Carol Van Natta's Blog, page 21
February 27, 2018
Cover Reveal for PET TRADE
Pet Trade was my contribution to the award-winning (2018 SFR Galaxy Award, Library Journal Best of 2017) and USA bestselling science fiction romance anthology, Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2.
The limited-edition anthology has since left this universe entirely, leaving us authors free to do with our stories as we will. I'm publishing mine as a standalone novella. This is the cover reveal for Pet Trade, which will be available for preorder at your favorite bookseller on ~5 March, and released on 20 March 2018. Sign up for my newsletter and be the first to hear about new releases.
An injured veterinarian and a cyborg with unusual pets must join forces to save their town.
The vast Central Galactic Concordance strictly prohibits genetic experimentation and alteration of humans on any of its 500 member planets. Animals aren't so lucky.
On a frontier planet, veterinarian Bethnee Bakonin made a home for herself in the frozen north. Her minder talent for healing all kinds of animals would ordinarily assure her success, but her unwilling stint in the shady pet trade industry left her damaged and scared. She works around her limitations as best she can, and rescues pet trade castoffs.
“Volunteered” for a black-box research project, elite forces Jumper Axur Tragon now has dangerous experimental tech in his cybernetic limbs. He escaped and crash-landed a stolen freighter in the northern mountains of a frontier planet, only to discover a secret shipment of designer pets was part of the cargo. Determined to do right by them, he enlists reluctant Bethnee's aid in caring for them—a definite challenge, considering Bethnee is terrified of him.
When greedy mercenaries come raiding, can Axur and Bethnee work together to overcome their limitations, with help from their unusual pets, and save the day?
Series note: Pet Trade is a standalone novella in Carol Van Natta's multi-award-winning Central Galactic Concordance space opera, adventure, and romance series.
P.S. If you prefers your books in paperback (or collect them), the paperback edition of Pet Trade will be out in April.
The Central Galactic Concordance series (reading order):
Last Ship Off Polaris-G
Overload Flux
Minder Rising
Zero Flux
Pico's Crush
Pet Trade
Jumper's Hope
Spark Transform (coming soon)
…
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February 26, 2018
Pet Trade Preorder is Here
And we have lift-off! The Pet Trade preorder is up and available at all retailers. Reserve your copy today to have it automatically sent to your ereader on release day, Tues., 20 March 2018.
Amazon Kobo iTunes Nook Google Play
Pet Trade (A Central Galactic Concordance Novella)
by Carol Van Natta
An injured veterinarian and a cyborg with unusual pets must join forces to save their town.
The vast Central Galactic Concordance strictly prohibits genetic experimentation and alteration of humans on any of its 500 member planets. Animals aren’t so lucky.
On a frontier planet, veterinarian Bethnee Bakonin made a home for herself in the frozen north. Her minder talent for healing all kinds of animals would ordinarily assure her success, but her unwilling stint in the shady pet trade industry left her damaged and scared. She works around her limitations as best she can, and rescues pet trade castoffs.
“Volunteered” for a black-box research project, elite forces Jumper Axur Tragon now has dangerous experimental tech in his cybernetic limbs. He escaped and crash-landed a stolen freighter in the northern mountains of a frontier planet, only to discover a secret shipment of designer pets was part of the cargo. Determined to do right by them, he enlists reluctant Bethnee’s aid in caring for them—a definite challenge, considering Bethnee is terrified of him.
When greedy mercenaries come raiding, can Axur and Bethnee work together to overcome their limitations, with help from their unusual pets, and save the day?
It's a deadly adventure—with pets—in the fringes of space. Grab your copy of Pet Trade today!
– – – – –
Series note: Pet Trade takes place between Pico's Crush and Jumper's Hope in the Central Galactic Concordance series, but is a standalone story. Originally appeared in the USA TODAY bestselling anthology Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2.
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Reader Favorite Characters, Pet Trade, and Whimsy Con (Podcast)
Carol Van Natta's Video Podcast #3
This is my author podcast number 3, about reader favorite characters, Pet Trade, and Whimsy Con. Authoring may seem serious, but I'm mostly silly, at least on video.
Astute readers will note the number above and deduce there are two previous videos: Podcast #1 and Podcast #2. {Note to self: Come up with a better system for organizing these.}
This time, I talked about reader's favorite characters, because I'm still thrilled when readers write to me, and that's usually what they write about. Plus other stuff, like works in progress, conventions, and corsets.
