Richard Paolinelli's Blog, page 25
November 16, 2020
Introducing The Saturn 21
Check out the official book trailer, and meet the 21 authors who make up Saturn, the grand finale of Tuscany Bay Books’ Planetary Anthology Series.
Pre-order your copy for the February 2, 2021 release right here.
The post Introducing The Saturn 21 appeared first on Ultimate Author.
November 15, 2020
Superversive Sunday Spotlight: Richard Paolinelli
Welcome to this week’s Superversive Sunday Spotlight. Every week we will chat with a Superversive author that you really should be reading.
This week we welcome the boss, Superversive author, Richard Paolinelli:
How long have you been writing?
[image error]I started writing stories in the back seat of the car whenever my father’s drilling business started moving us around all over the country in the mid-1970s. But professionally, in one form or another, I started in 1983 as a freelance writer and photographer in West Texas. My first fiction credit was the first two issues of the 1986 Elite Comics, Seadragon.
In 1991 I started working as a fulltime sports writer and worked my way up to editor before I retired from the newspaper business in 2013. Then I started writing fiction and its been an incredible sever-year ride.
Which writers inspire you?
Jack McDevitt is the writer I credit for inspiring me to give fiction writing one more shot. I read his book, Time Travellers Never Die, then A Talent For War and decided to check out who he was. I discovered, he was the same age back in 1989 when he wrote his first book that I was in 2010 when I started wondering what to do after I was done with newspapers. I figured if he could do it, then nothing should be stopping me from doing it too.
But most of my inspiration comes from the classic writers: Frank Herbert, Robert Heinlein, H.G. Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Edgar Allan Poe.
So, what have you written?
[image error]We’ll stick to fiction because I’ve probably racked up thousands of bylined stories in newspapers over the years. Sci-fi/fantasy-wise I have Escaping Infinity, which was a 2017 Dragon Award Finalist, a Reader’s Favorite Awards Honorable Mention and a New Apple Summer E-Book Awards Official Selection. When The Gods Fells, Maelstrom, and the first two books of the six-book Timeless series, The Timeless and Secret of the Sphinx.
I have a three-book mystery-thriller series, Reservations, Betrayals and Endgames, a western I co-wrote with Jim Christina, The Last Lonely Trail, and two sports non-fiction books, From The Fields and Perfection’s Arbiter.
And then there are all the short stories that appear in over a dozen anthologies (and counting). Five Sherlock Holmes pastiches, stories in five of the seven published Planetary Anthology Series books with two more to come in the next couple of months and a handful of others.
What draws you to Superversive writing?
There is a beauty to Superversive writing and to the philosophy it is built upon. It seems a popular trend in SF/F is the subversive. All is doom and gloom. People are always bad. Everything that came before is evil and must be re-imagined. The reader must be preached at, etc, etc.
I absolutely reject that mindset. When I read I want to be entertained. If I want to be preached at, I’ll go to church. I want stories that uplift, stories that make me feel good when I’ve finished reading it, even if the ending is a touch sad.
Superversive provides that. And its not all candy and nut and prancing unicorns. Superversive writing can be dystopian, but at the end of the day, humanity shines and there is hope for the future.
What are you working on at the minute?
I’m still writing a weekly Star Trek fan fiction here, The Calling, as well as short stories that will run only on this site for members to enjoy. By the time this runs I hope to have the rest of the Timeless series completed along with my first entry into John C. Wright’s Starquest universe. Next year I hope to publish at least four to six more books.
Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors?
I don’t read as much as I’d like to. But I occasionally fill in on The Writer’s Block on LA Talk Radio and we read the guest author’s book before the show goes on and I’ve read some great books through those appearances. My favorite authors are the same as those I listed above as the ones that inspire me.
How can readers discover more about you and your work?
Well, you’ve already found my website, so just peruse the links above. All the informative links are free to read for everyone but there are some worthwhile goodies to be had if you are a member (just $2.00 a month) too. My books are listed above and are available on Amazon too.
Thanks for sharing Richard. Be sure to check out Richard’s books and be sure to check back next Sunday for our next chat with a Superversive author.
The post Superversive Sunday Spotlight: Richard Paolinelli appeared first on Richard Paolinelli.
November 14, 2020
The Calling, Part 2: Chapter 21
A Work Of Star Trek Fan Fiction By Richard Paolinelli
© 2020 RICHARD PAOLINELLI . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO COPYING OR ANY OTHER REPRODUCTION OF THIS STORY IS PERMITTED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION. This is a work of fan fiction based in the universe of Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry. It is not intended to be sold, to be used to aid in any sale and is not to be copied or used in any other way by any other party.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Three Years Later…
“You have to admit, Jim, it’s a helluva way to end the five-year mission.”
“It’s still hard to believe it’s been five years already, Bones,” Kirk shook his head. “They seemed to have flown by.”
“When you get a little older, gentlemen,” Forelni quipped from his seat in the Enterprise’s Main Rec, “the years will slow to a crawl.”
“And have they been ‘crawling’ for you, my husband,” Avion needled.
Everyone within earshot chuckled.
“My love,” Forelni turned in his seat to look directly at her. “Every day with you is the equivalent of a century for the rest of the unfortunate souls in the universe and I cherish each and every one of them.”
“Nice save, Captain,” Kirk chipped in.
“A toast,” Forelni grew most serious. “To Captain Kirk, the Enterprise and her crew. May this peace mission be the perfect ending to your five-year mission, sir.”
A chorus of “hear, hear” broke out.
“Let’s hope it is uneventful,” Kirk added. “I’d rather not have a repeat of the last trip to Babel.”
“Which is why my ship is tagging along this time,” Forelni replied. “I doubt anyone is going to stir up much trouble with the Star around.”
“There would be even less likelihood of ‘trouble’ if you had allowed my ship to accompany this little fleet of yours,” Commander Kor complained.
“Commander,” Forelni answered. “The last time a Klingon ship ventured deep into Federation space on a peace mission all hell broke loose. On Earth and on the Klingon ship too as I recall. Assassinations, attempted assassinations and extensive injuries on both sides, mostly self-inflicted of course.”
“Ah, you’ve read that little book, I see,” Kor smiled.
“Actually, Commander,” Forelni replied. “I was there for most of it and Admiral Kethas epetai-Khemara’s sudden death always puzzled me, until that ‘little book’ came out.”
“You surprise me, Captain,” Kor changed the subject.
“How so, Commander?”
“The man who led the invasion of Klingon space decades ago is now participating in a potential peace conference between our Empires.”
“The Federation is not an empire, Kor,” Kirk gently reminded.
“Semantics, Captain,” Kor waved dismissively. “Tell me, Etalyian, do you truly believe there can be peace between us with all that is happened in the past?”
“The past is the past, Kor,” Forelni replied after a moment. “We can do nothing to undo the injuries we have both inflicted upon each other. The future we can do something about and yes I believe we can find peace between us. We have to.”
