Colin Alexander's Blog, page 2
June 23, 2021
It’s been a while
It has been a while since I posted – quite a while – and, yes, there is a reason for that. First, the audiobook for Complicated: The Interstellar Life and Times of Saoirse Kenneally is now available from Audible. Went live yesterday. The narration by Cassandra Parker is terrific!
So, there has been a stretch where I have been involved with launching Saoirse on her adventures, trying to finish up a new novel for the fall (title soon!), and beginning the draft on a new adventure for Leif from Starman’s Saga. I’ve never written a sequel or a series before. Clearly, everything in a second book has to match, or be compatible, with corresponding points in the previous book. What has made this an interesting journey are the differences between the world I built for Saoirse and the one Leif inhabits. The treatment of AI and the possibility of implanted chips, for two quick examples, are very different. That leaves me feeling like I need to physically wrench my mind out of one universe in order to work the other. And in the middle of this, I have the other story, which is set in a non-technological universe. It’s been interesting and it certainly has kept me away from posting.
More updates on theses projects soon, I hope. There will be the title for the next story. And I am expecting Leif to set sail again in mid-2022, although I’m hesitant to be to specific this early.
The post It’s been a while appeared first on Afictionado.
June 10, 2021
It has been a while!
So, there has been a stretch where I have been involved with launching Saoirse on her adventures, trying to finish up a new novel for the fall (title soon!), and beginning the draft on a new adventure for Leif from Starman's Saga. I've never written a sequel or a series before. Clearly, everything in a second book has to match, or be compatible, with corresponding points in the previous book. What has made this an interesting journey are the differences between the world I built for Saoirse and the one Leif inhabits. The treatment of AI and the possibility of implanted chips, for two quick examples, are very different. That leaves me feeling like I need to physically wrench my mind out of one universe in order to work the other. And in the middle of this, I have the other story, which is set in a non-technological universe. It's been interesting and it certainly has kept me away from posting.
More updates on theses projects soon, I hope. There will be the title for the next story. And I am expecting Leif to set sail again in mid-2022, although I'm hesitant to be to specific this early.
March 3, 2021
Mid-week Maunder 3 March 2021
Boskone 58 has happened and that was a terrific convention. There are clearly some advantages to having the conventions online. Folks can join from anywhere in the globe (and did) and you don't have to worry about airline tickets or hotel rooms. The result is - I think - much greater attendance. In addition, I thought the panels were great. Lot's of good discussion and good people on them. I do miss the ability to meet people I don't know in the hallway and have a conversation, but the way this convention was run had plenty of compensation for that. Kudos to the Boskone staff!
As I mentioned in that interview, I'm also in the midst of organizing 350 pages of hand-written scenes and notes into a coherent draft for the next book. I find I work best putting ideas down initially with pen and paper. Probably because this is the way I grew up and I think with a pen in hand. That pile of paper then is typed into a Word document and the revising and editing takes place with a digital file. My guess is that this will be ready around the beginning of 2022, but it's hard to be sure at this point. Characters have a way of asserting themselves and changing the way the story is going and I can never tell in advance about that. No title to put up yet.
Mid-week Maunder 3 March 2021
Looking back, it has been a while since the last post and it’s been a busy time. Complicated: The Interstellar Life and Times of Saoirse Kenneally is featured in this week’s Book Club Babble (www.bookclubbabble.com) with an interview of me. Do check it out! Also, Complicated is now available in paperback for those, like me, who like to have a physical book in hand.
Boskone 58 has happened and that was a terrific convention. There are clearly some advantages to having the conventions online. Folks can join from anywhere in the globe (and did) and you don’t have to worry about airline tickets or hotel rooms. The result is – I think – much greater attendance. In addition, I thought the panels were great. Lot’s of good discussion and good people on them. I do miss the ability to meet people I don’t know in the hallway and have a conversation, but the way this convention was run had plenty of compensation for that. Kudos to the Boskone staff!
As I mentioned in that interview, I’m also in the midst of organizing 350 pages of hand-written scenes and notes into a coherent draft for the next book. I find I work best putting ideas down initially with pen and paper. Probably because this is the way I grew up and I think with a pen in hand. That pile of paper then is typed into a Word document and the revising and editing takes place with a digital file. My guess is that this will be ready around the beginning of 2022, but it’s hard to be sure at this point. Characters have a way of asserting themselves and changing the way the story is going and I can never tell in advance about that. No title to put up yet.
The post Mid-week Maunder 3 March 2021 appeared first on Afictionado.
February 6, 2021
Complicated is available!
On top of this, Boskone 58 will be here Friday. Should be a great convention and I hope to see a lot of folks there.
Complicated is available!
The new book is out! Complicated: The Interstellar Life and Times of Saoirse Kenneally is now available on Amazon both as an e-book for purchase and on Kindle Unlimited. I am working at getting a paperback version out but that has been delayed by some logistical issues. Hopefully, it will not take too long. An audiobook will follow, although that will probably be in the spring. One thing that trying to make all the pieces fit together does is provide an appreciation of why publishing timelines are so long. If you want everything to line up so that e–book, paperback, audiobook, reviews etc all hit the finish line together, that finish line winds up down the road a bit. For example, you can’t do the cover for a paperback or hardcover until you know the thickness of the spine, and you don’t know that until you have the final page count, which means it won’t be ready as fast as an e-book. In the end, I opted for getting the e-book out as soon as it was ready, knowing other versions would trail. I’m not sure there is a right or wrong answer here, but I will apologize if you want the physical book in your hand and I will get it to you as soon as possible.
