18 Feb 2025

Boskone Over, Back to Puerto Rico

posted in: cons, conventions, personal news, Ponce Chronicles | 2

Last Saturday, I made my first in-person appearance since the pandemic at Boston’s Boskone convention. It was brief but enjoyable. I moderated a panel on “Hopeful Futures in SF,” which is something I feel we need more of; and I moderated a panel on “Writing and Structuring Long Series,” which is something about which I feel more writers should finish what they start. Ahem. Both panels were lively, with good input from my fellow panelists. I also talked to a fellow writer who told me he’d made extensive use of my online writing guide when teaching writing to high school students. This totally made my day.

Tomorrow I’m off once more to Puerto Rico, because we need to get going again on The Ponce Chronicles, or something like that. Also, I miss my wife and my dog. One of my daughters is already there, and the other one just landed in Ecuador. Doesn’t anyone stay home anymore? I guess not. I’ll be back in touch when there’s something to report in the next episode of the hit webcast, The Ponce Chronicles. (Cue rousing theme by John Williams.)

See you then!

6 Feb 2025

IPF Update

posted in: personal news, Ponce Chronicles, Pulmonary Fibrosis | 11

Here’s another of my promised updates on my battle with pulmonary fibrosis. Now back in Boston (see below), I just had my first CT scan in a couple of years, and the new images show that my interstitial lung disease has progressed more or less the way my pulmonologists expected. This is a lot like, Sorry to report, but we’re continuing to spiral in toward the black hole. Still, according to my pulmo, she’s seen worse. My need for supplemental oxygen has doubled in the same time frame, which is not great news, either. I have a “new” 10L oxygen concentrator here at home now, as well as the actually new one I got in Puerto Rico. This thing is loud! It might be saving my life for now, but it’s killing my hearing and threatening my daughter with migraines at the same time. Looks a little like Robbie the Robot.

The new drug that promises to stop the progression of this damnable disease has just completed dual trials, with favorable results (according to my doc, who keeps her ear to the rails). There’s hope that it could be approved for use before too long. But that’s only if the Musk/Trump wrecking ball currently demolishing our government doesn’t disrupt the FDA’s drug approval process. (Bets, anyone?) That aside, in April, when I come back from Puerto Rico for the second time, I’ll be looking to get listed as a lung transplant candidate.

That’s all kind of a downer, isn’t it? Let’s see if I can end this on a more positive note: I have a whole lot of people praying for me. And I can still do all the push-ups and squats and lunges and weight-lifts I was doing before. I just need a little extra push in the atmo department. And ear muffs. What’s that? (Cupping hand to ear.) No, I can hear you just fine! It’s just… can you stop mumbling and speak up a little?

Upon arriving home from the tropics, this was the scene that greeted me. Brrrr.

1 Feb 2025

The Ponce Chronicles 2025, Part One

posted in: Ponce Chronicles | 2

We’ve been in Puerto Rico for the last week—Allysen a little longer than me—and it’s quite a change from the fitful winter weather of Boston. Here, it’s been warmer than usual for January, ranging up and down in the 80s. The house that Allysen’s parents built is as beautiful as ever, with about the usual number of things that need fixing. This time, though, I’m doing only minor fixing, and we have someone reliable (we hope) for the big stuff. Our friend Crystal has joined us again, taking a respite from fretting about the L.A. fires and worrying about the safety of her own home there. And…we brought our dog McDuff down with us! She seems to be really enjoying it. She gets much more time outdoors, and it really suits her.

For me, there was one big thing I couldn’t leave at home, and that was my need for extra oxygen, which has gotten more pronounced in recent months. I am just in the process of getting my O2 concentrator at home upgraded to a bigger, 10 LPM (liters per minute), machine, and I needed that here, too. My portables are enough to get by on for a while, but not enough to make life easy. It seemed to make sense just to buy a 10 LPM unit down here, and that I have done. But it took days of phone calls to accomplish the seemingly simple task of getting a prescription from the Brigham Lung Center. (Great docs, not a great system.) Also, the high cost of renting a car for months at a time finally drove us to buy a used car for the house. We now have a little 2018 Ford Eco Sport for getting around. Well used, but in good condition.

