A Kepler’s Dozen and Phoenix Comicon

May18

My anthology A Kepler’s Dozen: Thirteen Stories About Distant Worlds That Really Exist has just been released from Hadrosaur Productions. I co-edited the anthology with Steve B. Howell, the project scientist of NASA’s Kepler mission. Our goal was to have a set of astronomers and science fiction writers imagine what future explorers might find on the worlds discovered by the Kepler space probe. The tone of the stories range from light to serious, but the planets are always presented as realistically as possible. Fans of The Pirates of Sufiro will be pleased to know the book features an all new adventure with Captain Firebrandt and the crew of the Legacy. The National Optical Observatory wrote up a nice press release about the anthology which is available at http://www.noao.edu/news/2013/pr1305.php. The anthology is available at Amazon.com, BN.com, and Hadrosaur.com.

Unfortunately, the book is released just as news comes out that the Kepler spacecraft has lost the second of four reaction wheels that allow it to point accurately. There’s a good chance this marks the end of the spacecraft’s ability to collect data. It’s important to remember, though, even if the probe stopped working immediately, there are still two years’ worth of data to sort through and many, many planets likely still to be discovered. The Kepler probe has been a phenomenal success and Steve Howell and I are already thinking about a second book that will explore even more of the Kepler planets!

In the meantime, I’m gearing up for Phoenix Comicon which will be held over Memorial Day Weekend at the Phoenix Convention Center. This event is so big, it’s hard to know how to even begin describing it. All of the surviving cast of Babylon 5 will be there to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary. There will be many other actors, comic artists, and writers on hand as well. I’m honored to be on several panels over the course of the weekend. Here’s my schedule.

Friday, May 24

Noon-1pm – So You Wanna Be a Writer – Room West104A. Learn from the pros about how to get started as an author, how to handle rejection, where to look for guidance, education, and support, and what to do when you’ve started to “make it” but aren’t all the way there yet. On the panel with me are Sharon Skinner, Tom Leveen, Gini Koch, C.J. Hill, and Marcy Rockwell.
9-10pm – Create Your Own Steampunk Poem Workshop – Room 227AB. Poetry lives at the heart of Steampunk music and was a vital part of 19th century literary life. Express yourself in poetry. Free!

Saturday, May 25

Noon-1pm – Arizona’s Astronomical Observatories – Room 127C. Arizona features a number of world-class astronomical observatories thanks to our clear skies and high mountaintops. Learn from a panel of experts about our state’s telescope facilities, including research being done there and visitor information. On the panel with me are Karen Knierman and Gerard van Belle.
6-7pm – Strange New Worlds: Extrasolar Planets and the Kepler Mission – Room 126C. Have you ever wondered if there are solar systems other than our own? We now know there are, and with the help of NASA’s Kepler spacecraft, we’ve found hundreds of them. Join us to learn about the surprising diversity of solar systems in our galaxy. On the panel with me are Lisa Will, Gerard van Belle, David Lee Summers, Kevin Healy and Steve Desch.

Sunday, May 26

10:30-11:30am – Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Poetry – Room West104B. Yes, Virginia, SF poetry does exist. Join some of these poets for a look at the field. On the panel with me are Sharon Skinner, Marcy Rockwell, and Larry Hammer.
1:30-2:30pm – Ask the Astronomers – Room 127C. Do you have any astronomy questions? Now is the time to ask! Join a panel of professional astronomers/astrophysicists for a free-flowing Q&A session about the universe. Kids and adults alike are encouraged to attend and ask questions. On the panel with me are David Williams, Patrick Young, Karen Knierman, Kevin Healy, Kenneth Wong, Lisa Will, and Stefan O’Dougherty.

When I’m not on one of these exciting panels, look for me at Booth 2532. I look forward to seeing you there!

