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Language:
English
Stats:
Published:
2005-06-27
Completed:
2005-06-27
Words:
63,693
Chapters:
20/20
Comments:
2
Kudos:
16
Bookmarks:
4
Hits:
616

Terror Firma

Summary:

When Sam Leaps into Earthquake torn Los Angeles, he finds himself becoming part of the rebuilding of the city in more ways than one! Story 1 of 5

Notes:

Writer's Notes.

Terror Firma was my first attempt at fan fiction. At the time, I believe it was unique in that it was written in '94 and set in '95. (Had the publishers taken up the option, they could have released the book on the Leap day, to much publicity!)

I discovered "Quantum Leap" rather late, and had only just become hooked on the series when I heard it had been cancelled.

Then my two asthmatic children developed whooping cough, so for six months I was having to get up every twenty minutes or so to sit one or other of them up to help them breathe. After a couple of weeks, I tired of lying awake listening for their wheezes and wishing I could sleep, and turned instead to more productive thoughts.

So I began thinking about the Leaps I would like to see Sam do that hadn't been in the series (Though at that time I had by no means seen all the episodes). Pretty soon, the plot for Terror Firma began to form in my brain.

I started jotting odd notes in the night, or creating scenes in my head, and writing them up in odd minutes the following day.

At the end of six months, it was finished and typed up on my computer – which at the time was an old Acorn Archimedes using Pendown Plus.

It was written initially purely for my own amusement, but I showed it to my mother as she was also a QL fan.

She told me to send it to the publishers, but I accused her of bias in her praise and hesitated. She told me the worst they could do was tell me it was rubbish, or more likely ignore it altogether, and in the end persuaded me to submit it.

At the time, the 'official' stories were still being published at the rate of three a year. I submitted TF to Boxtree, the British publishers, and as I suspected, got it back three weeks later unread.

However, on the positive side, they sent me what were then the two next books in the series, a month before publication, so I got them free and I got them first. The submission of "Terror Firma" was worth it for that alone.

They explained that as the series was American, all copyright was held by the US publishers, Berkeley, and I would have to submit my story to Ginjer Buchanan there.

I did this, and got a very positive letter in return (see below).

This letter inspired me to forge ahead and write "Run for their Lives" the third story in what was originally planned as a trilogy. The second "High Hopes" was only recently finished – in time to present it to Dean Stockwell on May 1st when I met him.

The series has grown, and will now be a total of five stories, which follow an arc, set almost at the end of season 5, just pre 'Mirror Image'.

Part Four is called "Snake in the Grass" and will shock Sam fans to the core!

The final story is "M.E., myself and Sam"

Both these last two cover mature themes and are much darker. They may be disturbing to some readers.

Chapter 1: Letters from the Publishers

Notes:

Dear Mrs Earl,

Chapter Text

Dear Mrs Earl,

Thank you for sending along TERROR FIRMA for consideration for inclusion in our QUANTUM LEAP novel program.

You're right - it is certainly publishable. I am at the moment looking specifically for the third book on the most recent licensing contract. With your permission, I would like to hold TERROR FIRMA as a possibility.

I make no promises - I have a number of very strong projects on submission, and I need to choose the one that I feel is not only the best written, but also one that will balance with the books already published. Your book, like the first of Ashley McConnell's, is a straightforward Leap, with more complexity than an episode would have, given that books have neither special effects budgets or one-hour time constraints. I like that, and it may be "time" for another such book.

I should say that I'm not sure how MCA would feel about dealing with an author based in Britain. If it came to it, do you have anyone over here who could act as your agent? Think about it.

One last thing - I do find it curious that you would chose to set your Leap story in L.A. You did a good job - except for the spellings, I wouldn't have immediately been able to tell that the author of TERROR FIRMA was British. But one of the requests that I frequently get is for books set outside the U.S. (The book just out here takes place in British Columbia, which has made more than a few Canadian Leapers happy.) Have you thought of doing a story set closer to home? You might - it is one of the things that I am definitely looking for.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to write.

Sincerely

Ginjer Buchanan

Executive Editor, SF and Fantasy.

This led to "Run for their Lives" as you will see from the follow up, (to be posted)

In answer to the above letter, I wrote to Ginjer to say that not only was I delighted to give my permission for her to use TERROR FIRMA (which of course she did not in the end) but that I had already begun work on "High Hopes" and had planned out a story set in England (London and Bedford to be precise) as requested which eventually became "Run for their Lives". All these stories (and "Snake in the Grass" - another work in progress, and the final of the series "M.E. myself and Sam, barely begun), are linked by a story arc centered around the Project staff, which is why I decided not to post "Run" until "High Hopes" was up.

"High Hopes" was the story I gave to Dean Stockwell when I met him in Milton Keynes, a copy of which he signed for me.

Here is the letter that led to "Run" being completed first:

November 22, 1994

Dear Mrs Earl,

As it happens, shortly after I wrote to you, I got in a revision on a proposal that I had liked a great deal earlier, and sent that along to MCA for approval for the third book. (By the by, it's titled LOCH NESS LEAP, so I may get my book set in Britain after all, written by two authors who live in the pacific Northwest!)

But I fully expect to contract for more books after the first of the year, so I will still hold on to TERROR FIRMA. I like both of your other ideas, too, but in the further interest of internationalism, I might suggest that you work up the nanny one first...

...She then goes on to deal with U.S. agents and payments in foreign currencies, which seemed to be the biggest stumbling block to publishing my stories! doh!

Unfortunately, by the time 'real life' had allowed me to finish working on "the nanny one" (RFTL) and submit it, they had just taken the decision not to publish any more QL novels.

Guess my timing sucks!