Stephen Aryan's Blog, page 21

Star Trek is just a silly Science Fiction show

That’s what some people say. It’s just people in tight, uncomfortable, brightly coloured shirts, running around on a space ship. It doesn’t mean anything.

Those people, are very wrong indeed.

Netflix in the UK have just dropped a metric tonne of new Star Trek content  by adding every Star Trek episode ever, from every incarnation. Also, Netflix (outside the USA and Canada) have done a deal so that the new Star Trek show, Star Trek Discovery, will be shown on Netflix in 180 countries shortly after it airs on CBS in the USA.

I’ve been tempted many times over the years to buy the Next Generation DVDs and the rest, but the price has always been a bit steep. Now I’m getting my daily dose of Star Trek and I don’t have to find storage space for some more DVD box sets.

So, back to my original statement. For some people, mostly those who have never actually watched the show, and only know a little about it, they think it’s just another TV show. In some respects they’re right. It is a show that is designed to entertain. However, its creator, Gene Roddenberry, always wanted the show to do more. The original series with Kirk and Spock broke new ground several times, including the first on screen kiss between a white man and a black woman on American network television. You might say so what in 2016, but this was unheard of. And this was in 1968. That’s just five years after the Civil Rights march in Washington which led to Martin Luthor King’s famous speech. The show was also about so much more than that. It was about intolerance, hatred, racism, sexism, and so many other things, all wrapped up in a brightly coloured science fiction TV show.

Looking at it from another perspective, there are countless scientists, engineers and indeed astronauts that were inspired by the show. They went on to explore the universe, down to its smallest components and also into outer space. They believed in the underlying principle of Star Trek, where human beings are at peace with each other and their goal is to better themselves and explore the universe. A planet Earth where there was no more war or famine, disease was all but eradicated and we were united as a species.

Coincidentally, just as I was writing this post, SciFiNow asked fans to explain why they love Star Trek. I’ve added in my response below and one other from Ms Krystal which sums it up very well.

@SciFiNow It inspires, entertains and gives me hope for the future of humankind, that we can be better and look outwards to the stars.

— Stephen Aryan (@SteveAryan) August 4, 2016

@SciFiNow Star Trek depicts humanity at its best – as explorers, scientists, men and women of action. It says we can and will be better

— Ms Krystal (@KrystalSim) August 4, 2016

The shows are also full of unbelievable technology, which at the time seemed ridiculous. Some of this technology has become a reality. We don’t have transporters, but how about a system that plays music on demand. Something that is voice controlled that can store music digitally on a computer file and recall it instantly. This was on Star Trek: The Next Generation decades before iTunes and digital music.

How about a small, hand-held communication device that allows you to speak to someone very far away? This was the Star Trek communicator device, that goes back to the 1960s.

How about a very small, body mounted camera, that could beam its signal back to someone else, so they could see what you were doing, without being there in person. Much like today’s body cameras worn by front line police officers, or head mounted cameras for the armed forces. This was seen in Stak Trek: The Next Generation, where Geordie beams what his visor is showing back to the bridge so they can see what he can see on a mission.

How about data pads? Tiny computers that sit on a desk? These became tablets and laptop computers. I’ve barely scratched the surface but I’m sure you get the idea.

Star Trek means a lot to some people because it’s just an entertaining show. It means so much to others because it drives them to be better, to go further, to do more, to strive for the impossible. For others it inspires them to create and for others, to turn their gaze towards the heavens and the majesty of outer space. Underneath all of it, the show rests on the core principle that human beings are united and right now, with so much chaos and despair in the world, a little bit of hope is very welcome.

Gemmell Awards 2016 – final vote

The final vote for the Gemmell awards is now open, anyone can vote from anywhere in the world, but only one vote per person, so please get voting!

Battlemage is still in the running for the Morningstar debut book award. There are 6 books in each of the categories, so vote on those too!

Click here to vote for the Gemmell Awards 2016

Holiday Reads 2016

It’s time again for my annual break in the sun. I’ve not packed my case, I’m not sure I have enough t-shirts or sun cream, but I have sorted my To Read Pile for my holiday. I had sorted that out weeks ago!

