kensingtonbooks - Tumblr blog

[kensingtonbooks]

My Favorite Moment

Leanna Renee Hieber shared her favorite excerpt from A SANCTUARY OF SPIRITS:

One thing that’s been commented on a great deal about this series is the strength of female friendships and relationships. It’s vitally important to me. A character that has been a reader favorite is little Zofia, a Polish immigrant ghost with a tragic story. Here’s a touching moment between her and our heroine Eve, one of my favorite moments in the book.

From A SANCTUARY OF SPIRITS:

Eve needed to pull herself together, for everyone’s sake. Perhaps that realization was what summoned little Zofia into the hallway. The young shade wavered, her white dress with its singed hem buffeted in the slight breeze wafting off all spirits—the eternal chill. The girl’s mother had perished in the same shop fire and her father had died in Warsaw long before that, but her parents’ souls had gone on to peace. Zofia chose to stay in the city to help other children find ways out of desperate ends.

Zofia had met Eve on her first case, haunting the same place a child was in need. In some cases, Zofia would appear to point a child toward an exit in an emergency; in others she’d try to inspire escape from myriad torments. Eve tried never to pin Zofia down to one mission. The child fiercely chose her own. But right now, it seemed Zofia just wanted a friend.

“I know we’re not supposed to be in your room,” Zofia murmured, “but… can I watch you get ready?” The child looked pained. “I will never experience going to a ball. Having a suitor. Trying to make myself beautiful…”

Her plea hit Eve like a blow, and she blinked back tears. “Of course, dear. We can experience all this together, then.”

Opening the tall wooden wardrobe in her room, she stared at the dresses therein. There were only a few, nothing ostentatious, a couple of ball gowns Gran insisted she have ready for moments like these where work would be accomplished while socializing. Staying on task helped Eve counterbalance the butterflies that threatened inelegantly to topple her over.

There was waltzing to worry about too. The aerial flips her stomach had been doing now plummeted. She dreaded dancing; she wasn’t any good at it. “Zofia, come here, practice a waltz with me. I’m hopeless.”

She hummed some Strauss and practiced the box step in her room with the little girl, thankful there were no corporeal feet to trip upon, laughing with the child until Eve felt she had made herself safe for contact.

“Who will you be dancing with, the detective?” Zofia asked excitedly. Almost too excitedly, as if it were a foregone conclusion.

Eve pursed her lips. “Perhaps. And if the detective demands a waltz, I can’t step on his feet, or worse, trip the poor man.”

“He’d be a good sport about it even if you did,” Zofia posited. “He’s very nice.”

“Yes, yes he is,” Eve said. “Now I have to choose a dress. I’m a disaster at this.”

Back to the wardrobe again. Nothing gaudy. This was a working-class theatre circuit. But she couldn’t wear her black uniforms. There was a simple royal blue evening dress, nice taffeta with elegant gathers. When she put her hand on it, Zofia nodded her approval. Starched lace along a high bodice line provided modesty, and that would be wise. She was meeting his parents, after all. There went the stomach again.

She removed her outer layers, keeping on her chemise, bloomers, and petticoat, and lifted a long-waisted whalebone corset around her, cinching it tighter to accommodate the dress, an act that didn’t help her stomach in the least. She slipped into the body of the dress, folding her arms into it, double checking all of the hooks and eyes on the side that kept her swathed. When Gran had insisted Eve own a few fine dresses, Eve had said she wasn’t interested in wearing “a thousand ties and tribulations” and agreed to be fitted only on the condition that she could get into an outfit entirely on her own.

Dashing rosewater about herself, she carefully swept up her hair in her favorite marcasite hair combs and debated about a necklace. A tiny sapphire on a whisper-thin silver chain, a gift from her father, completed her ensemble. The stone was an important one. Powder, a faint dash of rouge, and a slight tint of lip balm made her less green. She stared in the mirror and tried to bolster herself. For someone who was so confident about her work, she felt terribly awkward being a lady in polite society. Zofia wafted her little hand over Eve’s temple and utilized the cold breeze generated by her spirit to brush a stray wisp of hair back in place.

“You look beautiful,” Zofia commented. “Thank you for not minding me.”

Eve’s eyes watered as she smiled at the girl, wishing she knew what to say when the ache of a life cut short was an unmitigated melancholy. “As if I could ever mind you,” she murmured, a lump in her throat.

“It all seems a bit magical,” the child continued, wistful romance in her voice.

Download your copy of A SANCTUARY OF SPIRITS today→ http://bit.ly/2kdKG7f

[kensingtonbooks]

Lessons Of The Dead by Valentine Wolfe: A Spectral City Theme Song!

How did this eerily beautiful song and video come together as an official Spectral City theme song?

From Leanna: I've loved Valentine Wolfe from the moment I met and heard them: female-fronted vocals by Sarah Black backed by rich, layered, Gothic, atmospheric metal and exquisite upright bass thanks to Braxton Ballew. Their Edgar Allan Poe adaptation into gorgeous, dark beauty made me wonder how my words would sound with their artistry. 

Sarah's look resembles Eve strongly and I knew our interests and aesthetic was mutual. I didn't direct the creation of the song, only sent them the book and wanted them to adapt as the spirits moved. As for a video, all I hoped for was something very simple and evocative of period and mood. They delivered in every way. They picked up on one of the most important concepts in the series: The dead teach us so much about life. It's a great thematic entree into my world of Spirits and the living who care for them.

