Kumar L.'s Blog

OWS 12 DAYS OF INDIES, DAY 1

Hello Lovelies,

Welcome to the first day of  our second year of 12 Days of indies! For those who aren’t familiar with how this works, each day we will have a list of indie books priced $2.99 or less with a brief description and a link to buy. We encourage our readers to buy at least 1 book each day and let us know in the comments which book you think we should buy and review for next year.

We have some cool giveaways for those who participate. Even if you don’t participate every day. Even if all you can do is share the post and not buy, that is ok. Be sure to enter the Rafflecopters each day to be entered for a chance to win.

While 12 days of Indies is not an OWS exclusive event, it is an event that OWS feels very passionately about. We appreciate any support you can provide to help share Indie authors with the world.

So, on to the awesome list of offering’s for today!

Up first is an excellent preorder,  the exciting sci-fi thriller Tattoos by Stacy Overby. Tattoos releases December 15th, just in time for filling Christmas stalkings.

One hushed cry in the middle of the night, and Eli Thorson’s life unravels. A highly trained Black Ops specialist, he is used to danger, but Eli’s path forces him to confront the illusions he’s been taught his whole life — ones that make him question all the good he thought he was doing.

Unable to work for a command that defiles the oaths he swore, he works to untangle the web of lies and deceit he finds woven throughout his worlds. The tattooed marks of his profession run more than skin deep. As a Specialist it is his duty to protect the people, the laws, and all the United Earth Government stands for, even if it means taking down the entire Black Ops division to do it.

You can pre-order Tattoos today for only $1.99. Don’t miss out on the cool merchandise too! I’m personally looking forward to the ornament!

 

Up next we have the clever contemporary fantasy A Year Since the Rain by Shane Wilson.

Alan —a heart-broken and stubborn computer programmer—took much in his life for granted, including the vast supply of water in his town. But when the rains stop falling and the rivers dry up, he begins to realize how temporary it all can be. His life begins to unravel as, across town, a sinkhole threatens to swallow every bit of the place he has come to call home. Taken on a journey of self-discovery by the magical women in his life, Alan is drawn into an unexpected affair and comes face-to-face with a Mystic who walks through his dreams. For Alan, dreams become a new reality, and reality erodes into something of a dream. As his town transforms into an arid wasteland that crumbles beneath his feet, Alan is compelled by the inevitable to strike out into the unknown or perish.

You can grab A Year Since the Rain for only 99¢.

For fans of Romance, we have Heart of Sapphire book 1 of the Love Letters Written in the Sands of Time series by Tim and Kathy Hunt.

The first in the “Love Letters Written in the Sands of Time” series, “Heart of Sapphire” is a touching love story spanning more than three decades.

Tim and Olivia fall in love as kids but their paths are separated and they move through their lives always feeling the emptiness left inside.

Tim begins writing letters to Olivia, whom he calls Sapphire, which are never sent, to tell her of his life without her.

Reunited after more than twenty five years, their love starts anew. Tim continues to write letters to his Sapphire, telling her of his thoughts and feelings in their beautiful new life together. In the end it is Sapphire’s letter to Tim that will touch his soul and warm your heart.

A touching love story that reminds us to never give up on true love.

Grab  Heart of Sapphire today for only 99¢

 

Up next is the frightful horror short story collection The 13: Tales of Illusory by Stephanie Ayers.

Adult Content
13 enchanted horrors, 13 spine-chilling tales. Down, down in the depths they fell, bodies in the dark of a liquid hell. This is the first collection in The 13 series. Will you survive all 13

Don’t miss out on this deliciously dark collection for only $1.99






And our last indie offering for today is the YA fantasy adventure  Discovering the Spirit (Dragon Within #1) by Kyra Dune.

Have you ever noticed how life can shift all of sudden? You’re going along thinking everything is great and then WHAM, you get hit by a bus. Well, maybe not a literal bus, but you get what I mean, right? I’m talking about that moment in time when everything changes and life as you know it comes to a crashing halt.

