Science of the Week, 4/29/16

Here are some of the most interesting science news stories I read this week:

Brain's immune system may trigger dementia

Foxes on one of California's Channel Islands have least genetic variation of all wild animals

Despite their small brains, ravens are just as clever as chimps

Used Paperback Prices

As older books get converted to eBooks, I occasionally replace one of my paperbacks with a Kindle version. I have limited shelf space in my office and too many things in my house, so I look at it as decluttering.

Sunday morning, an ad for Scissors Cut Paper Wrap Stone by Ian McDonald appeared in Bookbub. I clicked on the Amazon link to download a sample. Several formats appeared on the product page, and I was astonished by the price of the paperback (see screen capture from Sunday below):

 Here's the screen capture of the actual listing (notice there's no picture of the book):

 I admit my first thought was to put my own copy up for sale and use the proceeds to fund my publishing/marketing efforts. Here's what my copy (from 1994) looks like:



My name is written on the first page (I used to do that to all my paperbacks), and the book is a bit yellowed, but otherwise I'd say it's in Good condition. The spine is unbent, though you can't see it in this picture.

Before putting my book up for sale, though, I thought I should see what price it commands on other markets, like eBay. Unfortunately, there was a slight price discrepancy, as you can see in the screen capture below:

So if a signed copy is listed at $7, I don't know how the Amazon 3rd party seller came up with a price of $520. I'm tempted to contact the seller and ask, but that might stir up more trouble than I want to get into.

Normally when I want to get rid of old books, I bring them to Half Price Books. I think I used to get a dollar a paperback in the 1990s, but they offer much less now. I'd probably make more money selling them on eBay, though I wouldn't be able to ship them promptly due to other demands on my time.

Do you buy or sell old books? What's the most you've spent for an old book? Is there a certain book you've been unable to find? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

Seasons' Beginnings Now Permafree Everywhere!

I think the title pretty much says it all. I had to contact KDP Customer Service to get them to price match Apple, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble, but now Seasons' Beginnings is free on Amazon as well. Come read about an artificer whose love for a woman chosen by a Goddess draws him into a war between gods. (And then go check out the next two books in the Season Avatars series: Scattered Seasons and Chaos Season.)

Science of the Week, 4/22/16

Here are some of the most interesting science news articles I read this week:

Paleontologists find first fossil monkey in North America--but how did it get there?

Aging too fast (I think parenting contributes to aging too)

Study on worm, mice fertility could lead to the "pill" for men

"Trickle of food" helped deep-sea creatures survive asteroid strike that wiped out dinosaurs

Brain scan method may help detect autism

Dinosaurs "already in decline" before asteroid apocalypse

Our limbs may have evolved from sharks' gills

Edible coatings able to extend the shelf-life of fish and seafood products

Hair analysis is a flawed forensic technique

1.5C vs 2C global warming: New study shows why half a degree matters

Have a good weekend, everyone, and see you Monday!

Chaos Season--Cover Reveal and Preorder

Maria Zannini of The Book Diva just put the finishing touches on the cover of Chaos Season. At last I can reveal it to you:

I particularly like the way the deathbush loops over the spine. Thanks, Maria!

As if the cover reveal isn't exciting enough, Chaos Season is now available on Amazon, Kobo, and iTunes for preorder! (Preorder should be available soon for Barnes and Noble.) I originally planned to publish this book on the summer solstice, but since then I decided to make it available a little earlier so readers can post reviews before I post ads for the summer solstice. (If I'm able to get the proof edited quickly enough, I may have paper books available at WisCon. Keep your fingers crossed!) Price is $3.99 for the ebook. Sorry, no introductory price special this time, but there may be some for the first two books in the series.

Come back soon for more book news!

Shakespeare and My Stories

According to Goodreads, this is the start of Shakespeare Week. Goodreads has some activities planned on their site, but they didn't appeal to me. Instead, I thought it would be more interesting to talk about how Shakespeare has influenced my work.

Shakespeare borrowed many of his plots, and in turn many other writers have borrowed his plays and lines. One way to borrow a play is to transfer it to a different setting. Twinned Universes takes Hamlet to a spaceship traveling through a wormhole to a parallel universe. The protagonist, Paul Harrison, is a young actor who dreams of playing Hamlet some day and quotes constantly from Shakespeare. When Paul's mother dies, he's convinced his great-uncle is behind the death, even though his friends and family think him a little mad for doing so. They even want him to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Rose Stern. (Yes, that name is a deliberate reference to Rosenkrnatz and Guildenstern.) How does Paul plan to test his suspicion? Why, by staging a play to catch "the conscience of the king," of course. Does Paul's story end in tragedy like Hamlet's? You'll have to read Twinned Universes to find out.