Once a year, I have a week with very little to do, on purpose, and few distractions. In such an environment I can read a book in about a day, more or less. That’s very unusual for me because I don’t read that fast compared to some people. So five books is good for a week, with 4-5 trade paperback comics to read as well when I only have a short period of time to read. This year my holiday reads are:-

The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig – I’ve met Francesca a few times at book events and as it happens we also share an agent. She’s incredibly intelligent and just a warm and lovely person. The initial premise of this book has always intrigued me, but whenever I hear her talk about it, I’m made very aware that there’s a lot more going on than what appears on the surface. She recently appeared on BBC Radio 4 talking about twins which is central to the premise of the series. Without having read the book (so my view might change after) it has echoes of H.G Wells’ Time Machine with the Eloi and the Morlocks. Post apocalyptic, every child born is a twin that is vastly different from the other and yet they are connected right up to the moment of their death. Can’t wait to start this one soon.

When We Were Animals by Joshua Gaylord – I’ve been saving this book up for a few months now.  One of my favourite books, probably ever, is The Reapers Are The Angels by Alden Bell, which is a pen name for JG. I knew nothing about Reapers, as I was reading advanced review copy, and totally fell in love with it. The sequel is amazing too, Exit Kingdom. This, under his own name, is a new world, new characters, new story. I know only what it says on the back of the book and that’s probably too much of a spoiler. There’s a certain joy is opening a book and knowing almost nothing about it if you trust the author. That’s where I find myself with this and I can’t wait to get stuck in. I’ll probably burn through this book easily in a day.

The Incorruptibles by John Hornor Jacobs – Part Western (so that’s me sold on the book already), part fantasy, this book sounds like a cracking combination of two genres that I love. I met Jon and at a UK convention two years ago I think it was and heard him read a section at the Nine Worlds event in the New Voices panel and he really impressed me. He also very kindly stepped in to help someone else by reading one of the characters in a section and he did it with such aplomb, plus a convincing accent, that it made the reading that much more memorable and a lot of fun. The book as it happens was Nunslinger by Stark Holborn, another one on my list.

The Boy Who Wept Blood by Den Patrick – The second of The Erubus Sequence. The first introduced me to a dark, devious, corrupt and twisted fantasy world unlike any I’d seen before. Part gothic horror with warring families, duels, creepy characters lurking in shadows, the first was, in some ways, a coming of age book unlike the usual trotted out as a trope of fantasy. The second book picks up the story a few years later, in the same world. It’s fair to say I’ve not read a fantasy book like this and have been saving this for when I have sufficient time to read it with few interruptions and soak into the atmosphere.

Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson – Robinson is another gap in my reading history. It used to be that I could keep up with the number of fantasy novels coming out each year, but over time the volume and my pace of reading meant that wasn’t possible. I’ve always tended to read 80/20 fantasy to sci-fi, just because of my preferences and I enjoy fantasy more. I’m also quite picky when it comes to SF. I’ve heard a lot of people talking about Aurora and I love the core idea of this book, a generational ship travelling to a new world. That idea is something I’ve always wanted to see explored and who better to do it than Robinson who is very highly regarded. I’m partially going into this book blind, as that’s kind of all I know about it, so I’m hoping I enjoy it as much as other people.

Those are my holiday reads for this year, I’m taking one other book to read on the way there for the flight and waiting around in airports and customs. Do you save up special books for your holiday? What are your stand-out fantasy or SF books from the last few years? I’m definitely open to some really good SF recommendations. I’m not a fan of hard SF, I’m more interested in story and characters and world-building than it being possible with current science.

Chaosmage – book 3

So the year is racing by and it’s nearly the end of June already. There’s a lot of political stuff in the news at the moment, so steering away from all of that, below is a link to SciFiNow who have the exclusive reveal of Chaosmage, book 3 in the Age of Darkness trilogy. There’s also info from the back of the book about what, and who, to expect in this volume, so please click the link below to find out.

