Author: ZZ

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Hey everyone! Andrew here.

Well… my last newsletter really kicked off a great conversation. My eye condition had me thinking about how much better (for me personally) the e-reader experience is from a vision perspective but also how much I lose (the feeling of the pages under my fingertips, the sound of the paper when I turn a page, the smell — particularly of old books… I love that smell). But the ability to be able to turn on night mode and make the text larger… I cannot pass on that. It seems we all share this love of physical books and that really resonated with everyone. I have never had such a flood of correspondence before. I gotta tell you, I loved it!

For those who asked for an update: I had an eye checkup last night and the ophthalmologist (ornery bastard though he may be) gave me a green light. The eye is on the mend but still needs more time to clear up. Also, it looks like I should get glasses, so there’s that. The only issue is that I hate wearing glasses with the passion of several super dwarf stars combined, but having those extra lenses really made a difference and I think I need to bite the bullet. So that’s the plan for this long weekend here. It’s off to transform into my nerdier form (yeah, I hear you, as a writer could I be any more nerdy? No. The answer is no…).

The Lost Art of Getting Lost in a Story

Several of you mentioned reading since childhood, devouring books since you were seven or eight years old (and I was the same). It got me thinking about the experience of reading and how that has changed for me.

When I was a kid, I could pick up a book and just… disappear. Hours would pass. I used to read in the car and my parents would tell me not to get carsick. If I had a book, I never did. I read the Belgariad (actually read everything David Eddings produced back then and Anne McCaffrey as well. I should do a whole newsletter topic on Anne.

Slight rant here, so please forgive my digression, but I keep bumping into this narrative that science fiction is male-dominated and I think, well that might be true in terms of sheer numbers, but the writers who really impacted me were Ursula Le Guin, Anne McCaffrey, Ann Leckie, Lois McMaster Bujold, C.J. Cherryh, and Octavia Butler.

Le Guin taught me that science fiction could be a vehicle for philosophy and that alien societies could reflect the best and worst of human nature. The Left Hand of Darkness completely rewired my brain when I first read it.

McCaffrey’s Pern series was a masterpiece that was pretty much a bait and switch. Oh, you think you’re reading fantasy? Well, let me show you something! Pern’s dragons weren’t just fantasy creatures (spoiler alert?). They were genetically engineered solutions to a planetary problem. That’s brilliant worldbuilding. I still love that series and her writing holds up so well.

And Bujold… Miles Vorkosigan is one of the most fully realized characters in all of science fiction, disabled protagonist navigating a militaristic society through sheer brilliance and stubborn determination.

When people say sci-fi is male-dominated, I don’t disagree with the observation. But it doesn’t reflect my experience with the genre. Frankly, some of the most innovative, thoughtful, beautifully written science fiction I’ve ever read, and the science fiction that shaped the way I write, came from the brilliant minds of women authors.

End of rant. Thanks for bearing with me on that one… personal bugbear.

Back to reading and the reading experience… where was I? Oh yeah, these days I don’t get sucked into stories as much and when it does happen, it feels almost miraculous.

Part of it is life. We have jobs, responsibilities, phones buzzing etc. Our attention is constantly being torn away from whatever we are focusing on.

But my issue is that I’ve become a critical reader. My editing brain kicks in whether I want it to or not. I notice the grammar. I spot the plot holes. I mentally rewrite sentences that don’t quite work. OMG, I do that ALL the time. IIt’s murder on the reading experience. Wish I could turn it off. I need a button. Someone please invent that.

There are still books that carry me away so completely that the critical voice shuts up. Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi did that for me. I finished it in one sitting and when I looked up, I felt disoriented, like I’d actually been somewhere else. Ursula K. Le Guin’s writing has always had that effect on me too.

So what is it about those books? What lets them slip past our defenses?

But I also wonder if it’s partly on us as readers. Maybe we need to give ourselves permission to get lost again? Turn off the phone. To sit in a comfortable chair (hopefully one next to a bed of gorgeous flowers! I’m looking at you, Kathy!) with good light and just… read. I have a long weekend this weekend and I am definitely going to write, but I’m also going to give the reading a real shot too.

