Star Wars arrived in orbit in January – an early version anyway #space #scifibooks

Last month, a private satellite tracking company spotted a Chinese spacecraft apparently grabbing and throwing a dead satellite away into a “graveyard” orbit. Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com)

Space junk is a problem. Earth’s sky is getting crowded with defunct craft and the bits and pieces shed when satellites are launched. Also with debris from collisions and even tools lost by astronauts. Millions of pieces of trash share orbits with only 5,000 functioning satellites. It’s getting crowded up there.

It may even become difficult to tell the difference between accidents that disable satellites and attacks.

Sounds like trouble for the space industry, but a great place for a scifi story. I’m sending pilots into orbit to collect junk with robotic drones, at least, I am with a science fiction trilogy. They’ll deal with accidents and attacks, a lunar base and space station, colonists and mercenaries. Will they defeat the villain behind it all? Will they even discover the culprit once they’re targeted for assassination?

It’ll be several months before you can find out, so subscribe to my newsletter and don’t miss out on the trilogy’s release. And receive a free award-winning collection of short fantasy and scifi stories for kindle today.

Click here now.

New Year’s Resolution You’ll Love – Read More Books – Start With Scifi #scifibooks #sciencefiction

Now available: The complete Titan trilogy in a value-priced kindle box set.

Technology fails,
Society shatters.
Trapped on a frozen moon…

Can a young engineer save himself, his family, and friends? When Fynn and chosen members of the Kin awaken from stasis, there’s no way back to Earth. With survival at stake, will colonists leave old conflicts behind? Or carry them into a deadly dystopia? Fynn must hold the colony together, whatever the sacrifice, or they’re all lost.

Join Fynn and his family in a battle over the cult’s fate. Explore Titan’s methane lake shoreline and interior dunes. Visit the surface habitat and orbiting space station. Search the Saturn system for resources vital to survival.

NASA’s Cassini probe showed us Saturn’s moon, Titan – larger than the planet Mercury and shrouded in a thick lethal atmosphere. A world where hydrocarbons rain down into lakes of liquid methane. Can humans endure in such a dreadful place? Today, you’ll only discover the answer in science fiction.

“Twists and turns keep things moving… young, engaging characters.” Diane Goudreau
“Faced with overwhelming challenges… We are pulled into a dark spiral.” June Randolph
“Loved the characters.” Irishgrammy
“The cult aspect of the series is fascinating, added an interesting dynamic. Kate is an expert at world building.” Mary E. Young
“A fantastic story.” Traci Haes Vass, Write On! Four Corners KSJE 90.0 FM and podcast
“This tense tale delivers on an ambitious premise, a science fiction psychological thriller.” HL, Liminal Fiction

Click now for this complete trilogy. Discover the Kin’s destiny.

Visit the True Golden Age of Scifi With These Zines # scifi #sciencefiction #magazine #goldenage

[It’s the time of year for auld lang syne. This post is a few years old, but still one of my favorites. Kate]

The 1950s were the Golden Age of Science Fiction. You may recognize the names of zines like Astounding Science Fiction, Thrilling Wonder Stories, and Imaginative Tales. But there were many more.

I recently found a couple real gems: fantascience magazines Peon and LEER, both published by Charles Lee Riddle. Independent publishing didn’t start with ebooks and Amazon – it was well underway with only snail-mail to rely on. These magazines were true labors of love, since Riddle was active duty military and so forbidden to make a profit on his zines.

Peon and LEER could have been lost, but Riddle’s son Bob Riddle has posted their history and several almost-lost editions.

Publishing in those days involved typing the stories on a mimeograph stencil master with a manual typewriter. He had his own mimeograph machine and equipment but still had problems with the print quality or transferring artwork to the stencil, as he pointed out in several issues.

There were pen-like tools, with points and wheels and ball-shaped knobs on the ends that looked like they belonged in the hands of a dentist. Plastic templates were his source for clipart.

[Look for] some familiar names from the world of Science Fiction that appear as contributing authors.

Hmm… Bela Lugosi?

Don’t spend another minute reading this blog post. Instead, download pdfs of these wonderful magazines with their articles and stories from scifi’s past. They’re delightful, and I thank Bob Riddle for sharing them with us.

Happy Birthday, Stunning Short Stories – Scifi & Fantasy Anthology in Top 20 Every Month for a Year! #amreadingfantasy #shortstories #scifi

With three author friends, I published a collection of eight short stories in science fiction and fantasy. The book has remained in the top twenty of its Amazon categories for a year! And won the 2021 NM/AZ Book Awards for eFiction. Thank you, readers 🙂

Don’t miss this superb collection. Claim a free ebook from Amazon and other favorite on-line stores, all the major digital formats.

Click here now and choose your favorite store: books2read.com/StunningShortStories

Also available in paperback. Great stocking stuffer, and no supply chain delivery delays! Receive the ebook today. Paperbacks printed in the USA (also UK, Canada, Europe, and Australia.) Click now.

Tags: Science Fiction Anthologies, Action & Adventure Literary Fiction, Fiction Anthologies