so many readers and friends, it's really hard to thank each and every single one specifically. Well, here goes. If I've kind of missed you out and you take personal insult from that, please feel free to reach me at to give me the royal pasting I deserve.

Anyway thanks be to my most frequent reviewers (some of whose real names I cannot even remember or never learnt!):

Daranak

Master Chief

Hedigstar

Mbwun (He Who Walks On All Fours)

XD

Ares1020

Thanks also to my friends who have been most supportive of this mammoth task. Below are simply those who have just been plain outstanding in their support that I'd die if I forget to mention them. For believing in me when no one else would, I thank you all. In no particular order, they are:

Pan

Mun

Erin

Ame

Koala

Ems

Janice

SH

Sean

Peter

From the very bottom of my heart, I thank you and all who have been faithfully reading and supplying useful feedback. God bless you all."

He slumped back against his seat and let out a tired sigh. Now his work was done. He frowned at that. No, that's not quite correct, he told himself. My work for now is completed, he amended mentally.

But then, the syntax of it all did not bother him now. He was tired. A small fraction of a monumental task was complete and he had earned his first break. Saving his work and shutting down his computer, Alvin Ng knew that all he wanted to do know was to retreat to the sanctuary of his room, where he would retreat into the realm of uninterrupted sleep.

Thankfully yours,

Alvin Ng

Wednesday, 21 January 2004

P.S. I'm off to celebrate my Lunar New Year now. The adventures of the Amazons will continue after the break so stay tuned!