Mid-Febuary 2025 - Hippos on the loose!
and I made more weird art
Hi Everyone,
I’m conducting an art experiment by attempting to make paintings of some of the settings in my stories.
As I write, the story unfolds like a movie in my mind leaving me with strong visual impressions of all my settings. This is an attempt to capture that—plus, I really like learning new skills and watercolour paints are relatively new to me. I’ve already made plenty of paintings of dubious quality, but the one above is a reasonable view of the setting for my next novel On the Edge of Night and Day.
I’m taking these paintings and making them into a notebook of collages created by one of the characters in the book. I’m not sure yet what I’ll be doing with it in the long run, but creating something visual has been a delight.
On the Edge of Night and Day is currently with my editor and I’m looking forward to their comments on the manuscript. In the mean time, I’m just finishing a novella set in the same universe. Next, I’m going to finally get a draft done of the time travel novel that’s been kicking about in the back of my mind for years now.
Hippos!
I recently listened to a Hippopotomology podcast (as one does) and I haven’t gotten over my new knowledge that there is a population of hippos in Columbia. There are over 200 hundred of the massive mammals there now—all descendants of a group of four that were held illegally as pets and escaped in 1993. The climate there is perfect for them and they are thriving. But, invasive hippos are a huge problem and a threat to the native wildlife.
Speaking of hippos… I have a new short story that just started on Armchair Alien that features a single, virtual hippo in space. It’s a silly adventure and it’s free.
Birds are awesome
I’m going to sign off with another amazing fact — it turns out that some birds emit light! Many of the bird-of-paradise species can absorb light then re-emit it at a different frequency making their fantastic plumage even brighter and fancier.
Cheers,
Jeannette
Looking for a distraction?
Commander Darius Noble has escaped the overthrow of the Alliance. He carries crucial intel about the drow and Federation's plans for folding space/time to make war anywhere instantaneously across the galaxy. Lacking resources and pursued by bounty hunters, Darius and his companions find themselves adrift in a hostile galaxy.
Their paths cross with diverse nonhumans, leading to the formation of an unlikely crew aboard a salvaged starship. As they navigate their personal struggles and limited options, Darius and his crew realize a horrifying truth: The Alliance's fall is just the beginning. Invaders drawn unintentionally from the mysterious savagespace, who destroy all without mercy, threaten sentient life across the galaxy.
This motley crew of misfits must risk everything to expose the danger and preserve life. Can Darius and his crew outmaneuver their enemies and become the unexpected saviors of the galaxy or will war tear everything asunder?
Savagespace is a Science-Fiction Fantasy series blending space opera and D&D-style adventures for fans of Star Wars, Dragonlance, and Independence Day.
And there’s more:
My Books:
The Lost Star Chart - Preorder
Hope is the Thing With Feathers - direct or from the shops
Encoded Orbits Trilogy
Fractured Orbits - direct or from the shops
The Alien Algorithm - direct or from the shops
Subject 34 - direct or from the shops
Settler Chronicles
Day 115 on an Alien World - direct or from the shops
Far Side of the Moon - direct or from the shops
Abandoned Ships, Hijacked Minds - direct or from the shops
The Alien Artifact - direct or from the shops
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and as a final disclaimer - please take any typos and errors as proof this newsletter is entirely written by a human (and a flawed one at that!)
Biofluorescent birds?! The world truly is amazing.