Tag Archives: Science

Deciding Which Book Blurb

by in publishing, Shoulder Fairy, Writing and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

I hired three different people from fiverr.com to create a book blurb for my new ‘Shoulder Fairy’ science fiction book I expect to self-publish next month. It will be my fourth book.

Creating a blurb for this book is a little tricky because the story is difficult to explain in just a few words. The worst case is “The book is about a salesman goes to another planet to sell electronic tablets.” While that is true, it’s missing the motive, the obstacles, and the dangers that the salesman experiences. He’s not in it for the money.

I’ll share all three blurbs below.

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The year is 2198. It’s been thirteen years since Robert Vasquez saw the light of day. He spent most of his life seeking knowledge and educating others; a wealthy man who was never been understood by his fellow mankind. No longer able to find his purpose on Earth, he traveled the universe toward the star Procyon A and the planet known as Sonik.

Humanity has intermingled among the locals of the planet. Sonik was nothing like Earth with its hazardous atmosphere, unfiltered air, and radiation levels that threatened human health. Strange creatures and unknown landscapes await his journey. Here he plans to start again, and to spread education and knowledge throughout the new world. But his mission is threatened by internal politics.

In his journey, he meets a fairy-like creature convicted of a grievous crime whom he confides in. Unnatural thoughts invade his mind as his paranoia continues to grow. He learns about a prophecy and an ancient civilization about the history of the planet. He becomes a fugitive from his own kind. One after another, he is tested to the brink of his existence. But is he prepared to learn the unexpected truth that has been living inside him?

The above blurb is by Almuntassermohd @ fiverr. I thought it was pretty good. The grammar issues were annoying but fixable. He does emphasize some of the dangers and obstacles in a vague way. Vague is probably good for a blurb. I don’t want any spoilers. I may choose this for my back cover.

He came to their world to teach. Instead, he learned how to fight… Robert Vasquez is a teacher. Resourceful and innovative, he has traveled to the distant planet of Sonik to spread Earth’s knowledge and culture, and improve the lives of the natives. But not everyone is so eager to change the status qou… He soon finds himself under the watchful eye of Ambassador Garth Knight… a corrupt bureaucrat who wants to keep Sonik’s population ignorant and docile… Easy prey for a militaristic Earth to take over. As Robert travels across this new world, he discovers a bizarre growth on his shoulder… and a strange voice, whispering in his head. But before he can deal with a possible mental breakdown, Garth’s spies turn the natives against him. Forced to flee into the wilderness, Robert must battle savage alien creatures, local bandits, and the harsh environment in order to survive. Guided by the voice in his head, Robert discovers a hidden archive of the planet’s knowledge and history. Along with a treasure trove of ancient but advanced technology… including a fleet of ships that could give the sinister ambassador the military edge he needs to dominate the planet once and for all… Shoulder Fairy is a thought-provoking science fiction adventure, featuring alien worlds, galactic politics and a relatable hero. Fans of Glynn Stewart, K. R. Fox and Sara King will love this thrilling tale of knowledge conquering ignorance.

The above blurb is by Aawarren @ fiverr. This one seems to amplify the danger and excitement even more. A couple of the details are not exactly correct but close enough to the truth. I am tempted to use this one also. He doesn’t mention the fairies directly, but he does mention some trouble that was caused by them.

“One is never afraid of the unknown;

one is afraid of the known coming to an end”

~Jiddu Krishnamurti

Robert Vasquez was an Earthling who found himself living on the planet Sonik. Although he missed those he had left on Earth, he saw this place as one that could help promote his electronic products. His goals were to bring Science and Technology to a foreign land.

He decided the best place in which to promote his products would be at a university. He felt if were to gain the acceptance of educational scholars, his product sales would skyrocket. Will he be successful in his quest to introduce a new product to this vast land?

Or will he find that the people will resist his attempt at discovering new technology delivered by a foreigner’s hands? If he was to fail will he find himself seeking to return to his homeland?

This blurb is by another person @ fiverr. Sorry, but I was disappointed by this one. It makes it sound like Robert was just interested in money. A salesman story with a profit and loss spreadsheet in each chapter. That criticism is exaggerated, but where is the danger? Being deported back to Earth was a concern, but so was death. And where are the fairies?

I have two blurbs to choose from. And now I am awaiting the material to put in the appendix of my book. I had hired six authors from fiverr.com and freelancer.com to create science reports and short stories about various characters in the story.

The two science reports were completed yesterday. One to discuss the plausibility of space travel as depicted in my book. The other is a biology report that discusses the plausibility of parasites and small people that fly (fairies) as depicted in my book, complete with references.

I am still awaiting my four short stories. It’s so fun for me to have appendices in my books and hire people to fill them. I plan to give them credit, each with their name under their short story title.

