Starting a blog.
Hi, I'm Laurence (goes by Laury) Dahners and I write science fiction. I've mostly published on Amazon since I love the Kindle. A lot of readers communicated with me and other readers on the Amazon Author's Forums, but those don't seem to be getting much support any more and there have been a lot of complaints.
So I thought I'd start a blog here on GoodReads as well as responding to "Ask the Author" questions that are posted on this site.
I'm not sure how well this will work for those of you who like to have discussions that don't necessarily involve me? Let me know if you're aware of a way for me to facilitate such discussion that I may not be aware of.
Hope this works for at least some of you who like to express your opinions!
Laury Dahners
So I thought I'd start a blog here on GoodReads as well as responding to "Ask the Author" questions that are posted on this site.
I'm not sure how well this will work for those of you who like to have discussions that don't necessarily involve me? Let me know if you're aware of a way for me to facilitate such discussion that I may not be aware of.
Hope this works for at least some of you who like to express your opinions!
Laury Dahners
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Jmac wrote: "Mid August is upon us already. This seems to be a pattern we see a new book by you released in January, May and September. That is an impressive schedule. That has burned out many an author. As I w..."Jmac,
Yeah I've nearly finished writing Ryn Wilkie #3, but when it's done there'll be a lot of editing to do so I'm thinking October's more likely than September.
I am working on a painting and recording some music too -- too many hobbies.
I like Nathan Lowell's books too - I'd heard he was sick but not that it was cancer, that's rough!
Laury Dahners
Laurence wrote: "Jmac wrote: "Mid August is upon us already. This seems to be a pattern we see a new book by you released in January, May and September. That is an impressive schedule. That has burned out many an a..."If you go to Nathan Lowell website he has an audio blog of his daily walks. He talks about the cancer, its treatment and the effect it has had on him but talks on many things. I find it meditative.
Do you have a release date your next book yet?
Hi Laury,Not sure if you still follow this thread, but I’ll post here now as I haven’t joined your other groups yet…
I noticed under the heading of “What I’m reading now” a few weeks ago that you were reading Fleet Mage Academy by D. L. Harrison. Thought I would mention that I’m fairly certain it is an AI generated book based strongly on Niall Teasdales’s Death’s Handmaiden.
The quality of the writing is poor, with many grammatical errors that should have been caught in editing. Besides that- the story just pales in comparison to Niall’s version (which I recommend as a Much better read). I’m actually surprised that it is possible to sell something so obviously derivative through Amazon, but I’ll concede that it would be difficult for Amazon to catch.
In any case I just wanted to mention that Niall’s version is much better written and actually a good story - which Fleet Mage Academy is not.
Best
Brent
Oh, Happy Days. 2024 November 15 Friday.
Laurence Dahners (Author)
(Worlds of Ryn Wilkie 3) Gold, Gangs, and Glory
All that is left is the anticipation.
I would like to comment on Brent's comment. I read dl harrison and I did notice the similarity of story between the fleet mage and death's handmaiden series, they are similar but not the same! All stories and literature riff off of each other, it's just the nature of story telling. DL Harrison is just one of the authors pseudonyms, and he writes at least a book a month, this does not mean that an AI is writing them as he has been on this writing schedule for far longer than AI has been a thing. As for poor editing, I've seen worse and it's more likely because of the pace of his writing schedule. AI writing is a thing, but to accuse someone of using it at this time, without anything more than a feeling could but hurtful to the author that is accused. Sorry, I felt that this had to be said.
Brent wrote: "Hi Laury,Not sure if you still follow this thread, but I’ll post here now as I haven’t joined your other groups yet…
I noticed under the heading of “What I’m reading now” a few weeks ago that you ..."
One of the beautiful things about Ebooks is that it has reduced the barriers of entry. One the bad things about Ebooks it has reduced the barriers of entry. I did not detect any "AI" influences not that I would. Maybe a touch of Grammarly algorithm. I am more concerned about not breaking the flow of reading and the story itself than I am about rules of sentence structure. I find it funny when the authors are accused of not using Kings English (formally the Queen English) properly when it is a southern american author or northern american.
I suppose there is a AI that can detect AI with with percentage of likely hood. We are currently in period of "Moral Panic" when it comes to certain things. AI being one of them. The tools are changing but the patterns of human behavior haven't.. Dangers of Social Media for example. Strange times but they are all strange. "The past is a different country they do things differently there."
BTW. I enjoyed both books and am thankful to have read them.
Hi Doc,Just finished up the latest Ryn Wilkie installment and wanted to say thanks for the book! An enjoyable read, as are all of your works. Without revealing any spoilers, I’ll mention that I’m encouraged you seem to have left the story open to continue in the future. I look forward to more about Ryn (or whatever you choose to write about) as your writing schedule permits.
Thanks again!
