Cognitive Dissonance - What is it and What does it have to do with Writing?

Recently, I stumbled on an article about cognitive dissonance and immediately thought, "I've got to write a blog about that." 

What is it? It's humans' ability to hold two contrary beliefs at the same time and the mental discomfort that arises with holding contrary beliefs, or even more specifically, from learning new information which contradicts a deeply held belief. 

Wikipedia describes it this way: 

In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is the perception of contradictory information and the mental toll of it. Relevant items of information include a person's actions, feelings, ideas, belifs [sic], values, and things in the environment. Cognitive dissonance is typically experienced as pyschological [sic] stress when persons participate in an action that goes against one or more of those things.

[The inserted '[sic]' notations are mine. The Wiki info apparently hadn't been well proofed.] 

Cognitive dissonance also sometimes comes into play for authors. In fact, for many works, it's essential. It's something ALL writers must face to some degree, in particular when giving voice to a villain. And even, sometimes, a hero. 

This Blog comes with a Trigger Warning!

Controversial content ahead dealing with an unsettling topic which some may find disturbing. If you become offended, upset or squeamish by the discussion of the darker aspects of human nature, please stop reading here.

To explore this topic more fully, I need to take a closer look at one of the most difficult and challenging aspects I ever had to deal with in penning a novel. (Actually two difficult aspects, but I'll get to that.)

Writers have to put themselves in the bad guy's head ("guy" is used loosely here and throughout the post - of course villains can be any gender). They have to have the ability to reach a mental state where they can effectively relate what the villain believes, what motivates him, and how he justifies his actions while making it understandable and meaningful for the reader. Even when it's something deeply upsetting and repulsive to explore, they have to be capable of relating the villain's mindset (perspective, justification, etc.) to the reader. Villains need to be real and have emotions and motivations that feel real.

And that can put an author in a very dark and questionable place.

One aspect in the anchor novel of the Inherited Stars Universe caused me a great deal of mental angst and bouts of emotion that ranged from gut-wrenching disgust to extreme sympathy and sadness for what some of the characters were subjected to and threatened with. 

This also caused me to question if I shouldn't steer clear of this element entirely. Take a safer route. It's a tough one to explore even in a blog post, and caused me to question my instincts, because I knew it was going to put some readers off from even finishing the book. 

But I decided, for the integrity of the storytelling, it was essential to stay the course. 

Let me delve into the specifics as much as possible, while avoiding major spoilers. In order to make the villains, uh...habits...workable, I had to have one of their leaders explain to a hero why his subspecies evolved into cannibals, and it had to make sense to readers -- as skin-crawling as the subject may be. The Ithians had a dark history and an evolution to cannibalism that had to make sense to me as the writer before I could even begin to convey their culture (not justify it, mind you) via the story line. 

But why cannibals? Why even go there?

Here's the background. I based the Ithian empire, in part, on ancient Rome. Rome was a great culture of poets, writers, philosophers, builders, scientists, and craftsmen, with a strong and disciplined military, who enjoyed a lavish lifestyle rich in culture and the arts. But on weekends they went to the coliseum to cheer on bloody and horrific spectacles of human and animal carnage. It was all for sport, in their empire. The juxtaposition of refinement and savagery is still a little hard to accept or even understand, but it was a fixed and accepted part of their society.

I had to make my Ithian Alliance worse. Much worse. Forcing humans to fight each other or wild beasts as gladiators just wasn't bad enough. (Not to mention it's been done-to-death in science fiction.) The culture of Ithis had to be just as enlightened and enriched as the Roman Empire was in its day, but it also had to have a much, much darker side. But why had their culture evolved in such a disgusting and horrifying way? That was my struggle with cognitive dissonance as I created a history and traditions that allowed them to justify their actions.

 

But there's a caveat. What happens to the Ithian Alliance as a result of their horrendous mistreatment of other subspecies -- as bad as that was -- was also gut-wrenching but in a very different way. They lost something truly precious to them, as a means of rendering them defenseless. Did the ends justify the means? That's left an open-ended question. 

Certain members of the "hero" side of the equation believed there was only one way to restore basic human rights to the known galaxy, without instigating a conventional galaxy-wide war that would kill millions, if not billions. The Ithian Alliance had become so dominant, oppressive and heartless to the rest of the known galaxy, that the inhumanity they forced on others had to be clearly drawn in the story  before they could be dealt so devastating a blow in the story arc. In order to deal with monsters, the good guys had to become monsters themselves in the actions they took to end the horrors perpetuated by the Alliance. But in spite of the unmitigated oppression and callousness of the villains' society, I still had struggles writing those passages and even had readers and reviewers ask, "Wow! Should they have done that?"

That was the flip side of the coin. I had to be able to explain the thoughts and motivations behind the "good guys" extreme actions -- as well as the "bad guys" -- and why they took the steps they did, when they did, and how they did it. 

Cognitive dissonance to the max on both sides of the equation.

As the author, some of the situations described in Inherit the Stars and related books still bother me. I still sometimes feel a certain uneasiness about where I took the story. But that doesn't mean I don't think it was the right call. Call it a danger of the occupation, but cognitive dissonance as it applies to writing, is an integral but uncomfortable part of the writing process.

I welcome your thoughts and comments below. 

Truth is Stranger than Fiction? What if DEDspace is Real?

Sometimes the fiction we imagine can actually start to look like truth.

I recently came across this site while randomly surfing the web, and immediately thought, "Aha! So my fictional DEDspace [Dark Energy Dimension Space] that certain advanced ships in my Inherited Stars series employ to "gallop about the universe" might actually be a thing!"

I kinda have to love it when some of my wilder fictional ideas later turn out to not be so very wild after all.

