Hello again, {$name|default:'reader'}. Or welcome, if you're new!

Right, the Martians book is with the beta readers, and I'm trying to put it out of my mind for a while. It strikes me that I've not shared any of it before now, so let me give you the (current) final line:

As we pulled out of the quarry, the first flakes of snow began to fall.

When the final book comes out, you can see whether my guinea pigs were happy with that ending, or wanted something punchier. I quite like it... oh, and read to the end of this email to see another way you might be able to help me.

Last time I said we were off to a food and car show, with beer. We very much enjoyed all of it, and the weather obliged by being gloriously sunny with clear blue skies. Naturally, I got sunburnt since I forgot to take a hat, but luckily it wasn't too bad. I just looked a bit pink for a few days.

Here's a photo taken as we sat on the grass and enjoyed our lunch - that's Ludlow castle in the distance, which is a frankly gorgeous backdrop for a day out.

Space News

All-Female Spacecraft crews

Going to space is hard, but staying alive there is even harder. You need to bring everything you might possibly need, including oxygen, water and food. So any changes that can be made to reduce the requirements is always going to be a good idea. Scrubbing CO2 out of the air goes a long way to helping, but the oxygen still needs replenishing. Recycling water is another technique, although NASA doesn't require astronauts to drink recycled urine 'for morale reasons'. All of this is why, every few years, the idea of sending all-women crews comes back around. The average woman is smaller than the average man, so requires less food, water and air for the same mission. Requiring less food and water means there's more space saved - which reduces weight and allows for either a smaller launch vehicle or a greater scientific payload. The reduced weight also means less fuel, and the cost savings start to snowball. So why didn't we send women up from day one? Well, in the US the pool of Mercury astronauts was selected from test pilots, a role women were forbidden to take up. And while there was a group of 13 women (later called the Mercury 13) who passed all of the NASA training and assessments required to be astronauts, the program was privately funded and never recognised officially. Once it was seen as normal for astronauts to be men, it became harder to justify changing the status quo. Sexism of course played a large part, with a number of people believing women couldn't have 'the right stuff' to handle a dangerous occupation. The Soviet Union disagreed, sending their first woman (Valentina Tereshkova) into space two years after the very first man. It would take the US another 20 years to send Sally Ride into orbit as their first female crew member. Even so, she was only the third woman ever into space. Fortunately times have moved on, and the first woman to walk on the moon will be part of the upcoming Artemis programme. It remains to be seen whether an all-female crew will ever be as commonplace as all-male crews were at the start of the space race.

Kristine Davis, a spacesuit engineer at NASA's Johnson Space Center, wearing a ground prototype of NASA's new Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit

Source: mysteriousuniverse.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.

UBL

storyoriginapp.com

Lida was their last chance for an uncolonized planet. But a world-spanning fungus had colonized it first.

Agetha and her husband have spent their whole lives in the fleet's zero-G. Now all is turmoil as the fleet lands, discovering they are surrounded by a single fungal biomass spanning the entire planet. To build a new home, the fleet must confront a dangerous organism, and Agetha must decide if she can raise a family in this inhospitable landscape.

Jane Brighton holds tenuous command over the colony and its administrators. She and the other gene-modded leaders emerged from their four-hundred-year suspended animation to find a crew much different from the one that departed Old Earth. Jane must direct the colony's fragile growth and defend it against being overrun by the fast-growing biomass.

But there is something none of the colonists know. The massive organism that spans the planet is not simply a fungal mass, nor even a chimerical combination of species that once roamed the planet. The biomass has desires and goals, and one is to know these strange beings carving out a home in its midst.

Free!

storyoriginapp.com

The Sovereign is trying to kill his loyal guard out of jealousy. What could go wrong?

Learn behind the scenes backgrounds of our hero Ehren Odabran, a loyal Sovereign Guard in the Assembly of Nobles who must flee for his life into a hostile no fly zone away from the Sovereign himself who is trying to kill him out of jealousy.

