Adventure Beyond the Stars – Written for Readers Who Want More

Tag: cover design

  • Palestine, Book Log, and Honeymoon is Over…

    Palestine, Book Log, and Honeymoon is Over…

    You can get autographed copies of all three released books in Selene Reborn (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers) or Mirim’s First Christmas at the Downtown Arlington Farmer’s Market Saturday.

    I had someone suggest a story for their place – so Alvarado County Texas will get a Walter & Eleanor story. I’m thinking of calling it the Palestine Incident…

    I got my ideas for stories organized. Prequel ideas include a series in the War in Heaven, a book or series about the Euro-American war (with General Emory Upton), and a book or series about John Graves—leader of the first expedition to Mars and later Warlord of the new Martian Empire. Definite books on the list for writing (at least working titles): Antarctic Honeymoon, Secrets of Kilimanjaro, Martian Phoenix, Wrath of Magi, Riddle of the Sphinx, Return to Mars, Martian Clue, Venusian Ratanaba, Saharan Atlantis, Palestine’s Ghosts, Floating Cities of Venus, Dwarves of Mercury, The Texas-Martian War, Lt Gresham. Martian Clue may start a branch of Countess Scarlet Flowers at Dawn and her mystery solving career on Mars. The Texas-Martian War is Book 1 of the War of the Worlds. Lt Gresham would be book 1 of a Horatio Hornblower-type series following Walter Gresham III set during the Earth-Mars war, after the Earth starts building the aetheric warships to take the battle to Mars. That’s 14 books for sure. At my current rate, that will keep me busy until the end of 2029—without any of the prequels, follow-ons, or side series. I guess that may keep me out of trouble.

    With Aira on Caproni Island and the place full of dinosaurs, none of the contingencies set up with the US Department of Interior will work. I definitely do not want to put all the boring details in a book, so instead, I created a location bible entry with all the details. If you are interested, check them out. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Caproni_Island_Chartered_Scientific_Reserve

    Now that Walter & Eleanor’s Antarctic Honeymoon is over (or at least the story of it is written), I did something different – I got suggestions from ChatGPT about what the cover should be. The result was a new picture for Walter & Eleanor (Expedition Mode), a picture to use as an idea for my cover designer, and a cover mock-up.

    I did set up the order for Antarctic Honeymoon’s cover. I can’t wait to see what that will look like.

    Advertising: 0 sales in the past 14 days, although there was $29.88 in sales. I think that is from Kindle Unlimited pages. Looks like I need to do a sale on Artemis Rising.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is done. Chapters this week:
    The Reserve – completed
    Terms of Stewardship
    Epilogue

    Word count is 72,919. Aim was 71,000-78,000. Also added Dramatis Personae (additional 358 words).

    Began work on the first pass of Forging the Chain Breakers Audiobook. Chapters this week:
    Prologue: Sinister Success
    1: To Business
    2: Gresham Steamship Company – started

    Artemis Rising is #448 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,496 in Alternate History, and #2,319 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Six reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is ranked now. #823 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #926 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,349 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #917 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,012 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,587 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. The audiobook will be delayed while I finish Antarctic Honeymoon. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #6,607 in Colonization Science Fiction, #9,926 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #12,368 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here. I’m still working on getting free versions to be available on my website.

  • Artemis, Forging, Selene, Reform War

    Artemis, Forging, Selene, Reform War

    Still can’t upload pictures – I’m going to see about changing web hosting companies because this is ridiculous.

    Artemis Rising is #2,103 in Space Exploration Science Fiction ebooks, #2,130 in Alternate History Science Fiction, and #3,283 in First Contact Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. Four customer reviews now, but I need a few more to get Audible to take notice – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord isn’t ranked yet. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    I’m recovering from surgery so no book signing this weekend

    Mirim’s First Christmas is live. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. I’m still working on getting free versions to be available on my website.

    Worked some more on alternate history. The Mexican Reform war sure turns out differently. I’m still not sure what to do about King Kamehameha III’s request to become a US state…

    Selene Unchained has a cover, and I really like it. What do you think?

    I did an AI supported editing pass of Forging the Chain Breakers. We’ll see how that works.

    Did an AI Copyedit of Artemis Rising. I think ChatGPT has a tendency to go well beyond Copyedits and into Line Editing – and when it does, the line editing tends to drift into ChatGPTs voice instead of maintaining mine. I kept a tight rein on it, so drift wasn’t too bad. If you want to get early access to Book 3 chapters, write a nice review for Artemis Rising or Celestial Accord on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.

