Hello friends! I hope you are enjoying your holidays. By now most of you have read or are reading Psion Alpha. I hope you enjoyed it. I expect that the few of you who are waiting for it on the Nook website should find it there relatively soon. I apologize for those who weren't able to get it right away on the 11th. Publication on a few venues had some snags. The only thing I hate about self-publishing is the loopholes to jump through to get the book available in all venues.

Anyway, Christmas morning, after all the hubbub was over and my kids were happily fighting over who was touching their toys without permission, I snuck upstairs to check on sales and reviews for Alpha. I found an interesting review, which you can read part of here:
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Let me start with... I love this series!!! Unfortunately book #4 read too much like an indoctrination to Gowans' religion. The first couple of mentions were great as they added depth to the characters but after a bit it became tedious. I actually skipped those parts and did not lose or miss any of the "vital" parts of the story. Vital is entirely a matter of opinion of course.

I feel the author let the story down with the massive quantities of religious dogma, including multiple full page prayers, continuous insertions of scripture.

I did however enjoy the detailed Walter Byron backstory. However the way that it fed into and resolved the main storyline was trite and obvious. After the first three books I expected more.
The twist at the end was pretty good.

Overall the series is shaping up like a George W Bush horror story. It places God on one side and cloning and other genetic sciences on the other. This is not always clear unless you notice that one side never mentions God or the bible while the other side provides a continuous barrage.

Based upon this book and the very obvious religious Good Vs Evil leanings, including the "white light" near death towards the end, I will probably stay away from the series conclusion.

I like my science fiction, filled with science. The religious hokum can stay in fantasy where it belongs.
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Well, although I rarely respond to reviews, I felt compelled to respond to this one. The response is long, so I won't post it here, but you're welcome to read it at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/review/RW0A1E6M6EY/ref=cm_cr_pr_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00H8M2TR0&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=#wasThisHelpful

While I truly do understand people shying away from preaching in fiction, I don't get why certain people absolutely can't tolerate the presence or discussion of life after death or the existence of God in fiction. I have intentionally avoided being preachy. I think I've succeeded at it, too.

Most people won't be shocked to know that I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or "Mormon Church." However, I don't feel that my books are the venue to push my beliefs. I think if I were to try, I'd lose readers, probably even many who ARE Mormons themselves. People simply don't like being preached to when they're not in a setting specifically for preaching. I know I don't.

Have I ever pulled from my experiences and put them in fiction? Sure, there's a scene where Sammy and Al dress up as Mormon missionaries in Psion Delta. I thought it was funny and so I wrote the scene. Still, I did not hear a single complaint about that. So I guess my question is: why are some people shocked or offended about generic religious exploration from a main character in a fiction series?

Surely people saw this coming. I've been building up to it for 3 books. I can't imagine ANYONE being involved in a struggle such as what Sammy and his friends are going through, and not questioning the nature of God and man. War and violence has profound effects on the people involved, civilians and soldiers alike. Life changing events in general have that effect: Death, birth, marriage, etc. Major changes in life cause people to reflect and meditate on what they believe. Why should I not explore this for Sammy?

First of all, I want to wish a happy birthday to my old man: Floyd Gowans! Happy 59th Birthday, Dad!

Second, the wait is nearly over. About 24 hours remain before the book will be available for purchase. I will post the book on all sites around midnight Pacific time, and it will take a few hours to show up after that, most likely in the late morning or early afternoon. It seems like last time it was showing up in the late morning on all the sites. As soon as they are available, I will post them on my blog and on my Facebook Author Page and the Psion Beta Fan Club Facebook page. So be patient and tomorrow you will have your ebook. The paperback should show up on Amazon's website sometime tomorrow as well. Now, without further adieu, the final character profile. Toad:

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       Rulé Prado couldn’t wait to be born. He arrived five weeks early and was a handful from the start. Rulé had colic for the first ten months of life, a condition not uncommon among Anomaly Fifteens. The incessant screaming and crying nearly drove his parents apart. Nothing they did could stop the noise that filled the house for hours a day. Because of his extreme condition, Rulé’s vocal cords were damaged, giving him a hoarse voice throughout most of his childhood. His grandfather said he sounded like a toad, and started to call him “Sapo.”

       The curse of Toad’s Anomaly Fifteen wasn’t limited to baby colic. In kindergarten, Toad wreaked havoc on the classroom. He couldn’t sit still, he didn’t want to pay attention, and being obedient seemed unimportant to him. During his first three years of school, he gave a girl an shockingly short haircut, carved his initials on every desk in the room, and started three girl-hater clubs. His parents breathed sighs of relief when their next two children were girls. They named the older girl Serenity and the younger girl Tranquility.

