Forgotten Books Friday, Brackett and Hamilton Double

For Forgotten Books Friday this week I’m looking at Tor Double Novel No. 8. This contains “The Nemesis from Terra” by Leigh Brackett on one side, and “Battle for the Stars” by Edmond Hamilton on the other. That makes this a family affair since Brackett and Hamilton were married.  Both books would be classified as space opera. They were originally published separately in 1961, and combined in the Tor edition in 1989.

I read Battle for the Stars first, many years ago, and for my Goodreads review simply have the phrase, “decent space opera.” I read it as a standalone, probably checking it out from the small library in my hometown when I was a teenager, and obviously from the review I didn’t remember it all that well. It’s probably been over 40 years. I preferred the stories in Hamilton’s Crashing Suns collection, which I reviewed last week.

I discovered Brackett later than Hamilton but I’ve read more of her work and rate her as the better writer. At least, I tend to like her work better than Hamilton’s. Reading The Nemesis from Terra now shows me why.

First, Brackett had more poetry in her work than Hamilton. Here are some lines: “The winged ones drifted out from the white towers, and across the little racing moons. They were light and indescribably beautiful, and their wings shimmered with soft secret fires like opals under mist.”  I’m afraid I’m just a sucker for that kind of descriptive poetic language.

Second, while both Brackett and Hamilton wrote a lot of action into their stories, Brackett’s characters seem, to me, to have more heart. We see more of their inner thoughts and emotions. We see more things through their eyes. To make a comparison, reading Hamilton is like watching a movie, while reading Brackett is more like playing a video game. The video game involves you more directly in the action rather than letting you passively receive the information.

Brackett wasn’t an early influence on my writing, but has become one during my adult years, as I’ve read more of her work and have studied why I enjoy her stuff so much. She, and C. L. Moore, were particular influences on Under theEmber Star.  Here’s a particular little snippet of Ember Star that, perhaps, evokes a Brackett kind of feeling.

“The seven hovercycles Ginn saw hidden now beneath the overhanging bank of the dry river were typical of nomad machines. Low slung. Predatory. They seemed molded out of rust but that was only camouflage against the umber and ochre shades of the desert rocks. Ginn noted the hand-stitched seats of local leather, the exquisite etchings in black and red that embellished every metal surface, the displays of bone beadwork that dangled from handlebars and saddlebags.”

I like doing these forgotten book Fridays so I’m going to try to do a few more while it’s still summer. Once school starts, all bets will be off.

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Review of Under the Ember Star by Rachel V. Olivier

Something good to post about. Rachel Olivier has put up a very fine review of Under the Ember Star over at her blog. Thanks to Rachel for the review, and I'm glad she liked it. I was happy too because this is one of the first posted reviews I've had of the book by a woman reader. It took me a long time to try, as a male writer, to create a female protagonist, rather than just female secondary characters. I've only done it a few times so I was pleased to hear that it worked from someone of the other gender.

In other news, interesting lucid dream last night. As soon as I realized it was lucid I opened the door the cabin I was in and took off flying. That's what I usually do whenever I go lucid. Love to fly. Later I had a dream about a wolf puppy gnawing at my boot.

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Inhabiting Your Setting

 Actors sometime talk about “inhabiting” a character. As near as I can tell, they mean that they try to get inside the skin of the character and live—at least for a while—as if they are that person. They want to ‘think’ like the character so their actions will come natural.

We writers generally can’t do the same thing because we are writing “many” characters. We can’t inhabit just one or all our characters will sound and act the same. What we can do, however, is inhabit the setting our characters move through. Setting has a powerful influence on character thoughts  & actions. It affects every character.

Take the woods, for example. I grew up in the country and spent a lot of time in the forest. I’ve been there in daytime, in fog, in mornings & evenings, at night. I’ve camped out. Explored. I’ve been cold and shivering there, felt awe and fear. While writing the book Cold in the Light, which was set mostly in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, I took many long walks in the woods at night to try and get back the feel for such wild climes. I was putting my characters through that kind of experience and wanted to feel what they were supposed to be feeling. I think it worked, and parts of that book made me distinctly uncomfortable while writing them.

