David Lee Summers's Blog, page 41

Remembering Anne Rice

Two of my treasured Anne Rice volumes

I was saddened over the weekend to hear about Anne Rice’s passing. Her writing entertained me, provided food for thought, and even inspired me. I’m afraid I never had the opportunity to meet her in person, but I was fortunate enough to find a signed copy of Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis at the Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans a few years ago and while I’ll admit it’s not my favorite entry in the Vampire Chronicles, it’s still a treasure...

Lightning Wolves Update

As I mentioned two weeks ago, Hadrosaur Productions is in the process of releasing updated editions of the Clockwork Legion novels. This week, I’m proud to announce the release of the second edition of book two, Lightning Wolves. Although the cover is much the same as the previous edition, sharp-eyed folks will notice that Laura Givens adjusted the look of Professor Maravilla. He now looks much more like I pictured him in the novels. Lightning Wolves was a top-ten finisher for Best Steampunk Nov...

Prisoners of the Wailing Tower

Today, I welcome Deby Fredericks to my blog to introduce her high fantasy novella series, Minstrels of Skaythe. She’s just released the latest installment, Prisoners of the Wailing Tower. I have edited two of Deby’s novels and read several other works she’s written. I always enjoy them. With that, I’ll turn it over to Deby.

What if the forces of light did not prevail against darkness?

That question is the basis for my high fantasy novella series, Minstrels of Skaythe. The evil mage...

Neutrinos and the Day After Tomorrow

In Episode 178 of the Gerry Anderson Podcast, Chris Dale featured the film The Day After Tomorrow on his Randomizer segment. This is not the 2004 film about climate change. Instead, it was a 1975 segment of an American after school series called Special Treat, which offered educational programming aimed at teenagers. It appeared soon afterward on the BBC. The show was produced by Gerry Anderson and starred Nick Tate, Joanna Dunham, and Brian Blessed. The show was produced between seasons one...

2021 Holiday Season

As we kick off the 2021 holiday season, it strikes me that I’ve been back to my “new normal” work cycle for a little over a year now. Kitt Peak National Observatory had been closed from mid-March 2020 through the end of October 2020. During that time, I worked from home on upgrades to our operation manuals and served on a committee, which developed a plan for safely reopening the observatory. Since November 2020, I’ve been at work following that plan. When I’m at work, I’m alone in a control roo...

Owl Dance Update

I hope my readers in the United States are having a good Thanksgiving weekend. I’m spending the weekend with family and reflecting on those things I’m thankful for. One of the things I’m thankful for has been the opportunity to work with some great publishers and editors over the years, such as Sky Warrior Book Publishing who published my Clockwork Legion steampunk series. Sky Warrior connected me with some great editors, gave me excellent marketing tips, and generally supported my efforts as an...

Perry Rhodan Comics

Given my love of comics and my recent dive into the world of Germany’s Perry Rhodan space opera series, my birthday present from my wife this year was a complete digital set the Perry Rhodan comics published in 2015 by Cross-Cult Comics. The comic series is written by Kai Hirdt with art by Marco Castiello. The only catch is that these comics are only available in German. However, it provided a fun opportunity for me to dust off my German language skills and explore some Perry Rhodan as originall...

Perry Rhodan Lemuria

Two weeks ago, I shared my discovery of Perry Rhodan Neo. This is the German space opera series which the publisher J-Novel Club started translating into English and publishing in the United States this year. In effect, it’s a reboot of the original Perry Rhodan series, which contains over 3100 stories written between 1961 and the present day. I was curious whether any other Perry Rhodan stories had been translated into English after the Ace Books editions ceased publication circa 1978. I discov...

A Man Among Ye

I love a good pirate story. Given that I have written a series about space pirates, that should come as no surprise, but I’m pleased to read a well-told tale about pirates in any era. One of the reasons pirate stories appeal to me is that pirates exist outside the norms of social propriety. Because of that, you can use them as a way to examine social structures and moral codes. Do those structures, laws, and moral codes keep people from harm, or are they about keeping certain people in power? Th...

Birthday Reflections

Today is my birthday. The day comes with mixed emotions, as I know it does for many adults. Today, I’m delighted that I get to spend the day at the TusCon Science Fiction Convention in Arizona with friends and fellow fans. Also, I received a nice gift from my wife, a set of digital comic books, which I hope to read and then blog about in the near future. Despite all that, birthdays make it hard to escape thoughts of growing older and mortality. Still, I’m delighted to know that I share a birthda...