“Have to?” Kor sounded surprised. “Have to find peace? The Klingon way…”
“Is one of honor above all else,” Forelni interrupted with such conviction that it stopped Kor in his tracks. “There are many paths to honor, Kor. Not all of them require battle and bloodshed.”
“So the Butcher of Keth’Ak’Tor would be the Prince of Peace?” Kor mocked, surprisingly meek at that and Forelni ignored it.
“The galaxy is big enough for all of us,” Forelni replied ignoring Kor’s gambit to debate the invasion’s biggest casualty loss for the Empire. “We need not destroy ourselves. There is enough for everyone to share and to do so in peace.”
“No Klingon would every lay down his sword for a plowshare, not for any reason.”
“Only a fool fights in a burning house,” Forelni said softly. “I believe those words were spoken by a Klingon on this very ship.”
“Bah,” Kor waved dismissively. “Kang is a sentimental fool.”
“Who recognized that continuing to fight was not the way to honorable victory over a shared foe,” Forelni countered. “Kang and the Captain here put down their swords and won with honor. If it can be done on the decks of one starship, Kor, it can be done on the worlds of the Federation and the Klingon Empire.”
“You’re worse than those insufferable Organians,” Kor muttered, turning his attention to his tankard of Klingon Blood wine.
Kirk was about to jump in and change the subject when the yellow alert lights and alarm flared to life.
“Bridge to Captain Kirk,” Sulu’s voice called out from a comm speaker in the table. “A Romulan ship is decloaking off out starboard bow and matching speed.”
“Paulo,” Forelni looked across the table at his exec. “Order the Star to put herself between that ship and Enterprise. Red alert and raise shields only. Do not arm weapons unless the Romulan makes an aggressive move.”
“What ship is it, Sulu,” Kirk asked.
“It’s Bloodwing, sir.”
“Ael’s ship,” McCoy exclaimed.
“The same ship connected to Intrepid II?” Forelni asked Kirk, who nodded.
“Captain,” Sulu chimed in, “the Romulans are requesting permission for Commander Ael to beam aboard alone.”
“Do you trust her, Jim?” Forelni asked, dubious of the request.
“As far as one can with a Romulan Commander than is as conniving a…,” Kirk paused. “Yes, Bari, I trust her.”
“Paulo,” Forelni shrugged. “Let the Star know the Romulan intentions. And tell them if the Romulans do anything other than beam one live Romulan aboard they are to reduce that ship to its component atoms.”
“Behold the Prince of Peace,” Kor chimed in with a wicked grin.
“There’s a big difference between slaughter for the sake of conquest and defense of one’s life and ship, Kor.”
“Gentlemen,” Kirk cut in, “if we could have a cease fire for a few moments? Good. Sulu, give permission for the Romulan Commander to come aboard and have her escorted down here.”
The transport went off without a hitch, Sulu informing the Captain that Ael was aboard and would be joining him in one minute.
“We’re still here and no shots fired,” Kor remarked slyly. “Pity. I would love to see the Prince of Peace at war.”
Forelni ignored Kor’s latest salvo, his focus on a status update from his ship. Bloodwing was holding formation and taking no further action under the watchful guns of the larger Federation vessel. Ael swept into the room and quickly located Kirk.
“Captain,” she greeted, not using his last name since she still could not master it and using Jim in this setting was inappropriate. “You are looking well. As are you Doctor. Mister Spock,” she acknowledged with a bow.
“Ael,” Kirk replied. “This is Captain Forelni, of the Avion’s Star, his wife, Avion, Commander Paulo Mansi, the Star’s Exec, and I’m sure you’ve met Commander Kor.”
“Once or twice, Captain,” Ael gave a grim smile, which Kor matched.
“May I ask what brings you here, Ael,” Kirk prodded.
“Very urgent business, Captain,” she replied, turning to face Forelni. “War is about to break out between the Romulan and Klingon Empires. It will be a very short war that the Klingons will not survive and it is all your fault, Captain Forelni.”
* * * * *
“Okay, Commander,” Forelni said as they entered the briefing room. “Exactly how is it that I am to blame for a war between two Empires I have no control over?”
Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Mansi and Kor claimed their seats and each man gave the Romulan a look that conveyed the same question.
“With all of the Klingon and Federation attention on the upcoming peace talks,” Ael began, “some brilliant Admiral in High Command decided now would be the best time to strike at the Klingon Empire.”
“Such a strike would be foolhardy,” Kor scoffed. “Not to mention being a very brief campaign.”
“It will be brief, Commander,” Ael agreed. “But only because your defenses will not see the Romulan Fleet coming until it is already on top of Qo’noS.”
“Nonsense,” Kor replied. “Even with your ships cloaked we would detect them soon enough to stop that fleet long before then.”
“Not if the sensor net in Sector 14 were jammed,” Ael shot another look at Forelni, who frowned suddenly.
“Even so, no ships could pass into Klingon territory through that minefield of asteroids intact.”
“Not even through the percorso attraverso l’inferno?” she asked, not taking her eyes off Forelni.
Mansi shot a look of alarm at his Captain, who was putting on his best poker face.
“The what, Commander?” Kirk asked.
“The Path Through Hell, Jim,” Forelni said icily. “And I would very much like to know where the Commander heard that term. Because less than a dozen people know it and two of them are in this room. Neither of them are Romulan and none of the others should be anywhere but on Etalya.”
“There are considerably more than a dozen that know of it now,” she replied evenly, “on Romulus and the bridges of the attack fleet.”
“The information they have was considered top secret, Commander,” Forelni all but growled. “I’ll know how it came to be in your government’s possession, right now. Or, friend of Captain Kirk’s or not, I’ll have your ship carved down into very small pieces.”
“I am told that it was sold to us by a man named, Enrico Antonius,” Ael replied, showing no sign of fear.
“I’ll send the order to have every member of that traitorous family arrested myself…,” Mansi leapt from his seat. Forelni waved him back down.
“There will time enough for that later, Paulo,” Forelni said. “We have more pressing concerns right now.”
“What is this Path Through Hell, Captain?” Kirk asked.
“A plan I created for a possible invasion of the Klingon Empire many decades ago, Jim,” Forelni explained with a sigh. “It’s a fatal blind spot in the Klingon’s defenses. But to exploit it, you have to thread a fleet of ships, mostly one at a time, through a tight passage in the asteroid field.
“The main problem,” he continued, “is the asteroids are loaded with ketramite. You make contact with one with a shielded ship and boom, your ship and a lot of asteroids go up and signals your presence in the field. However, you slip through and you come out right on top of Qo’noS before the Klingons know you’re there. They’d never know what hit them. With the sensor net jammed, no one else would know the Klingon home world had fallen until it was too late.”
“Is that how you pulled off the invasion before?” McCoy asked.
“No, Doctor, we rejected the Path because of the ketramite risk. We found another way. But the Path would work as long as you and your fleet survive the passage.”
“And evidently the Romulans think they can,” Kirk pointed out. “How soon will they reach the field, Ael?”
“Four days,” she replied. “They’ll send in the smaller ships first, two at a time, then the capital ships will follow.”