My name is Abigail Freeman and for me, that moment came on my sixteenth birthday. It wasn’t anything so dramatic as getting hit by a bus. In fact, it was so subtle it didn’t even seem like anything at the time. A cool breeze where there shouldn’t have been one. A stranger in the park. And then everything I thought I knew was turned inside out. What do you do, when you find out you aren’t who you thought you were?

Grab this exciting tale for only $2.99

That is all the excitement we have for today. Which story do you think we should read and review next year? Which one did you pick for #OWS12DaysofIndies2018?

Let us know in the comments below, then be sure to add your entries to the giveaways.

Until next time,
Keep Reading!

The post OWS 12 DAYS OF INDIES, DAY 1 appeared first on Book Series Earth To Centauri.

12 Days of Indies – Day 1

Guess what time it is?

 Welcome back to the annual #OWS12DaysofIndie! This event is held every December 1st – 12th. For those of you who this is your first year, the idea of this event is that OWS Ink LLC hosts books that are on sale $2.99 or less. Several of the regular reviewers purchase one book from each day’s list giving us 12 new books for the year.

We encourage readers and book review bloggers to also participate. This is a way to build up our industry together and support one another.

And as such OWS has a couple of cool giveaways this year to encourage audience participation.

The first is for the readers. We’re doing a giveaway of our limited edition #OWS12DayOfIndieMugs.

How many we give away will be dependent on the number of entries we get. 1 mug for every 100 entries. Here are just a few samples of the mugs:

This is the Fantasy mug

And the contemporary mug

Aren’t they adorable? More are available at the shop site, just search 12 Days of Indie to see the others available.

From 0-100 entries into the raffle, we will give away 1 mug. For 101-200 entries, we will give away 2, and so on and so forth. The winner(s) will get the choice of which mug they prefer.

There are multiple things you can do for an entry each day, and you can do each of them the full 12 days of indies plus a couple of days leading up to the event, so be sure to get those entries in for a chance to win one of these awesome limited edition collectable mugs!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0a6b044612/?

The second giveaway is for those who blog this event. This one is pretty cool. It is a lifetime membership to Missinglettr. For those not in the know, Missinglettr is a bloggers dream, allowing you to connect your blog posts to social media and reshare evergreen content up to 9 times throughout the year in just a few minutes. Heidi Angell uses this tool for her blog and loves the ease and the ability to set and forget.

“I can set up an author interview to be shared day of, day 3, day 7, to make sure people see it when it is fresh, and then schedule 6 more times throughout the year. I always tag the authors on each platform so that when it comes back up, they typically re-share. Missingletter is great because it allows you to create different taglines and use different images for the reshares so that it feels like fresh content every time someone sees it. I’ve been using it about a year, and have seen it give new life to evergreen content and increase my visibility by 1,000 views per post on average.”

This membership normally costs $9.99 a month, but you are getting a lifetime membership absolutely free. There are several tasks you can do to enter the giveaway each day, and they can be done every day of the event. If you are not on WordPress but would like to reblog the lists each day, please contact Heidi Angell at Hangell@ourwrieside.com and she can forward you the prepared lists.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0a6b044611/?

Who’s excited about this year’s event? Let us know in the comments below!

Until next time,

Keep Reading!

The post 12 Days of Indies – Day 1 appeared first on Book Series Earth To Centauri.

To Visit Earth by Ian Hugh McAllister (Featured Book) BGS

Nobody knows the destructive power of a comet better than lunar geologist Lucy Grappelli. Now her colleague is missing and she’s injured, trapped inside their crashed and dying exploration vehicle. With the commander’s unheeded words of caution still ringing in her ears, arrogance may yet prove to be her downfall.

The base team are working flat out, but she already knows they don’t have the equipment to retrieve her at this distance. Orbiting debris from the strike has ruled out a rescue mission from Earth. Unless she can find a way to stretch her dwindling oxygen supply, and get herself the 1000 km back to the base without external help, her mission will end right here.

