Planets Project: behind the scenes

So what does this story have to do with the planet Mars?

My very first thought when thinking about a Mars-inspired piece was was to have a warrior protagonist (gee, I wonder where that came from!). But that felt lazy to me, so I dug deeper and came up with this tale of two sisters, one adored and life-giving, the other twisted, abandoned, and life-destroying.

The story grew out of my thought that Mars is sometimes seen as an ugly stepsister to Earth. There’s this sense that–even with all the enthusiasm for the red planet–it could be something so much more than what it is. In science fiction, Mars is the focus of terraforming efforts or the place where alien life exists or used to exist. So we explore the planet, hoping to find evidence of life and water. Hoping that it’s a place, or will become a place, more like the one that exists in our imaginations.

And somehow that turned into Sisters.

The Mars story is the last of the series that’ll be on the blog. I’ve completed the Jupiter one (which ended up being a lot longer than flash fiction), and am about halfway through the Saturn one. Once I’m done, the entire series will be available as a free e-book for my newsletter subscribers.

If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do so below:

Like most of you, managing my Inbox can be hard. I, too, have to deal with a large volume of mail. Therefore, I strive to keep my newsletter a low-frequency one.

I will also never sell or give away your email address for ANY reason. I value your privacy.