“Which gives us six days to plug the path at the other end,” Forelni said. “You can’t run the passage at anything above quarter-impulse.”
“And how do we plug this passage if I can’t send word to Qo’noS?” Kor demanded. “By the time we could send a ship around the jamming the Romulan ships will be in Klingon space.”
Forelni and Kirk exchanged a long look.
“This is what my ship was built for, Jim,” Forelni broke the silence. “And you’ve got a ship full of diplomats to keep safe. Besides, this is my plan being used. It’s my responsibility to deal with this.”
“What is this?” Kor demanded.
“I’m taking the Star to the exit of the passage, Kor,” Forelni explained. “I’m going to plug the path so the Romulans cannot exit out the other side and hold that position until Enterprise can reach the nearest starbase, offload her passengers and reinforce me with as many ships as can be mustered. We’ll send a probe to get clear of the jamming and warn the Klingons. They can send as many ships as they can as well.”
“The Hot Gates at Thermopylae,” Kirk muttered.
“Except instead of thousands of Persians smashing against 300 Spartan shields,” Forelni agreed. “It’ll be a few dozen ships smashing against my lone ship.”
“And you think your one ship can stop that many?” Kor asked.
“Long enough to allow your people to ready a defense. Long enough to give them a chance to survive.”
“You would defend Klingon lives?”
“Yes, Kor, I would and for many reasons. None of which I have time to explain to you right now.”
“You will not go alone,” Ael said. “Bloodwing will fight at your ship’s side.”
“No, it won’t,” Forelni said. “Your ship’s main advantage is its maneuverability. In the passage you have no room to move, you’d be a sitting duck and would just be in the way.
“No,” he continued before she could protest. “I have a more important mission for you. You and your ship will take my over ship’s job here and escort Enterprise to the starbase. Come to the Path with the fleet. If I have to fall back, I’ll need as many friendly ships waiting for me when we exit. And your ship will have plenty of room to move then.”
“That’s a long time to hold that position,” Kirk pointed out.
“We’ll hold it as long as we can. Just don’t take too long getting there with the cavalry.”
“I’m going with you,” Kor stood up. “You’ll need a Klingon voice to convince my Command that you are in Klingon space legitimately. Unless you are eager to fight off two fleets at the same time.”
“My ship will go with Enterprise,” Ael chimed in. “But I too will go with you. I can help you at tactical.”
“You would betray your own people,” Kor asked, astonished.
“They have betrayed the Romulan people with this cowardly attack.”
Forelni took a long look at each of the Commanders before shooting a questioning look at Kirk.
You trust her?, the look asked.
Yes, came the reply.
Forelni reached over and snapped the comm.
“Bridge, communications. Patch me to the bridge of the Star.”
“Connected, Captain,” Uhura replied. “Go ahead, Sir.”
“This is the Captain, put me on allcall,” he ordered his communications officer. He waited a few seconds and then addressed his crew. “Attention all hands, this is the Captain. For reasons I will explain later, we are going into Klingon space to head off a Romulan invasion fleet and prevent a war that would no doubt engulf the entire quadrant. The Romulans have stolen plans that would aid in this attack, plans that belonged to our government back home on Etalya. I cannot allow something of my own creation to be responsible for the deaths of billions. I must go and I must take the Star with me.
“However,” he continued. “I am not oblivious to reality. Many of you have suffered losses at the hands of the Klingons. It would be difficult to put your life at risk for those that had caused you such pain. If any of you cannot bring yourself to join me on this mission I will not hold it against you. You may transfer aboard the Enterprise and await being reunited with the Star when this mission concludes.”
Forelni paused a beat, letting the information sink in.
“We depart for Klingon space in thirty minutes. You have until then to decide. Forelni out.”
He snapped the comm off and took in a deep breath before slowly letting it out.
“Paulo,” he said. “Beam back to the ship. Get any non-essential personnel, and anyone wanting to transfer, off the ship as quickly as possible. I’ll be beaming aboard shortly.”
Mansi nodded and turned for the door.
“One more thing, Paulo.”
“Sir?” Mansi turned back.
“Have quarters prepared for both Commander Kor and Commander Ael,” Forelni said around one last look at Kirk. “They are to be extended every courtesy due their rank while aboard my ship.”
Mansi fashioned a Spockian raised eyebrow but only said, “aye, sir” as he left the room.
“The two of you have less than thirty minutes to get whatever you need and get aboard my ship or we leave without you,” Forelni said, cutting off whatever the two Commanders were about to say. They quickly followed Mansi out the door.
“Are you sure about this, Bari?”
“No, Jim, I’m not. But do you have a better idea?”
“I wish I did.”
“The Romulans would be planting their flag on Qo’noS before we’d get there if I wait for you and any reinforcements to arrive. No, this is the only option. Just don’t be too long getting there, Jim.”
“We’ll get there as fast as we can. Good luck, Captain.”
The two men shook hands and Forelni headed for the transporter room, picking up Avion on the way. He briefly considered ordering her to stay on the Enterprise. She was an official member of the crew after all. But he knew she’d refuse to stay behind. He headed straight for his bridge as soon as he beamed over.
“Status,” he barked out before the sole of his boot hit the deck.
“All non-essential personnel have been transferred to Enterprise,” Mansi reported, yielding the command chair. “Our…guests… are aboard and on their way up to the bridge.”
“Very well,” Forelni replied even as Kor and Ael exited the turbolift. He nodded an acknowledgment to them as they took up station on the far side of the bridge. “How many essential crew transferred?”
“None, Captain,” Mansi answered, a hint of pride in his voice.
“None?” Forelni could not keep the surprise out of his voice.
“None, sir,” Mansi confirmed. “Our course is laid in and we are ready to depart on your order, Captain.”
Forelni sat down in his command chair, touched more than he could express by the loyalty of his crew. He glanced over at his guests. Even Kor looked impressed. Ael gave a slight bow of salute. He reached down and selected the allcall on his armrest panel.
“Attention all hands,” he paused for a second. “You have made me very proud and honored to be your Captain.”
He snapped the allcall off and looked at his exec.
“Let’s get going, Commander. We’ve got a war to stop.”
The post The Calling, Part 2: Chapter 21 appeared first on Richard Paolinelli.
November 13, 2020
The Mummy of Monte Cristo, by J. Trevor Robinson
Every Friday I introduce you to a new book and an author that you really should be reading. This week it is:
The Mummy of Monte Cristo, by J. Trevor Robinson
From the author of The Good Fight and contributor to the Amazon best-selling anthology Secret Stairs
Revenge takes time; fortunately Edmond Dantes doesn’t sleep. Or breathe.
In a world of monsters and magic, Edmond Dantes has a pretty good life. He’s just been made captain of a ship, and he’s about to marry his sweetheart. But when jealousy, spite, and ambition conspire to frame him for treason, he loses everything. To make things right, he’ll need to give up the only thing he has left: his humanity.
They thought their troubles died with Edmond. They were wrong on both counts.
