From Marvel to Star Wars, shared universe content is taking over the world. We interviewed Chris Kennedy, publisher, author, and one of the co-founders of the Four Horseman Universe (4HU). Today Chris Kennedy Publishing is made up of six imprints that publish everything from non-fiction to military fiction to fantasy.

From CKP’s Seventh Seal Press, the Four Horseman Universe is an action-packed, sweeping military science fiction series. It all started in 2016 with Cartwright’s Cavaliers by Mark Wandrey (https://www.worldmaker.us/home/). Now the 4HU has expanded to 8 different series, approaching 100 titles from over 50 authors. Its dedicated fan club has 25 companies across the country.

In Episode 2:

• Advantages of shared worlds and co-writing: stepping out of the author cave and working with others to ping-pong ideas and build your writing community

• The worldbuilding process: how much is done in advance of writing your novel, and how does this vary from author to author?

• The iceberg approach: how to determine which worldbuilding details are going to further your story

• Joining a shared world as a new author: where do you start?

• The editing process: how developmental editing looks different in a shared world

Resources and Guest Links:

Chris Kennedy Publishing: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/

Mark Wandrey Author: https://www.worldmaker.us/home/

World Building for Novices: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/book/world-building-for-novices/

Quillcraft Press, CKP: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/quillcraft-press/

4HU Fan Club, the Mercenary Guild: https://themercenaryguild.org/index.html

Host Links:

H.Y. Gregor: https://hygregor.com/

David Shadoin: https://www.davidshadoin.com/

Credits- (all assets licensed through the sites listed)

For Intro: Music- Cinematic Epic Trailer by PaulYudin on Pixabay

Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user- kazim hussian; from pixabay users-davidfoxx, DavidGallie, olenchic, stefaniejockschat, AiVreaSaStii, RuneSnow, duyen-nguyen, EnchantedStudios,

For Outro: Music- Good Night by FASSounds on Pixabay

Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user-onlydesignz; from pixabay users-olenchic, Placidplace, Evgeniy_Z, Dantegrafico, Shayea_Kim,

Special Thanks to Chris Kennedy! Both Shady and H.Y. Gregor had the honor of working closely with Chris over recent years and we’re so grateful for his professionalism and his willingness to be our first victim on the show. Chris and CKP have great reputations for recruiting and mentoring new authors and we’re honored to have him here.

Technical Note from Your Co-Hosts: We’re learning too! We loved working with and for Book Career in a Year and had a blast recording this show. However, we are no longer with them. We appreciate your patience with our technical audio complications in this, our original debut episode! Hang out with us again next week to see progress in motion and learn from more masters of the craft.

From Marvel to Star Wars, shared universe content is taking over the world. We interviewed Chris Kennedy, publisher, author, and one of the co-founders of the Four Horseman Universe (4HU). Today Chris Kennedy Publishing is made up of six imprints that publish everything from non-fiction to military fiction to fantasy.

From CKP’s Seventh Seal Press, the Four Horseman Universe is an action-packed, sweeping military science fiction series. It all started in 2016 with Cartwright’s Cavaliers by Mark Wandrey (https://www.worldmaker.us/home/). Now the 4HU has expanded to 8 different series, approaching 100 titles from over 50 authors. Its dedicated fan club has 25 companies across the country.

In Episode 1, we’ll discuss:

• The starting seeds of a massive shared universe: how do authors hatch a plan that spans such a widespread, beloved series?

