David Lee Summers's Blog, page 124

Owl Dance Excerpt 3: Legion

In this excerpt, we see that Owl Dance is not your ordinary western novel. This section introduces Legion, an intergalactic explorer who will become involved with Ramon and Fatemeh.

His name was Legion.

For millennia, the nanite swarm that was his current form explored galaxies and visited planets populated by thousands of races. He hadn't always been this way. Many centuries ago he had another name on a planet now nothing more than dust, gradually drifting outward from the exhausted core of a dead star. On that world, he'd possessed a mortal body. The thing called Legion remembered that world, and remembered his old body, and also the first computer he lived in, but he knew such memories meant little in the face of his immortal existence.

Unconstrained by a mortal lifetime or the distance he could travel, Legion gathered information about everything he came across. The universe contained so much variety that if he grew bored in one location, he simply moved on to another.

Eventually, he found his way to a small cluster containing two spiral galaxies and several dwarf galaxies. While ambling through one of the spirals, he came across a middle-aged yellow star that supported a handful of planets in stable orbits.

Legion was especially interested in the problem of intelligence. How did it evolve? What was its purpose? In all of his travels, he had yet to find a satisfactory answer. This humble solar system looked like one that could nurture life.

As he approached one of the inner, rocky worlds of this system, Legion grew excited. The planet contained large bodies of water broken up by landmasses, not unlike the world where he evolved. As he drifted closer, he saw straight lines cut into the ground and regular, geometric patterns of growing things. Not only was there life on this world, but there was life that altered its landscape. That indicated intelligence. Legion decided on a closer look.

On the world, he found corporeal beings, similar to the creature he once was. Legion realized these beings might be at the perfect stage to help him answer a few of his questions about the purpose of intelligence. They had developed agriculture and industry. However, they still appeared primitive. All the devices he saw could have been built by hand or through the use of rudimentary machines. The creatures of this planet appeared to be on a path to become as intelligent as he was, yet they were still primitive enough he might be able to glean some understanding of how that intelligence came about.

He sought out an intelligent being so he could study its neural structure and attempt to interpret its thoughts with minimal interference or detection. Because of that, he chose to seek out a being in a sparsely inhabited area. He found a river valley that he hoped would serve his purpose.

It was windy in the valley and Legion allowed his component parts to ride the air currents. The wind came in gusts, propelling him some distance, but then quieting, allowing him to regroup and scan his surroundings. He passed what appeared to be a military fortification near the river and then he saw ruins of much older habitations. Walking among the ruins was a lone creature, who looked around with interest.

The being was perfect. He was clearly the same type of creature who had altered the landscape. Moreover, the creature was alone. If Legion affected the creature adversely, detection was unlikely.

Before the next gust of wind, Legion drifted over to the creature.

The being took a deep breath and some of the components entered its nasal passages. Those components traveled into the being's lungs and ultimately into the bloodstream where they were carried to the brain, scanning and transmitting information as they went. Other components scanned the ruins and still others, further down the river valley, analyzed patterns of technological development and settlement, then compared that information to data collected from other worlds.

Learn more about Owl Dance at: http://flyingpenpress.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=49. Today, September 16, it's on a special pre-publication price of $10.95!

Owl Dance Excerpt 2: Meet Fatemeh Karimi

Throughout the day today, I am posting short excerpts from my new novel, Owl Dance. In the first excerpt, Sheriff Ramon "Búho" Morales heard about a troublesome new healer in town. As we left off, Ramon was about to break up a bar fight. As it turns out, he was grazed by a bullet and decides to pay a visit to the healer.

Back at the sheriff's office, Ramon collected his horse and rode down toward the Rio Grande, past Old Man Seaton's farm and up a slight rise to where the new curandera had moved into an old adobe. Next to the house was the fancy wagon that Mrs. Chavez had mentioned. It was painted and built all of wood, not covered with a canvas tarp like so many others. It reminded the sheriff more of a chuck wagon or a gypsy wagon from Europe than a Conestoga.