Anyone can experience the woods, of course. But what if the story setting doesn’t actually exist? Under the Ember Star takes place on the frigid desert world of Kelmer. I’ve never been. So how did I ‘inhabit’ that environment?  First, my wife and I took a trip several years ago to Arizona & New Mexico. Lana is a photographer and took many pictures of barren, desiccated landscapes. We toured a slot canyon that showed the power of water in a desert setting. I spent a lot of time in those places, soaking in the feel. I also read a bunch of books about living in desert environments, such as Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire.

Then I did lots of imagination work related to the story. Not just on the storyline. I imagined and worked through scenarios in my head for all kinds of settings in the book. I asked questions like, what if I had been there a few hours before an event in the book took place, or a few hours after? What would the temperature be? How much dust would be in the air? Would there be bugs? Would there be any food?  How would the plants look? I followed these questions up, if needed, by Googling photos and chronicles that might help me.

A writer’s primary job is to get the reader to ‘experience’ what the characters are experiencing. Inhabiting the setting for a story is one way to do that.

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Gravity and A Little Something Else

Lana and I went to see the movie Gravity today. We watched it in 3D at the IMAX theater. Those of you who know me know I'm a long way from a movie buff. Frankly, I usually don't give a crap about them. But I have to say the 3D IMAX version of Gravity was pretty overwhelming. 3D has come a longggg way since the last time I saw such a movie, which was probably 15 or 20 years ago. It was incredibly engrossing and did not feel contrived at all. I did have a mild headache after leaving the theater, but I'm not sure if that was a function of the 3D effect, the thunderous sound system, or both. The headache went away pretty quickly.

Even in non 3D, I suspect this movie would be very good. It was as intense and suspenseful as anything I've seen in years. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney did amazing jobs as the only two characters we ever put real faces to. I've always liked Bullock, have generally not been particularly admiring of Clooney, but both deserve award nominations for this movie.  Of course, much of the credit also goes to the writers who put wonderful dialogue into the actors' mouths.

The special effects were just outstanding. Although we expect good special effects these days, I thought this movie took it a step above and beyond (so to speak). Both Lana and I felt at times like we were right there inside the astronauts' suits. The sheer immensity of space and the awful loneliness of it came through in just about every frame. As Bullock or Clooney reached to grab for a hand hold, or strained to reach something just off their fingertips in the darkness, I reached with them. I felt like I'd gone through the ringer by the time it was over, and will give the movie my hearty recommendation. I've not done that very often for movies here.

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I'll end with a little change of pace. Here's a little teaser I worked up for "Under the Ember Star."  What do you think? I've done a couple more of these as well and will be posting them over the next few days.

http://www.amazon.com/Under-the-Ember-Star-ebook/dp/B009D01JC6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381887047&sr=8-1&keywords=under+the+ember+star

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When a Man Writes a Woman (Character)

For a long time I would not write a female character, other than as a love interest or as a secondary character. There were two primary reasons for this, which I’ll talk about below.

 1). I didn’t feel competent to do so. I knew women but certainly did not feel like I understood them. I realize today that I still don’t understand them. But then, I don’t really understand men either. I don’t understand humanity very well in general, I fear.  Humans are  complicated organisms. Most don’t even understand themselves.  But I realized somewhere in the 1990s that if I wrote about female characters, I might begin to understand them better. I’ve always learned through writing about things.

2). I was afraid I’d get it wrong and would be thrashed over it. I had seen men write female characters and be taken to task for creating a male-fantasy version of a female character. Many times I felt the criticisms were correct. But not always. Then I had an enlightening experience. I shared an idea about a female character with my writing group and the three women in the group were absolute adamant that a woman would not do what I was going to have my character do. I was rather depressed over that, so I asked a couple of other women, not writers but work colleagues, what they thought. They both said, absolutely, a woman might do that. In fact, that’s what “they” would do in that situation. Probably I should have already known it, but I had an epiphany: “not all women are alike.”   

