Breaking News & Random Musings on Space, Technology, Sci-Fi & the View From A Writer’s Window
A new header image went up on the social media profiles this week, and I thought you all might enjoy seeing it. The theme: “The people who will save the universe - if it can be saved.”
You can see high-res versions of the character art - and some additional characters - on my concept art page: https://www.gsjennsen.com/concept-art/. Click to expand a pic, then right click to download it if you like.
The summer conventions are all done. Liminal Space has been out in the world for almost a month, and the release fervor has subsided. The weather is turning cool, and the long, sunny days no longer beckon me so fervently to adventure.
Now it's just me, Alex, the (nearly) blank page, and another story to tell.
Archetype Entertainment dropped a ton of exciting updates this week for EXODUS, it’s upcoming action/RPG scifi game. If you’re a fan of Mass Effect, you want to be following this game! New key art is below. They also released a new set of screenshots, and the devs hosted a 12-minute Q&A. And you can now Wishlist the game at Steam and other retailers. See all the updates here: https://www.exodusgame.com/en-US/news/wishlist-exodus-now-watch-the-new-exodus-founders-qa-and-more
Well, Nika is, anyway, as she should be. All the thanks to BookBub for featuring EXIN EX MACHINA on Wednesday! Well over 10K copies have been downloaded already; I hope this means we'll be welcoming a bunch of new people to the Amaranthe community soon.
MACHINA will remain free through the weekend, if you know anyone who needs it in their life. Info and retailers are HERE.
P.S.: I’ve switched to a new newsletter provider, so let me know if you have any problems or see any glitches with this email. Thanks!
Guys, "pulsing" is on the way, and much faster than I was expecting.
A startup called "Alter Ego" is releasing a product by the same name that detects what you want to say and transmits it. It picks up on the downstream subtle signals your brain sends to your speech system, before words are spoken aloud, and it captures only what you intend to say (not your random thoughts).
Now we just need to get the device inside our skull (though, honestly, a little dot behind the ear would be close enough).
Here's the full article: https://thedebrief.org/mit-linked-startup-unveils-near-telepathic-wearable-device-for-silent-communication/
Watch it in action here: https://x.com/alterego_io/status/1965113585299849535
Liminal Space is here in 2 days! Social media has been all about the teaser excerpts - so here’s a barrage of them.
Exponential shininess on display here. I swear, this art positively leaps off the cover.
Also, a photo can't begin to convey how thick it is! It's practically a Brandon Sanderson novel....
If you want one of your own (minus that hideous proof banner), get your preorder in today: https://www.gsjennsen.com/paperback-store
And boom, suddenly LIMINAL SPACE will be here in 2.5 weeks! All the edits are in, and I'm working on the print and ebook formatting now. And HERE is your first teaser excerpt. Are you ready for the most epic showdowns of epic showdowns?
Dragon Con Day 1. 10 am, as the Vendor Hall opens. I’ve got the books (and many, many more books under the table). I’ve got the banner. I’ve got the first of 4 geeky tshirts. I’m ready to sell some books.
Dragon Con Day 4. 45 minutes left in the convention. The table is clear, all books safely in the hands of new owners. And I get to rest. ;)
Many other, non-table adventures were had over the course of the long weekend. I spoke on 4 interesting panels, sold yet more books at a SFF gala party Friday night, and hung out with other authors in the Westin bar every night. I got to meet my narrator, Pyper Down, in person for the first time! She was simply fabulous. All in all a great, and exhausting, time.
And this is my life THIS week! ...Definitely next week, too.
Liminal Space is an absolute beast, you guys. 144K and change words. Epic, sprawling, complex, character-driven space opera is what you all wanted, right?
My life this week. Let's see what manner of words I have written, shall we?
...
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Yes, yes, the formatting is a mess. This is a straight Word-to-ePub conversion. All the prettifying comes later.
I'm honestly not sure where the consensus has formed on this, but I *really* enjoyed Murderbot!
I was concerned about the slapstick, over-the-top comedic feel of the trailer, and yes, to some extent the humor was over the top (and definitely beyond the books). But I laughed A LOT while watching the show (and I'm not typically easily amused). Sometimes, that's enough. Not every show has to be "Capital M" Meaningful. It can just be fun.
The first trailer for the PROJECT HAIL MARY movie has dropped (and the official movie poster)! It's a surprisingly fullsome trailer, while also being mostly setup for the actual story.
I absolutely loved this book. The odds of any Hollywood adaptation of a scifi IP being worthy of the book are always low, but they managed to do it with The Martian, by the same author (Andy Weir). Accordingly, I'm optimistic! What do you all think?
SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK:
It’ll all come down to whether the movie nails Rocky. Gosling’s character may be the POV and main character, but Rocky is the star of the book.
See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m08TxIsFTRI
Who's watching Foundation? Talk to me about it.
I bounced off of Season 1 HARD due to its radical departure from the books. I was greatly offended. Now, normally I try to be somewhat forgiving when Hollywood strays from the source material, because I understand that books and TV/movies are different storytelling mediums, with different strengths. But this was FOUNDATION, the series that made sci-fi my book (and ultimately writing) genre of choice, way back when I was a teenager. It was beloved, and it felt like Hollywood took the name and some characters and did whatever TF they wanted to with it.
BUT, Season 2 was well received and popular. And now the Season 3 trailer looks, frankly, fantastic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C53xEOdxz70). And I'm wondering if maybe I should just get over myself and enjoy some cool sci-fi visual entertainment.
Yay or nay?
I had a booth at Lilac City Comicon in Spokane for the first time this weekend. Doing a “hometown” convention was so nice! I got to sleep in my own bed at night, and I knew where everything was, and I didn’t have to worry about forgetting anything. The Spokane Convention Center is a lovely venue, and I had a terrific time with my booth-mate and BFF, Katie Cross.
One of the tools us indie authors use to help in marketing has added a reverse lookup feature. You input a book's Amazon ASIN number, and it tells you what searches the book ranks highest in.
For fun and research, I input Starshine. One of its highest searches?
“wild heroine space opera romance”
They've got Alex's number good, lol.
THERE. Now it’s a first draft!
Netflix's 3 Body Problem exceeded my expectations. It managed to stick fairly closely to the book's fascinating plot, while westernizing the story, crafting engaging characters and adding the kind of human drama TV viewers expect.
The novel makes for excellent science fiction, but like too many scifi novels, the characters are not its strength. The show fixed that weakness. Benedict Wong was a standout, and Liam Cunningham is always fantastic.
Book Two (The Dark Forest) features a significant time jump, and I'll be interested to see how well the show's creators handle the shift in setting and characters.
P.S.: I've heard that Netflix is throwing money at Seasons 2 and 3, which may be filmed together. Not sure that will entirely solve the challenges of adapting the books for TV, but it should make for some gorgeous space scifi visuals!
A collage of the many adaptations of Ghost in the Shell over the years: manga, anime and film.
I deeply appreciate the 1995 movie as a genuine work of art, but I'll always be a 2002 girl. IMO, Stand Alone Complex was the pinnacle of episodic anime. I rewatched it for the millionth time just a few weeks ago, in fact (such a shame that it’s only 2 seasons + a movie). I’m always excited about another new adaptation on the way, but it’ll be difficult to top SAC.
Just sitting over here hanging with my buddy Peter.
...kidding. We're not buddies. But I am always available for buddying if he's ever interested. ;)
Many thanks to BookBub for featuring The Universe Within on Friday - and welcome to all the new Amaranthe readers!