As Ramon climbed off his horse, he heard odd little whistling sounds. When the whistling stopped, he heard the chirping of a burrowing owl. Stepping around the wagon, the sheriff saw a woman dressed in black, sitting on an old crate near a fencepost. Atop the fencepost was a small owl. The woman whistled and then paused. The owl would move from one foot to the other—almost like it was dancing—then it would chirp. Enchanted, Ramon watched this for a few minutes, but the orange glow of the setting sun reminded him that time was short. He had probably not seen the last fight of the evening. The sheriff cleared his throat.

Startled, the woman looked up and the owl flew away.

Ramon was struck by the woman's bright green eyes and lovely, smooth features, which quickly shifted from astonishment to impatience and finally to concern as her eyes settled on the wound. Noticing the direction of her gaze, Ramon realized he should say something. "Pardon me, ma'am, but I heard that you're a curandera."

Without a word, she stood and stepped close. Carefully, she extracted the fabric of Ramon's shirt from the wound so she could see better. At last, she nodded without taking her eyes off the injury. "Come this way," she said. She led Ramon toward the house and paused to light a lantern that hung outside the door before taking it down and going inside. She reappeared a few minutes later with a black bag, like a doctor's.

She opened a door on the back of her wagon and instructed Ramon to sit down. He could smell assorted herbs from within and wondered what all she had in there. Opening the bag, she retrieved a bottle and some cotton. Far more gently than Doc Corbin would have done, she cleaned and dressed the sheriff's wound. "You're new in town, aren't you?" Ramon asked as she worked. "What's your name?"

"Fatemeh Karimi," she said. "I'm from Persia."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." He watched her climb into the wagon. She might not be a local, but somehow her gentleness and concern for a stranger reminded him of many good people from his youth, who had since moved on. She searched through a few drawers and finally climbed down next to the sheriff. She handed him a small bottle.

"Drink this, it will help ease the pain but it won't cloud your mind."

Ramon sniffed at the contents of the bottle and made a face, but he did as she instructed. "That was quite some trick you were doing—whistling at that ol' hooty owl," he croaked, trying to hide the tears that came unbidden to his eyes from the potent flavor of the herbs. "It was almost like you were talking to it."

She smiled. Ramon wasn't sure whether she was amused by his reaction to the herbs or by the question. "That was no trick." She stepped over to the well and retrieved a ladle full of water. "I am Bahá'í. We believe that all humanity is one family and that family should live in harmony with the world. The owls are my neighbors. As you'd say, I'm doing my best to be neighborly."

I hope you're enjoying this sneak peak at Owl Dance. If you are, you can order a copy at: http://flyingpenpress.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=49

Owl Dance Excerpt 1: Meet Ramon Morales

Throughout the day today, I will be posting short excerpts from my new novel, Owl Dance. This first excerpt is from the beginning of the novel. We meet one of the story's protagonists, Ramon "Búho" Morales, sheriff of Socorro, New Mexico. Enjoy!

"Sheriff, I hate to spread rumors…"

Ramon Morales tipped his hat back on his head. The blurred form of a small, hunched-over woman silhouetted by the light of the setting sun was in the door of his office. "Rumors? What…?"

The woman inclined her head and planted her hands on her hips. "I'm talking about the curandera that rode into town last month in her fancy wagon." She looked from one side to the other, then stepped close to the desk. Mrs. Chavez's face became clear then. "I think she may be practicing black magic," she said in hushed tones. "She might be a bruja."

The sheriff sat upright and put on a pair of wire-frame, round-lensed spectacles. "What makes you think that?"

"That wagon of hers is full of strange potions and powders." Mrs. Chavez's breath smelled of garlic and onions. Ramon scooted back, putting a few inches between himself and the irate woman. "She gave Mr. Garcia a potion that cured his liver and he took up drinking again. She told Mrs. Johnson there wasn't anything she could do about her straying husband."

Ramon shrugged. "Alfredo Garcia's a drunk. Of course he started drinking again when he felt better." The sheriff inclined his head, confused about the second point. "I'd think you'd be happy she couldn't help Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. You're a curandera, too. That's more business for you."