I'm not sure if Romeo and Juliet is more famous or popular than Hamlet, but it's definitely a very well-known play. In "Letters to Psyche," I explored the history between the two feuding families and brought Cupid and Psyche into the mix. An earlier romance between the Montagues and Capulets goes awry, and Cupid learns much about humans as the curse affects generations of the two families.

Sometimes it's good to get away from tragedy and enjoy a little comedy, as I did with a Beatles fanfic story called (I think) "A Hard Midsummer's Night." The Beatles actually performed a skit from the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream." You can catch it on YouTube:



My story had the Fab Four tangling with the fairies from the play--with some not so fab results. I think this appeared in an issue of Indie Writers Monthly, which no longer seems to be available. Maybe when I revive my mailing list, I can share this story with subscribers as a bonus.

Do you love or loathe Shakespeare? Even if you don't like the original plays, are there pop culture references to Shakespeare that you like? Feel free to share them in the comments.

Science of the Week, 4/15/16

Here are some of the most interesting science news articles I read this week:

Neanderthals may have been infected by diseases carried out of Africa by humans, say researchers

Children of older mothers do better (good news for my son)

Why do people with Alzheimer's stop recognizing their loved ones?

Zika virus may now be tied to another brain disease

Millions of maternal and child lives could be saved every year for less than $5 per person

Friends or not? Just a second of laughter can reveal relationship status

Spreading seeds by human migration

Why relationships fail, according to science

Our universe is expanding a lot faster than we thought

Scientists have constructed a single-atom engine

This algae-based water bottle degrades when it's empty


Have a good weekend, and I'll see you Monday!

Indie Author Fringe

Indie Author Fringe, a free online conference for indie writers, is occurring on Friday. This is actually one of three online conferences for indie writers this year; all of them are scheduled to tie in to major book conventions. Speakers include Mark Coker, Joanna Penn, Joel Friedlander, David Gaughran, and many more. (Here's the link to the full schedule, including speakers and times.) Although I'll be working during the conference, the panels will be available online afterward. There's also an Opening Line Competition that you can enter through Saturday, April 16; full details are available here. I don't know yet if the conference sponsors will be giving any prizes away, but after last year's indie conference IngramSpark provided a special code to all registered members. Using this code, I was able to set up my paper books on IngramSpark without paying the normal fee.

Do you think you'll register for the Indie Author Fringe? If so, what panels look most interesting to you? (I'm most interested in cover design, promotion, and e-mail lists). Feel free to share your thoughts below.

(Not) Dozing with the Dinos

My son, Alex, has always enjoyed museums. The Field Museum is one of his favorites, so we go there every few months (we're members, which helps). The Field Museum has a special kids overnight program called Dozing with the Dinos. When I checked the schedule last July, I noticed they had a Saturday date in April, so I bought tickets right away. After months of waiting, we finally got to attend this event this weekend.

We ate an early dinner and arrived at the Field Museum shortly before six. The majority of attendees were groups such as Boy/Girl Scouts and church groups. After checking in, we staked out a spot in the Hall of Dinosaurs, close to this sauropod bone. We paid extra to sleep in the Evolving Planet exhibit and go on a behind-the-scenes tour.

After orientation, we went on our tour with Dr. Crystal Maier (I hope I remembered the name correctly). She's the curator of the insect collection at the Field Museum and an expert on a small beetle that lives in clear water. She showed us several types of beetles and butterflies, including this case of morpho butterflies below.

 Following the tour, there was some time left to attend a few workshops. Alex got to dissect an owl pellet, see dinosaur bones, and handle some live insects. Then we got a snack, which was big enough to qualify as a bag lunch. The snack included a half sandwich (two types to choose from), an apple, a cookie, and a juice box. After snack, we had time to roam the museum on our own. Alex enjoyed going through the exhibits with a flashlight. We also bought some souvenirs and watched staff prepare a (fake) Egyptian mummy. By that point, it was getting late, so we decided to call it a night.

