Archive
Newsletter Archive
April 29, 2023
Bath taps, beta readers and bunnies.
Hello again, {$name|default:'reader'}. Or welcome, if you're new!
Work continues apace on the writing, the ending of the next 'Martians' book is written, and I just need to polish the whole thing up before sending it out to beta readers. If you're not familiar with that term, a Beta reader gets a look at the early version of the book. Usually I prefer them to be a writer themselves, or at least a voracious reader in the genre, as their job is to go through the manuscript and pick the story apart. They'll look for weak spots, plot gaps, dull bits and (hopefully) some parts they like too, before reporting it al back to me to try and makes sense of. I really enjoy doing it for other writers, giving feedback on what works for me and what doesn't. There's a bit of a knack to it; it's very easy to pick holes and point out the places where the book struggles, but it's just as important to highlight the good bits and where things are done well. And the toughest temptation to resist is to give suggestions on how to fix something. Neil Gaiman (of course) said it best:
"Remember: when people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong."
It's a scary time, putting your work out into the wild for the first time, but it always makes it stronger - as long as you have beta readers who can be firm but fair! It doesn't help anyone to get or give feedback that's just 'I liked it' or 'I didn't like it'... we need to know why. What's the scariest thing you've had to do, perhaps creatively or just in life in general? I am willing to bet that as terrifying as it was to contemplate, doing it made you stronger.
Wish me luck!
Space News
How the Shuttle engines were made
It's easy to forget, in this age of cheap 3d printers, that manufacturing complex shapes and intricate components used to be a lot more complicated. Some of the time-honoured techniques are just mind-blowing, and if you're anything like me you've spent hours falling down the YouTube 'Maker' rabbit hole. Watching people creating clocks, automata and even a working replica of the Antikythera mechanism with their hands and basic tools is fascinating. NASA had a few more techniques available than the average hobbyist, but even so they had a major challenge. Rocket engines get hot; they're burning fuel and oxidiser at temperatures that are often higher than the melting point of pretty much everything. So how do you ensure that the fire is kept inside the engine nozzle, and doesn't burn through it? For a while, the best method was to use coolant pumped around the outside of the engine bell, through small pipes welded on. But for the shuttle, this wasn't quite going to be good enough. The cooling liquid had to be a lot closer to the inside surface, but you couldn't really weld pipes there. So they wanted to bore channels through the interior, but you can't do that on a complex curve with any tooling that I can imagine. The solution: build pipes out of wax. I know, the least likely substance to survive even a hot summer, let alone a rocket launch. But then you electroplate over the top, building up layers inside the engine so that when you melt the wax, you have your pipes as an integrated part of the structure. Clever! And if you're having problems picturing it, one of those clever YouTube Makers has you covered. Watch his (small scale) recreation of the process here!
Oh, and did I mention that the coolant used is actually the fuel itself?
Source: hackaday.com
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.
Free!
An inquisitive teenager. His brilliant, scatter-brained uncle. Together they may just save the universe.
A freak lab accident.
A history erased!
On New Earth the accidental test of a matter transmitter causes all history to disappear.
Caught between oblivion and the unknown, Tremain and Christopher's only option is to use the same transmitter to travel back in time to hopefully fix their past.
Can Tremain & Christopher restore their missing yesterdays before they too fade away?
If you like Doctor Who, Flash Gordon, and vintage sci-fi, you'll love the Adventures of Tremain & Christopher. Grab your copy today!
UBL
In the midst of preparations for a critical mission, Leland Andersen can't afford the return of a childhood nightmare. Yet night after night the vision torments him, of an astronaut dying in flames.
Nora McKinzie is a Houston police officer -- and a member of an ancient order founded to fight eldritch entities wherever they might flee. When she receives a warning that a sworn enemy is on the move again, her obligations come into conflict with each other.
Both of them are present when Johnson Space Center comes under attack by terrorists. And they both know that the official explanations don't hold together.
Two people, one deadly secret -- and an enemy from beyond time and space.
UBL
Get ready to be swept away into a world of magic, monsters, and mayhem!
This digital box set features 5 thrilling urban fantasy novels from top authors C.G. Harris, Mark Leslie, Michael La Ronn, Tao Wong, and James Hunter as they take you into worlds where magic and the supernatural collide with the modern world.
Follow the adventures of werewolves, necromancers, mages, underworld agents and other supernatural beings who battle for power and survival in the heart of the city. With action-packed plots, richly developed characters, and unexpected twists and turns, this collection of more than 1,400 pages is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
Whether you're a die-hard fan of urban fantasy or just looking for an exciting new read, Urban Fantasy Unleashed is the perfect choice.
Strange News
The Vampire Rabbit of Newcastle
Forget the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog, there's a vampire bunny perched above a building near Newcastle Cathedral.
It's possible that it's been there since the building was constructed in 1901, but its exact origin is a mystery. That was the height of Vampire mania, coming a few years after the publication of 'Dracula', but theories also suggest it might be a sign of Freemasonry, a memorial for a ghostly entity that scared off grave-robbers, or an honour for a local dignitary.
This article explores all of these theories and more, as well as revealing that it wasn't always painted black (sorry, Rolling Stones fans) and that the ears might have been replaced with scarier ones after a builder knocked off the originals.
Chances are that it was just a 'regular' grotesque, common on church buildings, which has become more and more demonic over the years. Either way, it's a lovely addition to the building that houses it.
Source: mysteriousuniverse.org
Miscellany
The Best of Men
When Marc Hughes, the larger-than-life presenter of the TV show Paranormal Takedown, receives a series of increasingly desperate voice mail messages from his childhood friend Jack claiming that a great evil is loose in Shropshire, he is sceptical. Realising that investigating the story might make for great television he sets off to debunk Jack's claims and finds himself at the heart of some dark and dangerous folk beliefs that seem to have spilled over from stories to reality.
Source: twitter.com
Ancient Greek Computer
I mentioned this in passing when I talked about the space shuttle engines earlier, but it's worth checking out. Chris is building a replica of the Antikythera mechanism, a remarkable device found on an ancient shipwreck that can predict eclipses and keep track of Olympics years. And he's using time-accurate techniques, too!
Source: youtube.com
The darker side of fairy tales
Sadly there's a long history of prejudice in human society, and it's not surprising that it has appeared in even the oldest fairy stories. This article does a great job of pointing out how antisemitism in particular is so deeply ingrained that we often don't realise when it's happening.
Source: rookwoodediting.com
And Finally
In other news, I broke the bath.
A few weeks ago, one of the taps was dripping. So being a middle-aged man, I was sure I could fix it myself without having to call a plumber. I turned off the water, dismantled the tap and replaced the badly worn washer. Putting it all back together and turning the water back on... nothing leaked! Drip fixed, DIY skill levelled up. Buoyed by my success, I went on to stop the toilet constantly filling itself all night. And that hasn't exploded or caught fire yet, so I'm on a roll. Fast forward to this week, when we realise that the hot water is starting out fine before reducing to a slight trickle of lukewarm disappointment. "No problem," I say, "the washer's probably loose. Or there's a blockage. Either way, I'll take care of it." So I turned off the water, dismantled the tap and... the top sheared off. I now have a tap cartridge that's (fortunately) turned off completely in one hand, and the handle required to turn it on in the other. Which means I had to order a new cartridge, and we're currently waiting for that to arrive. In my defence, I think the taps are as old as me, and bits of me feel like they're worn out and coming loose from time to time... In a surprising twist though, the other half is still going to let me replace it. If that's not the purest display of love and trust that you can hope for, I don't know what is.
And for those wondering, the fake Lola has not yet won over the real Lola's affections.