Friday, January 29, 2016

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Elaine Calloway and M. Lachi


Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are happy to welcome writers Elaine Calloway and M. Lachi.

Elaine Calloway
Elaine Calloway

Elaine grew up in New Orleans with a love of cemeteries, gothic architecture, and all things paranormal. After journaling every day and writing quirky short stories for many years, she finally tried her hand at writing novel-length fiction and has never looked back. Readers particularly enjoy her Southern Ghosts Series, which includes 3 books at the moment—all of which have made the Amazon bestseller list in 3 categories each. She has 10 books planned for the series and then will write some offshoot tales. When she isn’t writing (when is that?!?) she enjoys photography and spending time with her family and very spoiled black lab.

Elaine's Books:

No Grits No Glory 

Ticket to Die

Krewe of Souls

Elaine's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Goodreads

M. Lachi
M. Lachi

Apart from publishing novels, M. Lachi, author of The Ivory Staff, is an award nominated songwriter and composer.  Her resume includes features on Oprah Radio, CBS Radio, The CW, Oxygen, and the E! and Style Networks among others. M. Lachi lives in New York City and enjoys reading, composing and catching live performances. 

Lachi's Book:

The Ivory Staff

Lachi's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram

From Today's Show: 3-D Printed Ceramic for Spaceships.





Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Bad Passwords

I have decided the internet is impossible. To wit: you have to have different passwords for every site that requires them. The password needs to be random letters, numbers and symbols that don't spell a word. You have to change the passwords (all of them) every 30 days. And you can never write them down.

Humanly impossible.

But at least try, people.

Gizmodo put out a list of the most popular passwords on the internet. The number one password:

123456

The second most popular password:


password

You can see the whole list at the link above.

If you don't want to be hacked at least try to have a good password. If I were a hacker, the first thing I'd try the the passwords on that top-25 list.

There is technology that will do this for you and all you have to remember is one password. At least make it a good one.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

The X-Files is Back, I'm not Happy

Now I remember why I stopped watching the X-Files so long ago.

In case you've been living under a rock, the X-Files is back for a six-episode event that started Sunday. I missed it because I forgot about it. But a friend said it was available streaming from the Fox Website. So I watched it last night on my wife's iPad. By the way, the Fox streaming app is incredibly annoying. You have to watch the ads and unless you turn down your device, you have to hear the ads. And they run the same ads over and over and over again. They, at one break, ran an annoying promo for Empire three times in a row.

And I remembered why I stopped watching the X-Files. I loved the X-Files episodes about paranormal things. But when they got into the whole vast alien conspiracy thing, it turned me off.

You see, I don't buy conspiracies. From the JFK assassination (Oswald did it) to 9/11 truthers (no, it was not an inside job), I don't buy conspiracies. And the bigger the conspiracy, the less I buy it. Why? Because there's only one way to keep a secret between two people: one of them has to be dead. If a conspiracy requires 10 people to keep secret, someone will probably talk. If it requires 100 people, someone will talk. If it requires 1,000 people, lots of them will talk.

So this whole aliens/government conspiracy thing that the X-Files has at its core just annoys me. I can't suspend disbelief because it is so against my way of thinking. This is a huge conspiracy involving probably thousands of people. And no one went to the New York Times? For every Smoking Man there's a Snowden.

I'll watch the other five episodes, but I know it's going to raise my blood pressure to do so.

Friday, January 22, 2016

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with PK Burian and Debbie Manber Kupfer


Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome PK Burian and Debbie Manber Kupfer

PK Burian
PK Burian

PK Burian, is a published author with over 29 books specializing in the Young Adult Paranormal and Fantasy genre.  She has knowledge in most areas of the paranormal from Bigfoot to ghosts, and a great love for fantasy and mysteries. Mixing the paranormal with imagination, mystery, adventure, and suspense enables her to bring characters to life through own personal experiences.

Her daughter, ME Drewry, co-writer of the David Finkleman
MR Drewry
Paranormal Series, is a teacher by day and reader of Sci-Fi, Paranormal, and Fantasy by night.  PK and ME were brainstorming ideas for fundraisers for ME’s husband’s $1.2 million dollar double-lung transplant operation when they came up with the idea for a young adult paranormal ebook. PK and ME were huge fans of Jim Butcher’s, The Dresden Files book series and thought it would be cool if there was a teen Dresden-like character.  And that’s how David Finkleman and the David Finkleman Paranormal Series were born.

