Maria Hammarblad's Blog, page 39

Flashback's first review!

The other day, Flashback received its first review. What a happy surprise considering the book won't be out for over a month yet. The publishing date is set to June 21. I'm excited!


Rating: 5.0 stars

Reviewed by Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite

"Flashback" is an insight into the life of a soldier. Steve was a soldier who came "home" after being gruesomely tortured at the hand of the enemy. His past continued to haunt him all the time. He tried to escape the memories by drowning himself in alcohol and drugs but they seemed to be making it more difficult ... then Anna came. Suddenly, his life was better. He had the urge to do things for her, to make her happy. She made him feel human again and he was ready to change everything for her. Then calamity struck; Anna was kidnapped right after they got married and were living in their dream house. Steve would have to go back to live his nightmare if he wanted his wife back. Would he be able to go back to the place that ruined his life? Would he be able to overcome his demons and fight for his love?

"Flashback" starts with a very powerful beginning that hooks the attention of the reader. Once you start you cannot stop until you have read the last page. And once you are done with that, you will want to read it all over again. A delightful reading for those people who are mature readers and who do not shy away from mild violence and expressive language. If you are one of them then this book will be a definite keeper for you. 

Real life space: Asteroids, meteors, and meteorites.

Aren't asteroids, meteors, and meteorites all the same thing? Almost, but not really.

An asteroid is a rocky object in space that's smaller than a planet. Some are so big they're almost planets.

Ceres, for example, is the largest asteroid in the solar system. It's smaller than the moon, but big enough to be nice and round and have several layers inside. Some scientists believe Ceres has a thin atmosphere, and its designation has changed through the years.  Sometimes it's a planet, sometimes it's a dwarf planet, sometimes it's an asteroid.

Some people classify asteroids depending on size and where they are, but for now, let's settle for it being a chunk of rock. =)

A meteor is an asteroid or other object that burns and vaporizes when it enters the Earth's atmosphere. It's what people call a shooting star.

A meteorite is a meteor that survives plunging through the atmosphere and lands on the surface. Most are tiny, but some are so big they change the face of the world. Close to where I used to live in Sweden is a large lake that stems from a meteorite hitting us.


I found this great overview on the American Meteor Society's website.

Life strives for balance

Many cultures around the world have a concept of balance, but I think the Chinese yin-yang is the most known and easiest to use for a frame of reference. Yin and Yang is used to describe how seemingly opposite forces are interdependent. Examples... Male and female, dark and light, hot and cold, fire and water, life and death...

I said seemingly opposite, because the idea is that the forces complement each other and interact to form a whole greater than its parts. They rely on each other, and one cannot exist without the other.

Once you start thinking about it, everything has both yin and yang. (It's not about good and evil; while Confucianism attaches a moral dimension to the yin-yang idea, Taoism considers good and bad something that is perceived and not real.)

Anyway, I've always loved the symbol. I love how the light field contains a piece of dark, and the dark contains a piece of light.

I think everything tends to balance out, at least in the long run. It's the way of the world.

How do we find this balance when it comes to our own lives? I'd love to take my own culture as an example. I'm not saying the Swedes are experts, but in general we believe in balance, and go through great lengths to ensure everyone can achieve balance between work and free time, and so on. We have a concept called "lagom" that can be used for anything that's just right.

I sometimes talk about lagom, even here on the blog, and you might have heard this before. I can go into any Swedish restaurant and order a "lagom" cup of coffee, a "lagom" sized meal, or a "lagom" glass of milk, and we all have the same idea of how much it is.

In Sweden, we sometimes frown on "lagom" and think it's one of those ideas that hold us back from success. After living abroad and studying other peoples and cultures, I disagree. I think "lagom" keeps us on the right track and helps us achieve balance.

It can be applied to anything, really. Like...

