Spacefreighters Lounge

MISSION: SUCCESS
Laurie's Journal

Drought.

Here in New Mexico we're in the throes of a five-year drought that's resulting in very dire consequences. Albuquerque only averages about 8.5 inches of rain a year, so you can imagine the impact of even less rainfall for a large city.

Here to the east, we manage our pastures carefully but they're nothing but dry brown grass so far this year. We're luckier than some of our neighbors who graze their livestock year round. Their pastures have gone to sand. The Rio Grande is now all but dry south of the big reservoir called Elephant Butte. We didn't have the record mountain snowfalls this winter that we'd hoped for, and the lack of run-off water is threatening the livelihood of green chile growers and farmers in the southern part of our state.

But yesterday...RAIN! 

What's considered a cause for moping in other parts of the country is music to our ears. It's wonderful. Magical, even. People here run to their windows or open their doors to stare, wide-eyed, as fat raindrops fall and soak into the parched soil. Even a little rain is a very good thing.

So I'm blogging today with a new sense of renewal and refreshment. Hooray for rain.

HAPPENINGS

The Brenda Novak Auction for Diabetes Research is off and running again this year, and there are some wonderful items being offered for this very good cause. Trips, books signed by favorite authors, tickets to Las Vegas shows, baskets of goodies, jewelry, editors and agents offering to critique queries and proposals, published authors offering critiques or meet-ups, Kindles, Nooks, iPads, Opportunity Drawings and more.

How about an African Safari? A trip to Aruba? (Browse Once In a Lifetime Experiences for other great trips and vacations closer to home--like Florida, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Washington, Colorado or California.)

There's literally something for everyone. The main auction ends May 31st (so there's still plenty of time to bid) but there are also special auctions that run for limited periods during the month of May.

Here's the link to the Browse page where you can check out the many auction categories...

Brenda Novak Auction for Diabetes Research

And as I bid on some of the many goodies this year, I realized this was a missed opportunity. Maybe next year my peers here at Spacefreighters or members of the SFR Brigade should consider putting together our own space-related category of offerings. Books, iconic Sci-Fi items, spacey jewelry, etc. I bet it would be a hit. Maybe we should start planning now for next year now. What do you say, co-bloggers?

RESEARCH

I've discovered magnetars. What are they? A type of neutron star discovered in 1979 with an extremely--and I do mean extremely--powerful magnetic field. When these magnetic fields decay, they emit high energy electromagnetic radiation such as x-rays and--my favorite boogeyman of space--gamma ray bursts.

But can they affect us? They already have--in alarming ways. Stay tuned for my future post about magnetars.

THE LATEST

The Tales from the SFR Brigade Anthology is coming along great with an anticipated mid-summer release. Voting just closed on the final cover art selection--we had two wonderful selections to choose from--and it appears we have a winner. Can't wait to do a cover reveal.

PING PONG

Congrats again to Pippa on her one year anniversary of KEIR being published. Just think where you'll be in another year!

Congrats also to Sharon for a successful video review of GHOST PLANET by the VFH Book Club on YouTube's Geek & Sundry Channel and a wonderful blog about Ghost Planet by author A.J. Larrieu on the Paranormal Unbound blog. It's so exciting to see GHOST PLANET get some well-deserved press and bring a little more attention to our subgenre.

Donna, enjoy your vacation and general recharging!