I Love Libraries

Admittedly I haven't had enough time or need for reading material (eyes to-be-read pile) to visit mine recently.

But, when I was a child I lived in a town with a postage stamp sized library. I read through the entire children's section and had a good start on those adult books my parents would allow before we moved to a town with a larger library.

We made that move when I was seven.

My parents could never have afforded my book habit without libraries.

But I have sometimes heard the sentiment from authors that libraries are Bad.

Their grounds? All the people who borrow their book from a library would have bought it otherwise, therefore libraries steal sales.

To which I can only say: Stop.

Libraries are where people go who can't afford to buy or don't have space to buy the books they want to read.

Libraries are where people go to take risks on new authors without spending money.

Overdrive has partnered with libraries to let people use a mobile app instead of a library card to access e-collections without ever needing to set foot in a branch, and that is just so amazing for rural areas.

Libraries nurture readers. In some cases, libraries create readers.

There is nothing more short sighted than "libraries steal sales" because once your books are in libraries, libraries create fans.

Libraries are for readers and authors, and authors should be readers anyway.

On top of that, sometimes the internet fails you. Sometimes that piece of research information you need? "Google can get you 100,000 answers, a librarian can get you the right one."

If it wasn't so cold I'd go to my library right now just to thank the librarians.

(In fact, I'd like to just casually thank every librarian who's reading this. You are all wonderful and amazing).

So, uh...

...we could be wrong about physics again.

It seems the cosmological constant, well, isn't. Or we're measuring it all wrong.

See, the expansion of the universe is driven by dark energy.

And, apparently, it's getting stronger. Not staying the same as we expected.

Which means we need new physics again. I love it. I love when science is wrong...because it means there's so much more to learn.

Best Science Headline Ever

Physicists Made a Flying Army of Laser Schrödinger's Cats

Seriously. That was seriously on my news feed.

What they actually did was create quantum lasers that don't exist until they hit a detector - this might be useful for improved fiber optic communications.

But that is not what I am envisioning. If I could just art...

As a side note...due to an illness in the family there is currently an above zero chance I will have to cancel participation in Farpoint. I'll keep everyone posted, and am still hoping that the timing can be worked out, but I apologize in advance if I do have to bail.

Screen Actors' Guild

The Screen Actors' Guild awards do not have a Best Picture category. This is because they focus pretty much entirely on acting.

Their closest equivalent is "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture."

And guess what won:

Black Panther.

Ya know, the movie all the other awards shows are snubbing in every acting category. True, it didn't win any of the individual actors. (Emily Blunt got Best Actress in a Supporting Role for A Quiet Place).

Black Panther also won a unique award: Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture.

Award shows generally don't acknowledge stuntmen, sadly. (I would love to see this category duplicated in the Oscars so that people who don't follow the industry will be reminded they exist).

Supposedly the after party was quite something.

People are now whispering that Black Panther might take the Oscar after all. I doubt it, but...

Awards Season Continues

The GLAAD Nominations have been announced. For those who aren't familiar, these awards are given out by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation for the best LGBT representation.

Genre stuff recognized for doing it right:

Outstanding Film
Crazy Rich Asians (I had no idea there was anyone queer in this movie, which I skipped due to a general dislike of rom coms unless they're weird).
Deadpool 2 (No doubt for the cute teen lesbians)

Outstanding Drama Series
Black Lightning (for Anissa and Grace, and their wonderfully dysfunctional relationship)
Supergirl (Presumably for trans character Nia Nal, played by trans actor Nicole Maines, although they continue to write Alex very well. Except the hair. The new hair is awful)
The Handmaid's Tale (Haven't seen it)
Shadowhunters (Haven't seen it)

TV Movie or Limited Series
Sense8 - I almost wish I'd managed to see this one.

The new She-Ra and, of course, Stephen Universe are nominated for kids' programming.

