A Long Time Ago, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away….

There is a reason why this author refers to the original Star Wars film trilogy fairly often in her articles. When I was small, my father and I used to play a little game which we still return to every now and then. He would cover his mouth with one hand, breathe deeply a couple of times, and say, “You are part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor. Take her away!” At other times he would say, “Caroline, I am your father!”

He did this fairly often when this author was around two or three years old. Naturally, at that age, the references flew over my head. But I could tell it was a game, and as a game this writer enjoyed it immensely. Then, at four years old I think, I started questioning where the phrases came from. My father was obviously quoting something but I didn’t know what it was.

It was probably in response to those questions that my father pulled out the restored 1997 copy of A New Hope. I vaguely remember my mother protesting that it would be too adult for me while my father insisted that I would be fine and that it would be good for me. He was right – on both the personal and the professional level, as we would discover later. Once the opening scrawl for the film appeared, this author fell in love with Star Wars.

The heroes were the biggest attraction, of course. What young girl hasn’t dreamed of being Princess Leia, at least briefly? I not only wanted to use a blaster, the way that she did, I wanted friends like Han, Luke, R2, and Chewie. (C-3PO was such a blabbermouth that he never really earned any appreciation from me.) Despite the fact that this author has reached adulthood, she still desperately wants to pilot an X-wing fighter. And earning the use of a lightsaber would be the icing on the cake.

The impact this franchise has had on my life and career is inestimable. The first novel this author wrote was a space opera – and, even though it didn’t work out well, the story has never been far from her thoughts. God has plans for it too, apparently, because a year ago a new way of presenting this tale occurred to me when I asked the Almighty for help creating a good space opera. He pointed me back to this original idea and, while it still needs quite a bit of work, it appears to be shaping up nicely.

Of course, a love of Star Wars did not preclude this writer from enjoying other “space operas.” Though I do not remember it well, I saw the Dune miniseries when it aired on the Sci-Fi (now SyFy) channel, and I intend to read the novel soon. In fits and starts this author is working through A Princess of Mars, which is proving to be quite instructive. Though this may get her in trouble with some Edgar Rice Burroughs’ fans, the film John Carter really entertained her, too. And some of the science fiction stories written by Andre Norton which I have read could conceivably fall under the “space opera” umbrella.

If you have any space opera recommendations, readers, I am open to exploring this genre more. Keep in mind, though, that I may not be able to read them all in a timely fashion. I still have a lot of writing to do, and – sadly – that limits the amount of time I have to read recreationally (and for research purposes!). Still, if it sounds good, I will make an attempt to hunt it down and read it.

As you may have guessed from this post, you can expect some space operas from this author’s pen in the future. Keep an eye on me and the prayers coming please, readers. Because if I cannot actually fly a World War II type fighter in space, I am going to write about characters who can! 😉