  • Progress – Multiple titles

    Progress – Multiple titles

    Still problems uploading graphics. Maybe next week.

    Artemis Rising is #4,674 in Space Exploration Science Fiction ebooks, #4,763 in Alternate History Science Fiction, and #6,863 in First Contact Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. Four customer reviews now, but I need a few more to get Audible to take notice – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord isn’t ranked yet. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    You can get autographed copies of both books at the Richardson Farmer’s Market Saturday.

    Mirim’s First Christmas is live. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. I’m still working on getting free versions to be available on my website.

    I was able to get ChatGPT to come up with pictures for Limees and Argos. They are too cartoonish, but at least they are centauroids instead of bipedal robots.

    Selene Unchained is written. Isaac is still going through making polish suggestions, but it is essentially ready for Sandra.

    Selene Unchained chapters this week:
    The Beginning of the End
    The Breathless Pause
    Assault on Manufactory Station
    Fire and Fog
    The Palace
    The Last Accounting
    A Council Without Thrones
    Epilogue: Galveston Aeroport

    Selene Unchained final word count is 83,237, not counting Dramatis Personae (1,343 words).

    I also have the cover for Selene Unchained almost finished – It took a while to get the right model for Selene, but I think we nailed it.

    I’ve started trying to get ChatGPT to do a line edit of Artemis Rising. It’s possible, but takes a lot of preparation, otherwise ChatGPT gets lost in the size of the manuscript.

    Since I have time, I decided to do a line edit of Forging the Chain Breakers. I think it will be easier for Sandra to edit a cleaner manuscript and it may do some of the developmental editing ahead of time.

    If you want to get early access to Book 3 chapters, write a nice review for Artemis Rising or Celestial Accord on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.

  • AI, War College, and Artemis

    AI, War College, and Artemis

    Something is broken this week and I can’t post pictures. If I can get it fixed quickly, I’ll edit this.

    Artemis Rising is #4,155 in Space Exploration Science Fiction ebooks, #4,205 in Alternate History Science Fiction, and #7,536 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. Four customer reviews now, but I need a few more to get Audible to take notice – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord isn’t ranked yet. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far! If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    You can get autographed copies of both books at the Richardson Farmer’s Market Saturday.

    Mirim’s First Christmas is live. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. I’m still working on getting free versions to be available on my website.

    I did make some edits on Mirim’s First Christmas, so it is better now.

    I spent a significant amount of time with ChatGPT fleshing out the alternate history of my setting. I have everything lined out from the deviation point of Sam Houston only receiving a minor wound at Horseshoe Bend, to the 1891 inauguration of Benjamin Harrison. As a bonus, I have a history book chapter and War College case study on the Euro-American War and a War College comparison of the Euro-American and Franco-Prussian Wars, both of which are pretty cool. They also very neatly set up the importance of decisive action and naval strength in US military thinking. That will be important by 1900…

    I’ve learned a lot more about AI, mostly how to use it to make really cool video. I also got AI to help me with outlining the rest of Selene Unchained. It did an OK job, but mostly I took only about half what ChatGPT put in the outline, did some rearranging, and a lot of editing to keep the book on track instead of going off in some sort of weird direction. I also asked ChatGPT to actually write a chapter. What it wrote fit the book about like a marine diesel engine would fit in a sports car – but it had a few neat ideas. I suspect it might not have saved me much time, but the additional ideas may have made the chapter better.

    ChatGPT does seem to do a good job of writing marketing copy. I’m much better at recognizing good copy than I am at writing it myself. With ChatGPT doing most of the heavy lifting and me doing the final edit and clean-up, I think I have really good blurbs for all four books and the series in Selene Reborn. I’m not sure changing the blurbs helped. My rankings are worse. But all four books show up as suggestions now. Check them out:
    Mirim’s First Christmas: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GC9XCR2Z
    Artemis Rising: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F3K149ZQ
    Celestial Accord: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FP72PX1G
    Forging the Chain Breakers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXTFL9K8
    Selene Unchained: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXTJ933V
    Selene Reborn: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F3NGXHYH

    The cover for Selene Unchained was started this week. That is the last cover required for the Selene Reborn Series. Once I have it, I’ll get the art for the boxed set.