From Valentine Wolfe:

"Leanna Renee Hieber's books are delightfully dark and spooky and peopled with decadent Victorian characters. These books are so incredible and I highly recommend them! So when Leanna approached us to do a theme song for her three part series, The Spectral City Series, I got so excited. I read carefully through The Spectral City (book 1) and paid attention to which phrases jumped out at me, almost as if the lyrics were in spectral form and I could channel them the way the main character Eve and her close circle of friends (also mediums) channels the spirits. We used a lot of musical parts (layers) to depict the realities Eve has to navigate, whether spectral or corporeal, so listen for the different bass and vocal parts, along with other musical ghostly apparitions."

Download your copy of A SANCTUARY OF SPIRITS today→ http://bit.ly/2kdKG7f

[kensingtonbooks]

The Power of Gemstones

The following is a guest blog from A SANCTUARY OF SPIRITS author, Leanna Renee Hieber.

Eve loves Marcasite, it’s her favorite stone. A classic in vintage jewelry, Marcasite is a luminous, grey, silver cut mineral, faceted like a gemstone. It’s Eve’s favorite because she believes it to be reflective of, as she says in THE SPECTRAL CITY ‘the luster of the ghosts’.

The properties of Marcasite are encouraging self-direction and taking steps towards realizing one’s goals as well as balancing energetic polarities. This is a perfect stone for Eve to cherish as she’s constantly balancing the well-being and needs of her team against her own and she’s such a strong leader and personality, driven and full of purpose.

She also wears a sapphire pendant on a whisper-thin chain during critical points in A SANCTUARY OF SPIRITS, a gift given to her by her father, Jonathon Whitby, Lord Denbury, hero of my Magic Most Foul saga beginning with Darker Still and here, Eve uses it as a protective Ward and its properties are described directly in the text:

“She pressed against the necklace her father had given her, the tiny sapphire given with so much love and charged with her energies, glad she was still wearing it from the soiree. Sapphire enhanced psychic abilities, clarity, and insight. It was a stone of strength and confidence. As she touched the gem, the figure before her flickered—still spectral in part, but not in the way she was accustomed to.”

I’ll be using more stones with protective and clarifying qualities, such as obsidian and lapis lazuli in book 3, A SUMMONING OF SOULS, coming next summer!

Download your copy of A SANCTUARY OF SPIRITS today→ http://bit.ly/2kdKG7f

[kensingtonbooks]

Leanna Renee Hieber shared a few of her favorite quotes from A SANCTUARY OF SPIRITS, a historical fantasy novel of heart and souls...

Download your copy of A SANCTUARY OF SPIRITS here→ http://bit.ly/2kdKG7f

[kensingtonbooks]

Eve Whitby and The Spectral City series, A Family Legacy!

Keep reading for a special blog post from Leanna Renee Hieber, author of A SANCTUARY OF SPIRITS, out today: http://bit.ly/2kdKG7f

Readers can jump right into The Spectral City series, you don't have to have read my other work first, the series stands on its own. However, for those who want an epic family history, the Whitby family sure has a fraught ton of it! My long-time readers will celebrate a spectacular family legacy. 

Eve Whitby, heroine of The Spectral City and A Sanctuary of Spirits is the strong-willed, spiritually gifted leader of The Ghost Precinct. With the help of a girl-gang of talented psychics and friendly ghosts, she and her team investigate strange, unresolved crime for the New York Police Department in 1899 Manhattan. A bright, driven soul, the most talented psychic medium of her age, at only nineteen, Eve prides herself as an accomplished, helpful conduit. But she also has a lot to learn. That's where some familiar faces come in.

Eve's parents are Natalie Stewart Whitby and Jonathon Whitby, Lord Denbury, stars of my YA series, the Magic Most Foul trilogy beginning with Darker Still. They love Eve dearly but for understandable reasons (major trauma) they're no fans of the paranormal. Eve's best friends are the ghost of Margaret "Maggie" Hathorn who was quite a mean-girl to Eve's mom in life but made up for it later (sacrificed herself), and "Gran" - Evelyn Northe-Stewart, an elegant, fierce Sensitive who has been a figurehead of the Magic Most Foul and Eterna Files series and is Eve's grandmother and psychic advisor and mentor. Between Maggie, Gran and the star of The Eterna Files, Clara Templeton Bishop, Eve has a lot of help from the veterans of psychic wars. Which is good, because her parents don't want to talk about it...

A Sanctuary of Spirits is an inclusive story full of ghosts, adventure, mystery, a slow-burn romance, artistic madness and lots of family drama! Join us! 

[kensingtonbooks]

5 Things to Know About Verity Kent

From PENNY FOR YOUR SECRETS author, Anna Lee Huber.

1. Verity worked for the foreign division of British Military Intelligence during the First World War. She started working for the Secret Service as a typist and secretary before steadily advancing to translator, analyst, and then field agent. During the latter years of the war, she frequently traveled to their headquarters in neutral Netherland before sneaking across the heavily-fortified border into German-occupied Belgium, where she liaised with intelligence gathering networks there, including La Dame Blanche. On a number of occasions, she also assisted an intelligence agent who had infiltrated the German Army before the war and was stationed in Brussels. Verity was demobilized in early 1919, though she has since discovered that an agent never truly retires from the Secret Service.

2. Verity passionately loves her husband, but their marriage is on rocky footing. Sidney marched away to war just three days after they married in October 1914, and they spent the remainder of the war apart but for short snatches of time when he was home on leave. Then in March 1918 he was reported killed during a tumultuous battle, and Verity was devastated. Though severely injured, he recovered, but allowed himself to remain reported dead so that he could pursue a group of traitors. When Verity discovered he was actually alive in May 1919, her feelings were conflicted. Though elated he was alive, she was furious and hurt that he’d allowed her to believe such a painful lie for so long. She has since accepted his reasons for doing so, as he has accepted her role with the Secret Service during the war, and they are slowly working toward reconciliation.