Amazon link: https://amzn.to/3iaI5mn
The post The Mummy of Monte Cristo, by J. Trevor Robinson appeared first on Richard Paolinelli.
November 10, 2020
Sol Shines Over Amazon
The ninth book of the Planetary Anthology Series, and the fourth brand new book since Tuscany Bay Books took over the series from Superversive Press, is out today!
Planetary Anthology Series: Sol is out on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited today!
PURCHASE LINK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0856PWFK6
A print edition will be available. We submitted it to Amazon back on Nov. 5th and we’re still waiting for it to clear review and go live. As soon as it does I’ll post it. I wish I could say exactly when this will happen but so far Amazon has taken anywhere between 24 hours and two weeks to approve these books.
To say it is very annoying is an understatement but it is what it is.
This book has thirteen amazing stories, Ben Wheeler put together a rock solid collection and my story, At Homeworld’s End, is included. It is set well into the future, when the Earth meets its ultimate destiny, being swallowed up by a swelling, dying Sun.
But our homeworld is not meeting its end alone. One of her many children has decided to meet that fate with her. This first person account of the final day of Mother Earth, as Ben says in his introduction, is humbling and reminds us that we, too, are mortal.
This leaves just two more books remaining to be published in the series. Neptune, edited by Jake Frievald, will be released on Dec. 22nd. My story, The 13th Medallion, will be included. Saturn, edited by Bokerah Brumley, will be released on Feb. 2nd and my story, Phantoms’ Lodge, will be part of that collection.
This means I will have stories in eight of the 11 books, with Bokerah claiming the throne as Queen of the Planetary system with stories in all 11 books and A.M. Freeman as Crown Princess at stories in 10 of the 11 books.
I’m still waiting for the final number of stories from Saturn, but it looks like we’ll have about 180 stories from 90 different authors for the series. It has been an amazing series and an honor to be able to be involved in bringing all 11 books to you.
Of course, when Saturn drops on Feb. 2nd, my work still won’t be done. We’re producing audiobooks of all 11. So far, Pluto, Luna, and Uranus are finished and available for purchase. Mercury is finished and currently going through the final approval process at ACX. We hope it will be available by mid-December. Production on Venus begins next week.
Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Sol, Neptune, and Saturn will follow and I suspect it will take the rest of 2021 to get these projects finished.
In the meantime, enjoy the ninth book of the series!
The post Sol Shines Over Amazon appeared first on Richard Paolinelli.
November 8, 2020
RETRO Superversive Sunday Spotlight: Robert A. Heinlein
Welcome to this week’s Superversive Sunday Spotlight. Every week we will chat with a Superversive author that you really should be reading.
This week we welcome Superversive author, Robert Heinlein (1907-1988):
[image error]How long had Robert been writing?
Robert began writing in 1939. His first story, “Life-Line,” was published in the action-adventure pulp magazine Astounding Science Fiction, edited by another SF/F legend, John W. Campbell. Service in the U.S. Navy from 1942-1946 put his writing career on hold, but he returned to the craft in 1947 with his first book, Rocket Ship Galileo. He continued writing up to shortly before his death in 1988.
By the time he was finished, Heinlein compiled nearly 40 published novels and dozens of short stories and non-fiction pieces. Many of his stories have been adapted to film, including: Destination Moon (1950), Space Cadet (Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, 1950), Project Moonbase (1953), The Puppet Masters (The Brain Eaters, 1959 & 1994), and Starship Troopers (2012) among others.
Why is Heinlein considered Superversive?
Because, as Tom Clancy once said of Heinlein: “What makes Mr. Heinlein part of the American literary tradition is that his characters do prevail. His work reflects the fundamental American optimism that [image error]still surprises our friends around the world. As Mr. Heinlein taught us, the individual can and will succeed. The first step in the individual’s success is the perception that success is possible. It is often the writer’s task to let people know what is possible and what is not, for as writing is a product of imagination, so is all human progress.”
To be honest, we can’t think of a better description of why Heinlein is Superversive than that.
How can readers discover more about Robert and his work?
Robert Heinlein bio and on Amazon: Robert A. Heinlein’s Books
Be sure to check out Robert’s books and be sure to check back next Sunday for our next chat with a Superversive author.
The post RETRO Superversive Sunday Spotlight: Robert A. Heinlein appeared first on Richard Paolinelli - A Superversive Scribe.
November 7, 2020
Un-Social Media?
About this time last week I decided to shutter my social media as well as avoid – as much as was possible – the news. I wanted to get away from the non-stop barrage of election coverage.
So I stayed off, figuring I would sign back on Wednesday morning. The election would be over, the winner determined, the political ads off the air and life would finally get back to normal.
I made one mistake. I forgot that this is 2020.
So when I popped back online I was greeted with the continuing chaos that is the 2020 Elections. This mess is going to continue on through December – and maybe even into January – despite media organizations calling the race for Biden. This is going to dominate the news until then and maybe even beyond.
So be it. I walked away from politics in 2016 and never looked back. My focus is on writing and as long as the political circus stays out of my way they can do whatever they want. In the final analysis, they are unimportant.
[image error]But what concerned me was the reactions I was seeing from Biden voters and certain Democrats. The first post I saw when I logged back into Facebook was a hate-filled screed from a deranged woman. She was calling the millions of people who didn’t vote for Biden “demons” and calling for them to be place on a list. Many agreed with her post. Others called for them to be “arrested”, “reeducated” or barred from having a job or voting until they had been properly educated. I assume this meant once they swore fealty to “rightthink” but with this level of crazy assumptions are dangerous.
I’ve had people I’ve never interacted with before calling me all sorts of names and threatening to put me on lists. Never mind that I didn’t vote for either Trump, Biden or Clinton in 2016 or 2020 I have been found guilty of “wrongthink” merely because I did not vote for their approved overlord.
[image error]My return to Twitter was even more horrifying. And as the week passed, it only became worse. A sitting member of Congress is suggesting that people that voted for or supported the current President be put on an “enemies list”. Some of the suggestions that followed as to what said list was to be used for is terrifying.
I would suggest to the Notorious AOC and all of those who agreed with her line of thought take a long, hard look at the last such member of Congress that made such suggestions. Joseph McCarthy drove himself to self-destruction thinking in such terms. They are on the same path to their own doom if they keep this up.
There was one positive result that I noticed from my unplugging from social media. My outlook on everything immediately improved. For 84 hours I felt really good about just about everything. It took all of 15 minutes back on social media for all of that to evaporate.
I am beginning to think that Big Social Media (Twitter/Facebook) might be doing more damage to us all than COVID-19 has. To that end, my approach to social media has changed.
Twitter is gone, from my phone and my desktop. My account there deleted by my own hand. It won’t be coming back. It is a toxic cesspool that should be labeled a hazard to the mental health of human beings. The sooner Twitter goes the way of Ultranet the better, in my opinion.
Facebook is being throttled by me as well. I originally signed up to keep up with distant family and friends. I have a secondary account for family-only which I will keep.