Challenging oneself or working vs opportunities to rest.Eating right and exercising vs treating oneself to some extra yummies.Striving towards a goal vs enjoying the ride.Taking time for others vs taking time for oneself.Allocating time for things one enjoys vs things that need to be done.Neither of these examples are inherently good or bad. Spending time with others is a good thing. Taking time for oneself is also a good thing. The tricky part is finding a balance between them.
I've had problems finding my balance for years. Having a day time job, working as a writer, going to school full time, and finding time for home and family took over my life to the point where I ran around aimlessly, exhausted myself, and accomplished little.
Now, I'm done with school and can let go of a big chunk of stress and time consumers. 
Getting back to a more relaxed state of mind is difficult. I'm so used to being stressed and having to hurry and work, I have a hard time accepting that I can relax, sit down, and pet the dog. 
I have to tell myself that it's okay to take time for me. 
The universe is trying to trip me. I think it's testing me. The day I finished my last class, my landlord informed me he's selling the house and we'll have to move. For a couple of days, I experienced a new level of stress; there were people in the yard putting up for sale signs, the phone rang and rang with the people wanting to see the house - which means cleaning and somehow getting the dogs out of the way. All of a sudden, people crawl by the house, staring at it, and sneak around in the yard.
There's also the problem of finding somewhere new to live. I've been attempting to get a mortgage and buy a house, but banks are less than impressed with my brief credit history. Honestly, I'm an immigrant, and I can't have a US credit history longer than I've been in the country. Renting is going to be difficult with four dogs. I don't know where we're going to move. We can stay here for two more months, after that, I have no idea.
I was stressed about it, probably out of old habit, because I've been stressed for so long. Then, I forced myself to sit down and exhale. Being upset or stressed doesn't help solve the problem. I should be alert for opportunities, and there's surely a grand opportunity at the end of this. I should pick a goal and work towards it. I should not allow it to upset the inner me.
Right now I feel okay not knowing where we'll live. Something will come up. I'm done with stress, and I need to find my way back to "lagom" where I can live happily in balance. I need a lagom mix between daytime job and writing, between working and family, and between the outside world and me.

The SFR Brigade Presents: Touch of the Goddess

It is time for a new issue of the SFR Brigade presents. Today, I'm sharing the first few lines from my novel Touch of the Goddess. This is the first book in The Goddess's Saga, a mix of science fiction, romance, and mythology, and was recently re-released after getting a complete facelift.

Click here to check out excerpts from more scifi romance authors!

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The man leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on a console, trying to pour himself one more drink from an empty bottle. Nothing came out and he squinted into it, seeking proof it was really dry.
“Dammit.”
He wasn’t particularly worried over the shards of shattered glass that spread all over the floor when it hit the wall behind him. He was worried about being out of whiskey. Drought would be a real problem.
He rose to his feet on unsteady legs and made his way to a cabinet hanging on the wall.
Damn this floor is unsteady. They don’t make them like they used to.
At least he found more booze, and he cradled the bottle.
“Hello sexy.”
Talking to bottles might not be a good habit, but there wasn’t anyone around to hear him, so who cared.He started drinking when he left station TL52 earlier in the day. He had been paid well and carried nice new cargo that would pay even better. These were good reasons to celebrate. Especially since bad memories tended to seep into his mind, ruining any good mood. Using alcohol to chase his ghosts away seemed reasonable. The first drink was lonely in his stomach and wanted company by a second one, and so it went.
As soon as he sat down, the proximity alarm blared.
What the hell, space is huge. How can there possibly be someone out there?
He braced himself for the collision, but remembered to protect the fresh bottle, just in case he’d survive.
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Blurb:
Drinking and flying is a bad combination. Stephan Forks learns this the hard way when he rams another ship in spite of the vastness of space. A moment later, a strange woman stands on his bridge, looking around with a frown. She's clearly a figment of his imagination. Nothing in his colorful past of smuggling and smaller crimes prepared him for people appearing out of nowhere.
Maria Callaway has carried more names and appearances than she can keep track of, and she's bored beyond belief. When she runs into Stephan, he seems to be an amusing pastime. He's interesting, disorganized, pursued by pirates, and handsome. A little too handsome, actually. Maybe she should leave?
Neither of them can foresee the chain of events set in action from their meeting. Adventure and danger go hand in hand during the upcoming days, and the collision resonates not only through their own lives, but changes the destiny of the world as they know it.