On top of this, Boskone 58 will be here Friday. Should be a great convention and I hope to see a lot of folks there.
The post Complicated is available! appeared first on Afictionado.
January 16, 2021
Boskone is coming
Join me at Boskone February 12 – 14, 2021. This year the convention will be online, so it is easy to join one of the best science fiction and fantasy conventions anywhere. This will be a fun weekend filled with discussions of books, science, art, games, music, and more. Check out the Boskone website at http://www.boskone.org/
The full program book should be out tomorrow. In the meantime, panels I will be on will be: 1) Bizarre Biotech, Friday Feb 12th; 2) Medical Science in Speculative Fiction, Saturday, Feb 13th; 3) Writing About Fighting, Sunday, Feb 14th; 4) Coping With COVID Sunday, Feb 14th.
See you there!
January 15, 2021
Boskone is Coming
Boskone 58 is coming!
Join me at Boskone February 12 – 14, 2021. This year the convention will be online, so it is easy to join one of the best science fiction and fantasy conventions anywhere. This will be a fun weekend filled with discussions of books, science, art, games, music, and more. Check out the Boskone website at http://www.boskone.org/
The full program book should be out tomorrow. In the meantime, panels I will be on will be: 1) Bizarre Biotech, Friday Feb 12th; 2) Medical Science in Speculative Fiction, Saturday, Feb 13th; 3) Writing About Fighting, Sunday, Feb 14th; 4) Coping With COVID Sunday, Feb 14th.
See you there!
The post Boskone is Coming appeared first on Afictionado.
January 13, 2021
Mid-Week Maunder 13 January 2021
On a not quite there note, Complicated: The Interstellar Life and Times of Saoirse Kenneally looks headed for an early February release with the e-book ahead of the paperback. There will be an audiobook as well, but this will be in the spring. Too many things happened in 2020 and, in the end, it has led to a bit of a delay.
On the reading side, I'd like to mention The Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow. This, on the surface, the story of three sisters trying to reclaim the power of witchcraft in an alternate history where witchcraft is real, but has been suppressed by men. Instead of the witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts, the whole city (along with its inhabitants) had been burned down and a New Salem built. On a deeper level, the book can be read as an allegory about gender and racial inequality and is blunt about the issues of violence against women. Given the events we have witnessed in the real world in 2020, it is both topical and timely. The author's prose is enjoyable, a pleasure to read. My one concern with it is that too many things and places have elaborately described scents. A little too much olfaction. The characters are well described and distinctive. Each of the sisters has a particular role to play and their desires and actions fit the characters. The plot moves along smoothly with intensity building gradually. A minor issue for me was that the book starts with a focus on the women's suffrage movement, but that mostly fades away and seems little more than a plot device later on. The one point I really did not like was a major twist that comes in late (and would be a spoiler if I go into it). Suffice to say that I have a problem when a main character abruptly takes an action that does not fit who the character is and one that has significant ramifications. That put a dent in my enjoyment of what was, otherwise, a very good read.
Mid-week Maunder 13 January 2021
First post of the new year and, hopefully, bringing to a conclusion a lot of work from last year. First, Accidental Warrior: The Unlikely Tale of Bloody Hal is now out as an audiobook. You can find Hal’s story in audio on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. This has been a while coming but I hope you will agree that it’s been worth it when you listen to it. Narrator Alex Freeman, who also narrated Starman’s Saga, did a terrific job with this.
On a not quite there note, Complicated: The Interstellar Life and Times of Saoirse Kenneally looks headed for an early February release with the e-book ahead of the paperback. There will be an audiobook as well, but this will be in the spring. Too many things happened in 2020 and, in the end, it has led to a bit of a delay.
On the reading side, I’d like to mention The Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow. This, on the surface, the story of three sisters trying to reclaim the power of witchcraft in an alternate history where witchcraft is real, but has been suppressed by men. Instead of the witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts, the whole city (along with its inhabitants) had been burned down and a New Salem built. On a deeper level, the book can be read as an allegory about gender and racial inequality and is blunt about the issues of violence against women. Given the events we have witnessed in the real world in 2020, it is both topical and timely. The author’s prose is enjoyable, a pleasure to read. My one concern with it is that too many things and places have elaborately described scents. A little too much olfaction. The characters are well described and distinctive. Each of the sisters has a particular role to play and their desires and actions fit the characters. The plot moves along smoothly with intensity building gradually. A minor issue for me was that the book starts with a focus on the women’s suffrage movement, but that mostly fades away and seems little more than a plot device later on. The one point I really did not like was a major twist that comes in late (and would be a spoiler if I go into it). Suffice to say that I have a problem when a main character abruptly takes an action that does not fit who the character is and one that has significant ramifications. That put a dent in my enjoyment of what was, otherwise, a very good read.
The post Mid-week Maunder 13 January 2021 appeared first on Afictionado.
