Saffron Bryant's Blog, page 3

How to Print a Bionic Ear

Who would have thought becoming a cyborg was so close to reality? We all know that 3D printing is cool but this week in When Science Fiction Becomes Reality, I want to show you something epic.

This particular research team wanted to integrate electronic functionality with biological materials to make a bionic/cyborg ear capable of detecting radio frequencies. For copyright reasons I can’t paste the image below but I implore you to check it out:

The scientists used a 3D printer with three different ‘ink’ cartridges to build the structural, biological and electrical components of this ear.

While this particular ear wasn’t designed to last very long or be attached to an actual human it’s an incredible proof of concept. It’s a massive advance to medical and cosmetic research and could provide incredible benefits.

Imagine if you lost your ear while fighting an alien horde? No problem we’ll just print you off a new one!

Of course it doesn’t just stop at ears; this kind of layered approach could be applied to a myriad of organs.

 

If you could print anything from a 3D printer, what would it be?

How do you see this technology advancing in the future?

http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nl4007744

Brand New Cover Reveal

I’ve been thinking that The Herald of Darkness cover just doesn’t do it justice. So this weekend I sat down and did a complete redesign, here is the result:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compared to the original:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you think of the update?

If you like dragons, adventure, quests, magic and fantasy then I suggest you head over and check out book one of the series: The Fallen Star.

P.S. I am considering extending my cover design services to others so if you have a fantasy or sci-fi novel that needs a cover please leave a comment below with your twitter handle or some way to contact you and I’ll be in touch.

Forbidden Future – Book Review

 

 

Forbidden Future is a time-travel anthology published by Masquerade Publishing. You can check out quick blurbs of the different stories below.

I don’t want to focus on any one story in particular so this review is on the book as a whole. There were a couple of fantastic stories in this anthology, unfortunately there were also a couple that weren’t so great. So overall, I’m giving it three stars.

The anthology is beautifully edited and formatted- read like a dream so no problems there. The stories stuck to the theme (so it did what it said on the box)- also fantastic. If a couple of the not-so-good stories had been replaced with others then this anthology would have gotten at least 4 stars, BUT don’t just take my word on it. What I didn’t enjoy other people will love, it’s all a matter of opinion.

So, if you are looking for a few short reads in the time-travel genre I do recommend you pick up this anthology. I think time-travel stories are hard to pull off but these guys did a pretty good job: thumbs up all round.

Join the Rafflecopter Giveaway to win $25.

More information on Forbidden Future:

“Jump”

by Jon Bradbury

Jesse Kendall’s fiancee is missing, ever since she answered a strange ad. His only lead is a deserted warehouse downtown. In that warehouse he will find so much more than he bargained for.

 

“Road Trip”

by Matt Mitrovich

Four friends drive to a college party and take an unexpected detour into the future.

 

“Society”

by Terra Harmony

Take a ride on the ‘Energy of the Future’, where society gets a fresh, clean start – no matter who they have to leave behind.

 

“Forbidden Future”

by James Wymore

A time machine technician has given his whole life to the pure scientific pursuit of the study of time travel. When his personal life falls apart, he decides to risk it all and take a trip into the future. First, he must remove a failsafe blocking the machine from traveling to the future. What could be so bad that they tried to stop anybody from seeing it?

 

“The Mountains Haven’t”

by Kade Anderson

The people of the town of Dignity go about their daily lives, trying to scrape out a meager existence from the dirt and the dust of their land, never taking notice of the mountains that loom in the distance. To the others, the mountains are benign, as harmless as the grass their cows graze upon. To the town’s Watcher, Julia, the mountains hold the key to a far greater mystery.

 

Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00F5K4XZS

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18520991-forbidden-future

5 Technologies I Wish I Had Right Now

Today’s When Science Fiction Becomes Reality, is more of a look forward. To 5 things I wish were a reality but which haven’t quite made it yet.

Microchip – The microchip. It has featured in science fiction for years and yet I still don’t have one. Sure you can get small computer chips but they don’t do what I think they should. In my mind the microchip should be inserted under the skin and from there allow:

~ Communication: like a very small mobile

~ Security: Instead of key’s or swipe access cards you just hold up your arm and the inserted chip does the rest.