Just going to copy over the comic books with notes:

Batwoman, written by Marguerite Bennett, K. Perkins (DC Comics)
Bingo Love, written by Tee Franklin (Image Comics)
Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, written by Mark Russell (DC Comics)
Fence, written by C.S. Pacat (BOOM! Studios)
Iceman, written by Sina Grace (Marvel Comics)
Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass, written by Lilah Sturges (BOOM! Studios)
Oh S#!t It’s Kim & Kim, written by Magdalene Visaggio (Black Mask Comics)
Runaways, written by Rainbow Rowell (Marvel Comics)
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, written by Kieron Gillen, Simon Spurrier (Marvel Comics)
Strangers in Paradise XXV, written by Terry Moore (Abstract Studio)

Iceman is bi again? Please tell me Iceman is bi again.

Please. Just. Tell. Me. Iceman. Is. Bi. Again. (Why yes, I am still salty about that).

Review: A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

So, first of all, the blurb of this book does not fully reveal what trope it uses.

It's 2019, and I'm still reading "Hunky hero abducts heroine and she inevitably falls in love with him."

Now, I get it. Some women really like that particular fantasy. Sadly, I don't, and I find it rather overdone.

However! Bouchet does it really, really well. Writing in first person present, she pulled me so into the story that I stayed up thirty minutes later than planned to finish it. And most of that was her voice. I love snarky MCs, and her Cat has snark to spare. It's just so well written I had to finish it despite its flaws.

Which were several.

On top of the overused Stockholm-syndrome-turns-into-true-love trope, the book has two major flaws:

1. Cat is Mary Sue-ish. Yes, MCs should be exceptional, but why is she the most powerful magic user in the story other than a villain we never see on screen (but who is clearly going to be the big boss Cat fights in the last book) and competent with a sword, really good with throwing knives, apparently an excellent rider. The only thing she's not good at is wrestling.
2. There are some issues with the worldbuilding. For some reason we're in a secondary world...but the gods are the Greek pantheon. I'd definitely give Bouchet this one...she's obviously a Greek mythology nerd, and wanted to use them. The larger issue is that the heroine is from the cold north by the icy plains. The hero is from the overly hot south. The heroine is swarthy with black hair. The hero is big, fair, and blonde. Now, no, I don't expect science in my fantasy, but going utterly opposite to science will throw me right out of the story. I managed to get back in, but...

That said, I recommend this book to readers who do enjoy the central trope. I know you're out there. It's a shameless bodice ripper, but a very good example of its type.

As one final note: This book is not "clean." It doesn't have enough sex to be called an erotic romance, but what sex there is takes place with the bedroom door wide open. This either perked you up or it didn't ;).

To cover my butt: This book was from the World Fantasy book bag. Which I finally got around to reading. Some of the books in it are samplers, but I do plan on reviewing the others.

Oscar Nominations Are Out

I'll be honest. I don't care that much about the Oscars. Traditionally, they reward a certain type of movie...one I don't remotely like.

This year, Black Panther was nominated - the first superhero movie to be nominated for Best Picture, to my knowledge. Sadly, I doubt very much that it will win. Roma is my prediction.

Black Panther did get seven nominations, but was shut out of key categories. And no women were nominated for Best Director. Come on people, it's 2019, we can do better.

Once more, Black Panther was also shut out of all of the acting categories...and this time was shut out of screenplay too. Really, do these people think people in "action movies" don't act. Probably.

Even more ridiculous, it was shut out of Best Makeup & Hair with only three movies being nominated. What's going on there?

Genre nods that did happen:

Best Costume - Black Panther and Mary Poppins Returns.
Best Original Song - "All the Stars" from Black Panther and "The Place Where Lost Things Go" from Mary Poppins Returns. Sadly, they're competing with Lady Gaga.
Best Original Score - Black Panther and Mary Poppins Returns. If you're seeing a pattern, so am I.
Best Sound Mixing - Black Panther and First Man
Best Sound Editing - Black Panther and A Quiet Place
Best Production Design - Black Panther, First Man and Mary Poppins Returns
Best Visual Effects - Avengers: Infinity War, First Man, Ready Player One and Solo: A Star Wars Story. Are we counting Christopher Robin?

