Edward Hoornaert's Blog, page 83
November 8, 2014
Ray Bradbury on “Hearing Voices”
Here’s a drop of wisdom from a man who knew all about those of us making their living by telling lies for fun and profit:
November 3, 2014
Of Oboes that Sing–and Cabbages and Kings
I should have fit ‘National Novel Writing Month’ into my little rhyming title for this post, but dang, it neither scans nor rhymes.
I’ve done NaNoWriMo, as it’s also known, with great success–it inspires me to be more prolific than I normally am. Two years ago, my NaNo project was The Tribulations of Tompa Lee. Last year, I wrote the first draft of The Triumph of Tompa Lee. The Tompa Lee trilogy is now complete, so no Tompa this year.
Just to keep me honest, here’s my progress so far. To complete 50k words in the month of November, I need to average 1667 words per day, and so far I’m doing fine. Later on, NaNo becomes a bit of a grind, yet I enjoy it nonetheless.
A New Addition to the Family
I also have a new addition to my family–a Loree oboe with AK bore!!!
That might not excite you, but for me, it’s worth several exclamation points! I traded in my 32-year-old Loree for a new model, and it’s a noticeable improvement.
Something so phallic as an oboe is obviously a male, but then why are the best names that sound like ‘Loree’ all female? There’s Lorie, Loren, Lorelei, and Lauretia.
Maybe, though, I should focus less on the brand name and more on the generic name: oboe. How about Obadiah? Nah, too old a name for a new oboe.
I’ve got it! As a science fiction writer, the perfect name is…
Are you ready for it?
Obi Wan. As in Obi Wan Oboe. Catchy, eh?
What about you? Do you play a musical instrument? And if so, does the instrument have a name?
Of Oboes that Sing, Cabbages, and Kings
I should have fit ‘National Novel Writing Month’ into my little rhyming title for this post, but dang, it neither scans nor rhymes.
I’ve done NaNoWriMo, as it’s also known, with great success–it inspires me to be more prolific than I normally am. Two years ago, my NaNo project was The Tribulations of Tompa Lee. Last year, I wrote the first draft of The Triumph of Tompa Lee. The Tompa Lee trilogy is now complete, so no Tompa this year.
Just to keep me honest, here’s my progress so far. To complete 50k words in the month of November, I need to average 1667 words per day, and so far I’m doing fine. Later on, NaNo becomes a bit of a grind, yet I enjoy it nonetheless.
A New Addition to the Family
I also have a new addition to my family–a Loree oboe with AK bore!!! (That might not excite you, but for me, it’s worth several exclamation points!)
Something so phallic is obviously a male, but then why are the best names that sound like ‘Loree’ all female? There’s Lorie. And Loren. And Lauretia.
Maybe, though, I should focus less on the brand name and more on the generic name: oboe. How about Obadiah? Nah, too old a name for a new oboe.
I’ve got it! As a science fiction writer, the perfect name is…
Are you ready for it?
Obi Wan. As in Obi Wan Oboe. Catchy, eh?
What about you? Do you play a musical instrument? And if so, does the instrument have a name?
October 19, 2014
Sneak Peek: Farflung Angel
On sneak peek Sunday, you can sample dozens of new novels. Don’t worry–all the snippets are short, just six paragraphs.
Here you have the meet-cute from Mr. Valentine’s upcoming science fiction romance, The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station. The Duke, is the new head of security for Farflung Space Station. He has just tailed a young woman who had broken into a station worker’s (empty) private quarters.
The pocket door slid into the wall with a whoosh. The girl was poking at Bahadur’s computer, but she jerked upright with a classic caught-in-the-act expression: wide eyes, wrinkled forehead, trembling lips.
When Duke strode into the room, she tried to dart past him. He caught her waist in the crook of his elbow. With his other elbow, he tapped the jamb, closing the door.
“Principal Officer Dukelsky,” he began, “Station—” Flailing at him, she slapped him in the mouth. “—Security,” he finished.
She raised her hand again, but he caught her wrist. She hadn’t clawed his face when she had the chance, so he was gentle but firm. With one arm, he lifted her and deposited her on the unmade bed across from the comp outlet. She bounced back up as though the mattress were a trampoline. Grabbing her again, Duke’s legs got caught in hers and they both tripped. He landed on top of her on the bed, breaking the fall with his arms.
