Laura Montgomery's Blog, page 5

Elon Musk’s Mars Colonization Plans

I got cited in past writings I have pointed out that the treaty requirement that countries authorize and continuously supervise their citizen’s activities in space requires Congress to pass a law to become enforceable.  In other words, the treaty may impose some obligations on the U.S. government to regulate in outer ...

Private Property in Outer Space

Over the years I’ve heard folks in the science fiction community say that the outer space treaties prohibit private property.  This is not correct.

The quickest way to tell that this isn’t true is to note that Earth orbit is full of satellites owned by private entities.  Those satellites belong to their owners.

Often, however, what folks really mean is that private entities like you, me, or the nearest asteroid mining conglomerate can’t own what we’ve mined, and we can’t own land on the moon.

Th...

UNDER THE EARTHLINE is now available!

I am thrilled to let everyone know that the next Martha’s Sons book is out.  While Peter Dawe is off doing what he’s doing, Thaddeus Dawe steps up to the plate in Under the Earthline.

With only a slender hold on their alien world, human settlers from a marooned starship inhabit a single terraformed valley. As technology frays, as the second generation of settlers cannibalizes its past, and as the governor cancels elections again, tension grows between the city and the western farms.

One Dawe son...

The Waking Late Trilogy is Now Live on Audio!

The Waking Late Trilogy, complete with all three books, is now available as one giant audiobook!  I am so grateful to Podium Publishing for finding my books and turning them into audio.  It’s been something I’ve long wanted to do, but found it a daunting task on my own.  And I love the new cover.

Gilead Tan and Andrea Fielding survived their stint in the military, got married, signed up to emigrate to a terraformed colony world, and went into cold sleep for the journey from Earth. While they sle...

Waking Late’s New Cover for Audio

I got the word from Podium this week.

The whole Waking Late trilogy–Sleeping Duty, Out of the Dell, and Like a Continental Soldier–will be available on Audible this coming Tuesday, June 23.

And this is the cover!

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New Scientist Interview on the Artemis Accords

New Scientist interviewed me about the Artemis Accords.  Except for the headline, which is wrong, it’s a pretty good summary.  The Accords do not attempt to “lay down the law.”  Rather, they constitute an attempt to implement some of the very general principles in the outer space treaties in the context of returning to the moon.  They show how NASA wants to make sure to put those principles into effect when it enters into international partnerships.

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Another Free Short Story: EARLY SPACEPORTS

I was thinking my new readers might be interested in a free short story I provide my newsletter subscribers.  Sign up here, and receive a copy.

In the late 21st century, orbital industry floods the world with riches, riches which can wash up against the unsuspecting just as readily as they accrue to those who reach for them.

With his love for his girlfriend, his passion for the law, and his situation in a good firm, Eli Fisher possesses all that a man could need at the start of his legal...

Free Short Story: RELIEF AFAR

Spoiler Alert:  First, if you haven’t read the first two books in the Martha’s Sons series, don’t read this post at all.  It contains spoilers.

However, if you have read Simple Service and Long in the Land, and would like to get a free novelette about Peter Dawe’s arrival in Kentucky immediately after Long in the Land, just follow this link to BookFunnel.  At BookFunnel you can download the story and sign up for my newsletter.  BookFunnel has a nice, easy process for getting free books to reader...

Free Short Story: Relief Afar

Spoiler Alert:  First, if you havent read the first two books in the Marthas Sons series, dont read this post at all.  It contains spoilers.

However, if you have read Simple Service and Long in the Land, and would like to get a free novelette about Peter Dawes arrival in Kentucky immediately after Long in the Land, just follow this link to BookFunnel.  At BookFunnel you can download the story and sign up for my newsletter.  BookFunnel has a nice, easy process for getting free books to...

OVERRULED

I had the honor of co-authoring a short story with Sarah A. Hoyt of Darkship fame for an anthology of legal science fiction, Overruled.  It was tremendous fun working with someone of Sarahs caliber;  andnot to put too fine a point on itits pretty cool to make a sale to an anthology.

One thing we lawyers dont get credit for is how protective we feel about our clients.  So when the secret group of settlers leaves for Mars, who agrees to stay behind to ensure they get supplies?  The  lawyer.   ...