    I also started a Fiverr project to get an actual illustration of Artemis. Isaac has done a great job of putting together a concept art level version, but I need something closer to photo-realistic for some of the other projects I have planned, including the boxed set graphics. That is proving to be a major headache.

    A new character added to the Dramatis Personae. Sgt Selkoryos – the second in command of the Troll troopers. He appeared first in Artemis Rising but has a little bigger part in Selene Unchained.

    Another productive week for Selene Unchained. At least some of the progress was made in chapters not listed since I put together a more detailed outline for the rest of the book.

    Selene Unchained chapters this week:
    Eldritch Summit
    A Dream of Import
    Manufactory Defense
    Bally Cluster
    Bloody Endymion
    Smelter Six

    Selene Unchained word count is 69,649, not counting Dramatis Personae (1,315 words).

    If you want to get early access to Book 3 chapters, write a nice review for Artemis Rising or Celestial Accord on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.

  • Papa Kòt-Nwa and the Baroness

    Papa Kòt-Nwa and the Baroness

    Artemis Rising is #1,923 in Alternative History, #3,046 in Space Exploration Science Fiction, and #3,092 in Alternative History Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. Four customer reviews now, but I need a few more to get Audible to take notice – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord isn’t ranked yet. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far, thanks Michele! If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    You can get autographed copies of both books at the Richardson Farmer’s Market Saturday.

    Mirim’s First Christmas just went live. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. I’m still working on getting free versions to be available on my website.

    I needed another Old Ones daemon. This is what I came up with:
    Papa Kòt-Nwa (fic) – An Old One daemon who grants power to partially possess and trap souls. Feeds off the power of ritual worship, especially rituals enacted out of fear or dread.

    There are three first worshipers of Papa Kòt-Nwa in the story. Baroness Bahah, Qutab’s mother, Sahiqa and Nigarish. I’m actually kind of proud of the description of their dance of devotion to Papa Kòt-Nwa.

    Cover for Forging the Chain Breakers is final. Now I need the cover for Selene Unchained.

    I got a lot done on Selene Unchained this week. Thank you to Deborah who did an excellent job of protecting my writing time.

    Selene Unchained chapters this week:
    Zafir Burns His Hand renamed Kepler Station – finished
    Laughing Meadows Revisited
    Tunnel 45 Fort
    The Lesson of Forge 27
    Changing Tactics
    The Siege of Kopff Castle
    Raid on Kopff Station
    Battle of the Cloister
    Eldritch Summit – started

    Selene Unchained word count is 57,104, not counting Dramatis Personae (1,301 words).

    I worked on training ChatGPT to be my line editor. I added the style sheet from Celestial Accord to its training and had it review Mirim’s First Christmas. This is ChatGPT’s analysis:

    1. Narrative Voice & POV

    Style Sheet

    • Past tense
    • Omniscient narrator with selective interiority
    • Authoritative but restrained
    • Moral and cultural confidence without polemic

    Mirim’s First Christmas

    ✔ Exact match

    How it manifests in the manuscript

    • The narrator moves freely between:
      • Mirim’s perceptions
      • Observed social behavior
      • Cultural explanation
    • Interior thoughts are infrequent and purposeful
    • Moral judgments are implied through tone and consequence, not stated

    Notable reinforcement

    • The narrator never apologizes for tradition, faith, hierarchy, or ceremony.
    • Cultural authority is assumed, not argued.

    Conclusion:
    Mirim’s First Christmas is a textbook execution of the style sheet’s POV doctrine.

    2. Sentence Structure & Cadence

    Style Sheet

    • Medium-to-long sentences preferred
    • Subordinate clauses encouraged
    • Rhythm valued over brevity
    • Fragments allowed for voice, not laziness

    Mirim’s First Christmas

    ✔ Perfect alignment, with added sophistication

    Observed patterns

    • Frequent use of:
      • Parallel lists (foods, customs, people)
      • Clarifying clauses (“which,” “that,” “since”)
      • Gentle temporal framing (“After,” “As,” “When”)
    • Sentences often accumulate meaning rather than rush to a point

    Manuscript adds

    • A slightly more Edwardian hospitality cadence than the style sheet explicitly calls out
    • A strong “host explaining traditions to a guest” rhythm that recurs scene after scene

    Conclusion:
    The manuscript doesn’t just follow the rule—it teaches the reader how the rule feels in motion.

