I Am Victor Rogers (short story)

12/26/2017 (The Reconstructed Man)
Revised somewhat to reach a word count goal and submitted to a publisher looking for stories of this size and subject. To make things easier I renamed it "The Reconstructed Man". Expected reply is 2/20/2018.

6/17/2016 - Yes, this is only a short story, and it has some other unique qualities as well. I could also list several things it doesn't have but that's sort of a negative logic to guess what it does have. Needless to say you'll have to read it to find out.

NOTE: There were well over 30 hits on this story the day I published it on smashwords. Later on I may include it in an collection of short stories.

My Grandfather's Spaceship [Companion to the Cornish Talisman series]

12/28/2017 - Years end cleanup; deleted all but last post.

 Although I've considered this completed and only in need of one last edit, I'm still thinking it might need just a little more excitement. Maybe adding a few more cliff hangers so to speak; and that's for all you oldsters that remember movie serials where each weekly installment ended with a cliff hanger. That is a situation that puts either or both the hero and or his associates in peril.

6/27/2017 - My Grandfather's Spaceship
In all "My Grandfather's Spaceship" is a delightful tale starting off with piracy, a kidnapping, saving a damsel in distress, and riding off into the sunset after playing games with two F-15 jets. And that's just the beginning.

A Light in the Window

2/2/2017 - As a novella I'm considering adding this to a few others and publishing it that way. I've added rear legs to the table and it looks much better. No you will not find a picture of this anywhere else as it is my little monster, stitched together from several pieces of a much larger and more ornate piece of furniture.

6/17/2016 - I have finished the writing of this project and been through two edits. I still have some concerns about the dates I'm using in the beginning that don't match the documented dates later on.
As usual with some of these projects the plot defies what my original concept had planned for. I eventually gave in and valiantly continued writing. Result is now Novella sized and the ending has totally changed from what I had planned. That doesn't mean it's a bad ending though, I don't write bad endings; at least not that I'm aware off... My thanks go out to my son-in-law for parts of the European history that are alluded to but I did my own research on watch and music box makers.

5/20/2016 -First update since inception!
While working on other projects I am considering how to smooth out the wrinkles in this one. The first chapter, and the several others already written have become the lynch pins upon which I will finish this story. Even though the first chapter alludes to certain things they will eventually be proven to be misconceptions; if I told you more specifics that would ruin the story. As a short story I may or may not put together a cover image. More later on as to progress.

4/15/2016

My bad! I put this post in place several weeks ago and never wrote a word in it.
This story was originally supposed to be dark and mysterious. So much for that. It has turned itself into more of a forbidden romance between the poor young inventor and the daughter of a rich man who has other plans for his young lady. Plans wrapped around money and power. Like many stories I've written the beginnings to, this one didn't want to go the way I wanted it do and I ended up with a tangled mess for a plot. So I threw in another character (or two) and changed direction. Yes, the beginning is dark and brooding and it makes you wonder just what the old man has in the bag and its history. I know who made it and what its history is, but its purpose may be more complicated than I originally anticipated. No, it won't be a long story, and for now I guess, the ending is not as bleak. I just haven't figured out who gets the girl in the end. Oh well.

Beneath the Stars Above (available at amazon.com)

BENEATH THE STARS ABOVE
(genre: light fantasy)

Is now available through amazon.com, just visit: [ https://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Stars-Above-M-L-Humphrey/dp/1548970042/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1505773753&sr=1-1&keywords=beneath+the+stars+above ]

Working on the final edit of the formatted text from the publisher; this is my last chance to make sure all is OK. I have picked the cover from 3 that the publisher choose for my consideration.

This story is about the life of Parker Morley and his dream of becoming a journalist. Toward that end he has to overcome his fathers objections, Henry Morley wanted his son to follow in his foot steps and become an engineer but Parker's mind was made up; he wanted to go to Bendix University to study journalism. No, it wasn't at all easy to do. First he had to pass the board of admissions and Eddie Thornton. But that was just the beginning.

The Cornish Talisman Series (books 1 - 5) Published

Book 1: The Orphan from Space          (Jan 2014)
Book 2: The Crystal Crowns                (Aug 2014)
Book 3: Return to Earth                        (Oct 2014)
Book 4: Betrayal on Gruentok              (May 2015)
Book 5: Galactic Quest                         (Sept 2016)


The Cornish Talisman Series started with the story about a young man that inherits his grand father's farm and finds a spaceship hidden in one of the barns. I even had a couple of chapters written and a couple of the main characters defined. The title "My Grandfathers Spaceship".
Catchy title don't you think? But, as usual, I found the story had a different idea and kept teasing me to change focus. Then came my first decision on where the story was headed all based on my first sticking point. Sticking points, you know, those things in a story that just reach out like thorns behind the roses and keep jabbing at you.Anyway, I changed direction and decided to tell the story behind how the spaceship came to be hidden in the barn and of course where it had come from.

Well, it rapidly developed into a space yarn involving a fifteen year old boy aboard a family owned and operated survey ship that discovers a long abandoned ship of the Predecessors. The Predecessors were an ancient group of beings that vanished long before present humanity developed space travel. All three families aboard their ship have children and our young hero is also not the oldest.
Arial is three years older and the captain's daughter. She treats him like a child, and he, of course, is madly in love with her. It is a twisted set of circumstances that leaves our young Jasom marooned on Earth and living at an abandoned farm in Nashua, Montana in our year of 1952. He is lost, alone, and doesn't know if he'll ever see his family again. Circumstances have a way working things out and our young orphan is taken in by a childless couple who run the local store in town. Years go by without a word from his parents as he blends into the local school system and eventually starts college.The title has a further allusion to which you will have to read to find out.