You will also meet Ehren's new friends: Liiara has an ancient history, Arunan is a freighter captain and his strong warrior friend Hris who keeps his people's secrets hidden. There are many enemies on the way and struggles at every turn.

Meet the comedic Environmental Engineer Gabe Saetto and his new romance with Military Police officer Onika Leonhardt as they journey to a new colony planet and face the task of starting a new life with danger lurking around the corner.

UBL

storyoriginapp.com

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.

Summer Sci-Fi and Fantasy Giveaway storyoriginapp.com

From now until 17th June you can grab a remarkable number of Sci-Fi and Fantasy action novels through Kindle Unlimited.

Not a member of Kindle Unlimited already? I've got you covered... Try it free for 30 days, or get two months for just 99p/99c!

Pick up a couple of new books today, and then drop the author a line, telling them what you think! Believe me, it really makes a writer's day when they get an email like that.

Strange News

This Water Spirit will teach you the violin

I do love finding out all the strange 'rules' that surround the fae folk. Don't take food from them, tip your hat, say thank you... And now I can add 'don't look them in the eye' for the Fossegrim of Norway.

They're a water spirit, living in and around waterfalls, with a hankering for goat. Show up with a stolen white kid goat, and you'll be able to convince the Fossegrim to share his knowledge of fiddle-playing with you.

If your goat is a little on the skinny side, though, he won't go beyond showing you how to tune your violin. If you want proper lessons you'll need to steal a well-fed baby goat - and throw it into the waterfall. Be aware though, he won't stop until your fingers bleed.

It sounds like it might be worth it though. From the article:

According to 19th-century folklorist Edward Lumley's Scandinavian popular traditions and superstitions, at the end of this ordeal, you'll be able to play so masterfully that "the very trees will dance and the waterfalls stop their course."

Oh, and if you do forget, and look him in the eye? He'll dance around naked in front of you, presumably ensuring you never try and make eye-contact with him again.

Source: Atlas Obscura

Miscellany

Schrdinger's Cat

I'm sure everyone has heard of the thought-experiment Erwin Schrdinger came up with to debunk the 'lunacy' of quantum theory - but did you know that there is a real-life cat in the garden of his former Zurich home?

Source: Atlas Obscura

Witch Map of Scotland

Over 3,000 people were accused of witchcraft in Scotland between 1563 and 1735. This map places every one of them in the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft database. Oh, and those specific dates span from when the Scottish Parliament passed the Witchcraft Act, which made witchcraft a capital crime to when the British Parliament made it a crime to accuse others of having magical powers or of practicing witchcraft.

Source: witches.is.ed.ac.uk

Napoleon, mighty Emperor of France, at the peak of his powers... defeated by rabbits. More than 3,000 of them, to be precise. And all because they were tame ones bought to be released for hunting. They swarmed the hunting party, thinking it was feeding time, and Napoleon et al had to beat a hasty retreat.

Source: medium.com

And Finally

I've just had an email from Amazon, informing me that printing costs are having to go up. When that takes effect on June 20th, I might have to raise prices on paperbacks there in order to keep from losing money on each sale. So... if you've been thinking of getting a printed copy of one of my books, now is the time! Other retailers might have to follow suit, but feel free to shop around - my books should be pretty mech everywhere. Oh, and the eBooks won't be changing in price, which makes them even better value.

But I mentioned at the beginning that you might be able to help me with the latest Martians book, 'Earth Under the Martians'. I have two characters who need names. They're Chambers' children, a boy of eight and a girl of six. They don't play a particularly important role in the story (though Chambers of course is dreadfully fond of them) but they still can't be referred to as 'child one' and 'child two'. So I'm looking for suggestions. They'd have been born around 1901-1903, so period-suitable names are preferred. Hit 'reply' and let me know what names you would choose! There's no prizes, but you'll get a special thanks in the back of the book, and it might be a nice way to honour a friend or relative (or two!)

Until next time...