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Newsletter Archive
July 9, 2022
Life on Mars - and in my writing too!
Hello again, Reader.
I'm glad to report no further injuries this time. No part of me has broken, burst or been sliced for almost three weeks now! Long may it continue, although I'm still eyeing everything around me with a certain amount of caution...
Last time I told you that I'd started drafting the next book in the 'Martians Return' series, and I'm happy to say that it's coming along quite nicely. I always find beginnings tricky, so I've just had to write something to get myself moving. I know that I'll probably end up replacing it down the line, so there's no point in spending too much effort in crafting the perfect opening. But I'm not one of those writers who can just start in the middle, or with their favourite scene, and then hope around from chapter to chapter. I write as I read, and as the King of Hearts advised Alice:
"Begin at the beginning," the King said, very gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop."
Space News
Do you want to do some science on Mars? Even better, do you want to do it without having to leave your chair?
NASA have set up a 'citizen science' project searching for clouds in the Martian atmosphere. The air there is so thin that it barely holds in what little heat reaches the surface, and water evaporates into vapour directly from ice. But understanding how and why clouds form there could give us an insight into how conditions were millions of years ago, when life might well have existed.
So sign up for free to go cloud busting on Mars! (OK, it's cloud spotting, but I had to shoe-horn in a Kate Bush reference somehow...)
Source: zooniverse.org
Other Books To Check Out
I've gathered a few great books from independent authors like me, I hope you'll check them out.
And let me know if you have any books to recommend! I'm particularly interested in indie authors, but anything you've read and loved would be awesome.
Forced to be Free
Free
Cover of 'Forced to be Free' - a negative image of a tower block.
When technology rules our lives, hackers defend our freedom.
Young and brilliant hacker Sam takes a job at a defence contractor to fight for his freedom in a Europe that is about to be overrun by the Russian Federation.
With time running out, Sam finds out who his real allies are. Fighting betrayal and his inner demons, he must pull out all his clever hacking tricks to stop the advancing army.
Can he stop the invasion, and if so, at what price?
Withdrawal
Free
Cover of 'Withdrawal' - A fleet of ships above a cloudy planet.
Why Did The Koru Leave?
When the enigmatic but powerful Koru unexpectedly abandon their embassy on Proxima Centauri, Vik-a one-time activist and war hero-and his shadowy friend Copeland attempt to find out if this is a prelude to a war that would prove disastrous for humanity.
Their search for answers leads to dangerous discoveries. Will Vik now risk his marriage and comfortable life if it means a chance to finally find out the truth?
Where Weavers Daire
Free
Cover of 'Where Weavers Daire' - A spacesuited figure escapes an explosion.
Star Wars meets Firefly
On a world where ancient magic and technology exist, the skeletons of the past never stay buried for long. Melinda Scott should know. She just found a big one.
Where Weavers Daire is the first book in a new rip-roaring space opera series in the same vein as Babylon 5, Farscape and Star Wars!
Reviews really help authors out, I bet you never buy something online without checking the reviews and ratings first, right?
Well here's a great way to do it - a huge list of books in Kindle Unlimited that could use your help. If you have KU, then they're free to read, and it's really easy to leave a review when you're done.
Don't have KU? Curious about it? You can sign up here for two free months, and if it's not for you then you can cancel even before they ask you to pay! amzn.to
Once you're in, check out this list of great SciFi books:
Helping Indie Authors Twice - Sci-fi Kindle Unlimited Titles to Review!
Get these books fast! This promotion ends July 20th!
Strange News
Lost UFO Found
Just after the USSR launched Sputnik in 1957, three men discovered a copper 'flying saucer' on Silpho moor near Scarborough, in North Yorkshire. It contained a book written in strange heiroglyphics which a cafe owner claimed to understand as warning of a coming nuclear war. The saucer itself was also festooned with the same symbols, and it was broken up for research and then lost. Now it's been found in the Science Museum, and might go on display. Sadly the article is a little thin on details, but any aliens that might have come from this UFO would be quite small - it was only 18 inches (45 centimetres) across! And for anyone thinking it could still be aliens - metallurgists say that the metal itself isn't remarkable and shows no sign of ever having left the atmosphere. But I always love the stories we tell to explain things, and given this was all taking place at the height of the Cold War it's not surprising that threats of nuclear annihilation featured.
Source: livescience.com
Miscellany
More evidence that life was possible on Mars
Scientists using data from NASA's Curiosity rover measured the total organic carbon - a key component in the molecules of life - in Martian rocks for the first time.
Source: NASA Mars Exploration Program
AI Image Creator
Some of you asked about the 'AI' I used to create the image last time, and it's this one here. It's far from flawless but it can create some very interesting results.
Source: craiyon.com
Green Space, Dark Skies
If you've never had the pleasure of a truly dark sky to look up into at night, then you'll be amazed what you've missed. The Brecon Beacons National Park is hosting an event celebrating the freedom our landscape offers us, and if the weather permits you'd have an incredible view of the stars.
Source: twitter.com
And Finally
Iceland is pondering cat curfews, and indeed some towns have already banned them being outdoors at night - one has even forbidden cats from leaving the house at all!
Our own little 'elegant assassin' would have none of this, she howls at us if we close the catflap. We used to let her roam at all hours, until she kept getting in fights with the neighbour cats - now she's indoors from dusk until dawn. And she can only be placated by a box with a towel in it...
Source: Atlas Obscura