Here's a link to the online article I found that was posted on February 1, 2024: 

Quanta Magazine:  In a 'Dark Dimension,' Physicists Search for the Universe's Missing Matter

Apparently, scientists are now starting to explore the hypothesis that Dark Energy and Dark Matter may exist in their own dimension. (Um. Yeah. Exactly! LOL) That may be one way of accounting for approximately 96% of the universe -- the matter and energy that must be out there in order to keep galaxies from coming apart at the seams, but to date hasn't been observable or proven to exist except through mathematics. 

So I have two words to sum up my thoughts on this new discovery. Cool beans! 

To be sure, I didn't get into some of the vastly complex particulars outlined in the article in my books. After all, I write fiction, not scientific papers. I provide an imagined framework for how my advanced ships navigate this DEDspace -- and what the consequences are -- without going into all the quantum mechanics and string theory details. My job as a writer of sci-fi is to entertain and open up an imaginative world to readers, not bore them to tears with pages and pages of scientific explanation. 

As the old adage goes, you don't need to know all the details of how a television works just to sit back and enjoy the show.

To explain how my fictional DEDspace worked without diving in to too much of the nittygritty, I wrote a blog back in June of 2016 (almost eight years ago) titled: 

What is this DEDspace of Which You Speak?

The highlights of that blog are below, or you can read the post in it's entirety by clicking the title link just above (it also discusses the futility of traveling around our galaxy -- or even to the nearest star --  with our current technology and the price that must be paid to access my fictional DEDspace).

______________________________________________ 

Even with the star-hopping that their decidedly advanced technology can manage, allowing them to travel system-to-system in a matter of days and span a number of systems inside a couple of weeks, we're talking months of travel to reach the outlier points of the Milky Way, which is one of their destinations in both stories. And that just wouldn't work. I had to find some form of "Galaxy Express" transit.

And Dark Energy provided that magic carpet.

You see, scientists aren't even sure what Dark Energy is just yet. Only that, in theory, it must exist in order for the universe to work, along with Dark Matter. We can't see it. We can't sense it. We only know that, mathematically, there's something dark and mysterious out there, and it accounts for nearly 68% of the actual universe. Dark Matter makes up an additional 28%.

Nearly ninety-six percent of the universe may be Dark Energy and Dark Matter!

That's a whole lot of something that's nothing!

In order for galaxies to not spin apart, there has to be something they call Dark Matter that accounts for the mass and the gravity that holds it all together, and in order for observations from deep space (which also means deep time) to make sense, there also has to be something stretching the universe apart--and they dubbed that Dark Energy. In tandem, Dark Energy and Dark Matter create the theoretical dynamics that might explain how the universe functions as it does when normal mathematics say it shouldn't function at all. (I'm paraphrasing here.)

When I started researching Dark Energy, the theory that made the most sense to me is that Dark Energy actually exists in another unknown dimension. Okay, I can get my head around that. (And better yet, my muse seemed to latch onto the idea big time.) I'd read theories that some scientists believe there could be up to nine dimensions--though trapped in our mortal bodies, we're only programmed to function within three--height, width, depth. Or maybe four, if you consider time a dimension onto itself.

So Dark Energy may form another dimension--one that we could actually enter if we found a way and a means to access it. And in doing so, we might be able to span huge distances in space by slipping the surly bonds of 3D. But...there's also Dark Matter, which some scientists believe might even provide a galaxy-wide transport system. Other experts are exploring the idea that Dark Energy and Dark Matter are connected. (In my universe, they are, and the combined phenomena is simply referred to as DEDspace, meaning Dark Energy Dimension space.)

Fifteen hundred years in our future, a man named Zaviar Mennelsohn did (or will) discover a way to access DEDspace. Or at least, he will in The Inherited Stars universe.

_______________________________________________

If you have any thoughts or comments about DEDspace, please let me know below. 

Thanks for tuning in. Hope you dock again soon.

#SnippetMonday

 

Welcome to our new regular feature, #SnippetMonday.

Today I'm featuring the opening of Inherit the Stars, the anchor novel in the Inherited Stars Series. Since it's the introduction of the hero, no scene set-up is needed. 

______________________________

One chance. No mistakes.

Sair took a deep breath and peered out the open airlock of the merchant ship. This was it. Make a wrong move now and he’d end up as the main course at an Ithian feast. Heart pounding, he studied his escape route. No threat in sight; he had a clear path to the street outside the hangar. He gripped the edge of the hatch, palms slick, legs twitching.

Now.

__________________________________

Inherit the Stars is available on Amazon, but as a special gift for the first readers of our new  #SnippetMonday blog series, I'm offering five free copies of Part I: Flight* from ProlificWorks. 

(*Part I is roughly the first third of the novel and it does end on a cliffhanger.)

Be one of the first to click here for a free copy of Inherit the Stars Part I: Flight from Prolific Works.

And thanks for stopping by Spacefreighters Lounge.

Living the Reality of my Heroine's (Once) Fictional Time

The past week has been downright unsettling. Not just because of social distancing, virtual lockdown, and an economy teetering on meltdown, but because I suddenly realized I'd experienced this scenario before.

But it was all in my head.

I'm now living in my heroine's time--in Lissa Bruce's era--and it's a bit freaky how her fictional world is becoming our reality. Life imitating art? Considering this book isn't published yet....nope. Just one writer's eerie projection of a future that is looking much too possible.

I say "the future" because at the time I wrote the original drafts, it truly was.

I'm really not supposed to admit this, but The Outer Planets has been in the hopper for over 30 years. When the story originally began to take shape in my mind, the 2040s seemed like a very long way off. Not so anymore.

The novel is currently in edits, but now, with everything going on around us, I'm not sure just when I may be ready--or willing--to release it.

Here's the lowdown.

When I started writing this novel, my heroine's totally sci-fi sounding birth date was the far distant year of 2012. A future that is in our past! So yeah, this year she'd be turning eight years old on 9/9/2020. Her parents are wealthy. In fact, her father is a politician. She still carries deep guilt about all the things she had as a child while her friends and their families were starving.

