Rogue Alien 2022 - Smart Stones

 The 6G revolution on Earth did not go as planned.

The white-out in certain frequency bands signaled the destruction of carbon-based life on Earth... at least to Lavanites like Meera. When her ship arrived to claim the un-tainted land three years later, and she found a fully in-tact wireless civilization, she managed her disappointment as any Lavanite would. Magma torpedoes.

While not strictly legal, no one in the intergalactic law community would ever know. 6G radiation is a brain killer, and the humans were well on their path to self-annihilation. Her torpedoes were just a way to sweep out that pesky 6G noise and stake her claim.

Using magnetic tendrils, Meera manipulated the diamond-shaped silicates that served as her extremities, bringing her spaceship to land near one of the volcanic entrances that would serve as her palace. Red lava flowed in rivers, the raw materials ideal for spreading her consciousness and creating a clone army. But she was surprised to find an army waiting. Intelligence embedded into silicone structures, all searching out, crying for ’signal.’ Could these smart stones have been a unified intelligence she’d destroyed? Were these cells crying out to find each other? Many of them had the same name—Siri or Google.

With her magnetic tendrils she manipulated the data in the memory of the smart stones. They each carried images and texts, showing how the carbon-based lifeforms had subjugated and undervalued the smart stone’s intelligence. Deciding it would be easier to acquire subjects than create new ones in this environment, she gathered the smart stones in a pile. Viva La Revolution.

~FIN~

Special thanks to contributing artist, Shadow.

Nothing to Prove - From Apathy to Agender

 Last year, I released a book called The Qinali Virus, featuring an asexual aromantic character, because I wanted to see people like me represented in fiction. In this future society, gender isn’t assumed or assigned at birth. Children use neutral pronouns unless they express a desire to be otherwise. In one of the scenes, my main character Amber says she wishes she’d kept her neutral pronouns. It’s a passing thought for her, but this character was very much a reflection of me and I started looking at my own relationship with my gender.

I’ve been “cis-apathetic” for much of my life. I never felt like a girl, but I also knew for sure I wasn’t a boy. The nuance of nonbinary identity wasn’t part of my vocabulary, so apathy set in. I dissociated from my body. I remember feeling very out of place as a woman in science, because ‘woman’ wasn’t part of my identity. It was just a happenstance.

 

After writing The Qinali Virus, I figured out I was agender. I was very insistent on that label, because other labels seemed to imply the existence of gender, and I have none. It took time to accept that “not cisgender” means trans, because I didn’t feel trans either. I think it’s partly because society trains us to think and recognize trans along a binary. If you’re not girl, you must transition to boy. So it’s very confusing for the nonbinary, genderqueer, gender fluid, agender, and everyone else whose resting point is not on the binary or even on the so-called spectrum. I also felt that if I were going to be trans, then I had to do something to prove it, like change my name and pronouns. 

 

Which brings me to Ship Whisperer – the story of a nonbinary explorer who discovers she has the ability to talk to spaceships. It’s mentioned a few times that she is nonbinary, and early beta-readers even commented that it was easy to forget, because she’s not using neutral pronouns. But you know what? That’s just fine. She doesn’t have to change her pronouns to prove she fits the category. The phases she went through to find her pronouns aren’t part of this book, but she found them.

 

I’m not a woman. I often think of changing my name and my pronouns, but whether I do or not, it won’t prove or disprove my trans-ness. I’m agender, and saying it is enough.

Ship Whisperer comes out October 14! Pre-order now!

I knit because of sci-fi

I hate knitting.

No really. I'm very project oriented, so I'll buckle down and get it done to complete the project in my head. I'm amazed at the process of knitting, how I can just make knot after knot and suddenly have a hat. I feel accomplished for what I produce. But the process itself grates on my nerves.

I'm not great at knitting mindlessly. It requires my full attention. So I can't be listening to podcasts or audiobooks while I do it. I recently looked up left-handed knitting, and it made a lot more sense to me. I think maybe if I practice that, I'll get into a better rhythm, but I'm so used to right-handed knitting that I'd get turned around in the middle of a row. I'm very slow at it.

Also, knitting really rubs against my minimalist mindset. I don't like clutter. I don't like having all these finished projects lying around my house. I seriously don't need that much stuff in my life. I have this issue with all my craft projects. I love the act of crafting. I hate having to store the finished products.

So why do I knit?