At the end of book 1 "The Orphan from Space", I split the story line between book 2, "The Crystal Crowns", and book 3, "Return to Earth". Time wise, book 2 recombines with the main story line near the end of book 3. However, book 4 "Betrayal on Gruentok" begins at the end of book 2 and intersects near the middle of  book 5 "Galactic Quest".  So far, its been a span of almost 9 years since the beginning of book 1. Many new characters have been added along the way and several threads have been left hanging. Galactic Quest does more than just close the threads, it brings the story of Jasom and Arial to a turbulent but happy ending.

Which brings me back to "My Grandfathers Spaceship", the original story. I've toyed with the idea and developed a somewhat plausible story line that would pick up nearly 50 years after the first series closes and centers on the grandson of Jasom and Arial. There would also be some characters from the original books along with a delightful clone of the Cornish Talisman's AI Cornell.

(see the blog on My Grandfather's Spaceship for more details)

Destination: Infinity -- formerly [Ring Bell for Service]

7/1/2018 - DESTINATION: INFINITY

This project is in full scale edit, about 80% done. It is destined to be the title novella in an anthology I hope to publish within the next several months. The story remains unchanged in theme but has undergone edits to work out the bugs.

"RING BELL FOR SERVICE"

This started off as a short story but has grown substantially since. Based somewhat loosely on a   story I read back in the 60's, the title for which I have long forgotten. It begins with a travel agency setting where our unsuspecting hero decides he would like to spend his vacation at a calm and peaceful setting. Something like warm weather, sunny skies and a beach sipping on lots of umbrella drinks, the friendly natives fishing on the clear placid waters.

But too much of a good thing has changed his mind; he has become bored with the idyllic setting.  A little more adventure is what he really wants and decides to switch to a tour. Think "it's Tuesday so I must be somewhere else". Places like a mountain resort, a medieval theme park, or maybe a swampland playground await our eager traveler; just punch the button and be prepared to be amazed. In like manner, all you the reader have to do is turn the page and be amazed as well.

Now that's all fine and good, but what would happen if you, some where along the tour, missed your boat or got on the wrong boat? Where would you end up?

Sound like fun? Then join Mr. Rogers as he gets just what he asked for, and so much more.

12/27/2014
After much work gathering the pieces, I've massaged and clipped and glued and pasted together what appears to me to be a very appropriate cover for this story. (shown above)

1/2/20015
OK, let me say that "Ring Bell for Service" is coming along very nicely. First major edit begged a slight clarification to the ending and nearly another thousand words to support it. The overall storyline is smoothing out and the flow runs the gamut of emotions ending in both sacrifice and new beginnings.

As an extra tidbit, let's just say that some of the stops aren't quite what they are supposed to be as our Mr. Phil Rogers learns, the hard way. You may scream now if you wish.

Beneath the Double Suns [Chasm of Time Series Version 1.0 ]

Beneath the Double Suns - copyright 2014

Prototype Cover design (C) 2014 by M. L. Humphrey

     First let me say that this book contains pieces and parts from previous novels. There, with that said I can explain the reasoning behind it. Not interested? Doesn't matter, I'm going to explain it anyway.

     My very first novel was titled "For Lorne" and comprised of two separate story lines intertwined. Some people didn't like the way it bounced back and forth between what seemed like two unrelated stories, but I had a reason for doing it that way and if you have read my Authors Notes blog, I explained the whole rationale behind it. "Beneath the Double Suns" is now all of the back story from "For Lorne" and its rewrite "Across the Chasm of Time". When I consolidated "For Lorne" with its sequel "The 5th Agent", the front end became disjointed with respect to the rest of the book. I may change my mind and put a ghost section back in place of what I've removed, but only as a prelude that will line up chronologically with the end of this story.

     What can you expect from "Beneath the Double Suns"? I could say read it and find out, but I will tell you this much. If you've read "For Lorne" or "Across the Chasm of Time", this is the prequel and leads up to the main story line of Colony, which in turn forms the back story to For Lorne All of the parts relating to the treaty formed between the old Empire "Haurembeau" (formerly called He-Rah-Emp-To) and the building of the city of Lurandor on the fourth planet of the binary system of  Dracor have been moved to this project. Added to that are references to the survey ship For Lorne that landed on a primitive planet. Then mix in a few interesting characters and a good story line, and there you have it. One other thing I can say, without giving away any of the story line, is that not only have I changed the name of the empire, but I've also added first names to the characters aside from the suffix 'deau' for female and 'dor' for male. This is after all an alien/foreign culture; I can make up my own rules.

     Now this is also listed as the first book in the series even though it is the latest addition. Sequentially the next book would be "Colony" which is still in progress. It has grown in size with the addition of moving the For Lorne's landing on the planet and what happens to its crew and how they adapt to their surroundings. I know where that story is going, but I've been side tracked several times so it sits patiently, waiting for me to return.

     Sequentially speaking, "Little Ann" would be the next book in the series followed by "Beyond the Chasm of Time" (which comprises all of "For Lorne" and "The 5th Agent") which would be the capstone of the entire series.

     I'm beginning to think that the reason some authors have series is that there is more material in their original composition than they need, some of which actually doesn't really fit with the storyline they are working on so they create another book along the same lines from the scraps left over. I did that with "Little Ann" and again with this book.

HAPPY READING!