Category: Reblogs

The 2022 Post-Apocalyptic Purple Prose Contest — The Capricious Narrator

On By Matt FraserIn Contests, Other Authors, Reblogs4 Comments

[Note from Matt: Remember this contest from a few years ago, when I won (well, I was the only entrant, but I did win)? It’s on again! And there are prizes! I highly recommend clicking that link and heading over to Gerhard’s website, perusing the entries, and even better, submitting one! What follows is the text from Gerhard’s post.]

I thought we could have some fun with the release of The Atomic Ballerina by celebrating purple prose, post-apocalyptic style. (This is the second time I’ve done one of these. Author Matt Fraser won when I did this a few years back.) What’s purple prose? Elevated language where none is needed. Overly flowery descriptions of […]

The 2022 Post-Apocalyptic Purple Prose Contest — The Capricious Narrator

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‘Hycean’ Worlds: A New Candidate for Biosignatures? — Centauri Dreams — Imagining and Planning Interstellar Exploration

On By Matt FraserIn Musings, Reblogs, Science and TechnologyLeave a comment

We’ve just seen the coinage of a new word that denotes an entirely novel category of planets. Out of research at the University of Cambridge comes a paper on a subset of habitable worlds the scientists have dubbed ‘Hycean’ planets. These are hot, ocean-covered planets with habitable surface conditions under atmospheres rich in hydrogen. The…

‘Hycean’ Worlds: A New Candidate for Biosignatures? — Centauri Dreams — Imagining and Planning Interstellar Exploration

Paul Gilster of Centauri Dreams writes not fiction, but analyses and discussions on the latest findings in deep space research. He unabashedly is a proponent of efforts toward interstellar travel, frequently writing about the reasons we should invest in such a future. In this piece, he discusses a new category of exoplanets, Hycean worlds, worlds which may have water surfaces under hydrogen atmospheres, and which could potentially support life under a wider range of stellar and planetary conditions than Earth-like worlds.

Within my own fictional imaginings, we have the Orta, a seemingly water-breathing species, though we don’t yet know where they come from. Perhaps their home planet is a Hycean world like those described here?

The curious tale of The Spinoff and the World Health Organisation

On By Matt FraserIn Other Authors, ReblogsLeave a comment

It’s not often I share tales from others, I admit, and even less so when those tales are not on the subjects of science, or fiction, or science fiction, or creative writing in general. This one, however, is a curious tale from someone I respect greatly of how creative communication helped an entire nation avert disaster, and how more of the same could well help the world.

Oh, and it’s completely irrelevant that the writer, David Brain, is the husband of my cousin. I’d respect him anyway for having the great good sense to marry my cousin (she’s fantastic, too), but in all respects he earns it completely on his own. However, I’ll let him speak for himself.

A few weeks ago I got a call from Duncan Grieve, the founder and managing editor of The Spinoff, the New Zealand online magazine of which I am a board member. “Can you join us for a call with the World Health Organisation. They seem to want us to help them with their Covid-19 public […]

via The curious tale of The Spinoff and the World Health Organisation —

Goblin Audiobook Review Copies — The Capricious Narrator

On By Matt FraserIn ReblogsLeave a comment

Gerhard Gehrke, whom I first “met” when he ran a contest for “Purple Post-Apocalyptic Prose,” and whose novels “Nineveh’s Child” and “The Minders’ War” I have thoroughly enjoyed, returns with something new and fresh. Goblins! Ok, yes, we’ve all heard of goblins before, but this is a fresh turn from an author whose writing typically bends to post-apocalyptic science fiction (see contest above). Granted, I have not yet had time to delve into “Goblin” myself, but I will! It promises to be a fun read, and from Gerhard’s posts about it, it certainly seems that he had a lot of fun writing it.

And, now it’s available as an audiobook! And if you’re into reviewing books (print or audio), you may be able to score a free review copy.

p.s. Gerhard also has short stories from the world of “Goblin” available to read (for free) on his website. Just follow the link below.

I have a limited number of free review copies for the audio version of Goblin. If you’re interested and able to leave a review, please let me know. I’m giving priority to anyone who has left prior reviews for any of my books. The copies are for the U.S. and U.K. Audible service only. Actor […]

via Goblin Audiobook Review Copies — The Capricious Narrator