Recently they launched a three book series based on the character of David Finkleman, an undercover FBI wizard! The series is filled with magic, monsters, myth, mystical creatures, and mad love.

PK's Books:


David Finkleman and the Curse of the Gold 

A Race Car Named Dangerous 

Katie & Candy and the Terrible Turkeys 

PK's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest


Debbie Mauber Kupfer
Debbie Manber Kupfer

Debbie Manber Kupfer grew up in London and lived in Israel, before somehow ended up in St. Louis, where she works as a puzzle constructor and writer. She lives with her husband, two children, and a very opinionated feline. She is the author of P.A.W.S and Argentum and has short stories in several anthologies including Fauxpocalypse, Shades of Fear, Winter Wishes, Sins of the Past, and Heroes & Villains. She also created the puzzle book, Paws 4 Logic together with her son, Joey. She believes that with enough tea and dark chocolate you can achieve anything!

Debbie's Books:

P.A.W.S.

Argentum

Will There Be Watermelons on Mars?

Debbie's Links:

Website/Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Amazon

From Today's Show: European Space Agency on the Moon.




Wednesday, January 20, 2016

A Semi-Serious Proposal to Make Football More Exciting

We're in the middle of the NFL playoffs (and the Seahawks have been eliminated) and we've seen some fun games. But I have an idea to make football a bit more exciting.

You know how basketball had the 3-point shot where if the ball is thrown behind a line, it counts for three points? I propose something like that for football. Here it is:

If a team starts from scrimmage behind the 30-yard line closest to the opposing team end zone, and makes a touchdown, they get 8 points instead of 6. This must be the first time they cross the 30-yard line. If they get pushed back behind the 30 yard line by penalties or sacks or whatever, then they are ineligible for the 8 point play.

This would give teams that are behind incentive to try more spectacular plays to get 8 points instead of 3. A touchdown with the point after could be 9 points. This could turn a game around.

It seems unfair that a team that slogs into the end zone for a touchdown from the 2 yard line gets the same number of points as a team that manages to make a play and do it from, say, the 35 yard line. It has to be from scrimmage, no punt or kick-off returns or interceptions.

This could make football even more exciting.

And yes, I'm only kind of serious.

Friday, January 15, 2016

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Branden Johnson and Brian Patrick McKinley


Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are proud to welcome writers Branden Johnson and Brian Patrick McKinley.

Branden Johnson

Branden Johnson is a writer living near Chicago with his wonderful wife and hyperactive Chihuahua. When he’s not writing, he’s playing music in the post-rock band These Guys These Guys.

Branden's Book:

Heaven’s Forgotten

Branden's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

Brian Patrick McKinley
Brian Patrick McKinley

Brian's Books:

Drawing Dead: A Faolan O’Connor Novel 


Ancient Blood: A Novel of the Hegemony 

The Chermasu/Monsters

Brian's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter

From Today's Show: Alien Planet Formation Photographed.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Car Review: 2016 Ford Explorer

Ford Explorer
On a recent trip to Alaska, I reserved a Ford Escape rental car, thinking I'd need its four-wheel-drive capability in snowy Anchorage. When I got to the rental counter, they were out of Escapes (a small SUV) and so upgraded me to an Explorer (a full-size SUV) for the same price.

Now, as I've said before, I don't like SUVs. I prefer cars for their maneuverability. For example, the car I drive most of the time is a 4-door sedan (with all-wheel drive), is 194.4 inches long. The Explorer is 198.3 inches long. But those nearly 4 extra inches felt huge. Luckily the Explorer had a backup camera so I wasn't worried as much about backing into something.

The car was high off the ground and my diminutive wife had trouble getting in and out. I had a little trouble, too. And the vehicle was wide. Or so it seemed. Finding adequate parking was a problem.

When we got to Alaska, we were surprised to find it warmer than Eastern Washington and the roads were not snowy at all, but mostly bare and wet. So we would have been fine in a car.