Wild West Steampunk by David Lee Summers

May4

Reblogged from STEAMED!:

David Lee Summers is an author, editor, and astronomer living somewhere between the western and final frontiers. He’s the author of the wild west steampunk adventure novel Owl Dance, which tells the story of Sheriff Ramon Morales, the healer Fatemeh Karimi, and their adventures with everything from clockwork wolves and electric kachinas to submariner pirates and Russian Airships. He’s also the author of the…

A Full Head of Steam

Apr30

I just spent a busy weekend tearing my latest novel-in-progress apart, putting it back together and then moving forward again. Basically, I had a couple of story threads that just weren’t working for me and I needed to figure out what to do about them. Fortunately, the fixes weren’t too difficult and when I made them, I was able to continue the story easily.

I like to outline my projects. The reason is that I sometimes have to write them a little bit here and a little bit there when I get the opportunity. The outline serves as my road map to help me remember the plot threads that run through my books. That said, I think it’s important to let the characters grow and develop naturally. The issue I had to address was essentially a case of the outline and the characters wanting to go in different directions. Even though I believe in outlining, I also believe it’s important to be flexible. My outlines have a habit of changing considerably from the point I begin a project to the point I end it.

What’s more, in the process of tearing my novel-in-progress apart and putting it back together, I discovered a new title I liked. The novel in question is the sequel to my wild west steampunk adventure Owl Dance. I’ve been using Wolf Posse as a working title, but the title Lightning Wolves started speaking to me. Just as a little background, the lightning wolves are a set of machines built during the course of the novel. The wolf posse of the earlier working title were those who used the lightning wolves to bring others to justice.

I took the title choices to Facebook and asked for people to comment on them. Lightning Wolves was hands-down the most popular of the two titles. Although I have essentially decided to make this change, I would be happy to hear your thoughts on the two titles, especially if you haven’t already weighed in on Facebook. Which of the two titles do you like and why?

I’ll wrap up this week’s post with a couple of updates. We’ve just finished edits on the anthology A Kepler’s Dozen: Thirteen Stories About Distant Worlds That Really Exist. I co-edited the anthology with Steve B. Howell, project scientist for the NASA’s Kepler space probe, which is looking for Earth-like planets around other stars. The book is being sent to press this week. You can learn more and pre-order a copy at http://www.hadrosaur.com/kepler.html.

Now that A Kepler’s Dozen is nearly finished, I’m turning my attention to finishing the second special steampunk issue of Tales of the Talisman. The layout is nearing completion and I’m just waiting for illustrations. The issue features stories by O.M. Grey, Douglas Empringham, Christine Morgan, and Lyn McConchie. There’s also poetry by such luminaries as Denise Dumars, Simon Perchik, N.E. Taylor and W.C. Roberts. This is an awesome issue and I hope to get it to press just as soon as possible.

Charmeine – A Paranormal Romance

Apr19

I would like to introduce you to my friend Emily Guido, author of the The Light-Bearer Series. The first novel of the series is Charmeine and Emily is offering a very special giveaway today only. Make sure to read through to the bottom of the post to learn how to get a copy of Charmeine.

Emily Guido is a new Paranormal Romance Author. She was inspired to start writing Charmeine because one day she got an idea of two characters that needed to have their story told. Not ever dreaming a week later she would have over a 100,000 words written. When Emily writes, it is similar to you or I watching a movie. She pictures the characters in her head going through vivid descriptions of each scene. There are so many nuances going through her mind that she cannot type fast enough. The novels Mactus, Accendo, Seditious, and Ransom, are the continuation of the wonderful adventures of the inhabitants of The Castle Charmeine! Emily is currently writing Conundrum the Sixth Novel in “The Light-Bearer Series” She works at a college full time, and is pursuing her Master of Business Administration.

I recently had a chance to interview Emily and learn a bit more about Charmeine and her approach to writing.

Tell me about the novel Charmeine.

Charmeine is a novel about an undying love that survives through Heaven and Hell. I wanted to write a story that was fun and fantastical, but also touching. This novel is the very ‘tip of the iceberg’ in “The Light-Bearer Series.” It really introduces Tabbruis (Tab-bree-us) and Charmeine.

It starts with them in Heaven and happy, but it suddenly goes to modern times and things are completely different. There is a lot of back story in this short (120 pages), first novel about Tabbruis. He’s been on Earth for 8000 years.