My primary account will be limited to writers and books groups. I’ve already dropped out of dozens of other groups. I estimate about 99% of my postings there will be to promote my books or the weekly features here on my blog. I will chat privately with my writer friends or post in the private groups we are in together. But that is it.
I have accounts on Parler and MeWe. You can find me there as those platforms have not gone full fascist as Facebook and Twitter has. I’m hoping that this makes my time online a lot more enjoyable than it has been for several years.
As for the rest of the world… well, I suppose all we can do is pray that this madness passes sooner rather than later. Otherwise we’re liable to end up with a world that looks like this…
[image error]
The post Un-Social Media? appeared first on Richard Paolinelli - A Superversive Scribe.
The Calling: Part 2, Chapter 20
A Work Of Star Trek Fan Fiction By Richard Paolinelli
© 2020 RICHARD PAOLINELLI . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO COPYING OR ANY OTHER REPRODUCTION OF THIS STORY IS PERMITTED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION. This is a work of fan fiction based in the universe of Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry. It is not intended to be sold, to be used to aid in any sale and is not to be copied or used in any other way by any other party.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Mansi was alone in the transporter room when Forelni returned to his ship. There could only be one reason why his friend had returned from the past. He saw all the confirmation that he needed in the blood-stained robe and the hand covered in dried blood.
“I am sorry, my friend,” he said simply.
“So am I,” Forelni remained standing on the pad, lost in thought. “Before, she was alive in the past. Now…”
“Come, brother,” Mansi said. “You need rest.”
“I want to speak to the Orion Commander first,” Forelni stepped down from the pad and headed for the door. Mansi followed his Captain and friend, suddenly wondering if the prisoner in the brig was counting down his final minutes of existence.
“Lower the force field, Ensign,” Forelni ordered as he charged into the holding area. The startled woman barely had time to drop the field where the lone occupant resided before Forelni reached it. Without any preamble, he stepped into the cell grabbed the prisoner by the neck and slammed him against the cell wall.
“Captain!” she exclaimed. Mansi waved her off. They’d have to trust that Forelni would not cross the line.
“Why?” Forelni all but roared the question. The Orion, so caught off guard by the attack, put up no resistance. He merely held his silence even as his eyes bulged and he struggled to draw in any breath at all.
“Ensign,” Forelni said when the Orion remained silent, “have engineering meet me at the airlock with a sixty-meter cable.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” the prisoner croaked out.
“Who do you think is going to stop me?” Forelni asked quietly.
The Orion looked over at the other two, who were pointedly not looking into the cell. Forelni let the man squirm a few more seconds.
“Unless you want to find out how long you can breathe vacuum, you will tell me why you fired on the planet.”
The Orion hesitated but ultimately decided that breathing air was preferable to breathing vacuum.
“The Federation was hiding a weapon down there,” he gasped out. “We could not find out what type, nor could we steal it. We cannot trust you to have such a weapon to threaten us with.”
“There is no weapon down there, Orion,” Forelni growled. “Nothing but a scientific research station.”
“With a Starfleet vessel constantly in orbit?”
“Starfleet does more than fight wars,” Forelni replied. “We prefer peaceful scientific exploration when we aren’t dealing with the willfully stupid. You attacked the planet for nothing, pirate, and you killed a fine young officer and friend.”
“What are you going to do with me?”
“By rights I should throw you out the airlock,” Forelni answered. “But Starfleet has rules, even for the likes of you. So you’re going to Starbase 27 where you will be tried for your crimes. If you are lucky, Orion, you will spend the rest of your life at the Gliese Penal Colony.
“If are not so fortunate,” Forelni continued, hurling the prisoner down onto the cell’s bunk as he turned away. “You will only draw a twenty-year sentence. And I will be waiting for you when you get out.”
Forelni stepped out of the cell and exited the brig. The Ensign raised the security screen with a sigh of relief. Mansi followed his Captain out into the corridor a few seconds later, pausing at a comm panel.
“Doctor Lastra,” Mansi called out as he thumbed the switch. “Meet me at the Captain’s quarters.”
* * * * *
Forelni laid the blood-stained desert robe over a chair in his quarters, dimmed the lights, and withdrew a glass and bottle of wine from his own vineyard on Etalya, He sat down heavily on his bunk, quickly filled the glass, drained it almost as swiftly, then refilled it.
He could feel the rage burning within him like a living thing. He’d dispatched the hand that had slain his love and still the rage burned. He could have done the same with the Orion in the brig and he knew it would not have sated the fire at all. With a sinking despair he knew nothing he could do would ever put the conflagration out. Eventually it would consume him and he couldn’t find it within himself to care about his impending immolation.
His door chime sounded. Someone wanted entrance and all he wanted was for the universe to go away and let him burn to ash. It sounded again, then a third time.
“Enter,” beat out a snarled “be gone” by some impulse even he could not discern. His First Officer and the ship’s Chief Medical Officer cautiously entered. Forelni’s eyes narrowed.
“If this is a social visit,” he growled. “I’m not in the mood.”
“Official business, Captain,” Lastra stated calmly, glancing noticeably at the blood covered hand and the robe. “I received a report that you were injured.”
“The blood isn’t mine, Doctor,” Forelni waved dismissively.
“And the cuts and bruises aren’t either?” Lastra ignored the dismissal and tended to the wounds. Forelni did not see the two white tablets that dropped from the Doctor’s hand into the Captain’s filled glass.
“There, all done,” Lastra stepped back, turning to grab two glasses and set them down by the wine bottle, which he picked up and examined before pouring wine into the glasses. “One of your better vintages, if I recall correctly.”
“Do help yourself,” Forelni said dryly as Lastra handed Mansi a glass and claimed the other for himself before raising it.
“To the Lady Avion,” he toasted.
Touched, Forelni collected his glass as he stood. He raised it and drained it. His officers however made no move to drink. He was about to ask why when a strange feeling swept over him. He looked down at his glass even as it tumbled out of his hand. Realization struck through the fog settling over his head and he shot an accusatory look at the Doctor.
“That was a damned dirty trick…,” he slurred as he pitched forward. Lastra and Mansi kept him from falling all the way to the floor.
“Oof,” Lastra exhaled. “He’s put on a bit more weight since the last time I caught him.”
Mansi got the joke. Lastra had been the Royal Physician in attendance when Forelni was born. They maneuvered the unconscious Captain to his bunk and gently laid him down on it. Mansi slipped off the boots while Lastra grabbed a small bowl and poured a vial of clear liquid into it. Grabbing a small cloth, he dipped it into the bowl and began cleaning off the blood from Forelni’s hand.
“He’ll sleep for at least twenty-four hours,” Lastra remarked. “I’ve listed him as off-duty to recover from injuries received on an away mission. The ship is yours until then, Commander.”
“I’ll check in on him as much as I can.”
“No need,” Lastra replied. “I’ll be here until he wakes up.”
“He might not be so happy to see you.”
“I’ll be fine,” Lastra chuckled. “And so will he. You’ll see.”
