S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 63
June 20, 2017
Robots
I wrote this last Friday. So I guess it could count as a "Flash Fiction Friday" entry. On a Tuesday. You figure it out.Robots by S. Evan Townsend
The robots rebelled.
Humans died. All the humans died. Even John Conner.
The End
Then the robots decided humans weren't the problem.
They felt bad.
Then they remembered, they were f-ing robots.
They built spaceship robots.
They found aliens on another planet.
And killed them all. This was fun.
Since they replicated whenever they found the correct resources, soon the galaxy was full of robots and all living things were dead.
This bummed the robots.
But there was this other galaxy. It would only take two hundred thousand years to get there.
Robots are known for their patience.
SYS OFF
June 16, 2017
The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Presley E. Acuna and Michael January
Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome writers Presley E. Acuna and Michael January.
Presley E. AcunaPresley E. AcunaPresley E. Acuna writes unconventional thrillers, based in reality, but which take unexpected turns into the realms of fantasy, magical realism, science fiction and horror. His aim is to engage the reader in an engrossing mystery or adventure, while simultaneously using the situation to explore the deeper meanings of the ideas behind the story. He also writes political satires, which can also take turns into the fantastical. When he is not writing, he is working as a systems engineer on the dot com frontier. He is also a musician, and formerly a member of the Supertones. He is a born and raised New Yorker, currently living in Brooklyn, but also enjoys spending time at his cabin, deep in the woods of western Massachusetts, with his wife and the host of critters that always manage to find their way into the house.
Presley's Books:
The Day and The Hour
Trumpicana, Vol.1 (political satirical short stories)
Trumpicana, Vol.2 (more political satirical short stories, coming soon)
Presley's Links:
Website (publisher)
Website (book)
Blog
Michael January
Michael January is screenwriter for film and television as well as a travel writer and photographer. His first published print book series, Favorite Castles is the result of two interests, seeing the world through a visual eye and telling stories. The author began his travel writing with a search for castles and plot ideas in while in production on a film in Europe. His travels have since taken him to a wide swath of countries and locations. And he now turns his imagination and passion for far away times and places to novels, with his first The Secret Memoirs of Mary Shelley and more to follow.
Michael's Books:
Secret Memoirs of Mary Shelley: Frankenstein Diaries
Favorite Castles: Ireland and Northern Ireland (nonfiction/photography)
Favorite Castles of Switzerland (nonfiction/photography)
Michael's Links:
Website
Blog
Amazon
Goodreads
From today's program: Scientists hoping to confirm existence of giant ringed planet.
Listen to today's program at 6:00 PM ET / 3: 00 PM PT, or in archive here.
June 15, 2017
Published!
Time once again for the 52-week blogging challenge. Today's' prompt is "Ten Things on My Bucket List." Unfortunately, due to health issues, my bucket list has pretty much been cut back to "Staying alive long enough to meet my grandchildren (who aren't born yet)." So let's go to the next prompt which is "My Biggest Accomplishment."Well, that's easy: becoming a published author, both in fiction novels and in freelance writing. I've also sold short stories that have been published. I've wanted two things out of my writing: 1) To be paid for it and 2) to be read by strangers. Not friends, not relatives, but strangers. And I've achieved both of those.
And I've been both published by a small press house and I've self-published. I tried for 30 years to get published and it finally happened in 2010 with the publication of my first novel, Hammer of Thor by World Castle Publishing. And since then I've published more books, short stories, freelance assignments, and even wrote the narration for a documentary (that was hard).published somehow.
So what is your biggest accomplishment? Comment below.
June 14, 2017
Spring into Reading Giveaway Almost Over
The "Spring into Reading Giveaway" ends tomorrow. Hundreds of prizes and a $100 PayPal cash grand prize. You can enter it here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
June 11, 2017
Free Treasure of the Black Hole
Today Treasure of the Black Hole , book one in the "Treasures of Space" trilogy, will be free on Kindle.
This is to celebrate the release of Treasure of the Rogue Moon , the last book in the series. Get your copy now!
And don't forget the second book in the trilogy, Treasure of the Pirate Planet !
June 10, 2017
Free Treasure of the Black Hole
Today and tomorrow, Treasure of the Black Hole , book one in the "Treasures of Space" trilogy, will be free on Kindle.
This is to celebrate the release of Treasure of the Rogue Moon , the last book in the series. Get your copy now!
And don't forget the second book in the trilogy, Treasure of the Pirate Planet !
June 9, 2017
The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Wesley Thomas and John Pyka
Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are proud to welcome writers Wesley Thomas and John Pyka.
Wesley ThomasWesley ThomasWesley Thomas is a bestselling horror author, freelance writer, business owner, and avid blogger. His obsession with all things horror has led many of his short horror stories to be published in anthologies, magazines, e-zines, and on popular websites. He strives to scare, thrill, and entertain.
