One of the books I’ll be writing this year is a novella called Devon’s Blade. It’s not Fantasy, it’s Military SF. The title is a play on a non-fiction military book about a squadron of Japanese aces in WWII, called Genda’s Blade. The blade being a reference to the Katana blade of a Japanese pilot warrior. Genda’s ace pilots were his “blade” against the American military. Devon’s Blade is about a starfighter squadron led by Devon Ardel, the hero from the Starforgers Trilogy of the Star Saga. It is set between Book 1 and Book 2 of the Star Saga but is intended to be a stand alone book.
The story is about how a remote squadron of misfit Alliance pilots rises up and defeats a Votainion starfighter ace. It’s my homage to WWII fighter pilot stories that have inspired me over the years. The original source for the story is the legendary Black Sheep Squadron of VMF 214, and their Medal of Honor winning commander, Major Gregory “Pappy” Boyington. If you are of a certain age, you may recall the 1970’s TV show about this unit staring Robert Conrad. My story is not a direct retelling of the Black Sheep Squadron, but many aspects of my story are similar. It’s a place to start and a great place at that. Did you know Boyington was from Idaho?
Leading into that, I’m currently writing a short story about the Votainion ace featured in that novella. It’s from from his POV and should be a really fun ride by itself. I’ll use the short as a free funnel to get readers to check out the novella. Not sure when I’ll release the short, given that the novella won’t be out until next year. Play that one by ear. I may submit it to an online zine or something.