fun

Happy Birthday, Alex

October 17th was our acerbic, sharp-witted, slightly recalcitrant heroine’s birthday. So Happy -260th Birthday to Alexis Mallory Solovy Marano, daughter of Commandant and Commander Solovy, first Prevo and savior of humanity four times over. Think she can make it five?

A Powderkeg of Personalities

A few days ago, I had reasons to revisit this scene from near the end of Continuum, and it made me smile. Three powerful personalities thrown together to clash against one another at a moment of intense crisis.

And it hits a bit different once you know what you know....

Halloween S-XPO

I had a great time at the Halloween S-XPO in Spokane this weekend. Ghosts, goblins - and books! I brandished a minimally compliant Halloween costume - I was a Celestial, can't you tell? I had a stellar tiara and everything….

Library App

Whelp, I'm officially a vibe coder (whether late to the party or fashionably early, I'm not sure). I took pictures of our home library and gave them to my Hermes agent. It built a SQLite db of all the books shown. We then used the db to build a local web app to view and interact with the library. And it's rather awesome.

It displays a selection from the library or selected genres or authors on 3 shelves. Book detail pages show the cover, title, author, format (trade pb, mm pb, hardback, special edition), publication year, links to the book's Goodreads and Wikipedia (if it exists) pages, where it's located in our library (based on the photos I took), whatever additional notes we want to add, plus what other copies of the book we have and other books by the author that we own.

Now, let the feature creep begin! A lot of the work still to be done involves improving the cover art. The agent largely pulled stock/common cover art that often doesn't match the specific edition on the shelf, so multiple copies mean repetitive covers. But it's super-easy for us to update a cover from within the app, via multiple methods. I also want to drill down on the genres a bit (for instance, I threw all non-fiction together, and I definitely want a "Science" category). I'm debating pulling in the book description from Goodreads, but I don't want to make the book detail page too cluttered.

Take a look and shout if you have an idea for an improvement or feature I should add!

Spellbound Spokane

Did my first ever outdoor event on Saturday. The weather Friday was terrible, so I was worried, but yay for sunshine.

P.S.: Is the Naked Singularity cover marked out? Yes, yes it is. Guys, this cover is SO AMAZING - it’s my favorite of all 25. When you see it for the first time, I want it to be in high-res, stunning color, not some tiny thumbnail.

Vintage Foundation

Mr. Jennsen scored these lovely vintage Foundation paperbacks for me this weekend. I'd never seen this particular cover art before!

The Notebook

Road trip means it's time to bring out THE notebook. The one in which, way back in 2015, I brainstormed Aurora Renegades and Resonant. Then, on the next road trip, Asterion Noir. About 2 years ago, Shadows & Light (sorry not sorry for that final scene tease ).

And now, the next saga.

Vacation Report

What an incredible vacation our trip to Seattle for PAX West was! Allow me to spam you with 154 - I mean 8 - photos.

Seattle brought its A-game, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. I *know* it's usually overcast and drizzly, but 3/4 of our visits, the weather's been great. Makes it difficult not to move there...but I know better, dammit.

Despite the fact that PAX has grown into a juggernaut of a worldwide gaming convention empire, it honestly felt exactly the same as it did when we attended 14 years ago. A heavy emphasis on small, independent PC gaming studios, tabletop gaming and TCGs. Tons of playable demos, tournaments and freeplay for fun.

There weren't many AAA game studios there, but we did go to a jaw-dropping The Witcher 3 panel, where we saw half an hour of gameplay from the upcoming Songs of the Past expansion. And Mr. Jennsen got to immerse himself in the nostalgia of his beloved '80s adventure games at a panel with Sierra Online alumns, including Jane Jensen (no relation, lol, but I did write about her Gabriel Knight series just a few weeks ago), and the FMV gaming retrospective museum.

Somehow, despite visiting Seattle at least 5 previous times over the years, we had never gone to Pike Place Market. Why didn't anyone tell us how cool it is? Fresh fish and flower stands, hidden alleys with quirky stores full of genuinely unique items, endless levels that wind down to the waterfront.

10/10, do recommend. Good show PAX. Good show, Seattle.

Pictures:

1) How much fun did I have? This much fun.

2) and 3) Seattle was seriously showing off all weekend.

4) Then and Now: me playing game demos at PAX in 2012 and 2026. Not much has changed, lol.

5) Do I have a weakness for giant robots shooting lasers in space? YES I DO.

6) I somehow did not know that this game released earlier this year. It's a survival/strategy/base builder game, and you get to play as Janeway. YOU GET TO PLAY AS JANEWAY.