Charleen (aka Charmeine) came to Earth in 1997 only remembering the letters C-h-a-r… She was taken in at a local orphanage and struggled to put herself through school and graduate school to become a teacher. She loves children and teaching.

When Tabbruis saves her from a Blood-Hunter who wants to take her to the Elder Council for a death sentence, they immediately know something about each other is intensely different.

Tabbruis doesn’t let his guard down, but Charleen (aka Charmeine) warms his heart!

Finally, they both remember Heaven and Tabbruis melts into Charmeine’s loving arms. However, there is way more to the story, they have to battle Heaven and Hell to stay together and avoid being put to death because their love is forbidden. In the process a lot of surprises and twists and turns come into the story too.

Charmeine is a romance first and foremost. Yes, there Blood-Hunters (vampires) and Light-Bearers (angels) in it, but the love story between these two great characters, Charmeine and Tabbruis are always ill-fated.

If you are a sucker for a love story like me, you will have to have some hankies with you. The book can just tug on your heart!

What made you decide to write this story?

I have always had a creative streak in me. I play violin, sing and have acted in musicals. However, I have always been a good writer and never got anything below A’s on my papers through high school and college. I loved romantic literature, especially English Literature. I took a lot of literature courses even though I was a Business Major. It’s kind of funny, my earliest memories is in seventh grade our teacher made us journal during the spring semester. Other kids turned in a thin book maybe twenty papers thick. I turned in a huge three-ring binder. In my journal, I drew pictures (even though I couldn’t draw myself out of a paper bag), taped pictures from magazines in it, made up stupid poetry as well as writing every day. When I turned it in, the teacher’s eyes went wide in wonder; she must have thought I was a book geek to the max. I never thought it was special but during the end of the year party, my teacher went crazy over it and read some of my poems and stories to the class as I sat blushing 10,000 shades of red! I would give anything to have that stupid journal right now, it got lost in growing up sad to say.

Tell me about some of your influences.

I have loved all the great romance writers William Shakespeare, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, James Joyce, Dylan Thomas, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Jane Austen, Edgar Allan Poe, Guy de Maupassant, Diana Gabaldon, and most recently Felicity E. Heaton.

However, the person who influenced my writing the most is my big sis, Connie. I had six brothers and she and I were the only girls. Connie was diagnosed with Leukemia and couldn’t go to school, so she would stay home and lie in her hospital bed and watch TV. My fondest memories are watching Dark Shadows and All My Children with her while she raved about the hunky men. I didn’t know what in the heck she was talking about, I was too young to know but I didn’t care, I was with my big sis and that was the only thing that mattered. Connie died at 16 leaving a whole in my heart. I’m sure Connie loves my novels. I always think of her. Ya better believe she would have loved the romance and the hunky man candy in this novel for sure.

Tell me a little about yourself.

In the world of publishing, I am a newbie! I just started writing Charmeine about two weeks before Thanksgiving 2011. Before writing this novel, I was working full time at a college in New Jersey and going to MBA School full time also along with doing what any woman does to take care of her home and family like dishes, laundry, cleaning and cooking. I am a super busy woman, who always spreads herself too thin, but it keeps me out of trouble!

Would you want to go on adventures with Charmeine and Tabbruis? Why or why not?

I would LOVE to go on adventures with Charmeine and Tabbruis! They are always fighting a major threat to Humanity and have tremendous skills. They work as a team with their family also. However, Charmeine, for whatever reason, always seems ready to put the metal to the pedal, so to speak. When she is fighting, she is single-minded and thinks of nothing but defeating Evil and Lucifer’s minions. This is such in contrast to her normal personality of love, giving, caring and humor-filled heart. She loves to crack BAD jokes to ease the tension. She is truthful to a fault because she can’t tell a lie. She also can tell when people lie to her.

You can follow Emily and learn more about her at:

Website: http://authoremilyguido.com/
Website: http://emilyguido.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5764521.Emily_Guido
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Emily__Guido
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thelightbearernovelist

Now for the big treat. Today only – April 19, 2013 – you can download Charmeine free on Smashwords. The book is at: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/238502

Use the code HB94P on checkout.

If you’re late to the party and discovering this after April 19, go get the book anyway! It only costs $3.99!