 We all brought inflatable air mattresses with us, but unfortunately Alex's had a leak. We also discovered that our location was next to a well-light hall. As Eugene put it, we had the brightest nightlight in the museum. I think I managed to get some sleep, but I was out of bed before the official wake-up time. We packed everything up before heading downstairs for breakfast: muffins, bagels, cereal, juice, and milk. Although we were entitled to free admission once the museum officially opened, we had other things to do. So we left and arrived home by 9:30, at which point I promptly went to bed for an hour. Eugene took a nap later as well.

Alex has already asked if we can go again next year, so I'll get tickets as soon as they're available. And next year, we'll all have better air mattresses and pick a quieter, darker location to sleep.

Science of the Week, 4/8/16

Here are some of the most interesting science news stories I read this week:

Will babies "deal with the devil"? Only when price is right

Reprogramming gut bacteria as "living therapeutics"

New laser technique promises super-fast and super-secure quantum technology

How the brain processes emotions

A programming language for living cells

How to bring solar power to the masses

Biotech breakthrough: Sunlight can be used to produce chemicals and energy

IWSG--When to Take a Break

It's time again for the monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group post. You can learn more about the IWSG on this site, and the co-hosts this month are listed below:

 Megan Morgan
Christopher D. Votey
Viola Fury
Christine Rains
Madeline Mora-Summonte
L.G. Keltner
Patricia Lynne
Rachna Chhabria 



Sometimes there are points in a project where I feel I have to force myself to put words down. Maybe I'm not sure what to write next, or maybe there are issues with the story contributing to writer's block. There's nothing wrong with taking a break to clear your head or even switching to another project for a while. Just make sure the break doesn't go on too long. Still, there have been short stories of mine that took several drafts with long breaks in between before I got them right. In fact, I do have a couple of stories that have been simmering on the back burner. It's hard to find the time to work on them when I have so many other projects that are important too. I hope that when I finish drafting the Season Avatars series, I can finish up some short stories before tackling my next long work.

Do long breaks from your work recharge your batteries or cause you to lose momentum? Feel free to share in the comments.

Chaos Seasons in the Real World

If you were in the Chicago area on Saturday, you probably noticed the drastic weather changes. All day, the weather swung back and forth between sun and snow. At times, the snow came down quite heavily, and there were also a few occasions where it was balled up like hail. On Sunday, however, temperatures climbed into the 70s. The weather reminded me of what I call Chaos Season, a magical weather storm that mixes up the seasons in the world of my Season Avatars series. Chaos Season doesn't only affect the weather, but also plants and animals. Flowers will blossom at the wrong time of the year, and birds will start to migrate. If the Season Avatars weren't able to straighten out the seasons, Challen would soon become an inhospitable place.

As the weather proved this weekend, drastic weather changes happen in the real world too. Here's a link to an article detailing some extreme weather changes. In 1943, a town in South Dakota experienced a nearly 50-degree temperature change in two minutes. In 1972, in Loma, Montana, the temperature rose 103ºF (from -54ºF to 49ºF) in 24 hours. Oklahoma City experienced a record high and record low on the same day in 1911. You can find more weather records on Wikipedia and CNN.

The strange weather on Saturday was good for one thing: it encouraged me to stay home and finish the rough draft of Fifth Season, Book Four in the Season Avatars series. Now it's on to drafting Book Five, Summon the Seasons. I also have to incorporate comments from beta readers and check formatting/layout for Chaos Season.

What's the most extreme weather you've experienced? Feel free to share it in the comments. 

Science of the Week: 4/1/16

Best of luck to everyone participating in the A-Z Challenge this year! I'm sitting this year's challenge out. I considered using my Season Avatars series as a theme, but I think it makes sense to wait until more books are out. Hopefully by next April, the series will be finished.

As tempting as it is to make up some science news stories for you this week, the following stories are all real:

An ancient killer: ancestral malaria organisms traced to age of dinosaurs

Biological mechanism passes on long-term epigenetic "memories"

GI tract bacteria help decrease stroke

"Siberian unicorn" went extinct much later than we thought

Saving sunshine for a rainy day

Not all mind wandering is created equal
(proof that not all who wander are lost)

Study explores carb-loading's effect on the heart

one crop breeding cycle from starvation

early-stage embryos with abnormalities may still develop into healthy babies

Underrepresented Fantasy Creatures

Although I have ideas for stories in the Catalyst Chronicles series, the Season Avatar series, and even some standalone stories, I keep coming up with more ideas to work on. One idea I might pursue after I finish the Season Avatar series is an urban fantasy with a dryad as the main character. I've always had an interest in plant spirits; in fact, one of my unfinished short stories involves spirits linked to house plants. One thing that makes dryads interesting is that you don't see them often in fiction. The Belgariad contains a part-dryad character, and Jim Hine's Libromancer series also features a dryad. I can't think of any others I've read about; how about you? What little-know fantasy races do you think should be the focus of more fiction? Feel free to leave your answer below.