3. Verity is intensely loyal to her friends. It is one of the traits she values most. If you have gained her trust and devotion, she will walk through fire to help you, even to her own detriment. During the war, she risked all to extract a fellow agent posing as a German officer from Belgium. In June 1919, she sacrifices much to journey to an engagement party she doesn’t wish to attend, all in an effort to clear the name of her husband—whom she still believes is dead. In July 1919, she travels back into war-ravaged Belgium to track down a former fellow spy who may be in grave danger, risking her shaky marriage in the process. And in PENNY FOR YOUR SECRETS, she will come to the aid of her friend Ada, with some unpleasant consequences.

4. Verity has not returned to her parents’ home in Yorkshire since the early part of 1915. She cannot bring herself to confront the place filled with so many memories of her brother Rob, knowing he was killed in July 1915—his aeroplane shot down over France. She knows in her head that he is dead, but she hasn’t allowed herself to accept it in her heart. She’s already experienced so much loss, but she simply can’t bring herself to face this one. Making matters worse, her relationship with her family, particularly her mother, is complicated, to say the least. And the longer she stays away, the more strained it grows. Particularly because they don’t know the truth about her wartime service.

5. Verity is cool under pressure. She believes one should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. And that you should never, ever let them see you sweat.

[kensingtonbooks]

Q&A With Anna Lee Huber

How do you decide which moments in history to include in your books?

I keep a timeline of all historical events, big and small, for the years surrounding the setting of my book. I’m constantly added to this while reading my research material, building out the years ever further. Then when I begin to plot the next book, I can look at the events which occurred during the weeks/months when I wish to set the story to help pinpoint a plot. But I also like to use events which happened before the dates of my setting, because as we all know, the effects of a specific event often ricochet through the years, sometimes having unintended consequences. For example, the disappearance of the crew of the Zebrina—one of the still unsolved mysteries of the war—occurred in the autumn of 1917, but it plays a part in the events of autumn 1919 in PENNY FOR YOUR SECRETS. The future must also be considered. The overarching plots of my series often build towards an event in the not so distant future, which allows me to flesh them out more greatly and shape the story to more fully utilize that historical moment.

Are your characters real historical figures or fictional?

The majority of my characters are fictional, though they are often inspired by a number of people in history, be it a small grouping of people or a larger sub-class within the population. For example, Verity Kent was inspired by a number of women who worked for British Intelligence during the First World War—with traits and events from their histories mish-mashed into one person. Other times I base my characters solely on one historical figure. In PENNY FOR YOUR SECRETS, Lord and Lady Rockham are inspired by the 9th Duke of Marlborough and his second wife, Gladys. However, there are also a few genuine historical figures who step into the pages of my books. C, the first Chief of the foreign division of Military Intelligence, whose full name was Mansfield Smith-Cumming, and Verity’s boss during the war (and to some extents, after) was a real person. As was Captain Henry Landau, who was in charge of running all of the intelligence gathering networks working for the British inside the German-occupied territories of Belgium and northeastern France during the latter part of the war, including La Dame Blanche.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I’m more of a plotter—outlining the plot in fairly in depth detail. But I also like to allow myself room for inspiration. If I plot the book too minutely, then I grow bored with it before I even begin writing it. And I’ve also discovered my characters are fond of throwing monkey wrenches into the stories, problems and situations I never planned for, but that often make the book so much better. So if I give them some leeway, then I can more organically allow the story to unfold how it wishes.

What is your least favorite part of the writing process?

There is always a moment somewhere in the middle of writing the book when you get bogged down and disoriented, when you suddenly feel certain that the plot will never work out and the entire book will have to be scrapped because it’s the worst piece of rubbish you’re ever written. No fail, it happens every time. And knowing this does help you keep pushing forward because you can remind yourself it’s simply part of the process, that you say those words to yourself every time and then it turns out beautifully. But in the moment, those feelings are horrid and overwhelming, and it is most certainly a struggle to continue.

What is your favorite part of the writing process?

I have three. One is the moment when you have that first exciting germ of an idea and you can imagine all the amazing possibilities. The second is when you finally feel like you’ve wrangled all the confusing strings of the story together to form a cohesive outline of your plot. And the third is the moment when you’re writing or editing the novel and you finally feel that all the elements have clicked into place to create a finished book. It’s slightly euphoric.

City or country?

Country

Sunrise or sunset?

Sunset

Spring or autumn?

Autumn

Cat or dog?

Cat

Airplane or boat?

Airplane

[kensingtonbooks]

An Interview With Verity Kent

From author Anna Lee Huber, author of PENNY FOR YOUR SECRETS.

Reporter: Mrs. Kent, thank you for agreeing to speak with me.

Verity: Of course. I’m always happy to speak with polite members of the press.

Reporter: I understand a number of my colleagues have been rather…persistent since your intrepid husband’s return from the dead.

Verity:  Which is, I’m sure, only to be expected. [She doesn’t sound convinced.]

Reporter: Last we spoke, you were dashing off to the continent on some urgent errand.

Verity: [Blinks slowly, revealing nothing.] Was that a question?

Reporter: Can you tell me where you went?

Verity: We were simply assisting a friend.

Reporter: I see. But I understand you departed London without your husband’s delightful company?

Verity: [Arches a single eyebrow.] Sidney had a matter to attend to before joining me.

Reporter: [Taps pencil against paper in annoyance.] Then, I understand, you retired to your cottage in Sussex?

Verity: Yes. We decided we deserved a few weeks of seclusion after four and a half years of separation. [Adds an edge of sweetness to her words.] Surely even the press can understand that.

Reporter: [Clears throat.] Yes, I suppose even war heroes have their limits.

