U.S. Military Veterans and Legion M Members Discuss Joining Forces on "Evermor"
Legion M is honored that many of our members proudly serve or have served in the U.S. military, or have family members who are veterans. To celebrate all servicemen and servicewomen in the U.S. armed forces on Veteran's Day, Legion M is proud to hand over our blog to Legion M members and military veterans Perry Covington and Erik Figi to discuss their service and coming together with Legion M on their sci-fi adventure Steampunk series Evermor.
Perry and Erik at LA Comic Con 2018
Greetings everyone! Perry and Erik, co-creators and writers of the upcoming sci-fi/fantasy television series Evermor, here to wish everyone a happy Veteran’s Day, especially to all of our fellow veterans out there. We are very proud to be a part of a group of individuals who have sworn to protect and defend this great country of ours, and we count ourselves lucky to be able to call these honorable individuals our military brothers and sisters.
Our time in the military has afforded us a very unique and often different perspective on life. We’ve traveled all over the world, seen amazing things, met great people, and helped individuals in need. It’s taught us that many of life’s problems are not as bad as we might think they are, and often times “going with the flow” is the best policy. As any veteran knows, sharing “war stories” is one of our favorite pastimes, so we’d like to share one about how we came to be here, partnered with Legion M, the world's first fan-owned media company.
For the uninitiated, life in the military can be unpredictable at times. Between deployments, changing duty stations, and the rigors of life in general, we tend to stay on our toes at all times. In 2015 we found ourselves in such a situation where our military duty would alter the trajectory of our lives forever.
Much of our base that year was going through numerous renovations. March Air Reserve base is over 100 years old so, as you can imagine, a little construction was desperately needed to keep operations going. Entire offices were forced to move to temporary facilities while the projects were underway, and staying mobile and agile took on a whole new meaning for the base populace.
In a random decision made by our commander, the two of us ended up in the same building. Functionally, sticking the base Historian and the Public Affairs Officer together didn't really make sense, but when office space is at a premium, you make do with the hand that is dealt to you, and you go with the flow. Over several weeks and dozens of cups of coffee (because the military doesn’t run unless there’s coffee), we struck up a friendship based on our mutual love of writing and storytelling; and when you’re stuck in a confined office space with someone, life is a lot easier if you try to get along.
In February of 2016, Erik and his family purchased a home in his home state of Wisconsin and, in the process, he wrote a letter to the sellers. Their realtor, Tya, was so impressed that she asked Erik if he would consider writing a fictional story, be it a book, film, or TV show, about the storied life of her father, their family, and the Dr. Evermor Art Park. Erik had remembered the park when he stumbled upon it in high school and from a documentary film class in college. It goes without saying that he agreed. Erik knew I wrote sci-fi/fantasy novels in the past, so he asked me if would join him in tackling the Evermor story. In a single night, over some Thai food (and Scotch), the two of us crafted the entire arc that would become the first season of Evermor.
Nine months after creating the wonderful world of Evermor, we garnered the attention of Legion M at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con through a chance encounter. We pitched the idea to Terri Lubaroff, Legion M COO, in less than a minute. Those 60 seconds changed everything.
Every arbitrary decision, every path chosen has led us to where we are. From the late nights of writing and re-writing our scripts after working a full day at the base, to the amazing announcement we recently made at this year's Los Angeles Comic-Con, this has been one fantastic ride so far.
Destiny, it seems, had a plan for Evermor and for us. Legion M holds dear the same values and ideals about storytelling that Erik and I do, and we are very excited to be a part of the Legion M family. Evermor is a show that will take viewers on an adventure the likes of which they have never imagined, and it's the people that form the Legion that have helped us get to where we are.
The future holds no limits for those who continue to persevere against all odds, daring to continue to dream, while always holding close the ties of family, friendship, and faith that allow one to challenge the limits of the human adventure.
Please join us in wishing all of our veterans in Legion M and across our great nation a happy Veterans Day. Thank you for your support and continuing in this adventure with us.
-Perry & Erik