So here’s what I’m curious about: Do you still get that feeling of being completely lost in a story? If you’ve lost it, when did it go away? And if you’ve kept it or gotten it back, how?

Because I think this might be one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves as readers. If we’re not occasionally getting lost in stories, transported somewhere else entirely, then what are we doing this for?

All the best,

Andrew (ZZ)

P.S 

A little heads-up! In next week’s newsletter, I’ll be giving away a ZZ book for free. Make sure you don’t miss it!

Sneak peek! Free Book Next Week! Splice: A Military Sci-fi Action Adventure (Zero-Point Awakening Book 1)

Unite, Fight, Survive: A High-Stakes Mission to Rescue Loved Ones, Stop an Alien Invasion and Take Down an Evil Corporation

The character development and world building are very believable in an alternate universe, near-future setting. The writing is very good, and the story is, as stated above, excellent! I’m definitely looking forward to the next book.

– Amazon 5 Star Review

Zero-Point Awakening – The Complete Series Books 1-8

It is somewhat surprising how a series of this length can continue to maintain its pace and the readers interest. Recommended read.

– Amazon 5 Star Review

Read this Box Set Promos

Check out these bargain and discounted reads from our fellow speculative fiction authors!

A New HopePunk Anthology from Other Worlds Ink

14 Sci-Fi Writers Spin Tales to Change the Planet

FREE

It’s meant to be a day of celebration—Hannah Khalili’s birthday—but instead she discovers she may be sleeping next to the enemy. By mid-morning, whispers reach her about the Eden Project, a daring mission to find life in distant star systems. Tempting, yes. Possible? Hardly.

FREE

A decrepit ship, a misfit crew, an impossible job, the perfect plan. What can go wrong?

FREE

Orinthia Anton once hunted cybernetically enhanced space pirates. Now she’s on the run with a crew of her own.

Check this out How do you recapture that childhood feeling of getting lost in a story?
Revisit old classics that shaped me

Disconnect from screens and just read

Read with (or to) someone

That spark never left!

Create time when you won’t be disturbed by anyone

Other (Tell us your deep cut!)
Survey Result

And now, let’s take a look at last week’s poll results. We asked, “Do you still read physical books?”

Here are the results:

• A mix of both → 62%
• Mostly, yes → 21%
• No, I’ve fully gone digital  → 10%
• Only if someone lends me or gifts me one→ 6%

Andrew: 
Wow. We’re not purists refusing to embrace technology, but we’re not ready to let go of paper entirely either. We’re a very adaptive group!

The 21% who are “mostly yes” on physical books are the die-hards, and I respect that enormously.

What blew me away was the sheer volume and thoughtfulness of all of your responses. I want to call out some specific people and I am sure I am leaving someone out here, so please forgive me if I have.

Thank you, Derrick, Mike, Karen, Wayne, Daniel, Eleanor, Paul, Chuck, Tim, Lily, Keith, Kris, Donald, David, John, Ruth, Kathy, Janet, and Kay. Your emails were incredible.

Jan in Israel made me laugh with the observation that ebooks and physical books both multiply if you leave them alone in the dark. Also, the point about autographs is spot on. You can’t autograph an ebook. Electronic signatures just aren’t the same. That’s a dimension of physical books I hadn’t even considered.

Ruth, your emails always touch me. Thank you! Your description of having walls of books, multiple freezers, and a gas stove you can light during power outages made me smile. “It’s not hoarding if it’s books or food!” is now officially my favorite mantra and maybe I need that on a t-shirt. And yes, I’m working on The Master’s Munificence (solo project, not with Michael LaVoice, but he sounds like good people if you’re friends with him!).

John in Ontario, thank you for sharing your passion for books. I thought I had a passion, but mine pales in comparison. I will strive to be worthy! 

