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

We've had a lovely run of nice weather lately, which has propelled me into our garden. It's only small, but it's remarkable how quickly things grow when you turn your back on them. A week of slightly sweaty work and the grass is back under control again, the ivy has been wrestled away from the windows and most important of the doors, and anything that has thorns on it has been beaten back from the pathways. I tell everyone we were observing 'no mow May' to help the pollinators (and we were) but I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a little laziness involved too. Not to mention, I've got a lot of learning to do. I've found an app that does a pretty good job of identifying the various plants and trees we have around us, backed up by a community that can tell you what you've got if the AI overlords fail. Once I know what they are, I can check into how best to look after them. I trimmed one back so aggressively a couple of years ago that it never came back - while some of the plants seem to shake off being chopped back to a stump with about twenty minutes. So far, no Martian red weed has shown up, luckily. Do you have any advice for a relative novice in the garden? Where do you even begin? We're fortunate enough to be surrounded by nature, so it's not like we're providing an oasis of life in a concrete jungle, but we still do want it to be wildlife-friendly. Let me know your best tips for bringing a garden to its best!

Space News

Could you decode an alien message?

Just after I sent the last newsletter, I found this - ESA (The European Space Agency) are collaborating with the SETI Institute on a very interesting project. We've sent messages into space before, with the hope that one day they'll be intercepted and understood by an alien civilisation. But so far, we've never detected anything that has been unequivocally identifiable as coming from intelligent life. Which is where ESA are stepping up. They're beaming a message from the ExoMars orbiter back to Earth, which has been designed to represent a possible message from alien life. This orbiter currently relays the majority of all data from the working rovers on Mars, so it's well suited to 'pass on' an alien message too. People from all over the world will be working together-just as they would if it were real-to decode it and understand what has been sent.

Since the message has already been sent, you can download a copy here And let them know whether you can make any sense of it!

Source: esa.int

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!

storyoriginapp.com

I am more than Olya. I am vengeance: the Dark Reaper's right hand.

Unnatural things are afoot in Lapachka village. A monster lurks the streets, killing at random.

Father Gavriil is spooked. The villagers terrified.

Through it all Olya grieves for a friend murdered before the madness began.

A friend who will not go quietly.

Finalist for Best Fantasy Short Story in the 2020 Aurealis Awards

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

Ringing the Fish Doorbell

I worked in Utrecht, Netherlands for a while - more years ago than I care to admit now. I remember it as a beautiful town, built around the canal and with a number of wonderful restaurants where you could sit on the towpath and eat as tour boats drifted by. My favourite was the Sri Lankan restaurant, which I frequented so often the owner began choosing my meals for me, so I could sample even more of his fragrant and unique cuisine. Little did I know that the canals (and in particular the locks) were interfering with the migration and spawning of the local fish. I've seen all sorts of measures to get fish past human blockages in rivers and canals. There are fish ladders, short runs of low walls that they can jump up to bypass a dam. There's a fish elevator which opens up, waits until it detects a fish inside and then lifts them up over the barrage it sits beside. And even a cannon which shoots fish upstream. Utrecht now joins this unusual grouping with a doorbell. Sadly, the fish themselves don't press it, but rather the people watching a webcam. When a fish is seen at the lock gates, a user somewhere (anywhere) in the world can press a button, and someone scurries out to open the lock to let the fish through. It's been running for three years now, and while it's probably not going to have a huge impact on fish breeding populations, and it's certainly the least efficient method I can think of, it's certainly imaginative!

After someone rings the Fish Doorbell, this wheel is cranked to open the lock.

Source: Atlas Obscura

Miscellany

Changelings

The idea of a changeling, a fairy substituted for a human child, plays a large role in my 'Fae Defence Society' books, and this post from Morgan Daimler is a very useful overview of the mythology. As is often the case with tales of the fae, the details can be fairly gruesome and unsettling.

Source: patreon.com

Skull Combs

Iron age people were sometimes buried with artefacts from their daily lives, whether because they were felt to be needed in the afterlife or just as mementos. But why would you have a comb fashioned from a fragment of a human skull?

Source: Atlas Obscura

Drop Bears are real.

Any visitor to Australia knows that the country is full of animals that want to kill you. And no doubt you've heard of the vicious 'drop bears' that pounce on you from a tree if you're foolish enough to pause there, even if no-one seems to have encountered one. New research has revealed that they did once exist, even if they are now (thankfully) extinct...

Source: mysteriousuniverse.org

And Finally

There's thunderstorms predicted for today, so I might have to wrap up my garden activities for a little while. If we get a decent show I'll be posting some images or videos on social media - give me a follow! (links below)

And this is your last warning to get any paperbacks ordered from Amazon before they put the prices up. You can check the full list of my published works at https://www.markhoodbooks.com/

Until next time...

Source: markhoodbooks.com