One problem with rental cars these days is that car interfaces have become so complicated it's hard to jump in and drive them. It took me minutes to figure out how to change the radio station and I never did figure out how to tune the radio. Luckily, one of the presets was a station I liked.

The Explore accelerated adequately and cornered fine, as one might expect of an SUV. I guess if you like the size of the vehicle, it would be an okay choice.

I just don't like SUVs.

Friday, January 8, 2016

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Arthur M. Doweyko and Peggy Chambers


Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are please do welcome writers Arthur M. Doweyko and Peggy Chambers.
Arthur M. Doweyko

Arthur M. Doweyko

Arthur has authored over 100 scientific papers, invented novel 3D drug design software, and shares the 2008 Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award for the discovery of Sprycel, a new anti-cancer drug. He writes science fiction and fantasy. His novels include Algorithm (2010 RPLA award), published in 2014, and Angela's Apple (Best Pre-Pub Sci-Fi RPLA 2014), under contract. He has published numerous award-winning short stories, teaches college chemistry, and wanders the beaches when not jousting with aliens.

Arthur's Works:

Algorithm

"What Goes Around" in an anthology

"Harry and Harry" in an anthology

Arthur's Links

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter

Peggy Chambers
Peggy Chambers

Peggy Chambers calls Enid, Oklahoma home.  She has been writing for several years and is an award winning, three-time published author, always working on another.  There aren’t enough hours in the day! She retired last spring and can now spend all her time making up stories.  She has two children, five grandchildren and lives with her husband and dog.  She adores travel, Yoga and curling up with a good book in front of a roaring fire.  She loves the great outdoors, even if it is just taking the dog for a walk and once ate wart hog pizza for lunch when she followed her husband across deepest, darkest Africa. She even climbed the pyramids at Chichen Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula.

She attended Phillips University, the University of Central Oklahoma and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma.   She is a member of the Enid Writers’ Club, Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc., and Oklahoma Women Bloggers.  There is always another story weaving itself around in her brain trying to come out.

You can find her at http://peggylchambers.wordpress.com/  where she writes a weekly blog, like her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BraWars, or connect with her out on Twitter at @ChambersPeggy
Peggy's Books:


Peggy's Links:


From Today's Show: The Moon's Wispy Atmosphere

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Basic Firearms Tutorial

In fiction books, television, movies, and the news media there are a lot of myths and misuse of terms dealing with fire arms. Probably the biggest one from movies and television is, no, guns don't make a scary cocking sound when you draw them.

What follows is a basic tutorial on guns and the terms associated with them. This is as basic as I could make it and even then, it's long.

One caveat: there are many different types of guns. If you are writing about a gun, please google it and learn as much as you can about it. You may even find YouTube videos of it being fired which can give you some idea of how to handle it and its rate of fire.

Two caveat: this tutorial only applies to modern weapons. If you are interested in antique weapons such as muskets, you'll need to do research on them.

This tutorial will only cover the basics, not go into details on specific guns. Like cars, there are many different manufactures making many different types of guns.

Bullet vs. Cartridge

These are "cartridges" (picture below). A lot of people will call these bullets, but they are not. They contain a bullet, a shell casing, propellant, and a primer. Another term for cartridges is "round." But then people will say "He fired twenty rounds."
Cartridges
This is a shell casing with the bullet removed:
Bullets come in various shapes and configurations. There's is "ball" which is like the bullet above. That is, it is just a slug of lead. But it also has a "full metal jacket" or FMJ probably of copper. This helps keep the lead from fouling your barrel. There are "wadecutters"shown below (in their cartridges):


Note that they are not metal jacketed. Wadcutters are designed for target practice to make neat holes in paper targets. They are not used for defensive shooting.

And there are hollow-point bullets, sometimes called "dumdum" bullets. These have hollow tips and are designed to expand upon impact to increase damage. Below is a hollow point before being fired and an expanded hollow point bullet:


Hollow points have another advantage: they are less likely to go through the target (assuming that target is a human or an animal) and hit something behind it. Hollow points are banned for use in war by, I believe, the Geneva Convention.

And finally, there are "frangible" bullets. These are designed to break up on impact and thus not go through the body of the target. These are used by, for example, Air Marshals, who might have to shoot someone in the tight space of a crowded airplane. They pretty much look like ball rounds.