The story opens when Lissa Bruce is 27 years old. In the year 2039, the next couple of decades in our future are her past tense. The world is experiencing a new dawn, emerging from borderline dystopia, where a global economic collapse and continuing climate change resulted in a scramble to survive.

When did it happen? In the 2020's! That's looking a little less Fi and a lot more Sci at the moment.

[Honestly, I'm not making this stuff up! Do a search for "Outer Planets" on this site and you'll see my blogs about it that date back many years.]

In this fictional future, the melting ice sheets decreased the salt content of the oceans and partially altered the currents of the Atlantic Conveyor, throwing weather patterns into chaos. While the oceans rose, drowning coastline cities worldwide, drought turned former breadbasket regions into dust bowls. The effects on Lissa's society are dire.

Water riots became commonplace. Mobs formed to loot stores—not to steal goods and electronics to resell on the street--but to take the food they need for themselves and their families to survive.

In rural areas, communities formed raid gangs that stripped crops clean and butchered livestock on neighboring farms. [Particularly unnerving, since this is happening right now in other parts of the world--with gruesome recent news reports coming out of South America and Libya.]

Moral principles took a back seat to survival. Outbreaks of disease and anarchy prevailed. The United Nations disbanded as ineffective and costly, and governments refocused these resources on maintaining order inside their own borders and protecting their citizens. Police states and martial law became commonplace.

It's a frightening scenario considering where we are at this moment in time, but even this grim fictional setting is not a future without hope.

By 2030, the climate begins to stabilize, thanks to an enforced planet-wide scale back in greenhouse gas emissions, and the world returns to more normal conditions, socially and economically, leaving mankind still shaking in its boots at what could have been.

And what might be again in their not too distant future.

It's painfully clear to them that the human population has far exceeded the resources of their home planet...and after a worldwide population reduction during the cataclysms, is again growing exponentially.

The Nations is formed, a multi-national entity with a focus on expanding and diversifying our species' interests beyond the “all the eggs in one basket” scenario of having the fate of the humankind tied to one planet.

International resources are pooled to re-ignite a global space exploration program. As part of that plan, ASP—Armstrong Space Port—with its orbiting shipyards, begins construction in orbit in 2030 and is completed by the close of 2035. A year later it houses a population of over 15,500 international military, corporate and support personnel, and the ability to build large ships that are no longer limited by the problem presented by gravity and massive fuel tanks required to overcome it.

With regular shuttle flights from ASP, temporary bases are constructed on the Moon and Mars as the first step in establishing permanent mining operations. It doesn't happen without tragedy. The characters refer to one such catastrophe on Mars Station One more than once in the story.

Once ASP is online, Project Destination follows. Spearheaded by The Nations, it’s an ambitious multi-national exploratory mission to the Outer Planets—Jupiter and Saturn, and more specifically the 100+ moons they share between them—to identify resources, future colony sites, and launching points for interstellar missions to other solar systems.

Construction of the Nations’ Star Ship—NSS Destination—starts. And the debate about crew selection begins...

Whew! Let's hope most of the fictional scenario of this "here, now and about to be" stays just that. Fictional.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay positive!

SpyDog Secret Revealed (But No Spoilers!)

My latest science fiction romance story, SpyDog, is about to be unleashed on the universe as part of the much-anticipated Pets in Space® 4 collection on October 8th.

(Pay no attention to that author doing cartwheels behind the curtain.)

Yes, I'm a bit excited about my new 30K+ novella and how it has such dramatic tie-ins throughout my series. Today I'll share one of the secrets (but without a side of spoilers).

For starters, here's the Inherited Stars Series blurb that defines the overarching premise behind all the books:

The year is 3500 AD—more or less. No one really keeps track anymore. 

Since the fall of peacekeeper planet, LaGuardia, two centuries before, much has been lost. Few remember that LaGuardia was once known as Draxis. Fewer still have knowledge that Draxis once guarded a spatial vortex—a crossrip in time and space—and passageway to a legendary world called Earth where the human species originated. 

Somewhere, hidden in a forgotten archive, is the written history of the Draxian Universe and the chronicles of the men and women who helped forge a future in the stars.

______________________________________

That "forgotten archive" plays a role in many of the series books, and SpyDog is one of them. But this is hardly the first mention of this mysterious history in books already released.

Here are two snippets, one each from Farewell Andromeda and SpyDog that both involve this important archive, though the stories take place two centuries apart.

Snippet from Farewell Andromeda

Scene Set-Up:
An exchange between two lovers with very different lives--Tiharra Bell, a deep space DEDship charter pilot who has just flown to a remote outpost called Andromeda Station, and Donner Dane, a man of science who lives there. 

Tiharra and Donner may not have long together, and both are dealing with that knowledge in this scene.

[Edited slightly for context.]

________________________________

“The Rathskians outlawed cloning centuries ago,” I reminded him.

His mouth turned down for a moment. “The Duumarakhans.”

“Excuse me?”

“It was the Duumarakhans, the predecessors of the Rathskians, who outlawed cloning. They made it their mission, since their kind had been genetically frozen in time for five hundred generations.” He shook his head. “We’ve forgotten them. So much of our history was lost in the Great Realignment.”

I packed my feelings away, grateful for the temporary distraction. “How do you know this?”

Donner’s eyes brightened. “This station contains an incredibly rare treasure. A complete library of the combined Draxian-Terran history. I’ve had a lot of time on my hands and reading is a passion.” He raised his incredibly brown, incredibly soft eyes to mine. “I have a strong need to understand as much as I can…”

Before I cease to exist, I finished for him mentally.

“This library…” I croaked, trying to turn my thoughts away from the heartache of his demise. “Seems an odd thing to entrust to a remote space station.”

“The information wasn’t brought here. It already existed in this structure’s old databanks. This station has a history too. It played a part in the Great Realignment. Before it was converted for use as an outpost and observatory, it was known as Mona Loa Station.”

“Mona Loa,” I muttered. “Odd name.”