As she squirmed under him, Duke realized he’d been wrong. She wasn’t a girl. Her body was mature enough to remind him he hadn’t been in bed with a female in far too long. Ignoring the growing awareness, he circled her wrists with one hand and held them over her head.
“Stop fighting,” he ordered.
It isn’t the most promising meeting for a romance, is it? Never fear, Duke and the (so-far) nameless woman get together in the end, though they have to plough their way through literally scores of people who would keep them apart.
Want more? The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station is now available for pre-order!
October 12, 2014
Sneak Peek Sunday, 10/12/14
On sneak peek Sunday, you can sample dozens of new novels. Don’t worry–all the snippets are short, just six paragraphs.
Here you have six key paragraphs from Mr. Valentine’s upcoming science fiction romance, The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station. The hero, Duke, is dining with a fellow security specialist, when he makes a crucial deduction about the heroine, Sandrina.
“Sheer Luck Station,” chorused the café patrons.
Several of them announced other recent strokes of luck. A slip-card of family pictures, lost for a decade, had miraculously turned up. A favorite childhood hardcopy book had appeared out of nowhere. For a moment, the café filled with smiles, laughter, and camaraderie.
Even Lockey smiled. “Sheer Luck Station?”
“A local myth,” Duke answered. “Some think the space station has a guardian angel, although in my opinion it’s just chance, or maybe an anonymous do-gooder. In fact, I—”
Abruptly, he froze. Then he jerked his head around, searching for Sandrina. She stood by the kitchen doorway, meeting his gaze with a blank look. He expected her to look away at any second, but she didn’t. Her blank stare melted into a fluid smile cycling through chagrin and wistfulness to embarrassment. Her face flaming, she stumbled back into the kitchen and closed the door.
After she fiddled with Bahadur’s computer, the technician “luckily” found a bookmark that hadn’t existed before. Coincidence? Hah. And A.J. Pryor, the unworthy jerk, would be the next to enjoy the station’s fabled luck. Sandrina with no last name, the tortured and wordless waif, the lowest of them all—she was Farflung Station’s guardian angel, spreading goodness wherever she sneaked.
Want more? You’re in luck, because Farflung Angel is now available for pre-order.
And don’t forget to check out Mr. V’s listing of authors’ newly published science fiction romances–and especially the other great writers participating in Sneak Peek Sunday.
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October 11, 2014
Do-it-yourself Science Fiction Cat Humor
Awhile back, I posted a cat picture for readers to suggest their own caption. The wittier the better! Here’s the pic:
The best suggestion wins a free ebook of The Trial of Tompa Lee, the first book in Mr. Valentine’s science fiction trilogy starring science fiction’s favorite underdog, Tompa Lee.
Enter your caption as a comment, or go to the Contact page and e-mail me!
Here are some of the other pages on this blog about science fiction humor:
Farflung Angel now available for pre-order
You can now order your very own copy of Mr. V’s upcoming release, The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station.
Severely traumatized in childhood by vicious space pirates, Sandrina hasn’t spoken since. Her response to the evil done her? Become a secret guardian angel–a lonely, thankless task, until ‘Duke’ Dukelsky discovers her secret.
And then the pirates return…
The Midas Rush now available in paperback
Mr. V’s epic planetary romance, The Midas Rush, is now available in paperback exclusively at Amazon.
All Tresky Buffrum wants is a taste of adventure and freedom before resigning himself to the simple life of a shepherd. What he gets instead is a mysterious wife who is determined to remain chaste; she leads him to the Midas Crater, where some of the planet’s intelligent natives have been inexplicably transformed into gold. Only Tresky is in a position to defeat the interplanetary conspiratorswho seek to destroy the Midas Crater before its mysteries can liberate humans from solitary confinement in their own minds.
October 5, 2014
SFR Brigade Showcase 1
As part of the SFR Brigades showcase, I give you a short excerpt from The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station, to be released October 21.
The setting is Farflung Space Station, an old and rather decrepit station handling trade to and from the planet it orbits. It’s a city in space, housing four thousand people–and, as we see in the excerpt below, at least one urban legend.
While dining in an on-station cafe where the heroine, Sandrina, works Duke, the station’s new head of security,explains the legend to a visitor, Princess Lakshmi Braganza, known as Lockey for short.
“Sheer Luck Station,” chorused the café patrons.