• Submitting and participating in anthologies: how short stories help new authors get involved in established universes

• Worldbuilding continuity across space: dozens of alien races, countless planets, and mercenary companies means you need a good bible and even better continuity editors

• Real-world inspiration for military science fiction and future tech

• Suspension of disbelief: research and reality vs the “rule of cool” in far-future science fiction

Resources and Guest Links:

Chris Kennedy Publishing: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/

Mark Wandrey Author: https://www.worldmaker.us/home/

World Building for Novices: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/book/world-building-for-novices/

Quillcraft Press, CKP: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/quillcraft-press/

4HU Fan Club, the Mercenary Guild: https://themercenaryguild.org/index.html

Host Links:

H.Y. Gregor: https://hygregor.com/

David Shadoin: https://www.davidshadoin.com/

Credits- (all assets licensed through the sites listed)

For Intro: Music- Cinematic Epic Trailer by PaulYudin on Pixabay

Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user- kazim hussian; from pixabay users-davidfoxx, DavidGallie, olenchic, stefaniejockschat, AiVreaSaStii, RuneSnow, duyen-nguyen, EnchantedStudios,

For Outro: Music- Good Night by FASSounds on Pixabay

Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user-onlydesignz; from pixabay users-olenchic, Placidplace, Evgeniy_Z, Dantegrafico, Shayea_Kim,

Special Thanks to Chris Kennedy! Both Shady and H.Y. Gregor had the honor of working closely with Chris over recent years and we’re so grateful for his professionalism and his willingness to be our first victim on the show. Chris and CKP have great reputations for recruiting and mentoring new authors and we’re honored to have him here.

Technical Note from Your Co-Hosts: We’re learning too! We love working with and for Book Career in a Year and are having a blast recording this show. We appreciate your patience with our technical audio complications in this debut episode! Hang out with us again next week to see progress in motion and learn from more masters of the craft.

Every hero needs a quest. Whether the stakes are saving the world, killing the monster, or rescuing a princess, the best stories throw our heroes into adversity, challenging them and making them become better versions of themselves before they’re worthy and powerful enough to take on their next adventure (whether that’s an exam or a fire-breathing dragon). Watching characters get stronger is one of the best parts, but just how do you measure their leveling up?

LitRPG and Progression Fantasy novels are taking the world of genre readers by storm. It’s not just fantasy and science fiction, it’s the thrill of leveling up, and following stats, character, and power growth. Enter John and Shami Stovall, who join us today to help dial in the genre tropes, write characters that punch above their weight class (literally), and talk about the intricacies of worldbuilding and plot development in these niche genres that have such a huge appeal to so many readers.

In Part Three, We Discuss:

• Levels of progression and threats to characters and the world

• Understanding the Bad Guy

• An unexpected vendetta against Assassin’s Creed

• “Male coding” in LitRPG and managing reader expectations

• Female vs male romance expectations

• Handling criticism and angry internet hordes

Resources and Guest Links:

• Shami’s Site: https://sastovallauthor.com/

• John’s Site: https://john-stovall-author.com/

Check out some of the Stovalls latest and greatest!

• Words of Power by Shami Stovall

• • https://www.amazon.com/Words-Power-Progression-Fantasy-Epic/dp/B0F842YBXF

• The Chronos Chronicles by Shami Stovall

• • https://www.amazon.com/Time-Marked-Warlock-Chronos-Chronicles-Stovall/dp/1957613890

• The Cerberus Cards by John Stovall

• • https://www.amazon.com/Time-Marked-Warlock-Chronos-Chronicles-Stovall/dp/1957613890

John and Shami are a power couple in more ways than one, and we loved talking with them! We’re so grateful they carved some time out of their writing schedules to join us and talk powering up, monster fights, and breaking down the tricky tropes and subgenres in LitRPG.

Host Links:

• H.Y. Gregor: https://hygregor.com/

• David Shadoin: https://www.davidshadoin.com/

Credits: (all assets licensed through the sites listed)

• Intro: Music- Cinematic Epic Trailer by PaulYudin on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user- kazim hussian; from pixabay users-davidfoxx, DavidGallie, olenchic, stefaniejockschat, AiVreaSaStii, RuneSnow, duyen-nguyen, EnchantedStudios,

• Outro: Music- Good Night by FASSounds on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user-onlydesignz; from pixabay users-olenchic, Placidplace, Evgeniy_Z, Dantegrafico, Shayea_Kim