What books have you written?

I get that question a lot from Star Wars fans. If you're talking novels, then the short answer is, as of today, none. Not for lack of trying. I'm actually on my third attempt--a novel about bodybuilding, something which I've been very passionate about.

One of those attempts was actually a Star Wars book. Completely unofficial, of course, conceived in my late teens when the idea of writing for Lucasfilm was only a goal and not a reality. A post-Return of the Jedi/pre-Glove of Darth Vader story, I called it Alliances & Empires, thinking I was quite clever. Even then, I was interested in the themes that I've become known for in the Star Wars fan community today, essentially resuscitating fringe characters and elements of Star Wars such as Marvel Comics' Lumiya and the Glove of Darth Vader's Prophets of the Dark Side. Working off of a decent outline, I got about 50 pages into the novel before my junker of a PC crashed fatally. Alas, by the time I finished transcribing by hand the recoverable parts of the text, I decided the story wasn't worth saving and abandoned it. Nonetheless, many of the ideas I had for the novel were salvaged for a speculative Star Wars essay I wrote a few years later.

If your idea of a book is broader than a novel, then, on the Star Wars front, you can count my work on the Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide and Vader: The Ultimate Guide. Beyond Star Wars are my stories in the travel anthology Italy From a Backpack, and an essay in which I give the lowdown on my promotion strategies for my Star Wars work in the e-book Award-Winning Promotional Plans To Jumpstart Your Branding Career.

Now, imagine my surprise and delight when I typed in "vader" while shopping at Amazon.com for my copy of Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader, and found a listing for Vader: The Ultimate Guide at their website. Spiffy.

Inspired, I slapped together a "So you'd like to..." page for casual fans who want to get up close and personal with Mr. tall, dark, and mechanical:

So you'd like to... Learn About Darth Vader. Enjoy! ~ Abel G. Peņa

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