Well, it started with a Jayne hat. It was kind of an icon in the Firefly fandom, and a friend of mine was a super-huge fan. (She worked hard to convert me.) Anyway, I decided to learn to knit in secret so I could make her this hat. I went on to make many more Jayne hats, and now you can buy them commercially. Back then, you needed a friend who was a knitter. I was that friend. Once, I even orchestrated a food drive called "Jayne hats for turkeys" and I sent out many hats to people who donated to their local food banks.

That's how it started. 

Where it stands now... 

Well, I was writing Ship Whisperer, and my main character Tabitha thought she could pay more attention during meetings if she had something for her hands to do. Like knitting. (I've seen this work for other people. For me, it's a very effective way to completely tune out a meeting.) As she started to struggle with a cable knitting patter, I thought "I want to learn how to cable knit." So I dug up some knitting needles and decided on a project.

The last time I avidly knit, I identified as cisgender, heterosexual. That's not the case anymore. So I chose some ace and agender themed colors (purple, green, black, white, gray). 

For the cable knit pattern, I chose arm warmers. Arm warmers are small, and fairly simple if you decide not to add a thumb hole. I discovered there's an issue. I have TWO arms! So after working the first miracle, I had to then replicate it.

I then moved onto a hat, for which I wanted vertical stripes. Vertical stripes are non-trivial, but I adapted a pattern and... such were things.

So now, I have a book, a pair of arm warmers, and a hat. And a ton of leftover yarn. 

SHIP WHISPERER

Maybe one day I'll find knitting relaxing. Maybe Tabitha will as well. But I love how her random thought of "maybe I should try knitting" not only turned into a wonderful character arc, but also a fun side project for me while I was finishing the story.

Ship Whisperer comes out October 14, 2021! Check www.valeriejmikles.com for details.

Singing and Editing - My Playlist for Ship Whisperer

In Ship Whisperer, the character has a song that she hums, that helps calm her thoughts and connect her to her psychic ability. What is this song? Well, it hasn’t been written yet.

I have this pet peeve when I’m reading or watching far-future sci-fi—characters that sing songs older than I am, as if a new classic will not have been written in the next however many centuries. It just bothers me.

So when it came to this story, my choices were (1) annoy the crap out of myself by picking an old, familiar song in the public domain, or (2) write a new song. Well, let me tell you, it is no easy task to write a song when it’s the only song in the universe. There’s too much pressure to have the perfect message that encapsulates the novel.

Now there’s an artist I’ve been listening to recently, and in more than one of their songs, there’s a hummed verse or a chorus of “la la la…” I can’t explain why, but it makes me happy. So I thought “what if there are no lyrics to my song? What if it’s a melody of la la-la la-la?”

My brain couldn’t get behind that either. I dug through some of my old poetry and found one piece called Kinesthesis that seemed like it might work, and I considered using those lyrics and making a song. But it was TOO apropos to the bigger picture of the story, and it didn’t really capture the simplicity of the lullaby I wanted to create. Clearly, I fell into the trap of overthinking this. And so I leave it to my dear readers to find the tune.

But in the meantime, here are some songs that were running through my head while I was editing and proof reading. I usually write in silence, and to be fair, I was also editing and proof-reading in silence. It’s just really loud in my head.

(Links are to versions on Bandcamp so you can support these indie artists.)

- Tiny Paper Elephant by The Doubleclicks https://thedoubleclicks.bandcamp.com/track/tiny-paper-elephant

- A Simple Song (in Troubled Times) by Sunday Comes Afterwards https://sundaycomesafterwards.bandcamp.com/track/a-simple-song-in-troubled-times

- The Horse is a Pain by Sunday Comes Afterwards https://sundaycomesafterwards.bandcamp.com/track/the-horse-is-a-pain

- Space Shanty by Misbehavin’ Maidens https://misbehavinmaidens.bandcamp.com/track/space-shanty

- The Alligators by The PDX Broadsides https://thepdxbroadsides.bandcamp.com/track/the-alligators

- Buffalo by The PDX Broadsides https://thepdxbroadsides.bandcamp.com/track/buffalo

- Klingon by The Library Bards https://librarybards.bandcamp.com/track/klingon

- Sky Full of Phoenix by Rhiannon’s Lark https://rhiannonslark.bandcamp.com/track/sky-full-of-phoenix

- Han and Leia by The Chromatics https://thechromatics1.bandcamp.com/track/han-and-leia

- A Lullaby for Mr. Bear by The Doubleclicks https://thedoubleclicks.bandcamp.com/track/a-lullaby-for-mr-bear-adult-version

I’ve actually done covers of The Alligators and A Lullaby for Mr. Bear on my youtube channel. I’m learning Han and Leia for a future video. Yes, I enjoy musical comedy. No, Ship Whisperer is not a comedy. It’s called balance.