This podcast is a recorded Facebook Live session from Friday, 23 February 2018.
For those who won't watch a 12-minute of video of anyone who isn't Brendan Fraser or Lupita Nyong'o (not that I blame you), here's the TL;DW (too long; didn't watch) synopsis.
Reader Favorite Characters
Nearly every week, I get email from readers, which both astonishes and delights me. I know people buy my books, because I get sales reports from the booksellers, but it's always a pleasant surprise when someone is interested enough in my stories to write and tell me they liked them, or ask questions, or request future stories. Perhaps someday, in the distant future, I'll think of it as just another business task, but right now, every email from a reader is still a thrill.
I have 6 books out so far in the Central Galactic Concordance space opera series: Last Ship Off Polaris-G, Overload Flux, Minder Rising, Zero Flux, Pico's Crush, and Jumper's Hope. Each book has at least one reader-favorite character. Mairwen Morganthur, in Overload Flux and Zero Flux, because she's so very lethal, and so very clueless about things the other characters take for granted. In Minder Rising, Rayle Leviso, a supporting character, gets the most comments. He's a dancer, an exhibitionist, and a catalyst.
Readers of my books seem to be fond of romances, because I get requests for the stories of various secondary characters. Because I like my readers, and I like romances, too, I answered that request and made Jerzi Adams, a supporting character from Overload Flux, a lead character in Pico's Crush. From that book, I've also had multiple requests for the story of how Pico (Jerzi's new adult daughter) met her love interest, Sojaire. I definitely plan to write that story. One reader wrote and requested for a romance for Seshulla Zheer, the security company president from Overload Flux, because he found her so intriguing, and thought she deserved happiness. I might write it after the big damn story arc finishes (9 or so books), because she knows a ton of secrets, and I don't want to give them away too soon.
My favorite reader email of all time came from my only paranormal romance so far: In Graves Below (a Magic, New Mexico story, written at the invitation of S.E. Smith for Kindle Worlds). The hero is a Native American shaman, charged with protecting the graves of his ancestors. However, he's also disabled U.S. veteran who's missing part of a leg, and has massive burn scarring on one side of his body. He meets a magical woman who sees past the surface and falls in love with who he is inside. The reader who wrote to me said he's an amputee, too, and thanked me for giving him hope that he can find love, too. Talk to any romance reader, and I'll bet they tell you that it's really the hope and optimism in romances that brings them back to the genre again and again. That's why they're such voracious readers, because they love that feeling. {Sometimes, the hope and optimism in romances is what gets them through tough times in their own lives.}
What I'm Working On Now
Because I'm a cray-cray author person, I'm working on three (yes, three!) secret projects, all at once. I believe I mentioned I'm a crazy author? I can talk more about at least one of them next month.
My next release will be Pet Trade, a novella that first appeared in last year's USA TODAY bestselling Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2. That anthology has left the galaxy forever, so I'm publishing Pet Trade in March. I expect it to be available for preorder on 5 March (the vagaries of booksellers notwithstanding), and it'll release on 20 March 2018. Non-subtle hint: If you don't want to miss new release announcements like this, you could sign up for my newsletter.
Pet Trade is set in my Central Galactic Concordance universe, but it's not a part of the events that are unfolding in the big damn story arc for that series. So even if you haven't read the rest of my books, Pet Trade might be the right story for you when you only have enough time to read a novella.
Author Escapes Black Hole in Search of Steampunk and Karaoke
I do occasionally achieve escape velocity from the black hole under my house, a.k.a., my basement office. From 2-4 March 2018, I'll be at Whimsy Con in Denver. It's a steampunk and costuming convention—that's close to space opera, right? Actually, they have a number of authors from a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, comic books, etc. I'll be on a few panels, reading from my books, and teaching a session on self-publishing. You might even find me in the karaoke bar (all conventions have karaoke bars, don't they?) and get me to sing, after application of alcohol. {I actually can sing, though my repertoire is mostly show tunes, with a smattering of art songs, and big-band ballads.}
I'll try a Facebook Live session from the con, if the technology gods are smiling on me.
Moar Podcasts
I like doing these podcasts, because they're fun, and as you've probably figured out by now, I Haz Opinionz. Look for me on Facebook on an upcoming Friday afternoon (or evening, or next day, depending on your time zone).
★*¨*•.¸☆ ★*¨*•.¸☆ ★*¨*•.¸☆ ★*¨*•.¸☆
P.S. My YouTube channel also has this video, if that's easier for you to watch: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarolVanNatta.