Brent
Brent wrote: "Hi Doc,Just finished up the latest Ryn Wilkie installment and wanted to say thanks for the book! An enjoyable read, as are all of your works. Without revealing any spoilers, I’ll mention that I’m ..."
ditto
In the latest Ryn Wilkie book, Ryn encourages Claire to patent the toaster in her name, because she recognized the utility of the idea. Gareth is unsure of this approach, and was hoping to patent it himself, since women were not seen as inventors in his world.And this put me in mind of another very famous patent and the problems that a woman had in getting it.
In the 1930's, Austrian actress Hedy Lamarr came to the US. She was one of the icons of Hollywood once she started making movies; one of the first actors that the term "bombshell" was applied to. She appeared in magazines, on pinups and her picture was used to sell war bonds.
She also had an inventive side. When she wasn't acting she was doodling ideas for better traffic lights and ways to make carbonated drinks. Nothing much came of them.
Then in the late 1930's she was attending an arms-sale meeting with her husband of the time. One of the people there mentioned that the US had remote-controlled torpedoes that could be launched then guided via radio to a target, even if the target tried to evade. However, they were easy to jam, and that limited their utility. She didn't think too much of it at the time.
Later she was speaking to a friend of hers, composer George Antheil. Antheil was a progressive composer who was one of the first people who used automation in music. He would take several player pianos, calibrate them so they would stay in synchronization with each other, then start them all at the same time. The different sounds from the different player pianos would combine to get the effects that Antheil wanted.
For testing Antheil would use the same score on several pianos so he could hear when they got out of sync. And Lamarr saw this and thought "if George is using this technique to get pianos to play the same note - the same frequency - at the same time, couldn't you use a similar mechanism to change the frequencies of the transmitter and receiver at the same time, so the enemy would never know what frequency to jam?"
She mentioned her idea to Antheil and they in turn contacted an electrical engineer at Caltech. He helped them draft a patent and they finally submitted it in 1942. It went over the technique of using several frequencies to reduce interference to the signal. It also had a note, almost as an afterthought, about using those several frequencies as a way to send more data.
They had invented frequency hopping and spread-spectrum communication, the basis of all modern cellphones.
After they filed for (and got) the patent they tried to sell it to the Navy for use in the war. They rejected her suggestion, and told her she would be more helpful giving them more pictures so they could put them on war bonds and sell them.
When she tried to speak to other people about it, she was regularly ignored. George Antheil, however, had much better luck. They saw Lamarr and Antheil's name on the patent, and they all assumed that Antheil had gotten the patent, and was just putting Lamarr's name on it to get into her pants or something. How could a female movie star do work like this?
It wasn't until 1997 that her contributions were recognized with an Electronic Frontier Foundation's Pioneer Award. She was also the first woman to receive the Invention Convention's BULBIE Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award, known as the "Oscars of inventing," in 1998. And in a cool "future award" thing, a Star Trek series recently debuted the USS Voyager-A, a Lamarr-class ship.
While I worked for Qualcomm (the first company to use CDMA spread spectrum for cellphones) Lamarr was something of a household name. So at least while she was alive she got some recognition and fame for her accomplishments, even if she didn't at the time.
Laury,Just read your review on why you liked "A Fire Upon the Deep",on the Shepherd site. You mentioned the book had "slow zones" for intelligence and technology as a reason why other races did not visit us. Poul Anderson wrote a book called "Brain Wave" on that same idea around the 1950's from a slightly different point of view.He started from the idea of Earth just coming out of a"slow zone" and dealt with the problem created by our brains that worked in a "slow zone", would be much more efficient once the solar system in its normal movement through space,moved out of the "slow zone". In other words an IQ of say 100 would suddenly jump to 200. People of limited mentality might jump from 60 to 150. He also dealt with the problems of animals such as primates,dogs,pigs etc. becoming as intelligent as we are now.I read it as a teen-ager and it was one reason I became a science fiction fan. You probably have read it but if you haven't it is really worth your while.
Everard La Touche
Seems like it's close to time for your next book, I'm hoping it's not too far away. Thank you for the books!
I AM RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED! My favorite author is releasing a new book in my favorite series! WOO HOO!!!
Antigravity (Ell Donsaii #19) is up for preorder or you can get it directly on May 15th.
Hope you enjoy it!
I can't post a link on Goodreads but an Amazon search for Dahners & Antigravity will find it
This is the nineteenth book in a series of near-future hard-science fiction Thrillers. Their heroine, EllDonsaii, has a nerve mutation that’s made her a genius and provided her with astonishing athletic abilities. Her intelligence has let her revolutionize our world with anumber of inventions, including instantaneous communications and trans-dimensional portals that deliver fuel, water, food, energy, and people all around the solar system
"Antigravity" is about a new invention that Ell and her husband, Shan, come up with. It enables the creation of tractor and pressor fields that can enable one to lift off into the sky, the same as antigravity. At first, it doesn’t seem like there will be a lot of uses for it,but as time passes, they keep finding more and more things they can do with it.
Meanwhile, Zage decides he needs help running his company, Gordito. Ell helps him incorporate as Gordito Labs, aiming to “continue cutting-edge bioresearch to the benefit of mankind.”
