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.