When I made the decision to write and podcast “GalaxyBillies”, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting myself into. Would people like the story? Would they hate it? Would I be able to pull it off at all?

But, since without risk there can be no reward, I decided to take a stab at it.

As we all do, I watched eagerly for any feedback I could get. And I watched… and then I watched some more. I eventually started to see some positive feedback trickle in and I was relieved when nothing bad was forthcoming.

So far, so good.

Unfortunately, the amount of feedback was almost zero which, to me, meant the story wasn’t really worth commenting on. And then, I saw my first 1-star rating of the story on iTunes.

Not the best start; the comment essentially said GalaxyBillies was a direct rip-off of Star Wars and a few other science fiction stories. That was a relatively easy comment to deal with. First, I laughed a little, because, there are nods to Star Wars in some of the episodes. The story is meant to be a comedy after all. I put some parody elements into it purposely. You may remember me mentioning in the past that I had Easter Eggs in every episode.

That told me the comment came from someone who was expecting a serious science fiction story and didn’t quite “Get” it. That I could live with.

The second comment was a 2-star one that said the characters fell flat after the first couple chapters. I won’t deny that I didn’t do as much development as I wanted. I won’t make any excuses either. So, I check that off to an astute reader. When I revise the story for the book version, I will spend some time fixing that problem. Thank you for the constructive criticism.

The comment I absolutely DON’T understand came last month on Podiobooks. Someone flamed the story, saying it was racist and disgusting. That comment hurt. A lot. Racism and prejudice are things I take very seriously, so being told I wrote a story that was blatantly racist bothered me.

It still does.

I have to keep reminding me that I didn’t write it to be racist. In fact, while the characters are caricatures of common stereotypes, I do write them with many redeeming qualities. And, by-the-way (spoiler alert here), they do save the day, so I can’t be trying too hard to make them out to be lower life forms.

Did I respond to any of the above negative feedback? No! I’ve seen too many instances where an author tried to respond and things ended badly. I’m not interested in going there. More to the point, in the last case especially, I don’t think the commenter even read the story. What good would responding to them do? They would not be convinced of my good intentions.

No, I thought about what was said, and dealt with it. I’m a big boy, so a little criticism, even unwarranted, won’t kill me. If anything, it helped to thicken my skin a little more for next time.

I have had the good fortune to read and enjoy the work of Tee Morris and Philippa Ballantine for several years. I like the writing styles of both but they are very different. When I heard that they were collaborating on a book, and a steampunk one at that, I was cautiously optimistic. Not because I didn’t think they could pull it off, but because I had no idea what the meshing of their two voices would be like.

In other words, would the result be a symphony or a cacophony?

I am delighted to say that the book, “Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel” is a symphony of the highest order. The characters are rich and the plot twists in a most satisfactory manner. And the pace of the story? Well, let’s just say I had to put the novel down periodically to catch my breath.

Tee and Pip (or Pip and Tee, if you would prefer) show what good research can do to improve a story. The use of language and the description of the everyday world ensured that I felt as if I were experiencing an alternate, steam-powered version of Victorian England.

Of course, steampunk is famous for its gadgets, gears, and cogs; writers must tread a fine line to ensure that these things do not overwhelm or undermine the story. That is not a problem here in the least.

The technology was in no way frivolous or ill conceived; the melding of our world and the steampunk realm was done cleanly and to great effect. It made me wish our technology was steam-powered now.

The relationships between the characters were ever evolving and interesting and the characters themselves surprised and delighted me with their layers upon layers of complexity. By the time I was done reading, they were living, breathing people, some whom I liked and others I reviled.

It may sound cliché but the only complaint I have with this book is that I am finished reading it and there isn’t another one ready to go. Believe me when I say, there are enough loose threads that I hope to be enjoying the series for a long time to come.

For now, I may have to reread it again just to pick up nuances I’m sure I’ve missed.

All in all, an extremely good book that I whole-heartedly endorse.