Tara Maya's Blog, page 31

Self-published Ebooks 20% of UK Genre Sales

How terrible that we have a larger choice of reading material than ever before in human history!

The UK market is a year or two behind the US market in the shift to digital reading, though they are the second highest in the world, and UK ebook sales spiked 134% in 2012 to total £216 million. The impact of indie authors can be seen there too. Now, according to Bowker Market Research, an astonishing 20% of all genre sales go to indies:

Self-published books accounted for more than 20% of crime, sc...

Special Spice: Alliteration

A guest post by Rayne Hall

Several words close together starting with the same sound can either empower your writing or spoil it, so use this technique with thought.

Here are some examples of skilfully applied alliterations from famous books:

...the foam-flakes flew over her bulwarks.... (Moby-Dick by Herman Melville)

… the baked red ruts of the road.... (The Beaver Road by Dave Duncan)

A sliver of soft sunlight pierced a crack in the silk drapes (Panic by Jeff Abbot)

… tokens of the mitred, marty...

The Day My Son Discovered Death

I have three sons, who are six (almost seven), four (almost five) and three. Their usual conversations involve stories about dinosaurs and potty jokes. Yesterday, however, they startled me.

The boys were fighting--hardly unusual--but when I went to break it up,  my middle son turned to me and said, "Mommy, I wish you'd never had [Youngest Son]. You did a bad thing, Mommy! Because now [Oldest Son] loves him and hates me!"

I cuddled him and the other two boys crept near to hear what I would...

Price Fixing Books Destroys Literature

Quebec is considering fixing book prices, joining nations like France, Sweden, Mexico, Argentina, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Switzerland, Israel, and Belgium.

The hearings on fixed prices for new releases are a direct result of lobbying efforts by the One Price for Books campaign, launched on August 22 of last year. Organized by a roundtable of major book industry players and backed by several high-profile writers and artists.... For the past 15 years, the industry has been requesting that l...

"Dad, I don't care about money"

When I was about twelve, I remember having a conversation with my Dad about What I Was Going To Do With My Life.

I said, "I'm going to be a writer."

After he stopped laughing, he said, "Okay, now be serious. What are you going to do with your life?"

He explained that only the most skilled of writers could actually make a living at it, and since I couldn't even spell (still true), obviously, that did not include me. So, if I wanted to make any money, I needed to be "realistic" and pick a more luc...

Barnes and Noble Firesale on Nooks

Rumor has it that Barnes and Noble is planning to give up direct production of the Nook. Microsoft might take it over, or a breakaway child-company.

The firesale on Nooks seems to lend credence to this rumor. The upside though is that you can get Nooks at incredible prices right now

Wouldn't that make a great Father's Day Present for dad or hubby? Hehehe. My husband got his three days ago, a little early! (He is the nook fanatic, and I'm the kindle girl.) I also bought him Daddy's Little Princ...

Of Mechs And Men

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-update:auto; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:3.0pt; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:justify; text-justify:inter-ideograph; text-indent:.3in; line-height:150%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:JA;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:JA;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} </style>--> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sdCjx1Xok38..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sdCjx1Xok38..." width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-top: -4px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://shue13.deviantart.com/art/Sulp... style="color: black;">ulphurygen</span></a><span class="by">by</span> *<span style="color: black;"><a class="u" href="http://shue13.deviantart.com/"&g... class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In <a href="http://taramayastales.blogspot.com/20..." target="_blank">yesterday’s post</a>, I discussed the pre-existent ideas about the future that a sf author should be aware of when world-building. In fact, if you think of these as a series of scales or levers, just answering these questions can toss up an interesting setting for a SF story.<br /><br />Questions:<br />1. Will artificial intelligence ever expand, change, or overtake human intelligence?<br />2. How might we travel Faster Than Light?<br />3. What would be the biggest challenges to establish coloni...</div><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-update:auto; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:3.0pt; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:justify; text-justify:inter-ideograph; text-indent:.3in; line-height:150%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:JA;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:JA;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} </style></style>

In the Future, We Will Look Like Zebra-Lemurs (5 Things To Remember About SF)

Nickelay Lamm predicts we will have huge, lemur-like eyes in the far future.  Presumably this will be driven by sexual selection from millennia of watching Anime. I added the zebra stripes. Because, really, who doesn't love zebras?5 Things To Remember About SF 1. Science Fiction can be about the past, the present, or the future.
Short cut answers to the question, ‘what is sf?’ reach for topics typical to the genre: “SF is about the future,” or “SF is about space travel,” or “SF is ab...

STRAT: A New Military Scifi Novel

On a hell-class world where feudal lords joust with mechs and use memetic tech to imprint loyalty onto their vassals and thralls, all Charlie and his people ask is to be left alone, free to think for themselves.
Then, on his wedding day, Charlie's bride is kidnapped to be a thrall. As he fights for his life and her freedom, he discovers the war helm of an ancient and powerful lord. He needs the knowledge in the helm to bring the battle to his enemies. But if he uses it, he risks losing himself...

(Another!) Cover Reveal for STRAT - New and Improved!

You've seen the draft of the cover art for STRAT, but the real cover art is now complete! Same design, a bit more detail. Ta-dah! You may find this already available on some sites....If not, keep checking. It will be up soon! We're holding off on the official release announcement until it's live everywhere.


The hero stands on Neraka, a hell-class planet. The atmosphere, lake, and ice that you see are all sulfur dioxide. (It is one of the few elements that can exist in all three states at a cer...