Book Announcement: A Braxleydale Scholar and Other Eccentricities (An Ifscapes Collection)

As topsy-turvy 2020 comes to an end, I'm excited to announce the release of my book A Braxleydale Scholar and Other Eccentricities, a short story collection featuring some rather topsy-turvy science fiction topics and characters.  The volume is exclusively available as a Kindle ebook on Amazon for $2.99.  Please consider downloading a copy and leaving a review.  Thank you to my readers and reviewers!

This title is the second installment in the Ifscapes series, following the first book Ifscapes: Empires and Androids.  From the Ifscapes series description:

Once upon a time, there was a reality.  Everywhen and everywhere else, there was a different one.  

This is the multiverse of the Ifscapes, where somewhen and somewhere, every apparent unreality unfolds into another universe.  Mythological heroes co-exist with futuristic technology.  Exchange students travel between planets, not countries.  One human being really is the last person on Earth.  Ancient tales of Golden and Silver Ages reveal cosmic secrets of interplanetary relations.  And cybernetic colonists-for-hire cross the galaxy to fulfill a contract.

Adventure, epic, drama, satire.  Androids, ancient artifacts, abandoned planets.  Imperial intrigues.   Students' final exams.  Spy missions.  Bureaucratic mix-ups. 

Ifscapes are vertical and horizontal flights of the imagination.  Behind every reality are countless unrealities.  They pull at our imagination, drive our reasoning, and leave us wondering.  What if?  What would have been?  What would be?  Sometimes, glimpses of unreality are absurd.  Other times, they are plausible.

Always, they are necessary.  Without unrealities as a vivid contrast, reality would not be what it is.  If not, what would it be, except another Ifscape in a sprawling multiverse of dynamic unrealities?

 

Merry Christmas!

Gary Miracle and MercyMe's "Say I Won't"

 Someone shared this story with me, and I'd like to pass it on.  It's about a man named Gary Miracle.  His name is appropriate.  Gary is a man who is seeing miracles in the midst of a very difficult situation.  Almost a year ago, he had a bad case of the flu that turned into sepsis.  He lost all four of his limbs as a result.

Instead of giving up or becoming bitter, Gary is striving to move forward and recover as much as possible.  Long before the situation that began in late December, he worked with the band MercyMe.  His friends in the music group have turned his story into a song called "Say I Won't."

One of the stanzas goes,

"I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
So keep on saying I won't
And I'll keep proving you wrong."

I live the "impossible" each day.  Whatever your situation, I hope that you find encouragement in hearing Gary Miracle's story and that it leads you to consider your approach to what others call impossible.  Seek to live the impossible every day.  And ask yourself, what is your source of strength?  Is it firm and viable?  Good questions to think about as we end 2020 and begin a new year.

P.S. If you'd like to see Gary's story for yourself, you can watch MercyMe's music video here.

Remembering Our Pearl Harbor Veterans

Today is December 7, the seventy-ninth anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.  This year, the commemoration of the attack will mainly be a virtual one.  Even though the memorial event will not be entirely normal, please take time to remember and to be thankful for our veterans.  We appreciate them and their sacrifices!