There it is again, a movement in the shadows of the boulder field outside. Is it the slight concussion she suffered in the landslide, or is the fog of pain and loss playing tricks on her mind? She’s dodged the raw power of the universe twice already, but Lucy fears her luck may be about to run out. Horror crawls across her skin, and nausea grips her by the throat. She is convinced that something is moving among those rocks; a grey something that shouldn’t be out there in the vacuum on the lunar surface.

And it’s creeping ever closer.

Amazon: http://a.co/2tMrKBS

About the Author
Born in Wallasey, Merseyside in November 1960, Ian has been married to Simone since 1982. They have one son, Stuart, who arrived as a bit of a surprise in 1993. They have lived near Dorset’s Jurassic Coast since 1985. Ian has enjoyed a lifelong passion for aviation, especially airliners. A keen plane spotter, he fulfilled his childhood ambition by joining the UK Civil Aviation Authority in July 1980 as an Air Traffic Control Assistant. He was involved in training, line management, and was a Flight Planning specialist. Prior to early retirement in 2014, his day (and night) job was as a Flight Information Service Officer, one of a close-knit team providing the on-demand ‘London Information’ service to aircraft flying outside the UK airways system. He also trained as a Critical Incident Stress Management Defuser. After a 30 year on / off research project about the life and times of his remarkable Grandmother Hilda James, Ian finally began writing in earnest during late 2011. The resulting book, Lost Olympics, was the long-awaited family history. Along the way he learned that Hilda was even more of a character than the determined old lady he had known as a child. He unearthed some dark and sometimes controversial family secrets that needed to be aired as part of the narrative. Since early 2015 Ian has been one of the English Administrators at 10 Minute Novelists, an increasingly respected and busy US-based international Facebook community for writers at all levels of experience and aspirations. Ian has always been an avid science fiction reader, preferring the so-called ‘hard sci-fi’ genre of books based in possible science, over those dealing in pure fantasy. to Visit Earth is based on an original idea which had been kicking around in his head for twenty years.

To Walk on Alien Sands Now Available in the Amazon Exclusive Anthology: Vizions of the Future.

Posted by Margaret McGaffey Fisk

The author-driven marketing company, BooksGoSocial, whose group I’m part of on Facebook, decided to explore the wild world of Kickstarter through an anthology series promoting voices and stories that might otherwise have been overlooked. When they put the call out, I submitted a story I love for its fairytale cadence and science fiction themes that hadn’t found a home. I mentioned this back in April if you want to know more about the Kickstarter, but they accepted To Walk on Alien Sands for their first volume along with nine other stories (the Kickstarter reached the bonus story level on top of the initial stories).

The Kickstarter funded the cover, editing, story advances, and other production costs as well as some advertising, but Laurence O’Bryan, the curator, believes the anthology deserves a wider audience. After consulting with the authors, he announced Vizions of the Future will be released exclusively on Amazon in both eBook and print for a limited time. It is slated to go out of print six months since publication in late July, so at the end of January 2019.

The eleven science fiction stories range from alien worlds and alternate dimensions to both near and far futures here on Earth as well as from serious to humorous. It’s a broad look at the possibilities in science fiction and includes some powerful stories. I’ve had the pleasure of reading the whole anthology, and there were several I consider favorites.

I’d love to hear what you think of the anthology as a comment, or in a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or wherever you catalog your reads. You can get a glimpse of my contribution in this excerpt of To Walk on Alien Sands.

Pick up your copy

Exclusive on Amazon

Table of Contents

Why This Book?

Sci-Fi Vizionaries & Supporters

The Stories

Sylvan Chains by Adam Boustead

Escape the Darkness by Amanda J Evans

Matchbook by Chris Africa

The Brain Machine by Chris Turner

Unexpected Trip by Kalvin Thane

To Steal a Star by Kumar L

To Walk on Alien Sands by Margaret McGaffey Fisk

Grid by RM Gilmour

Sergeant Rick by Robert B. Marcus, Jr. and Ryan B. Marcus

Zed Is for Angry by Steve Conoboy

The Umbrella and the Wind by Cathy McGough

Featured book – We are Mars (The Rubicon Saga) – Cheryl Lawson

The year is 2128.