~ Banking: No more cash or credit cards, it’s all stored on your chip. Just hold your arm over the checkout scanner and it’s done.

Bacteria/Organic Power –  I spoke about this one in more detail a few weeks back but the whole idea just fascinates me. I would love to have an apartment lit my the soothing glow of plants or colonies of bacteria. And talk about efficiency! Goodby power bill- the lights are now powered by a self-restoring ecosystem.

 

Hover Transport – This one is a classic, its been around for so long. Then why don’t I have a hover skateboard??? The concept was thought up so long ago that I am honestly shocked that these aren’t sold in every toy store. Not to mention hover-cars. I’m keeping an eye out for that Kickstarter project, that’s for sure!

 

Pill Food – I don’t know how many other people feel this way, but sometimes finding, making and eating food feels like such a waste of time! I cant wait until an entire meal can be packed into a single pill. So you just grab a pack swallow one down and BAM you’re full. Think of the time it would save! Not only that but it would make disaster relief so much easier- instead of carting huge lots of food you just take in a carton of these pills.

 

Teleportation – Another one that has been around for ever. Think how much time you spend traveling every day, to your work, back home. Taking the kids to soccer practice etc. It would be so much easier if you could just jump onto the telepad and appear right at the front door. There’s still some kinks that need to be worked out in the science of this but I can’t wait for it to happen!

 

What technology do you want to get your hands on?

What special gadgets do your sci-fi characters have?

My new character Nova has a couple of the items mentioned above; my way of living vicariously through her!

The Nightlife: New York – Book Review

 

 

The Nightlife: New York is a romance/erotica/vampire novel with a great storyline. I don’t usually enjoy romance novels but the vampire action of this one had me turning the pages.

The editing and formatting were professional and the book was easy to read. The novel is basically the story of a young man being transformed into a vampire and his initiation into the ‘nightlife’ of the vampire.

The main male character was great, the chapters from his POV were humorous but I also got a real sense for his character. The female lead on the other hand was not so loveable. It didn’t take long for me to HATE her with a passion. She didn’t take away from the story, although a few of her actions went against her own values which I found a bit inconsistent.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for some vampire fun, with the warning that it does contain erotic material.

My main criticism for the book is its ending. I think the author went a little over the top and was perhaps looking for some shock value. I won’t tell any spoilers but if I could change anything about the book it would be that.

So, if you need a fun read for the weekend The Nightlife: New York is definitely worth it (and at the moment its FREE, so what have you got to lose?).

Are The Oldest Living Organisms Just Zombies?

This week in When Science Fiction Becomes Reality. I want to introduce you all to some bacteria.

According to scientists these bacteria have been around for thousands, even millions of years. They live deep down in the ocean in rocks that are millions of years old. The incredible thing is that these bacteria only divide about once every thousand years.

With such slow replication the scientists raise the question; are they really alive?

This is a question which has stumped many. I challenge you to come up with a definition of life which clearly separates what we know to be ‘living’ from that which isn’t.

For more information on these bacteria please read the BBC article. As always I want to focus on future implications of these creatures.

1. The scientists already raise the point that these bacteria could be influencing the Earth’s environment. e.g. through altering the carbon cycle.

2. These bacteria go against everything we thought we knew about life. From their environment, to their slow reproduction, to their sparse distribution. If we can find such incredible and surprising species right here on Earth, imagine what we could find on other planets?

So, your homework this week is to design an alien species. And I don’t mean a green human- that’s not good enough. Almost all aliens in science fiction, from Dr. Who to Babylon 5, are humanoid. I want to challenge you to do better. A real alien, evolved on a planet separate to our own, has no reason to have eyes (at least not as we know them), or legs, or hair. It doesn’t even have to breath! These are all Earth concepts of life.