“A loa is a type of spirit in an ancient religion. The designer named all his craft after paranormal entities. He’s the same man, by the way, who invented the first DEDspace drive.”

“Zaviar Mennelsohn?”

“You know of him.”

“From my history classes at Talstar Flight Academy. Mennelsohn also designed the first fully neuro-connective DEDship…”

“Specter,” we said in unison.

We exchanged tentative smiles, ignoring the bleak truth that hovered over us like a thick Terran fog bank.

“I find an odd sense of connection in that,” Donner said. “I live on a space station and you operate a drive created two hundred calendars ago by the same man.”

_________________________________

Snippet from (Pets in Space® 4) SpyDog

Scene Set-Up:
In my upcoming story, readers will discover clues on how the records that Donner refers to may have ended up on MONA Loa Station...or Mona Loa, as it's called two hundred calendars (years) later.

This scene involves a confrontation between Sona, a rare warrior-class Rathskian female who may or may not be an enemy agent, Rigel, a Network agent and SpyDog handler, and Garr, the pilot of the transport who is tasked to extract them from planet Banna, where they were marooned. 

[Edited slightly for context.]

_________________________________

“LaGuardia is the home of the Royal Draxian Archives," Garr said. "The records of our history that the Ithians are desperately trying to erase so they can replace it with their lies about our past. They want to bury the truth. High Queen Katrina was real. Our origins on the planet called Earth is truth. The Flame and the Fire Lords did exist. The vortex they passed through was a reality. It’s all there. All the lost knowledge. All the forgotten centuries. Almost fourteen thousand years of it. And it’s in jeopardy.”

“I know of these archives,” Sona said pensively. “They preserve important history for my people, too. But what does it have to do with us?”

“We’ve been directed to acquire the archives on datacells and deliver the contents to the Network. Before the gigadam Ithians can destroy it forever.”

“And with Commodore Gant missing in action, this is a priority for the Network?” Rigel questioned.

“This may be one of the most important things the Network ever does,” Garr declared. “Whether they succeed or fail with their other plans.”

Rigel considered his words. Yes, there was value in safeguarding important historical records, but it wasn’t his priority. “Why us? Why not send a Network battleship or destroyer to secure this data?”

“Think about it,” Garr grated, showing his impatience. “The Alliance doesn’t realize the Network has a fleet. They can’t show that hand. Not yet. But one small, aging wreck of a transport touching down on LaGuardia isn’t going to attract attention.”

“There’s truth in your words,” Sona conceded, “but it doesn’t change the reality that I must reach the transport to MONA Loa in time.”

“And if I give you my solemn word you’ll get to MONA Loa on schedule?”

“You can’t make that promise.”

“I can and just did.”

Sona blinked. Twice. Slowly.

“Consider this," Garr pressed. "Why would they order me to collect these records if they weren’t going to be delivered straight to MONA Loa? What would be the point?”

Sona shifted her weight. “You are speaking the truth.”

____________________________________

I hope you enjoyed this brief visit to both Farewell Andromeda and my soon-to-be-released SpyDog, in Pets in Space® 4 and how they fit in The Inherited Stars Universe.

As an author, one of the things I enjoy about writing a series is offering subtle and not-so-subtle clues or tie-ins in each new story, and revealing connections to the other works and characters.

Want to see the connection between the series anchor novel, Inherit the Stars and SpyDog? Then grab a free sampler from the Pets in Space® 4 authors that contains original stories, teasers and original artwork. (My contribution is a teaser that shows how the events in SpyDog were initiated in Inherit the Stars.) But hurry! This sampler is only available for a limited time.

FREE Sampler (only available until October 7th!)

Get Farewell Andromeda for 99 cents on Amazon now

PRE-ORDER Pets in Space® 4

And please don't forget that Pets in Space® 4 will again support the wonderful Hero-Dogs.org, the amazing organization that raises, trains and provides service dogs to veterans and first responders. Ten percent of all preorders and first month's royalties of Pets in Space® 4 will go to support Hero Dogs! The last three Pets in Space® collections have raised over $7,100 for this very worthy cause. You can help by pre-ordering today.

Have a wonderful week! And stop back next Monday to discover the inspiration behind the stories from many of the award-winning, bestselling authors of Pets in Space® 4.

Big News! #booknews #amwriting

Today I can *finally* announce something that's been in the works for several weeks, and I've been chomping at the bit to tell you the news!

Pets in Space® 4 is coming October 8, 2019!

And I'm one of the authors in this year's collection!

I'm really excited to be back in a Pets in Space® collection for 2019, especially after sitting out 2018. I already had a story idea in my head for a third StarDog installment, this one entitled SpyDog. This novella was going to happen with or without Pets in Space, but I'm much happier about it being part of the collection, as with the previous two stories StarDog and Courting Disaster. I'll talk a little more about the story below.

This time, 13 leading science fiction romance authors have banded together to bring you new and original stories from their popular series. Here's the complete line-up of authors (which, by the way, like the original PISA will simply be called "Pets in Space® 4," with no extended title this time!)

Pets in Space® 4 promises to be another great reading adventure and will once again support the wonderful Hero-Dogs.org organization! Once again, 10% of all pre-orders and first month's royalties will go to support this wonderful organization that raises and places support dogs with US veterans. Watch for more announcements between now and the release date.

Meanwhile, you're invited to join the Facebook Readers' Group for fun, updates and insiders' info: Pets in Space Readers Group on Facebook

And be sure to sign up for the Pets in Space® Newsletter, too!
  13 leading science fiction romance authors have banded together to bring you new

and original stories from their popular series

Inherit the Stars Celebrates its Four Year Anniversary!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
INHERIT THE STARS!

It's really a little bit hard to believe that the anniversary of my debut novel being published happened last Friday! 

Inherit the Stars was 'born' on my birthday in 2015.

Where or where do the years go?