Wayne, thank you for the screen reader recommendations. I hope I never need them, but it’s good to know they exist. And hearing that you’ve been legally blind since age eight but still reading puts my temporary eye issue in perspective. Thank you for sharing.

Kathy, I’m so sorry about your son throwing out your book collection. I’m so mad about that. That’s just wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I no longer have all my old books and I miss some of them dearly. I had a Harlan Ellison compilation that I really loved. I wonder what happened to it?

One thing I want to say is that Damian and I deliberately chose not to put DRM on our ebooks. So if Amazon is doing that, it is not with our permission. If you find that there is DRM on them, please let me know and we can look into it.

Thanks again for sharing your stories with me. This was the best possible response to that newsletter, and I’m grateful for every single message.

View in browser Leave a Review

Hey everyone! Andrew here.

Well… my last newsletter really kicked off a great conversation. My eye condition had me thinking about how much better (for me personally) the e-reader experience is from a vision perspective but also how much I lose (the feeling of the pages under my fingertips, the sound of the paper when I turn a page, the smell — particularly of old books… I love that smell). But the ability to be able to turn on night mode and make the text larger… I cannot pass on that. It seems we all share this love of physical books and that really resonated with everyone. I have never had such a flood of correspondence before. I gotta tell you, I loved it!

For those who asked for an update: I had an eye checkup last night and the ophthalmologist (ornery bastard though he may be) gave me a green light. The eye is on the mend but still needs more time to clear up. Also, it looks like I should get glasses, so there’s that. The only issue is that I hate wearing glasses with the passion of several super dwarf stars combined, but having those extra lenses really made a difference and I think I need to bite the bullet. So that’s the plan for this long weekend here. It’s off to transform into my nerdier form (yeah, I hear you, as a writer could I be any more nerdy? No. The answer is no…).

The Lost Art of Getting Lost in a Story

Several of you mentioned reading since childhood, devouring books since you were seven or eight years old (and I was the same). It got me thinking about the experience of reading and how that has changed for me.

When I was a kid, I could pick up a book and just… disappear. Hours would pass. I used to read in the car and my parents would tell me not to get carsick. If I had a book, I never did. I read the Belgariad (actually read everything David Eddings produced back then and Anne McCaffrey as well. I should do a whole newsletter topic on Anne.

Slight rant here, so please forgive my digression, but I keep bumping into this narrative that science fiction is male-dominated and I think, well that might be true in terms of sheer numbers, but the writers who really impacted me were Ursula Le Guin, Anne McCaffrey, Ann Leckie, Lois McMaster Bujold, C.J. Cherryh, and Octavia Butler.

Le Guin taught me that science fiction could be a vehicle for philosophy and that alien societies could reflect the best and worst of human nature. The Left Hand of Darkness completely rewired my brain when I first read it.

McCaffrey’s Pern series was a masterpiece that was pretty much a bait and switch. Oh, you think you’re reading fantasy? Well, let me show you something! Pern’s dragons weren’t just fantasy creatures (spoiler alert?). They were genetically engineered solutions to a planetary problem. That’s brilliant worldbuilding. I still love that series and her writing holds up so well.

And Bujold… Miles Vorkosigan is one of the most fully realized characters in all of science fiction, disabled protagonist navigating a militaristic society through sheer brilliance and stubborn determination.

When people say sci-fi is male-dominated, I don’t disagree with the observation. But it doesn’t reflect my experience with the genre. Frankly, some of the most innovative, thoughtful, beautifully written science fiction I’ve ever read, and the science fiction that shaped the way I write, came from the brilliant minds of women authors.

End of rant. Thanks for bearing with me on that one… personal bugbear.

Back to reading and the reading experience… where was I? Oh yeah, these days I don’t get sucked into stories as much and when it does happen, it feels almost miraculous.

Part of it is life. We have jobs, responsibilities, phones buzzing etc. Our attention is constantly being torn away from whatever we are focusing on.