Verity:  [Smiles.] Don’t let Sidney hear you say so.

Reporter:  [Chuckles.] The press have been anticipating the announcement that your husband will receive a medal for his bravery and valor.

Verity: [Slight strain in her voice, though her countenance remains serene.] Yes, I expect he will.

Reporter: You must be proud.

Verity: I am.

Reporter: [Searches her face and then consults his notes.] And you’ve returned to London to attend Lord and Lady Rockham’s highly-anticipated soiree tomorrow evening. I understand you’re great friends with the marchioness.

Verity: Yes, Lady Rockham and I met during the war. She…assisted me in a number of charity matters.

Reporter: Tomorrow’s event is certain to grace the social pages. Can you give us a preview of the gown you will be wearing?

Verity: [Smiles coyly.] I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait and see.

Reporter: Will it be as daring as the gown Lady Rockham is rumored to be wearing?

Verity: [Shrugs one shoulder.]

Reporter: Mrs. Kent, have a heart. How am I to do my job?

Verity: Don’t try to flim-flam me. I know well enough you have an army of sources. I’m sure you already know far more than you’re saying.  But you won’t get any more from me.

Reporter: [Sighs dramatically.] Very well. Your husband will be accompanying you?

Verity: Of course.

Reporter: Then I suppose we know one of the photographs which will grace the front of the society pages the day after. No one can resist a picture of you and your dashing war hero husband.

Verity: Yes, well, we simply tell ourselves, “think of England,” before doing what we must.

Reporter: [Laughs aloud.] I’m sure. [Tilts his head, eyes suddenly sharp.] But I know you’re downplaying matters in Belgium. Word is you and Mr. Kent suffered some minor mishap, and his prized Pierce-Arrow was destroyed. How did that happen, and yet there’s not a scratch on you?

Verity: [Unmoved.] Well, we weren’t inside it at the time. Obviously. [Waves her hand dismissively.] Some angry socialist or some-such set it ablaze while we were asleep.

Reporter: Was the culprit caught?

Verity: So I’m told.

Reporter: [Eying her doubtfully.] Why do I suspect that’s the truth, but not the truth?

Verity: Isn’t truth but an illusion?

Reporter: [Wryly.] I never took you for a philosopher.

Verity: [Smirks.] Well, maybe you should. And here’s another truism for you. [Slides forward on her chair, fanning herself.] A lady should never allow herself to wilt in company. Now, if you’ll excuse. [She rises, forcing the reporter to do so as well.] I really must lie down if I’m to be fresh for this evening’s soiree. [Reporter opens his mouth to voice one more question, but she cuts him off before he can utter a word.] It was lovely chatting with you. Sadie will show you out. [With a sweep of her crepe skirt, she sweeps from the room.]

Reporter: [Under his breath.] Well, she managed me nicely. A fat lot of nothing is what I got. [Narrows his eyes.] Just as she intended, no doubt.

[kensingtonbooks]

The History Behind PENNY FOR YOUR SECRETS

From author Anna Lee Huber.

While researching my books I always stumble across some fascinating—and sometimes bizarre—historical facts. Here are just a few of these snippets of history that found their way into the plot of PENNY FOR YOUR SECRETS.

1. The disappearance of the crew of the Zebrina is one of the great unsolved mysteries of the First World War. The ship was a flat-bottomed schooner used to haul coal from southwest England across the dangerous waters of the English Channel, which were patrolled by German U-boats, to the shores of France. In the autumn of 1917, she was found beached at a place called Rozel Point two days after she was supposed to have reached the port of Saint-Brieuc. The Zebrina was undamaged except for some tangled sails, and nothing seemed amiss, except for the fact her entire crew was missing. The most common explanation has been that the crew must have been taken captive by the crew of U-boat. Except there was no evidence of a struggle—the table was even set for dinner—and the captain’s logbook was not taken, as was the customary practice. So what happened to the crew?

2. One of the major inciting incidents of the story, and several of the characters involved, were inspired by an anecdote about the 9th Duke of Marlborough and his second wife, Gladys Deacon. Marlborough had first been wed to the American heiress, Consuelo Vanderbilt. The marriage was notoriously unhappy, and after they divorced, Marlborough wed his mistress, Gladys Deacon. Unfortunately, their wedded bliss also soured, though Marlborough’s subsequent conversion to Roman Catholicism made divorce impossible. At one dinner party, Gladys is alleged to have produced a revolver and set it on the table beside her. When one of the startled guests asked, “Duchess, what are you doing to do with that?” She replied, “Oh! I don’t know. I might just shoot Marlborough.”

3. All soldiers sending letters home from the front understood that their mail would be read and possibly censored, often by their own commanding officers. This was supposed to ensure that no information about the troops’ exact location, movements, situation, or intentions leaked out to the enemy or threatened the country’s morale. However, if for whatever reason, a soldier did not wish their officer to read their letters, they could send a message home using a special green honor envelope. In doing so, a soldier was supposed to give his solemn word that nothing of a sensitive nature was contained within. But of course, the government still had these letters checked by postal censors before forwarding them on to their intended recipients.

4. London was abuzz with night-clubs in the late teens and twenties. Some of these catered only to the wealthy and elite, like the glamorous Embassy Club—with its violet and jade-green décor, walls ranged with looking glasses, and high-subscription fees. While others flouted the strict liquor licensing laws, serving libations late into the night to the music of its American jazz bands. These clubs also often featured exhibitions of ballroom and novelty dances, some performed by duos who quickly made a name for themselves, including the famed Moss and Fontana.

