3.25.2014

My First Alien

Marvin the Martian was my first, and I confess to being scared of him. Granted, I also believed mailboxes came alive after sundown and ate small children.


I grew up during the astronaut age, so the idea of aliens didn't seem very foreign to me. They seemed inevitable.

These days I make up my own. Coming up with something unique can be a tough task. I often use art to come up with ideas. Pinterest has been a huge help with that.

I invented Ims recently, which live in close to absolute zero temps. I did a really bad drawing of one. I think I'd run if I encountered this. lol

They control the ice, which allows the people on that planet to survive. I had that idea from watching ice creep along in this video:

That was really weird looking and alien. I like weird.

What attributes do you like in your alien?



By the way, Worlds on Edge, Book 5 in the Backworlds series is now out, and it has the ice aliens in it.

Here's an excerpt from Captain Talos's encounter with them:



Chapter 18

◙ Talos


As if an engine hit him in the head, Talos teetered. The pain drove in so instant, building to his unquestionable annihilation. Today he would die. Speckles danced in his eyes like sunspots. They flared and dimmed until they consumed him.
He forgot about cold and death, forgot about Quasser and Pardeep Station. The Ims had brought him into their world, the air ripe with energy. It popped in his blood vessels, tingling. He dared to take a breath.
The flares of light coalesced into colors, coordinating, bellowing in a low hymn. Together the brilliant confetti and song formed thoughts that hit like bolts against his temples.
Touch. Touch. Met.
Time went backwards. Talos and Lepsi ran to the spaceport on Elstwhere, laughing. The hideous ship was theirs. It resembled two beetles back to back with six worms squiggling out from the center. Talos had never seen anything more beautiful. Soon the Backworlds and all the things he dreamed about would be navigated on his whim.
Too far. Come forward.
Quasser loomed above Talos, roaring, raining fire on Ronu, on Pardeep Station, and worlds Talos had never seen. A gal very much like Rainly and Prezsha sat on top of the cloud-like vessel holding a finger to her lips.
Secrets.
What did she know? Who was she? Talos reached for her hand and tumbled into a lake of ice. The cold fell heavily into his lungs. He clawed at the depths, unable to gain hold. He sank farther.
The Ims stood beside beings resembling sticks. They stood beside proud folks with squid limbs and fish eyes and some with tentacles for hair. Farther in the icy depths an alien with three necks wailed to the heavens, clutching onto a being made from spheres and squares that bunched together and spread apart in a steady rhythm. Whispers surrounded them and fire. They disappeared into the Ims.
We join.
One Im merged into Talos, blazing his veins into a brilliant blue. Talos shivered.


Worlds on Edge




War is coming. A horde of merciless aliens poise just beyond the Edge. In a matter of weeks they will devour the worlds.


Racing ahead of the apocalypse, Craze returns to the Backworlds to warn them and plan a defense. Only he can’t go home. Banned from Pardeep Station, he must wage a more urgent battle. His moon is under siege, and his friends are dying.


Bad things come in threes, and the galaxy is no exception. An old enemy returns, attacking moons and defenseless globes, leaving a wake of destruction. Worse than that, they threaten to join forces with the alien horde.


Defeat seems inevitable. Craze may not be able to stop it. Yet home is worth the fight.


Available in ebook:

AmazonUS / Amazon UK / Nook / Smashwords / iTunes / Other Outlets

3.21.2014

The Great & Powerful A to Z Theme Reveal


Today is the day for The Great & Powerful A to Z Theme Reveal blogfest, brought to life by the wonderful women who make up Team Damyanti in this year's A to Z Challenge. That means it's time to share our theme for this April and then hop around and find out what the other participants will be blogging furiously about next month. To see all of today's participants, visit the Linky List here.

Here at Untetethered Realms we love "worlds, wings, and spec fic things," so in the spirit of our tagline we will be presenting an A to Z of fantastical creatures throughout April. Whether mythological, legendary, or just plain normal run of the mill creatures, we will have them here next month.

Some of our creatures will be favorites from our own books while others may be creatures we hope to write about in the future.

Please come visit us for a daily display of demons and beasts and monsters of all kinds. See you then!

3.18.2014

Walking the line

Sometimes, balancing writing and life is like a tightrope. And I had a really bad wobble for the past two or three weeks.

See... life can suppress my ability to write. Stress, worries, focusing on something that has to be done means that I can't concentrate on writing, editing etc.

On the other hand, having a really big productive streak can mean that I have troubles with getting anything else done. To me, it's so difficult to have to do something else when I really just want to get another few thousand words written.

