Science, Society

Orion and Getting Back into the Space Race

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Orion Space Capsule Concept Image
Orion Space Capsule

The Orion spacecapsule has returned successfully after it’s first real test… and I’m excited.  Yet at the same time, I can’t help but feel it’s a hand-wave.  The Orion is incredible… yet it is still feels like too little, too late.

Paul Bertorelli wrote an excellent article (below) that matches a lot of my feelings on the subject.

http://www.avweb.com/blogs/insider/Orion-Glacial-Pace-Space-Dawns-223201-1.html

The private industry is trying, too, but as seen by the recent setback with Virgin Galactic, they are not quite where we might hope they could be.  The problem, quite simply is money.  Space expansion and exploration requires a lot of money, and even with very wealthy private investors, such as Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson, they have far lower budgets than NASA could have, in theory.  But NASA doesn’t have the money, or focus, to make manned exploration (much less expansion/colonization) a priority.  Part of that is politics.  Space isn’t a priority to the average US citizen, because the media (movies, news, etc) focus on the expense, the danger, and the cost.  The recent movie, Interstellar, garnered a lot of criticism, not because of its plot, but because the theme was stay and die or get out into space and propagate.  A note of how much certain people hate our own race where a message of expand our horizons or die was criticized in that survival was seen as the wrong choice.

Against that measure, Orion is a step in the right direction… a very slow step, but still a step.  But what can you and I do to improve this?  Talk to your friends, your family, have the discussions about the potential and importance of space travel.  Fight the dialogue that says that space is a waste.  Fight the people who think that ‘we need to stay here and not ruin the stars’ and rubbish like that.  Make it a topic of conversation, make it important to other people, light that spark… or else we may never take that next step, we may never go back to the moon, much less to other worlds.  That, I think, would be a great tragedy.

Reading

How I Learned To Hate The VAT

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My fellow self-published authors have no doubt already been bombarded by emails from Amazon in regards to changes in the VAT, but I thought I’d take a moment to tell my readers why prices are going to suddenly change on a number of books and how this change affects authors.  These changes take place on 1 January, 2015.

You see, the way the VAT used to work, it applied based on the seller’s country. So an author in the UK had a 20% VAT on top of the price of their book, off each sale. Now, however, it is based off the customer’s country. So when I sell a book in, oh, say Ireland, there’s 23% tax on top of the price of the book. This means for a book that is €5, the tax is an additional dollar, making the book €6.15. The way Amazon is resolving this is that the tax comes off the top… and my royalties, therefore are still as if the book sold for €5. What this means, is that either I lower prices (IE, to €4.12) which then should make that same book €5 to the customer or it goes for €6, which pushes me up around where some of the well-established authors are, and makes it less likely for a new reader to buy my book.

Now, since I get roughly €3.42 (70% royalty minus some delivery fees and such) off the sale of a €5 book, the difference, as far as I can tell through my projections, is that I get €3 now for a book that sells for the same price. Basically, a foreign country gets a dollar off each of my book sales while I lose forty cents per sale. Not a lot, individually, but that’s around €200 a month that I won’t get (and  €500 that some other nation does get). Keep in mind, writing is my second job, I still work full time. How would you feel if your boss told you that your pay is getting cut €200 a month to pay taxes in a country you don’t live in?

Fantasy, Reading, Science Fiction, Writing

Kal’s December 2014 Forecast

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Well, it’s the final month of 2014, and with it, I’m working hard on multiple fronts. I’m editing some works for submission to a traditional publisher, writing Echo of the High King’s sequel, Wrath of the Usurper, and outlining and preparing to write the next installment of the Renegades and Shadow Space Chronicles books.

In addition, I’m finishing out my last month in active duty in the US Army. As you can imagine, that’s a big change for my family. What it should mean for my readers is that I’ll have more time to write. What it means for me is finding a new day job and all the stress that goes with that.

Wrapping things up, I hope to have Wrath of the Usurper finished by early next month and move on to writing the Renegades and Shadow Space books. Oh, as a side note, if you plan to buy gifts for the holidays on Amazon, please use the links from my page. I get a small amount in advertising fees each time you make a purchase. Thanks for reading and have a happy holiday season!

 

Society

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Yes, it’s a purely USA holiday.  But I think the sentiment is something that can be shared.  Regardless of where you are, take some time from your day to be thankful for the things in your life.

Me, I’m grateful for the good things, but also the challenges I’ve been given.  It is the hardest times in your life that force you to grow.  Sometimes I might wish I had fewer opportunities to grow, but looking back, I’m grateful for the experiences that made me into the man I am today.  Remember to be grateful for the things and people who have helped to make you the person you are… and if you aren’t happy with that person, find some way to challenge yourself to be the one you want to be.

That’s all, have a happy turkey day.  Check back here soon for some new information and updates on my publishing schedule.

