Muses & Musings (and also Amusing)

“Sure to have something to appeal to almost every reader of science fiction.” 

— Tangent Online, on M&M

What's M&M (besides a favorite candy)? Funny you should ask.

I'm pleased to announce the re-release by ReAnimus Press of Muses & Musings: A Science Fiction Collection.  Originally published in 2019, M&M offers seventeen stories at every length from flash to novella -- works selected from over a decade’s output -- chosen from four separate magazines and three original anthologies. And as a bonus, there’s a guest intro from every-conceivable-award-winner Robert J. Sawyer.

Alternate history. Parallel worlds. Rogue artificial intelligences. Alien invasion. Biting satire as to where the Internet is leading us. A Sherlock Holmes for the next century. Deco punk. Deep thoughts about, well, deep thoughts. In this book, you’ll find these—and more—together with my reminiscences as to what led me to create these seventeen stories in the first place.

This being a commercial announcement, here are the Amazon links for the Kindle, trade paperback, and hardback editions.

“He is science fiction down to the bone, but he very often takes the ‘serious’ stuff not so seriously. Or he does, but he still squeezes a modicum of wit and whimsy into his subjects. He can catch a salient point in a couple of pages or explore a well-trodden road like AI with new insight.”

— Galaxy’s Edge, on M&M

Listen up ;-)

Life and Death on Mars, my December 2023 novel, is now available as an audiobook. Huzzah! The audio version was produced by Tantor, a division of Recorded Books. 

(Tantor is also the Ape-ish word for elephant in the Tarzan books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It beats me if there's any connection.) 

ANYway ... the audio performance is available from Amazon as an Audible.com download, MP3 CD, and standard "audio" CD.

The novel remains available as an ebook -- here's the Kindle edition (you can find other formats on various etail sites) -- and a print edition.

What (beyond the obvious) is Life and Death on Mars about? I'm glad you asked ...

Starting off the new year with a bang(s)

Last September, I was delighted to report new ebook and print editions of four novels from comparatively early in my career -- see "Happy day (they're here)". (The new releases are lovely, if you haven't yet checked  them out.)

Today I'm as pleased to announce -- with the ink barely dry -- the signed contract to re-release two more of my earlier books. 

First-edition cover

Trope-ing the Light Fantastic: The Science Behind the Fiction: "Edward M. Lerner has produced the best-ever guide to putting the science in science fiction, and he's done it with clarity, wit, and panache." -- Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of  The Downloaded.

First-edition title

Muses & Musings: A Science Fiction Collection: "He [that being me] is science fiction down to the bone, but he very often takes the ‘serious’ stuff not so seriously. Or he does, but he still squeezes a modicum of wit and whimsy into his subjects. He can catch a salient point in a couple of pages or explore a well-trodden road like AI with new insight." -- Galaxy’s Edge

The new publisher for both is the aptly named ReAnimus Press.

But wait -- there's more start-of-the-year good news. One of my 2024 short stories, "The Dark at the End of the Tunnel," is under contract to reappear in the upcoming  anthology The Year’s Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 9. 

  
More news as it happens. Also ... huzzah!

And so it begins

 What's 2025 have in store for us ... besides surprises?

Buy a Book Saturday ... you know you want to

Times flies. Meaning Buy-a-Book Saturday is once more almost upon us. 

Regularly since 2010, shortly before Thanksgiving, I've posted about Buy-a-Book Saturday. That's my personal variation on Small Business Saturday: the day (specifically, the second day after Thanksgiving, and one day after retail's infamous Black Friday) on which holiday shoppers are especially encouraged to patronize small businesses. The big-box stores and Internet giants will do fine this holiday season. But will neighborhood stores, non-chain shops, and boutiques?

With Black Friday somehow having begun days ago at many retailers/etailers, even to wait till close to that Saturday might not be the best of strategies.

Winchester Book Gallery
(my neighborhood indie bookstore)

Why do I promote the buy-a-book variant? Because what business is smaller than the author toiling away by him- or herself? Because, as I (and many others) post from time to time, the publishing business keeps getting tougher -- especially for authors. Because more than likely you're a reader, else you wouldn't have stopped by this blog.

Because this year has been harder on small businesses, authors included, than most. Yet again.

So: I'm here to suggest you give serious consideration to books -- whether print or electronic or audio -- for some of your holiday gifting. Friends, relatives, coworkers, your kids' teachers and coaches, the local library you support ... surely there's a book that'll be right for each of them. And at least one book for yourself, of course ;-)

Suppose you're at a brick-and-mortar bookstore and a book or author you had in mind isn't to be found on the shelf. Not a problem! Almost certainly, the store will be happy to special-order books for you. (Why? Because  they'd much rather do a special order than have you go home and order online for yourself.)

Best Reads of 2024

 I once more concede that a year's-best posting before Thanksgiving might seem, well, early. But surely not so much if you -- or your reading giftees -- prefer material in paper and ink. If that's you, well, you may prefer to undertake your holiday shopping sooner rather than later. Not to mention: Labor shortages. Postal/UPS/FedEx slowdowns. Countless stores that had up Christmas displays well before Halloween. Also, in general, Stuff Happens. 

In any event, Black Friday and Cyber Monday will soon be upon us. At some stores/e-stores, they somehow already are.

If you find none of the above convincing? In a campaign year, surely any subject change is welcome. Distraction via the books that follow certainly helped me cope. Not to mention that if ever there were a year to support one's favorite authors, 2024 (again! sigh) is it. So: on to the latest installment of this annual feature. 

As always, I read a lot: as research, keeping current with the genre in which I write, and simply for enjoyment. Before the annual holiday shopping onslaught, I've taken to volunteering a few words about the most notable books from my reading (and sometimes re-reading) thus far in the current year. IIRC, this is my thirteenth such compilation. 

When I name a book, you can be certain I really enjoyed it and/or found it very useful. Life's too short to gripe about books I didn't find notable (much less the several I elected not to finish). Presuming that you visit SF and Nonsense because you appreciate my assessment of things, you might find, in what follows, books you (and like-minded friends, relatives, etc.) will also enjoy. Unless otherwise indicated, the dates shown are for original publication. Titles of recommendations are Amazon links, often to newer editions than the original publication (and to Kindle editions, where available).

What's impressed me so far this year? Read on ....

Second contact (in order to make First Contact)

Fun podcast site "The Science in the Fiction" asked me back earlier this week to tackle a new subject. First Contact being a favorite topic of mine, we got to discuss -- beyond lots of speculative science and engineering -- several of my related novels. 2023's On the Shoals of Space-Time chief among them ...

You can catch it all at most popular podcast sites, including here on Spotify.

A milestone

Newly organized notes, outlines, synopses, drafts, page proofs, etc. of all my solo writing -- fiction and non, short and long -- covering about three decades of authorial endeavor -- are newly available to literary researchers (and the curious public). Many thanks to the Special Collections & Archives Department of the University Libraries at Northern Illinois University. 

Herewith, the university's Instagram announcement (clarification: my papers are complete through 2024.)

Similar material for my collaboration with Larry Niven (aka, the Fleet of Worlds series) to follow ....