For the people of Rubicon, Mars is Home – hostile and unforgiving – but still Home. When Rubicon is taken by surprise by an unexpected and deadly threat, it’s a race against time and a desperate fight to stay alive.
Jax and Dana, Ridley and Chuck, Lenny and Maliyah all stand on opposite sides of a class divide, battling passions and tensions in equal measure. But can they work together to avert a disaster? Could the fundamental differences between them be the key to their survival, or to their destruction?
To make matters worse, unsettling events on Earth put the entire Mars Mission at risk and Rubicon – with little choice left – declares its independence. The news of this is not welcomed by powerful politicians that devise dubious plans to shelve the settlement, once and for all.
Mistakes are made, allegiances shift and lives hang in the balance. No one can be trusted as allies become enemies and the true nature of life on Mars is revealed – One wrong move, and it could be your last.



Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/We-Are-Mars-Rubicon-Saga-ebook/dp/B07CJRT1YC

‘My Secret Self: Trials and Tribulations of an Innocent’ By: Christine U. Cowin

‘My Secret Self: Trials and Tribulations of an Innocent’ – Series One

By: Christine U. Cowin

My Secret Self: Trials and tribulations of an Innocent Series One, is a very internal, story of my life and my impressions of the world around me, I keep my views of the world and others a secret. I feel misunderstood and if I shared my world I’d be laughed at. I see magic in nature and nature can be trusted to support me in my times of trouble. On my return home from school with my sister there’s a storm brewing and a message was conveyed to my on the dirt track we walked and little did I know my life was about to change when I received my first reminder to remember what I had to remember.  

Our house is on a farm and everyone is involved in their own world of sadness, grief and I guess regrets. The unthinkable is happening to me under the noses of my caretakers. My father is abusing me and I am accepting his advances. I need lots of love and I can’t get enough and this makes me vulnerable to him.

My mother leaves my sister and me, with my grandma. My father uses me to comfort him and takes me with him as he searches for our mother. On her return we are caught and so my isolation and separateness changes my life. Primary school is tough and high school offers me knowledge and a better view of the world.

Freedom, a car a means to escape and my self-confidence grows my sister and old foes become friends. I am asserting myself and I am not going to be told what to do.

Available for sale from18/9/18

Biography

I grew up on a farm in Australia. I was one of three siblings. In my young childhood, I encountered sexual abuse by my father. My mother found out when I was eleven and seemed to think it was my fault. This caused me a lot of pain and isolation. I found it very difficult to make friends. I went through high school experiencing some good times and some difficult times. In my last years of high school, I decided to discipline myself and studied hard to pass with good marks. I would have loved to have continued on at school; however it was not in my parent’s vision.

I married early, had two children reared them, and they made their way in life. I divorced my husband to realise my life’s dream. I wanted to travel but I never thought I could financially.

I worked, bought my own home, and had many, many friends. I was always helping others but I couldn’t solve my own issues.

I studied at the Esoteric College in my home town. Here I had the opportunity to open myself fully to my spiritual self. Through this college, I was able to journey overseas to study in Italy.

When I was making arrangements to go to Egypt, before we went to Italy, I remembered where I had to go: Turkey.

In 1984, after seeing this fishing village in Turkey in a magazine, I thought I had to go there. The memories came flooding back and so I went to Egypt and to Italy, left the group and got on a train from Rome to Brindisi in Italy to catch a ferry boat to Samos, then on to Turkey. On touching Turkish soil, I knew I’d come home.

After a long month travelling around Turkey knowing it like the back of my hand, I sold all I owned in Australia in 2002 and went back to Turkey to live, not knowing what would unfold for me there. I just followed my spirit and went.

