
Back in the day, there was a little novelty that I was introduced to called WebTV. It was one of the first methods we had of getting ‘online’ before it was an everyday and easily accessible thing like it is now. It … was … MAGIC!! There was nothing better than browsing the internet back then. We didn’t know anything about it. We had no idea what it would become, but it sure was a lot of fun.
I was a gamemaster from high school onward. I started with D&D and gradually became interested in other RPGs. One of those was a science fiction RPG that I sort of morphed into my own thing. Being a fair and decent gamemaster means you can do those things with the right crowd and I had that, so it was a lot of fun. Commander Darion Reed came from that era of my life, long, long ago. His spaceship has always been The Freestar. That’s Reed’s ship and the ship that his crew lives on in my “Future Earth” series. The reason he was created was because he was my gaming space hero and he needed a loyal crew. He was pretty popular with my friends back then and so I began to write a weekly email web series featuring him and the people of his crew. From what my friends told me, it was pretty popular with them and they really enjoyed it, so I wrote quite a bit and eventually printed all of them out to keep.
(Now if I could only find that mysterious binder with all of those treasures!)
Commander Reed has been one of the most enduring characters kept away in my imagination. He’s been there a while. Not quite as long as Morgan Callahan and all that is Blackridge, but close enough, give or take about five years or so. The gay community (to my knowledge) doesn’t really have much mainstream science fiction with decent gay characters, so that’s why I created Space Pirates of the Black Nebula. I wanted to introduce a crew of characters in a trilogy that would resonate with LGBT readers who really wanted some adventure and good old-fashioned sci-fi with characters that they could relate to.

Commander Reed is my gay space hero. He’s very loyal and incredibly sexy, which is what we need in a futuristic hero, in my opinion! He’s the kind of guy people stay with and believe in. He’s a spaceship captain that can easily get along with everyone who obeys the rules of his ship and if not? Well, they’re gonna get off at the next stop unless they deserve the airlock! Nah, but seriously. Reed is a dashing, loving, and loyal leader who thinks of his crew as his family, because he has no family of his own.
The reason he’s called “Commander” Reed is because his backstory is that he served in Mars Security forces as a commander and the title just stuck with him because that’s what everyone calls him. Even after he moved on with his life and travels into the void, everyone generally calls him Commander Reed. He doesn’t mind and it suits him, because that’s always how he has been known. He’s really never been anything else. A tall, dark, and handsome guy with one of those slaying smiles and a good heart, he and his crew can get in and out of all sorts of trouble in the Future Earth timeline. He has the ability to deal with all sorts of other characters, both supporting cast, fellow heroes, and even some villains. He knows how to manipulate situations into his favor and he always, always has the best interests of himself and his crew foremost on his mind.

Writing Space Pirates of the Black Nebula was very rewarding because I was finally able to put everything in the past back into the present and then continue it into the future. The adventures of Commander Reed and the Freestar crew are no longer forgotten, printed out emails lost in a black binder to the ravages of time. They’re here again! Fresh and alive! And I’ll make sure to do my handsome hero and his faithful crew justice.
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