Monday, February 10, 2014

There's far too many updates to share to fool around with small talk, so I'll get right to it:

• Line editing is nearly complete, and I have updated "Coming Soon" to "Coming March 2014" across the internet - so I suppose I'd better deliver ;). It won't be the 1st of the month, but I'm feeling confident Starshine will be published in March!

• Facebook Author Page is now live: Facebook/GSJennsen. Likes, shares and comments are most welcome :).

• I've updated the "About" page with...a photo! Yes, I am a real, live human being and not a highly sophisticated VI. See?

• The front page has been substantially revised (both content and design). Fewer words, more punch. It now fairly closely mirrors what will likely be the back cover of the paperback.

• New Blog Post: Asking Less (and More) of People

• Chapters 1 and 2 have seen a few minor revisions - nothing significant enough for you to rush off and reread them, but when you do get the novel, I'd recommend starting at the beginning.

• The Blog Roll has been updated to add the lovely Maer Wilson, a terrific urban fantasy/paranormal/scifi author.

• As we get closer to publication, I will be sharing little tweet-sized quotes from Starshine as teasers on Twitter, so if you want to get a peek at those, follow me at @GSJennsen.

Spoiler-free, no-context excerpt from Part IV for your enjoyment:

~

Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Jenner paced in front of the CO chair as the seconds counted down to the shift from superluminal to normal impulse propulsion. They would be at full ready when the transition occurred, as always.

He had been the commanding officer of the EAS Juno for all of twenty-three days, and ready state still made him twitchy. It wasn’t like commanding ground forces, where you could hear and smell and sense the situation you were heading into—where even as a commander you had a weapon in your hand and at least the illusion of control over your own fate.

Here, standing on the deck of a starship in the void of space, he could request information and give orders, but do little else to affect his fate or that of his men. It was one reason he disliked space, but only the latest one.

He had tried to comprehend the appeal, to grasp the wonder and amazement others felt toward the stars. For Alex, he had tried. But he had failed.

It wasn't as if he was a luddite; he embraced humanity’s continued advancement as much as anyone. He simply preferred the sensation of soil beneath his feet and wind in his hair, of fresh, non-recycled air which carried on it the scent and taste of life. He preferred what was solid and real, where if you could see it you could touch it, feel its texture between the tips of your fingers. As far as he knew, no one had ever touched a star.

Not even her.

~

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