There I re-lived my life, awakened. In Turkey, I didn’t feel lost, misunderstood or angry. I felt I had purpose and direction. I learned to feel and be in my body, and I was not sailing through life. I had many experiences, met many people, and formed strong friendships. I was very popular there and learned many things.

I learnt I had to write my life story. I had to re-live my life, from age 7 through to my present age at that time, to write this story. Later on, I had to either study to get my Celta Certificate to teach English, or go home. Because I was short of money, I decided to return home. As I prepared to return home to Australia, I began to get angry.

In 2008 I returned to Australia and all those lost, misunderstood, and no-direction feelings, and feelings of unhappiness, returned. Now I had to unravel myself on a deeper level to unlock the secrets within me that were holding me back from stepping into the life I should be living.

That process would take me another 10 years. In 2018 I unlocked an unknown mystery that had me chained to fear, stopping me from moving forward, achieving my dreams, and living my true life’s purpose.

My books are a series. I invite you to walk with me as I journey into my secret self, expose those secrets, move into my truth, and live my true life.   

Please visit www.christineucowinwriter.com

 

 

 

Atlantic Deeps technothriller by Liam Mullen

The USS Frontier stood poised for takeoff. T-minus 31 seconds.

There were two countdown clocks. The L or launch clock represented the time in real terms before the shuttle launched; and the T clock also represented time, but had several built in holds where additional verifications could be made. If mission parameters allowed, built in holds could be extended, but launches to the International Space Station (ISS) can’t be extended because of the tight launch window. The launch window is limited to 10 minutes because of the 90 minute orbit of the ISS and the speed of the earth’s rotation at 1,470.3 km at the Kennedy Space Station in Florida, which puts the launch pads 1,000km east of the launch pads during the next orbit.

In 2011, NASA had suspended the shuttle space program following 135 missions from 1981, the last being STS-135 flown by Atlantis.

Now they stood poised to launch a new generation of shuttles and the USS Frontier was the pinnacle of that new craft. Like previous shuttle missions, it had been designed as a low orbital craft, but the new version could carry up to twelve astronauts as compared to eight on previous missions.

At 72 hours before launch there was a call to stations. At T-43 hours and counting a sequence of events kicked off. Space technicians began the final and facility closeouts for launch. Next up was a check of the backup flight systems. Flight software was then checked on the display systems, and backup flight system software was loaded into the orbiter’s general purpose computers. Next was the removal of the middeck and flightdeck platforms. Engineers then activated and tested the navigational systems, and completed preparations to load the power reactant storage and distribution systems, and they also completed the preliminary flight deck inspections.

At T-27 hours and holding, non-essential personnel were cleared from the area. It was the first built in hold and could last for four hours. Technicians began loading cryogenic propellants into the orbiter’s power reactant storage and distribution systems. At T-27 hours and counting, the fuel cell storage tanks continued to be pumped with cryogenic propellants.

At T-19 hours and holding, the hold could again last for four hours but could be extended and included procedures that included demating the orbiter’s midbody umbilical unit, cleaning and vacuuming the crew module and purging the external tank nosecone. At T-19 hours and counting final preparations were begun for the three main engines for main propellant intake and flight, filling of the launch pad sound suppression water tank, resumption of the orbiter and ground support equipment close-outs, and closing out the tail service masts on the mobile launcher platform.

At T-11 hours and holding, the hold could last from thirteen to fourteen hours and included weather briefings, engineering briefings, pad debris inspection and closeout, late stow of flight crew equipment, moving the rotating service structure to its ‘park’ position, activating the orbiter’s inertial measurement and communication systems, and performing the ascent switch list. At T-11 hours and counting there was an activation of the fuel cells, the blast danger area was cleared of non-essential personnel, and the orbiter’s purge air was switched to gaseous nitrogen.

