Science fiction readers: I’m here a few morsels of fun to carry you through the week. A free sci-fi story, updates on the beta read for Starfighter Down, and an audiobook recommendation for fans of mythology and storytelling.
Let’s get started, shall we?
1) Free Space Colonization Story
Climate scientists tell us the Earth is heating up. What if, one day, we realized Earth was dying and had to leave?
In “Centurion,” I imagine a future where pioneers can leave the dying Earth to colonize a new world in the Alpha Centauri system.
But new planets bring new challenges. To survive, Josu and his father have to adapt—abandon modern comforts, be wary of monsters in the forest and, most of all, watch each other’s backs.
“Centurion” is free to read on my blog for one more week.
This is a limited time offer—I like sharing fiction with you this way, but the tradeoff is that I can’t leave it up forever. So read it while it’s available. If not, the story is also in my collection, Boys & Their Monsters.
2) Beta reading Starfighter Down
It’ll take me another week or so, but soon I’ll be done applying beta reader feedback on Starfighter Down. Judging by your emails, learning more about my beta reading process interests many of you.
It’s been an illuminating experience for me. I’ve done beta reading before, but never has the feedback I’ve received been so useful. Part of that had to do with seeking out subject matter experts—the other part was asking better questions.
As I finish my work, I’ll be documenting what I did and what I’ve learned in a couple of blog posts. First, how I went about gathering and organizing feedback to make it as useful as possible. And second, without spoilers, sharing how the feedback impacted my work and taught me new things.
Maybe, like me, you’ll learn a thing or two. And if not, well, it’s always entertaining watching someone else make a mess of things! Even if it’s intentional 😉
3. The Power of Myth with Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers
Finally, a book recommendation.
The Power of Myth is a series of six interviews Bill Moyers conducted with Joseph Campbell near the end of his life. The programs originally aired in 1988, and they’ve since been collected into this audiobook. It was recommended to me by Tim Ferriss, who ran a podcast containing the first program for anyone to listen to free. You can check that out here.
If you like the sample, or if you already know how brilliant Joseph Campbell was, you can buy The Power of Myth on Amazon/Audible, or borrow it from the library with the Libby app by Overdrive (which is how I listened to it).
It’s an absolutely brilliant set of interviews and I can’t wait to go through it a second time and pick up everything I missed—it’s packed full of knowledge about human psychology, the symbolism of mythology, and just plain great storytelling. Joseph Campbell may be famous for advising George Lucas on Star Wars, but he was so much more than that, and this audiobook shows off his strengths in the best way.
I hope you’ll check it out. If you do, be sure to let me know what you think.
Enjoy these stories.
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