Blog Hoppin'

Our very talented band of writers offers up a pool of blogs at least a hundred strong, and perusing the many articles can be both amusing and thought-provoking. Just a few are listed on the Bases of Operation on the sidebar, in order of newest to oldest post. 

Here's just a smattering of posts in the last 48 hours, a virtual sampler platter:

Barbara Elsborg blogs on The Power of Love
What makes you sigh?  What makes you cry?  What movies have summoned your deepest emotions?  This talented author shares her feelings on the most powerful force in the galaxy.

Spacefreighters Lounge blogs on The Tomboys of Romance
In my years talking to a variety of SFR writers and authors, I've noticed a definite pattern emerging.  Do you fit the profile of The Tomboys of Romance?

Shelley Munro's Taste of Kiwi blog The Case of the Mysterious Ears
The universe is a strange place with all sorts of unexplained mysteries.  This is a case in point, though it's much more cute and amusing than disturbing.  (By the way, Shelley has a warning at the top of her blog:  "An Unladylike Topic Ahead."  I'm betting Shelley just might fit the Tomboys of Romance profile.)

Misa Buckley posts Twenty Five Years On
Like many Brigaders have done since yesterday, Misa offers a tribute to the Challenger crew.

If  you're a Brigader, we'd be happy to add your blog to the Bases of Operation listing.  Just drop me an email at Lgreen2162 (at) aol (dot) com--in the usual email format--with a link to your blog and "Add to BoO". (Note: Not all blog addresses are compatible with the gadget, but we've found that most are.)

Talkin' eReaders

Hi Brigader Buddies!

Don't mind me, I'm just in a conversational mood right not. I'm doing my first guest gig over at author Stephanie Burkhart's blog, Romance Under the Moonlight, and talking Kindle. (Stop by if you have a chance.) While putting the article together, it got me wondering about the full impact of the eReader on not only reading in general but on our genre in particular.

It seems to me that both science fiction and romance (with emphasis of course on the merged child SFR) were born for the ereader. We have the wonder and curiosity of change from the science fiction parent and the passion and emotional connect of the romance parent. Then, of course, both have given SFR the bones of risk and grit to evolve in changing times.

I know the impact it has had on me. Besides given me the ability for instant reading fixes, one of the main things that I've benefit from has been the "dawn of the independent publishers". These folks have thrived in this new eReader submodel of the industry and allowed them to focus on books that the larger publishers would risk on.

What do you all think? What benefits have the eReader explosion had for you both as a reader and an author that traditional print has not?

A Fateful Day

NASA recalls darkest moments

The space shuttle Challenger STS-51L spaceflight ended in tragedy on Jan. 28, 1986, 73 seconds after liftoff. Seven astronauts died that day, when the Challenger space shuttle was destroyed.

It was NASA's first in-flight calamity, and it dealt an especially severe blow to the millions of teachers and students watching on TV to see Christa McAuliffe, a civilian high school teacher from New Hampshire, become NASA's first Teacher in Space.

Today is the 25 year anniversary of that fateful day.

The loss of Challenger was later attributed to a failed seal on one of the space shuttle's solid rocket boosters. An investigation board concluded that cold weather prevented a rubber O-ring from maintaining its seal, allowing hot gas to leak and damage the shuttle's external fuel tank and the hardware attaching the booster to the vehicle. The right solid rocket booster separated from the shuttle, and the fuel tank broke apart, causing the orbiter to be torn apart by aerodynamic stresses.

"The problem was a design flaw, complicated by the weather situation which was unrecognized at the time by the appropriate managers," Hale said. "We wished that we had the foresight to stand up collectively and say, 'Look, it's too cold a day to launch, we just ought to wait for a warmer day.' In retrospect it seems so simple; at the time, it just didn't happen."

Veteran shuttle astronaut Ron Garan, who is slated to fly to the International Space Station in March aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, said the anniversaries of Challenger and the other accidents highlight the lessons learned from those events. "It's a time to reflect and it's a time to remember those people who have sacrificed to get us where we are," Garan told SPACE.com. "A lot of the lessons learned in this business are written in blood, and if we don't learn from them, those people died in vain."

~~~~

So where were you on that day? Were you watching from a classroom like many students?

Kaye Manro
(crossed posted from my blog)

Two Short Stories release in new anthology!

While most of the short stories in this anthology are NOT SFR, one of mine IS and it's the lead short story in the anthology!

Comfort Zone 
Marrying a man she'd met once was a bad idea. When the guy was ET it was insane—even if they were anatomically compatible. He and his world weren't just outside her comfort zone, they were outside her comfort universe. And if he didn't have amazing green eyes, saving her father's career might not have been enough to get her through the wedding...


I don't write a lot of stories where someone doesn't die or have to battle someone for something, so this is a rarity. It is just a romance story. Right now, it is only available in digital, at Amazon and ARE/OmniLit, but it should show up in print soon. 


This is the last anthology (for now) that I have stuff in, but I have to say, I like having them. They fill in the gaps between books rather nicely. I'm over at The Romance Studio having a release party for this anthology. There are prizes and lots of other books, if you feel inclined to party!
Perilously,
Pauline