* * * * *
Forelni rose out of a thick black fog and sailed into a thick white fog. A few seconds later, he realized it was the ceiling of his quarters. He sat up, too quickly, and rode out a wave of vertigo. He grumbled something that sounded like a mixture of at least seven different languages as he waited for the room to stop spinning.
“And a fine good morning to you too.”
Forelni looked over at the source of the voice and saw Lastra sitting in a chair, a data pad in one hand. Forelni mumbled something else even he couldn’t quite make out.
“You should drink some water,” the Doctor advised. “There’s a carafe right there and a nice tall glass to fill with water.”
Forelni grabbed the container, ignored the glass, and drank straight from it until not a drop was left.
“Better?”
“A little,” he admitted, finally back to speaking in Standard.
“Good! Next a shower and when you are done with that breakfast will be waiting for you.”
“I recall that the title Captain is in front of my name, Doctor.”
“Yes it is. But for the next ninety minutes ‘Captain’ you are off duty by order of the Chief Medical Officer. Shower. Food. Then we’ll see about returning to duty.”
“I should drag you back to Etalya and toss you in the dungeon.”
“You don’t have a dungeon on Etalya.”
“It can be arranged.”
Lastra merely smiled and pointed at the sonic shower. Forelni yielded to the inevitable and hit the showers. When he stepped back out into his quarters ten minutes later, scrubbed, shaved and in a clean command gold and black uniform, he had to admit he was feeling much better. He found Mansi and Lastra seated at the table in front of three trays of food.
“Good morning, Captain,” Mansi greeted.
“Commander,” he replied as he took a seat and claimed one of the trays. “Ship status?”
“All green on the boards,” Mansi reported. “We’ll be rendezvousing with the Cartwright and the Callisto from Starbase 27 in about thirty minutes. They’ll take the Orions off of our hands.”
“Good riddance,” the Doctor replied. Forelni couldn’t disagree.
The men ate in silence. Forelni wasn’t in the mood for conversation though he did appreciate their presence. The shared silence was suddenly pierced by the comm.
“Bridge to Commander Mansi.”
“Mansi here,” the Commander replied after standing up and activating the panel on the Captain’s desk.
“The Cartwright and the Callisto have arrived early, Commander.”
“Very well, I’m on my way up,” Mansi snapped off the comm and shrugged. “The sooner we’re rid of our guests the better I suppose.”
“Especially the Orion commander,” Lastra jibbed. “I hear the poor man nearly jumps out of his skin whenever the doors to the brig open.”
“Indeed,” Mansi agreed, grinning.
“If the two of you are quite finished with your comedy routine,” Forelni shot a withering look at his officers. “I believe you have two ships waiting for you, Commander. And as for you, Doctor, I’m seriously contemplating that dungeon.”
“Aye, Sir,” Mansi chuckled as he headed for the door. Forelni waited until it opened before calling out.
“Paulo.”
“Sir?”
“Thank you.”
So much was transmitted in those two short words between the old friends. Mansi bowed slightly in acknowledgement and headed out into the corridor. Forelni fell silent, staring at his right hand as if suddenly noticing the blood had been washed away. He looked around his cabin, brows furrowed. Lastra knew what he was looking for.
“I put the robe in a stasis bag,” Lastra said. “In the exact condition I found it in. It’s in your storage bin under your bunk.”
Forelni nodded his thanks. For a reason he could not explain, he could not bear to think of the robe cleaned. Her blood staining the garment was the only physical remnant he had of her. Spotting the pouch Briseos had given him outside her tomb he reached over and grabbed it.
“What is that?”
“Her aide gave it to me, at her funeral. He said she would want me to have it but not to open it until I returned home.”
Forelni opened the pouch and pulled out the only two items within. The first was a crystal vial, capable of holding no more than a pint of liquid. Inside the vial was a purple fluid that seemed both thick and translucent as it shimmered within the crystal container.
“If you are looking for medical advice,” Lastra remarked as Forelni set the vial on the table, “I wouldn’t drink that.”
“I wasn’t planning on it,” Forelni said, as he unfolded the second item, a square of parchment covered on one side with Chanderan writing.
“What does it say?”
“I may be able to speak Chanderan, Doctor, but reading it is beyond me.”
Forelni got up and placed the parchment on his desk and toggled the computer.
“Scan this parchment,” he ordered. “Translate to Standard and print out a hard copy.”
“Working,” the computer intoned.
Lastra studied the vial while they waited. Within two minutes the print out slid from a slot in Forelni’s desk. He picked it up and began reading. Lastra became alarmed when his Captain turned pale.
“What is it?” Lastra asked. But Foreln I merely looked stunned as he handed Lastra the paper to read for himself.
My Lord,
I pray this note and the vial I have prepared have returned with you to your time. I pray that what I have done has not been in vain. I will not pray that you or my Queen will ever forgive me for my treachery, and for the pain I have caused, even if what I have done actually succeeds.
My Lady explained to me what the future holds and how soon that terrible future will come about. I know you were willing to trade your life in your own time for the few short years Chandera has to be with her. I hope to trade My Lady’s few years here for a long life of happiness with you.
I arranged to allow the assassins to strike down my Queen. I provided them with the weapons, but instead of a deadly poison I substituted a substance from knowledge that we are forbidden to use on my world. It simulates death perfectly. My Lady will be buried as is our tradition within a crystal tomb that will forever preserve her in this state. If her tomb survives the coming end, and the many years that will pass until you read this, you will be able to withdraw her body from the tomb after depressing the three red crystals above.
Once you have done this pour the entire contents of this vial down her throat. If her tomb survives and has protected her body, this will eradicate the original toxin and revive her. This has never been tried over such a long period of time, so I cannot be certain. But I pray, for both your sakes, that it will work.
Be happy together and do not think harshly of me, no matter what happens.
Briseos.
“My God,” Lastra whispered as he finished reading. Forelni had picked up the vial again and was staring at it as if it were a living thing.
“Put me back on active duty,” Forelni said quietly. “Now, Doctor.”
Knowing it was futile to argue or even discuss the matter further, Lastra tapped the computer panel.
“Chief Medical Officer’s log. Effective immediately, Captain Bari Forelni is medically cleared to return to full duty.”
“Forelni to Bridge.”
“Bridge here,” Mansi replied.
“Status of the prisoner transfer, Commander?”
“Just completed, Sir.”
“Very well. Set course for Chandera, Commander, maximum warp and depart immediately. Then report to me in my quarters and bring Dr. Whitme along with you.”
He snapped the comm off before his First Officer could reply and stared again at the vial. Lastra saw a mixture of fear and hope in his Captain’s eyes. He was pretty sure that same mixture could be seen in his own.
* * * * *
It had been less than a week since he’d stood before this rock and five thousand years all at the same time. Of course, the planet looked nothing like it had then, but he recognized the rock formation, giving him hope that what lay below had survived. Whitme had sent a message ahead, telling his dig teams where to look for the tomb. Time had not been too kind and the entrance had collapsed.