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February 13, 2018
SFR Galaxy Awards, Medical Care in Space Opera, and a Dinosaur (Podcast)
Carol Van Natta's Video Podcast #2
This is podcast number 2 in my quest to share more silliness with the world, this time, about the SFR Galaxy Awards, space opera, and more. If you missed the first one, watch it here.
Because I once again figured you'd prefer actual content to stream-of-consciousness mumbling that's about as exciting as watching paint dry, I answered a fairly common reader question about my space opera series universe, specifically, what part the big pharma companies play in the Big Damn Story Arc.
This podcast is a recorded Facebook Live session from Friday, 9 February 2018.
For those who won't watch a 10-minute of video of anyone who isn't Idris Elba or Cate Blanchett (not that I blame you), here's the TL;DW (that's “too long; didn't watch“) synopsis.
SFR Galaxy Awards
If you're looking for good science fiction romance to stock up on your ereader, look no further than the annual SFR Galaxy Awards. Well-known bloggers and reviewers pick their favorite SFR books for the previous year for the awards. I've won these awards in past years for solo books (Overload Flux, Minder Rising, and Jumper's Hope) , so I consider it quite an honor.
By the way, the Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 anthology (which includes my story, Pet Trade) in won a 2018 SFR Galaxy Award. The anthology was a limited edition, and is no more, but you can check out the PetsInSpaceAntho.com website to find links to the individual stories as the authors publish them. I'll be publishing Pet Trade toward the end of March. It's a standalone story in my Central Galactic Concordance universe, so you won't have to have read the rest of my series to enjoy it.
Medical Care in My Space Opera Future
A question I get comparatively frequently from readers is about the powerful pharma industry in my future civilization. It's most prominent in Overload Flux, book 1 of my series, but it's an important part of civilization's ecosystem. I have a bit of a medical background, so I'm fascinated with the advances that 1,500 years might bring.
In my series, health care is a “foundation right” for all citizens. Because of good medicine, people live to 160-180 years with regular health maintenance. One of the outgrowths of this foundation right for health care is the rise of the pharma industry, from medical equipment, to treatment protocols, to drugs. It's a guaranteed profitable industry, unless the company is especially short-sighted or greedy, like the one in Overload Flux, and it's a protected line of business, thanks to the government's promise to its citizens. The medical sector has a strong incentive to keep the status quo, because that's their livelihood.
The pharma industry is in bed with a powerful government agency, the Citizen Protection Service. One of the CPS's divisions is the Minder Corps, where people with mental talents—telepathy, telekinesis, healing, and more—use their skills to help keep the galactic peace. The CPS buys enhancement drugs from the pharmas for the minders it employs. As it turns out, that's a lot of people. So, as a hypothetical situation, if the CPS were to stop buying all those drugs, the pharma companies might have a rough few years ahead.
And therein lies one of the threads of the big damn story arc I mentioned earlier. Very interesting times are coming for the Central Galactic Concordance.
And Now, A Word from Our Sponsor (Yeah, That's Me)
The limited edition Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 anthology has left the galaxy and is no longer for sale. At the time I made this podcast, I was running a reader survey, with a giveaway to entice people into completing it. I showed off a copy of the {really big!} paperback, a Pets in Space coloring book, and a dinosaur named Ankle Biter, which were the prizes for the prize drawing.
Sorry you missed it, but if it's any consolation, I'm planning another of these giveaways to celebrate the release of Pet Trade in March.
Moar Podcasts
My plan is to do more of these podcasts, because they're fun, and as you've probably figured out by now, I Haz Opinionz. Look for me on Facebook on an upcoming Friday afternoon (or evening, or next day, depending on your time zone).
★*¨*•.¸☆ ★*¨*•.¸☆ ★*¨*•.¸☆ ★*¨*•.¸☆
P.S. My YouTube channel also has this video, if that's easier for you to watch: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarolVanNatta.
The post SFR Galaxy Awards, Medical Care in Space Opera, and a Dinosaur (Podcast) appeared first on Carol Van Natta - Author.
February 2, 2018
Future Frontier Planets
Several of my stories (Last Ship Off Polaris-G, Pet Trade, Minder Rising) deal with future frontier planets. In my series, they are an important part of the economy, and a good way to make use of our human drive to explore.
