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In this edition:
- My Musings
- Mechhaven Missives
- Mech of the Month
- Featured Promotions
- Featured Authors
My Musings
Keeping this short today.
I woke up early to drop off my son's car for maintenance, boo! It's also my wife's birthday, yay! But there are a lot of chores to do once I get home, boo! It may rain today, yay? boo? Time will tell. However, I see on the news that a large part of the country is below freezing this morning, so really, I have it good and can't complain.
Please stay warm and safe wherever you are! Unless it's hot, then stay safe and cool!
Mechhaven Missives
- Book 5 Progress-I was stuck on a particular scene for several days. I wouldn’t call it writer’s block, but my brain just didn’t want to move on. The scene seemed fine, but I realized one element I had introduced would require more explanation than was good for the pace of the story. After a few days of noodling on it, I made a small tweak that will require much less explanation and will help advance the narrative of the story the way I originally intended. With that settled, I can continue moving onward!
- I will be at Pasadena Comic-Con next Sunday, January 28th. It's at the Pasadena Convention Center and opens at 9:00 AM. If you live close by, come check it out, get your books signed, or buy some more books! I'll be in Booth #524.
- Pax Machina Audiobook Update-The Audiobook is back in production! I received a new chapter to review. I'm looking forward to listening to it this weekend. I also received a message from the narrator cursing me about the fate of a particular character!
Mech of the Month
Sometimes with the Mech of the Month selection I feel like a student with a term paper due. I have an entire month to work on it, and I fully intend to, but them somehow with the due date fast approaching, I realize I haven't started on it! This month I have a good reason, really!
At one point I realized that I had some holes in my mech/mecha anime knowledge. To help bridge any of the gaps, I joined a mecha anime group on Facebook. Now, my feed is filled with an endless supply of possible "mechs of the month", however, I try to find ones that stand out as unique or are not overly repetitive. This month, I think I found something cool.
Over the last several weeks, I kept reading about a new mecha anime starting in Japan. I saw some pictures and short clips, and it seemed intriguing. What sold me on it was the theme song. Yes, the theme song. It was bombastic and over the top, very 1970s style, and I loved it. With a theme song this great, how could the anime be any less awesome?
The show premiered in Japan last weekend, but sadly there was no word on when we'd get to see the show in the U.S. So I continued my search for January's Mech of the Month. A few days ago I found out that Crunchyroll, the anime streaming service that my family subscribes, had licensed the rights and was streaming the first two episodes of Bang Brave Bang Bravern!
On Thursday night, I watched the first episode. As I thought I might, I loved it. I don't want to give too many details just in case you want to watch it, but the story enthralled me throughout. There's a point where they introduce the main mech and the show goes over the top. And it was glorious! Therefore, I am dubbing "Bravern" January's Mech of the Month!
Below is the link to the show's opening. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Bang Brave Bang Bravern Opening
Update: I watched episode two last night. Based on the developing story, the cool mech designs, fun actions sequences, and the theme song, I'm still on board with Bang Brave Bang Bravern. Fair warning, like a good deal of anime, there is some silly humor in parts to bring levity to otherwise serious situations, some of it more suggestive and adult than you might expect, so YMMV (your mileage may vary).
Featured Promotions
The authors in these promotions help promote each other's work. Please take a look. Who knows, maybe you'll discover your next favorite author!
A Plethora of Stars (Kindle Unlimited)
Heroic Sci-Fi in Kindle Unlimited (Kindle Unlimited)
Featured Authors
This week's featured author is Nicholas Woods-Smith!
by
Nicholas Woode-Smith
Aliens have invaded Zona Nox.
For James Terrin, the Shadow of Galis, it is an opportunity. As the aliens distract the Trooper Order, he can rob them blind.
But things don’t go according to plan.
And soon enough, James finds himself conscripted into the very military he hates.
But not everything is as it seems.
There is more at work in this dark galaxy than petty invasions and gangster politics. A century spanning conspiracy that involves not just James’ planet, but James himself.
Will he survive? Will his planet?
Until next time, have fun and read a lot of books!
Greg Sorber
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