But my issue is that I’ve become a critical reader. My editing brain kicks in whether I want it to or not. I notice the grammar. I spot the plot holes. I mentally rewrite sentences that don’t quite work. OMG, I do that ALL the time. IIt’s murder on the reading experience. Wish I could turn it off. I need a button. Someone please invent that.

There are still books that carry me away so completely that the critical voice shuts up. Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi did that for me. I finished it in one sitting and when I looked up, I felt disoriented, like I’d actually been somewhere else. Ursula K. Le Guin’s writing has always had that effect on me too.

So what is it about those books? What lets them slip past our defenses?

But I also wonder if it’s partly on us as readers. Maybe we need to give ourselves permission to get lost again? Turn off the phone. To sit in a comfortable chair (hopefully one next to a bed of gorgeous flowers! I’m looking at you, Kathy!) with good light and just… read. I have a long weekend this weekend and I am definitely going to write, but I’m also going to give the reading a real shot too.

So here’s what I’m curious about: Do you still get that feeling of being completely lost in a story? If you’ve lost it, when did it go away? And if you’ve kept it or gotten it back, how?

Because I think this might be one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves as readers. If we’re not occasionally getting lost in stories, transported somewhere else entirely, then what are we doing this for?

All the best,

Andrew (ZZ)

P.S 

A little heads-up! In next week’s newsletter, I’ll be giving away a ZZ book for free. Make sure you don’t miss it!

Sneak peek! Free Book Next Week! Splice: A Military Sci-fi Action Adventure (Zero-Point Awakening Book 1)

Unite, Fight, Survive: A High-Stakes Mission to Rescue Loved Ones, Stop an Alien Invasion and Take Down an Evil Corporation

The character development and world building are very believable in an alternate universe, near-future setting. The writing is very good, and the story is, as stated above, excellent! I’m definitely looking forward to the next book.

– Amazon 5 Star Review

Zero-Point Awakening – The Complete Series Books 1-8

It is somewhat surprising how a series of this length can continue to maintain its pace and the readers interest. Recommended read.

– Amazon 5 Star Review

Read this Box Set Promos

Check out these bargain and discounted reads from our fellow speculative fiction authors!

A New HopePunk Anthology from Other Worlds Ink

14 Sci-Fi Writers Spin Tales to Change the Planet

FREE

It’s meant to be a day of celebration—Hannah Khalili’s birthday—but instead she discovers she may be sleeping next to the enemy. By mid-morning, whispers reach her about the Eden Project, a daring mission to find life in distant star systems. Tempting, yes. Possible? Hardly.

FREE

A decrepit ship, a misfit crew, an impossible job, the perfect plan. What can go wrong?

FREE

Orinthia Anton once hunted cybernetically enhanced space pirates. Now she’s on the run with a crew of her own.

Check this out How do you recapture that childhood feeling of getting lost in a story?
Revisit old classics that shaped me

Disconnect from screens and just read

Read with (or to) someone

That spark never left!

Create time when you won’t be disturbed by anyone

Other (Tell us your deep cut!)
Survey Result

And now, let’s take a look at last week’s poll results. We asked, “Do you still read physical books?”

Here are the results:

• A mix of both → 62%
• Mostly, yes → 21%
• No, I’ve fully gone digital  → 10%
• Only if someone lends me or gifts me one→ 6%

Andrew: 
Wow. We’re not purists refusing to embrace technology, but we’re not ready to let go of paper entirely either. We’re a very adaptive group!

The 21% who are “mostly yes” on physical books are the die-hards, and I respect that enormously.

What blew me away was the sheer volume and thoughtfulness of all of your responses. I want to call out some specific people and I am sure I am leaving someone out here, so please forgive me if I have.

Thank you, Derrick, Mike, Karen, Wayne, Daniel, Eleanor, Paul, Chuck, Tim, Lily, Keith, Kris, Donald, David, John, Ruth, Kathy, Janet, and Kay. Your emails were incredible.

