Rhobin Lee Courtright's Blog, page 28

Cover for Crewkin

[image error] Delilah K. Stephans of MuseItUp Publishing designed the cover. I'm working on first edits as I write (they're open on Word on my computer). February seems a long time away, but I know it is right around the corner. Gives me something to look forward to in the middle of winter!

The Only Suvivor

Here's a character introduction to the lead character in Crewkin.

Renna heard the hatch open and a woman entered. Never raising her gaze, Renna noticed through quick side glances the woman looked alien, so very different from her crewkin. Yes, she wore Markham Corporation uniform, so they worked for the same company. Only she was shorter, plumper, her face, nose, and neck, even her fingers, too thin, her brown eyes and hair, the wrong color. She wore jewelry and makeup. Renna tightened h...

Poisoning Our Environment, Poisoning Our Lives

I've a post on Branches of Life Blogzine about the chemicals and poisons in our lives.
Please go take a read: Poisoning Our Environment, Poisoning Our Lives. Are you aware of all the potential poisons in your day-to-day life? I'm learning more about them all the time.

Finding Your Muse

Inspiration, a divine spark, stimulus, we all appreciate when that type of enlightenment strikes.

The ancient attributed these energies to the Muses, daughters of Zeus, the god who threw lightning bolts of power, and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. The Muses were believed to inspire all artists, but especially those who worked with words: poets, musicians, playwrights, and philosophers, perhaps encouraging them to write their thoughts down.

Written words were not subjected to the vagaries of...

Scifi as folklore

One reason I like to write science fiction is because I see the genre as folklore of the future. Some writers see the future as apocalyptic, and I tend to agree we will probably come close to ending ourselves without the help of space aliens. However, I tend to think that if we learn responsibility as a species, we might become seeds to the universe. The problem is the duality of our natures. We contain both good and bad: generosity tempered with avarice and self seeking, xenophobia combined ...

Available for Kindle

Stone House Farm is available for those lucky enough to have Kindle.

CREWKIN has a home!

More about Crewkin, to be published February 2011 with MuseItUp Publishing!

Renna has one chance for survival—earning a berth on an intra-planet cargo ship. She can never join another crewkin, those crews who man the long haul ships of space. They are closed societies, formed at birth, meant to live only with each other until death. Her crewkin are dead, and she failed in her duty to join them in death. If she can't fit in this time, she may never join another crew, and might just as well have...

Cows, Milk and the Changing Farm

Standing her ground, one curious cow stares at me, ready to bolt if necessary. I've always loved the black and white hides of Holstein cows. A few weeks ago I had the interesting adventure of visiting Brad and Lori Gernaat's dairy farm in Marion, Michigan, with my son and his family. What a surprise! Somehow I have missed the change from seeing dairy cows in fields to their disappearance from farm pastures. They now remain in large barns where they seem perfectly content to munch on the...

Volunteering with Children's Chess Club

My son, Chris, and his chess club. I think volunteerism is important to every community, and I'm very proud Chris volunteers to teach elementary students Chess. You can see this group is very happy. They had a very good showing at a tournament in Ludington recently.

He is still a kid at heart. I can tell because I think those are his fingers behind those two boys' heads. Hmm... they never outgrow teasing, do they? But, doggone, I think he's a pretty great kid, even if I do say so myself. I pl...

My son, Chris, and his chess club. I think volunteerism i...

My son, Chris, and his chess club. I think volunteerism is important to every community, and I'm very proud Chris volunteers to teach elementary students Chess. You can see this group is very happy. They had a very good showing at a tournament in Ludington recently.

He is still a kid at heart. I can tell because I think those are his fingers behind those two boys' heads. Hmm... they never outgrow teasing, do they? But, doggone, I think he's a pretty great kid, even if I do say so myself. I pl...