SciFiNow – Chaosmage Exclusive cover reveal

Chaosmage is released in October, and that means all 3 of my books will have been released in about a year (September 2015, April 2016, October 2016). Behind the scenes, before Battlemage was even released, I was busy working very hard so they could be released on that schedule. The last two years for me have flown by in a haze of writing, then in parallel, edits, copy editing, checking proofs and discussing ideas for the covers.

So, in October, there will be a launch and some signing events of some kind, but in the meantime, I’m busy again on something new. I can’t say what it is yet, far too early, but I’m enjoying getting my teeth into a new project and I hope to have some news in the months ahead on that.

Choasmage – book 3

So the year is racing by and it’s nearly the end of June already. There’s a lot of political stuff in the news at the moment, so steering away from all of that, below is a link to SciFiNow who have the exclusive reveal of Chaosmage, book 3 in the Age of Darkness trilogy. There’s also info from the back of the book about what, and who, to expect in this volume, so please click the link below to find out.

SciFiNow – Chaosmage Exclusive cover reveal

Chaosmage is released in October, and that means all 3 of my books will have been released in about a year (September 2015, April 2016, October 2016). Behind the scenes, before Battlemage was even released, I was busy working very hard so they could be released on that schedule. The last two years for me have flown by in a haze of writing, then in parallel, edits, copy editing, checking proofs and discussing ideas for the covers.

So, in October, there will be a launch and some signing events of some kind, but in the meantime, I’m busy again on something new. I can’t say what it is yet, far too early, but I’m enjoying getting my teeth into a new project and I hope to have some news in the months ahead on that.

The Boss – June 2016

It’s not often I post about music but I felt the urge today. Back in the 1980s, when CDs were very new, there were CD clubs with special offers. At the time there was no such thing as iTunes or downloading music. The Internet wasn’t a thing yet, and vinyl and cassette tapes was still very popular. A CD club was where you paid something like £30 and chose six CDs out of a catalogue. They then sent them to you through the post on a special deal. Everyone in my family was able to choose one and I picked a double CD by someone I was vaguely aware of. Mostly, at the time, I think I just wanted to get my money’s worth as it was a two CD pack with something like 15 songs on each. That CD was Bruce Springsteen’s Greatest Hits.

I’m actually a little young to be a first generation fan. I’m probably second generation as by the time I was old enough to be aware of his music, he’d been going for about twelve years and had just hit the big time and broken through. So aged ten or so, I listened to my CD whenever I could. I liked some of the songs, thought some of them were a bit depressing and thought some were amazing.

Almost thirty years later, and probably a dozen albums on, I am now a genuine fan. Musically I have a few pillars that have been with me throughout my life. REM is one and The Boss, as Springsteen is sometimes called, is one of the others. I went from someone who bought the CD on a whim to someone who introduces others to his music. I changed from someone who only enjoyed the anthem tunes to someone who also loves the slower, more thoughtful pieces.

Three years ago I was living in Yorkshire, close to Leeds, and the city finally got its own arena. Sir Elton John was due to open it in September but Springsteen was coming to the area in July and asked if he could do a gig there.

They say you should never meet your heroes in person as you will be disappointed because they’re only human and therefore flawed. Speaking from experience, there is definitely some truth to that. However the Boss did not disappoint at all.

About 13 thousand people, including me, saw him blow the roof off the arena. It was over three and a half hours of non-stop music. He never once came off stage. And this is a guy in his sixties.

Last week I saw him again for the second time in my life, this time alongside 38 thousand people. It was loud. It was epic. It was an amazing experience. Here is a guy who has been performing live for over forty years. Sometimes when a musician has been going that long and you finally see them it doesn’t live up to the hype. They’re past their prime and just tired. Once again, he proved that negative voice wrong. He was full of energy and at times the whole arena was on their feet.

He definitely inspires me. I’ve achieved one of my life’s ambitions and am now a published fantasy author. But, I believe my best work is ahead of me, not behind me. If I keep pushing myself and trying my best then perhaps in thirty years time when others look back over my body of work, I might inspire them to create something, be it music, art, comics, a novel or whatever, and try a little bit harder on their next project.

June Events

This June I’m off to a few events.

