Upcoming interview

I've been interviewed by author Michelle Pillow. The interview will appear in her blog on May 5, 2009. She posts "silly interviews" there each Tuesday, so don't expect anything heavy. They're meant to be fun as well as informative.

If you want a head start on the interview, there's one coming next week, February 24, 2009, with romance author Keta Diablo. And another one the Tuesday after that and the Tuesday after that, and...you get the idea.

In my interview, I talk about the inspiration for my upcoming novel, Sunrise Destiny, as well as the last place on Earth I'd want to live, what fictional character I'd like a date with (and what we'd do on that date), and more. I hope to see you there on May 5th!

Mark.

Sci-Fi or science?

It's amazing how many sci-fi concepts later become real science. Some science fiction writer dreams up an idea (such as Arthur C. Clarke writing about orbital satellites) and someone comes along later and says, "Hey! Let's see if we can do that!"

How about the "death rays" of '30s/'40s pulp novels? Now we have lasers. Okay, not in handgun form, but the technology exists and the military is looking for ways to weaponize it (shooting down missiles, jets, and satellites, for example).

Those pulps also brought us spaceships rocketing across the galaxy. We aren't quite there yet, but only a few decades later, we did manage to land on the moon.

Star Trek communicators inspired engineers to develop cellphones (which, ironically, are smaller and more futuristic than those dreamed up for the 22nd-century TV series).

Sci-fi also brought us lifelike holographic images. Although we do have primitive video holograms today, we're not quite there yet. On the other hand, another promising offshoot from the concept is holographic storage. Companies are already coming out with storage devices that use holograms to store data in three dimensions, offering the potential for quantum leaps in storage capacity and speed. Rumor has it that the next generation Nintendo gaming console will use holographic storage. (Here's a video that explains the concept in layman's terms.)

And now a scientist has developed something much like a Star Trek "dermal regenerator." It's a handheld laser device that promises to seal up skin with less leakage than with sutures, and less scarring to boot!

As far back as as 1895, authors have been writing about "beanstalks," "skyhooks," and "space elevators" as means of getting from the Earth into space without needing a spaceship. The latest thinking in space elevator technology involves high-tech materials like carbon nanotubes and boron nanotubes, which didn't even exist two decades ago. Now scientists are trying to drum up backing for projects to build these elevators within the next 30-50 years. Theoretically, this technology could lower the cost of getting cargo into orbit from millions of dollars per pound to tens of dollars.

But that's not all. Because spaceships won't need to take off and land on Earth's surface (which requires enormous expenditures of fuel), ships can be made smaller (or have more cargo capacity in the same volume). Even better, because the space elevators are in geosynchronous orbit, they offer the ability to serve as rocket boosters, using the Earth's centrifugal force to sling ships and unmanned cargo at great velocity. This promises to shorten travel times to other planets (and back, if we build space elevators on the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere).

Worried about this huge elevator falling to earth and killing millions? Don't be. If the cable(s) break, the centrifugal force on the counterweight out in space will cause everything above the break to be hurled upward and outward. The part of the cable below the break will fall to earth. But because the paper-thin ribbon cable is made of carbon nanotubes (i.e., flammable), much of it will burn up on reentry. The lower part will indeed reach the ground, but with the impact of dozens of miles of fluttering, unrolled toilet paper, not steel girders.

Cool stuff! And all brought to you from the minds of science fiction writers.

Mark.

P.S. For novels involving space elevators, written in different decades, see Arthur C. Clarke's The Fountains of Paradise and Charles Sheffields' The Web Between the Worlds (both published in 1979), Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars/Green Mars/Blue Mars trilogy (1990s), and my own The Mars Imperative (2007).

Inspiration in writing

Check out my guest blog on the IWOFA (Infinite Worlds of Fantasy Authors) blog. The subject is writing inspiration.

Mark.

Commonly misused/misspelled words and phrases (Part 79)

It's been a while, but here are some more words to watch out for:

Verbage vs. Verbiage

Wrong: We need to strip some of this verbage out of the proposal.

Right: We need to strip some of this verbiage out of the proposal.

Verbiage (VER-bee-ij) can be either a profusion of meaningless words, or a manner of expressing oneself in writing. Verbage (VER-bij) is simply a misspelling and mispronunciation of verbiage.

From whence vs. Whence

Wrong: Be gone demon! Return from whence you came!

Right: Be gone demon! Return whence you came!

Because whence means “from when,” saying from whence is redundant.

More soon. I promise!

Mark.

Blog Talk Radio chat with Kim Smith

If you missed my chat yesterday (Sunday, Feb. 8) with fellow author Kim Smith, you can listen to the podcast at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kims.

We chatted for about half an hour about my novels (The Mars Imperative, The Tesserene Imperative, and the upcoming Sunrise Destiny) and the writing processes she and I use in writing our stories.

For more about my books and short stories (including the new anthology containing one of my shorts) go to my website.

Mark.

I'll be chatting on Internet Voices Radio on Tue., Feb. 3

On Tuesday, February 3, 2009, I’ll be chatting on Internet Voices Radio with several other authors. Beginning at 10:00 a.m. (eastern time, U.S.). The topic will be fantasy heroes. Please join us at http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/CrazyTuesday.htm.

I’ll be talking about my upcoming novel, Sunrise Destiny.

Joining me on the program will be fellow authors:

Emily Bryan, author of light-hearted, sexy historical romance romps: http://www.emilybryan.com/

Lillian Cauldwell, author of paranormal young adult (YA) tales, including the Anna Mae Mysteries, including The Golden Treasure.

Rowena Cherry author of "racy, wildly entertaining futuristic romance", the most recent being Knight's Fork, about a queen in need of a discreet sperm donor.

Sara Taney Humphreys author of paranormal romance novels, including the Amoveo series: www.myspace.com/amoveoromanceseries

Brenna Lyons, author of milieu-heavy dark fiction, mainly science fiction, fantasy and horror, straight genre, romance and erotic crosses, poetry, articles and essays, including In her Ladyship’s Service.

Kellyann Zuzulo, author of the award-winning supernatural thriller A Genie in the House of Saud: Zubis Rises.

Mark.