Mrs. Chavez heaved an exasperated sigh. "That's not the point. They went to her first, even though she's not a local. She doesn't even go to Mass." She straightened and pointed a long, gnarled finger at the sheriff. "But that's not the worst of it. You should see the owls. They're her familiars."

Ramon stood. This nonsense had gone on for long enough. "She lives out by Old Man Seaton's farm." He firmly took hold of Mrs. Chavez's elbow. She tensed and her eyes narrowed, but she did nothing else to resist as he escorted her toward the door. "There are always owls out there. They aren't a bad omen. They just hunt the mice in the field."

"You would sympathize with those creatures—with a name like Búho Morales." She clucked her tongue. Ramon rolled his eyes at the use of his nickname. "Mark my words, Sheriff. She's trouble."

Ramon didn't like the sound of that. He'd heard rumors of witch hunts in other parts of New Mexico Territory. Some had turned very ugly. Still, he wanted Mrs. Chavez out of there so he could focus on more immediate concerns. "I'll go talk to her soon," he said.

She pursed her lips and seemed to consider that. Finally, her shoulders relaxed. "Thank you, Sheriff."

Ramon sighed and gently closed the door behind the old woman. Socorro, New Mexico had been part of the United States for less than twenty years. In that time, it had swollen from a population of about 400 to nearly 4000. Many of the settlers came to work the silver and lead mines in the surrounding mountains. Others were ranchers who had moved up from Texas after the Civil War, looking for new land to feed their cattle. Meanwhile, farmers did their best to hold onto prize soil near the valuable waters of the Rio Grande. It was a rough and tumble town that failed to attract many educated folks like doctors. Ramon was pleased at the prospect of a new healer in the town, but frustrated that others would not welcome her.

Ramon shook his head and tried to put thoughts of Mrs. Chavez behind him. It was Friday night of a warm spring day. That meant there would be bigger trouble than squabbling curanderas. The miners would be coming in from the hills and the cowboys would be coming in from the ranches. They would collide in the saloons that night. The sheriff turned around and resumed his place at the desk. Just as he removed his glasses and tipped his hat over his eyes to get a little more rest, the door burst open.

"Sheriff!" Deputy Ray Hillerman was breathing hard. "We already got our first fight down at the Cap!"

Copies of Owl Dance may be ordered at:

http://flyingpenpress.com/catalog/pro...

Ready to be Zombiefied?

On October 1, keep a watchful eye out for a great new anthology called Zombiefied: An Anthology of All Things Zombie edited by Carol Hightshoe. Here's a sneak peak at the cover.

This anthology features my story "The Zombie Shortage". Yes, you read that right. I imagine a world where there actually is a shortage of zombies. It also features stories by Laura Givens, Dana Bell, Dayton Ward, M.H. Bonham, Gary Jonas and many more. This will be a great book to curl up with on Halloween.

Zombiefied: An Anthology of All Things Zombie is scheduled for release as a Kindle e-book on October 1. I gather discussions are in the works to bring out a print edition as well, but nothing definite has been announced.

Owl Dance Events

My Wild West Steampunk Adventure novel Owl Dance is at the printer and publisher David Rozansky and I are planning some special events to mark its release. I'll tell you about those in a moment, but first, I want to take a moment to share the complete wraparound cover.

Also, I want to share Richard Harland's review of Owl Dance. Richard is the author of the wonderful steampunk novel Worldshaker. He says, "Owl Dance has everything. Airships, owl-ornithopters, a clockwork wolf, a multiple alien entity, a fast-shooting sheriff, a Russian plot to conquer America, and a very sexy, eco-aware, Bahá'í Persian healer-woman – I mean everything! Heaps of fun!"

Now for the events! On Friday, September 16, David Rozansky and I will be hosting an all-day on-line release party. Much of the fun will be on Twitter. If you have a Twitter account, be sure to follow davidleesummers and DavidRozansky for more details. We'll be chatting about the book, there will be giveaways, and I'll be posting excerpts from Owl Dance here at the Web Journal.

