by R.F. Dunham
GENRE: Alternate History
BLURB:
In 732 A.D., the Frankish and Burgundian forces led by Charles Martel defeated an army of the Umayyad Caliphate led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi and halted the Muslim advance into Christian Europe. At least, that's what happened in the world as you know it.
Step into the world of The Other Side of Hope, where the world as you know it is turned on its head. A world where Charles Martel fell on that field south of Tours, France and was never given his nickname, "The Hammer." A world where Europe came under Muslim rule and Christianity was eventually forced to flee to the shores of a distant land in search of religious freedom. A land where, without support from European colonial powers, they found only conflict and poverty.
In the modern day, this world remains divided. The wealthy Muslim East and the poverty-stricken Christian West are constantly at odds. A single spark is all it takes to ignite fresh conflict and the cycle seems never-ending.
Follow the paths of Ethan Lewis and Hamid Damir as they are put on a collision course with the other side. Will they find hope for a brighter future or be lost in the despair of intractable conflict?
EXCERPT:
When Ethan saw Elisa turn the corner, his eyes lingered on her face for only an instant. The familiar details of her delicate features filled his mind at once and he wondered how they could have ever become blurred. He would have focused on those features longer, much longer. Would have memorized every inch of her face, from the curve of her cheeks, to her soft nose, to the gentle slope of her chin, to her soft red lips, and shining blue eyes.
He would have stared for hours and maybe he would have never left again. But his eyes were immediately drawn away from her face and to her belly, which was large and round.
Ethan stared at her pregnant stomach for a heartbeat that stretched on endlessly. He blinked once and then hot anger, augmented by the sharp pain of betrayal, flared. He’d been gone for months and she’d gotten pregnant with another man’s child while he was fighting for their future.
He took a step toward her and she must have seen the rage in his eyes because she rested a hand on her stomach and backed away. Seeing her fear broke through Ethan’s anger and he stopped.
“Is it…?” he asked softly, almost breathless.
Elisa nodded once, just a small dip of her chin and Ethan knew it was true.
It was his child she was carrying. He was suddenly ashamed that he could have ever thought anything different. Elisa would never betray him.
Even though the revelation of her pregnancy was a shock, Ethan had to admit that it was possible. He hadn’t truly even considered the possibility that it would happen, that she would become pregnant before they were married. Or maybe he had just assumed that it wouldn’t matter if she did, that they would be married either way and no one would ever know the difference.
Yet here they stood.
Ethan stood just inside the doorway, wrestling with feelings of desperation and duty. Elisa at the end of the hallway, eyes wide with a potent mixture of fear and hope.
Ethan held those eyes with his own for a moment longer, then came to his decision. “I’m going to Turkey. Today.”
Guest Post:
What is your writing process? For instance do you do an outline first?
Do you do the chapters first?
Well, the first thing to say is that I’m a
planner all the way. I can’t even fathom writing a coherent short story without
an outline, much less a novel. So, to all those “pantsers” out there, I think
you’re crazy, but I salute you.
I typically start with some small idea and then
build the story around that. The idea might come from a news article, a random
thought, or a conversation and it could be related to the setting of the story,
the plot, or a character. For example, The Other Side of Hope started with an idea about the world. Basically the question, “What
if Christianity and Islam could switch places?” I took that idea and kept
adding layers of complexity. First the general concept of the alternate history
world in which the Battle of Tours was won by Muslim armies. Then I added some
characters, one on each “side” and started sketching a story that would bring
them together. As I went, I made more characters that were connected to the
original ones and the story kept growing with more characters.
All of that, however, came before I really
started writing. Like I said, I’m a planner. So everything above ends up in a
collection of various documents and notes. Which leads into a great plug for Scrivener! I use it to
keep all those notes organized and it’s priceless for the next stage:
outlining. As another little plug, I wrote a blog post that’s been fairly popular about using Microsoft OneNote to plan a
novel. It’s what I used before I found Scrivener and, while Scrivener is far
better, it’s a good alternative if you really can’t afford the $40 price tag.
Once I’ve assembled that pile of notes and
reference documents, I start outlining the story. My outlines (made in
Scrivener) are broken down into chapters and scenes. I usually have a brief
description of what needs to go in each scene. It’s typically written in a narrative
format but I sometimes include notes to myself about things to be sure to
include, lines of dialogue, or potential difficulties.
The time for most major plot/story changes comes
after the outline is done, but before writing begins. That makes for minimal
revisions later on. So, after any necessary story tweaks are done, I start
writing. Because I’ve already put so much into the story, this part flows
pretty quickly. I get the first draft out and then go through a few rounds of
editing/revising. To use The Other Side of Hope as an example again, I did some basic proofreading,
then decided it needed a couple of extra chapters in the middle, so I added
those in. After that, I sent it to my editor, Josh Davis, made
the necessary corrections, and it was done!
AUTHOR BIO:
R.F. Dunham writes with one purpose: to take you places you've never been before. That might be a distant fantasy land, the far reaches of space, the future of earth, or simply to an idea you've never encountered. A student of language and culture, Dunham's stories will pull you into complex worlds that challenge your perception of your own surroundings.
After working for over two years as a professional ghostwriter, the time has finally come for him to release his first full-length novel published in his own name, The Other Side of Hope. His short story, “Just a Drop,” was recently published in Nebula Rift Science Fiction magazine and an interactive version of the story is currently in beta testing. When he’s not writing, R.F. can be found playing the trumpet, writing his thesis in Arabic linguistics, or hiking in the mountains of Virginia.
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