DuQuesne conducts an interesting experiment, and a discussion with Orphan about a dead Champion... ------ Chapter 6. Orphan held his head slightly tilted, one hand absently stroking his crest on that side. "Please repeat that, Doctor DuQuesne. I want to be sure I understand what you are asking." "I want to find out if I can read your mind – with your permission. Telepathy, in other words. The ability to directly make contact with another mind through no physical intermediary or technological aid such as the [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Resolution: Chapter 30
January 31, 2020 By Leave a Comment
This is the final chapter I'm posting -- we've reached the halfway point in the novel! If you can't wait to see the rest, the eARC of the novel is up now at Baen; otherwise, Castaway Resolution will be out in early March! The castaways had a couple problems... Chapter 30. "We're going to start moving out of here now," Campbell said. "Just shot up one of those stinging-worm things, and the air here's gone way beyond foul, it's getting' toxic." "But we can't just stop work on getting Emerald Maui home!" Sakura said [ Continue reading... ]
My ALBACON schedule!
September 13, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Friday: 11AM: "Punching up your endings" 2PM: "Plotter VS Pantser" 3PM: Marketing your work 6PM: Has Disney Ruined Star Wars? 8PM: Ice Cream Social 9PM: Improv Storytelling Saturday: 11AM: Kathleen and I both do autographing! 12:30PM: Reading from Kathleen's and my Fall of Veils novel _French Roast Apocalypse_ and maybe teasing _Jamaica Blue Magic_ 1PM - 4PM : I run "On-Site for the Apocalypse", an RPG (D20 Modern) set in the world of _Princess Holy Aura_. Maximum 6 players. 3PM: Kathleen will be in the Essential SF Films [ Continue reading... ]
On Writing: The Problem of Series, OR Why Isn’t This As AWESOME As The Last One?
November 7, 2017 By 8 Comments
It's happened to all of us: we find the first book in a new series and it's awesome – it's filled to bursting with cool imagery and characters and concepts, and we race through the book and then come to the end, saying "what? But I want MORE!". And then we get the sequel, and that's … a good book. I mean, maybe it's a really good book. But somehow there seems to be something missing, it's just not quite the slam-bang awesome you remember from the first book. But hey, authors can have off days, right, and this was still pretty good. So you [ Continue reading... ]
On Writing: The Danger of Metawriting, OR, How I Wrote A Book That Did Exactly What I Wanted And Screwed It Up Anyway
May 11, 2017 By 1 Comment
The Arenaverse novels – Grand Central Arena, Spheres of Influence, and now Challenges of the Deeps – are inarguably my most successful solo novels. Grand Central Arena itself has continued to bring in significant amounts of money for me even now, seven years after release. I'm also very proud of the Arenaverse itself; developing it was, and continues to be, a huge challenge. One of the Arenaverse's key aspects from a writer's and reader's point of view, of course, is that it is not merely a story but a salute to, and occasional commentary [ Continue reading... ]
Challenges of the Deeps: Chapter 28
December 2, 2016 By 25 Comments
This is probably the last snippet I will post. Let's look in on Simon... ----- Chapter 28. "Fictional powers can be made real," Laila Canning repeated slowly. Her sharp brown eyes studied Oasis as though the redheaded woman was a specimen on her dissection table. "How certain are you of this?" "Between ninety-five and a hundred percent sure," Oasis said. "I mean, Wu Kung already demonstrated he's going totally beyond the normal limits of the Arena and he can do that talk-to-animals thing that no one does, as far as we [ Continue reading... ]
Challenges of the Deeps: Chapter 27
November 30, 2016 By 24 Comments
It was time we got some answers about what Vindatri wanted... ----- Chapter 27. "Your words tantalize me, my friends," Orphan said as DuQuesne was still trying to wrap his mind around this latest revelation. "It is clear – it has, in truth, always been clear – that there is some great mystery surrounding Doctor DuQuesne, and his compatriots Wu Kung and Oasis and, I believe, Maria-Susanna. I have to believe it also has to do with Wu Kung's extraordinary performance in the recent Challenge. "It seems that these connections now [ Continue reading... ]
Challenges of the Deeps: Chapter 26
November 28, 2016 By 23 Comments
Something had Oasis frightened... ----- Chapter 26. "Doctor Alexander Fairchild," repeated Simon, studying Oasis closely. The Hyperion-born woman was still not entirely herself; the strain showed in the stiffness of her arm as she reached out for the water-pitcher and poured herself a glass. She drank, looked aimlessly around the conference room that Simon had chosen when they had returned – in haste – to the Embassy. "Yes," she said finally. The name finally clicked. "Masaka. That was the name of the Hyperion AI that [ Continue reading... ]
Challenges of the Deeps: Chapter 25
November 25, 2016 By 25 Comments
There's another group we need to look in on... ----- Chapter 25. Dajzail ripple-walked from the airlock down the ramp; Alztanza himself waited there, holding his fighting-claws rigid in salute. "Guard not," he said to Alztanza, who immediately relaxed his stance. "It is good to see you again, 'Tanza." The Fleet Master clattered a smile at him and they briefly clasped claws. "And you, Daj. How was your journey?" "Well enough, though it took me homeyears, it seemed, to extricate myself from the Embassy. I have selected [ Continue reading... ]
Challenges of the Deeps: Chapter 24
November 23, 2016 By 10 Comments
It's Ariane's turn to find out what's waiting for her... ----- Chapter 24. Ariane stumbled to a halt, mouth dropping open, eyes wider than they had been since she was a child. The old man – who didn't look so old now, to a girl ten years older – smiled broadly at her and held his arms wide. "Hey there, racer girl!" I thought I was prepared. Boy, was I wrong, a part of her thought. That part, Captain Ariane Austin, Leader, knew perfectly well that this was – had to be – just an unexpected guise of Orphan's mysterious [ Continue reading... ]
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