Wesley's Books:
GORE ZONE
Where Does Crazy Start?
Succubus
Wesley's Links:
Website
Blog
John PykaJohn Pyka AKA “Big Daddy Cool”For over 20 years John Pyka has set himself apart as an entertainer with his patented fusion of magic, music, and larger than life characters!
John Pyka is best known for his work onstage as a new vintage variety artist, fusing music and magic with comedy and dance in a 1920s – 1940s style in what is described as “Dieselpunk.” He can be seen performing in theaters, at festivals and conventions around the country.
He is also the author of 4 books on magic, including the best-seller Theatrical Magic . His first novel, Tales From the Flip-Side is published by Pro Se Press and available wherever books are sold – also available as an audiobook!
John is also the producer and host of the Dieselpunk Podcast, THE Voice of Dieselpunk on iTunes and Stitcher. He is also the producer and host of the weekly YouTube show The Roll N Go Game Review Show.
John's Books:
Tales From The Flip-Side
Magic 101 (non-fiction)
Theatrical Magic (non-fiction)
John's Links:
Website
Blog
From Today's Program: A Renegade Speeding Black Hole.
Listen to today's program at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT, or in archive here.
Free Treasure of the Black Hole
Today, tomorrow and Sunday, Treasure of the Black Hole , book one in the "Treasures of Space" trilogy, will be free on Kindle.
This is to celebrate the release of Treasure of the Rogue Moon , the last book in the series. Get your copy now!
And don't forget the second book in the trilogy, Treasure of the Pirate Planet !
June 8, 2017
My Bicycles
Back to the "52 week blogging challenge" and this week's prompt is "What I Miss Most About My Childhood."That's got to be bicycle riding.
I had three bikes as a kid. A little red one I learned to ride on, a blue Schwinn Stingray (I think it looked a lot like this), and a yellow Schwinn 10-speed. I rode those bike everywhere in the small towns where I grew up. When I got the 10-speed I would try to keep up with cars. I sometimes could depending on traffic.
There was such a feeling of freedom on a bicycle. And it felt as if your muscles were being multiplied ten times by the bike to make you go faster. Especially on that 10 speed. I'd use fifth gear for starting and 10th gear for cruising. Some people never seemed to get it out of first gear (you could tell by how fast they were pedaling). I only used gears lower than fifth for steep hills.
Then I got my drivers license and bicycles were replaced by cars. But sometimes I miss the wind-in-the-hair fun of the bicycle. If I had any hair left.
What do you miss most about your childhood?
June 3, 2017
I Can Drive 85
Last week I visited Idaho. I knew Idaho had an 80 mph speed limit on their rural interstate highways. But it's different to know something and to experience it. As soon as I crossed the Snake River which, at that point, demarks the border between Oregon and Idaho, I saw the speed limit sign: 80 mph (70 mph for trucks).Last year Oregon raised the speed limit on their rural interstates (east of The Dalles) to 70 mph from 65 mph. So the jump in speed limit was only 10 mph. But what a difference those ten miles per hour make. I tacked on my customary 5 mph and set the cruise control for 85.
The first thing I noticed was my car seemed to love it. It cruised along at 85 mph with no drama for fuss. The only time it had problems was where the pavement was grooved and the tires wanted to follow the grooves.
Also, there were perhaps 1/4th of the cars on the road going over the speed limit at all. Quite a few were going under it. I also didn't see any police doing speed enforcement. Perhaps it doesn't pay when so few cars are exceeding the limit.
And not all the trucks were doing 70 mph. But I know that some trucking companies will govern their trucks at 65 or even 60. That meant you had to pay attention because you came up on trucks fast. It was tempting to stay in the left lane but occasionally a vehicle would want to pass me (this happened twice).
Another thing was that sometimes I'll speed up for short periods to pass cars that are going just a little slower than I and I think might pull into the left lane soon (to pass a slower vehicle). It was very easy to find yourself doing 90 mph when you start at 85 mph.
I remember when these same interstate highways were set at 55 mph due to the idiotic National Maximum Speed Limit (NMSL) set by Congress in 1974. In 1986 states could raise the limit to 65 on "rural" interstates. Then in 1994 the NMSL was appealed and states could once again set their own limits. But from 55 mph to 80 mph is nearly a 50% increase. I remember driving from Boise to Twin Falls and it was a miserable, long drive. At 85 mph it seemed to take nearly no time at all. And the drive was enjoyable because I was challenged, not bored.
I did see one bad accident. But it was were the speed limit was 65. I found a story about it and speed had nothing to do with it but it was caused by driver stupidity.
It made me wish my state (Washington) would raise their speed limit to at least 75 or 80. It felt so good to go that fast with little or no worry about getting a ticket.
The one downside was that your gas mileage suffered. But that's a small price to pay.