Inherit the Stars was a 2011 RWA Golden Heart finalist (under working title P2PC), and after being published it won the Carolyn Readers Choice Award, was given a coveted A+ rating by Reading Reality review site, and was named one of the best books of 2015 by LibraryJournal.com.

Inherit the Stars was, of course, the anchor novel from which all the StarDog stories sprang, and SpyDog will be no different. In fact, the events in SpyDog will happen at the same time as some of those in Inherit the Stars, so you'll get a very different perspective of the same timeline.

Although the stories were created to be read in any order, here is the time chronology of the four books:

StarDog - six moons (months) before the beginning of Inherit the Stars.
Inherit the Stars - anchor novel, events leading up to Operation Reset.
SpyDog - concurrent with Inherit the Stars and Operation Reset.
Courting Disaster - three calendars (years) after Inherit the Stars.

My mission for 2019 is to have all of the above titles published, plus a holiday story prequel to Inherit the Stars tentatively titled The Crucible. 

And possibly even the full length novel, The Outer Planets, which stands alone in its own timeline of the Inherited Stars Universe, but establishes important elements for the future Draxian Trilogy.

The next novel in the series, Inherit the Vengeance will take place seven calendars (years) after Operation Reset, and four after Courting Disaster. As the title probably suggests, the remnants of the Ithian Alliance did not go softly into the night and now they're out for the ultimate revenge. The book will feature many returning characters, along with a couple of new faces.

It's going to be a very busy year!

I may have even more big news coming next Monday (or...soon).

Have a great week!

The Transport is AWAY! #amwriting #amediting #comingsoon

In other words...StarDog is off to the editor!

My former Pets in Space (1) story, now a full-blown novella after nearly a year's work, is off for its final prep before publishing as a standalone, when the story will take its place in my Inherited Stars Series as a prequel to the anchor novel, Inherit the Stars.

The story now includes expanded scenes, changed scenes, embellished scenes, an added love scene, and an epilogue that answers a lot more questions in the "what happens next" department.

I had a few readers comment that, although they loved the story and its conclusion, they still felt a little bad for the hero at the end. And yeah. I agreed there was a little more closure needed there. I did leave the poor guy out on a pretty precarious limb. In my defense, at the time it was originally written I was working under a word count limit...and it was already over by nearly 2000 words (which ended up being allowed in the original short. *Whew*)!

So that rather sudden conclusion has now been fleshed out in an all new epilogue.

I think the story has the same heart as the original, it's just grown up and added a lot more muscle. I'm also super happy with how much the story evolved in providing key insights into some of the future books.

I know it's been a couple of years since anyone has read the short story it was based on, so here's a quick reintroduction by way of the trailer I created for it.

[Sorry, ignore the last part. It's not yet available on Amazon. Hopefully soon!]

So, next up...

*cracks open Courting Disaster to begin upgrades*

*opens a brand new doc for a third StarDog story*

...at the same time!

Cover me, I'm goin' in!


And That's a Wrap!

The SFR Galaxy Awards have been announced! and with it, my host and coordinator duties have concluded for another year! *whew*

This year, 27 SFR Galaxy Awards were given out in seven rounds, once again supporting the double-bladed mission of the awards to find greatness in SFR and to help connect readers with books that might want to read.

The list has now been recreated on the SFR GalaxyAwards site (Awards Archives: click to see), but better yet, Carol Van Natta posted the entire list with buy links on her site, so you can easily grab the ones you want to read. Here's Carol's post: 2018 SFR Galaxy Awards

Oh, and might I also mention that a member of the Spacefreighters Lounge crew has once again been graced with an award. Congratulations to Donna on getting the nod for the latest novel in her Interstellar Rescue Series, Not Fade Away. Yay!

Have a great week!

News and Fun on the SFR Front #amwriting #sfrgalaxyawards #MLKDay

I've got a very newsy blog this week. Here's the latest on what I've been working on in the SFR community, with my writing, and on the author front.

But first an observance...

A Very Special Day

I need to recognize, as I do every year, that this third Monday in January is set aside to honor a very special man in our history. In 1983, fifteen years after the honoree's death, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill designating this day as a national holiday and day of observance for all time.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was, in my opinion, one of the greatest voices in history. (And probably one of the most powerful writers of our time, though he's seldom recognized for that.) He spoke with reason, with compassion, with a message of hope for those struggling to overcome adversity and a request for understanding for those who refused to see injustice. 

Deeply influenced by Mohandas (Mahatma) Ghandi and a devout Christian, he called for nonviolent civil disobedience--challenging the status quo in an effort to overcome the racial segregation and inequality that was so prevalent in the turmoil of the 1960s and before.

On August 28, 1963, he spoke with great eloquence and clarity, putting forth that he hoped his children would one day "not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." If you've never read his iconic, world-shaking speech, I urge you to read his words here:

I Have a Dream

And if you'd like to see his personal commitments explained, read his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, written after he'd been imprisoned for peaceful demonstration and criticized by the local clergy.

Sadly, throughout our history, those who strongly disagree with someone's views and fears their influence might seek to silence them forever. Tragically, that was the fate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he was assassinated by an escaped convict on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Every year, I like to revisit one of the phrases in his I Have a Dream speech to recapture the spirit of his message. Because we live in a very troubled world, and as this great man once said:

"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, 

adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. 

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. 

Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

Powerful words to try to live by.


The SFR Galaxy Awards are Coming!

As this year's event coordinator, I get to have the first sneak peak at all the upcoming award presentations this year (sorry...my lips are sealed!) and I'm very excited by the line-up that's taking shape.

The 2018 SFR Galaxy Awards will be announced on January 31st beginning at 10AM Eastern Time and will continue with new rounds posted every hour throughout the day. Judges can present awards for up to five SFR books for each round, so a lot of awards will be handed out to totally surprised authors on that day.

