Spring means new stars in the northern hemisphere; Sky Guide can help you find them. Sirius hangs near the horizon, under the moon, around 8 pm. West of the moon, you will still see Orion in the sky, including Betelgeuse and Rigel. Taurus’ horns are up and he is diving down in the west. Winter is over, and it’s time for new star gazing with warmer weather finally. Do you know your stars and constellations? If you’re rusty, there’s a great app I may have mentioned in the past that you will find hard to believe. It’s a few dollars, and worth every penny. It also has a monthly subscription!
Sky Guide
Search Screen from Sky GuideSky Guide morning of August 8 2016
Sky Guide – you can get the regular app or the monthly subscription if you’re even more crazy than I am about the sky. I like it better with a pad than a phone just because you can see so much more at once, but do check it out. I can’t do it justice here, so go ha fun and look at it for yourself in the app store. No affiliate here for recommending this, I just happen to love it.
About the books …
The new book, Jeopardy, will be out before summer. I had some diversions over the winter and have been spending some time letting people know about Paradox, Symbiosis, and now Jeopardy: Firestones and Aliens. After the initial launch, I’ll be offering the three as a set, but this is an ongoing series, and as long as there’s a story to tell, I will keep going.
Book Symbiosis: Titans of Cassiopeia by H S Rivney
New covers! Paradox and Symbiosis have been redesigned with new covers fit for paperbacks! Descriptions are also getting a face lift, and for e-book lovers, more links to the science that you can examine in depth. It’s going to be a fabulous year!
Paradox, The Alien Genome, 5 star Reader’s Choice Awards
Would love to hear your feedback for novellas on the other characters, namely, Quixote, a reptilian from Draconia, and Dr Jane Ferris, descendant of a chimera. Some will be set pre- 2160, some post 2170. More novellas to come on Captain Jackson’s earlier years on the Linus Pauling, and before that, as a pilot on the carrier Saratoga.
Don’t forget to tell me what you’d like to see in the upcoming stories. I write for you – what do you want to read?
I had an opportunity to interview Captain Thomas Jackson, captain of the Science Ship Maria Mitchell, currently assigned to retrieve an extended stay science team from Beta Hydri Four. He’s just come off a successful mission in the Eta Cassiopeia system where he and his crew of the Maria Mitchell stopped a centuries-old plague being fueled by a Pegasi privateer. Welcome, Captain Jackson.
Thank you. It’s nice to be here.
The pleasure is mine. I’ve had people asking me about you, your past, what makes you tick. I hope you don’t mind if some of these questions get a bit personal.
Captain Thomas K. Jackson
I’ll let you know if you cross a line.
Great. So, Captain Jackson, you’ve been in the North American Space Administration for twenty some years now. What drove you to the stars so to speak?
I’ve always had a fascination with space, as long as I can remember. It seemed natural to go in that direction.
What did you study in college?
I’m an alum of Caltech, California Institute of Technology. My focus was aeronautics. I met a friend, Dr. Scott Gregory, there, and he has been my ship’s astrophysicist for several years.
You’re from South California. Did you have a typical childhood?
We didn’t always live there, but after my younger sister was born we stayed put. I love the ocean. I spent every summer on the beach, camped on the beach, and I was a very strong swimmer. That’s how I ended up at Caltech. It’s still a private university, and I was awarded an athletic scholarship, on their swim team.
Is that why you joined the navy? You love the ocean?
I love flying. It was a means to an end, at least in the beginning.
So, Captain, what moved you to change from planes to rockets?
Just out of school, I was an intern, briefly, at the Jet Propulsion Lab, and went to Luna Colony on an assignment. Once you see the Earth from space, you are changed, forever. It’s indescribable. You can never go back to the ordinary again.
But you did.
I can’t say flying ion powered fighters off a carrier deck is ordinary, but I was in the navy until an accident ended my service.
Care to elaborate?
I had a mishap landing my vehicle on the deck and was injured.
Sounds like this is something in your past you would rather forget about.
You could say that, yes.
So, I’ll move on. You went from the navy to the space administration?
I joined the space program as a lieutenant but was bumped up to commander pretty quickly, then to captain. I left the navy as a captain so I was glad to have my rank again. Love a challenge, ordering people around (laughs). Not much more challenging than exploring deep space.
You were pretty young to be given a ship.
I took my first command in 2149. I was 37. That’s not so young. Just ask a teenager. Do you have a coffee service here?
The captain and I took a break and walked to the cafeteria for coffee.
So, back to the formal questions. Tell us, please, was there ever a major turning point in your life?
When I left the navy for the space program. And when I met my wife. And when I met my daughter.
Is there anything your parents did that you think significantly affected who you are today?
Absolutely. I suppose you want me to tell you what it is. My father is a dry alcoholic, but he was pretty wet when I was young. That will change the way you see things around you. Now my mother, she’s a gem. She insisted that I be friendly to everyone, to look for similarities, not differences. I think that serves me well, most of the time. I married a woman from another world, and that’s about as different as you can get.
Your wife, Rianya, is from Beta Hydri Four. She is the love of your life?