At the moment, the wobble took the form of life. Things like getting the farm me and my family moved to into a solvent position. Or dealing with my publishing house. And being sick. None of those seem too overly big, but if they all happen together, they sufficiently drain my energy and concentration that I end up unable to actually get some writing done.

Why am I telling you this? Well, it's what's on my mind at the moment. Trying to get writing done while living a good life. I'm trying to remember that these wobbles are only wobbles. That as long as I keep walking that line, I'll get where I want to be.

But man, when I'm wobbling and everything feels like I'm about to hit the ground, being a writer becomes a lot less fun.

Anyone else feel like that sometimes? It doesn't have to be writing related.

3.14.2014

Huge Speculative Fiction Giveaway


(Background photo called "Leap" from Rolffimage free at Dreamstime.com)

In celebration of reaching over 500 followers on Christine's blog, she's organized a massive giveaway!
The awesome UR writers and a few of our wonderful friends have donated books to add to the grand prize pack.


One lucky winner will win a HUGE prize package.
(And yes, this giveaway is open internationally!)

A signed print copy of The 13th Floor Complete Collection by Christine Rains


An ebook of your choice from Mary Pax









3 second place winners will win a digital copy of The 13th Floor Complete Collection, 13th Floor series swag, and a thank you card from Christine.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

3.11.2014

One Way to Mars Anyone?

Lately there has been a lot of buzz about Mars One.

This organization has a plan and that plan is to put the first human colony on Mars by 2024. Over two hundred thousand people applied and already the list has narrowed to just 1,058 individuals making the first cut.

Can we just pause for a second.

*Pause*

Okay. This is amazing. It's been our next "man made" actual step since putting humans on the moon. There's just one downside to being the first few humans to colonize the red planet. It's a one way trip. Yep, if you sign up and make the final cut you aren't coming back.

I've been following this mission since it was first announced. Honestly, I could never part with my life here on Earth. I love it too much. But, how fun would this be?

What will they learn?

What will they find?

Will my children or their children be taking regular trips to Mars in the future?

Space is something we as humans will never get enough of. We will constantly strive to explore the unknown and to reach new areas of the cosmos. Our curiosity is never satisfied and I personally think that is a great thing.

Mars can teach us so much. If everything goes according to plan and this actually happens on schedule, I will be watching. I will be waiting with bated breath with the rest of the world to learn what we discover on this seemingly dead planet.

Also, this is a great book idea! The muses and plot bunnies are hopping around in my head. They're even dressed in little martian suits.

Could you do it? Could you give up your life here on Earth and make history colonizing Mars?

Sometimes this is how writing a book feels. You're on a one way trip not knowing what to expect until you reach the other side. Will it be worth it? You'll never know unless you try. So put on your space suit and let the adventure begin. (Just don't watch Gravity before you go).

Bonnie Rae


3.04.2014

World Book Day 2014




March 6th is World Book Day. A day when the world celebrates the joy of reading. Each of the 100 participating countries has its own way of joining in the festivities, though I'm sure there are many similarities. In the UK, children attend school dressed as characters from their favourite books and take part in special activities. They are also given a golden book token, which entitles them to choose a free book from the desginated books for that year. It always makes me happy to see them selecting their book, and I hope that perhaps that book will be the one they fall in love with, igniting a life-long passion for reading.








In celebration of World Book Day, I thought I'd share a few fact and figures pertaining to the world of books:


  1. The word 'book' comes from the Danish word for book, bog. Early Danes wrote on the bark from Birch trees, as opposed to the Romans who wrote on the thin layer between the bark and wood known as 'liber'.
  2. In 2010, Google Books calculated the total number of books ever written as 129,864,880 (Geek.com). It would take you 350,000 years to get through the TBR pile.
  3. According to UNESCO there have been 423,362 books published this year. In 2011, the comparable figure was 171,849.
  4. It it likely the question 'what is the oldest book in the world?' may never be answered. If you define it as being in printed form, some believe the Gutenberg Bible, printed in 1450, is the oldest.
  5. The largest bookstore in the world is the World's Largest Bookstore in Toronto, Cananda. The Three storey building covers 64,000 square feet and has over 20 kilometres of shelving. Sadly, the store was recently sold and will soon close. Four resturants will replace it.
  6. 2014 is the 17th World Book Day.


I'm not sure about you, but I feel sad that the world's largest bookstore is closing. I could have spent a few days in there!

Are you doing anything to celebrate World Book Day? Do you know any unusual book facts you'd like to share with us?