The Writing of Book 3: Bright Blue Planet

After self-publishing Book 2, Jovian Son, I didn’t want to jump directly into writing Book 3. I hadn’t even planned to write a third book after the duology. But Book 2 lends itself to a follow-up, and readers wanted to know more about the Jovians. Continuing the story appealed to me, but I wanted to wait awhile, to think about it, to brainstorm my way into figuring out where to go next.

The problem was Evander Peterman, Svetlana’s grown son, wouldn’t leave me alone. He kept hinting at where he wanted the story to go.

My new book, Bright Blue Planet, the third installment of the Jovian Universe series will publish in ebook form on March 21. It’s a Goodreads Giveaway now.

I was doing my best to ignore Evander because, as I said, I didn’t want to rush in and also because I’d started writing a new book that has nothing to do with the Jovian world. I had a new protagonist with a new dilemma—and I was having fun with him. But Evander, persistent and charismatic, kept barging into my office, trying to get my attention. “I’m going to the President of the United States, and I’m going to solve the global warming dilemma, and all the people in America are going to love me. Don’t you think I deserve my own book?” he’d said.

“I have no doubt you’re worthy of your own book,” I told him, “and I will work on it soon, I promise. Please be patient.”

So I started thinking about Evander and his story, and before you know it, I had put the other novel aside and began Evander’s book, which came to me almost as if it were already written (more or less) and I had to type very fast to keep up. Evander’s dilemmas came through loud and clear—not only those tied to the country and the planet but also to his own family, and specifically his grandmother, Caroline.

In addition, Fran Vasquez, best friend to Andrew and Svetlana, had a lot going on in the aftermath of Svetlana’s departure from Earth, and he had my attention too. Mostly because his young adult son, Max, who’s been struggling with life in general, started his first real job under Fran’s tutelage as Starbright International’s head of security. Suffice it to say, Fran has his hands full when the clones and ordinary humans on his staff start to react to human rights protests in nearby Philadelphia. 

Before I knew it, I had a new novel about two men—one a powerful Jovian hybrid, the other an ordinary human—struggling to navigate the new world order and their own difficult family situations at the same time.

Bright Blue Planet is available on Amazon in ebook form for 99 cents for a short time. The paperback is $16.

Kim Catanzarite is the author of the award-winning sci-fi thriller series The Jovian Universe. She is a freelance writer and editor for publishers and independent authors, and she teaches copyediting for Writer’s Digest University. Her Self-Publishing 101 blog discusses the ins and outs of indie life as well as all things writing craft (www.authorkimcatanzarite.com/blog). She lives on the east coast USA with her husband and daughter.