Edward M. Lerner's Blog: SF and Nonsense, page 34

Spacing out

Here are some interesting space-exploration items I've been accumulating ...

Let's get it off the drawing boardsGetting the downers out of the way first: "NASA says new heavy-lift rocket debut not likely until 2018." And wouldn't it be nice if NASA knew what it wanted to do with its ever-delayed launcher? (On that latter point, it's not only me who wonders. From the Washington Post, see, "NASA has a spaceship, but where will it go?") Creeping toward a mission choice -- for 2025 -- we read "For...

A potpourri of SF news

Life went on, mostly without my participation, over the past couple of months and the run-up to and roll-out of InterstellarNet Enigma . On the genre side, here are a few interesting items that got me off-task long enough to bookmark for later perusal.

Looking for diversion? Best-selling and best are distinct concepts, but popularity remains a hint at options worth considering. In the video department, therefore, I found this list from Fortune to be interesting: "Here are the 10 highest-grossin...

InterstellarNet: Enigma -- War Against the Xool

It's crunch time. Matters have never been more desperate -- only to get worse when the final mysteries are revealed.
Three brave humans and their unlikely Hunter allies, defying eons of alien machinations and manipulations, after decades of travel, have finally brought the confrontation to the enigmatic Xool.

Or have they? The aliens are nowhere to be found, and only a silent, featureless, mirrored orb orbits Epsilon Indi where a habitable planet ought to be. Could the Xool—s...<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>

InterstellarNet: Enigma -- The Xool Resistance

We're up to Part Four -- and circumstances are beyond dire.
The unseen forces long at work b...<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>

Notes from *far* outside my comfort zone

I will explain, in the (way) longer-than-usual post to follow, but here's the substance: One of the best ways to support an author is to write an honest review of his book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or other etail site. (Not to knock buying, reading, and recommending the book.) Reviews don't need to be long -- two or three clear sentences giving an opinion, and a reason to back it up -- to do the trick.
Read on to see how and why a review will help. A lot. And I will also explain -- cring...

InterstellarNet: Enigma -- the wheels on the (omni)bus go round and round

With today's release of InterstellarNet: Enigma, Part Three / The Xool Emergence (in all major ebook formats) we're up to the third installment of the novel. Plot threads and crises are converging 

The epic continuesCarl Rowland, longtime agent of the United Planets Intelligence Agency, has been recalled to Earth to explain the death of his partner. Setting aside that he’s torn apart over her death, the summons is convenient: on Earth he stands a chance of unraveling an alien plot whose...

Alien aliens: beyond people in rubber suits

Saturday, May 2nd -- as I type, that's tomorrow -- I'll be leading an SF&F writers workshop at WriterHouse in beautiful Charlottesville, VA. (Charlottesville lies nestled in the Blue Ridge. This is an old colonial town, home to the University of Virginia and Monticello, both designed by the uber-talented Thomas Jefferson. C'ville is one of my favorite places in Virginia.)


The workshop's topic: Aliens and Their Societies.

Want your aliens to seem alien? Your elves, orcs, and zombies to stan...

A break from enigmas

The release of a new novel is a whirlwind of activity (of which the occasional blog or FB post is only a small part). Releasing a novel in serial form? An N-part serial, I've been learning, takes almost N-times the effort of "merely" a book.

To remind myself that there is life outside of new-book promotion -- and to save my sanity -- I took a break last weekend in downtown DC. The highlight of that break was a visit to the National Building Museum.

The Pension BuildingThe building now home to...

The enigma deepens / the plot thickens

Last week, in InterstellarNet: Enigma -- a mystery (starts to be) revealed, I announced the first installment of a new InterstellarNet adventure. Part One of the serial is "The Matthews Conundrum." Today I'm happy to report that Part Two of the serial is also released to all three major ebook venues: Amazon/Kindle, BN/Nook/ePub, and iTunes.

The serial editionFirh Glithwah, leader of the Hunter clan Arblen Ems, schemes to liberate her people from two decades of ignominious internment and isola...

InterstellarNet: Enigma -- a mystery (starts to be) revealed

I am delighted to announce the beginning of the release of InterstellarNet: Enigma. It's the latest -- and IMHO greatest -- of the InterstellarNet adventures. (And fair warning: this is a commercial post.)

Historian Joshua Matthews has landed a terrific new position, and with it the opportunity to write the definitive history of the Interstellar Commerce Union. In those annals, he plans to focus attention -- in his opinion, long overdue -- on the improbability that an interstellar community ev...