On Tuesday 7th June, Joe Hill will be appearing at Waterstones in Birmingham, and I’m attending as a fan to hear about his latest book, The Fireman. It sounds really, really, really good, so I am looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of that. Plus he is always a very engaging speaker at events and I like hearing about his unique perspective on storytelling, given his family.

On Wednesday 8th June, from 6pm to 8pm, I’m going back to Waterstones in Birmingham and this time I’m one of three local authors who will be taking part in a Publishing Workshop. All three of us, Liz Tipping, Gemma Todd and I, will be speaking about how we found a literary agent. We all have very different origin stories and our books are also very different, so it should prove to be  an interesting and useful event. If you are trying to get published and want to find an agent, come along with your questions.

If this event goes well and is well attended, we are looking to do more of these events in the future.

Then on Saturday 11th June I will be at a local author event and coffee morning in Lichfield at the Library. I’ll be there to talk about my books, writing and just generally get people interested in reading and writing. Libraries are vitally important and I spent a lot of time in my home town library growing up. So if you are in the area, come and have a cup of coffee and a chat.

 

David Gemmell Awards

David Gemmell was and is a huge influence on my work. More so than Tolkien, which many people cite as being their main foundation, Gemmell showed me many worlds where the main characters were not always perfect people. Long before anyone coined the phrase Grimdark, he was writing about grey people in difficult situations.

The longlist for the three awards are now available and you can vote, online, for free, by visiting this page. You can only vote once on the long list.

Battlemage is on the list for the Morningstar award. This is the award for the best début fantasy novel.

The cover for Battlemage has also been nominated for the Ravenheart award, with artist Steve Stone.

I’m delighted to have been included on this list and the winners will be announced in September at the Fantasycon event in Scarborough. As it happens I am attending this event, so I will be cheering on the others and either celebrating or crying into my beer, depending on the outcome!

So, get voting. The longlist closes on 24th June. The shortlist for all categories then opens on July 8th for the final vote.

 

How To….

Just a short post today, but one that I’m hoping will generate some feedback.

Next month I’m one of three authors  involved with a free publishing workshop at Waterstones in Birmingham. This event on June 8th is designed to provide writers with information on how to find a literary agent. This is for those who are interested in traditional publishing, not self publishing. The three of us will be talking about how we found an agent and answering questions.

For those unable to attend, or not even in the UK, would you find some How To… type videos useful? Is there enough information out there already?

Do you know how to find a literary agent? How to find a publisher? How to write a synopsis? How to write a covering letter? Do you understand the publishing process and the stages a book goes through before being published?

I’m considering a How To…YouTube channel but if all of this is clear, then I don’t need to add to the noise.

So, over to you. Would you like to see such a thing? If so, what topics would interest you?

Bloodmage tour roundup

I’m back from my UK tour for Bloodmage, the second book in the Age of Darkness trilogy.

The first stop was Sheffield, which was a lot of fun. Samuel, and the other staff at Waterstones Orchard Square, had arranged some coffee and nibbles and after rushing to get there, I was ready for a drink and some cake. There were a few writers in the audience so a lot of the questions were around how to get published, finding an agent, working with a publisher and so on. There was still plenty of time for a reading and to sign a few books.

After Sheffield I went to Middlesbrough where Niel Bushnell and I had a great discussion about our different routes to getting published. It was also a good opportunity for us to catch up as I’d not seen Niel since last year at another event. We shared some more tips about writing and getting published and explored some of the different options that are available today, compared with only a few years ago.

The last stop was my home town of Whitley Bay, where I grew up. I’d not been back in a few years and before the event I had some time to explore what had changed and was what the same since my last visit. Many thanks to everyone at the library for their support and for everyone who braved the awful weather to come and see me.

My presentation about my writing and my journey to getting published was very popular and I received a lot of positive comments. Even more popular was the fantastic Battlemage cake that my friend, Katie, had made for me. It was also chocolate cake, which is my favourite, and at one point I almost didn’t get a piece as it was rapidly disappearing. Overall it was a tiring but enjoyable book tour.

It’s only six months until Chaosmage is here and I start all over again. So let me know if you want me to come and visit a bookshop near you next time.