Giveway, reviews, Nano news & Let's Share Holiday Gift Ideas

Here's an array of news, reviews, a giveaway and a report on my Nano progress in November.

First of all, Angel Snyder at her fabulous 909 Reviews asked me very creative interview questions. She's giving away a signed copy of my illustrated YA thriller, Fireseed One! Enter to win it, or just come over to read the interview, which includes a peek at Scarlet's Fire.

Over at Book Labyrinth, I did a guest post called Reinventing YA Sci-Fi. Read it here.  And I want to say thanks so much for the awesome review by Alison DeLuca. Fireseed One made it to the Best in Fantasy blog! How cool is that? Thanks to Mina Burrows for her very thoughtful  review at her Books for Paranormal and Mystic Minds.

Now for Nano. I didn't win, but I ratcheted up a respectable number of words at 35K. It was actually more, because I kept forgetting to update, so let's say it was around 40K. It did light a fire under me, and now I'm on a faster roll. So, it accomplished its purpose! I'm about two thirds of the way through Scarlet's Fire, the sequel to Fireseed One, and I'm loving the weird, wild plot twists! Hopefully, you will too. How did you all do in Nano?

And how are you doing with your holiday shopping? I'm about 2/3 done, and I'm relieved to avoid most of the holiday mobs. For those people on my list who seem to already have everything I'm trying something new: getting them concert and theater tickets! Oh, and coupons for spa treatments. I'd take a massage over a pair of earrings most any day. How about you?

What's up in December for you? Care to share creative holiday gift ideas?

Offutt's Slipstream: Sci-fi, New Physics & Myth

I just read Michael Offutt's new sci-fi novel Slipstream and wanted to post a review here. This is the first in his series A Crisis of Two Worlds. As someone who's read many books on new physics, this subject is of interest to me, and Michael clearly understands the concepts. He also combines myth and fantasy. Rarely have I seen anyone take this all on, much less pull it off!

Jordan Pendragon is a multilayered guy. He’s handsome, an ace at ice hockey and math, but not as at ease with navigating the emotional realms of high school and at staying clean. When he learns that he’s being followed by a strange British man Kolin, and Jordan turns to chase him, Kolin leaves behind a watchband that Jordan soon learns is what’s called a Life Extractor. Jordan is in dire pain when he tries it on and the thing sucks green oil from his arm. Jordan learns later from Kolin that the band is called a Life Extractor, and Green Life is a hot commodity.

In a tense chase scene in a carnival, where Jordan is double-dating a friend of his sister’s and pretending to like her (and girls in general), he, his sister and Kolin get sucked in through a Slipstream, which he learns is a sort of black hole from which he can come and go.

This lands them in Avalon, a fascinating yet frightening place, an alternate earth of AIs and mega-cities and shiny skyscrapers that churn out Life Green and all manner of questionable digital playthings. Kolin reveals that it’s been prophesized that a boy from earth with the name of an old king (Jordan’s last name Pendragon is the name of an ancient king) would bring order to chaos. Jordan has just been tagged!

In an intriguing blend of myth and sci-fi, adventure the world of Avalon rolls out in breathless fashion! Offutt’s desire to square theoretical physics with spirituality is hugely ambitious and I applaud it. For one, an entity called The Shadow operates a supercomputer in an unknown location that has imprisoned The Light, and Kolin’s Master.

Without giving anything away, I can say that Jordan will find love in the mad action—in the form of Kolin. This serves to deepen his character, and let the reader in more. This world was so cinematic that I could easily see it made into an edge-of-the-seat sci-fi extravaganza!

Buy Slipstream at Amazon
Find Michael Offutt's blog and website here.

Stephen Tremp's novel is on SALE, plus my first moments in Greece

I want to give a shout out to alert folks that fellow blogger and author, Stephen Tremp’s sci-fi novel Breakthrough, The Adventures of Chase Manhattan is free on Amazon, June 18 and 19. Be sure to grab your copy of this futuristic page-turner!

Praise for Breakthrough:

“In a world about to be radically changed by a scientific discovery that will trump for good or evil purposes, a power-play struggle unfolds with breakneck speed and riveting drama in Breakthrough. Filled with intrigue, romance, betrayal, action scenes that have you gripping, some spiritual contemplation and quandary, emotions that run deep and strong, and packed with a multi-faceted cast of varied and multi-dimensional characters, Breakthrough is a novel you will find next to impossible to put down once you start reading” - Marvin Wilson, author and editor.”

For more info, a synopsis or reviews go to Stephen’s website here or his Goodreads author page here. 


I am in an obscure location in Greece, teaching for a few weeks and it's no small miracle that I found an Internet spot that works. I'm glad I got this post up and running for Stephen's sale. Now that I know which cafe is the place, I plan to connect a bit more. The Aegean sea is spectacularly blue, and the sun is sci-fi bright. I'll be posting about some of my experiences here, so stay tuned.
I'll leave you with some English words that come from the Greek:
agoraphobia= agora (marketplace) + phobia (fear) literally means fear of the marketplace, or fear of crowds!
Pornai=prostitute
polis= an ancient city state such as Athens-in America, think Indianapolis, metropolis, etc.
Know any more good ones?