Silo Season 2

Finished Silo S2 last night. I have quibbles, and the pacing was uneven, but it was quality TV. But what I most appreciate is that despite what I imagine was fairly significant Hollywood pressure to do so, they continue to NOT force Juliette into the standard "heroine" archetype. Instead, she remains entirely what she is: an engineer.

When she turned to Solo and said, "I need something to draw on," then ran for the chalkboard, I laughed out loud. Being married to an engineer, I recognize this behavior all too well.

Not going to lie, she reminds me a fair bit of Alex, too. Cranky, at times rude, oblivious to common social cues and manners, determined to pursue what she knows to be true no matter what.

The Notebook

At various times in the last 10 years, key parts of Aurora Renegades, Aurora Resonant, Asterion Noir, and Riven Worlds have all been brainstormed in this notebook on long drives.

When I initially posted this pic on social media, in real time, I said, “Wonder what I'll write in it today?”

Now, of course, I know what I wrote in it. And that’s all I’ll say about that. For now. ;)

I have words on the moon!

It's a historic day for private space exploration. Early Sunday morning, Firefly Space's Blue Ghost stuck the landing, making it the first fully successful private, commercial moon landing!

On a tiny nanofiche onboard Blue Ghost reside two of my short stories, "Apogee" and "Solatium," as part of the Lunar Codex. All the thanks to Samuel Peralta for making so many writers' and artists' dream come true.

Blue Ghost is ALSO carrying a bucketload of science. Instruments will investigate the structure and composition of the moon’s mantle, the heat flow at different depths beneath the lunar surface, the interaction of solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field, and the impact of solar radiation on the lunar surface.

The lander also carries the Lunar PlanetVac, which is designed to collect regolith from the lunar surface that could be returned to Earth as part of a separate mission, and the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment, which will test the ability to use GPS signals at lunar distances.

Blue Ghost will operate for about 14 Earth days on the lunar surface. On March 14, Firefly expects to capture high-definition imagery of a total eclipse when the Earth blocks the sun above the moon’s horizon. How amazing is that going to be?

Athena Mission

That’s one heck of a selfie, Athena!

This image is from the Intuitive Machines Nova-C “Athena” lunar craft, which is currently headed toward the moon for a scheduled March 6 landing.*

* Wholly incidentially, with a digital recording of three of my short stories, Venatoris, Re/Genesis and Chrysalis, on board (along with hundreds of other stories, novels and art). I am super excited!

The gang's all back together

I'll have more to say about * this * in a few weeks, after more people have finished The Universe Within and I've caught my breath from many goings-on. But over here, we're getting this party started.

P.S.: For those of you who haven’t seen this kind of image from me before, this is a storyboard outline of the next book, created in an app called Plottr. Each row/color corresponds to a character or related set of characters. I won’t give them all away, but blue is Alex and Caleb. The content of the blocks is strategically blurred out so you don’t get spoiled way, way early - but maybe it gets you thinking about what those blocks could involve. :D

Are We Alone?

Nah.

The math of the universe is in our favor. Given the staggering number of planets, it's impossible that we're alone. Still, the more the merrier! Call me an optimist (if you've read my books, you already know I am), but I don't believe "The Dark Forest" theory is correct. And I don't like a future in which we have to hide, anyway.

"Are We Alone? Intelligent Life May Be More Common Than We Thought, New Penn State Study Suggests": https://thedebrief.org/are-we-alone-intelligent-life-may-be-more-common-than-we-thought-new-penn-state-study-suggests/

The Universe Within Teaser

No, we can't expect any such thing.

So Valkyrie and Akeso have to, for the most part, sit this adventure out. This gave me a chance to right Alex without Valkyrie and especially Caleb without Akeso. I think you all will enjoy how this plays out for them. In some ways, it's like the old days...but not in every way, for they've experienced so much since then.

A Universe of Galaxies

100 years ago this week, Edwin Hubble proved that our galaxy is just one small island in a vast cosmic sea. It is absolutely wild to consider how we've only know about other galaxies for a hundred years. What a golden age of learning about our universe this century has been - but I can't help but wonder what is yet to be discovered.

Read more about Hubble’s discovery in Corey S. Powell’s essay on the anniversary: “The 100th Birthday of the Universe”

The Thief

It's been a banger of a month for THE THIEF. It's just been named a Quarterfinalist in this year's Self-Published Science Fiction Competition, a huge contest celebrating indie science fiction founded by Hugh Howey in 2021. https://thespsfc.org/

The competition lasts for many months, as 6 review teams read through hundreds of entries. Next up, after much more reading, the semifinalists will be announced in March.

I'm so proud of this book - though its success is less my doing and more Eren's innate ability to bring flair, style, wit and heart...and explosions...to every room he walks into.

New Glenn

Blue Origin was successful on its first test launch of the New Glenn rocket! Official statement:

“New Glenn safely reached its intended orbit during today's NG-1 mission, accomplishing our primary objective. The second stage is in its final orbit following two successful burns of the BE-3U engines. The Blue Ring Pathfinder is receiving data and performing well. We lost the booster during descent. We knew landing the first stage on the first try was ambitious. We'll learn, refine, and apply that knowledge to our next launch in the spring. We're thrilled with today's outcome.”

Learn more here: https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-glenn-ng-1-mission

To The Moon

Two of my short stories, APOGEE and SOLATIUM, are trying for the moon again! Overnight, Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket carrying (among numerous NASA and commercial payloads) the Lunar Codex, Samuel Peralta's passion project, a beautiful collection of stories, art, music and more. I am honored beyond words to have my these stories reach the stars and find a home on the moon!

It'll be a little while before Blue Ghost attempts a lunar landing, however. It will spend the next 25 days in Earth orbit, undergoing a variety of systems checks and gathering data. It will then conduct an engine burn and hopefully reach the moon 4 days later, where it will orbit for 16 days before attempting a touchdown in Mare Crisium.

If the landing is successful, Blue Ghost will deliver the Lunar Codex to its home on the lunar surface. Then it spend 2 weeks capturing imagery of the lunar sunset and provide critical data on how lunar regolith reacts to solar influences during lunar dusk conditions, before retiring with the lunar night.