fun

Extinguishing The Stars

While I was waiting for the edits for The Thief to come back, I dashed out a new short story! I can't tell you much about it right now, except that (a) it is a prequel of sorts to the third Cosmic Shores novel (the title of which you will discover at the end of The Thief), while also being a completely stand-alone story, (b) I LOVE it, and (c) you'll be able to read it this fall.

Northwest Indie Bookfest

I had a great time this Saturday at the Northwest Indie Bookfest. The wonderful Auntie’s Bookshop in downtown Spokane hosted the event, which included 5 regional writers’ groups and 20+ authors doing signings, readings and presentations. I got the total benefit of meeting new readers AND local authors (potential friends!). Props to Amber Laura for being an awesome table-mate and general collaborator. :)

I wish I could tell you what I was so, ah, enthusiastically describing in the second picture, lol.

Solar Eclipse

I was so jealous of the people who grabbed a spot beneath totality; the videos were incredible. I’m definitely visiting my old residence of Colorado Springs in 21 years when the next one comes around!

Here’s a couple of my favorite pictures from the eclipse (though there were so many).

Credit:

Image 1: Joshua Intini (https://twitter.com/Intini_WX/status/1777428414560932136)

Image 2: Erik Kuna (https://twitter.com/SuperclusterHQ/status/1777504797890854927)

Image 3: Peter Forister (https://twitter.com/forecaster25/status/1777434179136819497)

Image 4: NASA (ISS) (https://twitter.com/Space_Station/status/1777822160087818714)

10th Anniversary Celebration

Mr. Jennsen took me out to a lovely dinner this weekend to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Starshine's publication and the start of this crazy book journey. (You can read all about that HERE, if you missed it in the newsletter).

The many wonderful thoughts you all shared about my books and the ways they've impacted you absolutely bowled me over - my heart is full. I truly have the best readers in the multiverse. Thank you all so much!

And So It Begins (Again)

Season 1 of Babylon 5 has held up remarkably well,* and far better than I expected! The last time I rewatched - quite a few years ago - I remember thinking it looked and felt horribly dated, so I believe the remaster has made a ton of subtle improvements that create a much more watchable experience from a visual perspective.

These recent remasters (Farscape and The Abyss, along with B5) don't make the product look like a "new" show, but they do enough so that (except when heavy special effects are in use) you don't notice that it's an "old" show. Then, it's all about the story and characters.

And my goodness, this story. JMS really did know where he was going from the very beginning; that wasn't just PR puffed up after the fact to make the show seem more important.

Now, onward to Season 2, where shit gets real - but it's okay, because "Captain Sunshine" is on the job! (#MrJennsen's nickname for Sheridan.)

*It held up far better than Farscape Season 1, I'm afraid, which took 3/4 of the season for the script and the actors to get their feet under them and figure out what they were making here. Mind you, once they did, it quickly became a wonderful, delightfully weird and unexpectedly heartfelt show. Ben Browder and Claudia Black are even more amazing than I remembered, and...but this is a B5 post, not a Farscape one!

Sunlit

Story time!

I finished "The Sunlit Man" by Brandon Sanderson yesterday. After reading a short story of his in the "Galactic Empires" anthology and enjoying it, I decided it was time at last to read one of Sanderson's books. I chose "The Sunlit Man" because it has sci-fi elements mixed in with the usual helping of fantasy.

It was good! Not 5 stars, but an entertaining read. So last night, #MrJennsen and I are chatting about it, as two book lovers do.

Me: "It's ostensibly a stand-alone novel set in his Cosmere universe, but for a while I was doubting that assertion, as the MC kept referencing previous events in the universe.

"When I got to the Author's Note, I learned that the MC was a minor character in one or more other Cosmere books, and this was a one-off tale featuring him. I guess all the references were Easter Eggs for fans of his series. So basically, it's a stand-alone novel the way Medusa Falling is a stand-alone novel."

Mr Jennsen: *nods sagely*

Then I start talking about the plot of the book.

Me: "The MC arrives on this strange, unfamiliar planet. He's only planning on staying there for a hot minute, but events conspire to trap him on the planet. He falls in with a ragtag group of rebels, and of necessity starts to help them with their cause as a way for him to get off the planet.

"But over time, he comes to care for these people and realizes their cause is a just one, so he ends up throwing all in with them in a risky plan they hope will win freedom for themselves and others."

Mr. Jennsen: *stares sagely*

Me: "What?"

Mr. Jennsen: ...

Mr. Jennsen: "...So it's Medusa Falling."

Me: ...