Animated Feature is pretty much always fantasy in some way.

Nominees:
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Mirai
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

I don't care that much about the Oscars, but if Spider-Verse doesn't win...

Farpoint!

I have my schedule for Farpoint (As always, this is pending potential change at the con).

Friday, 3:00pm - Cities In Space (MOD) - Space stations as a setting.
Friday, 10:00pm - Farpoint Book Fair
Saturday, 11:00am - You Killed My Father! (MOD) - Why do heroes so often have dead (or otherwise unavailable) fathers? We all do it...why is the trope so enduring and intransigent.
Saturday, noon - Reading with Gregory Wilson and Kenneth Rogers, Jr.
Saturday, 2pm - Signing with Kenneth Rogers, Jr.
Sunday, 10am - The Good Doctor - the Doctor Who panel as always ;).
Sunday, 1pm - Heroes, Villains & Healing - a panel on mental health/trauma and reading comic books
Sunday, 2pm - Signing with Kenneth Rogers, Jr.
Sunday, 3pm - Reading with Steven H. Wilson and Valerie Mikles

Kenneth? I'm not con stalking you. Honest.

Review roundup

Because I like to express gratitude for good reviews.

SFRevu gave a "Well done" to Temple of Children. Rocket Star Review gave it an average, which I'll take...they found it amusing and it's hard to get more than three stars out of them.

"Jim" on Goodreads really liked Dropping Rocks (this is an older review I hadn't noticed). He compared it to Star Trek ;).

And one from a while back. Jon Mollison liked Only A Coward (Cirsova 8) so much he called the opening scene "a clinic on tight writing."

Mostly I'm just picking up my ego after too many rejections in one day (it happens) ;).

Science By Accident

So, in another example of how the best science is done by accident, scientists accidentally discovered how to breed mice...with exceptionally long tails.

They were trying to breed mice with a certain cancer so they could test drugs, and found the genes that regulate tail length.

In fact, two groups managed to do it. One bred mice with very long tails, and the other bred mice with short tails that also had some differences in spinal development.

Mice fanciers ahoy? ;)

(Seriously. This is why we have to be careful with gene editing. Because weird stuff like this can happen).

Also, they're making a Monopoly movie. Like. Please. Stop.

Critic's Choice Awards

Meant to do this a couple of days ago, but got distracted.

Best picture was some Netflix movie called Roma, which has been mentioned quite a bit, but which I literally know nothing about, except that it also won Best Foreign Language Film.

Black Panther won for Best Production Design, Best Costume Design and Best Visual Effects - the usual sops given to a "popular" movie, but at least it didn't get snubbed.

Into The Spider-Verse, though, was best animated feature. Crazy Rich Asians was best comedy (which is important because it probably helped Marvel make the decision to greenlight the Shang-Chi movie with an Asian director).

A Quiet Place got best sci-fi or horror. First Man got Best Score.

On the television side, the best genre nod was Thandie Newton as Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Westworld.

Black Panther did get the second most awards after Roma, so I suppose I can't complain too much.

On Reviewers and Book Bloggers

So, reviews.

Reviews are vital to authors. Word of mouth is, ultimately, how you sell books. Which is why I've been spending a lot of time sending out requests to book bloggers.

There are three kinds of reviewers:

Professional reviewers work for a publication, such as Analog's Don Sakers. They are paid by the publication. Some also work freelance, but they syndicate their columns to multiple outlets. You see professional reviews in magazines and newspapers, or on their websites. Some are full time.

Customer or "organic" reviewers. That's the person who just likes to put reviews up on Amazon or Goodreads. Paradoxically, they're often the most valuable.

