Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Now This I Like...

David Conyers has just announced on his blog a new anthology he is co-editing, and it's something that has my imagination soaring. The anthology is called Extreme Planets, and as David says:
Chaosium is expanding into new lines of speculative fiction. Extreme Planets will be the first of these publications, with a science fiction anthology of short stories set on or about alien worlds that push the limits of what we believe is possible in a planetary environment.
Story length is 4,000 to 10,000 words (they may accept a couple of novellas up to 20,000 words from established authors), with payment at US 3 cents a word and 3 contributor copies. So that all sounds pretty sweet, but more important is the subject matter.

Before I turned to geology, I was studying astronomy at uni; I had always wanted to be an astronomer and used to spend many nights when I was very young sitting on the shed roof at home with my trusty telescope and notebook, writing down my observations under red cellophane-wrapped torchlight. Yes, I was a geek. Even now, I'll sit outside deep in the night when no one else is stirring and watch the sky (although now I often have a scotch to keep me company instead of my telescope; I'm saving up for a big juicy telescope at the moment, one that will show the rings of Saturn in clear detail).

The problem I found with astronomy as a degree was the physics and calculus and chemistry... All daunting subjects, and when you started getting so in-depth, you began losing the magic. I enjoyed classical astronomy as that taught the history of the subject, and I did pass astrophysics, but then I discovered keg nights hosted by the geology department and I was lost to the dark side...

I've always maintained a strong interest in astronomy though and have been following the ongoing exoplanet discoveries with a sense of wonder. There are some spectacular worlds out there, seemingly pinched straight from sci-fi novels, and there are some very exciting ones too, especially those perched right within the Goldilocks Zone. There might just be some exciting times ahead...

So it looks like I have a short story to write...(AFTER I finish novel 2)...

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