Me: "...Yes."

***

PS: Not really, for every detail is different. The moral of this tale? Something all writers have to internalize eventually if they want to write fearlessly: every story has already been told; it's all in how you tell it.

Is Anyone Out There?

Two reknowned researchers, an astrobiologist and a planetary scientists, have bet a bottle of whiskey (hopefully a good one) over whether we will discover convincing evidence of *technological* life in the universe in the next 15 years: https://mindmatters.ai/2024/01/science-wager-extraterrestrials-will-be-spotted-within-15-years/

Per the two: "Our conclusion is that advanced extraterrestrial intelligent life (ETI) is either (1) extremely rare or non-existent in our galaxy or (2) these civilizations are deliberately hiding from us. No other possibility seems very likely."

I'm not at all sure that no other possibility is very likely. For instance, see Universe Today's excellent series on SEVENTEEN hypotheses of why we haven't yet detected intelligent life in the universe: https://www.universetoday.com/119727/beyond-fermis-paradox-i-a-lunchtime-conversation-enrico-fermi-and-extraterrestrial-intelligence/

Also, I'll readily concede there might not currently be many (any?) other advanced civilizations in the Milky Way, but our galaxy is a minuscule dot in the cosmos....

...which is why FTL will not be enough. We need wormholes!*

*also, I'm almost finished rewatching Farscape, and at this point it's All Wormholes, All The Time.

SciFi in 2024

Hey, it's a new year! What are you excited about in the world of science fiction this year? The theatrical release of Dune: Part Two is the 800-lb gorilla, of course (and I'm excited), but it's hardly the only game in town.

How about the 3 Body Problem show on Netflix, or new seasons of the growing number of quality scifi shows on Apple+ (For All Mankind, Foundation, Silo, Invasion and more)?

Or books (we love those)! On tap is the first book in a brand-new series from James S. A. Corey ("The Mercy of Gods"), as well as at least two new novels from Adrian Tchaikovsky (the man is prolific AF) and a new Bobiverse novel, to name just a few.

So what do you have your eye on?

Underrated

What a cool surprise: STARSHINE made The Review Geek’s list of “10 Great Books from Underrated Authors”! The list covers all genres, and Starshine is the only scifi novel.

The site looks to offer awesome coverage of all things geek entertainment, so after you peruse the list, check out the rest of their content.

https://www.thereviewgeek.com/10books-underratedauthors/

Holiday Festivities

This week's holiday festivities included ice skating with friends!

Have I ice skated before? Yes.

When did I last ice skate? In The Long Long Ago, when we fashioned our skates from materials dug out of the land.

But I didn't fall - not once! Mind you, this is pretty much the *only* accomplishment from my ice skating endeavors, but I get a gold star for it.

Tremendous fun was had by all. It really does make you feel like a kid again. Pretty damn magical.

Gifts that Keep On Giving

The Christmas gifts that will keep on giving! First The Abyss, now these beauties, both remastered for BluRay at long last. Mr. Jennsen and I are going to spend the next several months re-experiencing some of the best scifi TV has ever offered up.

P.S.: Remastering is not a magic bullet that transforms the content into "just like new" visuals. We've started with Farscape and, like The Abyss, the core cinematography - interior shots focused on the characters - looks excellent. The colors are vibrant and the visuals are sharp. What it doesn't do that much for are the special effects (also true for The Abyss); I suspect modernizing those would be a much larger project. However, I imagine that if I were to go back and watch the original DVDs, I would be blown away at how much better these look.

P.P.S: Yes, the Farscape box includes The Peacekeeper Wars (and new special features)! But make sure you get the 25th Anniversary Edition, as there are several collections out there that do not.

The Abyss Remastered

Mr. Jennsen and I had a date night Wednesday! One of my favorite movies has FINALLY been remastered in 4K, and they released it to selected theaters for one night only. Don’t fret if you didn’t know - the new version will be available to stream later this month, and a BluRay will be released in March 2024.

It looked gorgeous! Yes, at times the special effects heavy scenes showed their age, but the rest of the cinematography looked incredible - they definitely did far more than just slap a new label on it.

Christmas Gifts?

Fancy gifting your favorite Amaranthe fan with a personalized, signed paperback for Christmas? Get your orders in early, before the postal service totally melts down!

https://www.gsjennsen.com/paperback-store?category=Signed+Paperbacks

P.S.: It's 100% okay if your favorite Amaranthe fan is yourself.

P.P.S.: I have paperbacks of Medusa Falling and the Short Stories Collection as well - I just don't have handy pics of them.