My WordPress Family

Apr13

This has been a hectic week. Normally I would just be finishing a long break from the observatory, but I spent two days back in the middle of my time off, so one of my co-workers could have time to run in the Boston Marathon. In exchange, I’ll get some extra time off for Phoenix Comicon next month. In addition to time at the observatory, I’ve been typesetting the Kepler’s Dozen anthology. It’s taking shape and looks like it’ll be ready to send to the printer soon. You can learn more and even pre-order a copy at www.hadrosaur.com/kepler.html

In the run-up to this busy week, Emily Guido presented me with the WordPress Family Award. Emily is a cherished member of my WordPress family. She has “liked” almost all of my posts and commented on many of them. Her support means the world to me. She’s the author of the Light-Bearer series which tells the story of how an angelic light-bearer named Charmeine fell in love with her polar opposite, a vampiric Blood Hunter named Tabruis. Go visit her blog and learn more.

Really, all of these blog awards are about paying it forward, and the rules for this one are super simple. All the recipient is asked to do are recommend ten other members of their WordPress family. All of the folks I name certainly qualify. Some have hosted (or will be hosting) guest blogs. Some have interviewed me. Some have just posted a few likes or a comment here or there—but those are the kinds of things are greatly appreciated and keep me going. Some of these folks have been recommended before and some are new. Whether you have seen them on one of these lists before or not, each of these people has something inspirational, interesting, or engaging to offer. I hope you go check out their blogs and I hope they take a little time to recommend some they like.

Deby Fredericks is the author of Wyrmflight, a “blog for kids (and everyone else) who loves dragons.” She’s also the author of Seven Exalted Orders a wonderful fantasy novel it was my pleasure to edit.
Melinda Moore is the author of Enchanted Spark, a blog that looks at the craft of writing. She is also the author of stories in Tales of the Talisman and has a story in A Kepler’s Dozen.
F.T. McKinstry discusses world creation and shares poetry at her blog. She’s another Tales of the Talisman contributor.
Elizabeth Campbell and a bunch of other cool people blog at DarkCargo.com. They talk about all manner of speculative fiction books, events, writing, television. You name a speculative fiction topic, it’s probably there!
Another collective blog is STEAMED which discusses all manner of steampunk writing. I’m scheduled for a guest post there next month.
Nrlymrtl reviews books, interviews authors, and hosts read-alongs at Dab of Darkness.
What Writers Say is a blog of inspirational quotations from famous writers.
Bell Night presents profiles of famous writers, including little known facts about them.
Paige Addams shares her paranormal romance works in progress, along with thoughts on the process of writing.
Shannon A. Thompson is a writer who gives excellent, practical writing tips on her blog.

Lessons from Oz

Apr6

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to see Disney’s Oz the Great and Powerful with my family. I enjoyed the movie and thought it was a respectable prequel to L. Frank Baum’s wonderful series of fantasy novels. It was by no means a perfect movie. I felt many of the characters lacked depth and many of the performances could have been stronger. Still, I liked how it told the story of a flawed man could find a way to live his ambition and be a good man at the same time. In many ways it seems true to the story of L. Frank Baum himself and many of us who want to entertain others through our stories.

I almost dread it when a new Oz film comes out. Invariably people who talk about it will compare it to the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland. Before I proceed, let me say that I absolutely love the film and think it’s a fun adaptation of the first book in the series. However, because it’s only an adaptation of the first book in the series, it only scratches the surface of the whole wonderful world that L. Frank Baum created. People who only know the 1939 movie have never met Queen Ozma, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Hungry Tiger, or the mechanical man TikTok. They have never traveled to the countries surrounding Oz such as Ev and Ix or known villains such as the Nome King or the witch Mombi.

What’s more, the 1939 movie popularized one of the clichés that’s almost guaranteed to set my teeth on edge when I read it in a submission to Tales of the Talisman. That’s the ending where “it was all a dream.” The 1939 Wizard of Oz did that ending well, and partly it was done well because there are subtle hints that it really wasn’t a dream after all. I don’t recall seeing the ending done well in any submission to the magazine and it’s almost grounds for an automatic rejection. I won’t tell you not to do it, because you might be the person who convinces me they can do it well—but go there at your peril! Just to note, that is not the book’s ending. In the Oz books, there’s never a doubt that Oz is a real place.