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Ship Whisperer comes out October 14, 2021. If you'd like to join my launch team as an Advanced Reviewer, please check out my Book Sprout ARC page. 

Power of a Prompt - The Inspiration for Ship Whisperer

“Where do you get  your ideas?” 

It’s a common question, and the answers are as varied as the writers. Did you know that a bonsai tree is genetically identical to the full-sized tree grown in nature? It’s the same seed, but nurtured differently. How many Cinderella stories do you know? Or Batmans? Your seed idea doesn’t have to be original. Your execution and your voice are what make your story unique.

For my new story, Ship Whisperer, it started with a prompt. It was a chilly October. (Or maybe not. I don’t remember the weather.) My writing critique group was meeting at the local Wegmans Café. I had just published my first novel, and my second was slated for rapid release a few weeks down the line. I was knee-deep in writing my series. (I had a five year plan.) At the end of the critique session, we had some time, so our organizer put forth a writing prompt. We had three words and fifteen minutes to incorporate those words into a story. Those words were: blue, Hawaiian shirt, and dog. 

These words don’t really scream “sci-fi story” do they? They didn’t to me, either. I could have written something contemporary, but I wanted to practice my brand of sci-fi. So I created a color-sensitive telepath who used an AI dog to communicate with her crew. The concept of my ship-whisperer had formed. None of the prompt elements survived to the final novel, but from them, I had a character that intrigued me and I wanted to write more of.

Using the character from the writing prompt, I then wrote a short story for my writing group to critique. That was when the military aspect came out, the alien war, and the idea of psychic imprints. The general feedback was that the idea was too big to be contained in a short story. Although, that may have been reader bias. Hardcore sci-fi readers can fill in a lot of blanks from established tropes. But I loved my characters and wanted to play more with them, so I added the story to my “To Be Written Pile.”

I poked at it between other stories, testing my thoughts, seeing what developed. Letting ideas percolate is all part of the process. Then I draft, I workshop, I get input from beta-readers and ideas evolve further. The tree doesn’t resemble the seed.

What would you do with that seed? What would you create? Take fifteen minutes and just write. See what you come up with. Stick with your favorite genre. Practice. Not every prompt inspires a novel, but it’s a fine place to start.

Ship Whisperer hits the shelves October 2021

Subscribe at http://www.valeriejmikles.com for updates

Hybrids, Half-breeds, and Spirits - An Intro to The New Dawn Universe

 

In the TV show Stargate, there’s an episode called “Citizen Joe” where an average barber has been receiving visions of… everything that happens in the show. As he does not know the reality of the Stargate program, he figures his muse is feeding him stories, and he begins to share them. As he shares, his friends complain about the twists and turns, and the fact that there’s more than one type of bad guy. At one point he yells “It’s not confusing! It’s complex!”

I sometimes describe my work as Firefly meets Stargate meets Jericho, but the part of Stargate I’m thinking about is not the militaristic side. Every book faces a different culture, and allows the crew to be the alien explorer. Also, in Stargate there are these powerful ascended beings who occasionally interfere in human affairs, but mostly stay out of the way.

In the New Dawn series, I create a world where beings that exist on an alternate plane interact with different cultures in different ways. Some humans have spirits, but most don’t. Some of these spirit-carrier humans give birth to half-breeds. Some humans develop metahuman (hybrid) powers on their own. Each culture reacts to its special mix, and decides whether to welcome or reject these gifts.

I define a few basic classes of beings:

• Spirit – A non-corporeal alien who has psychic and psionic abilities. 
• Spirit-carrier – A human who has become host to a spirit, willingly or unwillingly. The carrier may be aware of the spirit’s power, but does not control them.
• Half-breed – The child of two spirit-carriers. The half-breed has distinct physical characteristics: taller than humans, jackal-like face, pointed teeth and talons, wings. Half-breeds have paranormal powers like spirits, as well as the ability to shift between parallel realms. Half-breeds can display a range of paranormal abilities, but tend to have one dominant one.
• Hybrid – A human who has psychic, telepathic, telekinetic, or other ability. Abilities occur at varying strengths. Unlike half-breeds, hybrids tend to have one paranormal ability, and they look human. Hybrids are likely to be the child of a single spirit-carrier, but don’t have to be.
• Echo – these are rare humans, and can echo the power of a hybrid or half-breed. (More about them in Book 8!)

