A Peek At My Week! #127

News About Writing & Publishing: This Is The Current State Of Things

You got me – I missed posting this article on Monday morning as I usually do! My humblest apologies – Monday was totally insane and I completely forgot to post it in time! But, all is not lost – I will schedule it for Wednesday morning bright and early!

• Writing: Well, I’ve done it. “Freedom Inc” (book 1 in my new sci-fi adventure series, “Threaders“) is now at over 92,900 words. “Freedom Inc.” is now officially the longest novel I’ve ever written. Part 4 of the story is now also complete as well, but I probably still have a few more days left on it. I just need to do some rounding off and filling out, and the book, she is done. This story will be all told and ready for you to share in!
  I’ve been working on this one book since July 30. This is probably also the first book in many years that I’ve worked on without taking any breaks on it, meaning that I usually switch to other projects and then come back to it again. This has been a solid graft! For the past six or so months, I have eaten, slept and dreamed “Freedom Inc.”! That said, it’s been quite a year already – I’d already finished and released another novel in June this year (“Terror in the Outblack“) as well as a 1-act play and three promotional books related to the “Galaxii” universe and the planet Deanna from “Quantum“. Honestly, all other things considered, I’m feeling very good right now about where this story is – and where my books are at the moment.
• What Readers Say: I know I can’t please everybody (so I’m not trying to!). That said, it really pleases me when I see that I’ve managed to do it anyway! Drop me a line and let me know how you think I’m doing – or leave me a review on Amazon or Audible!

Bibliography – A listing of all my books:

Other Stuff:

I don’t want to become “the leading sci-fi author” of my time – gods no! I don’t write “high sci-fi”, I don’t prophesize what tech will look like in 100 years, I don’t wrap the reader up in reams of technical explanations of how some future piece of tech works – I tell stories about believable people living in one possible future time, just doing the best they can in whatever circumstances they find themselves.

All I’ve ever wanted to do, is tell stories that entertain and uplift people and give them hope, draw them into the worlds I’ve built to make them feel better about the future so that they won’t feel it’s too dark and hopeless to contemplate, and that everything doesn’t all end one day in a bright flash and a mushroom cloud, and to show them the possibility of someone just like them simply existing someplace else, and making a go of it.

If they enjoy my stories and find them entertaining, and have a few good laughs along the way, then I’d consider that a win-win for all concerned.

Y/N? Red Lights In Sci-fi Spaceships?

Interesting point raised by this post I saw on Faceblech, that I couldn’t share, so I took a screenshot:

In reality though, I think deep space vessels probably won’t have windows at all – they’re weak points that would risk stress fractures forming in the hull. The idea of internal display screens placed to look like windows are more likely, and would make red lights unnecessary. They would simply show the crew what they needed or wanted to see.

More than 320 transgender people have been murdered worldwide for being trans during 2023 – totaling 4,375 officially registered cases since 2008. As TGEU reports, the true figure is likely higher due to unreported murders of transgender people.

The targeting, persecution of and prejudice against trans people is a recurring theme of the 9 books of my Quantum Series, and especially the last five novels in the series. Why? Because I myself am trans, and to raise awareness that transgender people are just people like everyone else, worthy of dignity, safety and respect and equality before the law, and to demystify the things that people don’t understand about us, to make them see us as people very much like themselves – in the face of oft deafening propaganda lies and hysterical witch-hunts intended to demonize us.

Of course I understand that reading books featuring trans characters or themes is often a little out of the comfort zones of some people, but I also understand that some people may even feel ‘called out’ by these books – in which case they are doing exactly what I intended them to do – challenging people’s prejudices and preconceived notions and breaking down barriers. Those who complain about it won’t be getting any apologies from me. 😝

That said, I once received an interesting comment on one of these same books, and the irony of it has stuck with me for some time.

In the book, people are literally DYING because they’re different, and I draw comparisons to transgender persecution in contemporary real life. Guy comes back with: “the lgbtq agenda does start to pall a little”.

That’s right, he actually used the word “agenda”.

Talking about WHY people are being persecuted and drawing attention to it is apparently some sort of nefarious conspiracy to undermine the backbone of cishet society. It’s never regarded by some people as simply being the *right thing to do*.

“There is an awful lot of agonizing over gender issues which rather undermines the main story.”

How should I put this? Lemme see… Hint: it *IS* the main story! (how much louder can I SHOUT this?!)

This also reminded me of the guy who came onto my author page some years back to whinge about all the LGBT characters in sci-fi lately, and that “sci-fi has gotten too ‘woke'” for him. LMAO – if you’re ‘conservative’, here’s another hint – sci-fi is probably not your ideal genre. Sci-fi is a genre that has always challenged oppressive thought, and has always been *ahem* – ‘woke’.

Just doing my part, folks!

Y’all have a nice day now. 😏

In spite of some of my books having been on Amazon since 2005, not one of them has yet reached the magical 51 reader reviews yet! (The highest number any of them has, is 10 – which is a pretty good number compared to many others, but it’s still not high enough for the almighty Amazon!) I would really appreciate your help on this! Come on, leave a review – it’s free!