Free Fiction on The Infinite Bard:

Future Futures

While I'm not the biggest fan of freebie fiction, between the happenstance of Father's Day, Origins Online Game Fair, and my spot coming up in the rotation for The Infinite Bard, June is turning out to be a bonanza for free fiction by me for my fans and new acquaintances. Future Futures is a scifi tale which originally appeared in Apollo's Daughters, edited by Bryan Young (Silence in the Library 2014). I've also added it to my Tales Out of Time story collection, Vol. 3 in my Writer on Demand series. I hope you enjoy it. Reviews are always welcome. 

Book Review: This Is How Your Lose The Time War (2 of 5 stars)

 SciFi So Soft, It's Vapor: This Is  

 How To Lose A Time Travel Fan  

Meh. I've read a lot of time travel books, from the simplistic, but fun, Simon Hawke Time War series to the allegedly literary, but actually creepy and nonsensical, The Time Traveler's Wife to the detailed Cross-Time Engineer and its sequels to the excellent Replay (by Ken Grimwood). I've also watched a lot of television and movies dealing with the same, from Time Tunnel to Timeless to Somewhere in Time and on and on and on. I've owned a company with a time travel rpg game and written time travel tales and adventures--some plot driven and some more poetic. But if you, like me, are a time travel aficionado, the most important thing to know about this plodding, lyrical novella is that it really has nothing at all to do with time travel. That's just background trapping to explain how the characters can write their love letters to one another using convoluted mechanisms like tree rings and bee stings and poison plants.

This is a poetic/literary romance with no plot and, surprisingly for a literary attempt, no characters with any definition, relatability, likeability, or discernable personalities. I constantly had to force myself to continue on, but the one thing I never managed was to force myself to care about what was happening or who it was happening to.

Some pretty words and a clever bit now and then, but not worth the considerable effort involved in the slog from one complex coding mechanism to the next just to read about a love that springs from nothing and ultimately means nothing at the end. Disappointed. (And, yes, I do know it just won a Nebula.)

You may have noticed, I did not provide a link to purchase this book on Amazon. Perhaps that alone tells you all you need to know.

Television Review: Upload, Season One

 Now Available on Amazon Prime 

If you've read my book, Forced Conversion, you know that I have an interest in the subject of uploaded consciousness. But while my book is dark and deadly serious, I can also appreciate the potential humor in uploading people irreversibly to virtual reality right before (at least hopefully right before) their imminent demise.

So, I was delighted to see the premise of Upload, a new ten episode series now showing on Amazon Prime. Featuring Robbie Amell (who you may know from The Tomorrow People) as Nathan, a computer jock who is rushed into the virtual hereafter by his about-to-be-ex girlfriend. Even though he is at a high end heaven, not everything is perfect and, worse yet, almost nothing is free.

I found this series witty, clever, and enjoyable. Just the kind of light romp you need as you settle in for another evening of video escapism during the pandemic. Highly recommended.

The entirety of Season One is free on Amazon Prime for subscribers and if you haven't yet subscribed, you can easily do that right here.

Another binge tip, the three part series Grant, on The History Channel. Interesting and educational.

The Mindful Eye by Mary Konczyk

Ever take a photo of something that looked amazing when you saw it but looked disappointing when you saw your photo? Was your aunt sprouting foliage from her head? Does your memory of that breathtaking scene clash with what your camera apparently saw? When you look at your photo, do you wonder just what it was that was so compelling that you had to point a camera at it? If so, you're not alone. There's a good chance that you are one of the millions of casual photographers who has a camera disguised as a cell phone, but who has never had any formal training in Art.

This short, easy to read book was written by a fellow photography hobbyist. It doesn't get bogged down in technicalities, but instead addresses fundamental concepts of artistic composition and the pitfalls of neglecting them,  illustrated by examples of where these principles have been used, and some examples of where they ought to have been used but, sadly, were not.

Click on the cover of the book to get it in ebook format. Print version will be coming soon.

Naan of Your Business: A Comeback Kid Story by Jack Roach

Too shy to reply? The Comeback Kid will do it for you!

In this hilarious take on the modern-day detective story, Frank "The Comeback Kid" Davenport has made a cozy living finishing arguments for people too embarrassed to speak up for themselves. But when a beautiful young woman hires him to tell off her dad, he quickly discovers that this job will be unlike any he's had before. If he's going to finish it, the unlikely sleuth will have to hunt her father down himself. The only problem? Ruthless killers are also looking for him, and now Frank is in their sights. His only hope is to find out why the dad skipped town before Frank's life, career, and floundering love life are ruined.

Fans of Douglas Adams and Christopher Moore will love this uproarious thrill ride.

Four stars on Amazon. Reviewers found it snarky, witty, and humorous.

Click on the picture to buy on Amazon. Also available in print.