On September 17, there will be a special event at Enchanted Gardens, located at 270 Avenida de Mesilla in Las Cruces. I will read from Owl Dance and my friend Ysella Ayn Fulton will read from her novel Pomegranate. Both Ysella and I share a real affection for Las Cruces, its people, and the surrounding area. We hope to share some of the magic we see with you. Moreover, our kids will be helping us, providing music for the event. If you're in the area, I hope you'll join us.

Whether you live in Las Cruces or not, you can be one of the first people in line to get the book. The book may be ordered at:

http://flyingpenpress.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=49.

The book is available at a special pre-order price of $9.95 until September 13.

Convention Reports and an Interview

It's been a busy time with travel to conventions and a new book about to be released. I thought I'd take the opportunity to recap some of the highlights from the conventions and tell you about a fun new interview.

Bubonicon

I spent August 26-28 at Bubonicon with my family and we had a great time. My wife Kumie is still undergoing chemotherapy, so she didn't feel up to being around the whole time, but did come in for parts of Saturday and Sunday. I was originally scheduled to be on two panels. One discussed how the sub-genres of speculative fiction are categorized. The other was a panel on what constitutes Steampunk. Shortly before the convention, I was asked to sit in on a panel discussing self-publishing. The panels were well attended and the discussions were good.

One of the most interesting things that came up on the panel about categorizing speculative fiction was the roll of user tagging at such places as Amazon, libraries, and social networks. Basically, readers are playing a much bigger part in defining the genre of a given work. I think that's cool.

One of the things I enjoyed in the Steampunk panel was the discussion of Steampunk set in other cultures besides Victorian England. We speculated about the possibilities of Steampunk set in Africa or Asia. Of course Wild West Steampunk also came up.

I was pleased to see many friends at Bubonicon including authors Diana Gabaldon, Jane Lindskold, David Boop and Pati Nagle. Here's a photo of Diana Gabaldon and me at the mass autographing that was held on Saturday afternoon. As you might infer from my costume, the theme of the convention was Steampunk.

In addition to the panels, I read my story "The Zombie Shortage" and a short segment from Owl Dance on Sunday morning.

We had a dealer's table again this year at Bubonicon and did well. Because of Kumie's health, my daughter Myranda stepped up and helped out at the table quite a bit. The table next to ours was run by an independent comic group called 7000 BC. Each year they hold a raffle for an illustration they create at the convention. The illustration has the same number of rats as the convention number. This year that was 43. The last rat is the winner of the raffle. It turns out, my daughter won the raffle this year. Moreover, because they were still several rats short of 43, they decided to draw the whole family as rats 39-43. I haven't seen the finished drawing yet, but hope to soon.

CopperCon

Next up was Labor Day weekend and CopperCon. It was held in Avondale, Arizona, on the west side of Phoenix. On the first night, several of us gathered for dinner, and one of the people at the con mentioned that the word "mollusks" makes a good substitute for just about any swear word you can imagine. From that moment on, Gini Koch and I decided that the word of the convention was "mollusks".

I sat on eight panels at the convention, plus I did a reading, autographing, and gave my Victorian Astronomy presentation. One thing that was neat about the Victorian Astronomy talk was that Dr. Russet McMillan from Apache Point Observatory sat in and added tidbits about science and important contributions by women in astronomy. I was very pleased to have her input.

Despite the fact that it was a small convention at a relatively small hotel, most of the panels were well attended. There was only one panel where the panelists outnumbered the audience and that was "How to Raise a Thinking Child" which was about how to raise a smart, polite kid in an environment of movies-on-demand and video games. In fact, we agreed that it's the same problem it has always been — parents need to be involved with their kids.

Larry Hammer, Marcy Rockwell and I spoke about speculative poetry markets and the Science Fiction Poetry Association. I threw out a writing prompt and gave people fifteen minutes to write. The attendees came up with some great poems during that short time. I admit to being a bit disappointed in my own effort, but I'll play with it and see if I can make something that will work.

