The Next Big Thing

Today is the anniversary of my very first blog post. I cannot believe a year has passed. In that time I’ve written about all manner of advanced motorized transportation and we even had a commercial space vehicle dock with the International Space Station – amazing.

To commemorate this event I am participating in The Next Big Thing Blog Hop. The idea is for writers to answer ten questions about a work-in-progress or a newly-published book.

My writing coach, Sera Rivers, tagged me last week. Since it’s my blog’s one-year anniversary, she has decided to let me go first. (As she looks upon this paragraph, she is grumbling about my phrase-choice “she has decided,” but in celebratory honor, she is allowing me to keep said phrase-choice: THIS time…yes, she wrote these parenthetic remarks.)

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

What is your working title of your book?
Refuge

Where did the idea come from for the book?
I’ve always been a bit fascinated by the myth of Santa Claus. How does this guy get toys into the hands of all good children? My hypothesis is that he’s an alien who utilizes advanced technology to fabricate and deliver the toys in a timely manner. Refuge is his backstory, who he was before Santa Claus.

What genre does your book fall under?
I would call it a cross-genre of science fiction and historical fiction; I’ve got aliens, Vikings, Scots, spaceships, advanced weaponry and a cloaked island on Earth.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Dwayne“The Rock” Johnson as the protagonist, SubCaptain KrisIngles. Bruce Willis as Lieutenant GuarDell, an old school Sanklausian Marine. Dye her hair red and Piper Perabo, star of USA’s Covert Affairs, would make a kick-ass Gitta, the potential love interest of KrisIngles.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
The first in a trilogy, Refuge is a redefinition of Santa Claus’ origin.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I will be seeking representation.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
It seemed like it took forever to write the first draft, when in actuality, it took about a year and a half.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I’m not certain. I think I would liken it to, “First Contact,” Season Four, episode 15 of Star Trek The Next Generation (airdate: 2/18/1991). During a mission to determine if the Malcorians are Federation worthy, Will Riker, disguised as a Malcorian, is injured and stranded in a one of their hospitals.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I have always felt like there was a story inside me waiting to be written. On numerous occasions, I started a tale but never got past the first page. I had all sorts of excuses – family, work, night school (I was working toward a BS in Computer Science). Finally, in the beginning of 2005, I vowed that I’d start working on a book when I attained my degree. While I wrote and wrote and wrote, it didn’t really come together until I hired a writing coach to help keep me on task.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Refuge grew from what I had originally planned as a prologue/introduction to an entirely different story. But it took a life of its own and has turned into the first novel of a trilogy. As I wrote, I realized there was much more of KrisIngles’ story to tell.


Leave questions, similar book titles, and general comments below. I’d love to hear from you.

Look for next week’s NEXT BIG THING post by Sera Rivers.

Home Repairs Made Easy?

Home ownership is tiring. You have to mow the lawn, trim the shrubs, rake the leaves, clean the gutters, shovel the walk, sand and salt the driveway, repaint, wallpaper. Aaaarrrggghhh, it’s never ending. And sometimes … it seems like the most benign task becomes a major project; I lose count of my trips to the hardware store.

Courtesy Google Images

Want to get rid of those cracks in your home’s foundation? There’s hope. Researchers at Delft Technical University in the Netherlands are developing self-repairing concrete. FutureTimeline.net reports that microbiologist Henk Jonkers and concrete specialist Erik Schlangen have created a self-healing concrete by adding inactive bacteria to the concrete mixture.

The theory? When a small crack forms in concrete it becomes exposed to the elements. Water seeps into the crack, activates the bacteria, and helps turn calcium in the nutrients into limestone which fills the cracks. How cool is it that scientists are figuring out how to grow concrete?

What I wouldn’t give for a lawn that mowed itself or a room where the paint never faded, dulled or chipped. Wouldn’t it be great if scientists could, somehow, transfer this type of technology to other aspects of home care?

Billion Dollar Baby

A dollar bill is 6.14 inches long and .0043 inches thick. If you were to lay four billion of them end-to-end they’d stretch around the earth nine and one half times. A stack of four billion ones would be over 271 miles high.

Courtesy Google Images

$4.05 billion; that’s the amount, in cash and stocks, that The Walt Disney Company paid George Lucas for Lucasfilm. When I sat in a theater in 1977 and watched Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope I never dreamed the franchise would be worth such a vast sum; heck, I never dreamed there’d be a franchise.

Back then, people compared Star Wars to the, then, defunct Star Trek franchise. They said the special effects in Star Wars far outshined those from the 1960s series.

Seriously? Being a fan of Captain Kirk, et al, I was offended. Movie and television technology had dramatically advanced in the decade after Star Trek ended. What did people expect? of course the special effects were going to be more … special.