By the way, these are the same reasons I haven’t written much about characters who aren’t ethnically white. I didn’t grow up African American, or Native American. Although I can generally envision some of the experiences such folks might have, I can’t literally “feel” the experiences the way they would. This makes me cautious in writing non-white characters because I don’t want to get it wrong. I want to treat all my characters with respect in the sense that I don’t want them to be cardboard cutouts or caricatures. But I particularly want to make sure to do this for women and non-white characters because they have too often been treated as stereotypes. At the same time, I don’t want to limit my characters either. I don’t want to avoid making an African American or a woman into a villain simply out of fear that some folks might disapprove.

Under the Ember Star was my first long work with a female lead. Ginn Hollis was not a consciously constructed character in the sense that I didn’t sit down to build a female character and then put her into the work fully formed. Instead, I tried to write her as naturally as I could, not so much writing a “woman,” as writing a human being who is also a woman. I think that’s probably the only way I can do it. In the reviews I’ve gotten for the book, most have said specifically that they liked the character of Ginn, so I feel pretty good about that. However, so far, I haven’t gotten any reviews from female readers. That makes me a bit curious about how women feel about Ginn. Well, maybe one day one of them will tell me.

http://www.amazon.com/Under-Ember-Star-Human-Knacker-Wildside/dp/1434444538/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379002084&sr=8-1&keywords=under+the+ember+star

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Reviews for "Ember Star"

I've been very pleased to see that Under the Ember Star has been getting some really good reviews. The latest comes from Chris La Tray over on his blog with a post called Keeping it Pulpy:  http://chrislatray.com/keeping-it-pulpy/ Thanks, Chris.

Two things I'm particularly pleased with hearing about the book is that the setting, a planet called Kelmer, is rich, and that the main character, Ginn Hollis, is believable and sympathetic. The name of the planet Kelmer comes from an amalgamation of Kenneth Bulmer, who wrote some really great sword and planet fiction under the pseudonym Alan Burt Akers. Ken also wrote a lot of SF and fantasy as well. The planet of Kelmer, though, owes more to the works of Leigh Brackett, especially her Martian stories, than to Ken's worlds. I put a lot of effort into developing the Kelmerian landscape and societies and I'm glad it seems to have paid off. 

Under the Ember Star also marks the first time I've tried a female protagonist for a long work. I knew I wanted to try it and was happy when Ginn Hollis leaped into my mind. She seemed just right for the setting and background, and I definitely want to tell more stories about her. I'm glad she seems to be resonating with readers.

Here's a (hopefully) funny ad I cooked up for Under the Ember Star. 

FIRST CONTACT!  I’m sure you’ve heard of SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.  Well, NASA has a new project out now called SETG, the Search for Extraterrestrial Gramlich. Even though they have been working on a shoestring budget of Cheetos and Beer, they got a hit in their first week of operation.  Less than a light year away, they discovered a novella by a “Charles Allen Gramlich” entitled Under the Ember Star.  Both a print version and an electronic version of the work have been detected using sophisticated infrared scanners and a fine toothed comb .  On the Beat for NASA, it’s Graham Charleston reporting for the Deerhaven Excalibur.  Remember, NASA owns space!

If you're interested in reading Under the Ember Star, it is in print (as a double with a military SF novel by Mark Burgess) and in ebook. Both are available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. 

DAVID CRANMER, BERNARD LEE DELEO, PATTI ABBOTT, ANONYMOUS-9

As far as I know, this meme began with a writer named Les Edgerton, who I don’t yet know. I was tagged for it by Richard Godwin, the author of several well received works, including Apostle Rising and a short story collection entitled Piquant: Tales of the Mustard Man. I’ve read both and was stunned in each case at the originality of the voice. Richard’s latest book is Mr. Glamour, and I have my copy but have not yet had a chance to read it. I’m looking forward to getting to it soon. Thanks, Richard, for inviting me to this series. For consistency sake, when I get to the part about my own work below, I’m going to use the same questions from the original post.