At T-6 hours and holding, the hold could last up to two hours. Procedures at this point included a scrub that could last twenty four hours, a weather update for the launch director and mission management team, and once the launch team confirmed that there were no violations of launch criteria the orders were given to begin loading the external tank with propellants – 500,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants – and a chill-down of the propellant transfer lines. At T-6 and counting, the external tank is checked for frost and debris, then further checked for the presence of H2 at the orbiter, and a final filling of the external tank with its flight load of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants.

At T-3 hours and holding, the hold lasting two and a half hours, the external tank loading enters stable replenishing, the performance of the inertial measurement unit preflight calibration, the alignment of the Merritt Island launch area tracking antennas, the flight inspection team walked up and down the launch tower inspecting the shuttle, followed by the closeout crew who configured the crew module for countdown and launch and assisted the crew in entering the orbiter, a televised weather briefing and a flight crew weather brief, and the astronaut support person enters the crew module to complete a comms check.

At T-3 hours and counting, the crew departs for the launch pad and as soon as they arrive they begin their entry into the orbiter via the White Room, closeout procedures in the White Room, a check of cockpit switch configurations, astronauts conduct air-to-ground voice checks with Launch and Mission controls, the orbiter’s crew hatch is closed and checked for leaks, the White Room closeout is completed, and the closeout crew retreats to the fallback area.

At T-20 minutes and holding, the hold lasting ten minutes, the NASA Test Director conducts final launch team briefings and completes inertial measurement unit preflight alignments. At T-20 minutes and counting, as the countdown resumes the orbiter’s onboard computers transition to launch configuration, commencement of the fuel cell thermal conditioning, the closure of the orbiter’s cabin vent valves, and the transition of the backup flight system to launch configuration.

At T-9 minutes and holding, the hold varying in terms of length and the final hold, a determination on the launch window, the flight recorders are activated, and final “go/no go” launch polls conducted by NASA Test Director, mission management and Launch Director. At T-9 minutes and counting, things begin to heat up. The automatic ground launch sequencer is started; at T-7 minutes 30 seconds, the retraction of the orbiter access arm; at T-5 minutes 0 seconds, the auxiliary power units start, and the arming of the solid rocket booster range safety safe and devices; at T-3 minutes 55 seconds the commencement of the orbiter’s aerosurface profile test and the main engine gimbal profile test; at T-2 minutes 55 seconds the retraction of the gaseous oxygen vent arm or ‘beanie cap’; at T-2 minutes 0 seconds the crew close and lock their visors; at T-50 seconds the orbiter transferred from ground to internal power; at T-31 seconds the ground launch sequencer is go for auto sequence start; at T-16 seconds activation of the launch pad sound suppression system; at T-10 seconds activation of the main engine hydrogen burnoff system; and at T-6.6 seconds the ground launch sequencer is go for main engine start.

Finally, at T-0 the ignition of the solid rocket boosters, explosive bolts releasing the boosters, and the shuttle launches from the launch pad. The USS Frontier climbed upward, soaring towards the heavens.

The three main engines were operating at 100 per cent thrust, the engines providing 1.2 million pounds of thrust and the boosters providing 6,600,000 pounds of thrust. Total thrust at liftoff was about 7.8 million pounds of thrust and to achieve orbit the shuttle had to go from 0 to a speed of 28,968 km an hour. At T plus 20 seconds, the Frontier rolled at 180 degrees at a 78-degree pitch, and at T plus 26 seconds the main engines were throttled down due to the maximum dynamic pressure. Shuttle Commander, Benjamin Stokes, spoke to Mission Control. “Go, for throttle up?”

Mission Control replied: “You are go for throttle up. Good luck, Ben.”

Seconds later, Stokes throttled the engines to 104 per cent power, and then disaster struck. Catastrophe!

In Mission Control there was shock and disbelief as technicians scrambled to check their systems. Memories of the Challenger disaster resurfaced because instead of the beautiful image of the Frontier rising upwards towards the heavens, all that hung in the still air and against the cold blue sky were long entrails of white smoke, and strangely enough the largest column of smoke formed a huge question mark against the sky.

