Got a chance to go visit the fine folks at FenCon. Happened in Addison where they always have a great turnout. My friend Tom Branch and I got there in time to listen to Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine on a panel about steampunk. I got to get my copy of Phoenix Rising autographed and a photo together with them. I truly enjoyed meeting them.
Also, got to listen in on Gail Carriger. I read her first book, Soulless, and wanted to get it signed but due to time constraints, couldn’t get to her in time. I did get her photo, though. Was very amazed to find out that she is an archeologist, but she deals more with the archeological materials which if I’m not mistaken is about the tools that made certain items. Don’t hold me to that, Google it.
Was, also, able to speak with Rachel Caine and P. N. Elrod who shared a table together. Very nice ladies and Mrs. Elrod was nice enough to give me one of her books on tape since I . . . still have . . . a tape player. Nonetheless, a most wonderful lady and look forward to seeing them again soon.
I always have to stop by the table of Gloria Oliver and say hi. She’s got the same spot every year and I have yet to find where they engraved her name. Everyone seems to know that it’s her spot. I picked up her latest and can’t wait to find time to read it!
If you get a chance to go next year, you won’t be disappointed. It’s always a lot of fun and the authors are more than happy to talk to their fans! If you’ve got any photos to post, put the link in the comments section. Here’s the link to my album.
First order of business is the Lewisville Book Club meeting this Friday night, August 12th, at the IHOP. Kick-off is at 7:30 P.M. and we will be discussing Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris. Excellent book! I’ll try to find time to review it. This is the first book that I’ve actually finished on time for the meeting, so that’s a testament to how much I enjoyed it. See this previous post for the book trailer.
So, following our last book discussion we were talking movies. Cowboys and Aliens came up and no, I haven’t seen it yet, but plan on going. I wondered out loud where the guy came up with the idea for the comic on which the movie is based when I remembered a story in the news about an alien crash here in Texas. Doing a little research, I found that we were only 40 miles from where it supposedly happened.
Unfortunately, I didn’t find the video below before we went, so we may be making a return trip. I want to find that well and that tree. Here’s a link to the photos that we took. No evidence of extraterrestrial life but maybe on the next visit. You can also see Aurora in season 3 episode 1 of Ancient Aliens on the History Channel.
If you happen to make the trip out there be sure to have an appetite. There is a little restaurant called Tater Junction and they have got some of the best home cooking you’ll ever get this side of your grandma. The ladies there are the sweetest things and love to converse with the customers.
You’ll also find the DNAlien series of novels by Jim West at the register. Mr. West is a native of Texas and has written a story of a government-grown alien on the run. Using the local area as setting, it sounds like a good read and I will eventually get to it as soon as I knock my stack down a little more. If anyone has read it, shoot me a review and give me your take on it.
Has anyone been to Aurora before and if so, what did you find? Is there life out there? Let me know what you think!
Friday night was our monthly book club meeting in Lewisville and oh, the many topics we tossed about! This month we met to discuss Alastair Reynolds’ novel, House of Suns. As usual, I was a little behind on my reading and so had only finished about a third of the book. Thankfully, I was not the only one, but we had fun discussing what we had read so far.
This is a great read and Alastair Reynolds is a forward thinking writer. One of the ideas in use is the idea that a person will be able to create their own clone and then pass their memories on to the new one, thus making themselves immortal. Thus, “you” can essentially cross hundreds of thousands of light-years and have all the experiences that you attain in that travel.
Refueling a dying sun by funneling in more fuel through a wormhole is a unique use of said hole. Always knew that a wormhole could be used to transport all kinds of things, just never thought of doing that. And the use of Dyson spheres is really really cool, but you’ll have to read the book to find out why.
Below is a video that describes an alternative to cold fusion that is more efficient and practical than what they’ve been trying in research. Yes, we discussed this, too. What? TOO geeky for ya? Come join us next month when we’ll be discussing Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris. A little steampunk ought to ease the mental strain. Book trailer is below the fusion video.