Yesterday we drove to Yauco to see “Yauchromatics,” an art project literally painted onto the houses of a neighborhood, quite lovely.

This evening we enjoyed a sunset dinner at the café at La Cruceta, the enormous cross at the top of the hill overlooking Ponce.

Tomorrow I fly back to Boston for some medical appointments, and will stay long enough to attend Boskone. Then I’ll come back to rejoin Allysen, McDuff, and various visitors at Casarboles. More to follow.

16 Jan 2025

Trying Something Different

posted in: art, Online book sales | 1

One of the challenges of publishing books is keeping them fresh in the eyes of the audience. With indie-published ebooks, there are a few things you can do: run ads, run Bookbub deals, wish upon a star… If you don’t do something, sales eventually sag and fade and obscurity closes in. Every writer I know faces this. Some accept it; some take to the social media airwaves to keep things going; some publish newsletters or run giveaway campaigns. Another method I’d read about but never really set my mind to trying is price pulsing: dropping the price on one book at a time, just for a little while, and then raising it back up and doing the same with another book. Some people swear by it. But does it work?

I decided to try. Without saying a word on social media, I dropped the price on one title—and was astonished to see sales perk up. And not just on the title I discounted. It was as if the Amazon algorithms took notice and started nudging people to notice my other books. Or maybe people noticed on their own; I really don’t know. (This only worked in the Kindle store, not in any others.) But I did find previously sleepy sales figures yawning and stirring and elbowing each other. We’re not talking big numbers, but some activity where previously there had been none. I tried it a couple more times, and it kept working. I think I’m going to keep doing it until it doesn’t work anymore. Then I’ll have to try something else. If you want to know what book’s on sale, you’ll just have to poke around in the Kindle store and see for yourself!

The image here is a snapshot of a Georgia O’Keefe painting at a special exhibit we saw recently at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. It was quite wonderful, even if it has nothing whatever to do with the rest of this post.

7 Jan 2025

Rig in the New Year with the Big Guys

posted in: audiobooks, holiday greetings | 0

Our New Year celebration was pretty low key. “Hey, look, it’s 1 a.m.—Happy New Year.” But I do have something to wish you all Happy New Year with: Dragon Rigger, in a wonderful new audiobook production from my friends at Skyboat Media, Stefan Rudnicki and Gabrielle de Cuir. It’s a rich and evocative depiction of the dragon realm, way out there in the hyperspace of the Flux. Short of being adapted by Spielberg with a score by John Williams, this is the best way I can think of to enjoy a book I’m proud to have written.

You can get it at Audible, Chirp, and lots of other places. Please take a look. Share it with a friend!

25 Dec 2024

Merry Christmas!

posted in: holiday greetings | 3

Here’s wishing all my friends, everywhere, a joyous Christmas, Hanukkah, and other celebrations. May the season bring you peace and happiness, regardless of your creed, race, or nation of birth. I know it’s a long shot, making a wish like that. But if we don’t all offer that blessing, who will?

Here’s our tree and fireplace, and one of my favorite ornaments, Taz.

3 Dec 2024

New Audiobooks Cascading Your Way: Dragons in the Stars

posted in: audiobook, audiobooks, dragons, new editions, Star Rigger Universe | 0

The Rapture Effect was just a start. All of my Star Rigger novels are getting new audiobook recordings (with the exception of Eternity’s End, which already has a terrific recording). Just released: Dragons in the Stars. It’s a lovely recording, and is working its way into stores as we speak.

This project is, to put it mildly, a big deal on my end. No publisher is doing this for me (well, okay, I am as Starstream Publications). I commissioned Stefan Rudnicki and his partner, Gabrielle de Cuir, to record the books. They are two of the finest narrators in the business.

Why am I doing this, when there were already audiobooks available in Audible for these titles? Simple. I was not happy with the earlier narrations, which were produced by Audible many years ago, without input from me. They are now gone from the store, and in their place, I want the best possible versions for readers and listeners to enjoy. Stefan and Gabrielle have a wealth of experience in theater and music as well as audiobook recording, they are fans of the material, and working with them is a rewarding collaborative experience.