Book bloggers fall into the area in between. They have their own outlet for their reviews, but don't work for a publication or get paid by one. Book bloggers have followings that range from a handful to thousands (and some of those can, indeed, work full time).

It's book bloggers I want to talk about right now. There are hundreds of the and, of course, they are not made equal. Most will take review requests from authors or publishers, but not always follow through because they get so many books. Some will only review books they actually liked.

They put in a lot of effort and they want...and deserve...to get some compensation beyond free copies of the book.

Which means that a sadly high percentage decide to obtain that compensation by charging authors and publishers for reviews (or, alternatively, charging to be put at the top of the to be read pile).

It might seem reasonable. After all, they're providing a great marketing service.

The problem is: It's simply not ethical. Now, I love book bloggers. I have quite a few legitimate, ethical reviewers willing to read Daughter of Fire. Some of them may give me a one star, and that's just a hazard of the situation. Besides, bad reviews can actually sell books. I would never knock those people.

But the ones who charge?

First of all, it's against Amazon's TOS to pay for reviews or to even give free product in exchange for a review. They make an exception for books because it is a tradition to provide ARCs and other review copies, as long as they don't find out you're asking for a GOOD review. (If a reviewer gives you a 1 or 2 stars it can actually help keep you out of 'zon jail). If you're caught, you can lose your entire Amazon account permanently. No more selling books on Amazon, which can be career-ending for an independent author. And no more buying anything from Amazon, no more Amazon Prime, no more functional Echo. Yes, they have done this to people. Some people have gotten their accounts back.

Second of all, and even more of a concern: Once a reviewer starts accepting money from authors or publishers, then those authors and publishers are their customers. No matter how honest you think you are, if somebody is paying you for something, you want to keep them happy. That's just human nature. And even if you do manage to not push everyone up a star to keep them happy, if readers find out, they will assume you are. Your reviews will become tainted and suspect...and thus of no value to authors.

Finally, if a blog is getting its money from authors they have no incentive to market and increase their traffic, which means they probably have fewer followers anyway.

As an author, never pay for reviews. Also, never send review copies to anyone who admits on their website to charging for reviews. Readers and vendors may assume you are paying even if you aren't.

As a reviewer, you want to get paid? Good. I want you to get paid too. Here are some things you can do:
1. Charge for other promotional services, whilst stating up front that they're sponsored and that you never charge for reviews. You can, for example, make a bit of money charging for cover reveals and launch announcements. If you do, then only use copy provided by the author.
2. Get a Patreon. I don't know why so few book bloggers have a Patreon. You can leverage it by giving subscribers access to reviews a few days early, or you can offer other material such as long form analysis of books.
3. Set up a digital tip jar. Use a service that allows you to receive tips anonymously. That way, authors who DO want to send you money can...and it's fine because you will never know they did it and it won't bias you.
4. Run ads on your blog. Be aware that giving priority to authors or publishers that buy ads is still compensation. Blogspot has good tools for allowing you to run ads without a lot of hassle.
5. Join affiliate programs and set up your links so when people click through direct from your blog you get commission.

As a reader, what should you do?

1. Follow only blogs that do not charge for reviews. As a note, Urban Caver and The Reading Bud both charge, but don't admit it on their website. Also, if the blog appears to have a lot of language aimed at authors or publishers, consider going elsewhere. They are more likely to be stealth charging. Remember, the target audience should be you, the reader. You are their customers, not the authors.
2. If you really like a book blog and have a bit of cash to spare, give them a tip. If they don't have a way for you to do so, email them and ask them why.
3. Share reviews you find useful to you on social media to help both the author and the book blogger.
4. Many book bloggers have affiliate programs, so if you click through their blog to buy the book they just talked you into buying they'll get a small commission.

But never pay or charge for reviews. It can and has ruined everything for naive authors who are desperate to get some promotion.