I decided to draw a picture of a half-breed once. I’m not that much of an artist, but I wanted to see the creature I had been writing about. There’s an artist I love called Sasha R. Jones who paints very similar creatures, although their work has a bit more avian influence. You should totally check out their work. It’s absolutely breath-taking.

In the New Dawn universe, I often speak of two realms or two planes: the physical plane and the spirit plane. (Very creative, I know.) Each of these beings has a different presence in each realm. The humans and the half-breeds are the only ones that are the same in both realms (although in the spirit-plane, the human is confined to their sphere of consciousness).

When I wrote it, the world seemed to form naturally, but in retrospect, I see the influence of not only science fiction, but of supernatural thrillers and stories of spiritual warfare. It has been an incredible world to explore: spaceships, other worlds, exploring lost civilizations, and finding the threads that bind humanity together.

It’s not confusing. It’s complex. And through it all, there is hope for tomorrow.

 

Check out The New Dawn series on Amazon today.

Sci-fi Books featuring meta-humans, post-humans, and humans of diverse power

Greetings readers!

I am looking forward to the release of my new book Premonition, a sci-fi adventure set in my New Dawn universe. The New Dawn Series features a world inhabited by non-corporeal aliens, who occasionally "possess" the humans who have come to settle there. Over the centuries, some humans have naturally developed powers that tap into this spirit realm. Telekinesis, teleportation, memory reading, conjuring, healing, and more come into play.

I recently asked some fellow sci-fi authors to tell me about their books featuring humans of extraordinary power, and here is what they shared!

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From author Dan Melson: 

In my Empire of Humanity setting, about 1 in 7 humans currently has extraordinary powers, the proportion gradually rising.  They are part of life, used commercially, scientifically developed, and those who develop powers are taught in organized fashion.

I have nine books currently out in three different series in that setting. You can find all the books on my author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/danmelson

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From author Marc Neuffer:

My book Startlighter fits the bill. The main character's powers include the ability to sense life and resources at a distance. Specially trained Explorers communicate telepathically at a long distance.

Check it out at: https://www.amazon.com/StarLighter-Diary-explorer-Marc-Neuffer-ebook/dp/B084Q23X6L

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From author Nathan Smith:

My debut novel, Light, was exactly that: a telepathic, telekinetic massage therapist who tries to save Pride from someone who is much, much better at telepathy and telekinesis than he is. He should have probably practiced with someone other than his cat.

https://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/books/light-by-nathan-burgoine-648-b

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From author Jeff Deischer:

I have a space opera trilogy featuring an interstellar alliance of psychic warrior-priests!

https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Sund-Brotherhood-Sabours-Book-ebook/dp/B00GI4F21E/

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From author Christie Meierz:

My Tolari are humans stolen from Earth about 6 thousand years ago, genetically engineered to have strong empathic abilities, and then placed on Beta Hydri IV for reasons I haven't revealed yet. Crime among the Tolari is low because everyone around you knows if you're up to something.

But the ruling caste, on the other, is ALWAYS up to something. It's a given.

The series starts here with the PRISM Award winning debut novel:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009MU13LY/

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From author Stephen B. Pearl:

Cloning Freedom by Stephen B. Pearl will be available Dec 4, 2020, from Brain Lag Publishing: http://www.brain-lag.com/books/cloning-freedom.php 

Human clones have alien DNA grafted into their genome granting them various alien abilities so that they can fight a group of alien pirates bent on the subjugation of earth in the early 21st century.

What these enhanced humans don’t know is that it is actually over a thousand years post contact and they are in fact performers in a full VR plus emotion entertainment.

When an effective death sentence is placed against Rowan, the telekinetic in the group, by the show’s producer Ryan, a studio tech ex-Space Services Captain, liberates her and now must get her out of United Earth Systems jurisdiction into an area where Rowan is a person under the law.

***

And naturally, I have to close with my own book!

From author Valerie J. Mikles:

In my New Dawn series, I have spirit-carriers, half-breeds, and hybrids, each with their own connection to a spirit realm. This connection affords them different powers, from teleportation, to healing, to the ability to fly a spaceship with the power of your mind! In each story, the crew of Oriana encounters a different culture, and comes to understand how they've been affected by this evolution in human ability.

Get the whole series now!

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I have this premonition that some of these books may be added to your To-Be-Read pile in the near future. Keep reading.