Here's your first teaser quote. Pre-order INVERSION from your favorite retailer today: https://books2read.com/inversion-rw
Hmm. It seems INVERSION really does turn the world upside down....
Poster Wall Update
A Day Off
Hubble Captures Globular Cluster NGC 6441
The Hubble Space Telescope has delivered another outstanding image. This one is of NGC 6441, a massive globular cluster in the constellation Scorpius. It’s one of the most massive ones in the Milky Way, and the stars in it have a combined mass of 1.6 million solar masses.
NGC 6441 is a gorgeous visual spectacle. It’s also of great scientific interest; it hosts four pulsars, an abnormally high number of variable stars, and has a rather high metallicity for a globular cluster. And it’s host to several Type II Cepheid stars, which is unusual for a cluster with high metallicity.
Originally posted on Twitter.
Art Feature
I adore this ship design by Lorenz Hideyoshi (https://www.deviantart.com/hideyoshi/art/Blue-Flame-Powers-483251959). Is it a good model for the Siyane (pre-adiamene)? Well, it's not quite as sleek/smooth of frame, and based on the humans in the image, it's a little big. But damn, is it gorgeous!
Originally posted on Facebook.
Stunning Visualization of the Center of the Milky Way
Visit the Milky Way's supermassive black hole with the 'Galactic Center VR' visualization video. This stunning video is based on data from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory, as well as other telescopes. The latest iteration allows viewers to see 500 years of evolution at Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the black hole in the Milky Way's Center.
Video: https://www.space.com/galactic-center-vr-black-hole-visualization.html
Originally posted on Twitter.
The Luckiest Writer
99% of the authors you've ever heard of are not rich. If they're talented, prolific and very lucky, they're able to make a decent living writing books - enough to pay the bills and go on the occasional beach vacation.
I count myself among the very luckiest. Thanks to all of you, today I was finally able to trade in my trusty *14-year-old* RAV4 for a 2020 Nissan Murano.
...Its name is Caleb. 😋🥰
Quarantine Life
Solar System Poster Set
Just absolutely stunning. And while many of these are utterly gorgeous and inspiring on their own, I love the complete collage most of all.
You can download print-quality versions of each of the posters from NASA here: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/925/solar-system-and-beyond-poster-set/
Originally posted on Facebook.
Whoooosssshhh!
On-Brand
Jupiter in Stunning Infrared
Infrared image of Jupiter from the Gemini North observatory shows heat welling up from the planet's interior, blotted out by cold clouds up top. Just amazing! Via Corey Powell.
“Gemini Gets Lucky and Takes a Deep Dive Into Jupiter’s Clouds”: https://www.gemini.edu/pr/gemini-gets-lucky-and-takes-deep-dive-jupiter-s-clouds
Originally posted on Twitter.
When the Kids Grow Up
Artemis Lander Partners Announced
From NASA: “Big News! The #Artemis generation is going to the Moon to stay. I’m excited to announce that we have selected 3 U.S. companies to develop human landers that will land astronauts on the Moon: @BlueOrigin, @Dynetics & @SpaceX.”
More information here: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-names-companies-to-develop-human-landers-for-artemis-moon-missions
Originally posted on Twitter.
Photobomb
Week 6 of Quarantine: Time to move and reorganize the space/sci-fi/inspiration bookshelves! Photobomb by a Princess in desperate need of a haircut.
Friday Quarantine INVERSION Excerpt
Is it Friday again already? The calendar says it is, and here we all STILL ARE. 😶 At last, there are some lights at the end of the tunnel that hopefully don't herald another oncoming train, and Colorado is scheduled to dip its toes into the "re-opening" pool starting next week.
But that's next week. As promised, here's a third excerpt from INVERSION to brighten your weekend - and this one should help ease the minds of those of you worried about a certain character after the end of Continuum.😇
Caveat 1: Spoilers for CONTINUUM follow. *FOR SERIOUS ALSO THIS TIME.* If you haven't finished reading it yet, bookmark this post for later.
Caveat 2: Editing is still ongoing. A few words will likely change before release.
With that, enjoy!
