Jennifer Foehner Wells
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My Review of Legacy Code by Autumn Kalquist

8/29/2014

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Legacy Code (Legacy Code #1)Legacy Code by Autumn Kalquist
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an extremely well-written book--exactly the kind of book I frequently look for. I enjoyed the audio version immensely. The narrator was a very talented woman with an English accent. The world had a very dark and gritty atmosphere, with just a hint of a Battlestar Galactica vibe--and though it has one story element in common with BSG (a fleet of ships humans call home while they search for a new world), the protagonist herself and main plot couldn't be further from that.

The protagonist's motivations and experiences rang true to me. This book has a feeling of realism (in a world built quite different from ours) that allows you to immerse yourself. I tore through it in just a few days, eager to find out what happened. The ending was a complete surprise to me and shocking. I was warned it was controversial, but I didn't think so. I thought the author was brave, but I won't say any more than that for fear of spoiling it for anyone else.

Without a doubt I will be reading more by Autumn Kalquist--a very talented new SF author.

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My Review of I Am Legend By Richard Matheson

8/27/2014

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I Am LegendI Am Legend by Richard Matheson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm embarrassed to say that I dragged my feet about this book. But I wanted to read some classic scifi and try to catch up on all the good stuff I'd missed out on. I was IMMEDIATELY gripped by this story. Though it was written in the 1950's, that just washes away, becomes trivial.

The story is about a man surviving against all odds. Just a factory worker, he struggles with his humanity and becomes a scientist and a scholar--he elevates himself.

So many parts of this book held me in thrall, but the section about the dog brought tears to my eyes. Even the science, though rooted in early concepts of bacteriology, still rings as plausible.

This was a masterfully written tale and ended perfectly. It is, in my mind, the standard by which zombie and vampire books should be held. Don't even compare the movies--they are just bastardizations of this brilliant work. All my thumbs up. A must-read! Visceral, compelling...this story will stay with you.

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Ticking Things Off the To-Do List--Check! ✔️

8/25/2014

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There's so much going on lately, my head is spinning.

I have a to-do list a mile long and every time I check something off, I think of two more things to add.

(Every accomplishment earns me a sip of my favorite cocktail after my kiddos are abed, so let's get started!)

I updated FLUENCY's Kindle file over the weekend. There were two typos and a grammatical error that my proofreader missed. (She's an amazing grammar nazi, but she's also human!). 

I grew up using drug as the past tense of drag (instead of dragged). I must tell you, dragged just sounds wrong to me! It's a regional usage apparently, that grates on some peoples' nerves--especially, but not limited to, those who speak the Queen's English. <Ahem > However, I've been told many times that 'drug' is wrong and thus I have painstakingly (and quite cheerfully) gone through all my files and corrected the mistake within the manuscript. Check!  ✔️
So, if you would like the more perfect version, please go to Amazon and click on "your account" in the upper right corner. Then, "Manage your content and devices." Once that page is open, you have three headings to choose from.

If you click on "Settings," and scroll down, you will have the option of "Automatic Book Update." If you have clicked that on, then you'll get updates to all of the books in your library when Amazon deems that improvements have been made. 

That's all I can do from my end. If Amazon doesn't deem the change I made to the document as an "improvement" then there's not much I can do. All new copies going out now are proper. ✔️

The paperback version is a smidge more difficult to wrangle. I'm still working on that one. It should be available in updated form soon.

 ALERT: BOOK SIGNING COMING UP

PictureRobots and Rogues New and Used Books
I'll be doing another book signing at an amazing SFF bookstore in my state called Robots and Rogues New and Used Books on September 13 from 11 am to 1 pm. 

Here's the event's page on Facebook. Let us know if you're planning to attend! 

If you're in the area, stop in and check it out. I'll sign your book and you can explore this amazing shop dedicated to all things Science Fiction and Fantasy. There are very few independent bookstores in existence that are quite like this place. Let's keep it open by buying lots of books! It's worth a trip! Check! ✔️



WANT A SIGNED COPY OF FLUENCY? HERE'S HOW:

In addition, the owner of this shop has graciously agreed to stock signed books for me and ship them. If you would like a signed copy of FLUENCY, send an email to Tricia at: robotsandrogues@gmail.com and she will send you an invoice. 

It will be a flat fee of $19 for a signed book in the US ($13 for the book and $6 for priority shipping with tracking and insurance). International shipping is available. Just ask Tricia for a quote and she will invoice you. I'll go in from time to time and sign her stock so they will always be available. 

Please don't ask her for other shipping options. I'm grateful that she's doing this for me and don't want to create extra headaches for her or her co-owner, KEvin. ✔️
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That's all for now! The website is giving me fits. More soon!
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My GoodReads review of The Forever War by Joe Haldemon

8/22/2014

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The Forever War (The Forever War, #1)The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm reading this after finishing Scalzi's Old Man's War. There are obvious parallels, but I much prefer Scalzi's work, as it is a more character-driven tale.

This book is a clear commentary on the Vietnam war and the effect that war had on career soldiers, how their world changed while they're away. How it has changed them into something they don't recognize.