So let your imagination go and tell me about your alien life in the comments section below, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

5 Ways to Ruin your Book for Female Readers

I’m female and I read, and I see these things sooo often it makes me want to break things. Come on people, let’s break away from Hollywood stereotypes. Ok, if you’re writing a romance novel which is meant for women who only want to be saved, get married and have hundreds of babies, that’s fine. But, if you’re writing a fantasy, sci-fi, thriller or pretty much ANY other genre you had better keep an eye out for these, because it could cost you 50% of your readership.

Speaking from personal experience, if I see the following things in a book I’m reading, I straight away lose interest in the story. Mostly because it demonstrates shallow character development. These errors will cause a book to fall from a 4 star to a 2 star in the blink of an eye…. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

Make sure your female characters scream, cry and over-react every chance you get. Did thunder just strike? Was there a rustling in the trees? Is mist coming off of the water? These are not reasons to scream or cry! Can you imagine if you had a friend who cried every time they heard something rustle? Ok, so if they know they’re in the middle of a haunted forest and two of their friends have just been murdered, that might be different. But you better make sure that all of your characters, including the males, are scared… not just the females huddled in a corner waiting to be murdered.


Make sure their only ‘job’ in the book is to ask “Why? and “How?” in high-pitched tones, but never come up with an answer themselves. Yep, your female character’s only function in your book is to look up at the male hero with wide eyes and ask pointless questions. If they both just got whipped back through time and space, how the heck is he supposed to know why? Why don’t you have your female character start hunting around for clues instead?


Make sure your female character gets saved by the male character. Who hasn’t read the scene, how there’s imminent danger and the female character falls to the floor and begins crying and saying that she can’t possibly go on. Meanwhile the male character pushes down his frustration and gallantly kneels down beside her and talks her through it before eventually pulling her to her feet and helping her to keep running. Yuck. I’m sorry, but if there’s imminent danger it is human nature to KEEP RUNNING, no matter whether you’re male or female.


Make sure the female’s only goal in life is to attract a male and get married. I read a book recently which was classed as ‘sci-fi’ but it really shouldn’t have been. In it the main female character has just had some major success with her career. She also has a relationship going with a man. When she gets back from some important training for her new promotion he proposes… in the next chapter they’ve moved away, she’s now unemployed and spends her time doing the books for his business…. WHAT? She was super excited about her new promotion and she throws it all in to be his personal accountant? Everyone, including women have dreams that go beyond a white dress and a gold ring, make sure your characters do too.


Make sure the female gets angry and does something stupid, costing everyone big. The male character says something to offend the female character (perhaps commenting on the fact that she has to stop screaming and crying every five seconds). The female character storms off into the haunted forest. Now she’s put not just herself but also the other characters who must now go out and find her, in danger. And why? Because she couldn’t control her emotions enough to see how stupid that was? Because females are ruled by their hormones? Perhaps that’s just part of her character, she is whiny and stupid… well if that’s the case have your other characters tie her to a tree… at least then she can’t wonder off!

So come on people, let’s put a little more work into our character development. And these flaws don’t just happen in male writing, it happens in female writing too! I think the safest test is to imagine that it’s a male character performing the action… would you think he was a pathetic, stupid, wimp? Then chances are your female character shouldn’t be doing it either.

What pet peeves do you have when you read a book? Do you agree with my list? Do you have anything you’d like to add? Tell me about it in the comments section below.

 

How To Control All of Your Devices, Including Your Robot

So we all know that Bluetooth and wi-fi are great, being able to network computers and phones is fantastic, but personally, I don’t think it’s as good as it could be. That’s where the subject of this week’s When Science Fiction Becomes Reality comes in. The Ninja Sphere. Not only does it have an awesome name, it’s also sleek, sexy and incredibly intelligent.

The Ninja Sphere is basically a device which connects all your other devices whilst also providing an interface to interact with other objects; like lights, fans and pets. I think the video describes it best so please head on over and check it out: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ninja/ninja-sphere-next-generation-control-of-your-envir

But in summary:

- The device can be gesture controlled

- You can attach signals to pets, keys, phones etc and the device will be able to tell you where they are; no more lost keys!

- The device warns you if you’ve left appliances on, in order to save power (although this only applies if you’ve got the device hooked up to the device’s ‘network’).