It was eerie.

Strange.

Diabolical.

Apocalyptic.

Dark Energy by Mark Kingston Levin, PhD

Dark Energy by Mark Kingston Levin, PhD Award-winning Author and Scientist

What is dark energy? About 70 % of our universe.

Figure 1. Dark Energy Camera

Dark energy is the energy that is causing the universe to expand at an accelerating rate. If the energy were converted to mass, (using Einstein’s famous equation E = mc2) that mass would make up about 70 percent of the universe. Dark matter takes 25 percent, and everything we can see plus the stars and planets we cannot because they are too far away equals about 4 percent.

How can we learn about the universe? Astronomers and other scientists like Edward Hubble first pointed out that other galaxies exist in the billions. He also used the red shift to predict most of these galaxies were moving away from us, leading to the big bang theory. The further they were from Earth the faster they moved away from Earth. Although that is true most times, there are exceptions. For example, Andromeda is expected to collide with our Milky Way galaxy in about 4 billion years.

The answer for human survival is to move to one or more nearby solar systems that are predicted to have longer life and habitable planets. Long before that happens, the oceans will boil off and Earth will no longer be habitable.

In astronomy, the standard candle refers to a type 1a supernova, which can be about as bright as an entire galaxy but only lasts for a about week. Astronomers and other scientists now have a tool to measure distance with some accuracy because these type 1a supernovae are always the same brightness. Is the data from the Humble telescope accurate enough to solve dark energy? No scientific explanation has yet come forward from the data. It maybe the biggest mystery in physics.

Dr. Levin puts forth an interesting and original idea in his novel 30th Century: Escape through his leading lady, Jennifer. That black holes create space. If true, that idea could explain how dark energy expands the universe. The theory is not quite that simple; we need to know more about black holes. The next two space telescopes planned, James Webb and HDST, may give us more answers.

Credit (ESA/STScl) Hubble News Release

Figure 3. “Two star clusters are becoming one in30 Doradus, 170,000 lightyears away in the Large Magellanic Cloud.”

It will not be a long wait before we get to look at planets for the signs of life and extraterrestrial biology. The James Webb will focus on the infrared and will not be a replacement in the visible and near-infrared for Hubble; we must wait until 2030s. Stay tuned for next blog about what could have caused the big bang.  NASA photo from Hubble of distant stars and nebula

 

Questions regarding blog, just email markkingstonlevin@gmail.com.

Dr. Levin was born and grew up in Vermont with many winters spent in Florida as a child. As a teenager he wrote poetry, served as a lifeguard and played football. He currently enjoys sailing, exploring underwater caves, snorkeling, writing science fiction and other pursuits. After working on the Apollo and Mars projects, he returned to school to study under Nobel Laureate Paul Dirac, obtaining his PhD in 2.5 years. Dr. Levin founded two companies and served the science policy apparatus in President Ford’s administration. He has been published over 44 times in scientific literature and was awarded over 32 US patents. The science fiction writer is now emerging with his first work, a trilogy entitled 30th Century. The first award-winning book, 30th Century: Escape, is currently available on Amazon. Book two in the series, 30th Century: Revived, was released April 29, 2018.  It is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers.

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‘Saving Paludis’ by Clayton Graham

‘Saving Paludis’ by Clayton Graham

Over one hundred and forty light years from Earth, Paludis sits in the Pisces constellation, on the frontier of human exploration. It is verdant and beautiful – a world to be treasured. It has also been scarred by wars of colonization.

In the year AD 3989, human invaders control the planet and have done so for hundreds of years. Paludis is the planet’s Earth name; the indigenous population, reptilian in nature, call their home Musk.

The Muskans are now restricted to a remote peninsula in the north-east of the main continent. The humans have taught the aliens their language and some of their ways, but the Muskans prefer the traditions of their ancestors. Or do they?

So what can go wrong? Well, quite a lot actually.

