Michael Poeltl's Blog, page 4

Not to be Missed Sci-fi for Your Reading Pleasure

The general’s war robbed United Earth of a Utopian paradise. Now, a year later, with Allfather bearing down on an ill-prepared United Earth, a meddling ghost in the walls at UE Headquarters, a religious renaissance infiltrating the hearts and minds of earth’s populace and a rogue sect leader stirring up controversy, Chancellor Raymond Bellows finds himself – once again – at a crossroads. The impending threat of each faction builds to a crescendo when Raymond works to align United Earth to fig...

Alita Battle Angel and the future of Sci-fi

It was a movie I've been excited to see. I wanted to compare it to A.I. Insurrection, and though Alita is set some 500 years in the future, and A.I. Insurrection is just 150 years from now, the two stories have a similar theme of sentient robots. Alita's are cyborgs in that they include the brain and some flesh of humans who are interchangeable with whatever robotic design humanity can imagine. In A.I. Insurrection, sentience comes from recycled souls inhabiting the intelligent software of Ho...

HEAL on Netflix and the Hello Me Series of Children's Books

Have you watched HEAL on Netflix yet? If you have then you already know what it’s about and probably should look into some books which support the idea that science and spirituality are one and the same. Science is catching up in realizing its connection to the spiritual or mental realm, and in HEAL, we see that. Books like If a Tree Falls in the Forest and E=Me are two books developed in 2014 which essentially tell the story through graphic illustrations and clear language how science is not...

Empathy for the World Turtle and the Role of the Indie Author

Sometimes being an indie author allows a writer more flexibility to be creative. Outspoken. Brutally honest, and downright straightforward.  Such was the case with An Angry Earth . There is an edge to it likely to be skirted by most publishers. But that’s not always a bad thing. You see, I believe in the mantra: ‘Write what you want to read’ and know there are parents looking for books like this one to put a little fire and brimstone under their children’s’ feet. Ignite passion. Instil fe...

How did my Prius Become my Beta Reader?

A strange question, no? Or is it? With the amount of technology available in your car these days it’s almost scary.  So, I bought a new car after my last car ended up a write-off after an encounter with a Buck in the remote north. I’m fine. I swerved enough to keep him out of my windshield, but I’m afraid the deer did not fare as well. This origins story about my new car, notwithstanding, leads me into the title content of this post: How did my car become my beta reader?

Click for the vid...

First Plot Line to Final

So you've written your plot line. For the most part it looks complete. All you have to do now is develop characters and run them through the plot in order to end up with a story. If only it were that simple. As most authors know, once you have characters who are thinking for themselves, at various points the original plot line no longer looks like its former. The characters and even events grow as you write. New ideas along the journey of writing spark exciting developments for the story and...

Video is King When Marketing as an Author

It’s a fact that people engage with video almost 3x longer than a static post or ad. That’s your first indication that video is your way forward. The other is that video can pack a visual punch a MEME or Gif just can’t accomplish. Consider an author reading and the anxiety that accompanies it by standing in front of a group of people and reading passages from your book. If you’re lucky you’ve filled the seats. If not that anxious feeling could ruin your night. That’s stressful.  Video re...

Battlestar Galactica and the A.I. Threat in Sci-fi

Artificial intelligence is at the forefront of much of what scientific discovery is all about these days. So why the fascination of AI bringing down humanity? Because it is terrifyingly possible. Look at shows like Battlestar Galactica. Originally imagined in the 1978 series, this concept came back to us in 2004 and played out on our television screens through 2009, winning 3 Emmy’s while being well received by its sci-fi audience.
That we think we can build intelligent machines created to se...

Bearded Authors and their Wisdom, Revealed

I'm growing a beard because there is a proud and primal history of beards among authors. Joining the ranks of Ginsberg, Whitman, Hemingway and the like if only in facial hair. Though I have my doubts I'll ever rank among these literary heavy-weights in the written word, I am determined now to meet them head on with a beard of my own.
I may be only 46, but since I'd gone grey prematurely, I thought it time to mimic the great ones whose beards were as mine; the salt 'n pepper, the silv...

ALITA, Battle Angel - December, 2018

Okay, so after writing AI Insurrection, I hear rumblings of Alita, the ambitious Manga adaptation brought to us by James Cameron. I'm immediately excited.
The story goes: when Alita awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to protect her from her mysterious history, which is glimpsed in the trailer. Her street-smart new friend Hugo offers to...