frontlinefiction

The number one question I've been asked about this endeavor is, Where or how did I come up with this?  To be honest, it started with a single thought.  I was standing outside my house about three years ago, and noticed this enormous cloud formation moving in from the west.  It seemed like it was thousands of feet high and just as wide, if not more.  It was as if it was alive, as the formation slowly grew, rolling and expanding.  The afternoon sunshine highlighted its every curve, to create the ever changing shadows and feature, as it crawled across the sky.  Witnessing the event of nature was kinda cool, but I thought, how awesome would it be to fly up there with it to really see and feel the energy at work?  This stems back from my earliest memories of being intrigued with the ability of flight.  Birds can do it, even some dinosaurs could do it, but I have always been tethered to the ground.  The next best thing, was to put my imagination to work, and visualize being up there.

At first, I could see the cloud swelling and rolling, as it moved.  Then, the vision expanded, panning back to reveal that a passenger was viewing the cloud formation instead of me.  He is a man, young, and looking out of place on the bow of a great sailing ship.  The vision pans back even more to reveal that the sailing ship is soaring through the clouds, high in the air, instead of across the waves.  An airship; a zeppelin of sorts, modified with masts, rigging, and sails, and the ship's hull attached beneath the framework of the envelope.  With that, the seed was planted and the story grew.

What can I say?  When my imagination takes charge, I'm just along for the ride.  I hope you find as much enjoyment with this story as I experienced writing it.  

Welcome to the frontline

Stacy A. Wright

In 2005, I drew this picture of a species I named Chikkas.  The little demon guinea pig just came to me on a whim, but the drawing turned out so well that I have kept it for almost twenty years, before I found a use for it in one of my stories.  You will be introduced to the chikkas, and their attributes, in the first book, chapter 11.

Stupid stuff

The liquor of choice in the story, is named from a drink I preferred in the eighties. Vodka and Sprite. A little of this, and a little of that, and you have Spraadka.

By basing the story in a parallel, or alternate universe to ours, I used my love for paleontology (check out the Paleo Park page) I chose species from from different points on Earth's prehistoric timeline to populate this new world.  I felt it added a little credibility to the alternate world I was creating, while bringing some of my favorite prehistoric animals back to life.

Here are the first three examples of 1:6 scale busts, of the characters in the story.  Like the sculptures of Dragon's Fang and Billy Ray McBride, (can be seen on the art gallery page,) these are sculpted by using drywall mud.  Works in progress, I add the the combination of gypsum and plaster with a .00 paint brush, and carve the details with an assortment of Exacto knives and sandpaper.

    From left to right

    Cade Donteff - The male lead of the story.  When I decided to take on this attempt, I began with Cade and Kobbie Lei.  There's a lot of downtime due to drying, so having more than one piece to work on at a time, can fill those time gaps.

    Kobbie Lei - The bust is actually the second piece I'm working on of her character.  I have a full body sculpture of her in progress, standing 12" tall, wearing the outland clothing she is wearing when her and Cade first meet.  

    Mashka - One of Cade's closest friends in the outer ring.  I decided to move forward with Mashka and Bodie's busts, since they are introduced in part one.  I hope to have Bodie's bust to this stage soon. In total, there are twenty four busts all in various stages.  As these works progress, I will be updating these photos, and adding more.

Okay, so I've stewed over this all day, and I'm not happy with the suggestion made  to break the story down into three acts, or books.  I don't like it, so here ya go.  This chapter should explain a little bit, until I get the rewrites of "Act Two" completed, and uploaded to the page.   While working on it, I will be finishing up some of the artwork to upload as well. 

In the early days of story development, I started the construction of this scale model, of the main airship from the book.  The purpose was for the visual process of describing the fight scenes that take place aboard the ship.  Designed by the Ministry Defense of Axo, to overwhelm any opposition, the flagship Callafet was an ominous sight, and a force to be reckoned with.  With that said, the model took on crippling damage when accidentally attacked by my wife's soap making supplies.  An accident for sure, but the ship will survive.  What is completed allowed me to lay out the paths of travel, during the attacks of the second book.