Ell’s twins, Caii and Raii, continue their painting and caring for their adopted sister. When they can get their parentsto take them, they like to tour the famous art of Italy.
But Vesuvius, the volcano that buriedPompeii, is about to erupt again.
Can Ell and her company help?
Thank you so much, really enjoyed the new book. Only problem is that now I have to wait for the next one, sigh.
Ditto, really enjoyed another ED book. You have an amazing, if slightly frustrating ability to write page turners. I bought the book at 4am and had it finished by noon. Now I have to wait...I was surprised with the anti-gravity, When you had hinted at it in a previous book, I assumed that the manipulation of gravity would have to do with the 5th dimension, so I was surprised this didn't mention it. I was also thinking that AG would be a good solution for a paraplegic. Have the field along with an AI create the illusion of walking, no more wheelchairs. This would help with muscle deterioration etc. And what? no flying cars?!? How dare you! Everybody wants a flying car! I know, with transporters, who needs cars, but darn it! I want my flying car!
Thanks for continuing to write
Magnificently marvelous day!Thanks for another excellent book!
I can think of a lot of uses for AG, even with ports available, although many or most of are more for entertainment and sports. I could see AG vehicle races, similar to Star Wars, among many other types of activities that AG would make possible or at least safer.
So always the followup question, what book is next? I love all you series and would be happy with anything you write but I am kind of hoping you will do another installment of Ryn.
Cheers,
Doug
In the #4 Donsaii book Rocket!, a subplot involves problems on the Space Station. The company that handles the resupply and crew launches - ILX - upgrades the engines on their Vulcan 5 launcher, but it turns out that the new engines are not reliable, and they cannot switch back to the old engines quickly. Thus the ISS faces shortages of everything including water, which they break down to make oxygen. Things are looking grim, but Donsaii saves the day with a small rocket with ports to deliver water and oxygen (and later very small burritos.)In a case of life (somewhat) imitating art, Elon Musk has announced he will be decomissioning the SpaceX Dragon capsule - currently the primary means of ISS resupply - as a result of a feud with the president. Fortunately this will not be as deadly as the example in Rocket! since the Soyuz resupply missions are still going on, and the Soyuz craft can be used for evacuation as well.
But it is going to be an interesting time on the ISS.
For those of you who like audiobooksAntigravity: An Ell Donsaii Story, Book #19
is out on Amazon and Audible.
Sorry I can't put a link on Goodreads
a search for Dahners Antigravity should find it.
Hope you enjoy it.
Currently I'm working on a Fantasy book.
It's about a kid who discovers he can do magic.
I decided to write my first Fantasy novel, "Mender Magic," complete with magic and swords!Hope you guys like that as well as SF. If not, no worries, I'll get back to SF after a few of these ...
Here's the blurb:
A horse-powered world where magic is used for mending, making, and healing.
Magical ability is rare, but Ky Vaux—a poor boy in a poor family—discovers he’s a mender one morning when he breaks a bowl and accidentally mends it.
Can Ky’s gift of magic support Ky, his mother, and his sister while they attempt to escape from his abusive and alcoholic father?
When Ky’s gift proves to be even more powerful than they had hoped, they can’t help but wonder if it can take them farther than they had dreamed!
Sorry, I can't put a link on Goodreads, but an Amazon search for "Dahners Magic" should find it.
Magnificently marvelous day Laury!I just finished Mender Magic and it is another excellent story! Thanks!
I am really looking forward to Maker Magic, I hope it will be relatively soon!
Cheers,
Doug
Thought I'd chime in as well, really enjoyed mender magic! As usual it was over much to soon. Eagerly awaiting the next installment. Are you working on the next simple magic or another series?
More simple magic coming up!Glad you liked it.
Laury Dahners
Thanks for the book! It was a fun read. Close to the feel of the Hyllis books, with a little Niven/Rowling/Varley brands of magic thrown in. For the first few pages I was trying to figure out where it was set. Was it in the aftermath of a human apocalypse, like the Hyllis series was set? Alternate Earth timeline? Another race entirely that's simply close to human? (I've been alert for that one ever since Stephenson's Anathem.) What explains the 1500's level of technology they have?
Then a trachea is described and he names the sword Excalibur and that settles that.
In Rowling's magic she started exploring the idea "do you really need to say the words for the spell to work?" and although she does not entirely flesh it out, she seems to indicate that the words are a crutch to help learn the spell, but more advanced wizards can either just mouth the words or do away with them entirely. This book took the opposite approach, that it's easier to start without any words, and just do it.
It will be interesting to see if, when Ky gets to the school in Deuben, if they teach verbal spells as crutches/training aids or they explicitly teach "just say some words to wow your audience."
Thanks again.
Another Author's Blog I follow is Nathan Lowell. His project got sidetracked by cancer. Thankfully he is recovery energy and stamina from treatment and the prognosis seem to all clear. Now he back to trying to get the story to stay put.