Hugh B. Long's Blog, page 12
December 2, 2012
Quick Update
November 5, 2012
CLOSED - Want to make history? Become a Beta Reader!
Dawning of the Wolf Age - Beta Reader Program
I’m looking for a few good men (or women), to become Beta Readers for my new novel; three people total to be precise.
What’s my novel about?
Earth has finally stepped out amongst the stars with help from our distant cousins, with whom we’ve been reunited.
Mankind discovers that the multiverse is indeed a place of danger, filled with the evils of old legends.
Think Stargate meets Lord of the Rings, that’s what I’m shooting for anyway!
Norse Mythology brought to life in the present, then projected 115 years into our future! What might that look like?
There will be plenty of love, revenge, lies, betrayal, honor, courage and bravery.
There will be aliens, cool technology, ancient artifacts unearthed and fascinating cultures to explore.
Benefits:
An advanced digital copy of an amazing Science Fiction novel
Three autographed paperback copies of the finished work
Your name and website address or Facebook page, listed inside my novel in the acknowledgments section
My undying gratitude! Worth more that you might think ;)
Skills Required
You are an active reader
You read and enjoy Science Fiction, especially space opera
You understand what makes a book good, via aspects like character development, plot, appropriate setting detail etc.
You can give specific feedback: I Liked character X because…, Character Y wasn’t detailed enough, or I didn’t feel emotionally connected because…, The Plot was great and I especially liked….Also, feel free to make suggestions on aspects you’d like me to add or delete, or expand on.
How to apply?
Send me an e-mail to author@hughblong.com, and let me know why you’d make a great Beta Reviewer.
Please don’t reply to this post, I’m not likely to see it. Also don’t IM me on Facebook about this, I may miss it. If you e-mail I am sure to get it.
FYI, I’m not looking for you to be copy editors, so don’t worry about punctuation etc. Sure, if you feel like it, take note and tell me abotu any errors, but I am having the book professionally edited after I get structural feedback, and once I stop making changes.
PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT ME IF YOU CAN’T COMMIT 100% TO DOING THIS. I’m going to choose three people who contact me, and three people only. If you sign up, and don’t bother doing it, you’ll be letting me down, and taking someone else’s place.
I look forward to working with any volunteers, I am very excited about this novel, and even more excited to share it with you!
Best wishes!
Hugh B. Long
Want to make history? Become a Beta Reader!
I’m looking for a few good men (or women), to become Beta Readers for my new novel; three people total to be precise.
What’s my novel about?
Earth has finally stepped out amongst the stars with help from our distant cousins, with whom we’ve been reunited.
Mankind discovers that the multiverse is indeed a place of danger, filled with the evils of old legends.
Think Stargate meets Lord of the Rings, that’s what I’m shooting for anyway!
Norse Mythology brought to life in the present, then projected 115 years into our future! What might that look like?
There will be plenty of love, revenge, lies, betrayal, honor, courage and bravery.
There will be aliens, cool technology, ancient artifacts unearthed and fascinating cultures to explore.
Benefits:
An advanced digital copy of an amazing Science Fiction novel
Three autographed paperback copies of the finished work
Your name and website address or Facebook page, listed inside my novel in the acknowledgments section
My undying gratitude! Worth more that you might think ;)
Skills Required
You are an active reader
You read and enjoy Science Fiction, especially space opera
You understand what makes a book good, via aspects like character development, plot, appropriate setting detail etc.
You can give specific feedback: I Liked character X because…, Character Y wasn’t detailed enough, or I didn’t feel emotionally connected because…, The Plot was great and I especially liked….Also, feel free to make suggestions on aspects you’d like me to add or delete, or expand on.
How to apply?
Send me an e-mail to author@hughblong.com, and let me know why you’d make a great Beta Reviewer.
Please don’t reply to this post, I’m not likely to see it. Also don’t IM me on Facebook about this, I may miss it. If you e-mail I am sure to get it.
FYI, I’m not looking for you to be copy editors, so don’t worry about punctuation etc. Sure, if you feel like it, take note and tell me abotu any errors, but I am having the book professionally edited after I get structural feedback, and once I stop making changes.
PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT ME IF YOU CAN’T COMMIT 100% TO DOING THIS. I’m going to choose three people who contact me, and three people only. If you sign up, and don’t bother doing it, you’ll be letting me down, and taking someone else’s place.
I look forward to working with any volunteers, I am very excited about this novel, and even more excited to share it with you!
Best wishes!
Hugh B. Long
November 4, 2012
November 2, 2012
Incipient Tetrad 1
A collection of my short stories, available on Amazon (Kindle), Smashwords (All formats), and will be out in paperback in a couple of weeks.
October 31, 2012
Happy Halloween!
Free story for the big folk this Halloween!
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/250077 Use Coupon: XF48P
Pop culture has a fascination with Zombies. This phenomenon has spawned dozens of great movies, an Award Winning TV Show (The Walking Dead), and more books than you could read in a lifetime.
I admit it, I'm a Zombiephile! Have been since I was a kid. I had a flash of inspiration the other night…as most of you know, I make my living writing books about Northern European culture, especially in the times of the Vikings. So I was thinking, what about Zombie Vikings?
