M.G. Herron's Blog, page 11
February 7, 2019
Sci-Fi Short Story: “Omnilingual” by H. Beam Piper
This story is reprinted courtesy of Project Gutenberg. View the source text.
Omnilingualby H. Beam Piper
Martha Dane paused, looking up at the purple-tinged copper sky. The wind had shifted since noon, while she had been inside, and the dust storm that was sweeping the high deserts to the east was now blowing out over Syrtis. The sun, magnified by the haze, was a gorgeous magenta ball, as large as the sun of Terra, at which she could look directly. Tonight, some of that dust would come sifting...
February 2, 2019
5 Soundtrack Artists of Science Fiction and their Inspirations
Long have I been inspired by the music of sci-fi films. Ever wondered who wrote those haunting melodies? Or where they draw their inspiration from? Today’s blog is a guest post from science fiction and fantasy author Chris Turner on the most famous music composers in science fiction.
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Ever wonder where the big soundtrack artists of the most famous science fiction movies got their inspiration? Many classic and contemporary composers. Here are a few of my favorite picks.
#1: John Williams, Star...January 12, 2019
The Translocator is an Amazon Bestseller!
December 28, 2018
Cover reveal: The Translocator audiobook
On January 8, 2019, my first audiobook will be published!
I’m so excited to be able to share the cover art with you. Here it is.
Preorder The Translocator audiobook now.
Produced by Podium Publishing and narrated by the wonderful Tess Irondale, The Translocator audiobook contains all three novels in the Translocator series together in one action-packed volume. (The Auriga Project, The Alien Element, and The Ares Initiative)
This project has been in the works since July. In a few weeks I’m finally...
December 25, 2018
A Christmas story: “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry
This is one of my favorite Christmas stories.
I hope you enjoy.
This story is reprinted courtesy of Project Gutenberg. View the source text.
The Gift Of The Magiby O. Henry
ONE dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar an...
December 1, 2018
Translocator audiobook and new sci-fi series coming in 2019
Feeling thoughtful today as I make plans for new books and reflect on the fact that it’s DECEMBER already. Can you believe it? This year has been so full that time seems to have flown by at 2x speed.
Yet the future is bright where there are fun new stories to read and lovable old characters to meet again. So here’s what I’ve got planned for 2019. It’s going to be another full year–one that I’m very excited about because I’ve been working on these projects for a long time, and my favorite thi...
September 24, 2018
Divers discover world’s largest underwater cave system filled with Mayan mysteries
In The Alien Element, Rakulo explores an interconnected cenote and underground cave system, looking for a way beyond the Wall that borders the edges of his world.
Although I used it for my own ends in a science fiction setting, this idea was based on my experience swimming in a Cenote in Mexico, and visiting the beautiful monuments at Chichen Itza.
Needless to say I was delighted to learn that in January 2018, divers discovered the world’s largest underwater cave system in Mexico.
Even more...
September 19, 2018
Reaching for the stars again!
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is the first to purchase a commercial flight to the moon.
It was just announced that he will bring 6-8 artists to the moon with him. Targeting 2023 launch. @SpaceX will build the craft and launch the rocket.#dearMoon #SpaceX @dearmoonproject
— M.G. Herron (@mgherron) September 18, 2018
I was hooked to YouTube when SpaceX went live the other day to announce the first commercial passenger in human history to book a trip around the moon.
Not long ago, the...
August 2, 2018
Reading Asimov’s The Caves of Steel with Jeff Elkins
Say hello to Jeff Elkins, author of urban fantasy series The Defense of Reality and founder of online fiction magazine Short Fiction Break.
Today Jeff joins me for a discussion of a 1954 sci-fi mystery novel by Isaac Asimov, The Caves of Steel.
The Robot Series is one of the first introductions we have to Asimov’s most famous universe. Whether you’ve read the book or not, if you’re familiar with Asimov’s books or like science fiction or mystery books in general, I think you’ll get a few good...
June 26, 2018
Binge watching Altered Carbon with Jason Werbeloff
Sci-fi cyberpunk author Jason Werbeloff joins me to discuss the Netflix Series Altered Carbon, a breakneck cyberpunk adaptation that is action-packed, philosophically compelling, and riveting the whole way through.
Based on the seminal 2002 cyberpunk novel, Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan, the TV series follows an elite soldier named Takeshi Kovacs, who is put on ice and then revived in the future in order to solve the mystery of a rich man’s murder.
If you enjoy discussions of the theme...