5. But liquor wasn’t the only drug being served at these nightclubs. In truth, London had an opium and cocaine problem, even among the elite. Though cocaine fell out of favor, thanks to the infamous death of Billie Carleton, a rising star in theater, it was still attainable, and opium in all its various forms was still widely regarded as restorative. Members of society sometimes hosted opium parties where everyone would change into their pajamas and lie around on pillows while a member of the party, or even more fashionable—a Chinese herbalist, administered the drug.

Grab a copy of PENNY FOR YOUR SECRETS today→ https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/37996

[kensingtonbooks]

Author Takeover!

Stay tuned all day as Anna Lee Huber joins us to celebrate her book birthday. 

Get a behind the scenes look at the newest Verity Kent Mystery, PENNY FOR YOUR SECRETS with exclusive guest posts from Anna Lee Huber.

Buy your copy today→ http://bit.ly/2pqZDp1

[kensingtonbooks]

The Pulse of Mars by John Andrew Karr

The following is a guest blog by MARS WARS: DETONATION EVENT’s author @johnandrewkarr.

Beyond Earth.

Already it sounds whimsical. Adventures in space. Stuff for scientists and science fiction aficionados.

So many of us are so rooted in daily existence in our bubble that we forget or never fully grasp that Earth is just that—a rock in a bubble of air and water and heat.

And that bubble can easily be popped by an unwelcome asteroid.

Or the liquid and radioactive cores that churn and produce a protective magnetosphere around the planet go cold little by little over eons, or all at once. But in the end, go cold.

No more magnetosphere to ward off the surface-stripping solar winds. No method to prevent the escape of air and water and heat.

How long before Earth turns as barren and void of life as Mars is?

Not “appears to be.”

Is.

. . . unless there are underground caverns or something.

Unlikely, at best.

The NASA InSight lander, after another incredible flight and landing by scientists and engineers, is on a vast red plain called Elysium Planitia, with instruments to drill into the ground and rest on the surface to seek out and monitor tectonic activity.

They seek the pulse of Mars.

Judging by the lack of magnetosphere, I don’t believe they’ll find any.

Mars is a dead planet.

You need active cores to heat things up and outward, then have moving continental plates for there to be tectonic activity, a.k.a. marsquakes.

In my science fiction novel, Detonation Event, the first in the Mars Wars series, the opening mission is to resurrect the inner and outer cores with thermonuclear blasts. This allows for a magnetosphere, which in turn allows for the capture of air and water and heat, which then allows for the terraforming of Mars.

And human colonization without living inside domed cities or other encapsulated surface structures, or underground.

Artificial global warming is also an option to thicken the atmosphere so it doesn’t get pulled out into space.

Maybe we can smash asteroids into Mars to jump-start the cores.

None of this can happen now, or soon. But there’s always a first step.

And the InSight lander could be that first step.

You have to know current conditions to solve problems. Honest current conditions.

Detonation Event occurs two hundred years from now. Technologies have advanced so far in the last two hundred, who knows what the next two centuries will bring?

Last night I was jumping rope out on the back patio, gazing up at the red dot that is Mars in the western night sky. It was cold for Wilmington, NC; maybe thirty degrees.

So much colder and inhospitable on that red dot.

But as I wrote in my essay, The Case For Space, And Mars, humans need more than one planet to decrease the odds of extinction.  

The moon could be a start, but it is not enough. It is not far enough, or large enough, for the next phase of human exploration and colonization.

That’s right.

Human.

We’re not there yet, but if we keep pushing, Mars may become less lethal to the average human being.

Because right now, humans and every other living thing on Earth are vulnerable.

Pre-Order/Buy MARS WARS: DETONATION EVENT here→ http://bit.ly/2GbEWmN

[kensingtonbooks]

A Case for Space, and Mars by John Andrew Karr

The following is a guest blog by MARS WARS: DETONATION EVENT’s author @johnandrewkarr.

People of Earth. 

You know the phrase. 

Unless you totally eschew science fiction or science fantasy in all its forms, you know the phrase. If you have disdain for the mind-expanding genres, then you probably fall into the space and Mars haters club despite indulging in space-related technologies, i.e. satellites, portable computers, computer mice, artificial limbs, camera phones. There’s a bunch more that can be found by searching, but this link has a good starter list: https://go.nasa.gov/2Gbxecu

As for the famous Tang—for those of us in our fifth century of existence, or beyond—it was not developed for space travel, but the moon missions made it a big star.  

If you’re less seasoned, send a mindtext to your favorite search engine on the galaxynet.  

No access to galaxynet?

That’s okay—thirty years ago only a few innovators had access to linked servers that would someday grow to become the internet. 

Galaxynet is internet for the solar system. It will have satellite boosts between Earth and Mars, Earth and Jupiter’s moons, and any place we deploy large-scale space stations such as the Mars Orbiters in my Mars Wars series, part of the Rebel Base imprint from Kensington Books. 

The timeframe for Mars Wars is near-future, approximately two hundred years from now. MOS-1 and MOS-2 are host to workers and vacationers of around ten thousand people, and serve as forward operating bases to colonization. Self-sufficient, they manufacture air, water, food, clothing, energy pellets, and hydrogen propellant for its nuclear fusion engines and those of the planetary shuttles. The latter are used to fly missions to the Martian surface, or back to Lunar One or Earth. 

No story is entertaining without some form of conflict.

The conflict in Mars Wars involves two parties. Those people who want all resources for the Earth, and those who are space and Mars colonization proponents. Such a scenario will hopefully remain fiction, but glimpses can be had on a . . . less dangerous . . . scale in human societies now.   Back to current day, liberty has been taken to toss the internet into space-related tech. Mostly because Elon Musk’s Space X are creating a satellite internet that may ultimately lead to WiFi availability in the most remote crack of Earth’s continental crust. Others have also started in on similar ventures. More later on billionaires making a play for serious and profitable expansion beyond Earth.