But Jeff, you say—isn’t this an expensive proposition? Yes. It is. You get what you pay for in this business, and I’m getting a lot. Am I crazy for doing it, when I probably won’t earn back the cost for years, and possibly not in my lifetime? Maybe. But I am fortunate to have some funds that make this possible, and I consider it an investment in the art and the stories. You could say it’s an investment in my permanent legacy to readers. These recordings will outlive me, and I hope that the audience will, also. I like to think they will help in a small way to make this world a more beautiful place.

Please check out Dragons in the Stars! The sequel, Dragon Rigger, will be along shortly.

20 Nov 2024

The Rapture Effect Reborn

posted in: audiobook, audiobooks, my books, new editions, print editions, The Rapture Effect | 0

My novel The Rapture Effect, originally published some years ago, is now out in all-new clothes! I gave you a look at the new cover a few weeks ago, but here it is again:

The first print edition since the Tor hardcover and paperback
Buy at | Amazon |

An all-new narration for audiobook by Stefan Rudnicki
Buy at | Apple | Chirp | Spotify |
Discounted for a limited time!

New cover and interior reformatting for the ebook
Buy where you like | The Rapture Effect |

The ebook is available pretty much everywhere, the audiobook is gradually rolling out in various stores, and the print edition is available now from Amazon and will soon make it into other stores, as well.

In case you have no idea what this book is about, here’s the description:

War between the stars…

It was started by an AI. Few humans even knew there was a war at all. But now people are dying—and the AI wants it to stop. But a war is easier to start than to stop, and the computer can’t alter its course without outside help. When the Gnostic Control System searches for co-conspirators, it chooses its friends carefully.

  • Pali: a brooding public relations director.
  • Ramo: a flamboyant senso-dancer, who prefers a musical jamdam to serious conversation.
  • Sage: a systems designer for whom the AI rapture-field is realer than life.
  • And three of the alien Ell: Harybdartt, who would rather die with dignity than betray his people; Lingrhetta, who tries to unravel the meaning of human dance and music, pain and love; and Moramaharta, the binder, who must persuade his fellow decision-makers to risk everything for the sake of a fragile bridge of understanding across the stars.

A thought-provoking novel from the award-winning author of Eternity’s End and The Chaos Chronicles, and recipient of the Frank Herbert Lifetime Achievement Award for science fiction writing.

“A lively dance of ideas… well-worth the trip ticket.” —Roger Zelazny

Hint: Any of these editions could be an excellent gift for the holidays!

14 Nov 2024

Sci-Fi Book Blast

posted in: special promotions, specials | 0

More than a hundred SF ebooks are free, today and tomorrow! Through the efforts of a lot of indie authors, spearheaded by Carolynn Gockel, a blast promotion of free books has gone live today. Two days only! If you like free books, you should check it out. I’m in there with Neptune Crossing, which you already know is free—though if not, now’s a good time to grab it. “Ninety-nine books of SF on the wall, ninety-nine books of SF; take one down and pass it around…”

https://www.cgockelwrites.com/sci-fi-book-blast/

6 Nov 2024

What Has Happened to My Country?

posted in: public affairs | 18

Call me naïve, but I am stunned that a majority of voting Americans would willingly put a pathological serial liar, a bald-faced racist and misogynist, a convicted felon, a salad shooter of hatred and fear—and a violent insurrectionist—back into the White House. This man tried to overthrow the government, not four years ago! Words fail. But this much is clear: the next four years are going to be hard times for truth, for science, for women’s rights, for the climate, for compassion for our fellow humans. Spirits must be pretty low in the Ukraine right now; Vladimir Putin is surely celebrating; our international allies must be downing antacids at a feverish rate.

I can find nothing good to say about this, only that those who want a different vision of the world must become more vigilant than ever. I plan to have a strong drink or two tonight. Then start mentally regrouping tomorrow.

I always thought that The Twilight Zone was fiction. Now I’m not so sure. I think that might be where we’re living.

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