Jan in Israel made me laugh with the observation that ebooks and physical books both multiply if you leave them alone in the dark. Also, the point about autographs is spot on. You can’t autograph an ebook. Electronic signatures just aren’t the same. That’s a dimension of physical books I hadn’t even considered.

Ruth, your emails always touch me. Thank you! Your description of having walls of books, multiple freezers, and a gas stove you can light during power outages made me smile. “It’s not hoarding if it’s books or food!” is now officially my favorite mantra and maybe I need that on a t-shirt. And yes, I’m working on The Master’s Munificence (solo project, not with Michael LaVoice, but he sounds like good people if you’re friends with him!).

John in Ontario, thank you for sharing your passion for books. I thought I had a passion, but mine pales in comparison. I will strive to be worthy! 

Wayne, thank you for the screen reader recommendations. I hope I never need them, but it’s good to know they exist. And hearing that you’ve been legally blind since age eight but still reading puts my temporary eye issue in perspective. Thank you for sharing.

Kathy, I’m so sorry about your son throwing out your book collection. I’m so mad about that. That’s just wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I no longer have all my old books and I miss some of them dearly. I had a Harlan Ellison compilation that I really loved. I wonder what happened to it?

One thing I want to say is that Damian and I deliberately chose not to put DRM on our ebooks. So if Amazon is doing that, it is not with our permission. If you find that there is DRM on them, please let me know and we can look into it.

Thanks again for sharing your stories with me. This was the best possible response to that newsletter, and I’m grateful for every single message.

View in browser Leave a Review

Hey everyone! Andrew here.

Quick update on the eye situation before I get into this week’s topic. Things are looking better (pun intended). The headaches are still there, but they’re manageable. More importantly, the laser surgery seems to have worked. No new holes in my retina. I’ll take that win. Thanks to everyone who wrote in with audiobook recommendations and support. I read every message, even if I’m slower than usual getting back to you.

Let’s talk about something weird because I was thinking about it in the shower. The smell of books.

I know, I know. But hear me out. I was reorganizing my bookshelf this week (procrastinating on writing) and I picked up my old copy of The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. The smell of old paper hit me. There’s a touch of vanilla in it I never realized was there before. It took me back in an instant to when I was fourteen reading the book for the first time. z

We talk a lot about immersion in sci-fi and fantasy. We obsess over worldbuilding details, arguing about how the technology works, and whether the magic system is consistent (and most importantly, whether the economics make sense). Those things matter (trust me, as someone currently wrestling with The Master’s Munificence, I know how much they matter). But we don’t talk much about the physical experience of reading.

I’m pretty much consistently reading on Kindle these days. I need to use it to blow the font up big after my eye issue, but I’m not naive enough not to know that there’s something lost in the digital reading experience. You can’t smell a Kindle ( I mean…if you can, there’s something really going wrong). You can’t feel the weight of an 800-page door-stopper epic in your hands.

The physical book has a presence. It’s a reminder of the world you’re in the middle of visiting. You can lend it to a friend, not just recommend the title. Real books have history. They become history. What will ebooks become? When I think about this, I get a little sad.

Ebooks are incredibly convenient, and they’ve made reading more accessible for a lot of people (including me). But I am saying there’s value in the physical object that we sometimes forget about in our rush toward efficiency and convenience.

So here’s my question for you: Do you still read physical books? If you’ve gone fully digital, do you miss anything about the physical experience? And for those of you who still maintain physical libraries—what makes you choose paper over pixels for a particular book?

Maybe I’m just being sentimental because I nearly lost my eyesight last week and I’m feeling grateful for every aspect of the reading experience. Or maybe there’s something here worth preserving.

Let me know what you think. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

All the best,

Andrew (ZZ)

Zero-Point Awakening – The Complete Series Books 1-8

It is somewhat surprising how a series of this length can continue to maintain its pace and the readers interest. Recommended read.

– Amazon 5 Star Review

Read this Box Set Promos

Check out these bargain and discounted reads from our fellow speculative fiction authors!

Earth is dying. Ravaged by disease, hunger, climate change and world wars. Can humanity unite to avoid extinction?