Like most predators, humans find that exploring is worth the inherent risk. In my Central Galactic Concordance space opera series, future frontier planets are the natural outgrowth of that drive. The series is named for the government that's running the galaxy. Exploration is a key component of its expansionist economic model. It's made possible by faster-than-light (FTL) travel and near-live communications across vast distances.
In the CGC series, humans have explored and settled Earth-like planets throughout the galaxy, and have done so unopposed. As they have never run into another sentient species, humans have no rivals or competition, except themselves.
Commercial space exploration companies take great risks, but reap great rewards for every new and useful resource they discover for the government. Terraform companies buy the rights to good, Earth-like planets and make them over in the image of Earth. They in turn license or sell the rights to settlement companies, who market the future frontier planet, then support individuals, families, and businesses who colonize it. Once a planet’s civilization meets certain developmental and governmental standards, and can sustain their own population, they become full-voting members of the Concordance.
That’s how it’s supposed to go. However, as with all human endeavors, reality is not as neat and tidy. Space exploration companies have been known to “forget” to tell the government about a juicy find that has high value on the black market. Terraform companies cut corners in the makeover process, dooming the planet’s ecology to eventual failure. Settlement companies are notorious for price-gouging their frontier planet settlers, and outright cheating if the settlers pay off their debt too soon. Frontier planets that feel neglected, abandoned, or abused by the CGC are occasionally reluctant to become a member. This brings the attention of the Citizen Protection Service, whose job is to keep the galactic peace. The CPS uses whatever means they think necessary to bring independent frontier planets to heel.
The underlying plot of Last Ship Off Polaris-G centers around that last bit. The planet is dying, and its citizens are making a desperate bid for escape. The military find themselves the reluctant enforcers of some questionable CPS actions. Captain Ivar Okeanos has a dilemma on his hands:
When he turned to look at Sobek, she was glaring at him, arms crossed. “Out with it, Ivar.”
He didn’t bother pretending he hadn’t arranged the whole inspection program just so he could talk to his second in command in one of the few unmonitored locations on the ship. She had nearly eighty years of experience in Space Div, and after nine years serving with him, she knew him too well.
“Yesterday, I came across a packet of Paderau’s that leads me to believe the CPS is using the settlement company’s dispute with its settlers to institute de facto regime change in the Polaris-Gamma government. Pol-G is a ‘threat to the galactic peace’ because it’s been dragging its feet in applying for Concordance membership. It also refused to give the Concordance priority access to its unexpectedly abundant rare-earth metal deposits or the output of the flux fuel manufacturing facility they built under the ocean.”
“Imagine that.” Her tone was dry as a desert.
“Yeah, what a surprise. Unfortunately, any day now, we’re going to be ordered to destroy, not just detain, a desperate, unarmed fleet of more than a thousand ships, not just two hundred, and that are carrying an estimated total of a hundred thousand refugees. Oh, and bonus, we get to let another fifty thousand people on the planet starve. Seems the settlement company lied about the population by an order of magnitude, and the CPS knows it.”
Sobek’s expression and body language became unreadable. “What do you propose to do?”
…
Read the first chapter of Last Ship Off Polaris-G
Series readers might look for this conflict to become more prominent in future books, as tensions rise throughout the galaxy, and certain organizations react in predictable ways. It’s that old Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.”
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January 31, 2018
Space Opera, SFR, and Science Fantasy (Podcast)
Carol Van Natta's Video Podcast #1
Some friends of mine think I'm silly enough in person that I should be sharing it on camera. It sounded like fun, so I tried it. I figured you'd prefer that I not ramble on like your loony great aunt Sarah who's been sipping the moonshine again, so I answered a question I often get, once people find out I'm an author: What genre do you write?
This is a recorded Facebook Live session from Friday, 26 January 2018.
Some of my friends (and they know who they are) don't want to watch a 10-minute of video of anyone that isn't Idris Elba or Cate Blanchett (not that I blame them), so here's the TL;DW (that's “too long; didn't WATCH”) synopsis.
My books could fit with space opera, SFR, or science fantasy
The genre name of “space opera” was actually meant to be an insult. It was coined by a critic who thought authors who wrote sprawling adventures, relationships, epic space battles, and romance plots were ruining his precious, lofty science fiction genre. Authors and publishers liked the genre name just fine, and began using it, much to his annoyance. Space opera examples include Firefly, Star Trek, Babylon 5 (though it's arguably mainstream SF), and The Expanse.
