Image copyright © by Marcus Trahan

VarleyLog

We Bought a Tesla!

Here’s what happened. Lee came across what looked like a tiny, yellowing IOU at the bottom of some ancient records. It was from the Tooth Fairy, and she said she was a little short of cash and would pay me a dime the next night. It was dated May 8, 1954. I was seven! She’s still in business, you know, the Tooth Fairy, so Lee tracked her down and demanded payment. The old biddy was not ...

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Looking Back

The Launch Diary: AURA Satellite

MONDAY NIGHT. Actually, Tuesday morning, 1:30 AM. We get up and wander around. I’m awake, not having actually slept. Lee brews her coffee. What with one thing and another, we get out the door at about 2:10. There is a low cloud layer. Very low: the searchlight from the nearby private airport sweeps by every 30 seconds, a solid beam of light. Very soon we are ...

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Novels

Red Thunder

The US space program is effectively over. The loss of the Ares Seven ship was the final blow. Everyone has accepted that the manned Chinese ship, Heavenly Harmony, being prepped for a mission to Mars, will be the first vessel from Earth to land on the Red Planet.

In a deserted warehouse near Daytona, a band of seven suburban misfits – including a Cajun boy genius and a ...

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Movie Reviews

The Greatest Showman

I love musicals. Hugh Jackman is a terrifically talented singer and dancer. (I hope he’s making a damn fortune from that Wolverine nonsense.) P.T. Barnum is a great subject for a musical. The production design is outstanding. The singing and dancing from the rest of the cast is fine. The music is rousing. So I kept asking myself, why am I not having a better time?

I think it was ...

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Collections

Blue Champagne

A collection of eight stories, four of which are award winning.

The cover art and illustrations are by Todd Cameron Hamilton.

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Short Fiction

Good-Bye, Robinson Crusoe

Ever want to get away from it all? Traveling to faraway places is not the only possibility.

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Titan: An Overview

A Short Overview of Titan

Here's a very short but quite impressive video made by Jean-Paul Verne, a fly-through of Gaea from my trilogy. M. Verne wants to be involved if a movie ever gets made. Over the years many, many people have written to me wishing these books would be made into a movie. Naturally, I'd like that, too. Let's hope this is not as close as we'll ever get.

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Accidental Hippies

Accidental Hippies

Sometime not long after my high school graduation I was studying at Michigan State University when my long-time girlfriend dumped me. I entered such a state of depression that I could not continue in college. So I dropped out and decided to hit the road with Chris Kingsley, my best friend in the world. Chris had much more experience of life on the road than I did, had actually hitched to ...

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