Detangling Quantum Entanglement

by in Science, Tomek Series, Writing and tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Note: Quantum Entanglement transceivers are used as fictional communication devices in each of my books that allow my characters to communicate over vast interstellar distances instantly. Julie Schoen (from fiverr.com) did some research for me and published her result here. I am also publishing it on my blog.

Detangling Quantum Entanglement: Can You Really Communicate at the Speed of Light?

Although people might like to believe that aliens and extraterrestrials are only relegated to the pages of science fiction books or the screens in our movie theaters, for centuries there have been people who firmly believe otherwise. From astronauts who have walked on our moon to, more recently, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk, there have always been those on “the fringe” who not only believed in ET life, but felt like they had evidence to prove it.

The famous crash in Roswell, New Mexico thought to be one of the events that did such that, offering the proof of a ship and a body, although many still argue its validity.

In one of Musk’s recent interviews, he not only shared that he believes extraterrestrial super aliens a feasible possibility, he went on to say that, if they exist, they   existed, but that “they’re probably already observing us… and we’re just not smart enough to realize it.”

How’s that for a kick to your human ego?

A long time ago, my middle school Language Arts teacher asked my class to read Ender’s Game. Not my typical cup of tea, considering Jane Austen was, and still is, the be-all-end-all author in my book, I found myself fascinated by the world Orson Scott Card created.

But, being the daughter of an engineer who constantly questioned and destroyed every possibility of Star Wars being possible, I found myself skeptic – and I went back to Emma and her matchmaking (which, if you’re an Orson Scott Card or sci-fi fan probably means very little to you).

And then I moved to Boulder and found myself immersed in a company that not only wholeheartedly believes in intelligent life on other planets, many of the people they work with believe that they are contacting people here on this planet, perhaps even right here among us.

Yes, I live in New Mexico. No, I’ve never felt like I have seen something inexplicable streak across the night sky.

However, I was interested to see what the possibility of all of this really could be. Now, I’m far from being an expert but I have some incredibly smart people in my life that let me pick their brains, especially about communication with extraterrestrials: is it actually possible to talk with life on other planets in real time? Or, at least, without having to wait hundreds of years for a text message to finally arrive in your inbox?

During this picking I was pointed to fiction books that have some plausible ideas about communication with other planets, the idea of quantum entanglement, and, less helpful, Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory.

I found myself tangled in quantum entanglement, which apparently is no surprise to anyone familiar with the concept. In a nutshell, quantum entanglement is a phenomenon that joins particles in their quantum state so that they are no longer separate – everything becomes one whole no matter how far apart they are. Albert Einstein is one of the scientists to write about this phenomenon, something non-scientist folk can understand as “spooky action at a distance”.

To break this down in an easier to understand way, quantum entanglement posits that if a particle were spun on one side of the world and it was entangled with another, the spinning of that first particle would cause the second to spin as well and in the same direction.

Yep, spooky.

Some physicists believe that quantum entanglement is the answer to extraterrestrial communication, although it hasn’t been proven yet that information can actually be carried and passed through this phenomenon. There is an interesting book that was written about quantum entanglement being a possible scientific explanation for ESP and psychic readings, although, of course, everything in this realm of science is always up for debate.

(Haven’t Sheldon and Leonard taught you anything?)

So the big question is if you can find a way to send information with entangled particles as doing so would allow for speed of light (or faster) communication that could put us in cahoots with super smart aliens on Planet X (or was it Y?)

While the decision is still out with the jury, many physicists say that you can’t simply because trying to alter the state of an entangled particle breaks the entanglement. And then, there are the ones that argue there’s a way around it – they just haven’t figured it out exactly yet.

But, where there’s a will, there’s usually a way.

And if quantum entanglement isn’t the answer, is there somewhere else to look?

Perhaps interstellar beacons can be used to create some sort of informative light show, like an EDM festival crossed with Dan Rather.

Others believe that learning to understand dolphins may hold the key to unlocking extraterrestrial communication. In fact, researchers in Hawaii are currently practicing communicating with animals, like dolphins, in order to prepare for contact. Researchers involved with this project say that when they’re asked if they believe “we’re alone”, they answer, “No, we’re not alone. There are many animals communicating right here that we don’t understand.”

Point taken.

And this is where my dizzying exploration into the detangling of quantum entanglement came to a screeching halt. Can you learn to communicate at the speed of light? My guess, contrary to Elon Musk’s belief in our lack of intelligence, is that of course we can – it’s just a matter of time. But, until an alien comes up to me on the street to try to ask for directions, I’m going to focus on honing my communication skills for the intelligent beings on this planet.

Flipper, will you be my friend?