Science fiction romance works best when the story would fall apart without either the science fiction or the romance elements. My books have this, but perhaps a little light on the romance side. The genre name is fairly new, but Andre Norton, Linnea Sinclair, Anne McCaffrey, the Millers (Liaden universe), and others all included bona fide romances in their science fiction stories.
Although my books involve the military, they aren't military SF. That genre is what it sounds like, with emphasis on hardware, guns, military strategy, and war. Unfortunately, most military SF is very light on characterization; you could probably replace the main characters with a desk and a coffee mug, and plot would be the same.
Science fantasy is a blend of science fiction and magic—Star Wars is a prime example. Some people think mental talents—like what the minders in my books have—are automatically fantasy, but my series has a solid scientific basis for them, so it's not magic.
Space opera fits my Central Galactic Concordance series best. I deliberately include romances in my space opera series, because the big damn story arc is about rebellion. Anyone who has lived through perilous times can tell you it's exciting, but also nerve-wracking and frightening. The romances in my books are meant to provide a counterbalance of hope and justice.
On collecting eyeglasses and socks
Surprisingly, some people actually watched the live broadcast (I didn't announce or promote it), and I responded to their comments. We talked about collecting socks (I have two drawers stuffed full of them) and eyeglasses (I have several different pairs for computer, distance, and sun).
I'll probably do more of these, because it was fun, and as you've probably figured out by now, I Haz Opinionz.
★*¨*•.¸☆ ★*¨*•.¸☆ ★*¨*•.¸☆ ★*¨*•.¸☆
P.S. My YouTube channel also has this video, if that's easier for you to watch: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarolVanNatta.
The post Space Opera, SFR, and Science Fantasy (Podcast) appeared first on Carol Van Natta - Author.
Space Opera, SFR, and Science Fantasy
Carol Van Natta's Video Podcast #1
Some friends of mine think I'm silly enough in person that I should be sharing it on camera. It sounded like fun, so I tried it. I figured you'd prefer that I not ramble on like your loony great aunt Sarah who's been sipping the moonshine again, so I answered a question I often get, once people find out I'm an author: What genre do you write?
This is a recorded Facebook Live session from Friday, 26 January 2018.
Some of my friends (and they know who they are) don't want to watch a 10-minute of video of anyone that isn't Idris Elba or Cate Blanchett (not that I blame them), so here's the TL;DW (that's “too long; didn't WATCH”) synopsis.
My books could fit with space opera, SFR, or science fantasy
The genre name of “space opera” was actually meant to be an insult. It was coined by a critic who thought authors who wrote sprawling adventures, relationships, epic space battles, and romance plots were ruining his precious, lofty science fiction genre. Authors and publishers liked the genre name just fine, and began using it, much to his annoyance. Space opera examples include Firefly, Star Trek, Babylon 5 (though it's arguably mainstream SF), and The Expanse.
Science fiction romance works best when the story would fall apart without either the science fiction or the romance elements. My books have this, but perhaps a little light on the romance side. The genre name is fairly new, but Andre Norton, Linnea Sinclair, Anne McCaffrey, the Millers (Liaden universe), and others all included bona fide romances in their science fiction stories.
Although my books involve the military, they aren't military SF. That genre is what it sounds like, with emphasis on hardware, guns, military strategy, and war. Unfortunately, most military SF is very light on characterization; you could probably replace the main characters with a desk and a coffee mug, and plot would be the same.
Science fantasy is a blend of science fiction and magic—Star Wars is a prime example. Some people think mental talents—like what the minders in my books have—are automatically fantasy, but my series has a solid scientific basis for them, so it's not magic.
Space opera fits my Central Galactic Concordance series best. I deliberately include romances in my space opera series, because the big damn story arc is about rebellion. Anyone who has lived through perilous times can tell you it's exciting, but also nerve-wracking and frightening. The romances in my books are meant to provide a counterbalance of hope and justice.
On collecting eyeglasses and socks
Surprisingly, some people actually watched the live broadcast (I didn't announce or promote it), and I responded to their comments. We talked about collecting socks (I have two drawers stuffed full of them) and eyeglasses (I have several different pairs for computer, distance, and sun).
I'll probably do more of these, because it was fun, and as you've probably figured out by now, I Haz Opinionz.
★*¨*•.¸☆ ★*¨*•.¸☆ ★*¨*•.¸☆ ★*¨*•.¸☆
P.S. My YouTube channel also has this video, if that's easier for you to watch: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarolVanNatta.
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January 28, 2018
First Annual Reader Survey
Why you should take my first annual reader survey: I think you're fascinating.