People of Earth.  

If you’ve ever had even a slight taste of science fiction, you know the phrase. Usually its uttered by some alien who’s come to our beautiful blue planet for war, to pilfer our resources, or simply snatch a few dozen of us to make people patties, under the guise of a beneficial meet-and-greet. 

Cunning aliens. 

Isn’t it enough to reduce our scientific and engineering advances to stone tool status in comparison with alien tech?   

The Peeps of Earth phrase can also be extrapolated to encompass all humans, ever, throughout time. That’s every human born, ever. All who inhaled air, drank water, felt the planet’s mass beneath their feet, gazed up the glorious sun and stars and someday later, died. Of these billions, every single one lived their lives bound to the Earth.

Question: Besides the same relative arm strength, what do Tyrannosaurus rex and Homo sapiens have in common?

Answer: Extinction impotence. 

Even non-sci-fi types know how vulnerable we are as a species, and there’s not a damn thing we can do about it. 

By the way, the latest thinking for T-Rex is that it could actually rip a human’s arm off in an arm wrestling match, provided it could move its teeny arms side-to-side. So don’t go up to one and call it an arm-wuss or something.   

Let’s go ahead and summon one of the first things that come to mind whenever dinosaurs are evoked: asteroid. One big enough to eject millions of tons of ash and dust into the atmosphere, all but blocking out the sun and creating a perpetual ‘asteroid winter.’ A certain percentage of the population might be able to survive the apocalypse for a while, but it could take hundreds or even thousands of years for the skies to clear. 

Humans, along a huge percentage of other terrestrial and aquatic life, would most likely perish from famine, disease, and war. There’s a good chance asphyxiation has a role; immediate dispersion of breathable air erupting through the magnetosphere and lost to space. Darkness then  withers plant life en masse, along with their oxygen-creating capabilities.

Maybe it won’t be an asteroid for humans. Maybe it will be the very real threat of nuclear war, standard war, or disease. Dinosaurs as a species lasted millions of years. Humans have come far in a blip of comparative time, but we’re also prone to war.    

Regardless of method, both species met or will meet their ultimate end on Earth.

Is it of any consolation that astronomers will likely be able to track the instrument of our demise through space as it hurls toward us?

Question: How much does Earth care about the life that clings to it?

Answer: Every bit as much as any other rock in the universe.

Snark aside, only life cares about life. 

Obvious, yet worthy of a moment of reflection. Despite radioactive cores that provide a magnetosphere to prevent the escape of air and water to space, Earth and every other planet, moon, asteroid, comet, and yes, even the stars, are not alive. None of the aforementioned are thinkers. They have zero intelligence capability. They do not feel anything. The earth is a fantastic and sometimes terrible host of abundant life, but it lacks the capacity to acknowledge anything, and therefore has no care whether life exists or not. 

It has no care whether it exists or not.   

Grass has more regard for its life than a planet has self-awareness. The roots will grow toward moisture, the blade toward the sun.   

The life forms of Earth care—at least on some fundamental level—but not the planet itself.

Question: What is the only life form that could prevent a total extinction event? Answer: Look in the mirror.

Probably not you specifically, or me, or anyone alive right now. But perhaps our descendants, unseen over our shoulders in generation after generation on an extended scale, reaching centuries into the future. They could have some contribution toward preserving our species, or the next iteration of it.  

The obvious difference between humans and all of the extinct, single-planet-dwelling species that have come before us is that we can build upon current technologies to at least try and thwart the inevitable catastrophe.  

Humans alone—unless cockroaches or some other species survive our warring nature and evolve to our current levels—have the means to bump our potential survival rate by 100% by colonizing another planet.  

For that, the red planet is a beacon in the night sky. As with any venture into space, the mission is fraught with danger. But Mars as a cold and rocky planet is still preferable to an ice-encrusted moon of Jupiter. 

If we ever do figure out a way to kick-start the Martian cores into creating a magnetosphere, as I write of in Mars Wars, or thicken the Martian atmosphere enough to hold air and water, the potential for agriculture is there because of soil. We may need to scrape off the solar wind-pounded surface material and turn it over, but ice, with Jupiter as a backdrop, isn’t going to be kind to the roots of space tomatoes. 

Perhaps we’d even import some of the massive sandworms from Frank Herbert’s Dune to help fertilize. Everyone knows Dune is easier to reach from Mars than it is from Earth.  

To perform more space outreach, we’ve got to go faster at a sustained clip. Warp drive would be incredibly convenient, but we’ve got a huge knowledge gap between chemical rockets and light speed. If I had to choose a single category to improve immediately, it would be propulsion. It takes us too long to reach anything, and that’s just in our own backyard. 

In Mars Wars, planetary shuttles and remote orbiters make use of nuclear fusion for propulsion. It is a cleaner, more sustainable burn that can use hydrogen as a propellant. They can reach Mars in a month, as opposed to nine. Not warp speed or hyper-drive, but a big step in the right direction.

Think how far we’ve come in the preceding two centuries. Who knows where we’ll be two centuries from today, if we make concerted efforts. 

But what to do once there? Live forever inside enclosures, or take steps to terraform Mars so it is not immediately hostile to life? 

Some space advocates want to keep Mars as a planetary park, unchanged by human hands.

There is no reason to keep Mars in its current state of death. Billions of years ago, Mars once held water and therefore some form of air. There are many reasons to resurrect it. 

As seen in Mars Wars, Mars has threats beyond the frigid temps and lack of air and water. What we might find in the soil could be positive or negative, for instance. Click here: http://bit.ly/2GblvKU

Question: What about caring for the earth? Answer: The two are not mutually exclusive.

