The story behind the story of Rogue Wave (Part 1)

Part One:

After taking several years off from writing following the death in 2019 of my younger brother, Dave, I began writing again in 2024. I started work on the long-awaited prequel to my five-book "Novum" series. The story is called "Rogue Wave", and it tells the events that led Jake Stone to acquire his girlfriend’s cargo vessel, then called, "Messenger", after her tragic death.

This backstory was referenced several times in the original series, but due to a head injury, Jake was left with very few memories of what actually happened. This story finally reveals the truth.

However, instead of writing it as a book, I decided to write a screenplay. I’ve always loved the screenplay format, and I needed something to kickstart me out of the creative rut I was in following Dave’s passing.

Since the story was already fully outlined, it didn’t take long to complete the 120-page screenplay. With dialogue editing from my sister Lori—an amazingly talented person and former actress—I created something I was truly proud of.

By that point, however, we both agreed the story was far too short to serve as a complete backstory to my series. Plus, by this time I had sort of fallen in love with my new characters, the crew of the messenger and I didn't want their story to so quickly. So I decided to create a second version of the script, splitting it down the middle and expanding it into a two-part series.

One advantage of that decision was that it gave me a brand-new ending for the first script—one I now absolutely love. I also developed a fantastic first half of the second script that ties beautifully into the tragic way that story ultimately ends.

Realizing that a novice screenwriter like me has virtually no chance of selling a speculative screenplay, especially one designed to be a big budget film, I decided to adapt the first script into a novella. It took a few months to write and several more months of editing and feedback to shape it into a complete 140-page book.

That story, which I titled, "Rogue Wave: Novum Origins Book One", is now available worldwide on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and most other major booksellers.

And this is where the problem begins.

I now have one finished book and a second book fully outlined and half written. But since they’re novellas, I knew that to create something readers would truly invest in, I really needed a trilogy. Three novellas together would equal roughly the size of a full-length novel.

The problem is, I only had two stories outlined, not three. And more importantly, I needed a middle book that ties the first and third books together.

I’ll continue this story with you next time.