Tracy Canfield tells us that her story was inspired by the differences between communication and language and how we might interact with an alien race with communication skills but limited language capabilities. In her award-wining story “Starship Down” Tracy introduces us to Okalani Yee, a xenobiologist running a mobile medstation on a planet inhabited by alien bunnies. Tracy is a computational linguist from Indiana and CNN has called her a “Klingon scholar.” Tracy’s voice is also featured on the Klingon audio tour at Australia’s Jenolan Caves. You can read more about Ms. Canfield by visiting her website http://www.tracycanfield.com .
Jakob Drud lives in Aarhus, Denmark, where he writes advertising copy for a living. In his delightful Far Orbit tale “The Vringla/Racket Incident,” Jakob introduces us to Johanna Wilborough, a government employee looking for a human babysitter for her daughter. The childcare company wants her to accept a slimy alien babysitter instead. Jakob credits parenthood, the importance of a competent and dedicated childcare provider, and companies that oversell their services for the story’s central theme. You can visit Jakob’s blog at http://www.jakobdrud.livejournal.com or read his tweets at @jakobdrud.
Kat Otis credits her Far Orbit story, “Obsidianite” to a trip to Seattle, where people were hawking Mount St. Helen's jewelry – obsidianite – everywhere she went. In “Obsidianite,” Kat introduces us to Janessa a hard-as-nails ship-owner and freelance trader who struggles against the forces of Nature and her own nature on the slopes of an erupting volcano. You can find Kat Otis online at http://www.katotis.com or on Twitter as @kat_otis.
The Good Choice Reading post includes a lot more information about story inspirations, writing SF, and favorite authors. Be sure to check it out.
Musings on NASA’s Asteroid Retrieval Project and Sam Kepfield’s “Open for Business”
Bear Essentials by Julie Frost
Composition in Death Minor by K.G. Jewell
Spaceman Barbecue by Peter Wood
Far Orbit Interview on SciFi4Me.com
Great News from Sporadic Reviews!
Guest Blog on Fantasy Café (they wanted to hear about Grand Tradition SciFi
Good Choice Reading Interviews Far Orbit Authors Tracy Canfield, Jacob Drud, and Kat Otis
My intro for the Far Orbit Anthology
Launch Day!!!
Inspiration… perspiration… exhilaration…