FREE

Creatures in your basement? Undead spooking your castle? Infestation of goblins? Beast Be Gone will clear out those pesky pests and save your health and business

FREE

A broke ex-captain. A weapon that could shatter the stars. Tredd Bounty’s only chance at redemption—armed with one impossible gift: he can stop time.

Check this out Do you still read physical books?
Mostly, yes. Screens can’t replace the feel of a real book

A mix of both

Only if someone lends or gifts me one

No, I’ve fully gone digital
Survey Result

And now, let’s take a look at last week’s poll results. We asked, “Which character from sci-fi would you absolutely not want to be stuck with on a survival mission?”
Here are the incredible results:

• Creepy. We’ve seen enough to know how this ends –> 40%
• Depends who’s in charge.  –>  27%
• Exciting. But I’ll keep one eye on the off switch –> 24%
• Other –> 7%
• Ask me again after my AI makes me coffee perfectly –> 2%

Andrew: As always this is fascinating and slightly terrifying in equal measure. 40% of us think AI surpassing humans is “creepy” and you’ve “seen enough sci-fi to know how this ends.” I’m right there with you. Every time I read about a new AI development, part of my brain immediately starts plotting dystopian scenarios. We’ve been warned by Asimov, Gibson, and countless others. We should have learned by now…

What strikes me about the 27% in the “depends who’s in charge” camp is how practical that is. Because really, that’s the core question, isn’t it? The technology itself is neutral. It’s the implementation and control that matters. In The Master’s Munificence, I’m dealing with similar questions about magic—who gets to wield power, and what safeguards exist when they abuse it? Same questions, different technology.

And to whoever voted for “Ask me again after my AI makes me coffee perfectly”—I feel you. I’d probably trade a small amount of existential dread for a perfectly made coffee every morning. Priorities, right?

Li, thank you for the audiobook recommendations! I struggle with audiobooks. I’m in the “I want to believe” camp, hoping I can enjoy the experience but also knowing I am more likely to end up daydreaming than I am listening to the story. We will see!

Ryen, your experience with Ender’s Game audiobook sounds incredible. Serious immersion, which to be fair is exactly what we’re chasing as writers. This is the age-old battle between wanting to disappear into a story and having responsibilities in the real world. I hears you on that!

Kris, I am hoping your shivering in horror was in response to my eye ordeal and not a reaction to my prose writing. 😉 If it is the former, please don’t worry. I am fine now and recovering well. If the latter… um… sorry?

View in browser Leave a Review

Hey everyone! Andrew here.

Quick update on the eye situation before I get into this week’s topic. Things are looking better (pun intended). The headaches are still there, but they’re manageable. More importantly, the laser surgery seems to have worked. No new holes in my retina. I’ll take that win. Thanks to everyone who wrote in with audiobook recommendations and support. I read every message, even if I’m slower than usual getting back to you.

Let’s talk about something weird because I was thinking about it in the shower. The smell of books.

I know, I know. But hear me out. I was reorganizing my bookshelf this week (procrastinating on writing) and I picked up my old copy of The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. The smell of old paper hit me. There’s a touch of vanilla in it I never realized was there before. It took me back in an instant to when I was fourteen reading the book for the first time. z

We talk a lot about immersion in sci-fi and fantasy. We obsess over worldbuilding details, arguing about how the technology works, and whether the magic system is consistent (and most importantly, whether the economics make sense). Those things matter (trust me, as someone currently wrestling with The Master’s Munificence, I know how much they matter). But we don’t talk much about the physical experience of reading.

I’m pretty much consistently reading on Kindle these days. I need to use it to blow the font up big after my eye issue, but I’m not naive enough not to know that there’s something lost in the digital reading experience. You can’t smell a Kindle ( I mean…if you can, there’s something really going wrong). You can’t feel the weight of an 800-page door-stopper epic in your hands.

The physical book has a presence. It’s a reminder of the world you’re in the middle of visiting. You can lend it to a friend, not just recommend the title. Real books have history. They become history. What will ebooks become? When I think about this, I get a little sad.