“Good timing, Captain,” Hopalong Ginsberg greeted Forelni, Mansi, Lastra and Whitme when they beamed down. Most called him Hoppy and nearly everyone asked how he got his first name. Forelni didn’t. “We just opened the tunnel up to the tomb.”
“Thank you,” Forelni replied. “No one has disturbed the tomb itself?”
“No, sir, once we got it cleared out we headed back up, just as Doctor Whitme ordered.”
“Thank you, Hoppy,” Whitme replied indicating Ginsberg should make himself scarce.
“No problem,” Ginsberg said cheerfully. “Just follow the lights down.”
“You want some company?” Mansi asked, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“No, thank you, Paulo. I’ll do this alone.”
“Then Godspeed, my friend.”
“Good luck, Captain,” both Lastra and Whitme offered as Forelni disappeared into the tunnel. It was quite a ways down, giving him hope that Briseos’ plan might work after all. He estimated he was a good three hundred meters below the surface before he entered her burial chamber.
Cut into the rock was a cloudy white crystal, just large enough to hold a humanoid body. No matter how hard he tried, he could only make out a blurred object within and a scan with his tricorder could not penetrate it. His heart pounding, he depressed the three red crystals above the crystal casket. The lit up immediately and the larger crystal began to shimmer. He reached in and lifted up Avion’s body and pulled her from the crystal, which solidified as he pulled her clear.
They’d set up a field table in the chamber and he laid her on it. She looked exactly like she had that terrible day. Lifting away the veil, she looked as if she were merely sleeping. He gently parted her lips and carefully poured the vial down her throat until the very last drop was drained.
* * * * *
“Dammit, Jim, did he at least give a hint as to why we’re meeting out here in the middle of nowhere?”
“Bones, you know as much as I do,” Kirk sighed, answering the same question for the umpteenth time. “He’ll tell us when he gets here.”
McCoy harrumphed and bounced on his heels, staring at the bridge view screen as if he could magically make Bari Forelni and his ship appear by will alone. Kirk shared in some of McCoy’s impatience, and his curiosity. The message they’d received from the Star had been from its First Officer, who asked the Enterprise to meet the Star at these coordinates. There had been no additional explanation, nor reply to an inquiry for same. McCoy opened his mouth to ask again just as the Star dropped out of warp just within transporter range.
“Message from Avion’s Star, Captain,” Uhura reported. “An invitation for the command crew to beam aboard at our earliest convenience. Dress uniform requested, Sir.”
“That’s all, Uhura?”
“Message ends, Sir.”
“Well, it seems if we want the answer to this mystery we are going to have to take a little trip,” Kirk replied. “Have Mr. Scott meet us in the transporter, Uhura. Mr. Sulu, you have the con until we return. Mr. Spock, Doctor, shall we?”
They beamed aboard, McCoy grumbling about his “damned monkey suit” all the way and were met by Mansi, who was in dress uniform.
“Gentlemen, welcome aboard the Star,” he greeted, smiling. “The Captain is waiting for you in Main Rec.”
“Main Rec?” Kirk asked.
“Yes, well, it really was the only place we could hold it after all,” Mansi replied mysteriously.
“Hold what, Commander?”
“That, Captain, my Captain will explain once we get there. This way, gentlemen.”
With a bemused shrug, Kirk followed with his officers in tow. There was quite a party in progress when they arrived. McCoy shot a surprised look at Kirk who could only shake his head in reply as they entered the deck.
“James, Leonard, Spock and Scotty,” Forelni’s voiced carried over the din of the party as he approached. “Welcome, my friends! It’s good to see you! Come!”
Forelni led them toward the center of the deck.
“Bari, would you mind telling us what the hell is going on?”
“Certainly, Jim,” Forelni smiled like the proverbial Cheshire Cat as he stopped near a tall chair and looked down at its occupant. Neither Kirk or his officers could see who was in it. “This is, shall we say, an Etalyan engagement party. You four are here to help celebrate and to be formally invited to a Royal wedding by the groom himself.”
“And who’s the lucky girl?” McCoy asked, suddenly concerned for the Etalyan Captain’s sanity.
Forelni held out a hand and his was grasped by the hand of the chair’s occupant. He helped her out of the chair and when she turned to face them they all saw a ghost.
“Captain,” Avion said, smiling, “gentlemen. It is a great pleasure to see you all once again.”
“As it is for all of us,” Kirk finally managed. “And quite a… surprise I might add. Captain, you didn’t…”
“No, Jim,” Forelni laughed as he cut off the question. “I did not use the portal. I doubt that would have worked anyway.”
“Then how is this possible?” Spock asked.
“That, gentlemen, is a very long story. One best told over my vineyard’s finest wine, of course. But I can tell you this right now, Jim. The universe has never shone as brightly as it is shining right now.”
The post The Calling: Part 2, Chapter 20 appeared first on Richard Paolinelli - A Superversive Scribe.
November 6, 2020
The Hidden Truth by Hans Schantz
Every Friday I introduce you to a book and an author you really should be reading. This week it is:
The Hidden Truth, by Hans Schantz
Amazon link: https://amzn.to/2Ln2J2q
Publisher Link: https://silverempire.org/product/the-hidden-truth/ref/274
The Hidden Truth series link: https://amzn.to/2FQHj0K
Reviews: By DRAGON AWARD WINNING AND SF GRANDMASTER John C. Wright
http://www.scifiwright.com/2020/09/the-hidden-truth-by-hans-g-schantz/
#FridayReads #IARTG #TCOT
Umberto Eco took every paranoid conspiracy theory and made them one.
Hans Schantz has taken over a hundred years of historical facts and made a conspiracy that will scare the heck out of me for a long while.
https://silverempire.org/product/the-hidden-truth/ref/274
The post The Hidden Truth by Hans Schantz appeared first on Richard Paolinelli - A Superversive Scribe.
November 1, 2020
Superversive Sunday Spotlight: Henry Vogel
Welcome to this week’s Superversive Sunday Spotlight. Every week we will chat with a Superversive author that you really should be reading.
This week we welcome Superversive author, Henry Vogel:
How long have you been writing?
There are two answers to that question. If you only look at science fiction novels, I’ve been writing for eight years and released my first book six years ago. But back in the 1980s I wrote comic books and was part of the independent comic book movement.
Since fewer people will know anything about my comic book writing, I hope you don’t mind if I expound on that for a bit. I really didn’t get into comic books until I was a freshman in college. That was comparatively late in life for the time (1975), since most fans started and stopped reading comics between the ages of 10 and 14. Seven years later, with the help (and financing) of fellow comic book [image error]fan David Willis, I wrote and we published the first issue The Southern Knights, about a superhero team based in Atlanta. We selected Atlanta because it was two hours down I-85 from Clemson University, where David and I were students. (I was on the lazy-student ten-year plan, having left Clemson for a semester and then re-enrolled with a different major.)