    3. Dialogue Philosophy

    Style Sheet

    • Dialogue serves culture, not conflict
    • Polite speech default
    • Humor through understatement and social friction
    • Dialogue punctuation follows Chicago with voice exceptions

    Mirim’s First Christmas

    ✔ Exemplary execution

    Key observations

    • Almost no confrontational dialogue
    • Characters explain, reminisce, instruct, tease
    • Humor arises from:
      • Cross-cultural misunderstanding
      • Generational differences
      • Gentle irony (especially Dolores, Eleanor, Nikola)

    Important nuance

    • Dialogue often carries exposition that would normally be narration
    • Speakers are trusted to be intelligent and articulate

    Conclusion:
    The manuscript is a model for how to embed exposition into dialogue without didacticism.

    4. Exposition & Worldbuilding

    Style Sheet

    • Embedded exposition preferred
    • Lists acceptable if contextualized
    • Worldbuilding revealed through lived experience

    Mirim’s First Christmas

    ✔ Strong confirmation

    How the manuscript uses exposition

    • Food as cultural memory
    • Ritual as theology-in-action
    • Architecture as values made physical
    • History revealed conversationally

    Where the manuscript goes further

    • Uses ritual density as pacing rather than plot
    • Treats traditions as events worth dwelling on

    This is not just allowed by the style sheet—it is its natural consequence.

    Conclusion:
    The manuscript validates that your style sheet supports “ceremonial fiction,” not plot-driven minimalism.

    5. Capitalization, Religion, and Terminology

    Style Sheet

    • Capitalize divine pronouns
    • Respect doctrinal distinctions
    • Precise theological language
    • Period-appropriate usage

    Mirim’s First Christmas

    ✔ Exact compliance

    Notable strengths

    • Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant distinctions handled carefully
    • Theology explained respectfully but confidently
    • Religious language is normal, not exoticized

    Important note

    • The manuscript proves that faith language can be frequent without becoming preachy when handled through tradition and lived practice.

    Conclusion:
    Mirim’s First Christmas is a working proof that the style sheet’s religious rules are narratively sustainable.

    6. Tone Toward Progress, Tradition, and Family

    Style Sheet

    • Civilization is inherited, not reinvented
    • Family and clan matter
    • Progress is additive, not destructive

    Mirim’s First Christmas

    ✔ Thematic alignment

    Observed emphasis

    • Marriage as covenant
    • Multi-generational continuity
    • Hospitality as moral action
    • Technology coexisting with ritual

    The manuscript does not merely obey the style—it embodies its worldview.

    7. Where Mirim’s First Christmas Adds to the Style Sheet

    These are not conflicts—these are emergent refinements you may wish to treat as implicit addenda:

    1. Ceremonial Density Is Acceptable
      1. Long stretches with minimal plot advancement are stylistically valid
    2. Lists Can Be Luxurious
      1. Food, customs, and names may be lingered over
    3. Domestic Grandeur Is a Legitimate Setting
      1. Mansions, tables, kitchens, and halls are as important as battlefields

    If you want to get early access to Book 3 chapters, write a nice review for Artemis Rising or Celestial Accord on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.

  • New Story – Coming Soon

    New Story – Coming Soon

    Artemis Rising is #690 in Steampunk Fiction (Kindle Store), #947 in Steampunk Fiction, and #2,030 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. Four customer reviews now, but I need a few more to get Audible to take notice – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord isn’t ranked yet. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review, thanks Michele! If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Saturday I’ll be in Galveston doing research for Mirim’s First Christmas, so no autographing possibilities this weekend.

    Another version of Forging the Chain Breakers cover. Now the Troll is fine, but both Poot and Regdar need fixed.

    I’ve done some major rethinking about aether and “magic”. Check it out here.