Ebooks are incredibly convenient, and they’ve made reading more accessible for a lot of people (including me). But I am saying there’s value in the physical object that we sometimes forget about in our rush toward efficiency and convenience.

So here’s my question for you: Do you still read physical books? If you’ve gone fully digital, do you miss anything about the physical experience? And for those of you who still maintain physical libraries—what makes you choose paper over pixels for a particular book?

Maybe I’m just being sentimental because I nearly lost my eyesight last week and I’m feeling grateful for every aspect of the reading experience. Or maybe there’s something here worth preserving.

Let me know what you think. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

All the best,

Andrew (ZZ)

Zero-Point Awakening – The Complete Series Books 1-8

It is somewhat surprising how a series of this length can continue to maintain its pace and the readers interest. Recommended read.

– Amazon 5 Star Review

Read this Box Set Promos

Check out these bargain and discounted reads from our fellow speculative fiction authors!

Earth is dying. Ravaged by disease, hunger, climate change and world wars. Can humanity unite to avoid extinction?

FREE

Creatures in your basement? Undead spooking your castle? Infestation of goblins? Beast Be Gone will clear out those pesky pests and save your health and business

FREE

A broke ex-captain. A weapon that could shatter the stars. Tredd Bounty’s only chance at redemption—armed with one impossible gift: he can stop time.

Check this out Do you still read physical books?
Mostly, yes. Screens can’t replace the feel of a real book

A mix of both

Only if someone lends or gifts me one

No, I’ve fully gone digital
Survey Result

And now, let’s take a look at last week’s poll results. We asked, “Which character from sci-fi would you absolutely not want to be stuck with on a survival mission?”
Here are the incredible results:

• Creepy. We’ve seen enough to know how this ends –> 40%
• Depends who’s in charge.  –>  27%
• Exciting. But I’ll keep one eye on the off switch –> 24%
• Other –> 7%
• Ask me again after my AI makes me coffee perfectly –> 2%

Andrew: As always this is fascinating and slightly terrifying in equal measure. 40% of us think AI surpassing humans is “creepy” and you’ve “seen enough sci-fi to know how this ends.” I’m right there with you. Every time I read about a new AI development, part of my brain immediately starts plotting dystopian scenarios. We’ve been warned by Asimov, Gibson, and countless others. We should have learned by now…

What strikes me about the 27% in the “depends who’s in charge” camp is how practical that is. Because really, that’s the core question, isn’t it? The technology itself is neutral. It’s the implementation and control that matters. In The Master’s Munificence, I’m dealing with similar questions about magic—who gets to wield power, and what safeguards exist when they abuse it? Same questions, different technology.

And to whoever voted for “Ask me again after my AI makes me coffee perfectly”—I feel you. I’d probably trade a small amount of existential dread for a perfectly made coffee every morning. Priorities, right?

Li, thank you for the audiobook recommendations! I struggle with audiobooks. I’m in the “I want to believe” camp, hoping I can enjoy the experience but also knowing I am more likely to end up daydreaming than I am listening to the story. We will see!

Ryen, your experience with Ender’s Game audiobook sounds incredible. Serious immersion, which to be fair is exactly what we’re chasing as writers. This is the age-old battle between wanting to disappear into a story and having responsibilities in the real world. I hears you on that!

Kris, I am hoping your shivering in horror was in response to my eye ordeal and not a reaction to my prose writing. 😉 If it is the former, please don’t worry. I am fine now and recovering well. If the latter… um… sorry?

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Hey everyone! Andrew here.

