Ned Marcus — Blog
Below are the most recent posts on NedMarcus.com.
Sep 16, 2021
Advance Notice!
I have two sales coming up next week. A three-day sale on Blue Prometheus; and for Kobo readers in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, there's going to be a special sale on the boxset.
I'll give more details later.
Sep 15, 2021
Kilgore Trout
A witty quote by Kurt Vonnegut:
"Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (Breakfast of Champions)
Read more short story quotes on the short stories page...
Sep 14, 2021
Sci-fi & Fantasy Short Stories
I've updated this page, adding short story quotes from Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut Jnr, and others, and I talk about how long a short story should be.
Not the same page as the one below.
Sep 13, 2021
Short Fantasy Stories
I've not done a free book promo for a long time. In all honesty, I became bored of them. But I like experimenting with short fantasy stories, so here's another promotion. 18 short fantasy stories in all, including Young Aina.
Incidentally, if you've not already, sign-up to my mailing list here on this website, and I'll send you another short fantasy story—The Huntress of Prometheus.
Also check out The Boatmen and An Offer of Redemption here on this website, too. See Short Stories in the menu.
I still write short stories, but it's slow going because I want to focus on longer fiction.
Sep 10, 2021
An Imagination for Evil
Jung talks about the necessity of having an imagination for evil and mentioned a contemporary politician (1950s) who said that he had no imagination for evil.
Jung, of course, believed that an awareness of our dark side would lessen the risk of it being acted out in reality. He believed that naive ignorance was extremely dangerous. This is a theme I've been playing with recently in my stories.
Sep 08, 2021
Orange Storm Is Now For Sale!
Orange Storm is now for sale on Kobo, Apple, B&N, and Google Play. Visit the books page for bookstore links...
Sep 06, 2021
Orange Storm Available for Pre-order
Orange Storm is now available for pre-order on Amazon, Kobo, and Apple. The links and more details are on my Books page.
Sep 04, 2021
Orange Storm
Orange Storm is an urban fantasy with elements of science fiction. When aliens from another universe find a way into ours..
Sep 02, 2021
Warriors With Sheathed Swords
I've just finished a short story, science fiction this time, which was inspired by the line from the Bible: "Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth." I'm not affiliated with any church or religion but have read the Bible, and I've wondered about the meaning of this line. Psychologically, it doesn't seem to make sense if taken literally, so when I listened to a lecture on the psychological significance of the biblical stories by Jordan Peterson, I was fascinated by his interpretation.
He said that when the King James Version of the Bible was written, meek meant something quite different from now. It meant free from pride or self-will. A quick check with my dictionary of etymology confirmed this. He also pointed out that in the original Hebrew, the meaning was closer to 'those who have the ability to fight but who also have the self-restraint not to, will triumph in life.'
This idea stuck, and months later, when I was taking part in one of the regular fantasy and sci-fi flash fiction challenges I run in my writers' critique group, I started this story. It quickly became more than flash fiction. The finished story is 3,500 words.
In this story, a soldier meets a seeker, an artificially intelligent space pod. Both have been through extensive combat, and both have been rejected by their respective nations. They've also both learnt the value of restraint, and this saves them. In the story, they inherit a new world, a new life.
Sep 01, 2021
Paperbacks & Hardbacks
I'm designing the spines, back covers, and inner jacket sleeves for the paperback and hardback versions of my new novel at the moment.
And considering a new look for the website, although I really like the blue Blue Prometheus one, too.
Aug 31, 2021
Why I Named My First Novel Blue Prometheus
There are two reasons why I named my first novel Blue Prometheus. At least, two reasons for choosing the name Prometheus. The Blue part is easier to explain; it's one of the primary colours of the planet, which I imagined in hues of blue, grey, and white.
But why Prometheus? The lesser reason is that I wanted the story to take place in an alternate version of our solar system. Some planets have the same name, for example, Venus, Mars, and Neptune, but I wanted some planets to have other names to give the world the feeling of being different from our world. So Earth became Dnasis, the moon became Palace Moon, and Uranus (which is inhabitable in the story) became Blue Prometheus because I'd read that the name Prometheus had once been suggested for Uranus. I've not found evidence of this, but I liked the idea.
But the main reason was because of the Greek myth. Prometheus gave fire to humanity, so raising their awareness. This is an important part of the story of the Blue Prometheus series. A powerful demon thinks an evil thought that ripples across the multiverse. It must be opposed. The heroes counter it by raising the Fire of Prometheus and so raising the consciousness of all life.
Aug 30, 2021
Listening to Myself
I hardly recognised myself speaking in the recent interview I did with Edwin Ryberg. The link is below if you'd like to listen. I'm not used to the sound of my voice, and it was painful for me to listen to the whole podcast. Not because of what I said—just the sound of my voice.
I plan to get over this soon as I want to play with recording some of my short stories—perhaps the ones available on this website. Click on short stories in the menu if you're interested in reading them. There are only two, despite me having many more on my computer, but I'm still hoping to sell some of those to fantasy and sci-fi magazines. Once I've recorded a few short stories, I plan to put them on YouTube and see if there's any interest. I don't yet have a channel but plan to start one later this year.
Aug 29, 2021
Frank Herbert Quotes
I've added several Frank Herbert quotes to my Fantasy Quotes page. It's time I added some science fantasy to the mix. I recently reread Dune and Dune Messiah, and then went on to read the rest of the series. The first two are the best, but I enjoyed some of the others (there are four more) too.
Here's one of the quotes. This one is from Dune.
“Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.”