One of the things I find especially fascinating about the greater world of Oz and L. Frank Baum as a writer is that he not only wrote stories and books, but he experimented in other media as well. He wrote one of the first ever newspaper comic strips, Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz which appeared in 1903. He also had a film studio and made at least three Oz films in 1914. It’s not entirely clear to me whether Baum viewed these ventures as primarily promotional or as artistic explorations in their own right. In either case, I applaud him and think writers can take a lesson from this. Writers should be encouraged to step away from their comfort zones and try telling stories in different media from time to time. These days, there are many possibilities open from audio to computer animation and beyond. Trying something new can only further your growth as a writer and take you to a wonderful new place in this journey called life.

Open your eyes to grand visions, experiment with other media and other forms of writing, avoid clichés (but if you don’t want to, just make sure you’re going in with your eyes open!). These are just some of the lessons we can take away from L. Frank Baum’s marvelous world of Oz. Learning some of these lessons might just help you achieve a few of your ambitions in ways you never expected.

My Week of Publishing Adventures

Mar30

My latest novel has just been released in paperback plus I’ve been making forward progress on other projects this week. This seemed a good opportunity to step back and give you some updates.

Ten Years in the Making

My vampire novel Dragon’s Fall: Rise of the Scarlet Order has just been released as a trade paperback this week. Dragon’s Fall is a prequel to my novel Vampires of the Scarlet Order and tells the story of how the vampires Alexandra, Draco, and Roquelaure came together to form the Scarlet Order of vampire mercenaries. The novel opens in Hellenistic Greece, moves to Arthurian Britain, descends into the dark ages and finally comes out in fifteenth century Transylvania. I started writing the novel even before Vampires of the Scarlet Order was published. To learn more about the ten-year journey to publication, read my vampire blog http://dlsummers.wordpress.com tomorrow. Of course, you don’t have to wait to read the novel, it’s available right now in print and as an ebook at Amazon.com.

Steam Powered Talisman

The spring issue of Tales of the Talisman is regrettably behind schedule, but it’s not stalled and I think it will be worth the wait. We’re stoking the boilers and moving full steam ahead for our second annual steampunk special edition. I have just finished editing the issue and have sent it to the artists for illustration. We have stories by O.M. Grey, Christine Morgan, and Tom Lynch plus poetry by Denise Dumars, N.E. Taylor, and David S. Pointer and a whole lot more. You’ll see steampunk in the future, in distant fantasy worlds, as well as the more traditional views of an alternate Victorian England. I’m hoping the boilers won’t explode and we can get copies of this shipping no later than the middle of May. If you want to make sure it arrives in your mailbox on day one, you can subscribe to the magazine at http://www.talesofthetalisman.com.

A Kepler’s Dozen

Now that the spring Tales of the Talisman is edited and off with the artists, I’m busy laying out an exciting new anthology that will be released this June from Hadrosaur Productions. One of the things I’ve done during my “day” job at Kitt Peak National Observatory is follow up observations of planets outside our solar system made by the Kepler space probe. As of this writing, the Kepler space probe has discovered a remarkable 115 confirmed planets outside our solar system. What would it be like to visit these worlds? Thirteen scientists and science fiction writers imagine just that in A Kepler’s Dozen. You can learn more about the book, see the table of contents, and even pre-order a copy at http://www.hadrosaur.com/kepler.html

Wolf Songs 2 Honored

To top it all off, I learned that the anthology Wolf Songs 2 won the 2013 Epic Award for best ebook anthology! This is an anthology that follows the latest myths and legends of the wolf as written by science fiction, fantasy, and horror authors. The book contains an alternate version of my story “The Clockwork Lobo” from the novel Owl Dance. What’s more, the anthology also features stories by M.H. Bonham and Carol Hightshoe who have stories in A Kepler’s Dozen. You can learn more about Wolf Songs 2 and pick up a copy of your own at Amazon.com or Smashwords.com.

David Lee Summers’ Web Journal

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