OCTOBER - THE FORCE WASN'T WITH ME!

A long time ago in a galaxy not so far away a lone boy existed in a desolate wilderness..........but that's another story.

A colleague at work last week said to me he thought i would have been at the open auditions for Star Wars. I didn't know what he was talking about at the time but now I am up on the Force.  I knew he was joking at the time of course  but I didn't know how much. I may be 24 inside but can only pass for 37 on the outside. It did though allow me to reveal my tenuous and fantastical link to the new films.

I have a copy of a letter I wrote to George Lucas on 1st October 2000. It went like this:

1st October 2000


Dear Mr Lucas

I am writing to you with an idea that I have had which you have probably already thought of or had brought to your attention before. If it has and has been disregarded I apologise for troubling you.

When I have a creative idea it burns fiercely inside and no matter how silly it seems at times I feel the need to outline it to someone, just in case it proves to be of worthwhile consideration. You are a creative genius and multimillionaire whilst I slave away in an insurance office whilst trying to persuade someone to publish the novel I have written in my spare time. Therefore,in one way, it feels nonsensical to be doing this but on the other hand, just in case no one has thought of this - and the chances of winning the lottery are better - I feel compelled to write.

It must be about a year ago that I discovered that the ongoing adventures of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Hans Solo and the rest were being published in a series of novels. There must be millions of people interested in the ongoing saga as evidenced by the fact that each Star Wars novel published becomes an instant bestseller. Whilst I believe that after the three prequels the films will be finished there will be a vast untapped area of the Star Wars universe to discover. If there are going to be no more films, how then to tap into this vast interest potential of the non-reading public?

There have been occasions when a so-so film has been turned into a first rate television series e.g. Star Gate and Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. A great film such as Star Wars could continue as a sensational television series that would be in great demand. There must be at least twenty novels spanning at least 20 years since the events in "Return of the Jedi" and it still continues. Unabated material for as long as the interest continues.

As I have already stated, you must have already considered this and discounted it, or maybe, put it on the back burner until the films are completed, although you probably already have other projects planned and have opted to put Star Wars to bed. Yet even "a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away" miracles do sometimes happen.

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!

I did receive a stock reply and an R2D2 bookmark from GL's secretary, Anne Merryfield.

OK it is Disney now and film not TV but still. A visionary or what?

I think the Thrawn trilogy was the first follow on books I read. It was difficult to keep track as I only wanted to follow the story of the main characters and there were a lot of off shot stories. Still I recall that Solo and Leia got married and had kids - twins plus one I think - and Luke started a Jedi academy.

That was 13 years ago - unlucky for me - because I am still slaving away in insurance. The book I referred to in the letter was "Trouble Cross" which I had just finished. "Rewind" was not even an inkling at this time as I didn't start that until 2004.

Now, how do I tie this in with a clever link to my books languishing on Amazon. Followers of this blog - who am I kidding - will know that I am Hans Solo in my mission to raise my titles in the rankings so at least they show up on search lists. Anyway, for what it's worth.

At least half the Star Wars fans must also have liked Mel Brooks' "Spaceballs". You can't beat a good spoof. "Trouble Cross" is sort of spoofish, especially the Bond spoof portion, "Doctor! Oh No!" which you can read for free - No W7, I expect you to die page.

That's all I have. No links today. There are plenty in the other posts.

The Skywalker's the limit. Leia all your 97 pences on me. Don't let me go Solo into a black hole.

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH MY AMAZON RANKINGS!