writing

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!

Update on The Thief

Hey, you all remember that next book I'm writing? The one with Eren in it and...that's all that really matters, right? Well, it hit its word count this week!

Where are we? Late in the first big editing pass. Is this book taking too long to write? Yes! It's not Eren's fault (how could it be). Sometimes RealLife™ is a bully. But I've got the book on the run now.

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.

Ad Astra, Per Aspera

"Shoot for the moon - even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."

I haven't posted about this before now, because the ultimate fate of the Peregrine spacecraft wasn't certain until yesterday. But now I can tell the story in full.

The space enthusiasts among you probably know that Peregrine successfully launched early last week, with a planned lunar landing in February. However, a propellant leak once it reached space derailed those plans. The team made a remarkable recovery, and the craft did reach lunar distance (but the moon wasn't there at the moment) and did a lot of science before sweeping back toward earth; it burned up safely in the atmosphere yesterday.

In the image below, top left is the DHL MoonBox, which held the tiny digital record of my short stories, Apogee, Solatium, Venatoris, Re/Genesis, Fractals, Chrysalis and Starlight Express, together with the writings and art of thousands of other creators, thanks to the tireless efforts of Susan Kaye Quinn (Writers on the Moon) and Samuel Peralta (Lunar Codex).

So for a time my stories soared among the stars where they belong, before returning home. And because Sam Peralta never, ever gives up (and understands the power of redundancies!), the Lunar Codex will also be flying on at least four additional lunar missions by Astrobotic and Inuitive Machines in the next year, so those stories will get to the moon soon enough!

Ad Astra, Per Aspera

Happy Book Birthday to Duality

Happy 1st Book Birthday to DUALITY, the book that, among many other feats, changed our perception of the 18 books that came before it. (If you know, you know. On that note, armed with this capital-K Knowledge, have you started your reread yet?)

Were you all as exhausted as I was after finishing the epic saga that was Riven Worlds? My goodness! This is one reason why we're taking a fun little diversion with the Cosmic Shores stand-alones - everyone (you, me, the characters) needs a little break to catch their breath, lol.

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.

Spotify Audiobooks

Do you have a Spotify subscription? Well, as of today, you can use it to listen to audiobooks, including mine. Spotify Premium now comes with 15 hours a month of audiobook listening for no additional cost (you can also buy audiobooks a la carte). See all my audiobooks here: https://open.spotify.com/search/g.%20s.%20jennsen/audiobooks.

Noted: the Spotify interface for finding and browsing audiobooks is still really, really basic (you can't click an author or narrator name to see all their work, or sort by order in the series, for instance). It will improve, but until then, if you need a reminder, you can see my recommended reading/listening order here: https://www.gsjennsen.com/amaranthe-universe.

Does it seem like there's a lot of news about audiobooks lately? That's because there is! It's the hottest segment in the business, and the industry is undergoing rapid innovation (and a bit of turmoil). May you listen in interesting times.

New Interview

Anyone want to take a deep-dive into my weird brain? I'm thrilled to have been interviewed by awesome fantasy author C. Borden on her blog. We talk about the Amaranthe universe, Medusa Falling, Marlee as a character, sci-fi inspirations, what being a lawyer taught me about writing, doing conventions as an introvert, and much, much more.

https://authorcborden.com/2023/10/06/author-spotlight-g-s-jennsen/

Podcast Interview

I had a great time chatting with fellow sci-fi author JR Handley on the Blasters and Blades Podcast this week! We talked about taking SF worldbuilding to 11 (or 12...), cooking in space, spaceships, how weird alien species can get, what's next for Amaranthe, and so, so much more.

You can listen to the podcast at multiple places:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/5db7_8Di9Nw

Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blasters-and-blades/episodes/Episode-278-GS-Jennsen--Starship-Captain-e2859h6

BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/video/5db7_8Di9Nw/

Rumble: https://rumble.com/v387i13-episode-278-gs-jennsen-starship-captain.html

Amaranthe Novels In Hardback

A year and a half after I started the project, I'm thrilled (and relieved) to announce that all 20 Amaranthe novels are now available in hardback!

You can get them from Amazon, Barnes & Noble's website, Waterstones and many more online retailers. To celebrate, I've also added the ability to special order signed hardbacks from my website. What does "special order" mean? Well, it's still not practical (or cost effective) for me to maintain hardback stock at my home. If you buy a signed hardback, I'll order one from the printer; when it arrives, I'll inscribe it and send it to you! This means it'll take several weeks for you to get your book - but chances are you've already read it, so.

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

Of course, you can still order signed paperbacks from me and get them in a couple of days!

Podcast Appearance

Thanks to Ryan McHargue for hosting me on his "Geezers of the Game" podcast this week! Check it out here: https://link.chtbl.com/GotGPodcast.

If you subscribe to my Buy Me A Coffee program (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/gsjennsen), you get to listen to me ramble on about writing, space and sci-fi every month. But if not, here's a rare chance to do so.

We had such a fun and wide-ranging chat, from Medusa Falling to how Starshine changed my life, runaway characters and why sub-genre walls should be demolished, fan fiction, gaming, the bruises from practicing law, Pyper Down's awesomeness, my favorite scenes I've ever written, and my long-term plans for Amaranthe.

Driving While Writer

Further Adventures in "Driving While Writer"

Me: "Okay, Brain, we're going to be doing a lot of driving today, and you know what that means. We've still got some important plot threads to work out in Medusa Falling, and this will be an excellent opportunity to wrangle them into submission."

Brain: "Yep, yep. My subconscious is bustling with possibilities."

Me: "Terrific!"

Me: Cranks car, starts the music, pulls out of the driveway. "Brain, let's do this thing."

Brain: "Okay, hear me out. Alternative idea: let's instead relive the DUALITY Postscript, line by line, word by word, on an endless loop."

Me: ... ... "I can't find a flaw in this idea."

​

There are scenes I have written that will stay with me forever, that I can call up from memory, almost word for word, at any time. Most of them probably won't surprise you.

A non-exhaustive list: Alex and Caleb's fight after Alex is shot on Seneca in Starshine. Richard and Will's reconciliation in Vertigo. Alex's withdrawals after she severs her connection to the Siyane in Abysm. The last chapter of Rubicon. Nika's Plex assault on the Rasu stronghold in TSLG. Miriam's memories as she reawakens in a new body in Inversion. Eren's visit to the grave in Chaotica.

Needless to say, the last scene of Duality joined this Hall of Fame list the instant it was written. And there it will surely stay forever.

*Brain and I did get around to the Medusa Falling work, eventually.

*

Originally posted on Facebook.

That Magical Moment

I've talked before about the magical point where a book finally comes alive and transforms into a living, breathing entity. Where the characters become real and their words flow freely.

It's not a surprise that it took until the 2/3 point for this to happen with Medusa Falling. The worldbuilding scaffolding has been significant, and it took a lot of painstakingly extracted words for me to get to know the new characters and settings (Marlee's been just fine since the beginning ). But yay, now we're there!

I can't wait to share more about the world of Medusa Falling with you soon.

PS: In case you're wondering what Cosmic Shores is and what comes next for the Amaranthe universe, check out this blog post: https://www.gsjennsen.com/.../the-future-of-amaranthe...

Originally posted on Facebook.