How much should I reveal on this site?

Anything that gave away the plot would be too much. What you described: "ships, deck plans, uniforms, patches, star maps, weapons, surface maps, even character likenesses" doesn't much sound like it would spoil anything.

I was going to add a snarky comment to "go write" instead, but actually I think we are all best served by you having a good state of mind. In that vein, please discuss whatever you want. We're big people and we'll deal with it. 🙂

I'm inclined to side with Eric Nay in that all that should be made avaliable. I think part of what Ryk is getting at is any specs on the Aurora is something of a spoiler if you've only read the first 3 books. Although that book title itself is a spoiler of sorts.

So, that being said, it would be good to break up that information based on episodes. Tag it all so that information is current as of the end of say 1 or 9, as well as "before episode 1" for anything that doesn't give away anything in episode 1. You can then allow registered users to enter in how far they are into the series in terms of what was the last book they've read.

The site is then set by default to hide spoilers beyond whatever episode has been entered. If no episode is entered, then it's assumed that the user hasn't read any book in the series. The user can of course set the site to show spoilers if they want. The actual hiding of the information could be done simply be not showing the links. Rather displaying a notice that information was hidden to prevent spoilers, with a link to more information about how that works as well as what episode that information is revealed in, but no info about the nature of that information.

This requires tagging all of the information based on episode, as well as adding the code required to check the episode although it could be as simple as essentially "if farthest_read_episode >= tagged_episode then display else hide".

I agree that any plot lines are off limits, but any maps and deck plans would be awesome.

"We’re big people and we’ll deal with it." I agree with Eric completely. I think no plot lines is as good a place as any to draw a line.

My greedy sense of desire leads me through the need for more books, but GOOD books. Good books get written by authors who are happy. Happy authors don't JUST write, they also go on research trips to Winnipeg, and Geneva, and other scenes they write about. They also take enough vacations to keep their spouse happy, and just plain relax enough so that they can write comfortably.

Just sayin'... 😉

I definitely wouldn't reveal any upcoming plot lines. What about character likenesses?

Whatever you want to do, man. Personally I'm a little more interested in simple deck designs (Oh, the Captain's Ready Room is over THERE!) Sketches of the interior of the Celestia seem especially important right now, as the characters are dealing with the hurdles of an unfinished ship.

On the other hand, anything you do now limits the Universal/WB/Sony/Fox/Paramount/Disney Set Designer from changing. 😉

Character likenesses would be fine. You can always add the scars and body painting later... 🙂

Just curious, but do you also draw, paint, or take pictures as a hobby, and would character drawings and such be a way of expressing what's in your head? I often get ideas or such and have to write them down, in order to get them out of my head so I can keep working.

I used to draw a lot, and do some photography. (Back in the days when it still involved a darkroom.) Not so much anymore, as I don't have the time. About the only drawing I do is sketches to send to the engineering guys and illustrators, and they're not that good. If I had all the time in the world, I would probably get into digital illustrations of space ships and stuff, as I've been drawing that kind of stuff since I was a kid glued to the TV during Apollo missions.

I know what you mean about getting them out of your head, though. I still go through a lot of graph pads each month.

"...show ships, deck plans, uniforms, patches, star maps, weapons, surface maps, even character likenesses."

I would REALLY like to see deck plans and ships (Defender Class?). An interactive star map based on the travels so far would be great! As I read your books I play it all in my head as a tv episode. I have imagined how the inner deck of Aurora/Celestia would look like. Having your vision on how you see it would be great! It could only improve your books in my eyes because your vision is what drives these books... Just my 2 cents for ya Mr. Brown!

Back early 60's, comedian Stan Freeburg performed a sketch designed to promote Radio broadcasting. In those days, that industry felt threatened by the fast rising success of television. The performance went on to describe that Royal Canadian Air Force would carry a ten ton Maraschino Cherry, drop it into one of the great lakes, which had been drained and filled with whipped cream, to the cheering of 21,000 extras. Sound effects were then used to effectively play out the events which in turn invoked listener participation by requiring the use of their imagination.

Alfred Hitchcock's shower scene from "Psycho" terrifies the viewer, not from what is seen for we see very little, but from what is not seen. We are left to fill in the unseen with our imaginations which are far more creative then any Hollywood re-creation.

So it seems I'm saying "less is more," and that I'm asking you not to invade the territory of my imagination.

Oh, if only it was that easy, because there is another part of me that would relish any morsel of detail that helps to further the creation of the Aurora universe.

This is quite the conundrum

“…show ships, deck plans, uniforms, patches, star maps, weapons, surface maps, even character likenesses.”

Show anything and everything, just make it click able so everyone can pick what they look at. If you do the character likenesses, you could make a 'service record' entry on the site with their picture and a brief history of them before they joined the Aurora or entered the series. Then you could have updated information listed under another link based on major events. An example would be Nathan's service record just prior to the first book, then the updated information would change after book one to reflect him becoming a Captain.

Some of this stuff does not require you to do it though. I'm sure some of the fans would love to help fill out this information. Most of the information can be pulled from the books, but they may also need some additional help histories.

Also, a change log for Aurora/Celestia would be awesome. Whats been added, installed, removed, destroyed, etc.

^^Can we get Ryk's reply's in gold or something. He is the Keymaster!

“How much should I reveal on this site?”
As you might expect, I see all this in my head, just like I was watching it on TV. The question is, if I show you what I see, am I ruining everyone’s own vision?

My concern is reverse contamination.

This is your story. As much as I would like you to reward your characters with some satisfying sexual release from time to time, you seem unwilling to go there. But if we actively start discussing with you the merits of "don't screw with crew" policies, or "My God, it's a big scary universe and we could die all alone, please take me to bed" scenarios, will it "taint" your perspective and cause you to rethink, embellish, or heaven's forbid, even revise an existing story line? That would be the case of the tail wagging the dog, and it's a slippery slope (can I get any more metaphors in this paragraph?).

So ask yourself, do you want this to be an interactive exchange of ideas, or do you want this to be a monodirectional dessemination of data and material? Two very different objectives, with two clearly different courses of action.

Why have I not seen this thread earlier!?

Reading through everyone's comments I think it's pretty obvious that while we all have our own notions of what things look like and how they act, in the end we want to see YOUR vision, Ryk.

We love the universe that you have crafted and if you want to express more of that outside of writing (such as images and maps and the like) I think we can all agree that we would like to see it.

I know I personally enjoy every little morsel you have dulled out so far like the patches and wireframe of the Aurora. I want more! We all do! You somehow manage to crank out a book every 3 months (amazingly impressive time table by the way) but as you undoubtedly know, Sci-Fi fans can never have to much of what they love! We are by definition Fanatics of the Frontiers Saga and our hunger for details cannot be satiated. It' why we have threads on these forums where we discuss battle tactics for the ships, or speculate on what else is out there in this massive universe, or ruminate on the Pre-Plague history of Earth.

So please, spoil us with more details but don't spoil us with spoilers.