Reading, Science Fiction

New Review For The Fallen Race

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The Fallen Race Book I of The Shadow Space Chronicles
The Fallen Race
Book I of The Shadow Space Chronicles

There’s a new review up for The Fallen Race from Planetary Defense Command.  He reviewed the audio version.  Check it out, and be sure to check out some of his other reviews!

Baron Lucius Giovanni, Captain of the battleship War Shrike, finds himself without a home or nation, his ship heavily damaged, and crew in bad shape. The odds against their personal survival are slim. The time of humanity has come to a close. The great nations have all fallen, either to the encroaching alien threats or to internal fighting and civil war. The aliens who seek to supplant humanity, however, have not taken one thing into account: Lucius Giovanni. He and his crew will not give up – not while they still draw breath. If this is to be the fall of humanity, then the crew of the War Shrike will go down fighting…and in the heat of that fight, they may just light a new fire for humanity….

The Fallen Race is available from Amazon, Audible, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords and Kobo.  If you’ve already read The Fallen Race, be sure to check out its sequel, The Shattered Empire.

 

 

Entertainment, Science Fiction

Big Hero 6: A Review in Oooh Shiny

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Big Hero 6 caught my attention with its first trailer. I don’t normally find myself laughing hysterically at a movie trailer. This movie managed that and the combination of dry humor and silliness seemed like the perfect choice on an otherwise dreary weekend. They did a great job with the trailer, which spread its appeal to both kids and adults. Unfortunately, the trailer probably wasn’t targeted very well.

Let me say this: Big Hero 6 is a great kid’s movie. It has excellent characterization, wonderful visuals, and good moral lessons and choices for kids to enjoy. That said, for an adult, there’s just not much depth. The humor is good, except that they showed the best jokes/gags in the trailer. The story as a whole is a bit too predictable, with the big plot reveals being easily foreseen and the character development being aimed more at young adults than anyone who has already gone through puberty. The whole movie, also, feels vaguely reminiscent of How to Tame Your Dragon.

That said, the characterization and story are well done, the visuals are fantastic. For a kid this movie has everything. The story is engaging, a revenge story where the hero must come to grips with his own emotions and chose justice or revenge. It teaches the importance of responsibility and the potential for redemption. I very much recommend it, especially if you have kids.

 

Fantasy, Reading

Echo of the High Kings Giveaway Reminder

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Hey everyone, just a reminder about the Echo of the High Kings giveaway. As I stated before here, the contest just requires a review of Echo of the High Kings posted to Amazon. I’ll draw three winners from the reviewers. Those reviews have to be posted by midnight on the 15th of November. The three prizes include a signed copy, one of my audiobooks, and getting to be a character in a book I’m writing. So, if you read and enjoyed Echo of the High Kings, please write a review, good or bad, and tell me what you think. Only three days left!

Echo of the High Kings, Book I of the Eoriel Saga
Echo of the High Kings, Book I of the Eoriel Saga
Fantasy, Reading, Science Fiction

Kal’s November 2014 Forecast

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I’m working steadily through Book II of the Eoriel Saga, Wrath of the Usurper.  Got to say, all in all, I’m very pleased with the sales for The Shattered Empire, it’s back on the top 100 for Military Science Fiction.  If you liked it, please recommend it to your friends or write a review.  Heck, if you didn’t like it, please write a review.  Reviews help authors in a number of ways, not least of which by providing some feedback.

What else am I working on this month?  Well, it is national write a novel month.  If an estimated 180k novel isn’t enough to work on, I’m also trying to complete the YA SF novel I was working on.  We’ll see how that progresses.  I’m also in talks with Henchman Press to possibly deliver a space opera novel to them in an unspecified period of time.  That’s enough on my plate, don’t you think?

Well, that’s all for now.  Stay tuned for additional updates!

 

 

 

Fantasy, Reading

Review For Echo of the High Kings

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Echo of the High Kings, Book I of the Eoriel Saga
Echo of the High Kings, Book I of the Eoriel Saga

At the Right Fans, Stephanie Souders has a review up for Echo of the High Kings.  You can check it out here.  In other news, the final audio version of Echo of the High Kings is under review by Audible, and it should be approved and go live within a week.  I’m currently working on the sequel, Wrath of the Usurper, and hope to have that out early next year, followed shortly by the third book of the Shadow Space Chronicles.

In case you missed it, here’s the blurb for Echo of the High Kings:

In Eoriel, the High Kings are legend: rulers who once stood against the darkness and ruled the world for two thousand turns of peace and prosperity. In the long turns since their fall during the Sundering, Eoriel’s civilization has faded. Dark men and darker beings have torn down and destroyed the old works. While some have held out against the grind of history, other places have been reduced to primitive tribes of savages, worshiping dark spirits and demons as their gods.
Yet a spark of hope remains. Some still believe in the old legends, some still fight to restore the old ways, and some will stand against the darkness, in an echo of the High Kings.

 

You can get your copy of Echo of the High Kings from Amazon.

The news and opinions of Kal Spriggs