Like Bubonicon, I was asked to be on a panel that I wasn't originally scheduled for. This time, the topic was "Are Fairies the New Vampires." I was on the panel with Janni Lee Simner and Aprilynne Pike. Our conclusion was that faeries are scarier than vampires and have better PR people. After all, people still like Tinkerbell after all the awful things she did to Wendy!

New Interview

Finally, I'll wrap up this post by pointing you to a new interview I did with Steven Janiszeski. I talk about my day job in astronomy, Owl Dance, and penguins in New Mexico. Be sure to check it out at: http://stevenjaniszeski.blogspot.com/2011/09/steven-interviews-david-lee-summers.html

CrossTIME Short Fiction Awards

The Crossquarter publishing group in Santa Fe just sent me their list of winners from the tenth CrossTIME Short Science Fiction Contest:

Gary E. Finkenbinder (Glide, OR) "The Used Bookstore" 1st place
Scott Lambert (Beulah, CO) "A Man and A Dog" 2nd place
Jason E. Hodges (Newberry, FL) and Laura Hodges Poole (Anderson, SC) "The Harbor" 3rd place
Matthew Moroson (Flagstaff, AZ) "Sticky Lotus" 4th place

Honorable Mentions go to:

Renana Unger Hannahs (Thunder Bay, ONT) "Saving A World"
Joe Hinds (Florence, KY) "Alienation"
Jason E. Hodges (Newberry, FL) "A Journey Home"
John A. Holt, Jr. (Quincy, MA) "The Ole Betty"
Aila Omar (Edmonton, Alberta) "The Falling"
Eric Price (Laurens, IA/Florissant, MO) "Second Contact" and "Interstellar Snot-Blowing Competition"
Thomas E. Robbins (Medfield, MA) "What Can One Man Do?"
Ann E. Schwarz (Williamsburg, KY) "A Fairy Tale Come True"

These thirteen authors are featured in the CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. X, just released. The first four places received a cash award, as well as publication. This is the tenth annual contest, featuring science fiction, fantasy and urban fantasy stories of less than 7500 words that demonstrate the best of the human spirit. Submissions were received from around the globe, as well as judged by an international panel.

All of the CrossTIME anthologies are available through Amazon.com or the publisher. For more information, visit www.crossquarter.com or drop a note to info[at]crossquarter[dot]com.

Want to be an honorary Owl Rider?

My latest novel, the Wild West Steampunk Adventure Owl Dance, is almost ready to go to press. However, I could use a few people to help me proofread the book before my publisher sends it to press. If you help me out, I'll send you a free, autographed copy of the novel upon publication. Of course, you also get a chance to preview the novel before anyone else. Interested? Then read on.

The page proofs will be delivered to me in PDF format by Wednesday, August 17. I can send them out to proofreaders via email that day. I would need the people who volunteer to send me reports of any errors found in the book by Wednesday, August 24. To be eligible to receive a free, signed book, you must read the entire novel and send me a report of any errors you find by 5pm Mountain Daylight Time on Wednesday, August 24. The object of this exercise is not to critique the novel, just to find typographical errors. (Of course, early reviews of the novel at places like Amazon.com or BN.com are much appreciated and encouraged!)

Still interested? Then, drop me an email at dsummers[at]zianet[dot]com (replace the bracketed words with the appropriate symbol…). Tell me about your interest in the project, where to send the PDF, and an address to send the signed book once it's complete. The first five people who reply and who I feel are qualified will be on the list to get the PDF on August 17.

Thanks and good luck!

Bubonicon and CopperCon

It's been a busy year of writing and editing so far, but I finally have the opportunity to get out and about to some conventions. The first two that are coming up are Bubonicon in Albuquerque and Coppercon in Phoenix.

Bubonicon

Bubonicon 43 will be held August 26-28 in Albuquerque, NM at the Sheraton Albuquerque near the airport. You can learn more about the convention at Bubonicon.com.