7) Golden Age Collectibles at Pike Place Market. This is one of the coolest stores I have ever had the pleasure of entering. At first glance, you think they have the standard geeky memoriabilia and trinkets you find at every geek store or convention. But no; 80% of the items, I had never seen anywhere before. We made out like bandits.

8) BLMF Literary Saloon (also at Pike Place Market). When you walk in, it looks like just another hole-in-the-wall used bookstore. It is not. You wouldn't believe the SF gems hiding in this chaos. Interesting astronomy/physics books, too! And I assume all the other genres. The owner was delightful & displayed ready knowledge of any book we mentioned (including its location in the store if he had it). He and Mr. Jennsen geeked out over Neuromancer - then he and I geeked out over Foundation. What a wonderful store!

So there you go. Now to finish the first draft of Naked Singularity!

Gabriel Knight

I've talked often about how important the Mass Effect video games were to my becoming a writer. But long before there was Mass Effect, there was Gabriel Knight. Gabriel Knight 3, to be precise.

My husband was a lifelong PC gamer and Sierra Online fanatic, and GK1 and 2 had already won multiple Game of the Year awards and much critical acclaim. But me? I was an attorney, a former bookworm who no longer had much desire to read, write, or generally have any fun whatsoever. Well, GK3 came along, and he saw his chance. He wooed me in with teasers of a fabulous mystery, vampires, the Holy Grail, and a female computer nerd as a playable secondary main character. So I gave it a try.

I was enraptured! I devoured the game, twice in a row - the first video game I'd played since Super Mario Bros on the NES. Enraptured enough to then go back and play GK1 and 2, both equally incredible stories. So why were they incredible? A couple of reasons, but above all, due to creater and writer Jane Jensen. She envisioned telling complex, nuanced, novel-worthy stories within the medium of video games - then figured out how to do it.

Right person, right idea, right time. The Gabriel Knight trilogy spans several leaps in the technological capabilities of video games, from the 2D point-and-click adventure style of GK1, to the industry's brief (and weird to our modern eyes) experiment with full-motion video in GK2, to the arrival of 3D graphics and a free camera in GK3. Each leap forward gave Jensen more tools with which to tell a deeper story, and she took full advantage of them all. The gameplay of each installment can be clunky to modern gamers (each one in its own particular way), but the stories are as rich and compelling as anything we have today.

I didn't rush off to embrace my inner writer immediately upon completing my Gabriel Knight binge. But I DID become an avid video gamer because of it, and the first spark of creativity, that in time burnt away the lawyerly outer shell, was lit. And when Mass Effect crashed into my life 8 years later, I was ready for what happened next.

Why do I post this today? Because journalist Elías Casella has published an excellent deep dive into the making of these games and how their development interwove with Jane Jensen's journey, the rise and fall of Sierra Online, and the technological leaps that transformed PC gaming in the 1990s. If you are at all interested in this topic, give it a read: https://www.421.news/en/gabriel-knight-sierra-games-en/

A Writer's Speculative Smirk

The speculative, intrigued smirk of a speculative fiction author, mid-panel discussion on "What makes science fiction, 'science fiction'?" at MisCon this summer.

So what might be going through my mind at this moment? Smug confidence that I've got a zinger of an answer to the clever question an audience member is asking? Delight at how awesome and insightful the discussion is turning out to be? (<-this one was definitely true) Or is an entire new world and story exploding into my mind in this instant, discussion be damned? Or the perfect solution to a thorny plot problem materializing, triggered by something a panelist just said (which would definitely result in delight breaking through to my expression)?

The thing you must understand about an author, and doubly-so a spec-fic author, is that at any given moment, even if the conversation we're having with you is engaging and fulfilling, odds are at least 50% that characters are chattering away in our head. Supernovas are exploding. Ships are firing. Dramatic reveals are unfolding.

We apologize for our distraction--it's not you, it's us--but we always have one foot in another world, and there's simply nothing to be done about it.

Thanks to Steven Sears for sending me the pic, and his lovely wife and awesome spec fic author Jessica Brawner for capturing it!

My Summer

No context story of my summer, courtesy of my Oura ring. Can confirm its accuracy. Now? Now I just get to write my book.

Travel Is a Boon for Brainstorming

For the record, I dislike air travel. Not flying as such, but the incredible hassle the whole operation has become. Nonetheless, I must concede that it provides many opportunities for brainstorming, working through plot issues, and writing words.