First, we were asked to pick four writers to invite to this blog meme and that proved to be very difficult.  I have a lot of comrades who are writers and who are certainly worthy of consideration. After much debate, however, I decided to focus on those whose output, or at least some of it, could be described as noir fiction. This is in keeping with Richard’s picks for his post. My four are David Cranmer, Bernard Lee DeLeo, Patti Abbott, and Anonymous-9.  Here’s a few words about them and why I invited them to discuss their Next Big Thing.

David Cranmer is the creator and editor for Beat to a Pulp, which is the name of both an online magazine and of a publisher that has helped revitalize noir fiction. David has put together several important collections of noir stories in the Beat to a Pulp series, and, under the name Edward A. Grainger, has written an influential series of hardboiled westerns about the characters Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles. David has even invited other writers to play in his world and some excellent stories have been generated by that invitation. You’d be doing yourself a favor to check out David’s websites and his writing.

Bernard Lee DeLeo is a prolific writer who has written a number of books that are available for the Nook and Kindle. His general style combines high intensity action blended with a good sense of humor. Here’s what I had to say about DeLeo’s Cold Blooded. “An assassin is given the task of killing a woman who is under witness protection. Instead, something draws him to her emotionally, and he takes on the task of protecting her and her tween-aged daughter from a host of murderers. Who better to save someone from assassins than the coldest blooded killer of them all. This is an exciting thriller, full of brutal action, but not without a sense of humor. The assassin, Nick, is about the baddest bad ass ever. Good characters, good story, good read.” Check Bernard’s stuff out.

Patti Abbott is a versatile writer whose best known work so far has fallen into the noir arena. I read her collection of short story gems called Monkey Justice and reviewed it both on Amazon and on Goodreads. However, her most recent story is a western, which is up over at Beat to a Pulp. One of Patti’s great strengths is her characters and you should treat yourself to some of her writing.

Anonymous-9 lives in the non-writing world under the name Elaine Ash. Several years ago her short story, “Hard Bite,” single-handedly stretched the boundaries of modern noir fiction. Now, Hard Bite the novel is available. Elaine is also a talented editor. Here’s what I said on Amazon about her first collection of stories, which included “Hard Bite.”  “A collection of noir/crime stories that really push the borders of the genre forward. Many of these are award winning or award nominated tales, and the awards are deserved. Definitely not the same old, same old stuff. Full of fresh, if twisted, tales.”

Now for the section where I discuss my latest work.

My latest published work is a novella entitled Under the Ember Star. It was published by Borgo Press, an imprint of Wildside, and included as one half of a “Double,” with my book on one side and The Battle for Eden by Mark E. Burgess on the other. Later, the two novellas were published as separate ebooks.

Here’s a synopsis/teaser for Under the Ember Star:

Ginn Hollis was fourteen when her father's mysterious death left her alone on the planet Kelmer. She's grown up since then. Kelmer is a harsh world, an old world: its people are ancient, its civilization long fallen and dimly dreaming under a brown dwarf sun the natives call the Ember Star. But now, long dormant forces are beginning to stir on Kelmer, forces that could destroy the planet forever...or bring it back to life. One being stands at the center of the turmoil. His origins are veiled, his destiny is unclear. Everyone wants a piece of him. Only Ginn Hollis can protect him--if she can save herself first....

What is the hook? What’s this book really about?

Under the Ember Star is, in many ways, a science fiction mystery. Who is the strange  being who hires Ginn Hollis for protection? What is the nature of those who make the planet Kelmer their home? Who are the architects of the technology that allows life to survive on the planet’s surface. Before the story ends, all these questions and more are answered, and there’s a lot of action in the process.

Here are a couple of review excerpts:

“UNDER THE EMBER STAR by Charles Allen Gramlich is a rousing science fiction tale of a streetwise young woman named Ginn who was left to her own devices at a young age when her archaeologist father was killed. She lives on Kelmer, a distant human colony world, which features a native humanoid species, hostile terrain, an enigmatic past, and a cooling sun that promises to slowly worsen the planet's climate. Ginn is hired by an inscrutable member of the native species for a job that will take her into Kelmer's wilderness, battling human and alien foes who seek to stop their quest, in an effort to learn more about the planet's origins and the involvement of a long-lost alien species. Gramlich's worldbuilding is superb; Kemler never ceases to seem like a real place, and Gramlich's construction of a relatively primitive alien culture in a tense but not entirely antagonistic relationship with human colonists is some of the best I've seen in years. This fast-moving, well-written adventure yarn is an exceptional science fiction story.” -- From Andrew Byers.

