Bookmarks & Spacesuits

I know that seems a rather unlikely combination, but I have news about both so that's the common denominator.

First of all, I have new bookmarks for Another Shot! The people who made the bookmarks for Outsider did such an excellent job that I went back to them ... and they didn't disappoint. They didn't need to change the design very much, but the color is royal purple instead of dark blue. I chose that because there's a tiny bit of purple in the cover image and the purple background really brings it out. I think it works. Unlike the first bookmarks, these include my blog address and Facebook page, so people can find me if they want to do that. (By the way, I tried to scan a bookmark so I could show part of it to you, but the scanner doesn't like it and keeps distorting the color.) I'll be handing out the bookmarks at various events and I'll probably donate some to the local library. What better place to find people who might use a bookmark?

I discovered the other news today on cnn.com: you can now vote for the design of the next NASA spacesuit! That's right: there are three potential designs and they want you to vote for one. However, when I read more carefully at the site, I learned that these suits will only be used for testing here on Earth, not in space. (So why call them spacesuits? Hmmmm... These will lead to the next design, which could be used in space, I guess.) Anyway, if you want to check out the three designs, they're here: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/z2/  (If you have trouble seeing the designs, refresh the page.) I'm leaning toward the Technology design, but I haven't voted yet. Feel free to leave a comment about which one you like or dislike the most. By the way, you can only vote until April 15, so vote soon!

Thanks again for your support.

Closet Spaceship Part 5

(Here's the latest installment of how I introduced myself to Captain Lamont and his crew. While you read it, think about what makes a good or bad leader. That's one of the big themes in Another Shot.)

I wasn’t too happy about leaving Outsider, not only because I didn’t get to see the looks on their faces when I vanished. I was also a little worried about my reception if I ever went back … and I fully intended to go back.

Would they shoot me on sight? No, I knew enough about them to trust that they wouldn’t do that. But how would they react?

And when should I go back? I mean, when in their time: right after I left?

After mulling it over for a few days, I decided to give them a day or two to think it over. Then I gave Mac specific instructions before we set out.

When Captain Lamont decided to turn in that evening, he found me in his cabin, sitting on the sofa. He hesitated in the doorway, but I did my best to appear non-threatening so he entered the room. He left the door ajar, though.

“I see that having armed guards in the corridor wasn’t effective,” he said as he took a seat at the desk across the room. He set his radio on the desk, within reach.

“Sorry,” I said. “Listen to me: if you tell me never to come back, I’ll do what you ask. But here’s the thing: I just won’t be visible. I’ll still be around, but you won’t be able to see me.”

He frowned.

“Oh, come on,” I said. “Obviously not when anyone’s in the shower or stuff like that. And I don’t do sex scenes.”

That much is true, I’m sorry to say. That’s probably why sales aren’t a little better.

His frown was still there.

“I don’t like spies,” he said.

“Yes, I understand,” I said, “but authors don’t really have a choice, do they? They have to watch someone or what will they write about? You’re just unfortunate that I discovered you and your crew, that’s all.”

 

       He thought it over and I sincerely feared he was going to tell me to never come back.

(Remember to tell your friends and family about Outsider and Another Shot. Spread the word about my blog and Facebook page. I'm counting on you!)

Little-Known Facts about Another Shot

As you've probably noticed, Another Shot is a little longer than Outsider. That's partially because Another Shot started out as two novels. As you're reading it, see if you can tell where the original break was.

The first of the two novels wasn't bad, but the second one was too short and I didn't want to do some major padding, so that meant only one thing: major cutting. I must have cut almost 100 pages from them, which wasn't easy, believe me! It's seriously hard to cut a scene you love with your whole heart. I had a conversation between Booth and Hawkins that I still miss, but it just didn't work—so out it went.