Websites and Marketing

Thanks to the long weekend, I was finally able to update my website, which is here. I haven't changed the theme or basic layout, but I did update the front page with the most current news, reorganize a few pages, and update buy links for my works. I might play with the theme or background during the next update.

One thing I noticed as I updated buy links is that some of my short stories are only on Amazon or one other retailer. As I discussed previously on my blog, I decided to switch my distributor from Smashwords to Draft2Digital. In fact, I just had my Smashwords account closed last week. Now I have to decide if I should enroll some of my short stories in Kindle Unlimited (KU) or distribute them widely. Although KU doesn't pay as well for short stories as it used to, it could still introduce new readers to my work, and I've always done better on Amazon than on Kobo, Apple, or any other e-book site. On the other hand, exclusivity can backfire. It's also easier to enroll in KU than pull stories down from other sites. I know at least one regular reader of this blog who prefers to buy from Apple; does anyone else here buy ebooks from other places than Amazon?

Lindsay Buroker, an indie author and blogger, once recommended puttting up samples of your stories on your website for readers to download. I tried it for a while with Lyon's Legacy and Twinned Universes, but I'm not sure it made a difference. Would you prefer to download a sample from an unknown website or from a trusted one? I get all my e-book samples from Amazon, as I learn about new books from all the e-mail newsletters I subscribe to. They link directly to Amazon, and once I finish a sample, it's easy to buy the entire book if I choose to. So it might be better to just direct customers to the appropiate store.

There's still so much I have to learn about maintaining my website and marketing with it. Someday it might be worth selling directly through my own website, but I don't want to deal with collecting taxes. If I ever do sell directly, it'll probably be in conjunction with something like Gumroad.

How often do you visit author websites? What do you expect them to have?

Science of the Week, 3/25/16

Here are some of the most interesting science news stories I read this week:

More ancient viruses lurk in our DNA than we thought

Your brain might be hard-wired for altruism

Natural resilience to major life stresses is not as common as thought

We actively forget as we learn

Scientists eliminate HIV-1 from genome of human cells

Brad Pitt's and fruit fly's cowlicks controlled by cancer protein

Have a Happy Easter (if you celebrate it), and see you on Monday!

Tea Strainers, Form, and Function

At C2E2, my husband and son both bought a couple of Star Wars "goodie boxes" with T-shirts, lanyards, mugs, Bobbleheads, and other swag. My husband also bought a collection of Star Wars vs. WWII prints (WWII pictures with Star Wars images Photoshopped into them), and my son expanded his Lego minifigure collection. What did I get? I did buy a few Star Wars T-shirts and other trinkets, but I was mostly interested in tea infusers.

I decided a couple of months ago that I wanted to get some whimsical tea strainers instead of the plain metal mesh ones I already had. It seemed like a relatively inexpensive way to put a little more fun into my daily life, and since the three of us each drink different types of tea, we needed some more strainers anyway. There was a tea vendor at C2E2, so it was a good time to pick some unusual tea strainers and a couple of tea samples. See below for the tea strainer pictures:

 I actually had the Yellow Submarine strainer (a must-have for any Beatles fan) before C2E2, since I bought it online. The rest of the tea strainers came from C2E2. There's a frog and a sloth that hang from the edge of the cup, a dagger that rests in the cup, and (my favorite) a water lily that floats and has a submerged basket for tea leaves. The water lily also comes with a stand.

I haven't tried all of these strainers yet, but I have to admit some of them don't work quite as well as I thought they would. Certain types of tea are rolled into gunpowder pellets or pearls, and these teas require a lot of space to open while steeping. The submarine, dagger, and possibly the frog are a bit narrow for those teas, but they seem OK for long, thin tea leaves. The basket for the water lily does have enough room for pearled tea, but the flower tends to drip water when I remove it. The sloth seems to work pretty well for both .

Between the fancy strainers and the ordinary ones I already had, I now have plenty of tea strainers, so I don't plan on getting any more for a while. I don't really have much else to add to this blog post, other than noting that sometimes what appears to be an interesting design doesn't always function as you might expect it to. Do you have any personal examples of form not suiting function? If so, feel free to share them in the comments.