       Through experience, Toad’s parents learned that exercise and athletics was the only way to curb Toad’s wildness. They enrolled him in football, baseball, and basketball to keep him involved year-round. Toad excelled in football as a striker and forward. He played excellent defense in basketball and led his baseball league in stolen bases and in-the-park home runs. Despite his smaller frame, coaches continually told his parents how impressed they were with his natural athletic ability and encouraged them to put him in is as many different sports as they could find. This led to his parents’ decision to get him involved in archery and racing at summer camp.

Toad went to the camp every year with his friend, Braden. They competed in everything, and took great pleasure in finding more ways to compete, even with silly things like brushing teeth the fastest or falling asleep first. Their friendship had one flaw, however, Braden lost far more than he won. Sometimes it drove him batty. Camp was no different. Toad won archery even though he’d never picked up a bow prior to camp. He won the obstacle course, crushing the course’s best time. And on it went. Braden decided to play a joke on Toad by calling the number on all the government safety signs about seeing something suspicious. He figured people would show up, interview Toad and the camp counselors, find out it was all a prank, and then leave. Afterward, Braden would tell Toad that it had been he, Braden, who had called. Then they’d have a great laugh about it.

       Unfortunately, after Braden called the number, he never saw Toad again.

I've really enjoyed doing these character profiles. Not only have they helped flesh out a few characters I've always wanted to talk more about, but they've helped expand the world a little. Today's is about a character who's always been in the background and now you get to know a little more about her:

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       At her own fifth birthday party, Asaki Yoshiharu collapsed on the side of a swimming pool at her home in Hiroshima, Japan. An ambulance rushed her to the hospital where she was put through a series of tests. The results were not good. Asaki was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called ependymoma, infecting the tissue in the 4th ventricle of her brain. Unfortunately the cancer had spread to her spine and, from there, her internal organs. Doctors gave her a 33% chance of surviving the treatment to remove the cancer.

       Asaki’s parents were wealthy enough to afford the best oncologists available. She recovered remarkably well. After the surgery, doctors informed her parents that they had found anomalous tissues around Asaki’s spinal cord. According to the law, they were required to contact a man named Xiao Wu with a summary of their findings. Less than a week later, Commander Byron visited the Yoshiharu family at the hospital.

       Asaki waited over eight years before attending Psion Beta headquarters, the longest waiting time of any Psion with no relations to a previously discovered Alpha or Beta. She entered Psion Beta at age 14. Asaki never felt as athletically gifted or talented as many of the other Betas. She struggled in the sims and in the Arena. She was more interested in the social aspects of life at headquarters. Through her work with Commander Byron, Asaki started to explore alternate career paths post-graduation. She developed an interest in public relations and the recruiting process. Byron encouraged her to explore these options and discuss them with her parents. In the summer of 2086, Asaki became very ill and was taken to NWGMC where tests showed her cancer had returned. On the day the CAG attacked Capitol Island, Asaki was at NWGMC for more testing.

3 is a magical number. Fortunately, it's also the number of days remaining before Psion Alpha is released! Today's profile is of Anna Lukic, a character named after a girl I worked with at the Case Western University Health Science Library. I love Anna's character. She's tough as nails.
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       Raised by two mothers on a ranch in rural Oklahoma, Anna was one of the last American recruits to join Psion Beta before the Schism in 2063. Her older brother, Adam, joined Psion Beta three years before her. Anna was known throughout Beta as “the crazy b****” because she didn’t want friends, didn’t want help, and refused to lose at anything. Fueled by a fiery competitive spirit, she aspired to be top in all rankings, and nearly achieved her goal. (In Anna’s time at Beta, Byron ranked students in twelve categories. Anna was #1 in ten of them, and in the top 3 in the other two.) More than once, she made teammates (males and females) cry if she lost as honcho.

       By the time she graduated to Psion Alpha, Anna’s fierce reputation had spread among the squadron honchos. No one wanted her on their team. Fortunately, Commanders Byron and Havelbert spoke with Nikita Gonzales, honcho of Oscar Squadron. Nikita took Anna under her wing and taught her what it meant to be an effective leader. Under Nikita’s guidance, Anna blossomed into a capable soldier and lieutenant. This led to her appointment as one of the youngest squadron leaders in Alpha. At age thirty-two, she was given the helm of Charlie Squadron.