“This review is for Under the Ember Star (one half of this back-to-back paperback double); it is also available via e-book as a stand alone novel. Charles Gramlich is an accomplished author, and this tale fully demonstrates his story-telling ability. The strong female lead character, Ginn Hollis, is an orphaned human who has grown up on a distant colony world; part of the population is human, and part is a resident alien species, ancient and mysterious. The planet itself is old, full of brooding mystery as its sun slowly cools in the twilight of its life. Ginn must take on the job of guiding an alien client through the wilds of this world, overcoming obstacles both human and inhuman to fulfill their quest. Gramlich's story moves with pace, but combines the action with strong character development, set in a fleshed-out world that has depth and solidity, making the reader feel like this is a real place with real people and problems. The feel of the book reminds me a bit of Leigh Brackett's work, and she is one of my favorite authors. Great story; I highly recommend it.” --From “AuthorVet”

What inspired the book? Where did you get your idea?

The inspiration for most of my writing comes from the great stories I’ve heard and read over the years. Two particular writers inspired Under the Ember Star.  These were Leigh Brackett and C. L. Moore, who both wrote of wonderful characters involved in furious action on strange and alien worlds. Just as such writers gave me many hours of enjoyment, I hope to do the same for a new generation of readers.

What genre is this book?

Under the Ember Star would be considered Science Fiction, particularly under the sub-label of Space Opera. It’s not hard science fiction, but it’s definitely not a fantasy. I put a lot of effort into getting the world and culture right. The science is there and it’s important, but I put more emphasis on the characters and action.

Where and when can I read the book?

Under the Ember Star is available both in print, as part of a Wildside Double with Mark E. Burgess’s The Battle for Eden, and as a standalone ebook. It’s available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Wildside itself, as well as at other online stores.

Amazon Print

Amazon Ebook

Barnes & Noble Print

Barnes & Noble Ebook

Wildside Press Print

Wildside Press Ebook
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Affordable Time Travel At Last

In an interview with this dashing reporter, scientist Charles Gramlich, who described himself as only “half-mad,” spoke at length about his years of dedicated work on the time travel conundrum.  His tinkering with wormholes and string theory led nowhere until, in the summer of 2010, he realized he had been approaching the problem all wrong.  “Physics and engineering can only take you so far,” Gramlich said. “The breakthrough came when I finally grokked that only the ‘mind’ possesses the required energy field necessary to generate  a true temporal distortion. It’s also much cheaper,” he added.

After looking  up about half those words in the dictionary, and after getting Professor Gramlich to explain the rest, your distinguished reporter finally understood.  I immediately took a little jaunt through time with the good Professor, visiting first the old American West, and then leaping far into the future to a planet as yet unknown to current human knowledge. Should you wish to follow in our pioneering footsteps, simply read Killing Trail, by the author Charles Allen Gramlich (no relation), and follow that with Under the Ember Star, by the same author.  Both books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Graham Charleston reporting for the Deerhaven Explicator. Somewhere in and out of time.

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Good Review, and CONtraflow II

Andrew Byers over at Tales from the Bookworm's Lair, has reviewed the Borgo Double containing my Under the Ember Star and Michael Burgess’s The Battle for Eden. It’s a detailed review of both works. I’m glad to say that Andrew liked ‘em both, as well. Check it out.
In other news, this weekend, October 5-7, I will be a guest at the New Orleans area CONtraflow Con. This is only the second year for the Con, which I also attended last year. I had a great time and this one looks bigger than before. They’ve moved to a new and larger hotel. We’ll be at the Double Tree Hotel in Kenner, Louisiana, which is near the New Orleans area airport. The author guest of honor is Vernor Vinge. Arthur Suydam is the Comic Artist Guest of Honor. There are plenty more guests as well. Even me!