Now before you go nuts, saying this guy is ruining our heritage,blah, blah blah…WAIT. There actually were historical Viking Zombies! The Draugr. I know some of you more studious types will know this already.
The Draugr are infinitely more interesting than your run of the mill 21'st century Zombies! Draugr could increase their size and weight, and were no brainless dolts - they thrived on making the people miserable. These were damned dangerous fiends! Something truly terrifying! They were also reported to be able to go through walls as mist…sound familiar? (modern vampires). It's amazing at all the cool stuff pop culture owes to our old myths.
Like sagas? Well there are a number of sagas featuring Zombies! I kid you not…. Check out Njál's Saga, Eyrbyggja Saga, or Grettis Saga. Read up on the basics at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draugr
So, in the spirit of giving the big kids a treat today (out little ones will get lots of candy - what do we get?) I've written this short story called: Let Sleeping Draug's Lie: Draugr's Saga Part 1.
Yes, you guessed it, if people like it, I've written such that I can keep on trucking with our hero in new adventures.
The story is NOT suitable for young children - it has lots of gory violence, and some strong language.
Anyway, the story is FREE today for all you great folks - head over to Smashwords and use the coupon. You'll also be able to buy it on Amazon.com for $0.99 anytime. But today it is 100% free!
Happy Halloween, Samhain etc.!
Eoghan Odinsson (a.k.a. Hugh B. Long)
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/250077 Use Coupon: XF48P
October 3, 2012
Large Map
You'll notice lines connecting stars with numbers - the numbers are the light years between them.
If you see a star with a green base, this means it's above the imaginary plane, and if it's red it's below the plane. That way we can represent a 3-D map with X, Y, Z coordinates.
Each square is 50 light years across, so where Sol is indicated, Epsilon Eridani is also in that same square. I'll be following up with more detailed maps of each subsector. Also, there are a lot of blank spaces...have no fear, you'll be exploring those blank squares in future books :)
Clik on the image to get to the larger map - Warning, it's HUGE! 8000 X 6000 pixels or 18MB So it may take a minute to download.
NOTE: If all you see is a BLANK BLACK square, you'll probably notice your cursor is a magnifying glass - click on the map then you'll get Zoomed right in. You'll then need to move left and right with arrows or slider bars in your browser - like I said, it's a HUGE map!
September 10, 2012
SID Military Organization
SID Military Organization
The following chart is a high level organizational structure of the Solar Inclusive Demoracy's (SID) Military structure.
September 8, 2012
My New Novel
For those of you who didn't know I was writing a novel, yep, it's true :)
I'm making the leap from non-fiction into what's termed 'speculative fiction' - essentially Scifi, Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal etc.. that's all considered speculative fiction. I'll likely be sticking with Science Fiction and Fantasy, the two genres I most love reading. But don't worry, as Eoghan Odinsson, my alter ego, I'll still be writing non-fiction as well.
My book actually builds on my popular short story "The Yggdrasil Codex". The novel takes place 115 years after the events in the short story (which is set in modern day).
Click here to see the Short Story on Amazon.com
Anyway, I'll keep interested folks up to date here and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheTribesOfYggdrasil
The ETA for the novel to be on the shelves is Spring 2013. I'm not going to promise a date, I'd rather take my time and enjoy the process. If it takes me longer to put out a better book, then that's what I'll do.
How I'll write it:
For my friends and fans that participated in the highly successful "Northern Wisdom", I'm going to do the same thing here - Crowd Source. I'll get people's opinions and input as I write, you'll help shape the novel. Northern Wisdom is 1000% better that I could have done alone, and I'm sure I'll be able to tap into all the enthusiasm for a work of fiction.
Just remember, if you're nice, I may name a character after you. And if you piss me off, I may name a character after you :) A sword has 2 edges!
So the working title of the first novel (I'm thinking ahead!) is "Dawning of the Wolf Age". Tribes of Yggdrasil is the series name - as in we, humans, are one of the tribes of the great world tree, Yggdrasil.
You'll also meet many other tribes, such as the Ljossalfar, or just Alfar. They're the first race humans meet and the Alfar help 'uplift' mankind, getting us ready to ply the stars. The beginnings of this relationship is set out in the short story "The Yggdrasil Codex".
I truly have grand plans for this series....I can see 9 books easily (and of course we all know that 9 is a very significant number in Norse mythology right? Well it is, take my word for it :)
If you have ideas or suggestions - please, share! I have the first couple of rough draft chapters on my website so you can see what the first book is going to start to look like.
How can you help?
I'll be posting excerpts as I write, so please, speak up! Email me at author(@)hughblong(.)com Remove the brackets (damn spam bots!)
Tell what you like, what you don't like, what you want more of, or less of. I may not implement every suggestion, but they all help me focus on creating a great book.
Cover Design?
Yes, I want an AMAZING Cover! So I've comissioned a competition - to prize is US$100, and the chance to have your art on the cover of the book! Click here for details. Tell your friends! Anyone can enter.
