The Alliance Worlds

by on February 1, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Essential Galactic Atlas

Pacifica. Paradisia. Serenity. Haven. These were the first four names we picked when it came time to colonize new Alliance worlds. Every member nation took part in their creation, and every nation voted on what name we would give the new world. Some people protested that all of the names were English, saying that the world names should reflect every language of the Alliance. But the names were chosen by popular referendums, and while there are many who speak German, French, Spanish, and many of the African languages, the simple fact is that the English, or its rather disreputable cousin American, language is the most commonly spoken tongue in the Alliance. And so every Alliance world had names like Utopia, Harmony, Unity, and Destiny until we changed the selection process in the 2200s.

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Julie

by on January 31, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Character Profiles

Julie and me grew up together. We lived in a small town on the edge of civilization where big city folk came to vacation. But most never stayed through winter, which could start as earlier as September and end as late as May. So we knew each other. Kinda. She was okay, for a girl, when I was real young. She got a lot more interesting once I discovered that girls weren’t icky, but we didn’t hang out much. I enjoyed the parties, and she didn’t stay out late. Then one day in our first year of high school, I was plucking at my guitar, trying to nail down a new song, and I just couldn’t get it right. She walked up, grabbed the guitar out of my hands, and played the song the way it was meant to be played. With feeling. Let me be clear here. It was a new song. Absolutely new. Never played before by anyone. And she could tell what I was trying to play good enough to do it the way I meant it to be. That’s the kind of talent she is. The kind that is born once into a generation and cannot be silenced by anyone, no matter how hard they try. I didn’t know why she trusted me enough to let me see it, but I never had a chance after that. I was in love.

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Lucas Cats

by on January 30, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

The panther-like Gangani ruled an entire continent of San Lucas when humanity first became aware of them. Their empire was fractured by rebellions and secessionist movements, and some asked for help in breaking the empire, while others sought help in holding its power together. We helped none, but gave humanitarian aid and protection to all who wished it. The Gangani rulers protested humanity’s stopping their reprisal raids, but we helped them capture many terrorist cells. That allowed them to save face at home and act as if they were acting with newfound restraint. The Gangani still lost most of the Uaithni’s northern reaches, and many of their outer provinces in the south attained independence. But the general end to the greater amount of violence on either side allowed the Gangani to maintain a significantly larger empire than they would have maintained had the rebellions and secessions continued without our interference.

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Barnes and Noble

by on January 29, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Most of you know that I make money selling my stories on various online platforms. Amazon, iTunes, and Smashwords to name a few. The largest amount of my sales, and the largest steady income, comes from Barnes and Noble, though. So I was rather annoyed last year when the ability to update my books stopped working.

I e-mailed tech support and informed them of the issue. At first, they thought I was just off my rocker, but after a few weeks of patiently explaining the issue, and showing the steps I had gone through to show it was their issue, not mine, they realized that, yes, there was an issue with their system. They didn’t fix it. I was annoyed enough that I actually considered taking my books down. But I kept hoping they would send a tech to fix it.

Last week, I found out why they weren’t fixing the issue. It seems, they were developing a new publisher platform and updating all of the old books into the new one. Everything works the way it should now, and my books at Barnes and Noble are up to date with those available at the other platforms again. I’m happy. I would have been happier if they had fixed the issue when it came up, but I understand their reasons. They have didn’t want to spend valuable tech time on the old system they were getting rid of. It makes perfect sense.

I just wish they had told me about this at the time, so I would have known what the delay was. Or fixed it. Or something other than total silence. But I do understand the technical reasons, and am very happy that the platform works and is better than it used to be. Will you, the buyer, ever see a difference? Probably not. But it is nicer for us publishers.

Now, back to writing. Wolfenheim is growling at me from the corner right now.

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San Lucas

by on January 28, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Essential Galactic Atlas

Mount Inferno expels ash into the air almost every day on San Lucas. It rumbles and grumbles and threatens to bury the continent of Hankou with ash and lava on a weekly basis. The Chinese maintain permanent installations in orbit, and surround the volcano with force field projectors and air purifiers to keep the ash and lava at bay. It is enough to keep Hankou habitable, but the reasons for why the Chinese cared was a mystery. Until we performed the DNA analyses and learned that the cats who lived there had been genengineered from Chinese lions and tigers. The Chinese ethos is that anything or anyone who was once Chinese will always be Chinese. So these cats are Chinese. Which makes Hankou Chinese. And perhaps all of San Lucas. The San Lucan government disputes all Chinese claims to any part of their system, but they do not have the military strength to expel the Chinese “aid workers.”

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