You can get a PDF of the schedule at the link above. I’ll be at the “Meet the Guests” party Friday evening, and then have a panel at 9 on “The Fan in Academia.” I know many academics who are fans of Science Fiction and Fantasy. It seems a fairly natural match to me, especially for scientists.

On Saturday I have an 11:00 panel on “How to Get Published,” a 4:00 panel on “World Building 101,” and a 7:00 on “The Works of Robert E. Howard.” I also did that one last year, and though we didn’t have a lot of folks at the panel we had a wonderful discussion that we had to continue downstairs in the pool area after the panel was done.

I’ll also be around on Sunday, though I don’t have any specific panels that day. I will be in and out of the dealer’s room, though, and wandering around to other folks’ panels. I’ve met quite a few of the guests before, but not all. Come join us if you can.
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Ember Star Ebook

Under the Ember Star is out now in Kindle format for Amazon. It hasn’t shown up on Barnes and Noble for the Nook yet, although the print version is certainly available there.

Although in print it was published as a Wildside Double, with The Battle for Eden by Mark E. Burgess on the other side, the ebooks for the two have come out separately. I imagine it would have been a real pain to try to keep the “double format” in ebook.  Here’s a widget for Mark’s book in Kindle format if you’d like to check it out.

The advantage to the ebooks is price, of course. By separating the two and putting them in electronic format, the price has dropped to $2.99 a book as opposed to the $15.99 for the combined books in print format. Folks are talking about how ebooks are outselling print books. Well, I gotta believe a lot of that is simply about the price. I love print books and I’d certainly like to sell many copies of the works together in print, but $15.99 is pretty steep, I’ve got to admit.

As for “Ember Star,” I have to send a shout out to Shauna Roberts in relationship to the book. Shauna read and reviewed my Talera series, and interviewed me about them, and when I was working on the fourth one (which will eventually see the light of day) she made a comment about hoping to see a really strong female warrior-type character in that book. There is one in that work, but her comment also got me thinking that I wanted to try a strong female hero in something else as well.  Ginn Hollis, the main character from “Ember Star,” grew out of that thinking.  So thanks, Shauna, for the inspiration. Just below I’ve included a link to a fine SF adventure novel by Shauna called, The Hunt.

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The Battle for Eden: Mark E. Burgess

 We have a guest on the blog today.  Mark Burgess is an author and veterinarian who works out of Portland, Oregon.  Mark’s novel is the other half of Wildside Double #25, which also includes my “Ember Star.”  I’ve never met Mark in person but we’ve corresponded via email and I can tell by his mention of Keith Laumer’s “The Last Command” in his acknowledgements that we’ve read many of the same works and have similar influences.  Below, Mark tells us a bit about his story.  I hope you’ll give him your support.

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 Hi everyone!  I thought I’d write a short note about my new novel, The Battle for Eden, which is half of a double paperback from Wildside Press, paired with Charles Gramlich’s story Under the Ember Star.  My novel is the third in a series about the human-Knacker war. The tale is set in the far future, and far from Earth, in a giant globular star cluster just outside the Milky Way galaxy. The humans who had settled numerous worlds there are unexpectedly confronted by the Knackers, an ancient nomadic race of large crustacean-like aliens. These creatures inhabit a massive armada of space-faring ships, and they live by raiding planets throughout the galaxy, both for food and raw materials. Unfortunately, the Crabs (as humans call them) see nothing wrong in harvesting other intelligent life forms for food, and humans seem to be high on their list of delectable edibles.  Hence the conflict around which the series of stories is focused, as humans struggle for survival against a technologically advanced species for which war is a way of life.

I had already read the first two books in the Knacker series prior to writing “Eden,” and was enchanted by the unexplored possibilities left open by the initial installments. The original ‘concept’ story, a short piece by Ardath Mayhar, was written long ago and never published until recently. Ardath was an accomplished writer whose career spanned decades, and she recently passed away, but she lived long enough to see her Knacker story finally come to life in print.  In “Eden,” I wanted to delve more deeply into how humans would be affected by conflict with a hostile alien species, how people would react, and how resilient could they be in the face of fear and loss.  Last (but not least!) I wrote “Eden” to be a fun ride, full of action and exotic imagery as well as characters with depth.  My wife likes this story best of all those I’ve written so far. The Battle for Eden is written as a stand-alone story, so you do not have to read the prior books in the series in order to enjoy this one. The first chapter is available to read on my Facebook page. My facebook name is authorvet.  If you go to ‘Notes’ on the left page margin you’ll find free samples of several of my stories.  If you like them, feel free to share with your friends!

