Vorl in Antares

The free, Antares 2 SF, tabletop wargame Rick and I maintain has recently had a real boost in the release of the long-awaited Vorl, designed by the talented sculpture Joey Pruitt. The species is very different and plays differently to the humans in that setting. What’s great is that these continue and help set the tone for the future of the game in that they are released in free, 3D-print-ready format (.stls and, due to the kind efforts of Jon Harrington, pre-supported, 3-up, Chitubox format).

The digest post for the Vorl and associated articles can be found here on the website for the game, the Antares Nexus (also on WordPress).

The release of the Vorl is something we’ve wanted for a while as the Vorl Ordo are a major faction in the Antares universe, having about a fifth of the total number of Antarean gates under their control (see the map: there are more gates around the equator than at higher/lower latitudes). They have also been an enemy of panhumans for many ages, such enmity driven much more by a biological necessity than a random hatred – such motivations generally being important in Antares.

We’ve had players release other .stls already – a couple of transports and a few smaller pieces (see here), but this release fills in a gap in the figures available that was there from the beginning of the game. It would be nice to see more free .stls released, and we may have a few lined up, but just the release of a core species that fleshes out a hole in the universe’s backstory really is a delight (they are wonderful sculpts, too!).

The Hükk Hunts

As part of my work, I was asked if I could put together a short story to illustrate a new set of models: a deadly bounty hunter, the Hükk.

The Hükk evolved as hunters amidst the mountains and thick forests of their homeworld, developing intelligence to keep others of their kind away and to effectively hunt increasingly more cunning prey. When their planet was opened to the cosmos by the arrival of explorers during the 2nd Age (it is said) of the Antarean Nexus (in the panhuman timeline), they found their cunning was fully appreciated in seeking out a new prey – miscreants, criminals and outlaws of the major, interstellar civilisations.

The punk publishing revolution, the Publishing Con, and how Amazon freed authors from serfdom

A new book from one of my BCU lecturers, Andy Conway, who was always very keen on the Amazon model.

Source: The punk publishing revolution, the Publishing Con, and how Amazon freed authors from serfdom

Professor Hallux and the Lalalas

A very talented friend of mine from the BCU MA, Nicky Tate, has recently produced her first book. She’s written plenty of radio scripts for children, but this is her blog describing how Professor Hallux and the LaLaLas came to life.

Well done Nicky. 🙂

Nicky Tate

I’m pleased that my chapter book for children, Professor Hallux and the Lalalas has finally made it into the world.  It’s been a long journey and one which has taught me an awful lot about writing.

Yonks and yonks ago I devised the characters of Professor Hallux for Fun Kids.  We wanted a character who could explain science and medical matters to our young listeners.  Originally the boss suggested he could be a stereotypical dotty old professor but I suggested someone more like Doctor Who – younger, and more unhinged.  I also added a sidekick pink robot Nurse Nanobot, who I’ve been changing to plain Nanobot over the years – a girlie sidekick is, after all, rather sexist, and that she’s a subordinate makes it worse.  (In my defence I’ve invented a county shit ton of female science characters: Techno Mum, Amy Aviation, Marina Venturer, K-Mistry Chemistry Superhero to…

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September 2016 Submission Statement

A blog well-worth checking out from Aeryn Rudel, this particular post specifically about his rejections – and acceptances – this month. It makes for interesting reading and, perhaps unintuitively, is highly encouraging. At its core his message is ‘keep writing, keep submitting’: rejections happen.

I’d also recommend looking through rejectomancy.com’s other posts, especially another recent post covering social media presence.

Aeryn Rudel's Rejectomancy

September was a solid month, and my progress with short story submissions was much less sloth-like than previous months. It’s a mixed bag this time, with rejections, acceptances, and some noteworthy publications.

September Report Card

• Submissions Sent: 7
• Rejections: 5*
• Acceptances: 1
• Other:…
• Publications: 2

*Three (3) of these rejections were for submissions sent in September.

Rejections

Here we go. This is what Rejectomancy is all about! Five rejections this month; let’s have a look.

Rejection 1: 9/3/16

Thank you for your submission to XXX. 

We regret that we are unable to publish “XXX” We are grateful for the opportunity to consider it, and we wish you the best of luck in placing it elsewhere. 

A common form rejection from one of the bigger horror markets. Nothing much to see here, really, and I’ve received this exact rejection numerous times. This will be a running theme for September, by the way.

Rejection…

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I am Cyborg

I never thought I’d be able to write that title. During my UG studies, I’d been fascinated by the Frankenstein, by the other, partially-not-human, and the bioethical considerations that arise from artificially modifying humans. And now, after cataract surgery, I find I am carrying round two implants that restore to me my lost vision.