MisCon

I had a wonderful time at MisCon this weekend! Highlights include:

(1) the "Predictive Power of Sci-Fi" panel with sci-fi luminaries Robert J. Sawyer, CJ Cherryh, David Gerrold and James Glass, where we mused over the role of science fiction as prediction engine, research lab for ideas, and early warning system.

(2) the fact that I sold out of all the Aurora Rising novels and the Short Stories Collection. MisCon attendees *love* their sci-fi!

(3) all the lovely writers and aspiring writers I got to know, and hopefully helped them out a little on the road to achieving their dreams.

(4) such incredible cosplay! The costumes rivaled anything you might see at a much larger con.

Midjourney AI Character Art, Asterion Edition

Midjourney has come a long way in a short time, hasn't it? Are these exact matches to how I see the characters in my head? Well, not *quite*, but it's so close, they make me happy.

The one issue I'm still having is that Midjourney really wants to make women look young; you have to brute force it to create an actual "adult." (*insert social commentary if you like*) And I did force it pretty hard for Maris, because she needs gravitas. ;)

OTOH, if you were immortal and could look however you wanted, wouldn't you want to look 23?

Babylon 5 Animated Movie

A Babylon 5 animated movie is happening! Actually it's already happened - it's fully filmed and pretty much ready to go. It's titled "B5: The Road Home."

"Travel across the galaxy with John Sheridan as he unexpectedly finds himself transported through multiple timelines and alternate realities in a quest to find his way back home. Along the way he reunites with some familiar faces, while discovering cosmic new revelations about the history, purpose, and meaning of the Universe.”

Well that sounds like quite the adventure! Virtually everyone is back. Of the living cast members, Bruce Boxleitner (Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Ivanova), Peter Jurasik (Londo), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Tracy Scoggins (Lochley), and Patricia Tallman (telepath Lyta Alexander) will appear. Many of the cast members who tragically died over the years will also see their characters return, with Delenn, G’Kar, security chief Garibaldi, Dr. Franklin, original Babylon 5 commander Jeffrey Sinclair, and the omnipresent Zathras all voiced by new actors.

It's a multiverse story, so it will be very interesting to see how all this plays out.

Though there is not an official release date announced, it appears that it will get an initial screening at San Diego Comic Con in late July, then presumably be available to stream (somewhere) shortly thereafter.

Podcast Appearance

Thanks to Ryan McHargue for hosting me on his "Geezers of the Game" podcast this week! Check it out here: https://link.chtbl.com/GotGPodcast.

If you subscribe to my Buy Me A Coffee program (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/gsjennsen), you get to listen to me ramble on about writing, space and sci-fi every month. But if not, here's a rare chance to do so.

We had such a fun and wide-ranging chat, from Medusa Falling to how Starshine changed my life, runaway characters and why sub-genre walls should be demolished, fan fiction, gaming, the bruises from practicing law, Pyper Down's awesomeness, my favorite scenes I've ever written, and my long-term plans for Amaranthe.

A Successful Failure

Starship flew Thursday morning! And for 4 minutes and 1 second, we watched the dawn of the future of human spaceflight.

...then stage separation failed and the ship experienced a Rapid Unplanned Disassembly.

Only in rocket testing can you have an incredible success and also a giant explosion, all on the same flight. SpaceX seems very happy with the test (clearing the pad without destroying it was apparently a big win, lol). Expect a second test launch in 1-2 months.

Image Credit: John Kraus (https://twitter.com/johnkrausp.../status/1649047541651210244)

Starship Launch Alert

The FAA has finally given its approval to SpaceX, and the first real Starship test launch is scheduled for next Monday morning! (If Monday doesn’t work out, there are additional launch windows on Tuesday and Wednesday).

Note: even if all goes perfectly, Starship will not quite reach Earth orbit in this test. Also, there’s a reasonable chance it will explode - Elon has been very honest about this. The Falcon 9 exploded a few times before it flew, too, and it’s now flown over 100 times.

Learn more about the test flight here: https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/04/green-light-go-spacex-receives-a-launch-license-from-the-faa-for-starship/, and you can watch it live on SpaceX’s YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5QXreqOrTA.

Cassiopeia A

Damn. The wonder of the universe, that a single star can create such powerful beauty.

Webb is having a * stellar * week. A new mid-infrared image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope provides one stunning example. It shows the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), created by a stellar explosion 340 years ago from Earth’s perspective.. Cas A is the youngest known remnant from an exploding, massive star in our galaxy, which makes it a unique opportunity to learn more about how such supernovae occur. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2023/webb-reveals-never-before-seen-details-in-cassiopeia-a

Originally posted on Twitter.