- The device is planned to be open source, so it will continue to evolve along with current technology.

Pretty cool if you ask me, and not too far from the wildest sci-fi dreams. Just think, your character is sitting in their futuristic sitting room, being waited on by the robot we met last week. They feel that the air-conditioner is too strong, the lights too dim and their phone is ringing in the other room. Easy! A wave of your hand and the air-conditioner is turned down, the lights turned up and the phone call gets sent through to the Ninja Sphere (feature not currently available, although I’m sure it will be when they realize what a great idea it is!).

Sure, it may not be great for general health, in terms of getting up and moving around but let’s be fair; your hero has spent the whole day defending Earth from alien invasion, I think she deserves a break!

The main character of my new sci-fi series is bound to have this kind of technology. She deserves it for spending her time kicking alien butt! You can learn more about her here.

What features would you want to see in this kind of technology? How would you use it? What implications does it have for your upcoming fiction work?

Klarity – Book Review

 

 

Last week I reviewed another of C.J. Anderson’s book’s; Dawn of Djesus Undead. Anderson is kindly giving away three of his books at the moment, and I took full advantage of the offer.

Klarity is a science fiction novella based around the development of a new drug which cures Alzheimer’s and autism as well as religious belief. The drug also increases the intelligence of the person taking it. Let’s ignore the scientific improbability of such a magic pill, because the premise is pretty cool.

It’s a good paced book, well formatted and the editing is ok. There are some very obvious overtones so if you are sensitive about your religion I would suggest you not pick this one up.

This book has an obvious agenda but the story itself is also entertaining. Despite it being short I felt that I got to know the characters and their motives and I was involved with the story.

Overall a good quick read, perfect if you’re about to do some travelling and it won’t cost you a cent.

Three stars from me; mostly because I feel that the bigger implications of such a drug could have been explored, taking it out to a full length novel. Also with some re-writing I think the agenda could have been achieved with a bit more finesse.

Thanks C.J. Anderson for a good read.

 

Read more book reviews here.

Read an excerpt from my own up-coming science fiction novel.

How Will This Robot Influence Your Life?

This week in When Science Fiction Becomes Reality we’re talking about a new piece of technology which will mean great things for some, and unemployment for others.

The UBR-1 is an advanced robot which will soon be available for just $35,000. It’s extremely modifiable and extremely smart.

The robot is capable of adjusting its height and has a single arm which is capable of a huge range of movement. The hand ends with a grasper which can take hold of any number of objects.

The robot can be programmed to your specifications and even has an off switch to ‘prevent the robot apocalypse’ in case the robots should become self-aware.

I could go on about all its other awesome features but you can find them on the website:

http://unboundedrobotics.com/

What I want to talk about is the future implications. I mean aside from the obvious; that supermarket shelf stackers will be ousted from their jobs to be replaced by a cheaper robot alternative. There are lots of other uses for such a robot.

The designers already talk about its capabilities to help disable or aged care people with every day tasks which people often take for granted, like bending down and picking up the TV remote.

But I want to take it even further. Let’s face it, the robot already has a microphone and speakers, so you could technically have a conversation with it with not too much trouble. Ok at this stage the robot is more of a ‘laborbot’ and doesn’t have a ‘personality’ per se, but surely that’s just a matter of time (otherwise, why would you have an apocalypse emergency switch?).

Even in its current form the robot is capable, with some programming of pretty much everything a robot has ever been imagined doing. This robot could do my bidding; ‘fetch me a drink’, ‘lay the table’, ‘massage my feet’. It could make automated deliveries.

In fact, this robot comes with space for extra attachments, so screw on a phaser and BAM you’ve got a robot security guard right there.

So yes, as always with technology there will be some loss of jobs, on the other hand the robot repair industry is about to see a boom. Despite that, I’m super excited to see this technology reach the market and maybe one day when I have $35,000 I’ll get one.

What would you do if you had the UBR-1?

If this robot had the ability to hover it could almost be as cool as CAL, the robot from my up and coming sci-fi series which you can get a sneak-peak of here.