According to ABCnews.com, Disney also announced that in 2015 they will release Episode VII. That is awesome! Lucas had decided that he was done with Star Wars movies after Episode III so I think that with the backing of Disney Studios there’s a chance we may see Episodes VII through IX.

Does anyone else share my rejuvenated Star Wars excitement?

Not Captain Kangaroo’s Green Jeans

Courtesy Google Images

I am old enough to remember the Captain Kangaroo morning show with Bob Keeshan portraying the Captain. I remember the magic drawing board, Mr. Moose, Bunny Rabbit, Dancing Bear and Mr. Greenjeans.

Captain Kangaroo and his cast of characters have been … retired for some time, but that doesn’t mean an end to green jeans. According to the British Council, Professor Tony Ryan of the University of Sheffield and Professor Helen Storey of the London College of Fashion are collaborating on the development of clothing that will purify the air.

The Independent reports that Ryan and Storey discovered microscopic particles of titanium oxide worked as a pollution buster when sprayed on clothes. Professor Storey said, “It seemed to be particularly effective on denim jeans and then we realised there were more denim jeans on the planet than people.” The toxins trapped in the coating will be neutralized and washed away when the jeans are laundered. Tests are being performed to determine if the jeans are safe to wear.

Regardless the outcome of the testing, I’d be hard pressed to don any clothing that is designed to absorb toxins.

Does anyone want to wear a catalytic converter in the guise of Levis?

Chainless Hybrid Bicycle

On my eighth birthday my parents gave me a brand new Sears Roebuck bicycle. It was a single speed (I didn’t get a cool banana seated three speed until my eleventh birthday) and fire engine red. I loved that bike; I rode it everywhere.

Courtesy Google Images

In the early 1970s, there was a gas shortage so people purchased mopeds, small motorized scooters that had pedals. The operator would start pedaling then a motor would kick in. They were useful because you only needed a valid state driver’s license to operate one and they were much faster than walking.

Courtesy Google Images

The next generation of motorized bicycles is just around the corner. In 2013, Korean auto parts maker, Mando, will roll out a chainless hybrid bicycle called Footloose. According to DVICE.com, Footloose is a folding electric bike that turns human pedaling power into energy to be stored in the bike’s lithium-ion battery. The bike can travel up to 18.6 miles on electricity alone. It has a control unit that monitors the vehicle’s speed and automatically adjusts its energy output.

I was never a big fan of the moped. It was bulky and seemed to lack a whole lot of mobility. On the other hand, the Footloose appears to handle like a regular street bicycle. Depending on cost, I could envision owning one.

Does this make anyone feel like going for a weekend bike ride?

Fearless Felix

On August 16, 1960, Air Force Captain Joe Kittinger, completed a world record 102,800 foot skydive. According to centennialofflight.gov he was protected against the subzero temperatures by layers of clothes and a pressure suit and during his descent, he reached speeds up to 614 miles per hour.

Yesterday, Sunday, 10/14/12, on the Discovery Channel, I watched Australian daredevil Felix Baumgartner break Kittinger’s 52 year old record. Interestingly, Joe Kittinger was a member of Baumgartner’s support team.

Courtesy Google Images

Baumgartner’s capsule was lifted on high by a hot air balloon to a height greater than 128,000 feet. He wore a high tech pressure suit and helmet that protected him from the freezing temperatures present at that altitude.

Just before the jump, he stood on platform outside his capsule and hesitated and I wondered if he was thinking, “Wow, that’s a long way down.” He leaned forward and toppled. As he dropped he pin wheeled. I wondered if he was ok but I could hear him breathing. His descent steadied and eventually he opened his chute and floated safely to the ground.

According to abcnews.com his skydive was record breaking on three counts.

1. The only man to achieve a supersonic skydive (833 miles per hour or Mach 1.24)

2. The highest exit from a platform

3. The free fall without a drogue parachute

I was amazed and awed that someone would be willing to perform a stunt like this. I don’t even like to ride the roller coasters at Six Flags.

Are there any daredevils out there that want to attempt a jump of 128,000 feet?

Red Shirts

According to Infoplease.com, in college sports a red shirt is an athlete who did not play in any games (at the coach's request), or was seriously injured during their first season. The "red-shirt" designation means that that season will not count against the player's four years of NCAA eligibility, allowing them to play four full seasons.

Courtesy Google Images

Anyone who has watched the original Star Trek series (1966 – 1969) knows that a red shirt character is usually the first one to die. The term “red shirt” has become so ingrained in my family’s lexicon that when we watch a TV program we attempt to identify the designated red shirt.

I found an interesting article at Wired.com that reported being a "Red Shirt" on the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 was one of the most dangerous jobs in any (imaginary) military. According to Wired.com 13.7% of Kirk’s crew died during their three-year televised mission; 73% of the deaths were Red Shirts.

Courtesy Google Images

I knew that the "Red Shirt" was the first to go. It’s reassuring to know that there is statistical evidence to back up what I knew intuitively.