Driving While Writer

Further Adventures in "Driving While Writer"

Me: "Okay, Brain, we're going to be doing a lot of driving today, and you know what that means. We've still got some important plot threads to work out in Medusa Falling, and this will be an excellent opportunity to wrangle them into submission."

Brain: "Yep, yep. My subconscious is bustling with possibilities."

Me: "Terrific!"

Me: Cranks car, starts the music, pulls out of the driveway. "Brain, let's do this thing."

Brain: "Okay, hear me out. Alternative idea: let's instead relive the DUALITY Postscript, line by line, word by word, on an endless loop."

Me: ... ... "I can't find a flaw in this idea."

​

There are scenes I have written that will stay with me forever, that I can call up from memory, almost word for word, at any time. Most of them probably won't surprise you.

A non-exhaustive list: Alex and Caleb's fight after Alex is shot on Seneca in Starshine. Richard and Will's reconciliation in Vertigo. Alex's withdrawals after she severs her connection to the Siyane in Abysm. The last chapter of Rubicon. Nika's Plex assault on the Rasu stronghold in TSLG. Miriam's memories as she reawakens in a new body in Inversion. Eren's visit to the grave in Chaotica.

Needless to say, the last scene of Duality joined this Hall of Fame list the instant it was written. And there it will surely stay forever.

*Brain and I did get around to the Medusa Falling work, eventually.

*

Originally posted on Facebook.

Sunrise on Mars

Stunning morning clouds over Jezero Crater, captured by the Perseverance rover’s NavCams on March 18 (Sol 738). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Kevin M. Gill

As Professor of Physics Brian Cox so eloquently said: “A beautiful photograph of clouds in the Martian sky, 200 years after the first photograph was taken and just over a century after the first powered flight. We can do wonderful things when we put our minds to it.”

High-res version: https://flic.kr/p/2onS6xJ

Originally posted on Twitter.

That Magical Moment

I've talked before about the magical point where a book finally comes alive and transforms into a living, breathing entity. Where the characters become real and their words flow freely.

It's not a surprise that it took until the 2/3 point for this to happen with Medusa Falling. The worldbuilding scaffolding has been significant, and it took a lot of painstakingly extracted words for me to get to know the new characters and settings (Marlee's been just fine since the beginning ). But yay, now we're there!

I can't wait to share more about the world of Medusa Falling with you soon.

PS: In case you're wondering what Cosmic Shores is and what comes next for the Amaranthe universe, check out this blog post: https://www.gsjennsen.com/.../the-future-of-amaranthe...

Originally posted on Facebook.

What Is 'Alive'?

I came upon this conversation while working on the Rubicon hardback formatting. I took this screenshot last week - but then this weekend, I was having dinner with family, and we were talking about ChatGPT. Someone posed the question, "if something is designed by us, does that mean it can't be 'alive'?"

While no one (serious) today is suggesting that ChatGPT might be alive, there's going to come a day when we, like Alex, will need to answer this question. It's sure to be one hell of discussion.

Originally posted on Facebook.

Peregrine One

Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One is officially launching to the moon on May 4th (yes, yes, May the Fourth Be With You). This mission is near and dear to my heart, as many of my short stories will be onboard the lander! Along with the works of many other writers, artists and musicians), as part of the Lunar Codex project. I’m very excited.

Originally posted on Twitter.

SPSFC Semifinalist Kindle Sale

** SPSFC SEMIFINALIST SALE: FEBRUARY 20-24 **

My fellow authors and I are so excited to have made it to the semi-finalist round of the SPSFC competition, we decided to give away the winning books for pennies (or no pennies). (Yes, yes, Machina was already free - the sentiment is still there ).

While the sub-genres vary, from space opera to hopepunk to cyberpunk to YA to humor to military sf and more, one thing you can count on in this sale is that you will be getting an entertaining, superbly written book - it wouldn't be here otherwise. So download without fear!

Sale ends Friday, so also don't dally: https://tinyurl.com/spsfc2

Brief Haitus

I wanted to give you all a heads up that there likely won’t be many SMBH posts for a little while. I have an ailing mother, and I’m going home to spend some time with her for a few weeks. While I’m out of town, my social media posts will be somewhat sparse. But if I do post something awesome, I’ll be sure to share it with you.

Be back soon!