       Prior to his joining Charlie Squadron, Anna was romantically involved with Justice Juraschek, a member of Tensai Alpha. On her request, they kept the relationship discreet. When Justice was assigned to her team, Anna immediately ended the relationship. Justice, however, has relentlessly pursued her despite her rebuffs. Despite knowing that a disclosure of their relationship would result in his removal from her team, Anna has refused to do so because she values Justice’s contributions to Charlie Squadron.

Sometimes, with this countdown, I feel like I'm Grover in The Monster at the End of the Book. I'm so stoked for the release of Alpha. It's a fun, intense, and mysterious book. Today's profile is dedicated to the honor of Nelson Mandela, a great man who recently passed away.

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       William Marnyo was born in Kutomwony, Kenya in 2020. William’s father died of an AIDS-related illness six months before William’s birth. Marnyo’s mother participated in a test program to eradicate neonatal HIV, which successfully cured Marnyo of the disease, but was unable to do anything for her. She did before William turned 2. Each year, an orphanage in Mombasa accepted three children from William’s area into its custody. William was interviewed by the nuns running the orphanage. He impressed them enough to give him a spot.

       At the age of 4, he began school. While William excelled at reading, writing, and the arts, he struggled with math and science. One teacher enjoyed making William stand on his desk wearing a jester’s hat while reciting his multiplication tables. His nickname through age 14 was “Mwigizaji Marnyo” among his peers. Mwigizaji is the Swahili word for “clown.” The day he began grade nine, one of William’s teachers sat him down and asked him why someone so bright received such poor scores. William didn’t know how to answer her. No one had ever called him “bright.” But she changed his life.

       William steadily improved his academic performance and graduated number five in his senior class. He applied to college at the University of Southern California and graduated number five again, running track and cross country all four years, wearing the number 5 in each race. After USC, William went to law school in Tokyo and went on to work for a prestigious firm in Athens. At his ten year reunion, William ran into his old teacher from grade nine—the one who had called him “bright.” He thanked her for turning his life around and told her about all the things he’d accomplished because of her influence. The teacher smiled and nodded and then interrupted him to ask what William was doing to help others. It shamed him that he had no good answer.

       When he returned home to Athens, William quit his job at the firm and returned him to Kenya to run for mayor of the city of Mombasa. After four years as mayor, he ran in the territorial gubernatorial race and won. Eight years later, he ran for the territory’s open senate seat, defeating a three term incumbent. At every level of office, William fought for fair health care reform, increased educational standards, and government accountability. At age 54, William Marnyo was asked to serve as running mate to Hitachi Mashimoto in his bid for NWG President. Marnyo accepted, served two terms as NWG Vice President, and then ran for the office in 2079. He won in a landslide and took office in 2080.

Count them on your hand. The time draws near. Today's profile is on Cala Alanazi. She was originally named Lu Chen. However, after several drafts it occurred to me that I already had a Li Cheng Zheng, and I had no characters from Islamic culture. Wanting to represent that culture, I changed Lu to Cala. Enjoy.

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       Born in Tehran, capitol of the Territory of the Islamic States, Cala was raised a strict Ahmadiyya Muslim. Her parents moved from Tehran to Riyadh when she was 6. Her father was the CEO of a large company specializing in exotic footwear. Her mother worked at home. Cala and her three much younger siblings attended private schools.

       Cala, while not athletically gifted, enjoyed sports, particularly badminton and bowling. Unlike most Psions who discover their powers in dramatic fashion, Cala’s moment occurred when she was practicing badminton alone in the gym of her community center. As a machine shot badminton shuttlecocks to her, she tripped and her racket flew from her hand. Cala immediately knew something strange and important had happened. With a few minutes of practice, she was able to duplicate the effort at will, shooting her racket across the room like a bullet. When she got home, she showed her parents.

       They freaked.

       Cala spent the next twenty-nine hours in a hospital undergoing tests until Commander Byron and Dr. Rosmir introduced themselves and offered Cala a spot at Psion Beta headquarters. Her parents, deeply set against violence in all forms, strongly discouraged her from joining. Cala wasn’t sure she wanted to go either. Despite all Byron’s efforts, he could not persuade her to join. Finally, he gave her a month to make her decision and left Riyadh. A month went by and Cala did not contact the commander. She considered the matter over. Then, to her surprise, Commander Byron arrived at her house on the first day of the next month. He entered her home without speaking, opened his hand, and used his Psion abilities to levitate a large green pill. Cala knew what the pill was and what it meant. She took the pill, held it for several seconds, and handed it back.