She is.
It must be difficult to captain a starship and have a family aboard. Are there other captains in the space administration with families?
I’m unique in that category. I dislike exposing them to the dangers, but we are all happier together. Missions are simply too long to be apart. There are dangers on Earth, as well. You can’t avoid life.
Indeed. What’s next, Captain? Do you still have any goals to reach for?
I’d like to see my daughter join me in space one day, not as a passenger, but as part of my crew.
If anyone can make it happen, it would be you. Thank you again for taking time to talk to us.
Shameless plug: another 5 star review of Paradox. If you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for? Click the picture and get the e-version instantly! Read it? Rate it! Read more stories with many of the same characters: Jackson, Quixote, Rianya, Bala, Lee, Watson, Bailey, Dukvita, the Kiians, and a new species coming up – the Zlogers!
If you long for the days of Gene Roddenberry’s soulful Star Trek, or hope the Avatar movie might one day become a reality, then you are in for a treat with H.S. Rivney’s Paradox: The Alien Genome. The suggestion of a genetic cure from the world beyond captivated my imagination, as did the author’s writing style. For me, the vivid, unique descriptions illuminated this space odyssey to movie-screen proportions. A healthy dose of dialogue keeps the pace at warp speed with lots of techie jargon. But what really impressed me was the author’s sophisticated scientific knowledge—I would believe her to be an astronaut or a physicist in a previous life to dream up the concepts presented throughout the novel. The author creates a totally convincing world from ecosystems to geology, animal species to alien beings. One graphic scene was tasteful, accurate and evocative. But there’s a touch of intrigue and danger, as well as a softer side to this story, too. A great ending wraps up this exciting futuristic journey after traveling back to a nostalgic era of Kirk, Spock, and Sulu— I highly recommend the ride!
Patti Cavaliere, author of 5 star rated “Looking for Leo”, click me!
I’ve been debating whether to release Novissimus or Symbiosis next. I wrote Novissimus during the black out time between first draft and revisions of Symbiosis. Would love to hear your thoughts. Novissimus is a novella episode prequel to Paradox, about 24,000 words.
Novissimus, Space Station One, Quantum Quandaries; Mission VIII, October 9, 2154
Novissimus orbits Omicron Nu fifteen light years from Earth in the opposite direction of the galactic center. It’s medical facilities are unsurpassed, and its arboretum legendary. When Captain Jackson is assigned to call a research team off Luyten’s Lepus for a new mission, that is to pick up live vaccines from Novissimus, the leader of the research team is furious and not afraid to show it.
Funny things happen on the way to Novissimus, or rather, not so funny. They can’t afford the time delays; the live vaccines are only viable for 100 days. In addition to the medicine, dozens of proton microscopes and an electromagnetic image chamber are also part of the cargo. Silverado Six’s population is depending on the S.S. Linus Pauling to arrive before a planet-wide outbreak of Altairian Fever becomes an epidemic.
Thomas Jackson meets Dukvita for the first time, a Pegasi with a rogue, if not an entrepreneurial, spirit and a well armed cargo ship. Novissimus becomes the scene of the crime where not only are lives at stake, but an extraordinary discovery becomes a weapon of mass destruction.
Don’t forget to check out another prequel adventure of Captain Jackson and the S.S. Linus Pauling, Gamma Ray Games, a novella episode where Jackson must investigate the sudden appearance of a thorium reactor on a pre-industrial world.
Both Novissimus and Gamma Ray Games will be made available together in one paperback this summer.
If Carl Sagan doesn’t convince you, I’m not sure I can. But from the shelves of Dr. Seuss to Dr. Hawking, books, paper or electronic, expand your mind, your experience, your heart. School teachers claim that the most important thing a parent can do to help their kids learn easier is read to them as children.
Relaxation is another top notch reason to read. Isn’t the best time to read in bed when you’re on your way to Nod? Books aren’t so boring that they put you to sleep – they are so relaxing that you can go to sleep.
Stimulation of your brain is another great reason to pick up a book. Non-fiction such as biographies, self help, and even about a hobby will give you tools and resources, insight into others’ methods and thoughts. Every book’s author can be a friend.
Reading makes your memory more efficient. Reading boosts your analytical skills. Reading alleviates boredom.
Your vocabulary will improve, and your writing skills will leap. Have you ever needed to write an essay, a business letter, a note to your boss? When you read, well edited books that is, not the comics and sadly not the newspaper, you absorb proper skills without even trying.
Television is passive and boring. More books exist than television programs ever have and many are serialized, offering a chance to participate in the characters’ lives over several years.
Knowledge. Yes, even fiction can bring you information you didn’t know about – everything from how a rocket to arsenic works!
I think we all know how many worlds you can visit and people you can know by reading. Even if you just read the side of a cereal box, you’re going to learn something. So read. Go read a book. Find your favorite subject (mine is science fiction), narrow it down (space travel) and look for reviews that are comprehensive, not so much what are best sellers and have lots of numbers. And while you’re out there, spread the word! Be prepared the next time someone asks you “Have you read any good books lately?”
