Twisted Galaxy Blurb

The Twisted Galaxy is getting ever so close to publication now.  I'm expecting another round of edits back from the editor now, and based on initial feedback, I think we'll be very close to a final draft very soon... so close in fact, that I have already created the ISBN with CreateSpace and began an entry on Goodreads.

As a teaser, here is the blurb for the book:

Astronauts Paol Joonter and Blade Slater have landed on a planet thousands of light years from their home world.  Considered by many to be a suicidal effort, they have safely completed the first year of a twelve year mission.  What will they find on Earth2, and how will it shape the directive they were given by NASA?  As they explore and learn about this new world for six years, they hope to find friendly conditions there, knowing they will still have to survive the perilous ride back home on the tail of a superluminal comet.

While wondering about their beloved astronauts, Professor Zimmer and his team of postdoctoral researchers worry about the state of the mission and make even more startling discoveries about the nature of the comet.  As they come to better understand its past, they can't help to wonder what the return of the comet portends for the outcome of the mission.

I'm super excited to get this book published and start working on book #3.  The research is well under way, and there are already so many ideas swirling about in my head (and in my notes!) that I'm ready to get started on the next project.

Water on Mars

While we've known for a while that there is water on Mars, The Orthogonal Galaxy suggested a lot of underground water that astronauts at Camp Mars could tap into.  A recently published article claims that one crater on Mars is believed to host an ice sheet under its surface that would contain as much water as Lake Superior

I continue to enjoy reading about science updates that directly relate to the science fiction of the Galaxy Series.  Sometimes, articles like the one above corroborate my efforts, while others seem to oppose some of the "science" I attempt to use.  Either way, it's always enjoyable to see advances in science.  Finding Great Lake-sized water shelves on Mars could significantly improve prospects for future human exploration and/or colonization.

The Twisted Galaxy

Fans everywhere have been clamoring to know what happened to promising new author, Michael L. Lewis.  (Ok, the truth is a couple of guys at the office keep asking when book 2 will be published.)  ;-)

Well, I'm here to say that I am alive and well.  It's been a very busy year which has distracted me from working on the sequel to The Orthogonal Galaxy.  Over the last 9 months, I have poured over notes from my beta readers and my editor.  I received a lot of great feedback that I think will make book 2 even better than the first.  As a result, I have finished a second draft that I am now reading through for plot continuity and major editorial issues.  I am also pleased to announce the title of book 2:  The Twisted Galaxy

I hope to publish this novel sometime early in 2017, so plan on a New Year's Resolution of reading this book next year!

Galaxy Series - Book Two Status

When I first published The Orthogonal Galaxy, the first book of the Galaxy Series, I had set a goal to finish the second book of the series at the end of 2015.  Sadly, that deadline came and went, but I'm pleased to announce that I have a cohesive first draft for the second book.  The one thing that is missing, however, is a title!  Hopefully, as I go back and edit the book, the inspiration will come.  It is odd that I have working titles for nearly all six books of the series, except for book 2.

So, I'm sure that the question that is seated deeply on the mind of both of my fans is..... when can I read book 2?  I wish I had a good answer for that, but there are still a few loose ends to tie up.  Editing is clearly the biggest task remaining, but there will also be cover art, formatting, and publishing.  In the meantime, I'll tease the book a little by telling you what you can expect to learn from book 2.  In this installment, you will:

• Discover what our astronauts, Paol Joonter and Blade Slater find on Earth2.
• Learn whether the Star Transport mission will succeed or end in disaster.
• Find out what Professor Zimmer and his post-doc research team discover as they continue to track the superluminal comet.
• Meet a host of new characters that will be endearing, quirky, tough, and conniving.  Many will have some very tough decisions to make along the way.  Will they make the right decision, or will they make jeopardize the succsess of our heroes?

I am excited to release the second installment of the Galaxy Series and make some discoveries of my own, such as:

• Will this new author be a one-hit wonder, or can he repeat his success in entertaining his readers on a mediocre 3.6-out-of-5 star caliber? 
• Are one-star reviewers capable of giving useful feedback, so I can improve my writing ability?
• Are Smashword or Amazon readers better judges of good sci-fi material, or are they just more kind in their ratings?