Sometimes things happen that you can only hope are making you a better person in the long run. This week I learned two things about myself. First, I can take a bit more pain than I thought I could and second, staying hydrated is really important, particularly as you get older. So what am I talking about? Well, this week, dear reader, I nearly lost the sight in my left eye. Thanks to having an eye structure that is particularly prone to glaucoma, my eyes are not handling aging well and as a result, I ended up with a hole ripped in my left eye retina earlier this week. I knew immediately that something was very wrong and I went to the ophthalmologist who rushed me into emergency laser surgery. I went into the clinic at 5:30pm and ended up back home at 10:30pm the same night with a new-found respect for other people’s pain tolerance and for the general importance of
water. Long story short, I can see, but it will be a few days before we know if this worked or not. I have another appointment on Wednesday. I will keep you posted on how it goes and whether I should be measuring up for a pirate eye patch or not. Needless to say, there was not much writing done this week so I have no update on that front. I am also trying to stay off devices to let my eye recover. I’m thinking about audiobooks but honestly, I don’t enjoy the “reading experience” as much when I listen to a book as I do when I read it myself. In any case, I will experiment with it and may get myself an Audible account and see if I can train myself to listen better. Do you use audiobooks? I’m pretty sure I polled this group before and most of us don’t… so you may not be the best folks to ask, but if you do have advice, please do write in and tell me.

All the best,

Andrew (ZZ)

Zero-Point Awakening – The Complete Series Books 1-8

While it’s definitely very busy with a lot of plot lines, it also takes the time for a good, strong twist here and there to keep the hooks really digging into you. And the books only get better as the series goes along.

– Amazon 5 Star Review

Read this Box Set Promos

Check out these bargain and discounted reads from our fellow speculative fiction authors!

Earth’s Hegemony controls the surrounding alien civilisations with ruthless force. Its aim: dominate the galaxy to protect humanity.

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Hunted across the stars and betrayed by every government, smugglers Devon and Jadsia flee in a battered warship. Their last hope: the ashes of Krylon IV.

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When the world ends, you adapt or die. Can two strangers trapped in a zoo survive as zombies close in around them?

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Four kids. Four disabilities. Four new superpowers. Nothing about therapy was normal anymore.

Check this out AI surpassing humans: brilliant speculation or nightmare fuel?
Pure genius — bring on our robot overlords!

Exciting, but I’ll keep one eye on the off switch

Creepy. We’ve seen enough sci-fi to know how this ends

Depends who’s in charge — the humans or the code

Ask me again after my AI makes me coffee perfectly

Other (Tell us your deep cut!)
Survey Result

And now, let’s take a look at last week’s poll results. We asked, “What’s Your Favorite Time of Day?”

Here are the results:

• Late-night cozy vibes → 38%
• Morning coffee time → 33%
• Afternoon reading hour → 10%
• Golden hour → 10%
• Other → 10%
• Dinner time → 0%

Andrew: We’re a community of night owls and early birds with very little in between! 38% of us are “late-night cozy vibes” people. Do you like reading when the rest of the world is asleep? I cannot sleep myself without reading for a bit. It’s always been how I wind down. My wife will read but she does it before going to bed. Not me, I have to read in bed and then get sleepy. 

What does surprise me is how close the morning coffee crowd came in at 33%. I love my morning coffee and I also read at breakfast before going to work. So I guess I read…all the time. I prefer reading at night though.

The fact that dinner time got zero votes is hilarious. Either nobody in this group eats dinner, or you’re all too busy reading to notice meal times. I’m going with the latter.

I got a few wonderful emails about this one, and I want to share something really special that happened. Yaakov wrote in response to Starla from last week’s poll about spacewalking pain-free: “To Starla. I have constant joint pain, even with a morphine pump, working 24/7. Yes, to diminish my TBR would be wonderful and I would be out of cell range so I couldn’t buy anymore! I would teach my new friends to read the best literature, science fiction.”

Yaakov, your vision of teaching space friends to read the best sci-fi literature while finally getting through your TBR is a lovely idea. Being out of cell range is probably the only way any of us will ever finish our reading lists!

Mr.E also wrote in as well. Thank you! I hear you re body clock, although mine works pretty well. I get discombobulated when I travel internationally. Jetlag really messes me up. 

Thanks for sharing your preferences with me! Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go rest my eye before my next appointment. Wish me luck!