Stupidly forgot to mention the release of my nineteenth book; my third collection of short stories from Machine Civilization. Shall cross-port it to other platforms, soon.
Matters of Life and Death
Tag: short stories
Tamera (pt4)
“Jaw-jaw is better than war-war,” as they saying goes. I’d modify that to “in most cases.” As seizing the EAST reactor by force would be a huge logistical undertaking – not that the Hartmann family could not pull it off – it appears that diplomacy would be the first step.
This is the first time any of us, including me, has met Ildi. She is mentioned in passing in “Obligations of Rank” as a carefree young girl who regards the world as her personal play-toy. Sent as an exchange student to Japan by her mother, Empress Faustina, it appears she has matured a bit. Curious to see where this is going to go.
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Continue reading “Tamera (pt4)”Ceres, part 1
I got caught up in research about crab boats vs. fishing trawlers for the Tillamook story, so this next short is what I started writing first. This is about Crown Prince Laszlo Hartmann of Faustina’s imperium not quite alone on high-speed space ship. Not quite alone? The android Minerva is with him. Ordered by his mother, the Empress, their first scouting mission is to the asteroid belt, to assess not only mining possibilities but also colonization.
Because this takes place seven weeks after then conclusion of “Obligations of Rank,” spoilers are unavoidable. Unless you think it will be some months before you get around to reading that book – and you will – and might have forgotten this, go listen to one of my podcasts or something if you don’t want to be spoiled.
Again borrowing an idea from another writer, in this case Michael Chricton, I’m taking two very, very different people, packing them into a sardine can, and sending them somewhere they cannot escape from.
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Continue reading “Ceres, part 1”Wither next?
With my next MS still in the hands of my copyeditor and cover designer, I was at something of loose ends as to what to write. Initially anxious that nothing was showing up behind my eyes, I calmed myself, and waited. NOTE: spoilers ahead.
Some of the short story (and regular readers will know how often those get out of hand) ideas which showed up over the past few days are:
- A glimpse into the life of a Habsburg Empire bureaucrat trying to re-establish order in the city of Constantinople, back in Christian hands for the first time in 600 years.
- The death of Lily Rigo. I saw Ninon’s phoenix form flying her from Henge’s Beach to the Mountain of Purgatory.
- What happened to Gil Haven and Mackenzie d’Arcy, now on the Oregon coast, after Nichole 5 pushed them together and abandoned them at the end of “Foes & Rivals”?
- The actions of Robert Hartmann, legionary G-2, in northern Canada and their interactions with the ever-expanding Russian Empire.
- A deep space trip on Lionheart with just Laszlo Hartmann and the android Minerva, who used to be part of the machine Reina. Laszlo is a recovering homosexual and Minerva is very fond of him; lots of ideas, there.
Looking ahead, I’m still giving thought to reducing my DayJob hours to the bare minimum for health insurance (essentially working three days per week) which I hope will allow me to work on some of the other projects I’ve mentioned. This is a family matter and must be negotiated. We shall see.
If anyone has any ideas/request for the next podcast, please let me know!
machciv 