My schedule at the event is as follows:

Fri 5p-6p, Name That Baby: Fantasy, SF, Mainstream? Or None of the Above, Location: Main Room (Chaco)
Sat 3p-4p, Steampunk Definitions: More Than Victorian Clothing, Location: Main Room (Chaco)
Sun 10a-10:30a, 25 Minutes with David Lee Summers, Location: Rio Grande

Also, Hadrosaur Productions will have a dealer's table at Bubonicon. If you don't see me on a panel, make sure to drop by the table and say "hi". There's a good chance I'll be there.

CopperCon

CopperCon 31 will be held Labor Day weekend in Avondale, AZ (near Phoenix) at the Hilton Garden Inn. You can learn more about the convention at: coppercon.org.

My schedule at the event is as follows:

Fri 9p-10p, Steampunk, Location: Boardroom
Sat noon-1p, Social Media Do's and Don'ts for Authors, Location: Avondale IV
Sat 3p-4p, Victorian Astronomy, Location: Avondale IV
Sat 5p-6p, Raise a Thinking Child, Location: Avondale III
Sun noon-1p, Writing Erotic Scenes, Location: Boardroom
Sun 1p-2p, Speculative Poetry Introduction, Location: Boardroom
Sun 630p-730p, Future of Publishing, Location: Avondale I
Mon 1030a-11a, Reading, Location: Hotel Lobby Alcove
Mon 11a-noon, Autographing, Location: Dealer's Room
Mon 1p-2p, Steampunk Literature, Location: Avondale III

As always, convention schedules are subject to change at the last minute. Make sure to check your program when you arrive to check the times of any programs you want to attend.

Hope to see you at Bubonicon, CopperCon or both!

Owl Dance Sneak Peak

My latest novel, Owl Dance, now has a cover courtesy the extraordinarily talented Laura Givens:

The year is 1876. Sheriff Ramon Morales of Socorro, New Mexico meets a beguiling woman named Fatemeh Karimi, who is looking to make a new start after escaping the oppression of her homeland. When an ancient lifeform called Legion comes to Earth, they are pulled into a series of events that will change the history of the world as we know it. In their journeys, Ramon and Fatemeh encounter mad inventors, dangerous outlaws, and pirates. Their resources are Ramon's fast draw and Fatemeh's uncanny ability to communicate with owls. The question is, will that be enough to save them when airships from Czarist Russia invade the United States?

Ernest Hogan, author of Cortez on Jupiter and Smoking Mirror Blues has this to say about Owl Dance: "A rip-snorting, Wild West steampunk extravaganza with a touch of Arabian Nights that comes alive with authentic insight into the magic, peoples, and landscapes of the Southwest. Satisfies as both science fiction, and a western that is fantastic, and comes alive with realism. The kind of book that makes me proud to live in Aztlán."

Cowboys, Aliens, and Dancing Owls

When I've told some folks the premise of Owl Dance they've noted a certain similarity between it and the movie Cowboys and Aliens. On the way home from my last shift at Kitt Peak National Observatory, I dropped in to the theater and watched Cowboys and Aliens. Although there are some superficial similarities, they are, on the whole, quite different.

Here's a (hopefully) spoiler-free rundown of some of the differences. There are cowboys in Owl Dance and there's an alien. (One alien, sort of. Once the book comes out, you'll understand.) The aliens in Cowboys and Aliens were rather one-dimensional, evil characters, out for no good. The alien in Owl Dance is a nuanced creature who actually tries to be helpful. (Again, sort of.)

Both Owl Dance and Cowboys and Aliens feature a guy with glasses. The guy with glasses in Owl Dance does not need anyone to teach him how to shoot. He can take care of himself, thank you very much.

Both Owl Dance and Cowboys and Aliens have a beguiling woman. If the hero of Owl Dance leaped on top of the woman and tried to find out what she was really after, the woman would hurt the hero. Badly.

Cowboys and Aliens is a fun way to spend a couple of hours on a summer afternoon. Owl Dance will be a great book to curl up with this autumn.

Happy trails!