Manticon Day 1

by on May 26, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Today I’m arriving at Manticon for the first time in one whole year. Not that I’m counting or anything. 😉

I’ll be going to the opening ceremonies, which they do with aplomb. Men and women in full uniforms carrying flags onto the stage and everything. And not just the imaginary flags of the Honorverse, but the American flag as well. This is Memorial Weekend after all, and the Manties remember that well.

I’ll also be doing some gaming in the game room to start off the weekend. BattleTech Pods, maybe some Artemis bridge simulator, and stuff like that. The people here throw some seriously good games at us. And I’m going to be checking out Ingress with people who play it to see just what all the hubbub is about there.

Finally, I’m bringing real Dead Tree Format copies of my first book, Forge of War, with me. Yes, this is officially a business trip for me. 🙂

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Forge of War and Save Sci Fi

by on May 25, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Pictured here is the very first picture taken of my Forge of War novel in Dead Tree Format. They are available for purchase on Amazon right now if you are interested. I’ll be bringing copies to Manticon with me and hope to return home with less than I bring. 😉

I also just got some brand spanking new business cards from Save Sci Fi. They advertise the new An Atlas to Time, Space, and Bonfires anthology that I was part of.

I hope to see some of you there, and will happily hand out business cards (both my own and Save Sci Fi’s) to any who are interested.

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BattleTech Pods at Manticon

by on May 24, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Happy Dance. Happy Dance. Happy Dance.

That’s me knowing that I’m going to be playing BattleTech Pods this weekend at Manticon. Fallout Shelter Arcade will be there with their awesome crew and pods, giving anyone who comes the best full immersion virtual world BattleTech simulation in existence.

Yeah. They’re that awesome. I love them. And the people, too. 😉

Fallout Shelter Arcade

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Manticon 2017

by on May 23, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Manticon is coming soon here in sunny and delightful Bloomington, Minnesota. Hopefully there will be no snow this year, though it is still May, so one never knows. You might want to bring your spring jackets if you are from the Northlands just in case though. And bring your winter gear if you are from the Southern states. Trust me. You might need it. OF course, it might also be warm enough that we are all going out in shorts and tank tops. It’s May in Minnesota. You never know what you’re going to get.

But we do know what we’ll get in Manticon. We celebrate military science fiction and fantasy there. We bring authors to speak to everyone. We bring sellers to sell their wares. And we bring games so everybody can have fun. I have enjoyed every Manticon I have come to, and I do believe I’ve been to all of them. It’s the biggest and funnest family you never knew you had until you come. It’s a real good time, and I hope to see some of you up there.

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Angel Flight

by on May 22, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

“Break,” Jack ordered and pulled the controls to the left. Thrusters flared and the formation of Avengers exploded into a chaotic mess of individually maneuvering fighters. Or so the complicated maneuver was designed to look to outside eyes. In reality it was a complex plan designed by the collective intellect of seven cybernetic intelligences, randomized by six Marine fighter pilots, and thrown into the teeth of the enemy missiles by seventy-two Avenger-class starfighters. The AIs inhabiting the Shang missiles never saw it coming.

The Avengers scattered, spinning to sweep over two hundred gravitic cannons across the missile swarm. Over a hundred missile batteries spat their vengeance as fast as they could reload and over five hundred lasers sent coherent beams of deadly light through the exhaust gases filling space. Missiles died by the scores, by the hundreds, but nothing could stop the missile swarm from engulfing them.

Everywhere Jack looked he saw and felt missiles, exhaust, explosions, and death. There was no safe place to be but he let his mind go blank and just moved whenever he got the urge to move. He had a lot of urges to move and his hands twitched on the stick and throttle. Missiles exploded all around them and a warning light alerted him to the near hits clawing at their deflection grid. Another display came up, showing armor damage on the port wing. An Avenger ahead of him exploded and another missile flew by close enough he could have stepped onto it if he’d wanted to.

Angel Flight is now available in its Third Revised Printing

Angel Flight on Amazon

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