BOO. YAH. 🎉
I can now say with a high degree of confidence that TSLG will be the longest of the Asterion Noir novels. I heard some of you like Moar Words? 😛
Originally posted on Facebook.
A Birthday Present
On my Birthday, I’m giving all of you a present: a fun little excerpt from THE STARS LIKE GODS, the upcoming conclusion to the Asterion Noir trilogy.
✨✨
The suite two-thirds of the way up Namino Tower couldn’t fairly be categorized as isolated or neglected, which were the first two words Cameron had used to describe her destination. The lights were bright and the view out the window in the lobby pleasant.
The furniture did have the veneer of mass production, as though it had been plucked from beneath a store sign reading, ‘Buy Office Furniture Here.’ Silence hovered in the air amid a hint of staleness; it marked a stark departure from the constant bustling activity and noise of the Pavilion, and she wondered when voices had last animated the lobby.
A dyne stood behind the counter, its frame locked so rigidly she assumed it was shut down. But as she approached, it lifted its head with a squeaky flexing of its joints. “How can I help you?”
“Nika Kirumase. I’m here to see Lance Palmer.”
“He is expecting you. You may enter.”
A door across the way opened, and after taking a last dubious glance around the lobby, she walked through it.
A man lounged behind a desk. Despite the presence of at least a dozen panes arrayed above the desk, he’d kicked back his chair, wound his hands behind his head and crossed his ankles atop the desk. Tawny hair fell neatly across his forehead above sage eyes. Rolled-up sleeves exposed tanned, muscular arms. Tactical pants led to scuffed and faded combat boots, which looked rather out of place atop the office desk.
One corner of his mouth twitched into an almost-smirk. “Nika Kirumase. I figured you’d come calling eventually. Frankly, I thought it would be more sooner and not so much later.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Well, I was a little busy being psyche-wiped, leading a rebellion, fleeing from government-funded assassins and exposing a Guide-led conspiracy to conceal the existence of a deadly alien species taking over the galaxy. You know, the usual.”
Mountain Drives & Plotting
Two 3.5 hour drives in two days when you're the passenger is a *great* opportunity for some heavy-duty story planning....😈
#whatcomesnext #amplotting
For those keeping track, yes, this is the same notebook that was featured in the blog post, "Cross-country Journeys, Chicken Scratch & Bossy Characters." It seemed appropriate. 😁
Cheers
Investigating the Worlds of Our Solar System
A conversation: Planet or dwarf planet: all worlds are worth investigating. https://theconversation.com/planet-or-dwarf-planet-all-worlds-are-worth-investigating-74682
Originally posted on Twitter.
Galactic Center visualization
Guys, this video.
From the Chandra Observatory: “Want to take a trip to the center of our Milky Way? A new visualization using Chandra data & @NASAAmes supercomputer simulations provides viewers with an immersive, 360-degree view of the center of our Galaxy! “
YouTube link in case the embed doesn’t work for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBxW2_B9_Is .
Originally posted on Twitter.
Amazon Books Excursion
A real bookstore this time, not that silly "4 star" nonsense!
...and still, I was disappointed. 😒 The store was maybe 1/3 the size of a typical B&N. While they did some cool things with their front displays ("Unputdownable: Kindle readers finish these books in 3 days or less" and so on), the overall book distribution was 2/3 nonfiction to 1/3 fiction - and nearly all the fiction was lit fic. The only genre fiction in the store were current bestsellers that either trend toward lit fic or have otherwise garnered critical attention (such as Black Leopard, Red Wolf), or recognized classics (such as Dune).
In part, it could have simply been catering to its customers, as any retail store should. Cherry Creek is an extremely upscale neighborhood, and I'd believe that its denizens would never demean themselves by being caught reading *genre* fiction. 😱
Still, disappointed. Amazon is flubbing a great market opportunity here. Readers LOVE bookstores, and we're desperate for great ones we can lose ourselves in. This isn't one.
