Jackson Allen's Blog

Summer is coming up – time to do a flash sale – free scifi June 1-5! I’m giving away three short stories to encourage readers – two of them are audio books, so you can do immersive ASMR while you read! The Battle of Victoria Crater – Only one thing stands between the brave settlers...

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Happy Sunday – here’s the Solarpunk Digest for May – including news about turtle-bots and solarpunk soldiers. Every month I say the same thing and every month it becomes even more true: You and I have heard enough scary, dim, dismal or depressing news in the past month. Now more than ever, I need to...

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I need to say something about Mesh: Racism and Sexism Doesn’t Live Here. My novel – a book for children of all ages and backgrounds – is a book for hildren of all ages and backgrounds. Full stop. Yes, Mesh is making the rounds with lit agents, so let me tell you what Mesh definitely...

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Hey kids, another Mike.Sierra.Echo IRL moment – we had a visit from our small friend meteor 2026JH2! Astronomers at the Mount Lemmon Survey in Tucson, Arizona, discovered the asteroid a few weeks ago. The Apollo-class object passed near Earth, maybe a quarter of the way between us and the moon. In celestial terms, that’s a...

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Mesh has been re-written, so let’s talk about Mesh IRL: Meshtastic and NYC Mesh are examples of mesh networking already at work! We’ve already talked about mesh networking in other posts, now let’s take it one step further. STEM kids and parents take note – this is a cool, easy project for summer break. You...

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Ever wonder where scifi’s first post-apocalyptic story came from? I never thought about it, until I ran across a Wikipedia story about it – By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benét. Wanna learn more? Here we go! By the Waters of Babylon is told in the first person and the exposition feels surprisingly...

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I’m surprised: a 150-year-old canary can teach you a LOT about creativity and life. While this picture makes the rounds on social media, a Reddit thread invited me to look closer. Here’s what they had to say: We are so adept at complete destruction that we frequently fail to see the beauty in our ability...

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Yes, literary agents are publishing gatekeepers. Since Mesh is off and running with query letters to literary agents, let’s take a moment to discuss this aspect of the publishing industry. I know a little about them, others know a lot. That’s why I was happy to read this recent discussion about literary agents – Mesh...

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Now hear this – there will be no blog this week. I’m 2/3’s of the way through this re-write and it’s taking all my brain power. Please forgive me. I know, I know – I like to hear from me, too. That said, I’m going bananas to close this out and I cannot stop for...

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Dateline – Eugene, OR – The dirty little Bandon Zoo – an ailing roadside attraction – now an evocative metaphor for the naive indifference of the American oligarchs in 2026. Don’t believe me, look no further than the ignominious information provided in nearly four-dozen counts of animal neglect, racketeering, methamphetamine delivery, and reckless endangerment. This...

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