Triumphant Thursday - 5/14/15

Welcome to Triumphant Thursdays!

Triumphant Thursday is a look at several things I've found in the last week that are just awesome. We celebrate victories, both individual and globally. I share my own and those of others.

First, one of mine:

CHAINS OF PROPHECY WINS ANOTHER AWARD!

Chains of Prophecy, my first published novel, won the Hidden Gem Awards for Supernatural Fiction! The competition was strong, but out of five finalists CoP emerged victorious! Go Sam!

You can check out Scookie's review of Chains of Prophecy, as well as the other finalists, at the link below.

Scookie Reviews: Hidden Gem Awards: 1st Place: #1 The Chains of Prophecy Jason P. Crawford When Samuel Buckland discovers he's descended of a powerful bloodline, he must fi...

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AUDI GENERATES CARBON-NEUTRAL RENEWABLE FUEL!

The German car company Audi has created a form of diesel they call "e-diesel." This fuel is generated from water and atmospheric carbon dioxide, resulting in fuel that doesn't contribute to climate change - in other words, it's carbon neutral. Audi only has one plant capable of making this fuel at present, but they hope to expand soon and quickly. You can read all about it at the link below.

This is fantastic because it's another avenue away from burning fossil fuels. Scientific consensus demands that humanity find another way to sustain itself or we will make Earth uninhabitable for our species. This is a step in the right direction. Good job, Audi!

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1097961_audi-produces-e-diesel-fuel-from-water-co2-renewable-energy

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DID NASA CREATE WARP DRIVE? MAYBE, MAYBE NOT, BUT IT'S EXCITING!

You may have heard about the possible breakthrough from NASA: a fuelless propulsion system that may be breaking some of the fundamental laws of physics, allowing objects to travel faster than the speed of light (not yet, but once the tech is expanded out). The measured thrust is low so far, only a few micronewtons of force, but the potential is immeasurable. If this tech bears fruit, we could be looking at trips to Mars in a few days, and interstellar travel could become a possibility. Check out the original discovery below.

http://www.iflscience.com/space/warp-drives-mars-and-back-time-lunch

Of course, not everyone agrees that we should be jumping up and down. Science requires verification and caution, and some of those protocols have not yet been met.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ethansiegel/2015/05/04/no-nasa-did-not-accidentally-invent-warp-drive/

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I'd love to hear your thoughts on any and all of the Triumphs this Thursday!

Happy reading!

What Are You Reading Wednesdays - 5/13/15

What Are You Reading Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Its A Reading Thing. Be sure to stop by and visit them! To participate, just answer these three questions about what you are reading this Wednesday. If you have a blog, feel free to leave a link to your post, or just leave your answers in the comments below.

The Questions are:

1. What’s the name of your current read?

2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share one complete sentence.

3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

My Answers:

1. I'm not reading a fiction book at present, so I'll use the last one I read: No Reflection by Spencer Hughes.

2. "I AM GOING TO THROW UP!"

3. ...Yes? I'm going to say yes. Even though Hughes has created a world full of supernatural horrors...there's magic in it, and wonder, and I would like to live in a world where that existed, even if it was more dangerous and I had to fight.

Thanks for reading! You can sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/WKiav and receive a free copy of my award-winning novel Chains of Prophecy!

Now offering editing services

So I'm putting myself out there as a freelance editor.

Here are my basic rates:
$1.50/page: proofreading (this includes grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc)
$2.00/page: copyediting (this includes the above plus rewording sentences, suggesting new adjectives, inconsistencies, etc). This will also entail the creation of a style sheet for later editors to use.
$4.00/page: developmental editing (this includes comments about what in your story is working, which scenes should be expanded/cut, etc).

I'm happy to work with our indie authors on installment payments, and all of my proofreading/copyediting is backed up by a guarantee. If you find any mistakes, I'll go back in and fix it again at no extra charge.

I know it's hard to find good, cost-effective editors as an independent author...and not all of us can do it ourselves. If you're interested, you can contact me at jnewmanwriting@gmail.com. Please use the subject line EDITING REQUEST so I can easily sort the emails.

Thanks, and keep writing!

Elpis #5

The screen flickered as the computer transmitted the command to the ship itself. Lights flicked on everywhere, and the humming of the engines increased. The drifting beads of water that had escaped climate control so far fell to the ground in a pitter-patter, and she felt the weight of gravity settle about her neck and shoulders once again.

“Acknowledged. Subjects will be awake within four hours, with a five percent margin of error.”

“Right.” Irina leaned down, switched off her boots, and stepped out of her pod’s alcove into the cramped hallway. “Now, remind me how to get to the bridge.”

Soundless Screaming

Nadr al-Sahir leaned against the elevator wall, his eyes closed, thinking, remembering. He turned his head and glanced once more at his tablet’s display, where the message from the Head of Security still burned.