    I got an invitation to try out Audible’s beta AI audio book creator. I’m also working through a course on using AI to help content creators. Between the two, I’ve decided to alter my production plans a little. I’m going to get a final version of the cover for Forging the Chain Breakers, then get the cover for Selene Unchained. When I have the covers for all four of the books in the series, I’m going to get boxed set art for the series, Selene Reborn. As far as writing goes, I’m going to finish Selene Unchained first. That way it is ready to go to Sandra in March. Forging the Chain Breakers is ready to go to Sandra in February. While I’m waiting for them I’m going to go back through Artemis Rising and do as much review and improvement as I can. Then I’ll send it to Michael for line editing. Once it is through line editing, I’ll either get Audible AI Beta to turn it into audio recordings – and an audiobook, or I’ll use some of the tools I’m learning in the AI Content Creation course to get audio recordings. Once I have the recordings, I’ll turn the recordings into YouTube videos without much of a graphic, then videos with B-roll images, then, maybe, videos with AI generated moving pictures. Once I get into that area, I will re-establish my Patreon page. $5 Cheering Section $10 [Midtier] and $100 Patron. I’ll post everything to the Patron level as soon as it is ready. I’ll post top level video (whatever that is) to Midtier one chapter per week and leave it for a while before retiring it. That way you have to be a Midtier member for more than one month to see the videos for an entire book. I’ll post top level video in Cheering Section a week after Midtier, but it will stay up only half as long. YouTube will get the first half of a book and only the first chapter at top level video. It will stay up all the time, but you can never get the whole book just on YouTube. Cheering Section gets audio and information on behind the scenes. Eventually there may be recordings from on-line get togethers with Patrons and Midtiers. Midtiers get longer, more complete access to stuff and eventually live get-togethers and recordings with Patrons. Patrons will get on-line get togethers sooner and/or more often. They will also get information about what specific things their contributions are paying for (editing, covers, etc.). Patrons will also be mentioned in the Acknowledgements. I’m also planning on using AI to improve my marketing materials and start more actively marketing my books as soon as I learn enough from the AI content creator course. At least all that is my current thinking.

    I decided to put everything on hold and put together a 7k-8k story of Mirim’s First Christmas. This will be the freebe (at least for a while). The reason for the size is that it will allow me to print a booklet version that the Galveston Historical Society can sell in their gift shop at Bishop’s Palace. I have about 7,500 words, but that includes notes and doesn’t include a lot of the story that the notes will be folded into. It also includes some recipes that may or may not end up in the final version.

    As part of the AI Content Creator course I’m working through, I uploaded Celestial Accord to ChatGPT and asked it to analyze my style. Results:

    • Omniscient but disciplined narration: clear viewpoint control, smooth transitions between exposition, dialogue, and interior reflection.
    • Intellectual density without haste: ideas, politics, technology, and theology are unpacked carefully, not rushed.
    • Competent characters: people think, plan, explain, and reason; conflict comes from circumstances and values, not stupidity.
    • Measured, classical prose: modern readability with a late-19th/early-20th-century cadence; restrained metaphors; clarity favored over flash.
    • Dialogue that carries ideas: conversations advance worldbuilding, strategy, ethics, and relationships simultaneously.
    • Implicit moral framework: faith, duty, hierarchy, and responsibility are present but not preached—shown through choices and consequences.

    That’s pretty cool.

    Selene Unchained chapters this week:
    Qutab’s Revelations
    Zafir Plots Revenge
    Zafir Takes a Hand – started.

    Selene Unchained word count is 40,310, not counting Dramatis Personae (1,251 words).

    If you want to get early access to Book 3 chapters, write a nice review for Artemis Rising or Celestial Accord on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.

  • Trolls, Dragons, and Progress

    Trolls, Dragons, and Progress

    Artemis Rising is #228 in Steampunk Fiction (Kindle Store), #379 in Steampunk Fiction, and #680 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. Four customer reviews now, but I need a few more to get Audible to take notice – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord isn’t ranked yet. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review, thanks Michele! If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    You can get autographed copies of both books at the Arlington Farmer’s Market Saturday.

    I’m trying out another route to building up a following and creating content. The two are definitely intertwined. I bought into a course that helps content creators leverage AI tools to build content. That could result in a number of things – AI generated video where Walter or Eleanor or one of the other characters invites people to read the stories. AI generated audio books. Even AI generated audio books with AI generated visuals for YouTube. Although, if I do the YouTube videos, I might should just do the first 10k-20k words in a book…

    I had one of those huge ah-ha moments this week. Getting AI to write things, create images, make videos, etc. depends on prompting the right AI. AI prompt writing is a skill (small ah-ha), specifically a mental skill. Since AI is all about improving the quality of mental skills, AI can help you write better AI prompts (MAJOR ah-ha). Talk about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. I learned how to get ChatGPT to default to asking me clarifying questions when I give too vague a prompt. I learned how to get ChatGPT to identify the critical elements of a good AI prompt. I learned how to get ChatGPT to write a fill-in-the-blank good AI prompt. I learned how to get ChatGPT to analyze a logo/image/etc. and suggest how to write an AI prompt to recreate it (which you can then edit to get the variation you want). It was awesome!