I found the name of the series totally by accident. I was flipping through a dictionary when I stumbled upon a line drawing of the sun, Earth and the moon. There were intersecting lines drawn between the edges of the sun and Earth, and on the far side of Earth there were three shadows: one dark triangle in the middle with two lighter gray triangles on either side. These lighter triangles were labeled the penumbra, the area between the darkest shadow and the light. The area between the dark and the light!! That perfectly sums up one of the big images of my novels, where Lamont is trying to guide his crew closer to the light and farther from the darkness that threatens to engulf them. I still can't believe how lucky I was to discover that just by turning some pages of a rather large book.

I've partially recreated the image below, with color and without the moon. During a lunar eclipse, the moon would orbit around Earth and pass through the first penumbra, then the umbra, then the second penumbra before emerging into the light.

A version of this drawing is what I used to create my Penumbra Series logo, which you can see on my Facebook page. It will probably pop up in other places, too.

Unfortunately, I've discovered there's a Penumbra Series horror adventure game that gives you some pretty scary images if you Google "Penumbra," so beware of that. I am in no way associated with that game, just to be clear, and I named my novel series before I knew about it.

Please spread the word about Outsider and Another Shot. There's a button at the bottom of the page that should let you Like or Share this blog if you're on Facebook. Otherwise, word of mouth is very good, too!  Thanks for your support.



 

Facebook Revisited

It seems that sometimes I needlessly worry about things and then they turn out to be not quite as scary as I first thought. Does that ever happen to you?

I wanted to create a simple URL for my Facebook page, but they wanted me to take a few steps that I didn't want to take. After seeking advice and receiving it from a very good source, I decided to take the leap. (As my hero, Ray Bradbury, would say, I jumped off the cliff and built my wings on the way down.)

The result is this: www.facebook.com/DianeMcCallumAuthor  That's a lot better than the last URL, isn't it? I certainly don't miss all those numbers!
(Thanks to my very good source! You know who you are.)

I know that changing a Facebook URL is not the biggest achievement in one's life (I've had many that were bigger), but it's one step in a long process. I felt I needed to take this step in order to move on to the next, which is important. Keep moving, keep trying.

Now that I've done that, I'd like to ask you for a favor: tell your friends on Facebook about my page. Let's build up those Likes and spread the word about Outsider and Another Shot. Thanks for your support!

Cold

Southeast Kansas is in a Winter Storm Warning this weekend so I thought I'd better post before things get interesting. (For those of you who've seen the movie Serenity, not THAT interesting!)

As amazed as I am that it's already March, I'm one of many Americans who are tired of cold weather.

     "I hate the cold," Hawkins said, and then he disappeared into the swirling snow.

That's from Another Shot and it has more than one meaning: in this case, "cold" refers to both the weather and the relationship between two people. Hawkins can't control the first, but he's done what he can to repair the second.

As I was thinking about cold weather this weekend, I happened to reread a Ray Bradbury story that really summed up what it means to be cold and alone:

        "One day many years ago a man walked along and stood in the sound
     of the ocean on a cold sunless shore and said, 'We need a voice to call
     across the water, to warn ships; I'll make one. I'll make a voice like all of
     time and all of the fog that ever was; I'll make a voice that is like an empty
     bed beside you all night long, and like an empty house when you open the
     door, and like trees in autumn with no leaves. A sound like the birds flying
     south, crying, and a sound like November wind and the sea on the hard,
     cold shore. I'll make a sound that's so alone that no one can miss it, that
     whoever hears it will weep in their souls, and hearths will seem warmer,
     and being inside will seem better to all who hear it in the distant towns. I'll
     make me a sound and an apparatus and they'll call it a Fog Horn and
     whoever hears it will know the sadness of eternity and the briefness of life.'"

That is from "The Fog Horn" (The Golden Apples of the Sun And Other Stories, New York, Harper Perennial, 2001).  If you can, read the whole story sometime. It's an amazing work.

And writing like that is why Ray Bradbury is my inspiration (yes, that's him on my dedication page).

Stay warm.