Of course we should care for the mother planet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t expand into space and Mars at the same time. Resource drainage from Earth can be limited, and life on Earth can improve with technological advances. 

Space expeditions must be commercially viable, or at least self-sustaining. NASA and other government agencies have done great pioneering work, but taxes alone cannot continually fund space exploration. We're already seeing private ventures from billionaire visionaries like Musk and Bezos and Branson attempting to bring the space flight industry into a more “mainstream” focus. Bringing rare metals back to Earth could lead to more technology bursts.

Harvesting resources from asteroids would be easier from Mars, since it’s closer to the Asteroid Belt, the farmer’s market of asteroids. A dwarf planet in the belt is blasting water vapor into space for some reason, and it may hold more water than Earth. Amazing. And available for harvesting. Asteroids can be encased in water ice. Others have ammonia ice that could be beneficial in thickening the Martian atmosphere. 

It’s a process, but water can be harvested from minerals on asteroids. Comets would take less processing time, but they’re free spirits and not clustered nicely in a band like their rocky counter parts. Formed outside our solar system, comets that can provide immediate water ice are not subject to the same relative orbiting plane as the planets and Asteroid Belt. These may be more attainable from Mars due to readiness more than location.

A couple of fun informative links to check out:

http://bit.ly/2Gbn4bK

http://bit.ly/2GbFrgH

Mars itself may have tons of water trapped in its crust, as was recently postulated in a finding on Earth. 

This has touched on a few hints about transforming Mars—terraforming it—into a habitable planet. It could take centuries, or less, or never work at all and we end up creating subterranean cities or honeycomb surface ones encapsulated in redundant plexiglass bubbles threaded with titanium strands. 

(That last part is a glimpse of the Lunar One base on the moon in Mars Wars.)    

Mars needs heat, water, and air, and we’ll move in. 

It’s not been tried by humans, but the powers of the solar system have done it. It may be possible to crash asteroids into Mars, set off a bunch of thermonuclear bombs, create vast mirror farms to reflect more sunlight, or use other methods to greenhouse the atmosphere so it can hold air and water and heat. 

There may be enough nitrates on the red planet to use for breathable air, since oxygen is the lesser component. Or maybe there’s some rip asteroids to mine for it. 

A lot to cover there, for another time. 

If Mars does become viable as a self-sustaining colony, and then network of colonies, and then perhaps the entire planet, wouldn’t it also provide relief to overpopulation on Earth?

For those who want to focus solely on Earth until the extinction event(s) strike, don’t we have a duty to future generations to begin the process of increasing survival odds? 

The universe is mind-blowingly vast. Where is the spirit to attain knowledge? To push the boundaries of what viable life can be had beyond Earth. Exploring has dangers, but it can also lead to the betterment of Homo sapiens.

Pre-Order/Buy MARS WARS: DETONATION EVENT here→ http://bit.ly/2GbEWmN

[kensingtonbooks]

Carlene O’Connor: A Peek Behind The Curtains

The following is a guest post from MURDER IN AN IRISH CHURCHYARD author, Carlene O’Connor.

How do writers write? Does the story come pouring out in one go? I wish! It's a day by day process of outlining, taking notes, writing out a synopsis, jotting down thoughts and images on index cards, and draft by draft putting together the best story you can. I now find the process exciting. As long as I am into it, there is a good chance the reader will be too. Writing is an act of exploration and discovery. Here are some notes I jotted down for Murder in an Irish Churchyard while writing...

Jay is an exacting director-- knows weather

Peter is hoarding the evidence -- threatens to burn the proof

Peter started to find out the truth BEFORE Jay had a chance to stage it

Gravestone/headstone back in Ohio

Same name, different date of death

Letters to Ann

Matches -- no cigarettes

Other similarities between Jay and family line?

Peter's ancestor-- is a murderer, who then went on to do a good thing

Jay's ancestor is the real John Mallon (Mallory?)

Don't forget the Cane and Abel quote

Here is an early stab at a scene. (Pun intended) The bold are notes to myself... As you will see, it's rough. I'm not even sure when I read it now who is speaking. But that's how you start, jotting things down... 

Cemetery Father Kearney isn't in... Quotes

Something exciting action in cemetery

Sees old woman. Gives chase -- gets in trouble?

It's so exciting. I suppose it's different when you know exactly where you're from and where all your ancestors are from. But for Americans, we're all from somewhere else. It's a puzzle, a mystery, a connection to the past.

Can I see this?

The names laid out -- John and Ann and the dates they went on the boat and came off the boat.

Sean Mallon. Who is Sean Mallon?

It appears that John Mallon had a brother.

How can that be?

It seems he never made it off the boat. We think this is the information Peter discovered while here. Someone brought to his attention. Do you have any idea who?

Hannah mentioned it was explosive. Did Hannah know about this? Discovering a great Uncle that died on the ship was big news. But hardly explosive.

If this is true, Peter wouldn't have let go until he turned over every rock.

We think Peter or his killer might have burned some documents relating to his brother. 

Peter would have never done that. Information, especially historic documents were sacred to him.

A tear came to her eyes. Poor Peter.

Grab your copy of MURDER IN AN IRISH CHURCHYARD here→ http://bit.ly/2FG5XhX

[kensingtonbooks]

Carlene O’Connor: Off To The Races

The following is a guest post from MURDER IN AN IRISH CHURCHYARD author, Carlene O’Connor.

The first month I visited Ireland, I truly had one of the best times of my life. One of the highlights was going to the Killarney Horse Races. 

In Murder in an Irish Churchyard I changed it to the Cork Races as you will see from the excerpt below. 