The awards have a dedicated site, and you can stop by and save the link now: SFR Galaxy Awards

This is the seventh annual presentation of the only know all-SFR awards, and with major award programs dropping like flies (to use a cliche) in the book industry, it's going to need the support of the SFR community to keep it returning in future years.

In a poll recently posted to the SFR Brigade discussion group regarding knowledge about the awards, here's how members responded:

50% (44) responded: I’ve heard of the awards, but I’m not really sure of the details.

29.5% (26) responded: I love the SFR Galaxy Awards! I think they're important to authors and a great way for readers to find books they want to read.

20.5% (18) responded: I don’t know anything about the SFR Galaxy Awards.

0% (0) responded: I know about the awards, but don't really pay much attention unless one of my books happens to win an award.

88 Responses to Poll

With only a third of the SFR Community members who weighed in saying they actively follow the awards, clearly we've got some work to do!

Please help get the word out and show your support by sharing information about the award rounds as they're released on January 31st. Please post links to the site on social media, your blogs or your websites, and talk about the awards with your readers and peers. Thank you!

StarDog Set for Final Return Flight to the Editor

I've just finished the final re-furbish of my former Pets in Space offering, StarDog. It now has new scenes, enhanced scenes, tweaked scenes, and a few uber-altered scenes, plus some all new material and an epilogue that I feel gives the story a little more closure in the "what happens next?" department. It heads back to the editor for a final scrub on February 1st.

StarDog was actually written as a prequel to my first novel, when the tensions with the Ithian Alliance are just coming to a head. It also sets up an important bit of backstory for a future novel's heroine and for my next project, Courting Disaster.


I added a brief Afterword that explains how the story segues into the series anchor, Inherit the Stars.

One of the elements I really struggled with was the addition of a second love scene, but I'm happy with how it (eventually) turned out. That scene probably got more attention than all the other passages in the story combined!

Overall, I'm super pleased with the changes and the bump-up in word count from novelette length to full blown novella. Although StarDog introduces several new characters to the series, it also features cameos and "guest appearances" by some familiar faces from the novel.

I think this story is going to do wonderful things for the universe-building in my fictional little corner of the Milky Way, and I'll be very proud to add it to my Inherited Stars Series line-up.


Inherit the Stars Scores Wonderful Recognition

There are days that being an author is no picnic, and then there are weeks like this past one where Inherit the Stars scored two wonderful recommendations of note.

Available on Amazon

The first was a five star BookBub recommendation (the first for Inherit the Stars or any of my books, to the best of my knowledge) that said in opening..."This is a lively read, with skillful worldbuilding. The book begins with a daring escape, slows down a bit so readers can get to know the characters, then pivots into a suspenseful space adventure with ultra-high stakes and villains you love to hate. " and later adds, "No superficial story here, which is probably why I liked it so much."

The reviewer tagged the book as: "Action-packed," "Great world-building," "Happily Ever After," "Original," and "Wonderful characters."

Oh, what a feeling!

Here's the link. (If you want to acknowledge the time and effort this reviewer invested in writing this recommendation, please give it a "like.") BookBub Review of Inherit the Stars

Then, Inherit the Stars got even more attention at the Sidney Public Library in Sidney, Iowa where it was recommended as a staff pick by Library Director Riley Moreland.

That, in itself, was quite a thrill, but just look at the company it was keeping!

Yup, that's none other than Nora Roberts' Year One and Julie McElwain's Murder in Time, both highly acclaimed Science Fiction fare.

There are some weeks when being an author pays back tenfold. This is one of those weeks.

Hope you enjoy the rest of yours.

Why 2018 was an Endless Summer

Happy Labor Day!

Labor Day marks the "official" end of summer, though the season will linger on for a few more weeks, at least according to the calendar, as will the barbecues, shorts, sandals, and outdoor activities.

But for many it's a time when the kids go back to school and we start gearing down for the chillier days and nights ahead. Winter is, indeed, coming.

Labor Day is also a time of reflection, as another Season of the Sun passes out of our lives. For me, Summer 2018 was a summer of change, of reflection, of fielding curve balls, of re-determining direction, of a win or two, but many, many losses. Some that are still lingering with me.

Where summers are usually fleeting and bright, 2018 was an Endless Summer, and sadly, not in a positive way. I've made promises to get more books out. It didn't happen. I made commitments to do certain things and go certain places. I didn't do those things or go those places. I sometimes felt so completely defeated and heart-heavy, I didn't know if I could -- or if I wanted to -- continue to do this author thing.

Maybe it will be simpler if I just recap:

Summer 2018: What I Thought Would Happen

I'd publish three more books
I'd invest a good percentage of time promoting those books
Inherit the Stars (the filly we bred and raised) would start her racing career
I'd attend RWA for the first time in six years
I'd get to meet peers in Denver who had long been online friends
I'd start working on my next major release--the "Book of my Heart" *sigh*
It would be a fabulous, productive summer!


Summer 2018: What Really Happened (or The Real Life Version)

In late April, we lost our Lab Misty to cancer. We'd had her since she was 6 weeks old.
Grief ensued. It was a herald of the summer to come.

Also in April, we sent our fabulous mare Blaze to be bred to a promising young stallion. Her full sister produced a running champion in 2017. We had high hopes!
In May, our homebred 3YO Stars was diagnosed with an as yet undetected breathing disorder.
After rejecting an optional risky surgery, Stars was retired without running a single race.
What looked to be a very promising career was never going to happen.
Much sadness followed.
Also in May, "Cockygate" erupted in the publishing industry.
Much angst and teeth-knashing followed for many weeks.
There was a lashback -- a lot of bad blood arose among writers.
Conversely, a rush of authors attempted to trademark common phrases.
Most indies were furious, disillusioned, shaking in their boots, or all three.
I was one of them.
A hearing on June 24 was the beginning of the end of Cockygate.
[In case you somehow missed the drama, Google it or read this summary]
On the heels of Cockygate, authors were struggling with other issues:
Click-farms. Disappearing page reads. Mystifying closures of accounts by a big vendor.
And in most cases, a complete lack of response, recourse or re-compensation.
Many authors announced they were quitting--too many bads; too few goods.
I was one of the authors who seriously considered doing the same.
In late June, our mare Blaze returned from the breeding farm, not in foal and in very bad shape.
Blaze spent over five weeks in our vet's care, but continued to decline.
Blaze's vet expenses required me to cancel my trip to RWA 2018 in Denver.
I lost the chance to meet the Brigade RWA group I'd been chatting with for months.
I forfeited my hefty registration fee.
Meanwhile, RWA members reacted to RWA's summary on the state of the Golden Heart.
They talked about why the competition was so important to so many unpublished authors.

