Eclectomania

Dunno that that's a real word, but it should be. If enough of you pass it on, it will be.

Buy a Kindle (Beauty not included)

All of today's eclectic topics are writing-centric. We'll start with "Sci-fi publisher announces Tor and Forge will go DRM-free with all e-book titles." Tor has published the majority of my titles, so if DRM is an issue for you ... hang in there.

And in other breaking news: "Microsoft buys stake in Barnes and Noble’s Nook e-reader." Maybe there will be longterm competition in ereaders despite the DoJ's best efforts.

Last October, I posted (see "Inspiration") on the question most often directed at authors. Colleague Michael Flynn recently interviewed a host of SF authors -- including Yr. Humble Blogger -- on that very question. For Mike's take, see "Where Do You Get Your Ideas?"

And validating persistent rumors,"It's Official: Planetary Resources Announces Plans to Mine Asteroids." Who's behind Planetary Resources? Larry Page and Eric Schmidt (both Google billionaires), film producer James Cameron, other famous, deep-pocketed sorts, and ex-NASA types. The first step: launching probes to look for likely asteroids to mine.

Eros: for love and money

How, you ask, is that last item related to writing? Because evidently, asteroid mining speaks to me.

• The eponymous spacecraft of my first (1991) novel, Probe, was the asteroid-scouting Prospector probe. 
• Two of the six essays in Frontiers of Space, Time, and Thought (2012) deal with asteroids and privatized space operations.
• When Energized, my next novel (July 2012) opens, it's upon an asteroid newly captured for on-orbit resource utilization. (I'll post more about Energized when Tor Books releases it, but you can read a little about Energized at Amazon, or for the Kindle-centric, get your Energized preview here).

(Pie in the sky [so to speak]? No! From BBC News, back in 1999, before the recent run-up in commodities prices, see, "Gold rush in space?". Of this single asteroid, the BBC reports, "The most detailed study of an asteroid shows that it contains precious metals worth at least $20,000bn." And the dollar was worth more in the previous millennium.)  

To  wrap up today's eclectomania with some Really Good Writing, don't miss, from io9, "The 10 Best Retorts in Science Fiction and Fantasy."