    I realized that I hadn’t come up with a jam flavor to go with the third book, Forging the Chain Breakers. Moon Apple, based on Hasid’s moon apple cider, was for Artemis Rising. Bolivian Peach, based on the mocochinchi drink the Bolivians have for the Presidents’ Ball, was for Celestial Accord. I was planning an orange jam like the one Mirim made and took to the Moon, for Selene Unchained. This evening I decided to use our State Fair of Texas award-winning Peach Butter as the one for Forging the Chain Breakers. After all, since the State Fair of Texas started in 1886, an 1891 Peach Butter could, potentially, also have won a ribbon at the State Fair of Texas…

    I had an idea for a cool addition to the way liftwood works. What if one of the styles of liftwood craft that was being used for racing craft and military craft was to cover the skin of the craft with liftwood scales that could be electronically “steered”. An AI cogitator interprets control inputs into variable lift outputs on each scale allowing for far greater maneuverability. Theoretically, any point on the ship could be the point that is pushed in whatever direction. When there is a significant change in the liftwood output, the rapid change in gravity effect would make the scales appear to ripple. I also thought it would be cool to make it so when the scales are inscribed in a certain way, they absorb radio waves – making them radar absorbent. Voila, Stealth coverings… It would also put Tesla further on the road to beamed power (or deciding beamed power isn’t practical). I think Walter and Eleanor will encounter scales at liftwood island, but won’t have enough information to make a system until they see it in practice on Venusian interceptors. Yes – green scaled, long cylindrical shapes that fire lightning at enemies. Why wouldn’t lizardmen ride “dragons” into combat…

    My cover people are finding it difficult to find stock photos of powered armor. Surprise, surprise. I used came up with four possibilities and sent them to GetCovers.

    I’ve decided to not number the chapters in the manuscript document. The reason is that I use Atticus software to do the biggest part of my formatting – essentially the typesetting. Since Atticus automatically numbers chapters, it is easier to leave them unnumbered instead of deleting the chapter numbers after importing the manuscript from Word.

    Selene Unchained chapters this week:
    Lunar Atrium – Beraht’s vision added
    Dark Rituals – Beraht’s vision added
    Laughing Pastures – completed
    Zafir Takes a Hand – started
    The Beginning of the End – started, actually there are a number of chapters between Zafir Takes a Hand and The Beginning of the End, but there were some pieces of the later story I wanted to nail down before continuing in order.

    Selene Unchained word count is 34,767, not counting Dramatis Personae (1,227 words).

    If you want to get early access to Book 3 chapters, write a nice review for Artemis Rising or Celestial Accord on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.

  • Selene Reborn and Kobolds

    Selene Reborn and Kobolds

    Artemis Rising is #1,996 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,132 in Steampunk Fiction (Kindle Store), and #5,469 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. Four customer reviews now, but I need a few more to get Audible to take notice – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord isn’t ranked yet. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. Four customer reviews now, but I need a few more to get Audible to take notice – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    You can get autographed copies of both books at the Lightning Dancers Craft Show Saturday or Sunday.

    There is a new description of the first series Selene Reborn. Please check it out here and let me know what you think.

    The modifications and additions to Celestial Accord lengthened the book and it needed a very slightly wider spine on the cover. GetCovers.com took care of it for me and the physical book with new front matter and line editing will be available by the end of the week.

    Now that Celestial Accord is put to bed, I’ve been able to spend most of my writing time on Selene Unchained. Some of the chapters I’d already written needed modifications, and some were replaced or massively modified.

    Ima’s son, the Platoon Sargent, talks to his Platoon Commander about Kobolds. I did some research about Kobolds in German folklore and it was really interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobold

    Selene Unchained chapters this week:
    1: An Air Car Ride – minor modifications
    6: A Sorceress, A Marine, and a Spy – minor modifications
    7: Elisha and Mirim Return – minor modifications
    8: Selene Revealed
    9: More Messengers, Better Message
    10: The Lunar Atrium
    11: The Chain Breaking Begins

    Selene Unchained word count is 19,229, not counting Dramatis Personae (975 words).