I loved the conclusion. I loved all the commentary about social mores, gender, language, and sexuality.

Haldeman clearly expected technology to evolve even faster than it has. That adds to the book's charm for me. It's amusing to hear him refer to years I have lived through with accounts of technology that is far beyond us, but still using some very analog ideas--ie, he thought microfiche would still be around hundreds of years later. When he wrote the book, credit cards must not have been in use yet, because he imagined a small device taking the place of a wallet. A fascinating read in that way, inside the mind of a 1975 futurist.

I really enjoyed this. It's a classic I should have read long ago. And the narration on the audio book was IMPECCABLY good!

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GISHWHES Happy Fun Time

8/11/2014

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Ten days ago, I'd never heard of GISHWHES. But my Twitter feed suddenly blew up with a flurry of GISHWHES tweets which seemed all obfuscated and abstruse. Naturally, I was curious. So, off I tromped to the Google, to find out what this exciting nonsense was all about. It turns out it stands for:
Picture
Greatest 
International 
Scavenger 
Hunt the 
World 
Has 
Ever 
Seen

And the acronym seems to be true, since it's broken the Guinness World Record five times. Hosted by actor Misha Collins, it's an international hunt involving stunts and acts of kindness and tons of fun, crazy, GEEKY stuff. (Yay!)

I was intrigued. Then, out of the blue, I found out about item number 78 on the GISHWHES list, when I was asked to fulfill it:

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Misha Collins, hunky actor dude

"Get a previously published Sci-Fi author to write an original
story (140 words max) about Misha Collins, the Queen of England, and an Elopus [an elephant/octopus hybrid].
"


Picture
Credit: Rob Stewart/Niwa Graneledone taniwha taniwha octopus.
Wow. It almost seemed like the category was INTENDED specifically for ME!!! Right?!?!

Being pretty new to authorhood, I expected that to be the end of it. I wrote one up and sent it off to team fishwishesLovespwincessbubbakwup and got back to the business of writing writing books.

Then I saw a tweet from John Scalzi, lamenting that he was besieged with GISHWHES requests. "Heh," I thought. "Must suck to be famous."

Little did I know the requests had only just begun. I got another...and immediately decided Scalzi was right. 😊 Though I wanted to help out, and writing the little stories was fun, I couldn't honor every request because that would be all I'd be doing. I agreed to write TWO and posted publicly that that was all I'd be doing. At least one other contestant was disappointed. (I hope they found someone to do it for them!)

So, the big hunt is over and I'm now allowed to share my two (extremely brief) stories.

#1
MISHA IS THE MACHINE

Pictureimage credit unknown
Misha Collins slid soundlessly from the lift, dropping camouflage. He’d gone undetected, but he wanted Queen Victoria LXXIV of the NovaUK to see the man that assassinated her. It was her or him. Freedom or death.

QVLXXIV turned her head as much as was possible. She was inextricably linked to the throne along her spine, a cybernetic composite of flesh and machine. Not so different from him, the hypocrite.

The genetic monster beside her slipped from its acrylic tank, a leviathan—half elephant, half octopus—100% lethal.

The battle that followed pushed him beyond his limits. Ultimately, he lost. As his body succumbed to the python-like compression of the elopus’ tentacles, his mind was intact. His mouth moved to say, “I may be merely machine, but I have free will. I chose this. I die free.”

“HOLD!” she commanded.

#2
COLLINS AND THE TROPHY

The elopus silently slipped one limb at a time through a scupper and onto the deck of the human vessel. She’d been hunted across miles of ocean floor by a big game hunter. She worried for her untended eggs. She’d lured Collins away, though. He’d never find them.

She glided across the deck, keeping to shadows and the smallest crevices where no human could follow. She found herself in an opulent stateroom. That was when she noticed she was leaving a trail of blue blood. She was so tired.


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Mural on the streets of London by Alexis Diazby Christopher Jobson
The clack of shoes. The world was dim. A wrinkled blue-haired woman with red lips and an imperious manner. Gentle hands. Soothing darkness and cool waters.

A scuffle. She opened her eyes, blinking with weariness. Misha was there! Panic!

The most terrible sound.

Queen Elizabeth IV held a smoking pistol.
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On Podcasts and Things

8/8/2014

1 Comment

 
Just putting up a brief post to mention a few things that are going on right now. 

I was interviewed by The Freelancer about Kindle Unlimited/Kindle Owner's Lending Library and Kindle Direct Publishing Select. I'm mentioned briefly in that article.

My hometown newspaper did an article about me. That made my parents proud and was kind of fun.

I was interviewed by the author podcast Architect's Apprentice last week. We talked about the conception and writing of Fluency as well as upcoming projects, writing groups, process and much, much more. Take a listen!

Also very exciting this week was having a screenwriter contact me asking about the film rights to Fluency. I've no idea yet what that means beyond the fact that it's time to get an entertainment lawyer and an agent.

I'm just trying to keep my head down and keep writing.

Onward!
1 Comment
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    Jennifer Foehner Wells

    I'm an author of the Space Opera variety.

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