Space Is Big. Really Big. You Just Won't Believe...
Space is very big. Some of its new explorers will be tiny. An excellent piece by Shannon Stirone on the MarCO cubesats and what their success means for future missions: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/science/cubesats-marco-mars.html
Originally posted on Twitter.
Farscape Omnibus
Check out this beauty that #MrJennsen just randomly came home with! It's not my birthday or anything.
I honestly didn't know these comics existed, or I would've picked them up earlier. For those curious, the story picks up literal minutes after the end of The Peacekeeper Wars.
The Undiscovered Country
Opportunity's final image mosaic from #Mars shows the mission's last tracks and pristine terrain waiting for visits from future explorers. See the full high-resolution panorama at https://go.nasa.gov/2F7JWbn
Originally posted on Twitter.
Bomb Cyclone?
Juno Perijove 15
It’s crazy - Jupiter continues to look beautiful and wondrous in new and different ways every Juno orbit! From Perijove 15, processing by Sean Doran.
Originally posted on Twitter.
Exploration Posters
From NASA: “Are you ready for your vacation on the Moon? Are you looking forward to setting up camp on Mars? Can you get excitement to use the Gateway to access #Moon2Mars? Show everyone your new favorite exploration destinations with these free downloadable posters: https://go.nasa.gov/2J5SRhx”
Le Sigh. I have no more wallspace, dammit! These are beautiful, though....
Splash Down
SpaceX Crew Dragon Splashes Down in Atlantic to Cap Historic Test Flight: https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-dragon-returns-to-earth.html
Originally posted on Twitter.
Long-Distance Selfie
You're in This Picture. It's a Selfie Taken by @TeamSpaceIL's Beresheet Lunar Lander on its Way to the Moon: https://buff.ly/2IZiGzT
Originally posted on Twitter.
Command Deck
For the last year, this image, titled "Command Deck" by artist Krystian Biskup (https://salierri.artstation.com/projects/a6ReX) has far and away been my most popular pin on Pinterest (the background of the Requiem cover being the second-most popular).
Given that, I thought you all should get the chance to enjoy it, too. I imagine this is how Valkyrie sees a planet on the Siyane's approach.
Originally posted on Facebook.
A New Dawn
Stunning photo taken by Astronaut Anne McLain from the International Space Station as Crew Dragon approached for docking. Her words: “The dawn of a new era in human spaceflight.” (https://twitter.com/AstroAnnimal/status/1102250251598135296)
Originally posted on Twitter.
The New Planet Hunters
Life probably exists beyond Earth. So how do we find it? With next-generation telescopes, tiny space probes, and more, scientists aim to search for life beyond our solar system—and make contact: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/03/extraterrestrial-life-probably-exists-how-do-we-search-for-aliens/
Excellent piece by National Geographic on the science and philosophy driving the next generation of planet-hunters. Courtesy of Carolyn McBride.
Originally posted on Twitter.
Snowfall & Steaks
Nothing will stand between #MrJennsen and his charbroiled steak...and it's worth every single snowflake! #yummy #steakdinner #inthesnow❄️ #cowx
Crew Dragon
LIFTOFF! The next big leap in a new chapter of U.S. human spaceflight systems has begun. @SpaceX’s #CrewDragon demo flight is the 1st commercially-built & operated American spacecraft designed for humans to dock at the @Space_Station. NASA: “Today’s successful launch marks a new chapter in American excellence, getting us closer to once again flying American astronauts on American rockets from American soil."
For this demo launch, Crew Dragon is staffed with a sensor-laden dummy named “Ripley.” The capsule will arrive at the ISS on Sunday, where it will attempt its first autonomous docking (previous non-crew Dragon capsules have been snagged and guided in by an arm on the ISS controlled by astronauts on board).
NASA Press Release: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-spacex-launch-first-flight-test-of-space-system-designed-for-crew