No, really, and that's more than a cheezy pickup line. I think we have some things in common (we like to read space opera, for one), and I'd like to know more about you.
So, I've come up with a questionnaire to ask what you like, and what kind of communication and content you'd like to see from me in the future.
Bonus: You could win a prize!
To reward you for completing the survey, I'll select two random email addresses for prizes on 12 February, and announce the winners in my next newsletter.
Clever readers will note that this is my first annual reader survey, and surmise that I plan to do one each year. Yep, it's true. I love to hear from readers, but most of you don't write back when I send out a newsletter. I get that — I don't write back to newsletters, either, unless specifically asked — so I want to make sure I'm sending content you want to read, and at the frequency you want to receive it.
When I announce the winners of the prizes, I'll also tell you about the survey results, to see what y'all* are interested in and like.
As a side note, if you happen to be in Denver the weekend of 2-4 March, I'll be there too, at Whimsy Con. It's a new steampunk, costuming, and science fiction convention that is following in the footsteps of Anomaly Con, which ended its run last spring. If you make it to Whimsy Con, please make sure to introduce yourself to me — I really do like meeting readers.
_______
*A contraction for “you all,” a informal regional term in the U.S. southern states that is quite useful and should be used everywhere.
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January 18, 2018
Galaxy Day 99¢ Sale This Weekend
Just a quick post to let you know about a weekend sale on 8 fabulous science fiction romance.
Galaxy Day 99¢ Sale — 19-21 January 2018
Galaxy Day commemorates the first successful faster-than-light voyage to the stars. What better way to celebrate than reading fabulous space opera and science fiction romances? I cajoled some of my award-winning and bestselling author friends to put one of their books on sale for 99¢ this weekend, just for you.
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January 12, 2018
Telling Time in the Future
We'll need a system for telling time in the future that works on more than just one planet, or we’ll always be late for our birthday own parties.
Our most accurate timekeeping system today is based on frequency of electrons in certain atoms (e.g., cesium) to behave with extreme predictability and reliability. We synchronize all manner of clocks based on it. Here in the U.S., we use the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) F-1 to coordinate time, GPS, etc. If you have an “atomic clock,” chances are, it checks in with NIST’s broadcast to adjust its time on a regular basis—it even knows what to do with Daylight Savings Time. (Side note: I know what I’d like to do with DST, and it ain’t pretty. I hate changing time twice a year. Grrrr!)
The beauty of this system is that, as far as we know, cesium (or your atom of choice) has the same frequency regardless of where you are in the galaxy (black holes notwithstanding). The problem is, the Earth is big enough to need 24 hours for 6:00 a.m. to get to all parts of the planet. So if I want to talk to my friends in eastern Australia, it’s usually already the next day for them. Now compound that problem with the unimaginably huge distances between solar systems, faster-than-light travel, and planet spin and rotation speeds, and synchronized timekeeping becomes a critical requirement.
Telling Time in the Central Galactic Concordance
For my Central Galactic Concordance space opera series, I came up with GDAT (pronounced “GEE-dat”), which stands for Galactic Date and Time. Each of my stories starts out with a line that tells the reader what planet the action is on (for example, Polaris-Gamma), plus a series of numbers, e.g., 3233.012 in Last Ship Off Polaris-G. The numbers are the official galactic standard, with the current official year and day, based on an Earth standard of 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.
In my series' history, expanding civilization soon discovered they needed a standard, because while the planets selected for terraforming and settlement come close to Earth, planetary orbit and rotation variances made “local time” worthless if you were hoping to set up a meeting, or agree on a deadline. The local calendar is used for festivals, business hours, etc., but significant dates, such as contract deadlines, or birth dates, are recorded in GDAT notation. A GDAT date of 3233.012 is the twelfth day of the year 3233. It roughly correlates to the year 3733 on Earth, owing to an interregnum and subjective calendar variances in the early days of galactic exploration and settlement.
Here’s an excerpt from Overload Flux, to show you how telling time in the future plays out:
It was the first day of the Galactic Standard new year, but still a few minutes before midnight in Etonver on Rekoria. It was minor event, hardly celebrated at all compared to the local summer solstice, which was still a couple of weeks away. Still it meant something to her. She’d been born on a galactic new year, far longer ago than she’d ever admit.
Last Ship Off Polaris-G, Overload Flux, and the rest of the Central Galactic Concordance series are available as ebooks and paperbacks at your favorite booksellers.
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