Mankind maintains a tentative footprint on this world, surviving on the proceeds of bauxite mining, with most living a hand-to-mouth existence. But when scientists from Paludis share a technological breakthrough with the Earth authorities, peace swiftly escalates to conflict.

Stefan Lattanzis never expected Paludis to become a battlefield, nor Earth for that matter. To try and save his home world, Stefan must team with two strangers, a botanist, Clare Cavanna, and mysterious seer Serpentine. As embattled factions vie for control of the universe, the trio must trust in each other to keep the new technology from ripping time and space apart.

‘Saving Paludis’ is not just an interstellar war novel. It reflects human nature in all its extremes: hate, jealousy, control, love and sacrifice. And what about the aliens – do they share these traits? In some ways yes, in others no. They are, after all, alien. But retribution is high on their agenda; an overwhelming desire to regain their planet. Quite how they attempt to do that must remain a secret!

If you like futuristic technology, alien political intrigue, and high-octane, paranormal action, then you’ll love this electrifying interstellar adventure!

I invite you to enter deep space, use the Einstein-Rosen bridges, and touch down on Paludis. Join Stefan and his friends to help save their world. You’ll love it!

Find ‘Saving Paludis’ https://amzn.to/2KU029b

For more on Clayton Graham and his books, visit his website https://claytongraham.com.au/ and follow him on Facebook and Twitter. You can also join him on Goodreads.

https://www.facebook.com/claytongrahamauthor/

https://twitter.com/CGrahamSciFi

https://www.facebook.com/groups/381070669015354/

The post ‘Saving Paludis’ by Clayton Graham appeared first on Book Series - Earth to Centauri.

Moonkissed – poem by Abhiram Boralkar

Moonkissed – A poem by Abhiram

Yesterday, we shared silence again

After ages – effortlessly

‘Neath the stars, amidst swinging trees

Leaves falling – steadily

And you asked why I was smiling so

Unending – tirelessly

All I can say, is you fit here

In the moment – perfectly

Starlit.

Moonkissed.

Beautiful.

You made me wait, I didn’t mind

Counted breaths – patiently.

And then you walked towards me bright

Like snowy Christmas come early.

In joy, I was grinning to ears

Unending – tirelessly

For darling, you fit into place here

In this moment – perfectly.

Starlit.

Moonkissed.

Beautiful.

We ate, we drank, we laughed out loud

Time flew by – merrily

And later on, we stumbled back home

Walking not quite steadily.

Maybe you wondered, why oh why

Are his eyes shining so brightly

My answer, darling, is you fit here

In this moment – perfectly

Starlit.

Moonkissed.

Beautiful.

You shared with me, your hopes and dreams

Childlike, innocent – candidly.

You shared your fears, your tears, your past

All your idiosyncrasies.

I knew right then, I’d sit here forever

Listening to you endlessly.

For tonight, love, you fit so right

In this moment – perfectly.

Starlit.

Moonkissed.

Beautiful.

Of chaos, of darkness, of fire you are

Burning so capriciously.

You fly, you fall, you rise again

Soaring on ambitiously.

You laugh at all the pain and strain

Weeping but little – belatedly.

Darling, you fit into place right here

In this moment – perfectly.

Starlit.

Moonkissed.

Beautiful.

I remember seeing you for the first time

Rushed out of bed – hurriedly.

Dressed for comfort, hair in a bun

Notebooks clutched precariously.

Even then, your smile filled me with warmth

Aura shining – radiantly

I said to myself, by the Gods

She laughs so beautifully.

Starlit.

Moonkissed.

Beautiful.

I want only to understand your soul

See you in dreams – serendipitously.

Perchance name your secret heart

And glean what guides your infinity.

I’m still sitting here, grinning to ears

Struck quite dumb – rapturously.

For tonight, love, you fit so right

In this moment – perfectly.

Starlit.

Moonkissed.

Beautiful.

The post Moonkissed – poem by Abhiram Boralkar appeared first on Book Series - Earth to Centauri.