Cary’s Comments (group member since Nov 26, 2011)

Cary’s comments from the Q&A with Cary Neeper group.

The Archives of Varok has a new addition--the book AN ALIEN'S QUEST, just released. The problem is the term 'alien.' It turns off people who like people-books, but the theme and action center around people and realistic things we need to do to secure the future. My aliens simply add some fun and a chance to bounce our human identity against some sympathetic Others--an analogy for animals. The latest novel is a serious search for meaning in the face of disillusionment, a very timely topic! Genre categories seem to get stuck. What should I call my books. No one uses the word 'speculative' much.

Thanks, Tom. I'll look up the Oz Great movie--and will make note of your favorite authors. I love writing soft scifi but need to read more. I keep getting caught in the nonfiction trap. The latest you might enjoy--a nice summary to date of the search for life out there. Cosmic Biology by Irwin and Schulze-Green things are coming up all over our yard!! Wheeeee.

Thanks for the note. The sequel "The Webs of Varok" is in process with my editor at Penscript Publishing House, a new venture. Web site not up yet. I'm looking forward to reading The Gaean Enchantment.

Thanks to friend Jill Kemerer on Twitter, I've found a new adjective to apply to my science fiction--inspirational, as well as fun, and provocative. The sequels coming out (somehow) next year probably deserve the adjective more than APBM, which is more like an environmental diatribe in places. What do you think? Don't miss the giveaway--until Dec. 20.

Cary wrote: Four books are on Giveaway until Dec. 20. Check out the blog to see why this book was revised in 1990's and how, and what is happening with the related stories.

I read Tolkien when my daughters were little, then read it to them, then read it again just to enjoy the English.I can remember times when they would climb in my lap and whisper "Mommy, I'm hungry." As a girl I would get that involved with Lewis Carroll and the Oz books.

Thanks, Shomeret. I love reading about worlds that explore creative ways of dealing with common problems, especially different ways of relating, of finding humor in the dilemmas common to all life. The first contact between ellls and varoks deals with communication problems and misassumptions THE UNHEARD SONG. Planning to make it available next year.

I grew up loving the Frank Baum Oz books, especially "Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz," and Lewis Carroll's "Alice In Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass." Tolkein came along when my kids were little, and I re-read "Moby Dick" after college, wondering why I had been so fascinated with it at age 12. I still love whales and most of what they stand for.

Why did I think this needed revision? Why couldn't I
stop writing about my favorite aliens? Why didn't I get the sequel and the 4 other books published before this? I wish I had some good excuses, but they're not good enough. What lessons have I learned?

A PLACE BEYOND MAN is an Authors Guild Backinprint.com Edition, worth every cent of the dues I have paid for 40 years !! (plus their legal advice).
It's an ongoing interesting experience, and has landed me here and all over the SM, determined to get its 4 sequels revised and updated once more and Out There At Last.

Welcome and enjoy. I'll start 4 topics and check them out every other day. The discussion runs from November 28 to December 18, while A PLACE BEYOND MAN is on Giveaway.
Someone has remarked that science fiction can cover a host of topics or crossover to various other genres, like mystery, YA and romance. What would you like to see more of?