Update on STAR WANDERERS and a sneak peek at some cover art

So in case you didn’t know, I’ve been getting an omnibus edition ready for Star Wanderers.  It’s subtitled The Jeremiah Chronicles, and contains parts I-IV (Outworlder, Fidelity, Sacrifice, and Homeworld).  This covers the first major series arc, with all of the stories from Jeremiah’s point of view–hence the title. I commissioned Ina Wong from Deviant… Continue reading Update on STAR WANDERERS and a sneak peek at some cover art

W is for Wagon Train to the Stars

When Gene Roddenberry pitched the original Star Trek series back in the 60s, Westerns were all the rage.  Consequently, he pitched his show as a “wagon train to the stars,” where a bunch of quirky characters on an awesome starship travel from adventure town to interstellar adventure town, exploring and pioneering the final frontier. Sound… Continue reading W is for Wagon Train to the Stars

V is for Vast

If you don’t know anything else about the universe, you should know this: it’s big.  Really, really, REALLY big. How big, you ask?  Well, for starters, take a look at Earth in the picture above.  Can you see it?  It’s the pale blue dot in the beam of starlight on the right side of the… Continue reading V is for Vast

U is for Universal Translator

In science fiction, whenever two characters from different planets or different alien races have to interact with each other, they almost always speak the same language or have some sort of universal translator that magically makes them able to communicate with minimal misunderstandings.  This is especially common in Star Trek, though it happens in just… Continue reading U is for Universal Translator

T is for Terraforming

[NOTE: this post is a reprint of an earlier post from the Trope Tuesday series, which you can find here.] One of the problems with interplanetary colonization is that Earth-like worlds are fairly rare (though possibly not as rare as we once thought). In our own solar system, the only other world that comes anywhere… Continue reading T is for Terraforming

I have a confession…

…I’ve started writing a Sword & Planet story. In case you’re wondering what the heck is Sword & Planet, think Conan the Barbarian in space.  With giant lizards and man-eating plants.  And half-naked princesses getting kidnapped by evil technomancers with giant four-armed bodyguards that wield laser-bladed swords.  Basically, science fiction in the style of the… Continue reading I have a confession…

S is for Space Station

Planets are not the only setting for science fiction stories–space stations are common as well.  From the Death Star (“that’s no moon…”) to Downbelow Station, the Venus Equilateral to ISPV 7 to the Battle School in Ender’s Game, space stations are a major staple of any space-centered science fiction. The reasons for this should be fairly… Continue reading S is for Space Station

P is for Planets

Gliese 581 by ~arisechicken117 on deviantART One of the best things about a good science fiction story is that it can take you to another world–literally!  Well, not in the sense of actually physically taking you there, but if you want to experience the thrills of an alien world from the safety of your favorite… Continue reading P is for Planets