Real life space: sizes

Yesterday, I talked about the Earth and Mars, and how our planet is just the right size. It's not too small, and not too big. From a larger perspective, it's tiny. Check out this image:


Every time I see this, I need to stop for a moment and think. If Earth is so small compared to Jupiter, and Jupiter is so small compared to Sirius that's so small compared to Aldebaran... This is when my brain ties a knot on itself.

Real life space: Earth and Mars

Today, I'm going to appeal to my geeky side and talk about space. Not made-up space like in my books, but the real thing that surrounds this flying pebble we call home.

What? I had the audacity to call the Earth a pebble? But our planet is huge, right? Not really. Well, it is compared to a human, and a human is gigantic compared to an ant. It's all matter of perspective. Check out this image:

 

The thing about Earth is that it's just the right size. It's big enough to be able to hold an atmosphere, and still small enough to be solid. Its distance to the sun is just right; not too hot and not too cold. The Earth also has a magnetosphere that fends off solar winds and cosmic radiation. Without the magnetosphere, this wouldn't be a suitable place for humans.
So, what about Mars? Mars is smaller than the Earth, but still big enough to be able to hold an atmosphere. It's further away from the sun, but that's not the problem. Mars lost its magnetosphere a long time ago, which makes it vulnerable.
Under our feet, Earth has a solid crust. Under the crust is something called the mantle. It's made of super heated rock, and makes up about 85% of the planet's weight. (There's more than one layer, actually, but that's not important right now.)

Beneath the mantle is a layer called the outer core. It is made up by liquid metals that move, in turn creating the magnetosphere that stretches several thousand kilometers above the surface.

What's under the outer core? I'm happy you asked. Since there's an outer core it stands to reason we also have an inner core. This is believed to consist of an iron-nickel alloy that has about the same temperature as the surface of the sun. It stays solid because of the tremendous pressure.
We used to think that Mars lost its magnetosphere because the core wasn't liquid, or because it stopped moving. Truth is, Mars probably has an outer core and an inner core just as the Earth. Scientists agree that Mars had a strong magnetosphere in the past. It doesn't have one today. Why? We don't know. 
There's a number of theories, they don't agree, and we don't have any conclusive proof. For all we can see, the planet should have a magnetic field, but it doesn't.

A trip to Mars, anyone?

One of my Facebook friends posted about signing up for a one way trip to Mars, and I thought, "Oh, you joker, that's funny." I still had to follow the link, of course.

According to Yahoo Travel, the trip is real, but won't take place until 2023, and over 20,000 people have already applied. I checked the date and it wasn't written on April Fool's Day. That, of course, doesn't mean it's true. I googled, and was surprised to find piles of articles about it.

The website spaceindustrynews.com seems to take it seriously, and talks about the company's creative way to get funding through selling advertising space.

"It will be the most elaborate reality TV show of all time. The whole thing will be like The Real World in space with no way to get home. There will be no return shuttle, there's no hope of escape if anything goes wrong. These people will live the rest of their lives on Mars as pioneers and will die heroes and explorers."

The article on Yahoo Travel says, "Although the trip and training sound daunting, the requirements for candidates are wide open: if you show resilience, adaptability, and curiosity, you might qualify. Scientific and astronaut's skills, however, are not required."

The general idea is that four settlers will be launched in 2023, and four more every second year after that. In order to apply, one must be at least 28 years old, over 157 cm tall, and have 20/20 vision.

If you want to read more about this, check out the Mars One website, their Facebook page, and the Yahoo Travel article. There is also an interesting article here, discussing the problems these colonists would face.

Real or hoax? You tell me. Would you want to go?

Coming soon: Unchanged by Christy Elkins!

I don't know the release date just yet, but the next book by Christy Elkins is on the horizon. It is an event to look forward to! =D The cover is amazing!