Caliber

Caliber refers to the diameter of the barrel of a gun. It is usually expressed in hundreds of an inch or millimeters. Caliber tells you little about the power of a bullet. For instance, the typical .22 bullet is not very powerful. The .223 bullet, which is only slightly larger in caliber, does a lot more damage because it's a bigger, heavier bullet and leaves the barrel of the gun at a faster speed. But, generally, the bigger the caliber, the more powerful and deadly the bullet, especially if you're talking the same type of gun. But, again, that depends on "muzzle velocity" and bullet weight, too.

Magazines vs. Clips

People tend to use these terms interchangeably. But they are not the same thing. A clip is a metal strip that holds cartridges for easy feeding into a magazine. A magazine is a container to hold cartridges so they can be fed into the chamber of the gun. (The chamber is the cylindrical portion of a gun where the cartridge needs to be in order to be fired.) Here's a picture of both a clip and a magazine.


Magazines can be part of the gun as in the tubular magazine on most shotguns (it's under the barrel). Or they can be, like in the M1 Garand (the primary rifle used in World War II by the US), inside the gun. Or they can be detached like the one shown above.

Magazines can hold anywhere between 5 and 100 rounds. Typical pistol (see below) magazines are from 7 to as much as 18 rounds. Typical military rifles are 20 - 30 rounds. Any more than that, they aren't practical. Most magazines are stamped metal. Some are plastic (for example, for Glock pistols).

During the Vietnam war, the AK-47s used by the North Vietnam Army (NVA) and the Viet Cong ("Charlie") had 30-round magazines. The M-16s used by the US forces had only 20 round magazines.  This put the US forces at a disadvantage because they had to reload more often. So the manufactures of the M16 came up with a 30-round magazine. Because if it's curved shape, it was dubbed the "banana clip" (should have been "banana magazine").

Some guns, mostly large machine guns (see below) are "belt-fed." These guns don't have magazines but rounds are fed into the chamber from a "belt." Examples are the old M60 machine gun (below):

M60 machine gun (belt fed)
You can see the belt hanging off the gun. Feeds belts can hold thousands of rounds with less chance of jamming than a 100-round magazine.

I've fired an M60 once. Not nearly as fun as you'd think. It has been replaced in the U.S. Army by the smaller, lighter Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) that fires a smaller bullet but at a much higher rate of fire.

How a gun fires: Modern firearm cartridges are fired by a pin (the "firing pin" hitting the primer. This causes the primer to explode, igniting the propellant, which turns into expanding gasses (like any explosion) and propels the bullet out of the shell casing and out the barrel of the gun. There are two types of primers. The most common is "center fire" where the primer is center of the bottom of the cartridge as in this picture:


The other type is rim-fire where the primer is in the bottom rim of the cartridge. This is mostly used for small calibers. In fact, I've never seen a modern rim-fire that wasn't a .22 round. This picture shows a rim-fire cartridge (left) next to a center-fire cartridge:




Full Automatic vs. Semi-Auto vs. Bolt Action vs. Revolver vs. Single Shot vs Others.

The "action" of a gun is how it works. There are six basic types, excepting shotguns (more about that in a later). I'll cover each type of action:

Full automatic: with a full automatic weapon, if you pull the trigger once, the gun fires repeatedly until you let go of the trigger or the magazine is empty or feed belt is done. Weapons that fire this way are machine guns, submachine guns, machine pistols, and assault rifles (be careful with that term). In order to own such a weapon, you have a Federal Firearms License (very hard to get) and live in a state that allows them (most don't). The state, if they allow them, may have some licensing requirements, too. Laws controlling these types of weapons go back to the 1930s.

Semi-automatic (semi-auto): with a semi-automatic weapon, one pull of the trigger sends one round out the barrel. You have to pull the trigger each time you wish to fire one round. Many hunting rifles are this way as are most pistols (see below). Assault weapons have the ability to fire both semi-auto and full automatic. Except for the assault weapons, to own these guns you have to meet the restrictions and requirements of your state. Currently, there's very little federal or state restrictions on these weapons.

