It's been a while since a Cassi Update - so Cassi Update! On the outside, the softest, sweetest, most adorable 11 lbs of fur you will ever meet. On the inside? Velociraptor. Cunning. Devious. Close to figuring out how to unlock doors, if only she could reach the handles….
Buy Me A Coffee, If You Like
It's my once a year reminder that I have a fun Buy Me A Coffee program you can subscribe to if you like (think Patreon, without all the heavy-handed rules and fees). It comes with different tiers, so you can subscribe to exactly what you want and nothing more!
- monthly wallpaper downloads from my book covers and other art
- montly livestream chats, where we cover space news, tech advancements, scifi media, my books and whatever else you inquire about...oh, and I read excerpts from my current WIP
- you get every new ebook 10 days early
- you get to listen to the new audiobook as Pyper is recording it
Check out the program here: https://buymeacoffee.com/gsjennsen
SPHEREx
What a hauntingly beautiful shot of NASA’s SPHEREx craft and Earth shortly after deployment. SPHEREx will study the origins and evolution of the universe, map the galaxies in our sky, and search for life's essential ingredients within our galaxy. I can't wait to see what we learn from it.
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 Needle Galaxy
Photographed by Andrew McCarthy using an 8” telescope from his backyard. Andrew is an incredibly talented astrophotographer, and if you love beautiful images of space near and far, you should absolutely be following his work.
Source: https://x.com/AJamesMcCarthy/status/1898758092147282411
Andrew’s website: https://cosmicbackground.io/
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
Murderbot Arrives May 16
The Murderbot TV show will start streaming on Apple TV+ May 16, with Alexander Skarsgård in the lead role. We don’t have a trailer yet, though, only these two stills.
Who’s excited for this?
Road Trip
Nothing special - just a random day trip to see friends. And also SO special; the drive from Coeur d’Alene to Missoula is drop-dead gorgeous (assuming you survive Lookout Pass in the winter, that is).
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/
Final The Universe Within Teaser
It's their motto. They should emblazon it over the entryway of the house on Akeso.
As Above, So Below
ISS astronaut Don Petit and National Geographic photographer Babak Tafreshi teamed up to photograph the same subjects from Earth and space at once, and the results are extraordinary. The beauty and majesty of space *and* Earth brought together as mirrors of one another.
You’ll need to go to X to see all the images - it’s worth it: X Thread
The Culprits
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the reason we have 22 books.
Writing heroes who demand to shake up the world can at times be like the Chinese proverb of riding the tiger - except instead of being afraid to dismount, I just hang on and enjoy the ride.
9 days until THE UNIVERSE WITHIN gets here!
The Universe Within Teaser
What a heady experience it must be to get rescued by these two....
One Last Check
* rubs hands together *
Who's ready for a final proofread?
P.S.: I'm absolutely loving the Colorsoft. It's beautiful and fast, and the text is super-crisp.
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.