These are my transcribed audio notes from my trip last week. Not the words on Naked Singularity that I WROTE, mind you - and those were quite substantial. These are just my random thoughts while driving or walking through the airports. So many threads to weave together and arcs to bring home!

Also, that last bullet header might or might not involve something unrelated to Amaranthe...

The Art of Science Fiction

I tell ya, they will just put ANYONE in the paper these days.... ;)

I’m happy to report that a good time appeared to be had by all. Attendance was great for such a niche topic, and honestly, the questions came in fast and furious! Hopefully I answered them well. I wish I had some good pictures from the event, but while the venue was comfy and welcoming, the lighting was not conducive to quality photography.

Widow's Bay

Finished watching Widow's Bay earlier this week. It's Cthulhu, isn't it?

I haven't laughed so much while watching a TV show in a long time. The humor is effortless, the actors' comedic timing flawless. Of course, the next second I'm cringing in dread or jumping in terror. What an odd mix of dry humor, wit and horror! It shouldn't work, but somehow it does. Likely in no small part due to superb performances by Matthew Rhys, Stephen Root, Kate O'Flynn and Dale Dickey.

The day after we finished the season, the show was nominated for a whopping NINETEEN Emmys. So take that as a second endorsement, and if it sounds like something you might enjoy, give it a try.

MisCon 2026

A good time was had by all! Or, well, by me, anyway. ;) It WAS cold and rainy (though it was in the 80s right up until the moment the con began, lol - Montana is always unpredictable that way); in the picture of the panel below, you can’t tell just how cold we were - but we were! Luckily, it was fairly cozy inside the vendor hall, so I was able to debut my new Rocky tshirt one day. :D

I had several long-time readers stop by to chat, which was so awesome. And hopefully created many new readers.

I spoke on a panel discussing “Indie By Choice,” and moderated two panels: “AI in Fiction vs AI in Our Reality” and “What Is Science Fiction?” Both turned out to be really fascinating discussions, with great perspectives from the panelists. I spoke on a similar panel about AI at Dragon Con last year, and it was fascinating how much opinions have evolved in a single year; everyone is taking AI much more seriously now.

Ridiculously scenic venues in the Pacific NW, Summer 2026 Edition

"Live at Andre's."

Who's Andre? Apparently, a guy who was deep in the Seattle music scene before he retired near Spokane, built a big house on the side of a mountain, then built a performance stage hanging off the mountain above the Spokane River and started inviting his musician friends to play there. 200 or so guests in Andre's back yard for a relaxing evening of great music and spectacular views (and cake, it turns out).

It was such an amazing evening! It's like a mini-mini The Gorge, without the utter nightmare traffic on exfiltration (we were home before 11pm).

The band? Red Wanting Blue. If you've never delved the indie Americana scene, you probably haven't heard of them. But if you do enjoy that style of music, check them out! They have more than 20 years of truly excellent music to enjoy. (We've been fans for years; this is the second time we've seen them perform.)

(Last summer’s edition featured The Gorge.)

Exodus Extended Gameplay Reveal

You all know I’m a gamer. Especially story/character-driven RPGs. Story/character-driven SCIFI RPGs? My happy place.

This past weekend was a big one for gaming, with a ton of trailers and reveals from the Summer GameFest, Future Gaming Show and PC Gaming Show. Most importantly, we got to see 20 minutes of EXODUS!

And I’m really happy with what I saw. The character animations, cut scenes and combat all looked much improved over earlier glimpses. Cue the hype meter! EXODUS will release in early 2027 (hopefully).

You can watch the full 20 minutes of gameplay here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOLJh9EEQOw.

P.S.: The Jun PC shown is just the default - you can customize your character’s gender and appearance.

P.P.S.: You get an Awakened dog as a companion! (Not a pet, a friend - he’s sentient.)

P.P.P.S.: They should’ve let a marketing person or voice actor do the commentary. The game producer is not exactly charismatic, lol.

My Preciouseses

You guys.... *wipes a tear away* They'll keep me company, right beside my desk. Every day.

I try not to boast, but today, I'm so proud of what I've created. This universe and these characters will live on forever, in the world and in my heart, and I could not be happier.

And when this arrives on the day you start outlining the final book in earnest, well...emotions are going to be experienced.

Hyperion Cantos

Books 2-4 of the Broken Binding special editions of the Hyperion Cantos arrived. I'll be honest, I don't think I've ever seen more beautiful books in my life. Words fall short of capturing how stunning they are.

My #1 career goal isn't to see my books on the screen in movies or TV series - it's to have a full-out, every flourish Broken Binding edition of the Aurora Rising novels. Or, you know, all of them. ;)