Bolt Action: This can be thought of a "manual reloading" instead of automatic or semi-automatic reloading. You fire a round, then you pull back the bolt (the part of the gun that holds the round in the chamber for firing), this ejects the spent shell casing and loads a new round into the chamber as you push the bolt forward. This is, obviously a slower rate of fire than semi-auto. The advantage of bolt-action over semi-auto is it makes the gun more accurate (long reason why you probably don't care about).

During World War II, the U.S. used the semi-automatic M1 Garand. The Germans used the bolt-action Mauser K98. This was thought to be a contributing factor in the Allied victory as the Americans could fire so much faster than the Germans.

Lever Action: Lever action is like bolt action in that after every shot fire something has to be done to expel the empty shell casing and load a new cartridge (and cock the weapon). The most common lever action weapon is the iconic Winchester rifle, which has not changed much since it was introduced in 1866. If you watch a Western movie, this is the rifle mostly likely to be used.

Winchester Rifle

The gun is reloaded by flicking the lever down and forward. A skilled marksman can do this very quickly (see here). These days these guns are mostly used for target shooting or hunting (or to display and say you own "the gun that won the West").

Single Shot: This is a weapon that has no magazine, detached or internal. It holds one round in its chamber. They are all bolt-action. The only use I know for these is very precise competition shooting. You fire the round, pull back the bolt, put in another round, close the bolt, and fire again.

Revolver: see below.

Handguns

There are two basic types of modern handguns: revolvers and pistols. This is a revolver:

Revolver
"Revolvers" are so named because of the revolving cylinder that holds the cartridges. When the trigger is pulled, the cylinder rotates putting another chamber (the hole in the cylinder that holds the cartridge) in front of the barrel just before the firing pin hits the primer. Revolvers typically hold six rounds but some as many at ten if the caliber is small and as few as five if it's a small revolver.

One note: revolvers cannot be "silenced" because of the gap between the cylinder and the barrel. Also, you need to keep your hand/fingers/other people away from that gap as escaping gasses can do significant damage.

Then there are pistols. Most pistols are "automatic" as in they automatically load the next round into the chamber from the magazine (not to be confused with "full automatic"). But most only shoot one round per pull of the trigger. So the ".45 auto" is only semi-auto.

Here's a typical pistol, an M1911 .45 auto:

M1911 .45 Auto


(The "M1911 means it was first sold to the military in 1911).

A pistol that is growing in popularity is the Glock. It comes in many calibers and sizes, but the most popular is probably the 9mm Glock 17:

Glock 17
As you can see from the picture, the Glock has a plastic handle, trigger, and lower part called the "rail." The upper part (called the "slide") and the barrel and chamber are all steel. Glocks can and will be detected by metal detectors.

In both the above pistols, the magazine goes into the grip. When the magazine is empty, the slide locks back. You press the magazine release, the magazine drops out, and you put in a new, full magazine, them press the slide release to chamber a round and cock the gun. It is then ready to fire again.

Rifles/Long Guns

The phrase "long gun" includes rifles and shotguns (more about those later). Here we'll talk about rifles. Rifles have long barrels to increase accuracy. Most rifles are semi-auto or bolt action. A very few are single shot. Hunting rifles tend to have small magazines, often internal that hold maybe 5 or 10 rounds. Military rifles can have detached magazines that hold more rounds.

Here's a typical bolt-action hunting rifle with a scope to aid in distant aiming:


It has an internal magazine, probably, or is single-shot.

Assault weapon is a term that has been politicized so I will stick with the facts. An assault weapon is a short rifle that has the ability to fire both full automatic and semi-automatic. They usually have a detachable magazine and a pistol grip to aid in holding while firing full-auto. Here is a typical assault rifle (an AK-47):

AK-47 Assault Weapon


The media and people ignorant about guns will call "assault weapons" versions of these guns that are only semi-auto but look like assault weapons. But they only fire semi-auto because, as stated above, true assault weapons, capable of full-auto fire, are very heavily regulated and have been since the 1930s.

Machine guns

Machine guns typically only fire full-automatic. They tend to be large. Some are so large they are only mounted on vehicles because they are too big and heavy for a person to carry. An example of a typical machine gun is the M60 pictured above.

