Craig Sykora
Red River Cinematics CEO, Novel Editor, Script Consultant
Craig served a 22-year career in the U.S. Submarine Force as a nuclear-qualified officer. His tours included Computer Network Operations Branch Chief and Inspector General Submarine Component of United States Strategic Command, Executive Officer of USS MARYLAND (SSBN 738), Engineer Submarine Squadron Eight, and Lead Instructor Nuclear Command and Control Trident Training Facility. Following his Navy career, Craig worked as a Computer Network Operations Planner and Subject Matter Expert for a Department of War software planning and dashboarding application.
He has earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Master of Business Administration and Public Administration, and a Master of Science in Justice Administration and Crime Management. Additionally, he completed six Department of Homeland Security Certifications.
His interest in fantasy adventure began with authors J.R.R. Tolkien and Terry Brooks. This naturally led to reading and editing his brother, Dale’s novel The Star Path Saga and become his editor for the Talan project.
For his background in movies and television, Dale, in cooperation with his co-writer and Production Executive Brian Williams, wrote the screenplay “CIFTED: Hammeris Storm,” a Navy Seal action-adventure. While they had Matthew McConaughey, Halle Berry, and Gary Oldman interested in the heroes and the villain of the movie, they shelved the project when Tony Scott jumped off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in LA two weeks before Dale was to assist him on the Drug Sub movie Tony was in pre-Production on at the time. They were supposed to develop “CIFTED: Hammeris Storm" with Tony after the Drug Sub movie, but they recognized the movie just wasn’t God’s Will at the time and transitioned back to working on Talan.
As for his background in fantasy, Dale read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit as a freshman in high school, and that experience inspired him to write The Star Path Saga, a 550 page novel upon which the movie and series are based. Aside from the novel, he generated a copying machine paper box full of background, history, and Prophecy that underlie the entire project.
