Trope Tuesday: Forbidden Zone

For the next few Trope Tuesday posts, I’m going to pick apart some of the tropes I’m playing with in my latest WIP, Sons of the Starfarers.  One of the things I love to do when brainstorming a new story is to use tvtropes like a menu, finding the tropes that best fit my story… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Forbidden Zone

Last chance to get my books 50% off on Smashwords!

Hey guys, just a heads up that tomorrow and Wednesday are the last days to get all my books 50% off on Smashwords for the annual summer sale.  Everything is under $2.50 USD, and the $.99 stuff is free!  That might seem like a pretty steep discount, but I actually earn as much from each… Continue reading Last chance to get my books 50% off on Smashwords!

No new books this month, but the next few should be stacked.

I’m working on Star Wanderers: Deliverance (Part VIII) right now, and it’s coming along swimmingly.  Where the other novellas are pretty much character dramas in a space opera setting, this one is more space adventure with the character / relationship stuff under the surface.  It’s all about Mariya and Lucca, how they meet and end… Continue reading No new books this month, but the next few should be stacked.

Author’s Note for THE JEREMIAH CHRONICLES

Here’s the author’s note at the end of Star Wanderers: The Jeremiah Chronicles.  It’s the only content in the omnibus that isn’t available anywhere else, and I don’t want my readers to feel like they have to buy something they’ve already read in order to get it.  And if you do want to buy it,… Continue reading Author’s Note for THE JEREMIAH CHRONICLES

Cooking adventures and an awesome webcomic

So I have a bunch of ideas for blog posts I’d like to write, and I’ll probably get around to them eventually, but I thought I’d drop a line now just to let you all know what I’ve been up to.  It’s been a pretty good week, with some decent progress on the current WIP… Continue reading Cooking adventures and an awesome webcomic

U is for Universal Translator

In science fiction, whenever two characters from different planets or different alien races have to interact with each other, they almost always speak the same language or have some sort of universal translator that magically makes them able to communicate with minimal misunderstandings.  This is especially common in Star Trek, though it happens in just… Continue reading U is for Universal Translator

A Letter From My 2013 Self

So shortly after writing up my last blog post, I got an email from myself marked December 27, 2013.  How freaky is that?I don’t know if it’s a glitch or a feature, but apparently in 2013, you can use gmail to send messages back in time. In any case, the letter is pretty interesting, so… Continue reading A Letter From My 2013 Self

A Letter To My 2011 Self

Dear Joe, Well, 2011 has been an eventful year, hasn’t it? It sure didn’t feel like it when you were down in the trenches, but now that it’s over, you’ve got to admit, you sure came a long way. You’ve discovered a lot of things about yourself since January. In your quest for economic security,… Continue reading A Letter To My 2011 Self

Some thoughts on internet access, self-discipline, and productivity

As many of you probably know, for the past four months I’ve been living in a small Georgian village in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains.  It isn’t as remote as some places in this country (like Tusheti, where some people still practice pagan animal sacrifices), but my internet access has been limited, especially compared… Continue reading Some thoughts on internet access, self-discipline, and productivity