Romance that's 'Out of This World' : Space

Showing posts with label Space. Show all posts

Wednesday, 7 August 2013

Midshipman Henry Gallant In Space - Goddess Fish Virtual Book Tour, Interview and Givaway

It's a great pleasure to welcome Science Fiction author H Peter Alesso to the Flight Deck today. Welcome, make yourself at home, help yourself to something sparkling served up by my pet android and tell me - what do you do for fun when not writing?

HPA: I love to read, do word (or math) puzzles. I also develop computer program apps for Android. I like to work out both my left and right hemispheres of the brain using a wide variety of skill sets and abilities.

HL: When did you start writing?

HPA: I began writing fiction after reading Jack Campbell’s The Lost Fleet series. It inspired a story that I wanted to share. Midshipman Henry Gallant was the result.

HL: Oh I think that will resonate with a lot of writers. It's more or less how I started myself. So what comes first: the plot or the characters?

HPA: Characters! If you don’t have a character that you enjoy spending a great deal of time with you will find it difficult to write a long involved novel about them.

HL: I agree. I thnk one really has to love one's characters to be able to write convincingly about them. Tell us about your latest release and what you think readers will enjoy about it

HPA: Midshipman Henry Gallant in Space is a military space opera with romance, adventure, and threatening aliens. It should provide a fun journey. Enjoy.

I feel that science fiction should be based upon actual scientific principles. I researched the technology included in the story and tried to project their development path into the next century. Genetic engineering is current an important topic in our society and humanity faced difficult choices as it develops over the course of the next century. In Midshipman Henry Gallant, genetic engineering plays an influential role in the background but it is cast against another important innovation that also may prove a future threat: Artificial Intelligence.

HL: It sounds a wonderful read. Is there any advice, as a new writer, that you were either given, or wish you had been given?

HPA: Find an author you admire and would like to emulate. Then examine just what it is that you find so compelling. It may be that you can develop similar skills with practice. Always remember that whatever criticism you get that any feedback, complimentary or critical, can be useful in learning more about a writer’s ability to improve and develop better skills.

HL: Great advice. And finally, where can readers connect with you?

HPA: http://www.hpeteralesso.com/Default.aspx

https://www.facebook.com/MidshipmanHenryGallantInSpace

Thank you so much for taking time to visit my blog, it’s been a thrill having you here and learning more about you and your writing. I wish you much success now and in the future.
Read more about H Peter Alesso below, with an excerpt from his book, and don't forget to enter the contest the prize is Winner's choice of $100 Amazon or BN.com gift card

BIO:

As a scientist and author specializing in technology innovation, H. Peter Alesso has over twenty years research experience at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). As Engineering Group Leader at LLNL he led a team of computer scientists and engineers in innovative applications across a wide range of supercomputers, workstations and networks. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a B.S. and served in the U.S. Navy on nuclear submarines before completing an M.S. and an advanced Engineering Degree at M.I.T. He has published several software titles and numerous scientific journal and conference articles, and he is the author/co-author of six books.

(Website www.hpeteralesso.com)

Blurb:

As the last star fighter in squadron 111, Midshipman Henry Gallant is on his way from Jupiter to Mars. With the United Planets' fleet on the verge of annihilation, he can expect no help as he passes through the asteroid belt and threatening aliens. With so much uncertainty about the aliens' capabilities and intentions, analyzing the captured computer equipment in Gallant's possession could prove crucial. Unfortunately, it is his abilities that have been much in doubt during his tour of duty. In an era of genetic engineering, he is the only Natural (non-genetically enhanced) officer left in the fleet. Only bright and attractive junior officer Kelsey Mitchel has shown any sympathy for him. Now as his navigator on the last fighter in squadron 111, her life as well as a good many others, depends of Henry Gallant.

Excerpt:

Gallant prepared to press the firing button to launch an antimissile into the center of the damaged saucer, but then he paused. He suddenly realized that he had the opportunity to discover important information about the aliens, if he could get inside the saucer and relay what he found to Captain Caine and GridScape.

“Kelsey, we’ve got to dock with that saucer and board it. Once we’re inside who knows what we'll discover?”

Kelsey grew alarmed, “No, no, no. Henry; is that even possible - in the middle of this chaos?”

“It’s an opportunity we can’t afford to pass up.” He abandoned caution and committed himself to the risky venture. Kelsey stayed silent and motionless for several long seconds. Then any reservations she had faded. She calculated the course to dock, matching the saucer's speed, course, and orientation so that they would be relatively stationary.

"Kelsey, you’ll have to remain with the fighter and use the lasers to cover my spacewalk, but if things go badly, I want you to break off," said Gallant, strapping on his gun. "I don’t know if the ship’s crew will offer any resistance."

"I’ll inform Repulse what you’re attempting. Maybe they can provide covering fire if needed," she said.

“Great idea. I’ll send a video feed from my suit comm pin to our Eagle. You can let Repulse follow my progress and record everything that happens for intelligence analysis.”

With the aftermath of the violent space battle around him, Gallant prepared to spacewalk to the saucer. He sealed his mirrored armored suit and exited the fighter through his overhead hatch. The suit included an oxygen generator pack that maintained an appropriate atmosphere for him to breathe as he traveled in space. He traveled along the surface of the fighter using short bursts of gas to propel him and then released his umbilical line. Using his propulsion jets he propelled himself forward into the darkness. He looked for a way to enter the alien ship.

Gallant maneuvered the jetpack deftly. His suit shielded him from incredible extremes of temperature—up to 250 degrees Fahrenheit on sunlit surfaces and down to 150 degrees below zero on the shady side of the fighter.

Propelling himself forward, he tumbled and then straightened up. By using the communicator to connect to the fighter, he relayed information directly to the ship’s AI. He could also access the ship’s monitoring capability to see how the battle was progressing. Suddenly, the communicator notified him that an alien saucer was approaching. He could see laser shots flash near him. For a moment he couldn't breathe, and then he let his training take over and found the strength to go forward.