Could you look beyond the limited view of your own eyes, long enough to find truth or even love? Does compassion really reside in your heart, or circumstance?

In the year 3033, David Rockman makes a radical discovery that shakes the nation. His findings reveal a reality, which offers absolution, to a world in peril but will our unwilling nature lead to catastrophic consequences?

Change is inevitable but there are always those who resist.

If you just can't wait, check out Christy's other books Parallel and Lilac Hill!

The SFR Brigade presents: Courage and Retribution

It is time for a new issue of the SFR Brigade presents. Today, I'm presenting a snippet from my free read Courage and Retribution. Click here to check out excerpts from more science fiction romance authors!

Courage and Retribution is a short free read accompanying my novel Kidnapped. It's a prequel telling the story of some of the side characters and how they got together.


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William lived in a world of uneasy dreams. His people were screaming, dying, being burned alive, and he needed to pull free from whatever held him so he could rescue them, but invisible forces kept him back. The dreams faded into merciful darkness.

When he finally returned to reality, he had problems focusing his eyes. The ceiling looked a lot like a beautiful woman, and she rotated above him. He squeezed his eyes shut again, but had time to see a mass of blonde hair and a cute nose.

The fragments of memories and dreams came together. He was a prisoner of the Alliance, and his people, everyone he knew were dead. It was his fault. He didn't understand how, he had been so careful, but he still led the enemy right home. He wanted to return to the darkness, hopefully forever, but the woman wouldn't let him. She held a cool hand against his forehead.

"I think he has a concussion."

A cynical male voice answered, "It happens."

William opened his eyes again and struggled to sit up, even though the room revolved around him. Everything bathed in a light so bright it shot bolts of pain through his skull, but when he squinted and shaded his eyes with his hand, he could make out four bare metal walls and a metal ceiling. The cell didn't even have a visible door. "Where am I? Who are you?"

The man stepped closer and crouched next to him. "You're a guest here at Casa del Travis. If we're lucky, he'll forget about us, or kill us before we reach Central."

The woman said, "You should probably lie down. You're still bleeding. I'm Isabela, and he's Aaren. I think there are more people in other cells. I can hear them through the walls."

Aaren chuckled. "Of course there are more prisoners here. This is a prisoner ship, and it's what they do. So, what'd you do that's so bad they let you live?"

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Blurb: 

On the outskirts of the ever present Alliance's watchful eye, William Reynolds has served as mayor and preacher for the better part of a decade. Life is good, and he sees no reason to change anything. When a family fleeing the Alliance's oppression comes his way, he still doesn't hesitate to hide them.

Reaching out to the people in need proves to be more dangerous than he could ever have anticipated, and once events are set in motion, there is no going back.

Super-easy dog treat

I should blog about something, but my mind is pretty blank at the moment. I'm preparing for my last finals, and my brain cells are so exhausted not even caffeine wakes them up anymore, hahaha!

Thus, I will share this fantastic dog treat recipe from the Plexidor blog.

Has anyone met a dog who doesn't like peanut butter? It's not just good to eat; it's a great source of vitamins E, K, and B12, it has important minerals, and is a great source of fiber. 

Some peanut butters contain a lot of sugar or corn syrup, but there are sugar free versions. It doesn't really matter if we don't like it; odds are the dogs will.

Here is a dog treat recipe so easy and quick it can't fail.
1 cup peanut butter1 16 Oz container plain yogurt2 ice cube trays
Microwave the peanut butter for about 1.5 minutes. Mix it with the yogurt until completely blended. Pour the mixture into ice cube trays, and place them in the freezer.
Once frozen, they're done. Conveniently sized frozen treats. Even the storage is already cared for; they're in the freezer!

I changed the recipe a little when I made it. I took one small cup of plain greek yogurt and mixed in crunchy peanut butter until I thought it tasted good. Then, I proceeded with eating about half the batter. Princess Bonnie glared; I think she knew I ate something meant for her.

The rest went in the freezer, in an ice cube tray, and the dogs loved it.