The Solar Dance - A Journey Of Discovery.

Where does it all begin? The one question that writers world over are asked all the time, and this week, my guest was posed a similar question. Join us as Catrina Taylor explores how it began with her book.

Recently I was posed the question: What started your current work of fiction? Although I could say that it is simply inspiration, dedication and drive to create something fun to read, the reality of this work is far deeper than that. 

In 2003, while I was in the middle of a four month separation with my then husband, Xarrok was born. It was born 500 years ahead of the time I have been writing about. In that world, a utopia was shattered as the people were reminded of their roots, and how their planet came to be. Eventually, my husband and I reconciled and my writing had to stop. Seven years later I picked it back up, after my divorce. I asked myself what the Great Wars, as referenced in the original book, were like.

At the time I was actively engaged in storytelling, through role play character development on twitter.  Set in a Star Trek fan fiction alternate universe, my primary character and her family endure significant hardships, face off against the Borg and challenge everyone who dares to attempt to separate them. That’s when the answer to the Great Wars question hit me. It’s like the RP only darker, much darker, as 100 years of war is not pretty. 

My mind dances between each world in the universe. Each story that needs told reminds me there are thousands more, but every universe must have a beginning. That is what I’m creating now. I’m creating the beginning. 

This is the beginning of many things to come. Birth of an Empire marks the beginning of a new science fiction series, and the beginning of my new life. A life of freedom to create, freedom to love, freedom to enjoy the same universe readers enjoy. In this universe, in this world, new beginnings happen all the time and my new beginning will ever be renewed through every story and every word woven together. 

At the time of this post, my universe has three books published. Birth of an Empire is the primary book and the first in a four part series that showcases the beginning of the world of Xarrok. My editor and I are diligently working to be ready to release Birth of an Empire: Consequences by July 31^st, 2012. We are slightly behind schedule, but not without benefits. The wait for book three will be far shorter than the wait for book two was. . It is our goal to achieve a print release of the four part book by April of 2013.

~About my Guest~

Catrina Taylor is a single mom who dances with her children, both real and fiction. Her imagination compels her to push the limits of reality in order to create the universe around Xarrok. Her two children give her the drive and renewed perspective required to develop each new story. 

The first book in the Birth of an Empire series was released November 2011, since then she has completed and released two short stories and is preparing to release the second book in the Birth of an Empire series, alongside two more short stories in the Origins Series. You can find her books on Nook, Kindle, Smashwords and popular online retailers everywhere.