I’m currently working on another Knacker story, “Dark Angels,” a somewhat darker tale which is set entirely in space, not planetside as most of “Eden” is.  After that I’ll give the Knacker series a break, and work on some other ideas I’ve got brewing.  My heartfelt thanks to Charles for consenting to having my story paired with his in this new double paperback; he’s an accomplished author and has far more published works in his resume than I, at this stage of our respective careers.  May both our stories live long and prosper!     ~Mark E. Burgess    July 26, 2012

 

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Looking for Joy

How does the time get away?  It was Wednesday when I posted last, and now it's Sunday. I posted about Under the Ember Star being published.  I did some promoting for it on facebook and sent some emails, but not that much.  I haven’t had a lot of energy.  Lana is starting to feel the full effects of the radiation and is not eating well.  Her saliva gland on the tumor side is no longer producing saliva and everything tastes bad to her, and her throat is so dry it often hurts her to swallow.  I think yesterday she ate a bite of scrambled egg, a little rice, and some Italian Ices.  She is drinking a lot of milk, and they gave her some prescriptions to help with the saliva issue.  So far they have not helped much, but maybe it will take time to build.

In other health news, my blood tests came back with my cholesterol at 210 and my triglycerides at 496.  I am now on my second prescription medicine, this one for triglycerides. I was already on high blood pressure medicine.  I knew it was coming but didn’t really want to end up on two. Anyway, pretty minor compared to Lana’s issues.

But enough of the less joyful stuff.  I’m gonna try to find a good book and loose myself in it.  There are worlds of adventure and joy out there, and if I can’t find much inside myself at the moment, maybe I can take some in second hand.  Maybe I’ll read Under the Ember Star again. It’s been a while, and the days when I was writing it were quite full of joy. 

Here’s a little excerpt from the end of chapter 2 and the start of chapter 3, which is called “Smoking Blasters.”  To set the stage, Ginn had a rough night and wakes up to find that a veiled stranger has broken in and wants to talk to her. But there are others looking for the stranger to, and they are ready to kill to get him. Ginn hears a sound in her home that she shouldn’t hear.  And…action:

“Who’d you bring with you right now?” she demanded suddenly.

“No one. I mean, they did not come into town.”

Ginn surged to her feet, the apple dropped and forgotten, the kaftee spilling to the desk. She filled her free hand with her second blaster. Her visitor recoiled, hands going up toward its veiled face.

“Then you were followed,” she snarled.

From below, in the abandoned factory, a door shished open. From the street outside came a sound like a sheet of paper tearing—a pulse weapon powering up.

Ginn hurled herself forward, one arm sweeping her robed companion with her to the floor.

The wall at her back exploded.

Shrapnel sleeted. Echoes hammered.

A burning flake of metal furrowed Ginn’s left shoulder. She heard the sudden grunt of the being beneath her but couldn’t tell if or how bad it had been hurt. Dust and ash roiled and the already dim Kelmerian sun did little to cut it.

Lurching into a crouch, Ginn hacked up some of the swirling grit, tried to draw shallow breathes to keep the rest out of her lungs. The light-lenses provided a quick catalog of what was left of her apartment. It wasn’t pretty. Her roof sagged, smoldering. Half of it was gone. The remaining walls bulged outward. She wasn’t living here anymore.

The floor beneath Ginn creaked, as if about to collapse. Her enemies weren’t waiting on that. From below in the abandoned factory, running footsteps sounded. They’d expect her to try and escape that way—if she lived. But the stairs down would not belong to her anymore. Her options were narrowing.

“Follow or die,” Ginn growled toward her strange visitor.
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