 Stay tuned... my next blog post should announce the publication of book two!

Missions to Mars via the Moon

For lovers of the science fiction genre, it is compelling to think of a future where the fiction becomes fact.  History has shown that many things dreamed up by sci-fi authors have become true later.  Star Trek brought us computers, tablets, wireless communication, and virtual reality; Star Wars introduced us to hovercraft; Asimov's I, Robot gave us robots that were autonomous and humanoid.  And I can't help but wonder whether concerns voiced recently from Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates about Artificial Intelligence isn't founded on the stubborn computer, HAL, from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Some times, I can't help but wonder whether sci-fi creators are really the inspiration behind the inventions that come later on.  Who hasn't watched the Jetsons and thought, "I want robotic maids, roomba vacuums, flat screen TVs, and personal aircraft."  (I'm still waiting for the last one to avoid my freeway commute.)  Could it be that good sci-fi is merely self-fulfilling prophesy?

Oddly, while my love for reading sci-fi stems from my daydreaming of future possibilities, I never thought that any of my science fiction might someday become science fact... until a reader of The Orthogonal Galaxy emailed me a link to an article from MIT.  In a PhD thesis recently posited by MIT graduate, Takuto Ishimatsu, payload weights to Mars could be reduced by 68% if astronauts used an orbiting tanker around the Moon to refuel in space before rocketing off to the red planet.  In my book, the intent is different but the principle is the same.  Because Mars is so far, and the travel considerable, I decided that a stop at Mars for refueling was crucial to provide a sufficient propellant to get spacecraft there as quickly as possible.  In other words, my book intends to use that 68% for a super-duper booster.  Thanks to the science of Ishimatsu, perhaps my fiction just took one step closer to reality as well.

Now, let's just hope and pray that this trend of science-fiction to science-fact doesn't hold true for all of this post-apocalyptic craze, or else Suzanne Collins is going to have some serious answering to do.

Galaxy Series Update

I would like to think that the universe to be a fairly balanced place to exist.  In life, we all have to deal with ups and downs, good news and bad.  This blog post is no different.

First the bad news.  Earlier this summer, I announced a prequel novella to be released soon.  That blog post showed the cover that the art shop had prepared.  I was ever so close to hitting the publish button after having edited it a couple of times.  But here's the problem...  I'm not sure it's a high-enough quality of work to release.  I may come back to this project in the future, but I learned something along the way.  It's actually easier to write a full-length novel than it is to write a novella.  This should seem counter-intuitive, but I think I know why this is the case.  With a novel, there is more time to develop solid characters that are likable.  I also found that with my novella, the plot just seemed too rushed.  So, in the interim, I will take a mental note to figure out how to create a better work of different lengths.

But, here's the good news.  Work on book two of the Galaxy Series is progressing nicely.  I am pleased with the way it is developing and hope for it to be even more gripping and enjoyable than the first book.  I would still like to get it published by the end of the year, but not if it would mean compromising on quality.  Currently, The Orthogonal Galaxy ranks 1019 among all Science Fiction eBooks on Amazon.com.  While that's still very, very far from "best seller" status, there are over 111,000 books in this category, so it does at least rank in the top 1% of all Sci-Fi eBooks on Amazon.com.  I'm sure the fact that it costs $0.00 to purchase on Kindle doesn't hurt, but it's still an accomplishment I never expected to happen, and am pleased that at least some have enjoyed downloading and reading it.

The Midas Project

Things are coming together on my novella, The Midas Project.  I'm particularly excited about the cover art that I just received from the art shop.  In fact this is a case where I wish you COULD judge a book by its cover.

Even though this is going to be a prequel, reading it will feel quite a bit different than the Galaxy Series, in that it is a shorter read, and because it predates the Galaxy Series substantially, so all of the characters are new.  Further, it is more of a detective sci-fi, in the spirit of Asimov's Robot series.  I hope the fact that it bleeds into a different genre doesn't distract the reader from the series at large.  My intent is to contain enough imaginative and though-provoking science in it to keep readers who liked the first book just as engaged.

Keep an eye out for an official announcement soon!