C2E2 2016

Although my family always accompanies me to cons such as WisCon and Chicon, they never actually join the convention. C2E2 was the first one they attended. It was also the first con (at least in a long time) that I attended as a fan, not a writer. (I did leave bookmarks in the fan area, but I don't know if people took them or if they were thrown away.)

Alex had no school Friday, so I took the day off. We took the train into Chicago and taxied to McCormick Place. We tramped all over before finding the Midwest Garrison table—even though it was close to our entrance. We got into costume for a while, but Alex had problems with his mask, and we had to take a break to fix it. Eugene joined us later in the afternoon, and while he went around with Alex, I checked out the show floor. We all suited up to get one of Alex’s books signed by Jeffrey Brown. (See photo.) We were also lucky enough to get an ARC of his forthcoming book about Stone Age kids. I walked so much on Friday I set a personal Fitbit best—over 21,000 steps! Needless to say, I was sore the rest of the weekend and scaled back on walking around.

Since we didn’t have a hotel room, we drove back and forth every day. This meant we got up much earlier than normal both days, but we were lucky enough to get good parking even with the crowds. Saturday morning, we shopped first, but we took too long and wound up missing the Star Wars group shot. In the afternoon, I went on a droid hunt. The Midwest Garrison handed out special badges, and I and other hunters went around, finding the people who were wearing them and giving them raffle tickets. As you can see, I managed to collect badges despite the poor vision I have in costume. At the end of the day, Eugene and Alex helped with the raffle drawing.

Alex and I suited up briefly Sunday morning, but we didn't troop very long. Eugene got into costume so kids could blast him with Nerf darts for Blast a Trooper, a fundraising event put on by the Midwest Garrison. Alex helped with that by collecting used darts and reloading guns. I spent the time at a self-publishing panel for comic book writers. (They face many of the same issues book writers do, but they have it tougher with print costs and distribution.) We walked around the main floor again before heading downstairs to hang out with the Midwest Garrison until the end.

 There were lots of great costumes: many Reys from The Force Awakens, Disney princesses, Spiderman, a group as the characters from Inside Out, and many more I didn't recognize. Surprisingly, even with all the other wonderful costumes on display, Alex and I gained a lot of attention when we were Jawas. (I just followed stated costume requirements for the 501st Legion, but apparently I make a very good Jawa. Must be the lack of height.) Lots of people took pictures of us; in fact, whenever we stopped to let someone pose with us, we'd get other people taking pictures too. We made the highlight video of Day 1 (we're posing with R2-D2), and I was even interviewed about comics.  

It's getting late, so I won't discuss all the loot we bought or considered buying. Although it was an exhausting weekend, with little writing, it was still a lot of fun. We're already planning to attend next year--and this time we'll probably stay at a hotel to make things easier.

Science of the Week, 3/18/16

Today is the start of C2E2. This will be the first time my family and I have attended this event. I'm not sure if I'll have a report by Monday (it depends on how late we stay there on Sunday), but if not by then, then Wednesday for sure.

In the meantime, here are some of the most interesting science news articles I read this week:

57 different pesticides found in poisoned honeybees

Retirement is good for your health

"Hey Siri, I'm depressed": Can smartphones answer the call for help?

A global increase in antioxidant defenses of the body may delay ageing and its diseases

Fish and insects guide design for future contact lenses

Want to avoid a cold? Try a tattoo or twenty

Could a pure maple syrup extract be tapped for better brain health?

My Hugo Nominations

No matter how much I read, I still feel like there's so much out there I haven't touched yet.  And of course, in order to read and write as much as I do, I end up ignoring almost all TV shows and movies. Still, with the Hugo nominations due by the end of the month, it's better to put something down in a few categories than not nominate at all. So here are my picks (you can make up to five per category):

Best Novel: Dark Orbit, by Carolyn Ives Gilman; and The Duality Bridge, by Susan Kaye Quinn

Best Novella: Sappho's Agency, by Lizzie Newell

Best Short Story: "Broken-Winged Love," by Naru Dames Sundar, in Strange Horizons

Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form): Star Wars: The Force Awakens


The fiction nominations are split between traditional and indie publications. I have to admit I considered nominating my own SF Women A-Z: A Reader's Guide, for Best Related Work just for fun, but it doesn't seem right.

I know most of my blog readers don't care about the Hugos, but what do you think were noteworthy books, TV shows, or movies from last year? Feel free to share them in the comments.