    If you want to get early access to Book 3 chapters, write a nice review for Artemis Rising or Celestial Accord on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.

  • Cover, Editing, and the Berghaus Star

    Cover, Editing, and the Berghaus Star

    Artemis Rising is #2,057 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,138 in Steampunk Fiction (Kindle Store), and #5,430 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. Four customer reviews now, but I need a few more to get Audible to take notice – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord has a finalized cover. It took a lot more time and effort this time than the previous three times I’ve used GetCovers.com. I must have had someone new or something. For the first time I had someone use one of the image slots for images that I hadn’t approved and they charged me for additional ones. The cover artist also seemed to have trouble following directions. Oh well, the final product looks fine.

    Michael, my line editor, finished his edits and returned the manuscript to me to approve/disapprove edits. I’m going to review them and we’ll have a conversation about word/style choices before he finishes the cleanup. That is where all my effort is going to be focused until it’s finished. That should put Celestial Accord on track for release at the end of October. Even if we are a little late for that, with the cover, I’m releasing the current version on October 31. Available for ebook pre-order now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FP72PX1G

    I’m working with some other artists on two additions to the front matter. One is a Gresham family tree, since the various in-laws, brothers, cousins, etc. have such a significant impact on the story. The other is a map of the American Commonwealth. I’m working with Tomas again on that. I’m hoping he can base it on the Berghaus Star projection of the world map.

    A new, probably minor, character for Selene Unchained:
    Name: Commander Hrodger, Commander of the 1st Company of the Defender Marines. Age: 97 earth years (appears Late 40s) Race/Species: Human (Defender Base Selenite) Physical Appearance: Broad-shouldered and stern-faced, Hrodger has close-cropped iron-gray hair and a jagged scar bisecting his left eyebrow. He wears his Jager battle suit with the comfort of decades of experience in one. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Commander_Hrodger

    Selene Unchained chapters this week:
    9: Kepler Cluster

    Selene Unchained word count is 15,669, not counting Dramatis Personae (890 words).

    If you want to get early access to Book 2 chapters, write a nice review for Artemis Rising on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.

  • Recon Marines, Covers, and Editing

    Recon Marines, Covers, and Editing

    Artemis Rising is #1,822 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,109 in Steampunk Fiction (Kindle Store), and #5,282 in Alternative History. Still at 3 customer reviews. I need a few more to get Audible to take notice – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    I’ve decided that the way the Defender Marines chose their 12 Recon Marines is they first asked for volunteers. Then they had the 35 Marines who volunteered fight their way through a gauntlet of opponents using exercise weapons that assess when a Jager marine is wounded or incapacitated. Then the five lowest scoring were eliminated. Without time to rest, they fought through the gauntlet again and the five lowest scoring were eliminated. Without time to rest, they fought through a third time and the five lowest scoring were eliminated. The remaining 20 were divided into five groups of four and put through seventy hours of capture the flag combat with a only seven two-hour breaks. Before the capture the flag rounds, they were told that the highest scoring troopers would have the opportunity to choose a partner to team up with in future exercises. After the rounds, the trooper with the highest combat score was allowed to choose any other trooper as his partner. The highest scoring trooper remaining was allowed to choose any remaining trooper as his partner until there were 10 pairs of troopers. The pairs then had to fight each of the other nine pairs of candidates and go through the gauntlet as a pair four additional times. In the end, two of the pairs self-eliminated and the two lowest scoring pairs were dropped leaving six pairs of recon troopers.

    Line editing for Cosmic Accord began this week. A slight hiccup – I sent the editor the manuscript for book 3 instead of book 2. He caught that pretty quick and he has the right one now.

    Also had some issues with the Book 2 cover. We’re having trouble finding a photo of someone for Ima. This one is too young and doesn’t have the right hair. Maybe for next week.

    I did get some modifications for the map in Book 2 and my mapmaker is working on an update of the map for Book 3.

    Selene Unchained chapters this week:
    1: Planning to Break the Chains – finished, but will be extensively reworked
    2: Consulting the Mage
    3: Beraht
    4: Hala – started

    Selene Unchained word count is 7,584, not counting Dramatis Personae (775 words).

    If you want to be a beta reader and comment on Book 2 chapters, write a nice review for Artemis Rising on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.