The comic book format is a great fit for my short attention span style of writing. (My attention span was such a roadblock to novel writing that I didn’t overcome it until 2012.) Over the next eight years I wrote and helped publish 60 comic book issues. Along the way, I also became the first online comic book professional. That was 1984 on Usenet, the Internet’s predecessor.
Fifteen years after I stopped writing comics, I stumbled across Bruce Bethke’s Friday Challenge weekly writing group. Essentially, Bruce tossed out a writing prompt and we had a week to write something based on it. The prompts ranged from real life issues to wild ideas like “the Star Trek death scene you always wanted to see.” The highlight was online discussions and reviews of the submissions, and it created a real sense of community among the dozen or so regulars in the group. It also rekindled my interest in writing and got me thinking about writing novels. It took years of increasing participation in the group before inspiration struck.
I’d begun novels several times before 2012 but my short attention span balked at the size of the project. The trick that got me past that involved writing short “chapters” of a story and posting them online on a regular schedule. I needed the obligation to my handful of readers to keep me writing, and that turned the huge project of writing a novel into the small, manageable project of writing the next chapter to post online. It seems like such a small thing, but in the last eight years I’ve produced over a million words of fiction.
Which writers inspire you?
Many writings inspired me over the years, but three stand out among them. First and foremost, must be Edgar Rice Burroughs. I love his sword and planet tales—especially his Mars and Venus books—which is why my first three books (and another three since then) are my takes on sword and planet adventures. I even gave my sword and planet hero the last name Rice, taken from Burroughs’ middle name. The idea of dropping a man into a strange world filled with swashbuckling adventure appeals to me. Throw in an alluring romance and you’ve got the ingredients for a great story. That’s why the second name on my list is Leigh Brackett.
Brackett’s sword and planet stories have a harder edge than Burruoghs’ do, but they’re just as fanciful and exciting. But she also delved deeply into space opera—she was the Queen of Space Opera, after all—and told exciting tales of daring men and women thrust into strange situations that brought out the best in them. She’s also the perfect foil to the claim that women were shunned in the early days of science fiction.
Finally, I must credit Gary Gygax with my development as a writer. While he wrote fiction, it was his work polishing and publishing Dungeons & Dragons that had the greatest impact on me. Who could resist the lure of experiencing fantastic adventures as a participant rather than a mere reader? Not me. I immersed myself in D&D to the detriment of my college education, but to the enhancement of my abilities as a storyteller. Nothing honed my grasp of story elements, of what intrigued people, of what bored them, and how the players interpreted—or misinterpreted—the events I presented better than role-playing games. I can honestly say I’d never have become an author without the experience I gained running role-playing games.
So, what have you written?
Sixty to seventy comic books, all but a handful of them featuring characters I created or co-created, and sixteen books. The books fall into several series, though I should note that every book stands on its own. They’re all appropriate for young adult and older readers, too.
The six-book sword and planet Scout series begins with Scout’s Honor, my first book, and currently ends with Hart for Adventure, my most recent release. Hart is a bit of prequel to the other five books in the series. The books feature swashbuckling action, airships (because airships are cool), a bit of romance, and even space pirates.
[image error]The Fugitive Heir, my most popular book, kicks off the three-book Adventures of Matt & Michelle. This pure space opera series begins when Matt, the heir to a vast fortune, heads off into space with Michelle, one of his bodyguards, intent on finding his long-lost parents. Matt’s emerging psychic powers, romance, gun fights, and space pirates complicate matters. The next two books delve deeper into Matt’s psychic powers as he and Michelle struggle against an interstellar government intent on controlling all psychics.
Two books feature Captain Nancy Martin, who first showed up as a minor character in The Fugitive Heir. Her first book, The Counterfeit Captain, is my take on the old science fiction trope of the generation colony ship that’s been lost so long no one remembers they’re on a spaceship. I followed it up with The Undercover Captain, which is something of a space opera missing-persons thriller.
The Recognition Run is the first book in my Recognition series. I entered it in the 2017 BookLife Prize contest, where it was a semi-finalist. You could call it Anastasia in space, as it follows Jeanine, a young woman who doesn’t know she’s the last surviving heir to an interstellar duchy. While the first book deals with Jeanine’s attempts to claim her title, the second and third books—The Recognition Rejection and The Recognition Revelation—expand the story beyond that straightforward premise to include a threat to the entire star kingdom and all humanity.
The Lost Planet is a standalone space opera adventure, and the first of my books featuring alien races. As a century-long cold war between the Terran Republic and the Regency, a vast alien empire, turns hot, humanity’s survival rests on the shoulders of Glen, a young man who doesn’t know how to be human, and Elise, a young woman who has never been out on her own. They must evade Regency pursuit, solve the millennia-old mystery of the disappearance of the Progenitors, and hope they can discover a weapon to turn back the invading Regency armada. In my opinion, this is my best book to date.
I also have a book of three illustrated children’s stories, I’m in Charge! & Other Stories, plus two books in a new, grittier, pulpier series. The first book, Fortune’s Fool, released in September.
What draws you to Superversive writing?
I like heroes who have a moral core. I like villains who are comprehensibly villainous without the author resorting to the tired “victim of society” trope that’s so popular among certain writers. I like fast-paced action where story is paramount. I like it when the hero triumphs over the villain. I like it when the guy and the girl fall in love and make a life together. I like happy endings. It’s insane that these preferences are Superversive rather than the norm.
What are you working on at the minute?
I have a novella titled The Scales of Sin & Sorrow with beta readers now. It’s a sequel to Fortune’s Fool. I’m publishing these books under a pseudonym – Jeff Boyd – because they’re not typical of my previous books. They’re darker – especially the second one – and the characters use harsher language than I used in any previous book. I don’t want longtime fans of my typical work snapping these up thinking they’re getting something similar to the Scout stories.
Beyond that, I’m between projects now, and trying to figure out what to do next. I began a sequel to The Lost Planet but have shelved it because I’m not sure the book needs one. At least, not one from the points of view I used. A seventh Scout book is my most likely next project. I just have to work through a few details before I start writing.
Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors?
I suppose it depends on your definition of “reading.” I listen to a lot of audio books, though my listening time tailed off since my day job told us to work from home. My one-way commute went from 25 minutes to 15 seconds. I also still read books, just not as often or as voraciously as I did in the past.
My favorite author is Lois McMaster Bujold. I love almost everything she’s written. The last Vorkosigan book was decidedly subpar, in my opinion, but her Penric series of fantasy novellas have more than redeemed that mistake.
How can readers discover more about you and your work?
They can swing by my website—which needs work, but the information is up to date—or check out my Amazon author’s page. The advantage of stopping by the website is you can sign up for my mailing list (no spam, I promise).
https://www.henryvogelwrites.com/
https://www.amazon.com/Henry-Vogel/e/B00KFESWK6/
Thanks for sharing Henry. Be sure to check out Henry’s books and be sure to check back next Sunday for our next chat with a Superversive author.
The post Superversive Sunday Spotlight: Henry Vogel appeared first on Richard Paolinelli - A Superversive Scribe.