Archive
Newsletter Archive
May 14, 2022
2022-05-14
Hello there, Reader. If you're one of the folks who signed up recently through another author promoting my book 'Amy's Story', then welcome!
If you've been here a while, you'll already know I'm a fan of both Science Fiction and Fantasy, and my newsletter is a place where I share some of the interesting things I discover in my research and reading. Whatever your particular interest, I think you'll find something here to entertain you.
And there are sometimes cat photos.
That's Lola perched on the balcony, improving the view. She loves to clamber up it from the garden, come in through the patio door, dash out the cat-flap and scamper round the circuit again.
Space News
All the science in half the time.
It's a problem familiar to all of us, I'm sure - having to finish a task in only half the time you believed it needed. For the team driving the Curiosity rover on Mars, though, there was a really good reason to do it. The rover had crested a hill and was turning towards its next objective when it leaned over further than expected. It wasn't about to tip over, but due to the position of Earth behind the terrain it meant that direct communication was lost. Luckily they have a backup plan, talking back to Earth through one of the many orbiters currently above the surface, but as luck would have it they were all out of sight at the time. So the upshot was that they only had one day to do two days' worth of science in. The way that this team plan for problems, enact contingencies and carefully plan every element of the mission is remarkable. When something completely unforeseen like this pops up, they spring into action to mitigate it and keep the science coming, which is another very different set of skills. And they have to do it all at a range of millions of miles. I remember crashing a remote-controlled car once and the only way to fix it was to walk over to it. I've had tech problems that needed a four-hour drive to visit the site and resolve, then the same back. When you literally can't 'nip out' and fix the rover, you can imagine the planning that's required!
Source: NASA Mars Exploration Program
Other Books To Check Out
Please note that if you subscribed to either my Sci-Fi or Fantasy mailing lists, I'm combining the two together now. This means you will get slightly more frequent content, but I hope that it will still be exciting and relevant to you.
Speaking of which, I'll also be highlighting a few other books from independent authors like me. Sharing links to one another's work like this is a great way to spread the word, and I've found a few new favourite books from emails like this.
I hope you'll give them a try!
Utero
Free
Just another day in a war without end.
The life of a cyborg mercenary isn't easy. When Ex U.S. Special Forces Operative, Bishop, wakes up in a military prison without his memories and without his weapons, he must use his wits to recover his gear and escape. Don't worry. He has been in worse situations. Like when America was nuked. That was pretty bad.
Duel of Destiny
Free
Can a simple question change the fate of the galaxy?
As an attach mech, TH3R lived to make General Elaine Dirksen's life easier. His greatest challenge was protecting her from the perils of bureaucratic snafus. After a devastating sneak attack, he's the only thing preventing her capture or worse.
If you like high-stakes adventure, fighting against incredible odds, and underdog heroes, you'll love Greg Sorber's Duel of Destiny and the upcoming Mechhaven series.
Rebel Without A Clue: A Sci Fi Comedy Where Women Rule
Planet Hy Man's energy is running on empty and earth is their only hope. The only problem is, no one wants to go there.
Strange News
The Famous Fight Over the Turn-of-the-Century Trend of Spirit Photography
I'm an amateur photographer as well as a writer, and a fan of (if not strictly a believer in) occult matters. When my interests collide, you can be sure you've got my attention. Spirit photography, basically taking photos of ghosts had a huge following in the early days of the art, and to some extent it still continues. While the image above might look like an obvious double-exposure to us today (taking two photos on the same plate) when people were much les familiar with the photographic process it is easy to see how some would find it compelling evidence that the departed were still with us. A staunch supporter of the Spiritualist movement was Arthur Conan Doyle. Yes, the man who created Sherlock Holmes, the most rational and logical detective literature has seen, absolutely believed in life after death. He was also the man who brought the Cottingley Fairies to wider attention. And Harry Houdini hated fake mediums, people who scammed the bereaved into parting with their money in the hopes of contacting deceased loved ones. The more he dug into the scene, the less he believed that there was anything other than fake psychics, and regularly put on shows mimicking their 'feats' to show it was nothing other than trickery. They travelled the US on parallel tours, each trying to convince people of the truth behind their beliefs. Doyle even suggested that Houdini wasn't faking the results he demonstrated, but was actually psychic! One last interesting fact - Houdini promised that when he died he would return as a spirit if it was at all possible, so as to prove once and for all whether life continued after death. So far, he hasn't.
Source: Atlas Obscura
Miscellany
I'm not the only one writing sequels to H.G. Wells' classic, of course. One that had passed completely under my radar was this award-winning audio diary blending music with drama. It's like listening to a wonderful old-time radio production, but without the hiss and crackle. I love that the original is inspiring so many different approaches, and this one is definitely worth checking out. If you're not a fan of audio dramas, there are ebooks available too!
What if you could send a version of yourself on an intergenerational spaceship? That's an idea that author Cat Rambo explores in this glorious short story, "The Woman Who Wanted to be Trees". It's exactly what I love about Sci-Fi, exploring what it means to be human in a frighteningly plausible future.
Anyone familiar with fiction knows that it reflects the morals and ideals of the time, and if you've read anything over about a decade old at this point there's probably something that makes you think 'oof' when you realise how far we've come. Fairy tales are some of the oldest stories we have, so it isn't surprising that they're some of the worst offenders. Waking a sleeping princess with a kiss - romantic gesture or sexual assault? But there are a remarkable number of heroines with more agency and talent than you might expect...
And Finally
I have a new book coming soon... And there will be a cover reveal in the very next newsletter!
What's that, you say you can't wait? Well, OK - have a small tease.