They talked about how the experience couldn't be replaced.
In late July, the RWA board announced the 2019 Golden Heart would be the last.
I was crushed. I can't begin to explain what this loss meant. The Golden Heart did so much for me, both career and confidence-wise, and I gained many peers because of it.
It will be the very sad end of a wonderful era for authors-to-be.
On August 5 we visited Blaze one last time, and it was clear she was losing her battle.
On August 6: Rest in Peace, Blaze. It was cancer.
Our wonderful, successful, beautiful Blaze was gone.

More heart-wrenching grief ensued.
On August 8, we sold Stars to a young barrel racer.
We couldn't give her the second career she deserved, but we found someone who would.
Goodbye to our baby, Stars. :'(

End result of this summer of strife...
I couldn't summon the emotional focus to write or publish anything.
Not just excuses. Just life.

Since I opted out of Pets in Space 3 this year (in hindsight, probably a good thing for my mental health), I also realized that although I've published something new every year since my debut in 2015, because of the nature of the Pets in Space collections being limited releases, my 2016 and 2017 books are no longer available -- Poof! Zap! -- as if they were never there at all. As if I hadn't published anything since 2015.

And I was painfully aware that slowly...and certainly...my author name was fading from the readers' collective consciousness.

These long (endless) months of turmoil and loss and depression resulted in a mental struggle for me, deciding if I wanted to continue as an author at all. Is it worth all the time and effort and aggravation and grief and stress that happens as a result of the actions of others, algorithms gone seriously awry or what feels like the cruel whimsy of the industry....all while coping with just plain life? Could I weather the horrendous time-sucking learning curve required to continue as an indie author?

It isn't the first time I'd been here, but it was definitely the longest I'd mulled and pondered, and the closest I'd ever come to throwing in the towel for good.

But...

I was born a writer. I will always write. And I'd really like to share my stories, as difficult as the current industry makes that for small indie authors. But maybe, I thought, I could just write for me. Only write for fun and post it to my blog or to a free site like Wattpad. Yet doing so would, firstly, narrow my audience to a handful of readers, and secondly, expose my work to the high risk of being ripped off and published as someone else's work. (As if my books weren't already being pirated--frequently and relentlessly.)

Did any of that even matter anymore?

I continued the soul-searching of why I write. Or more accurately, why I want to continue. For money? Ha! Truly, a joke. I'm lucky to cover expenses. For fame? Hahahahahaha. No. I am a single face in a sea of millions, one quiet voice in a noisy multitude. And in truth, I never feel comfortable in the limelight. I don't want the equivalent of a Hollywood Star of Fame.

The reason I write is that writing brings me joy. Creating worlds and people and characters and conflict is a method of expressing myself. It centers me and allows me to communicate in a way and at a level that isn't otherwise available to me. And if I keep these stories to myself, there's no communication. I want to share them. Because there are others out there that my books might speak to, others who may need a chance to escape -- Escape to the Stars -- for a few hours of their lives.

What really matters to me is that someone finishes one of my books and thinks to themselves, "Wow. That was a great story!" or "Holy cow. That really made me think." Or that my stories or characters or worlds gave them hope, or will linger on inside them as a part of their life experiences or fond memories.

With that realization, my choice was made. I must keep writing. I still have so many more stories inside me. So many worlds that have long existed within my head and been a part of my life. For me, it's personal.

But most of all because I love -- and have always loved -- to write. It's who I am. And I won't let this heartless industry take that away from me.

Going forward, I will allow myself concessions. I'll tell my stories in my own time and at my own pace. I'll give myself the latitude I need to tell them in the way I see fit and let go of the pressure of expectations and writing "inside the box" as well as dates and schedules and timelines.  I'll continue to write and publish as long as my mind and health and mental state allow me to do so. Quietly. And without a lot of broadcasting and hoopla. Head down. Hands on keyboard. Butt in chair. Ignoring the negatives. Embracing the positives. Reminding myself, daily, why I do it.

It's Labor Day 2018, and it's been an Endless Summer. But I'm still here.

See you next week.

Mind-Driven Technology: Coming Soon?

Happy Monday the 13th. The day seems perfect for a blog about the wonders--and possible warning signs--for our near future.

When I penned the original draft of Inherit the Stars back in 2009, I envisioned a future where, not computers, but the human brain would operate prototype ships, tactical drones and biodroids (biological androids) via a neuro-connective direct link device. And with proper training and experience, a person could develop the ability to do all of these things...simultaneously!

After all, why build a machine to mimic the human mind if the mind can be trained and tapped to do it better, and without removing the human equations of sympathy and the differentiation of right and wrong.

Image available for purchase on DepositPhotos

As it turns out, we may not have to wait anywhere near the 1,500-years-in-the-future setting of my series for mind-driven technology to be developed. DARPA is working toward that goal right now!

According to a July 17, 2018 article by Jack Corrigan on Nextgov.com, "The Defense Department’s research arm is working on a project that connects human operators’ brains to the systems they’re controlling—and vice versa."

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is working to develop this neural interface that would allow personnel to connect to tech devices via brainwave activity. The end result would be to allow people to control technology as seamlessly as if they were operating a body part. In Inherit the Stars, this idea is introduced by way of Con-Drive, short for neural-connective drive.