“All primary colonists, report to the main briefing room at once. Do not discuss anything with anyone else. I will explain what’s going on when you arrive.

-Irina Dovenka, CDR

His first instinct had been to query the computer for information, for data, but everything was locked out by Dovenka, and none of his passcodes would get through.

“Don’t discuss with anyone else?” Nadr shook his head. He had passed a few others on the way out, in various states of dress and preparation, but had held to the order, giving a cursory nod as he moved on. “That doesn’t make any sense. Something must have happened.”

Maybe we’re adrift in space. It’s not like you’d be able to feel it. He wiped away the sweat beading on his brow. Or we got lost. Navigation malfunctioned. Maybe…

Elpis #4

She dropped the tablet back onto the shelf and grabbed her electric pistol and holster, belting the weapon on before picking the computer up again. “Where are we?”

“Current location is approximately…”

“No, never mind. How long until we arrive at Elpis?”

“Orbit expected to occur in seventeen hours, twenty-three minutes, with a seven percent margin of error.”

“Fine.” Seventeen hours. That’s not long to figure out what’s going on. She tapped her foot against the floor, boot ringing on metal. Okay. Calm. By the book.

“What caused the deaths?”

“Cryogenic pods initiated wake-up procedures without draining stasis fluid or altering external environment. As a consequence, all subjects involved were unable to escape the pod, and, due to their heightened metabolic rates, asphyxiated within minutes.”

Irina rubbed her forehead with her free hand. “Holy hell. They drowned?”

“Yes.”

The only thing that could have done that is the computer itself. Someone must have screwed with the computer, told it what to do…but how?

She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment.

“Give me the list of the primary colonization wave.”

The tablet complied, displaying the colonists who were to be awakened first to initiate the colonization effort. In addition to the command crew, there were one-hundred specialists in various fields—technicians, scientists, economists, mechanics, engineers—that would be responsible for setting up the new colony infrastructure before rousing the rest.

All right. Need to know basis. We’ve got seventeen hours before we get there.

“Initiate awakening procedures for the primary colonization wave. Authorization code Bravo Delta.”

Elpis #3

Could be worse. She ran her hand through her close-cut brown hair. Got off easy.

She turned away from the mirror, stepping out into the hallway.

“Wha…wait a minute. What’s going on?”

This section of the ship was close-fitting, cryogenic pods stacked in one atop the other. Over a hundred colonists and crew slept away the journey across the Milky Way in stasis. The electrical activity required to keep the pods running charged the atmosphere in the area, smelling of ozone and iron. She narrowed her eyes.

“There should be more people awake.” Irina moved to the next pod, her eyes scanning over the data readouts—heart rate, oxygen consumption, core body temperature. All indicated deep hibernation.

“Commander.” The voice came from her personal tablet, still in its holder in the cabinet. “You have received an automated message with a priority of Urgent. Are you prepared to receive it?”

Irina stopped, turning, her lips thin. She swallowed, squared her shoulders, and marched toward the tablet, picking it up. “Yes.”

A green light flashed across her eyes, confirming her identity, and then the message appeared on the screen. One of Irina’s hands went to her mouth of its own volition as she read.

Urgent: Captain, ISS Venture

CC: Commander of Security, ISS Venture.

Critical System Failure Log: 12:47 GMT, 10 Jun 2416

Complete Pod Failure

 Irina scanned down the list of affected pods. This…this is the entire command crew, from the captain down to the communications tech. She shook her head, checked again. What the hell is going on?

Elpis #2

Have we already arrived? The shaking lessened, and she stretched out her hand, testing it, flexing her fingers as she watched the distorted images collapse into recognizable patterns. She blinked new tears out of her eyes, then put her hand down and turned her head.

The pod had opened to the inner environment of the ship. The glass walls no longer obscured the view; instead, Irina had a clear picture of everything around her.

“Body temperature reaching 35 degrees. Neural recovery satisfactory. One minute to completion of procedure.” Electrodes released their hold on her head, retracting on small metal cables into the pod.

Irina put her hands underneath her body. The platform was warm, and her skin had shed the ice water left over from the cryogenic sleep. The shivering stopped, and she felt strength returning to her muscles. The restraints withdrew, and she floated several inches above the platform.

“Procedure complete. Welcome back, Commander Dovenka.”

Irina pushed herself up, feeling the tendons flex and the ligaments stretch as she moved. Now upright, she reached for the nearby cabinet labeled with her name, opening the doors to reveal clothes and dry rations, a drawer for personal effects, and a portable tablet computer. She dressed, smoothing the uniform over her body. Her fingers felt clumsy, slow, and buttoning her shirt took a few more tries than expected.

Last, she powered on the magnetic boots, and they pulled her to the floor, attaching to the ship with enough force to hold her in place.

Irina examined her reflection in the mirror, poking at the bruises, the dark patches, the irritated areas that indicated the monitoring sites.