The All-New Space Probe Propulsion System: Steam

Go ahead and laugh. I did.

But it's actually serious. WINE (World Is Not Enough) propulsion is a highly sophisticated system that would allow a space probe to refuel anywhere there is water (and there's more of it in space than you think) and keep hopping from asteroid to asteroid to do mineral surveys.

The probe would last until some vital part of it broke - the primary limitation on probe mission range/length is fuel and battery power.

Also.

Steam powered spaceships. (Although whether it will scale up for something man-rated...)

Release: Daughter of Fire!

And, it's here - my latest book.

Daughter of Fire is another urban fantasy (I plan on taking a break from the genre after this one), but this one is not a romance. It's not completely devoid of romantic feelings, but it does not have any kind of romance plot.

So, what does it have?

It has gunfights, it has dragons, it has centaurs. It has gods, all kinds of them. It has a tough heroine who has to deal with the fact that her sheltered, upper class upbringing has not prepared her for any of this.

I'm very proud of this book.

Buy links:

Kindle
Paperback
Smashwords

As usual with new titles, it will take a bit of time to propagate to Nook and Kobo.

And as usual I recommend downloading the ebook from Smashwords - you get all the formats and all future updates to the file. But I get that not everyone likes to sideload.

Celestial Crystal Spheres...

...or perhaps star corpses. It turns out that stars of a certain size, when they finally die, turn into giant crystal balls. No, I'm not kidding.

White dwarf stars slowly crystallize from the inside out, forming cores of metallic carbon and oxygen. This process takes a lot longer than we thought white dwarf stars lived.

Oh, and stars of a certain size?

That includes the sun. By that time, though, the sun will long since have expanded into a red giant and if we aren't off this rockball (or already extinct) by then...

(Still, visiting the sun's crystal corpse would be a cool scene for a House of Suns or Peter K. Hamilton-style extreme space opera).

What did Medieval nuns do?

Sit around praying? Not hardly.

One unnamed nun was almost certainly a scribe...they found flecks of a pigment from (very expensive) paint on her teeth, no doubt from the habit even some modern artists engage in of licking her paintbrush. She was at a tiny convent and may have indicated that even this small nunnery (15 to 20) had the resources to produce its own books.

A lot of people still believe that most illuminated manuscripts were made by men.

However, entering a convent was literally the only way a woman could get a decent education. Wealthy women were often literate so they could make notes and keep records for their household, but...

The first woman in the west to earn a university degree was Juliana Morell, a Spanish Dominican nun. She was a prodigy and a genius who, no doubt, would be a household name if she was a man. She received her law doctorate at the age of 14, and then became a nun...because there was nothing else she could do with it. She spent the rest of her life being a prioress, writing poetry in multiple languages, and working as a translator. Think what we lost there because women were seen as inferior.

In fact, many nuns were authors, although their work was primarily religious, and composers. Medieval monasteries and nunneries hired lay people to do the lowest labor to free them for more interesting work. Nuns would also embroider robes and textiles, and appear to have made robes for local priests. This was in addition to charitable work.

Like making illustrated manuscripts. It makes far more sense that a nunnery would create its own copies of texts, especially those written within its walls, than outsource this task to men. Yet, somehow, people are surprised...

Cover Reveal: Daughter of Fire

Last urban fantasy novel for a bit (I need a genre break ;))

That's Laura, and yes, she will kick your ass.

A bit of entertainment news

Black Panther has been nominated for a Writer's Guild award in Best Animated Screenplay. A Quiet Place got a nod in the original category.

Sony has greenlighted a sequel to popular, but critically panned, Venom. Based off the post credit scenes from the first movie, it will feature Carnage as the antagonist. Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams are expected to return, and Kelly Marcel, one of the Venom screenwriters, is also attached.