💫💫💫
Debris particles hung in the air on a twisting wind, and the ground rattled every other second from the tumbling of distant and not-so-distant buildings. An unidentified roar throbbed beneath it all like the slow heartbeat of Tartarus rising.
The smoke had grown so thick Grant could barely see across the street, so he switched to hybrid infrared. Faint and weakening heat signatures dotted the landscape—the dead or dying. One shape, however, still burned brightly—more brightly than a healthy Asterion, in fact. The Human girl.
“She’s across the street and twenty-two degrees to the east. I’m going to make a run for her, and I need you two to provide cover fire.”
Ava scoffed. “I’ve got all the cover fire you need. Joaquim, go with him.”
“Fine. Let’s move—now!”
Grant sprinted out into the haze, keeping his focus on his target, not searching around for looming Rasu bipedals or swooping vessels. The sound of collapsing buildings and distant screams in every direction was the worst thing he’d heard since a lost battle seven hundred thousand years ago, and he swiftly shut down the resurgent memory.
An explosion a few dozen meters away roiled the street beneath his feet, and he hurtled forward, throwing his arms out to brace himself. He crashed hard on the sidewalk, sending jarring pain shooting up his left arm into his shoulder.
“Get up, man.” Joaquim crawled toward him, blood trickling out of one ear.
Grant nodded weakly and checked his location. He’d landed almost on top of the heat signature, and he killed the infrared as he scrambled over to the young woman.
Marlee’s eyes were closed, one arm was pinned at an ugly angle under her body and blood had pooled beneath her, but a quick scan detected a pulse and a strong heartbeat. He’d figure out what injuries might be patchable later, somewhere safer. Hopefully such a place existed.
He wound his arms underneath her and lifted her up, ignoring the protestations in his shoulder. Her head lolled against his chest, and a nonsensical murmur escaped her lips.
He peered across the street and spent two seconds evaluating the return trip.
Joaquim leveled his weapon to the left, then swept it to the right. “I’ve got our backs. Let’s run for it.”
***
Originally posted on Facebook.
Happy 30th Anniversary, Hubble!
Happy 30th Anniversary to the Hubble Space Telescope! Hubble has done more than any mission or instrument to bring the wonder and majesty of space to generations of people. The JWST is going to have a lot to live up to if it wants to ever match Hubble's legend.🌟🌟🌟
"NASA is celebrating the Hubble Space Telescope's 30 years of unlocking the beauty and mystery of space by unveiling a stunning new portrait of a firestorm of starbirth in a neighboring galaxy.
In this Hubble portrait, the giant red nebula (NGC 2014) and its smaller blue neighbor (NGC 2020) are part of a vast star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, located 163,000 light-years away. The image is nicknamed the "Cosmic Reef," because it resembles an undersea world."
Download a hi-res version at the link.
“Hubble Marks 30 Years in Space with Tapestry of Blazing Starbirth”: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/hubble-marks-30-years-in-space-with-tapestry-of-blazing-starbirth/
Originally posted on Facebook.
A Rhapsody of Black Holes
A symphony of black holes merging, you say? Maybe even a...rhapsody?🎶✨🎶
"On 12 April, 2019, the song from a pair of merging black holes swept over the Earth. And, for the first time, we detected them singing in tune.
Or, for a more prosaic description: Two black holes of very different sizes merged, shaking the fabric of spacetime in sympatico. They — oh wait. That's still a little poetic, isn't it? OK, let me try this then:
Across the Universe, two black holes of unequal masses spiraled into each other, sending out harmonic waves of gravitational wave energy, their resonating vibrations merging into a chord that — oh nuts. <sigh> I did it again."
“To Black Holes Merged into One, Singing in Tune the Whole Time”: https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/two-black-holes-merged-into-one-singing-in-tune-the-whole-time
Originally posted on Facebook.
100K
Huh. Who knew THAT was going to be the scene that brought Inversion to life in brilliant technicolor? 🤔 Wearing a big, excited smile right now. ☺️
Oh, and cruised past 100K words while I was at it, with a lot more to go.
Originally posted on Facebook.
