Jeffrey A. Carver

11 Mar 2020

Uncaged Magazine Interview

posted in: interviews | 0

A print* interview–and I really should have mentioned this one sooner. This is Uncaged Magazine, February issue, and they have a fairly long profile of me, and a number of other writers, as well. (One or two of them SF, and some other genres as well.) I’m about 3/4 of the way along the scroll bar, but take a look at the rest while you’re there. There’s a centerfold, so to speak, of a gallery of the authors’ animal friends–including, of course, the Carver critters.

*By “print,” you understand that I mean words you read. On a screen. That kind of print.

9 Mar 2020

Literary Titan Speaks!

posted in: awards, The Reefs of Time | 1

The Literary Titan book review panel has spoken, and what they’ve said is, give a gold medal to The Reefs of Time! Here’s my gold medal. Here’s what they say:

“Our literary awards are given to books and authors that have astounded and amazed us with unique writing styles, vivid worlds, complex characters, and original ideas…

The Gold Award is bestowed on books that we found to be perfect in their delivery of original content, meticulous development of unique characters in an organic and striking setting, innovative plot that supports a fresh theme, and elegant prose that transforms words into beautifully written books.”

Am I going to argue with that?

8 Mar 2020

Solar Hot Water!

posted in: home improvements, Home repair, solar power | 0

I took a shower today with water heated by the sun! What a feeling! Our solar heating panels went up on the garage roof last week, and our aging 40-gallon hot water tanks were removed, and replaced by a humongous 119-gallon lifetime stainless steel tank that feeds both apartments in our two-family house. Primary heat is the sun. Secondary heat is an electric heater in the tank. Our expectation is that about 75% of our water heating requirements will come from the sun, annually. More in the summer and less in the winter, obviously. But even in the winter, plenty of heat comes from the sun. The excellent work was done by New England Solar Hot Water.

Remember, back in December, I told you about the trench I was digging? That was for this.

Speaking of home heating efficiency, our ductless AC/heating system was finished a few weeks ago by New England Ductless, and now (in moderate weather) we’re heating more efficiently with electric heat pumps. We’re still figuring out the best way to control them (which we do using our smartphones), or rather to balance them with the legacy steam heat in the colder weather. These condenser units are kind of dominant on the outside of the house, so I guess my home project for this summer will be to build some kind of privacy fence around them.

This was all made possible in part by a two-town group discount, various tax credits and rebates for renewable energy installations, and a 0% interest loan program run by a state agency (MassSave) and funded by utilities. All that brought the net cost down considerably. The hot water installation should pay for itself in 4-5 years.

8 Mar 2020

Interview on The Worldshapers Podcast!

posted in: interviews, podcasts, writing | 0

My guest spot went live today on Edward Willett’s podcast series, The Worldshapers! Ed is a writer of over sixty books, and his podcast series has included a slew of great science fiction and fantasy authors talking about their writing process. He has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to publish an anthology of stories by authors who were guests on The Worldshapers podcast in its first year. Take a look! Give them some love!

Meanwhile, you can listen right here to the interview, or go to the podcast site.

27 Feb 2020

What’s Wrong with This Picture?

posted in: books, print editions, The Reefs of Time | 0

Alert reader Laura _ sent me this copy of The Reefs of Time that she bought from Barnes and Noble online. Anything look wrong to you?

As you can see from this shot, I am holding just the cover open. The first page inside the cover is Prologue Two. Missing are all the front-matter pages, including title page and copyright, dedication, “Previously in The Chaos Chronicles” synopses, and Prologue One. Yikes! How many other people got defective books like this, and didn’t trouble to get in touch with me to let me know?

The book, as far as I have been able to determine so far, was printed by Ingram, a usually solidly reliable producer of books. I’ve asked for an investigation, but I don’t expect to have an answer anytime soon.

If you, or anybody you know, received a defective book, please let me know! Thanks!

Oh, and ditto if you get a copy of Sunborn with the cover type skewed to the side (which happened to me).

18 Feb 2020

Sunborn Blazes into the Audiobookosphere!

posted in: audiobook, audiobooks, new editions, Sunborn, The Chaos Chronicles | 0

I told you recently about a new print edition for Sunborn. Now I’ve got an audiobook you just have to have! This fourth volume of The Chaos Chronicles is billowing into the stores, with narration by the incomparable Stefan Rudnicki.

Right now you can get it here:

It’ll be in lots more stores soon, including Audible and Amazon. Also Overdrive, so you’ll be able to ask your public library to order it. (Not yet. But they can order the first three books.)

For completists, here’s a list of all my books currently in audio format.

Listen to SAMPLE

14 Feb 2020

It’s Dead, Jim—Again

posted in: Uncategorized | 8

My Asus laptop has died, this time the true death, I think. Two years ago (seems like yesterday), it died in a similar fashion, just going poof, bye when my back was turned. That time it was the motherboard, and I suspect the same is true this time. That time it expired on the last day of the warranty, and Asus (after considerable prodding) did the right thing and fixed it. This time it’s three years old. And I just two weeks ago got the latest Windows update to work on it. This is so depressing. A computer should last longer than this! They’re just like the replicants from Bladerunner, with a built-in expiration date.

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain…”

14 Feb 2020

Boskone This Weekend!

posted in: appearances, conventions | 0

This weekend, Boston’s long-running Boskone science fiction convention, will be running in the Westin Hotel on the waterfront—same location as Arisia, a month ago. Where Arisia was somewhat media oriented, Boskone is more focused on the literary end of science fiction. It also usually boasts one of the best art shows among SF cons.

I’ll be there Friday evening, Saturday, and for a little while on Sunday. If you see me, stop and say hello! I’ll also be selling autographed books during the Boskone Book Party, Saturday evening. Come buy some books! (Or just say hello.)

Here’s a link to my schedule.

8 Feb 2020

SUNBORN Scorches New Print Edition!

posted in: my books, print editions, Sunborn, The Chaos Chronicles | 1

Sunborn, the fourth book in The Chaos Chronicles, has blazed forth in a new treebook edition, a solid trade paperback designed to go nicely with Reefs and Crucible and all the others! The complete set will look great on any shelf! It’s available right now from Ingram, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon, which means you can ask your local bookstore (or library) to order it, or you can buy it online. (As of this moment, it’s discounted at B&N. I don’t know why, or how long it will last.)

With this, all the published books in The Chaos Chronicles are available in print as well as ebook. (Still planned: a reformatting of Neptune Crossing, which is in a larger trim size than the others. It was the first one I put back into print, at 6×9 inches, and I later decided to go with the 5.5×8.5 inch size for the new books.)

Coming soon: an all-new audiobook of Sunborn! It’s already recorded and uploaded. It might take a couple of weeks to become available. Don’t change that dial!

Stars are dying. Bandicut and his friends must learn what threatens the Starmaker Nebula—and confront a billion-year-old adversary of life as they know it…

1 Feb 2020

A History of Screwdrivers?

posted in: history, quirky, technology | 4

Screwdrivers, really? Yes, really. This is one of most interesting short videos I’ve seen in a long time. The History Guy takes on “Robertson, Phillips, and the History of the Screwdriver,” and if that sounds like a snoozer, trust me, it’s a fascinating take on invention, powerful personalities, world history, and why the heck most of us have Phillips-head screwdrivers (and screws) instead of the easier-to-use square-socket (Robertson) screwdriver that apparently is common in Canada. Those darn Canadians have beaten us again!

Humor me and watch this. I think you’ll enjoy it.

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Author Archives: Jeffrey A. Carver