I was fascinated with the bookmakers (taking the bets) with their leather satchels and booming voices calling out to the crowds. This experience was later brought to life when Siobhán O'Sullivan and Macdara Flannery have to go to the races as part of their investigation...

From Murder in an Irish Churchyard by Carlene O'Connor:

The Cork Racecourse was hopping. On the banks of the River Blackwater in Mallow County Cork, it was known to have the best horse racing in Ireland. A mix of flat racing and jumps, but in the winter it was all jumps. The dirt track was surrounded by a simple fence that allowed viewers to stand “up close and personal” to the horses thundering by. The sun was peeking out from puffy gray clouds, and the crowd was immense and noisy. Large stands surrounded the perimeter, selling food and beverage. There were a total of five public bars at the races, just in case folks got a little thirsty. There was a carvery restaurant, a hot-roast-beef and snack stand, and a fast-food restaurant. Siobhán's mouth watered as soon as the smell of burgers hit her. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten. Garda work was the best diet she'd ever tried.

           Slightly farther away, bookmakers were lined up with their leather bags stuffed with money resting at their feet. The snow had been thoroughly dealt with, the bits that hadn't melted had been meticulously plowed and the fields were clean. It took a lot more than a little snow to stop an Irishman's love of the ponies. In between races Irish music blared from speakers. Macdara's race was about to begin, so Siobhán and Macdara propped themselves near the fence to watch.

Grab your copy of MURDER IN AN IRISH CHURCHYARD here→ http://bit.ly/2FG5XhX

[kensingtonbooks]

Carlene O’Connor: The Inspiration

The following is a guest post from MURDER IN AN IRISH CHURCHYARD author, Carlene O’Connor.

The Inspiration Behind The #IrishVillageMystery Series

When I was asked by my editor if I wanted to write a mystery series for him set in England, I had to say no. I didn't know enough about England to set a book there. But I had spent a month in Ireland, my great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland, and my boyfriend at the time was Irish. (He's still a good friend, but that is another story)... When the Irish setting was approved, I knew exactly what town I would use to create my fictional village. I never even knew you could fall in love with a town until I visited Kilmallock, County Limerick, Ireland. It's one of the few walled towns left in Ireland. The medieval wall surrounding the town still exists, along with two of the four original entrance gates. They have a collegiate church, a town castle-- King John's Castle, and the most gorgeous ruined Dominican priory or ruined abbey that I have ever seen. Granted, besides pictures I haven't seen many, but the abbey in Kilmallock is absolutely stunning. I was jealous when I first saw their town castle. I grew up with a White Castle. It seemed totally unfair. I fell in love with Natalie's Bistro which made a fantastic cappuccino which is my drink of choice, compared to all the tea that's drank there. 

Natalie, the owner, is one of the loveliest women I met there, (okay, they all were) with a bright personality, and any time you asked her anything she replied in a sing-song voice: "Not a bother!" A few readers will recognize that in the first few publications of the book, I accidentally said Natalie's Bistro in a few places instead of Naomi's. As much as I wish the mistake hadn't been made, it is a rather sweet reason-- Natalie's being the real bistro. Unfortunately, Natalie's Bistro is closed now, although she did share with me her brown bread recipe which I fell in love with, and it will finally be revealed in the sixth Irish Village Mystery which will be a Christmas-themed one. If you find yourself in Limerick or Cork, I hope you have time to discover Kilmallock, the gem of a town in-between, and maybe you'll fall in love too.

Grab your copy of MURDER IN AN IRISH CHURCHYARD here→ http://bit.ly/2FG5XhX

[kensingtonbooks]

Carlene O’Connor: My Murder Mystery Learning Curve

The following is a guest post from MURDER IN AN IRISH CHURCHYARD author, Carlene O’Connor.

When I set out to write a murder mystery series set in Ireland, I had to learn the differences between how a murder is investigated in Ireland versus the United States. The first difference, which is actually a very good thing in real life-- is that there are not as many murders in Ireland. Especially in a small town where my series is set. I once talked to a resident of Kilmallock, Ireland which is the real town that inspired the series, and I asked if there had ever been any murders there in his lifetime. He said, yes, there was one. It took place in a pub. A man killed his wife in the pub, then sat on the barstool and finished his pint while they called the guards. To this day I'm not sure if it was a true story or a joke for he added: "It was probably the best pint of his life."  But the point was taken-- murders are rare in the smaller towns in Ireland, and when they do occur, it's usually not a big mystery as to "Who done it". The other interesting tidbit is that when a body is found, it has to remain where it is until the State Pathologist arrives to declare it a crime scene. Then the pathologist would proceed from there, determining whether or not the death is a murder. The Office of State Pathologists is in Dublin, so depending on where the death occurs, it could take some time before he or she arrives. With each passing day, the clues may be disappearing. Lastly, guards do not carry guns, unless they are in a certain rank and unit. When the bad guy comes after my guards, they have to find other ways to defend themselves. And if you're wondering -- a guard is a police officer. Garda is the way to address an officer. The Garda Station is the police station. And when the term gardai is used, it's the plural. The official name is: The Garda Síochána which translates to: The Guardians of the Peace. I must say, being a guardian of peace is a pretty awesome job, don't you think? 

Grab your copy of MURDER IN AN IRISH CHURCHYARD here→ http://bit.ly/2FG5XhX

[kensingtonbooks]

Takeover Tuesday: Carlene O’Connor

Settle in with a comfy blanket and a hot cup of tea, because we’re handing over control of our page to Carlene O’Connor for the day! We’re celebrating her book birthday all day long, and want you to come along for the fun.

Grab your copy of MURDER IN AN IRISH CHURCHYARD here→ http://bit.ly/2FG5XhX