Brenda Cooper's Blog

I’m thrilled to be part of an event discussing climate and coastlines. It’s sponsored by New America Foundation and ASU Center for Science and the Imagination.

“Out of Ash” allowed me use story to explore the part of our future where our cities will be forced to reckon with sea level rise. Some cities will build walls, some dikes. Some will abandon shorelines and retreat organically up hills. Others may need to be simply moved.

Seattle Magazine was recently purchased by Jonathan Esposito, a successful Seattle entrepreneur and communicator (Geekwire, for example). The vision for the new version of the magazine is bold and hopeful. I was lucky enough to have both an article and a story in the first issue under the new leadership there.

One of my favorite adult experiences was getting my MFA at the University of Maine’s Stonecoast program. I’ll be part of an alumni reading event there on the 9th — so come along if you like!  It’s virtual.  I think I’m first, but really you should stay for the whole thing — it will be a nicely varied group of bright voices. I’ll be reading from The Making War.

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You can find my latest published science fiction story, “Callme and Mink,” in Clarkesworld.  It’s a little tale about people and dogs, and how they might find each other in a difficult future.

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The Making War is out today!  This is book 4 in the series that begins with The Silver Ship and the Sea.  Come find out about a family that started as spoils of war on an abandoned on a colony planet and changed five worlds.  Meet Alicia, who wants to fly so badly she is willing to trade freedom for wings and Joseph, who talks to ships more often than he talks to people. Meet Chelo, who really only wants a nice, safe space, but never gets one for long.

Reviewers say that I’m a character driven writer. That’s the best compliment ever!  All elements matter: plot, pacing people, stakes…but the characters make a story sing. Booklist said, “Interplanetary war in the hook, but the characters will be the true catch.”

Here are some links where you can order the your copy:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Kobo

 

And for a special treat, at least as of today (October 7th) you can order 2 books and get one free from the Northwest’s giant independent bookseller, Powell’s.  Here’s a link to book one at Powell’s in case you want to start the series and buy from indies!

 

The post The Making War: It’s Publication Day! appeared first on Brenda Cooper.

A few pieces of news about The Making War, which is scheduled to come out in October from Wordfire Press:

I got a great blurb from my good friend Jim Van Pelt, who is — IMHO — one of our very best short story writers alive and working today. He said,  “The Making War is a grand story told in epic scale. Finishing the Fremont’s Children saga, Brenda Cooper completes a journey that began in book one with six waifs whose actions reshape civilized space. Deeply satisfying, compelling, human in all ways, an exploration into the morality of power, and a fine, fine read. Highly recommended.”
I finished the next-to-last proofs today and sent them off to the publisher.  So now I should only see it one more time,

I’m really excited to be so close to having this come out.  The wait has been long — for me and for my readers.  It’s very satisfying to finish a story you saw complete in your head almost a dozen years ago.

The post The Making War update appeared first on Brenda Cooper.

Every once in awhile even an old and decent design needs an update. I’m happy to be able to show off the new website. if you have time, take a look and give me feedback. Thanks to Rie Levinzon for giving it a facelift. Also, newsletter coming soon — sign up if you are interested!

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I’m really proud to have a story in here.  Some important things to know:

The stories are positive future stories about our challenged oceans
They are written by authors from all around the world
All of the authors are women!

 

Ocean Stories

The post Story in Current Futures: A Sci-Fi Ocean Anthology appeared first on Brenda Cooper.

I’ve been very busy, and using social media more than the website to update readers, but decided I should drop by here and leave a few notes…

Most recent book:

The 10th Anniversary edition of Wings of Creation came out this spring. I love the cover!  These editions are put out by Wordfire Press, and are re-releases with a little love added to clean up prose, but no change in story.  Most important, the fourth and final book in the series, The Making War, is in late editing stages and will be out from Wordfire, hopefully this year.

Most recent story:

“Maybe the Monarchs” came out in B-cubed press’s “After the Orange.”  I’m rather proud of this one – I’ve read it out loud a few times (at Orycon, Norwescon, and AWP), and gotten really positive comments.  It’s a little sad.  It’s a climate change story that could be a precursor to the world of Wilders and Keepers.

Thanks for dropping by…..

 

 

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