Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving (early) to my American friends. May you all enjoy copious amounts of turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie (a personal favorite of mine). Before I run off to visit the family, more news to share:

• The very talented Sir Tiefling has created a wonderful concept portrait of Alexis Solovy. Check it out here:

• New blog post: Rules Are Made to be Broken...Except When They're Not

• Starshine Part III draft is complete! I realize that may seem a little fast, but the truth is I've had rough drafts for much of Part III written for quite a while. Inspiration for this arc struck early. Here's a little no-context spoiler-free (even more difficult now) excerpt:

~

A heavy, damp fog blanketed the air as far as the eye could see. Which, given that it was nearly 0200 and the aforementioned fog, wasn’t particularly far. The street lights gave the fog a washed-out pink glow and created an aura of eerie otherworldliness.

Alex felt the moisture condensing on the fine hairs of her arms. It was cold as hell, but she had needed to dress the part. A deep crimson camisole woven with fine optic fibers draped to her navel; the black leather pants hung low on her hips.

She quickened her pace, and not merely because of the chill. It was even later now and she still had a lot to do.

The club was almost to the beach, and she could hear the surf crashing against the shore. It brought back memories…memories she didn’t have time to indulge. She found the unmarked door beneath one of the refabbed Victorian row houses.

The music assaulted her ears while she was still descending the stairs. Pure synth, no beat, no lyrics, just a pulsing wave of complex tonals designed to soothe the mind and body into a state of open relaxation. It was warmer at least, though she suspected it would soon feel too humid as a result.

The warehouse space appeared pitch black save for vague shadows of people and the neon painted sensory address hanging in the air. With a sigh she accessed it; she’d never find her way through in the dark.

The overlay shimmered to life. Stars appeared beneath her feet, the cool glow of a pale green nebula in the space around her. A triple star system spun above her, comets dancing merrily amongst it in concentric orbits.

She wouldn’t spoil everyone’s fun, but even a full-sensory overlay didn’t come close to matching the real thing.

Alex. The prodigal daughter returns. You can find me on the balcony.

Comments are always welcome - comment box is at the bottom of the page!

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Friday, November 1, 2013

Happy Holidays! I’m fairly certain now that Halloween is over, it’s officially “The Holidays.” The people at the mall sure seem to think so…. Anyway, there’s news galore to share:

• I updated the Starshine Cover Art (and site background). It contains the same elements, but is softer and more ethereal. I know there’s a good bit of empty space in the middle left of the cover; I don’t want to clutter it up, but I do have some ideas for the space. Let me know what you think about the new design!

• New blog post: Novel Writing Software: A Tool—Not A Crutch

• Part II of Starshine is a wrap! Here’s a little spoiler-free (which was difficult, since anything which may or may not be occurring in the Metis Nebula is quite spoiler-y) excerpt:

~

“Minister, do you have children?”

“I’m a bachelor, so…not as far as I’m aware of.” He smiled.

Miriam didn’t. “I see. You will not have experienced this yourself then—but like many children, my daughter developed a mind of her own before she was two years old and has never lost it. She stopped taking my advice around the time….” A shadow passed across her face she couldn’t fully disguise.

The security office on Le Grande Retraite was as bright and clean as the rest of the orbital luxury resort. A young lieutenant in a spotless uniform greeted her at the entryway with a salute. “Major Solovy. It’s an honor to meet you.”

She leveled a dismissive glare at him. “This is not a social call, Lieutenant. Take me to my daughter.”

His posture wilted as he stammered out a response. “Y-yes, ma’am. We put her in one of the interview rooms. I, um, gave her a juice. And some popcorn.”

She fell in beside him. “And the young man?”

“Uh, he was of age and no laws had been broken, so we weren’t able to detain him.” He stopped in front of a doorway and glanced at her, then hastily opened the door and stepped back.

Alexis tossed a kernel of popcorn in the air and caught it in her mouth. Her feet were clad in braided flip-flops and kicked up on the desk, legs crossed at the ankle. She was all elbows and knees, half a child and half a woman. Her hair was bound in long pigtails draped over her shoulders and down her chest—strange, they somehow made her look older, not younger. Perhaps it was the sharp, spirited fire in her eyes. David’s eyes.

“Mom. Here to throw me in the brig?”

“I am here to take you home.”

~

As always, drop any comments or questions in the comment box at the bottom of the page!

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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Part II is a monster; so many moving pieces...and so much fun (for me). FYI, the current layout contains 4 parts; it's possible the end of Part II will be moved out and Parts III and IV combined. It's mainly a question of pacing, and time will tell.

Now, news and updates:

• New blog post: Characters: How to Create Them, How to Make Them Real

• New concept art, straight from Alex's loft: Neutron Star

• The email you receive if you're a subscriber has been redesigned into a more organized and content-packed "newsletter" format.

• Follow me on Twitter for a variety of science, scifi and writing musings: @GSJennsen

As always, feel free to drop any comments or questions in the comment box at the bottom of the page.

UPDATE: Apologies for the duplicative email from Feedburner (containing updates already in the Newsletter). It shouldn't happen again!  

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Monday, September 23, 2013

It's been a busy two weeks; unfortunately, much of the work I can't share yet. But here's what I can share:

• New blog post: Tools, Process and Organization, Oh My!

• I fixed a few formatting issues on the site; those of you with 16:9 resolutions should be able to see the page quotes now :).

• Apologies for any duplicated text in the "Updates" email; I'm still fiddling with some of the RSS settings. It will be fixed next update.

• Part I of Starshine is DONE. In the bag. Until all the revisions when I finish the full draft and go back to the beginning, that is. Here's a teeny little no-context, spoiler-free excerpt:

~

—a flicker…no, an absence, a dark gap in the nebular clouds, caught the corner of Caleb's eye. In a breath he shifted to full alert.

There was no logical explanation for why his senses were instantly hyper-focused and nanobot-aided adrenaline already rushed through his veins—but preternatural instincts was one reason the government paid him a rather generous salary.

He swung around to sweep the area in a broad arc, and came up empty. The sensors detected only the noise Metis radiated. Yet a moment later a well-defined void was distinctly silhouetted against a dense cloud of dust, illuminated by the pale golden glow of the Metis interior. He checked the scans again. Nada.

The sensors told him the region was empty. His eyes told him a different story. His ocular implants strained to zoom in and focus on the distant shadow; he would have a headache later.

He tensed as the silhouette solidified in his vision into the outline of an artificial construct…he’d call it a ship, but….

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Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Much of the last ten days has been consumed with answering questions, making sure the site is running smoothly, and beginning the process of introducing Aurora Rising to others. But I DID manage a few tangible things:

• New blog post: What Should Be the Foundation of a Story?

• New Twitter account: @GSJennsen, or click the Twitter icon over in the right column

• Blogroll added: Check it out over in the right column above the calendar. If you're at all interested in the craft of writing or the world of independent publishing, these are some terrific blogs. Hover over a link for a summary of the site.

• Editing/writing: Part I of Starshine is shaping up quite nicely. Also, I crafted a series of flashbacks to Alex's past, both from her perspective and those who know her, that will appear throughout the novels. Juicy stuff!

Note: I'm working out a few RSS/subscription issues (and I call myself a Software Engineer!). Hopefully everyone who has subscribed receives their email and it isn't in binary.

Drop any comments or questions in the comment box at the bottom of the page!

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