But there are submachine guns. These are typically smaller than assault rifles. They may be able to fire semi-auto, also. The iconic submachine gun is the UZI 9mm:

UZI Submachine Gun

The first submachine gun was, I believe, the Thompson (or Tommy gun) that is associated with 1930s gangsters.
Thompson Submachine Gun

By the way, the circular 100-round magazine pictured here tended to jam a lot.

Machine pistols are even smaller than submachine guns. One example is the Glock 18 which is a Glock 17 that fires full-automatic. Another example is the Heckler & Koch MP5 (the "MP" stands for "machine pistol):

HK MP5

Again, like all weapons that fire full-auto, they are heavily regulated and controlled and illegal in many states.

Shotguns

Shotguns typically come in three varieties: auto-load, pump action, and break action. They fire "shot" which is like BBs: small brass pellets. The pellets come in various sizes. The bigger the pellet, the more damage they do. Shotgun sizes are by "gauge" and, ironically, the smaller the gauge, the bigger the shell. Shotgun shell cases used to be paper but now are usually plastic. Here's a diagram of a shotgun shell:


Some shells fire slugs as shown above. These typically are used for hunting. Shotgun barrels are not rifled but are smooth-bore.

Auto-load: Auto-load shotguns are like semi-automatic rifles. Each pull of the trigger fires a shell and loads a new one in the chamber. Magazines tend to be tubular and under the barrel. They can be distinguished from pump action shotguns by the lack of a pump mechanism.

Auto-load shotgun


Pump-action: Pump-action shotguns are like bolt-action rifles. The shooter has to pump the shotgun after each shot fired to eject the spent shell and insert a new one in the chamber. This is a quick and easy action and is faster than a bolt-action rifle. Again, the magazine is tubular and under the barrel. The pump action slides along the magazine.

Pump shotgun

Both auto-load and pump-action shotguns magazines are fed from underneath the gun, just ahead of the trigger guard.

Break action: Break action shotguns, used mostly for hunting or skeet shooting, have to be manually loaded after being shot. This involves "breaking" the gun behind the barrel, pulling out with your fingers the expended shell, and feeding in a new one. Some break-action shotguns have two barrels (double barreled) and those can be side-by-side (more typical) or over-under. Here is a double-barrel shotgun that is broken open:

Break-action double-barreled shotgun


There are fully automatic shotguns (as illegal as any automatic weapon) such as the Jackhammer.

There is also at least one shotgun that is lever-action (used in the movie Terminator II).

Conclusion: This as been a brief (yet long) tutorial on basic gun types and terminology. If you are writing about guns, please make sure you do your research.

Friday, January 1, 2016

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Gordon Bonnet and Patrick Elliott


Today of the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are happy to welcome Gordon Bonnet and Patrick Elliott.

Gordon Bonnet
Gordon Bonnet

Gordon Bonnet has been writing fiction for decades. Encouraged when his story "Crazy Bird Bends His Beak" won critical acclaim in Mrs. Moore’s 1st grade class at Central Elementary School in St. Albans, West Virginia, he embarked on a long love affair with the written word. His interest in the paranormal goes back almost that far. Introduced to speculative, fantasy, and science fiction by such giants in the tradition as Madeleine L’Engle, Lloyd Alexander, Isaac Asimov, C. S. Lewis, and J. R. R. Tolkien, he was captivated by those writers’ abilities to take the reader to a fictional world and make it seem tangible, to breathe life and passion and personality into characters who were (sometimes) not even human. He made journeys into darker realms upon meeting the works of Edgar Allen Poe and H. P. Lovecraft during his teenage years, and those authors still influence his imagination and his writing to this day.

Gordon's Books:

Kill Switch

Past Imperfect

Lock & Key

Gordon's Links:

Website
Fiction Blog
Science Blog
Facebook
Twitter

Patrick Elliot
Patrick Elliott

Patrick has been writing for years while surviving in the corporate world. After hearing multiple versions of "Why aren't you published yet?" along with threats of bodily, possibly permanent harm, from friends and family, if forced to read one more novel before he was published he relented. He lives in the Seattle area.

Patrick's Works:


A Brief and Literal History of the World

Greycoat Blueback

"The Lamb's Gift" in an anthology.

Patrick's Links:

Website/Amazon Page
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Google+
Ello
Goodreads

From Today's Show: Robots Spying on Black Holes.