Doctor Who and Jodie Whitaker have been nominated for the National Television Awards - basically the British People's Choice. Doctor Who is up for Best Drama, but it does face strong competition, especially from Call The Midwife and Casualty (think ER, except it's been going so long that one actor took a part straight out of stage school and kept it until she retired from acting. No, I am not making this up).

Jodie Whitaker is up for Best Drama Performance, which is gender-neutral, against Jodie Comer from Killing Eve.

(Psst: You don't have to be British to vote. I mean, I'm not going to encourage it, but...they don't seem to check at all).

Golden Globes...

...well, Black Panther got snubbed in all categories it was nominated in, losing out to Bohemian Rhapsody in Best Drama. Biopic over blockbuster is kind of a sad awards season likelihood.

However, Into the Spider-Verse did manage to take Best Motion Picture - Animated...it was a strong field but I am going to hold to the fact that Spider-Verse is the best of the year.

That Trans Character in Supergirl

Okay, so I'm way behind. The reason is that I have too much to watch and too little time. (There's a reason I'm not currently subscribed to a single streaming service, people).

But I just saw the episode in which Nia Nal came out to James Olsen.

Greg Berlanti only had two demographic requirements for the actor to be cast:

1. She had to be in her early 20s.
2. She had to be trans.

The actor chosen was Nicole Maines, a young trans activist who's family sued to allow her to use the girls' bathroom in elementary school. She transitioned as a child. This is 21-year-old Maines' first major role.

So, let's unpack this. Berlanti, who is openly gay (or bisexual, his bio isn't clear, but I think gay) and married to Robbie Rogers, insisted on casting a trans actor right out of the bat. He was not going to let this character be played by a cis woman or, worse, a cis man. Openly trans actors are rare. Honestly, most people don't know about any of them except Laverne Cox. Young trans actors, though, are stepping forward and insisting on being recognized.

And Berlanti gave a chance to what I can already tell is a very talented young woman, quite capable of playing both trans and cis roles.

In the most recent episode I watched, her trans-ness was made relevant without being a 'thing' (The way Bill's sexuality was on Doctor Who. I loved the character but Moffatt, stop). It was tied into the storyline as a way of emphasizing the theme of not being able to be yourself, cross referenced to Brainiac 5 having an image inducer malfunction in public and being outed as an alien to somebody he thought was a friend.

The alien question in Supergirl is most often being cross mapped to what conservatives call the "immigrant problem." But having to be in the closet, having to hide key parts of your identity? That's something the LGBT community knows far too well.

I want to see Maines take a lead role in the not too distant future. This is her breakout role.

And I want to see more and more trans actors getting those breakout roles. I've had people make excuses for casting cis men as trans women and cis women as trans men. None of those excuses are valid.

In fact, what I'd say is this:

When trans actors are being routinely cast, to their talents, in cis roles, then cis actors can take trans roles.

And even then, trans roles of the right gender, guys.

Farside...

So, the Chinese beat the west to the far side of the moon. Maybe I should care more about that - but I care that we finally landed something on the far side.

The rover successfully touched down at 10:26am Beijing time in the South Pole-Aitken Basin.

The large technical challenge of the far side is this: It's in radio shadow from Earth. Because of this, the Chinese had to launch a specialist satellite to act as a comms relay. (Because of that radio shadow, I have personally predicted that we will eventually build a radio observatory on the far side of the moon, where it is protected from false signals from Earth).

Here's the first image the probe sent back:

It looks smoother than the near side, doesn't it. But it is in the bottom of an impact crater...

Keep doing science, Chang'e 4.

Ultima Thule

New Horizons has sent pictures from the most distant flyby of an object in our solar system ever.

Typically? It looks like a giant chicken drumstick.

Or a bowling pin. It's basically two connected lobes. It could be two objects, but NASA says that's unlikely.

Yes, I'm getting excited about a rock. More, excited about the fact that we can see the rock.

Happy New Year!

May 2019 be more profitable and happier than 2018 for all of you in all ways.