Category: new book

Civil Wars 2, 1

Another small delay as I tried to die again. Was at hospital Emergency; apparently the overpriced bellhops who call themselves “MDs” never got round to mentioning that taking lisinopril, an ACE inhibitor, should be stopped after 5-8 years. When the ER doc found out I’d been on it for 11, I thought he would take a swing at me. Anyway, another angioedema attack and some IV meds followed by four days of prednisone. Slowly recovering. Again.

Recovering enough to get back to writing. As the Prologue started “in the middle,” as all good stories should, what will be the start of chapter one, below, backtracks to catch readers up on politics of the imperium and the Polar Alliance. There is an interesting backhanded mention of the main character.

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New Pai, 11

Once you read the segment, below, you will realize why this took me several days. This is “the big reveal,” as they say in the biz. And, it’s just the reveal, the ramifications of the, I assume, God-given gift that has been hinted about Graf has incalculable ramifications. Which I shall try to deal with in what shall be the epilogue to this novel.

Yes, you read that correctly. Just before Mass last Sunday, when I normally listen for ideas for the story, I realized that this, like Friend & Ally/Foes & Rivals, will be a pair of books. All 55-58k (I’m not finished here, yet) words will be the first. The second will be the massive interplanetary fallout of this religious war about to start. I found that so jarring to the relative quiet and peace of Graf and Pai’s story so far that I simply could not see it all being under one cover. So, two books.

There will be a few more segments of New Pai, posted here. That will form the Epilogue of the first book, paving the transition for the chaos to come. Like most great wars, it will start because of a misunderstanding. Lovely to be writing something horrible with spring around the corner. Writers take the good with the bad. More very soon.

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PGI, 16

Hard morning at DayJob. twice-per-year physical inventory. Started at 0730 and suddenly it was noon. Anyway, we learn a little bit more about Fusions and what they are capable of. Pai gives a short version of what she saw in Buenos Aires, followed by finally learning why Ildi and Doe were in the area.

A part of that is the old saw, “if you don’t believe in something, you’ll believe in anything.” In Chile, it appears their society is stable – tossing commies out of helicopters will do that for you – and so veneration of Ildi never took root there. The part about the Nazca Lines perhaps being a coded message was gifted to me late yesterday, just before I made dinner for some guests. With Graf being mostly back to health, but probably weak from lack of food, I need to ponder where they will be off to, next.

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PGI, 14 (resumption)

I’m comfortable enough with where the anthology is to get back to work. This, for all contented porpoises, will be Part Three of the novel. I not only introduce the character everyone has been talking about, but here and the next few segments get off into weeds about what is a new race and what might be some of the implications of that. Very interesting.

Kinda funny that it opens with Graf recovering from his flu. Last week I was sick for four days, with the third giving me a very high fever, chills, and shakes so bad my wife had to help me to the bathroom. All one week after my flu shot. Gotta love Big Pharma. I’m sending Elon a precis for a startup making crosses; there are going to be a lot of people hanging from them shortly.

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Ice Inundation Intelligence

Pleased to announce the release of both the paperback and Kindle versions of my latest book. Number seventeen of the future history that is Machine Civilization.

As with many of my other books, I am hoping to have it ported to Smashwords in a week or two, depending on how many times I bang my head against a brick wall for their kludgy interface,

***

Canada is dying. In a new ice age, one by one, their cities are falling. They occupied the empty US Midwest but Quebec wants out and the Russian Army is coming into their central provinces from the west. Leading a scout unit to divine the Russians’ intentions, Lt. Eloise Patel is captured and tortured, then rescued by the love of her life, Centurion Bob Hardt. The politics point to a three-way war.

Mars is being reborn. Terraformed by the Polar Alliance, the northern hemisphere is an ocean. But the Second Inundation has many worried. There to keep an eye on things, Empress Faustina and one of her sons stumble across an ancient alien artifact – and vanish.

While the politicians bluster and threat, Hardt, Patel, and Sgt. Sergei Konev of the Russian Army try to keep a peace on the ground and between one another and their three nations.

***

Book 17. Part Four. 4

Taking the advice of a fellow writer, I am just going to bull ahead with this and worry about head-hopping and formatting later. I had fretted myself into a standstill and that’s worse than writing dreck.

So, this is very, very raw. Raw-er than usual. One of the things I do not like as how I shoehorned the demon’s cart into this installment. I know he crops up in about three or four installments, but I needed the foreshadowing. I’ll fix it later.

With Imaginarium coming up in less than a week, I’ll be busy packing, buying food and booze, completing my very rough outline for the panel I’m hosting (I noted several assistant panelists have been added; I hope one hour is enough time), so I’ve doubts about completing the MS. But, you never know… this Part is going to be moving very fast.

And, yes: I just made up “the Three R’s.” I’m proud of that.

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Book 17. Part Four. 1

Getting back into the swing of things for this final section. As the events take place over only two days, I think it will be shorter; perhaps about 10,000 words. There may be an epilogue but I have not gotten that far.

Going back to Part One, Sergeant Major Sergei Konev of the Imperial Russia Army is back as our main character, but another shows up almost immediately. Like an invasive weed, Reina has to make an appearance, too.

More Monday. Try to have a good weekend, y’all.

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Book 17. Part Three (end). 25

We reach the end of Part Three, the story from Eloise’s point of view. About a page of notes for the concluding Part Four, but as I mentioned, I’m off to LibertyCon in two days and being sober and on my best behavior shall be my primary objectives. What posting I do shall likely be related to the Con itself.

What’s below is dark, but being is prison is. Fortunately, it looks as if Aurie’s modifications took. It’s now a race between Bob getting back to Earth and when the kangaroo court decides to have El shot.

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