Interstellar

photo credit: IMDB

We watched Interstellar over the weekend. While I can’t say it’s one of my favorite movies, it does present an interesting premise. What if we stop spending money on space exploration and maintain the planet as is? If so, what happens if our planet becomes uninhabitable? How does mankind survive?

In the movie, Earth experiences such extreme temperatures, drought, and famine worse than the Dust Bowl of the 1930s that humanity faces extinction. A secret NASA (secret because nobody wants to spend money on space exploration when people are starving) sends a team of astronauts beyond our solar system to find an inhabitable planet. Of course, there are various crises and dilemmas. Wouldn’t be a good sci-fi action/adventure if there weren’t.

Much has been written lately about the discovery of new planets that appear to be capable of sustaining life. But it would be no quick trip to check out what telescopes and probes tell us. To get beyond our solar system we’d need either faster-than-light propulsion or wormholes (hypothetical shortcuts through spacetime). So far, we haven’t invented the former or discovered the latter.

Let’s say, scientists discover a wormhole that will let us travel to another part of our galaxy or into a different one. What would it take to get mankind to leave Earth? A global disaster? Would we see it coming? Would we heed the warnings in time? In Deep Impact (an asteroid will hit Earth), we hide underground until the Earth becomes safe again. In the movie 2012, we build an ark. But who is chosen to survive? How? A lottery? Your job? Bribes to officials?

I’ve written before about Mars One, the privately funded project to send a team on a one-way trip to establish a colony on Mars. NASA is also working on a plan to go to Mars. Progress is slow. Funding is always a challenge. If we knew that sometime in the future humanity would have to leave Earth, would we expedite that endeavor now? Or would we leave it up to future generations?

A lot of questions in this post. I love a good adventure movie. Disaster movies, not as much. But they do make me think. It’s that “what if” question that writers instinctively ask. It’s what makes a good story. But what if (see?) it’s not just a story? What if it’s real?

What do you think?

#IWSG: Short & Savvy

IWSG is the brainchild of Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. And thanks to this month's awesome hosts Suzanne Furness, Tonja Drecker, Toi Thomas, Rachna Chhabria, Fundy Blue, and Donna Hole!

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Since the A to Z Challenge begins today, I'll make my post short and hopefully savvy. I'm going to quote the first two sentences from Bob Mayer's post last week on the Basics of Being a Successful Author. 

• Write a lot.

•  Before writing a lot, be a voracious reader. 

That about says it all. If you're interested in the rest of his post, click here.  

Have a great day! No fooling.







Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.

Spotlight on MICHAEL by Patricia Josephine

I am so happy to have welcome Patricia Josephine and to celebrate the release of her new novel. Besides being a fellow Michigander, she is a Whovian. (I knew I liked this girl.) For those who aren't, that means we're crazy about Doctor Who.

Blurb:

There is only one path.

Born mortal along with his three brothers, Michael is an Archangel with a specific role: hunt fallen angels and send them back to Hell. He is determined in his mission, never straying from his appointed path, until he meets Lake Divine, and discovers there may be more to his beliefs than blind duty.

But Lake is not who he seems. Offspring of a human and a fallen angel, a Nephilim, Lake must choose his own destiny: give in to the coldness and embrace the dark, or seek the light and rise above the sins of his father.

Two paths lay before them, but only one has the potential to destroy them both.

Fun Facts about Michael.

Sometimes the devil is in the details. When writing a story, little things can creep in or there are conscious choices that have meaning behind them. Here are a few fun facts about Michael that you would never know.

• Lake's school bullies were named after my ex-boyfriends. Not at first though. One day I was editing and I thought it'd give me a giggle given how Lake gets back at them. Although, I shouldn't really laugh at that.

• The dog Lake meets in the park is named after my friend Erin's dog. She was one of my critique partners for Being Human and helped make it awesome.

• In the story, Jophiel is considered an archangel, but when I was looking for names I found conflicting evidence. Some sites he’s just listed as an angel, while others say in Jewish lore he is an archangel. I opted to keep the name because it was one that I had yet to see used.

• Michael's hometown I named after Monroe, Louisiana. It's where a friend lives, but that's not where Michael is from.

• At the beginning of chapter two, Gabe asks about cigarettes being banned in public buildings. Michigan banned smoking in bars and restaurants.

• This last one will make all my writing friends gasp in horror. Joe doesn't like to read. But he does enjoy writing. He mostly writes jokes. His plans before finding out he's an archangel was to be a comedian.

 Michael is available at Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00UGKD2AO

About the Author:

Patricia Josephine never set out to become a writer. In fact, she never considered it an option during high school and college. She was all about art. On a whim, she wrote down a story bouncing in her head. That was the start of it and she hasn't regretted a moment. She writes young adult under the name Patricia Lynne.

Patricia lives with her husband in Michigan, hopes one day to have what will resemble a small petting zoo, has a fondness for dying her hair the colors of the rainbow, and an obsession with Doctor Who.

Links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/plynne_writes

Website: http://www.patricialynne.com

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/108938106639683446081/posts/p/pub

Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/patricialynne07

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13460894.Patricia_Josephine