Aug 28, 2021
Ned Marcus Interview
I was interviewed last month by Edwin Ryberg for his Alternate Futures podcast. We talk about my life, influences on my fiction, Blue Prometheus, and more. Click on the link below to listen.
Aug 27, 2021
Orange Storm Blurb
Here's the new book description for my upcoming novel Orange Storm.
Pale orange snow falls over London. With it arrives life from another universe intent on manipulating the fabric of reality—to deadly effect.
When linguist Luke Lee witnesses the aliens murder a senior British politician, he becomes a target. And when they kidnap his pregnant wife, he will do anything to get her back. He’s one of the few people with the skills to understand and defeat them.
Psychic Amelia Blake never imagined she would be called upon to defend humanity—but the message is clear. She must stop this evil.
And she sees what others cannot—a magic unlike anything she’s encountered. In her search for help, she’s drawn to another plane where she faces a witch of terrifying power.
Should she risk summoning an alien witch to counter an alien threat?
Can Luke and Amelia prevent further deadly intrusions into Earth?
They have 38 hours to act.
If you like fast-paced urban fantasies with science fiction elements, you’ll love Ned Marcus’s exciting new adventure.
Aug 26, 2021
New—Book Reviews!
I've just added book reviews to my Books page. Click the link below to read them.
Aug 23, 2021
Latest News
I'm in the final stages of preparing Orange Storm for publication. Everything with this novel has moved slowly, and the designing of the cover is no exception. I've received the first drafts and chosen the version I like best. Now I'm waiting for some relatively minor alterations. Overall, I like the new cover.
As you may have guessed from the title of the book, the colour scheme will be orange.
Aug 22, 2021
My Reading in August
I've recently read Myth and Reality by Mircea Eliade. An interesting book about living myths (it was written in 1963) and their significance for everyday life. The myths, which have not been sanitised as so many myths have, give meaning to life, and the belief necessary to face difficulties, to lift people out of depression, to inspire creation, and more. Going back to origins by enacting the myths renews the spirits of those participating.
I also read the first volume of The Greek Myths by Robert Graves. His view differs from Eliade (and Jung), and he believes that myths are no more mysterious than election cartoons. Perhaps this is because the myths he deals with have been altered and polished so much over the centuries that they are no longer the living myths Eliade talks about.
Aug 18, 2021
Amazon Unilaterally Increases the Price of Young Aina
Amazon has unilaterally decided that my novelette, Young Aina, should cost £0.77 in the UK. They say this is the correct price for the UK market. We'll see. While I agree that it's still great value, the book is free everywhere else.
It's their company and therefore their decision, but in case you're living in the UK and want to download a free copy, you can do so here on my website (in exchange for your email) or on Kobo or Apple Books completely for free.
Jul 16, 2021
UK Sale!
Blue Prometheus is on sale in the UK until the end of the month. Now reduced to £2.99.
Click the UK Sale link above to go to the Kobo UK sales page. It also includes books by other sci-fi and fantasy authors. Blue Prometheus is also for sale on Amazon UK.
Jul 13, 2021
Formatting Orange Storm
I'm busy formatting the ebook, paperback, and hardcover versions of the upcoming novel Orange Storm. Due to be released next month.
Jun 30, 2021
Indie Book Showcase
I've recently been featured on Indie Book Showcase where I answered questions on my books and writing.
Jun 13, 2021
My Online Life
I'm getting more used to organising meetings online. Here in Taiwan, Covid came late, but now it's here, and I'm teaching online using Teams. Creative writing is one of the classes I teach, and it works well online, but something's lost, too. This week, I organised my first online writers' critique group. This time I used Skype. It was good but also lacked human contact. It did mean that I met writers from different parts of Taiwan. I have plans, too, for a YouTube channel. Most likely for later this year.
May 28, 2021
Blue Prometheus Is On Sale!
Blue Prometheus, the first novel in the Blue Prometheus series, is on sale, reduced from $3.99 to $0.99) for five days.
For more information and retailer links click the link in the title above.
May 09, 2021
Two New Languages
I've not travelled for a few years now, but I'm making plans. I'm hopeful for 2022.
I've been learning two new languages: Latvian and Russian. I hope to travel through some of the former Soviet Republics, from the Baltic States to the Caucasus.
It's hard to find language learning materials for Latvian—so my language learning has been slower. For Russian, it's much easier to find language learning materials, but I'm not sure the language itself is easier.
I'm still at the level of learning new vocabulary and practising pronunciation. Speaking will come later.
Mar 18, 2021
Blue Prometheus Now On Sale!
Blue Prometheus, the first novel in the Blue Prometheus trilogy is now on sale, reduced from $3.99 to $0.99 for the next 10 days!
Mar 04, 2021
"Nature is aristocratic."
I recently read something that Carl Jung wrote. "Nature is aristocratic." A small comment, but it made me think of the fantasy habit of creating medieval settings where aristocracy plays an important role. Perhaps this reflects an unconscious need for structure and hierarchy amongst many fantasy writers and readers.
Free Stories—Young Aina and The Huntress of Prometheus
Recent Articles
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Advance Notice!
Sep 16, 21 11:19 PM
I have two sales coming up next week. A three-day sale on Blue Prometheus; and for Kobo readers in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, there's going to be a special sale on the boxset. I'll gi…
-
Kilgore Trout
Sep 15, 21 10:35 PM
A witty quote by Kurt Vonnegut: "Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffo…
-
Sci-fi & Fantasy Short Stories
Sep 14, 21 10:35 PM
I've updated this page, adding short story quotes from Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut Jnr, and others, and I talk about how long a short story should be. Not the same page as the one below.