In reality, this program has been dubbed Next-Generation Non-Surgical Neurotechnology, or N3, but it's exploring two different paths--non-invasion systems that are completely outside the body (ala the tech in my books) and a "minutely invasive" process wherein the individual must consume certain chemicals so that external sensors can read their brainwave activity.

In the very near future (if not already), such technology might help a 'mind pilot' operate an entire fleet of drones or robots for surveillance or tactical situations. Take that same concept and project it fifteen hundred years into the fictional future, and it may ring a few bells for my readers. A character developing the prowess to control a flotilla of multi-purpose tactical drones, operate a number of biological androids, and operate and pilot a prototype starship--all at the same time? Check and double check.

The rare prototype ships in my series represent various stages of the evolution of this technology, so have different levels and methods of connectiveness. Con-drive also makes it possible to go places other ships can't go--and to get there in times that no other ships can equal.

In our future, this evolving technology may allow for more immediate concerns, such as an individual who can sense the onslaught of a cyber attack or a malfunction.

Are there ethical and moral questions involved in such a technology? Certainly. And personal dilemmas? Of course. As with any 'enhancement' of the human mind, there are bound to be trade-offs. Such abilities may leave an individual feeling an outsider from his or her peers. Emotionally, and mental health-wise, there's a possibility this feeling of isolation could take a toll on the human psyche. It may leave someone with these enhancements questioning if they are not more--but less--human because of their abilities.

In many ways, direct mind connection to technology becomes like a futuristic superpower. And as with all superpowers, there's a personal price that must be paid.

Technology has been catching up to my Near Future SFR--The Outer Planets--for almost a decade now. But it's a bit sobering for me as an author to see that it's already beginning to catch up with a story set fifteen centuries into our future. As Dr. Alan Grant said in Jurassic Park, "The world has just changed so radically, and we're all running to catch up."

That seems to go double for science fiction authors.

Reference: DARPA  - Pentagon Wants to Bring Mind-Controlled Tech to the Troops

Have a great week.

A Busy Month of May! #amwriting #ALSbenefit

Last day of April 2018. Hard to believe, isn't it?

And May is looking to be a very busy and productive month!

A cover waiting for
its book.

I'm currently working on revising or creating new scenes, dialogue and elements for my series story, StarDog. When I originally wrote the book for the first Pets in Space collection, I was constrained by word count limits, so had to keep the scene-building brief and tight. Now I have the opportunity to explore more of the characters, backstories and politics as tensions soar in the months leading up to events in Inherit the Stars. 

This is Taro and Adini's adventure, and both will make appearances in future books (as well as the title character, my feisty little StarDog). A few familiar faces from the novel also have a part in this prequel.

It's been FUN! to work on these story embellishments, though admittedly, it's also been a challenge.

I also have a couple of other things going on...

Book Fair -- 99 Cent Books

ONLY THROUGH TODAY, there's a huge selection of multi-genre books available in a big Book Fair special -- including Farewell Andromeda -- all at 99 cents! There are Fantasy, Historical, Mystery, Young Adult, Science Fiction / Science Fiction Romance and more.

But it's ONLY THROUGH TODAY, so hurry!

Here's the landing page where you can do a quick scan of the offerings: BOOK FAIR


Blue Book Cover Brigade to Support ALS Research

Beginning tomorrow, May 1st, I'm joining ranks with several other authors, including co-bloggers Greta van der Rol and Pippa Jay, to participate in the ALS Association 2018 Napa Valley Ride to Defeat ALS and Walk.

Author Lea Kirk organized and coordinated the event, and put together a group of dedicated authors for this very worthwhile cause. We're all involved as virtual participants and we'll be donating 25% of our book sales during May to the cause.

But even if you don't want to invest in some great reads, there are other ways you can help. A straight donation can be done through my page on the site. Click for: Laurie A. Green's Page. Here you can make a direct donation via credit card in any amount (anonymously or not) and it will go to the ALS Association for ALS research. You can also designate the name of a person in whose honor you are making your donation.

Check out our Blue Book Cover Brigade Page to see the other authors involved and what books they have in the project.

And here's a special "no fanfare" offer. To get this kicked off, I'll gift a copy of Inherit the Stars via Amazon US to the first three people who comment below and include the words - Blue Book Cover Brigade to help ALS - in their comment. Then I'll donate 25% of the price to the cause.

Learn more about the event on the Blue Book Cover Brigade Site.

Click here to go to our Authors Supporting ALSA landing page.

I have a couple of very special reasons for wanting to get involved this year. And since I'm now dabbling in creating my own videos, I put together this short (1:30) clip on why this event is an important one for me. Let me know how I did.

Thank you all!

Big Week on the Horse Front

And last, but not least, this is the big week in my "other" profession. The Kentucky Derby will be run this coming Saturday, May 5th.

It's Cinco de Derby this year!!!



My Derby T-shirt for 2018

And there's always speculation about which horse is going to win the Run for the Roses. One of the top contenders is a horse named, ironically, Mendelssohn. That's only a couple of letters off from the name of the central family in my series--the Mennelsohns. (Also, one of the actors in Star Wars: Rogue One was named Mendelsohn--just one letter off.)

Our 3YO filly, Inherit the Stars (familiar name? haha), is prepping for her first race after being laid up due to a walker accident (no, not the Star Wars kind of walker--this was a mechanical horse walker) last fall as a 2YO. Another irony. One of the jockeys who frequently rides for our trainer has a first name of Ry--who is also the name of a character in Inherit the Stars, the brother of Captain Drea Mennelsohn, the heroine.

So I'll report back if Mendelssohn (the horse) wins the Derby, and if Ry (the jockey) is ever matched up with Inherit the Stars (the filly).

On the home front, we had two very strong 2nd place finishes in April by horses we own or bred (Endless Thyme and Blazing Away), so we're looking forward to an exciting summer season ahead.

Have a great Derby week!