Several of them announced other recent strokes of luck. A slip-card of family pictures, lost for a decade, had miraculously turned up. A favorite childhood hardcopy book had appeared out of nowhere. For a moment, the café filled with smiles, laughter, and camaraderie.
Even Lockey smiled. “Sheer Luck Station?”
“A local myth,” Duke answered. “Some think the space station has a guardian angel, although in my opinion it’s just chance, or maybe an anonymous do-gooder. In fact, I—”
Abruptly, he froze. Then he jerked his head around, searching for Sandrina. She stood by the kitchen doorway, meeting his gaze with a blank look. He expected her to look away at any second, but she didn’t. Her blank stare melted into a fluid smile cycling through chagrin and wistfulness to embarrassment. Her face flaming, she stumbled back into the kitchen and closed the door.
After she fiddled with Bahadur’s computer, the technician “luckily” found a bookmark that hadn’t existed before. Coincidence? Hah. And A.J. Pryor, the unworthy jerk, would be the next to enjoy the station’s fabled luck.
Sandrina with no last name, the tortured and wordless waif, the lowest of them all—she was Farflung Station’s guardian angel, spreading goodness wherever she sneaked.
See more great showcases here!
And while you’re at it, check out our pages highlighting new science fiction romance releases–and especially, the virtual blog tour for The Triumph of Tompa Lee!
Cat humor winner and breaking news
Today, a little bit of this and that, from submissive puddy cats to a bunch of breaking news about books.
Breaking News #1: Cat Humor Update
A little while back, I posted some science fiction cat humor, along with a captionless photo. The best caption so far, submitted by a friend who wishes to remain anonymous, appears below.
Breaking News#2: The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station
My next book is coming to your local virtual bookstore very soon–October 21st. It isn’t available for advanced ordered yet, but that will come soon. Take a peek at The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station.
Breaking News #3: The Triumph of Tompa Lee book tour
Ongoing right now is a virtual book tour for the third book in The Trilogy of Tompa Lee. Lots of exciting stuff going on, including giveaways. Be sure to drop by!
Breaking News #4: The Midas Rush now available in paperback
One of my backlist titles, The Midas Rush, is now available in paperback in a new edition. I have a soft spot for underdogs, and shepherd Tresky Buffrum is as lovable and unlikely a hero as you’ll find on all of planet Jones!
Breaking News #5: Beaucoup site updates
If you’ve haven’t yet checked these out, do so fast:
New books added to the New SFR pages
An excerpt from the exciting new novella, The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station
October 3, 2014
Book Tour: The Triumph of Tompa Lee
Mr. V has dipped his virtual toes into the virtual waters of book tours. This tour promotes my most recent release, The Triumph of Tompa Lee. A bunch of good stuff is going on, including reviews, excerpts, and an in-depth interview with my heroine, Tompa Lee herself. I had to keep telling her to tone it down, as she has a a potty mouth and a chip on her shoulder . How such a delicate woman can carry such a big chip, I don’t know.
For all you greedy folks–and which of us isn’t?–there are prizes and giveaways, including a signed paperback copy of the book. So tell your friends, tweet your acquaintances, and strong-arm your enemies into dropping by some or all of the tour stops!
October 3rd: Promo Post @ Literary Chanteuse
October 4th: Book Excerpt @ Cassidy Crimson’s Blog
October 5th: Author Interview @ The Single Librarian
October 7th: Book Review @ I Heart Reading
October 9th: Book Excerpt @ Forever Book Lover
October 11th: Book Review @ Books, Books and More Books
October 12th: Character Interview @ The Book Daily
October 14th: Guest Post @ Editor Charlene’s Blog
October 15th: Promo Post @ Bookish Madness
Thanks for stopping by!
September 22, 2014
Science Fiction Jokes, part 5 – More Felines
It’s been a long time since I posted any SF humor, so here are a few puddy-tats thinking science fictional thoughts.
Here’s one more–but with no caption. Any suggestions for captions? Leave a comment with your suggestions.
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If you like these, you may also like these pages on this blog:
Science Fiction Jokes, part 1
Science Fiction Jokes, part 2
Science Fiction Jokes, part 3
Science Fiction Jokes, part 4 – Special Feline Edition
Top Ten Science Fiction Cats
More Science Fiction Cats
And on a totally unrelated note, here’s a compilation of my published books (so far). I’m in the process of trying to work this into a banner for my blog.