Less than a week remains until Alpha. We've already covered Sammy's mother, Sarah Pretorius. Now it's time to learn a bit more about Sammy's dad, Sammy Sr.

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       On October 3, 2050 Marvin Berhane introduced his young son, Samuel, to the game of chess. Marvin held no special regard for the game, but Samuel took to it instantly. The next day, Samuel spent three hours online watching videos and lectures on chess strategy. His father found it amusing and paid it no mind. But when the behavior continued day after day, Marvin took notice. He enrolled Samuel in a local chess club and encouraged him to pursue his passion to its fullest extent. Samuel’s after-school hobby quickly transformed into chess matches against older opponents. His first breakthrough came in 2060, at age 15, when he won the territorial championship in the youth category. The victory did not satisfy him. He only competed against six kids from the entire territory. The next year, at age sixteen, he entered the adult competition and finished fourth. He finished third the next year. In his third year of competition at the territorial adult level, Samuel finally won, defeating the same person who’d knocked him out in the semifinals the two previous years. Pressure mounted on Samuel to enter the World Junior or World Senior Championships and pursue the rank of Grandmaster, but he declined, choosing instead to focus on college applications.

       Samuel enrolled at University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and started at the age of 17. He listed his major as History with an emphasis in 21st Century Events, but found it so easy that he added Political Science as a second major. On a whim, Samuel decided to audition for a new play called All is Fair. Very few men showed up for the audition, leading to Samuel’s selection as the male lead opposite a woman he’d never met, Sarah Pretorius. Samuel was attracted to her the moment he saw her audition and was thrilled to see her get the part opposite him, especially knowing that the script called for three kissing scenes. The day they married was the second happiest day of his life. The first was the day Samuel Jr. was born.

       After graduation from Wits and then law school, Samuel took a job in the office of the Director of Public Prosecution in Johannesburg. His superiors quickly identified him as a rising star with his near-perfect success rate at prosecuting criminals. By age 30, he was offered the job as director of the office when the former director was caught having an affair with his administrative assistant. Unfortunately, Samuel’s success made him enemies with both criminals and lawyers.

A week remains between you and reading Psion Alpha. Today's profile is Martin Trector, the first character I killed in the series. Trector, as you recall, gave his life on the Rio mission. I hope you enjoy today's read.
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       Martin Trector was the youngest of eleven children. His strictly religious mother and father were 46 and 54, respectively, when he was born. His next oldest sibling was over seven years his elder. Martin was a stellar student in his first six years of public school. But in the first month of his seventh year, his 19-year-old brother died in a plane crash en route to a remote area of Central America. After the tragedy, Martin’s grades took a turn for the worse. At thirteen, his life was consumed by drugs and parties. During a particularly wild rave, Martin, high on a cocktail of drugs, jumped from a hotel balcony ten stories up and survived with a shattered arm, seven busted ribs, and a severe concussion.

       Commander Byron arrived at the hospital two days later with Dr. Rosmir to perform tests on Martin. Tests showed that of all the Trectors, only Martin had Anomaly Fourteen. It was a rare occurrence for it to be found in just one member of such a large family. His parents refused to believe Byron when he told them about the Psion abilities. To them, Martin’s survival was an act of God, a second chance at life. Even after multiple demonstrations of Anomaly Fourteen, the Trectors refused to believe that what they saw was real. Fortunately, Martin was able to demonstrate a blast with his good arm despite having no training or practice.

       Ultimately, Martin convinced his parents to let him go to Capitol Island. He confessed to them his drug use, the partying, and how he felt like they were too old to be bothered with raising him. He promised his parents that if they let him train, he’d clean up his act and make the necessary changes in his life. Byron refused to let Martin attend Psion Beta headquarters until he went 6 months without using any illegal substances. 6 months later, Martin joined the next class of recruits and began training.

       Three months after Martin’s death in Rio de Janeiro in November of 2085, his older sister gave birth to identical twin boys. She named them Martin and Marty. Dr. Rosmir, on Byron’s request, flew to Australia to test the babies. Martin’s sister gave her permission against her husband’s wishes. Both infants tested positive for Anomaly Fourteen.

A little more than a week remains. I hope you enjoy this character profile. A bit of love and tragedy:
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       Sarah Pretorius was struggling through her Economics major at Wits University when her best friend and roommate, Martha, recommended she do something different to inject a little excitement into her life. The next day, Sarah noticed a flier asking for auditions for a student-written play called All is Fair. Sarah auditioned for the lead role and got the part after two sessions of callbacks. Her opposite: a tall, black History-Political Science dual major named Samuel. He was a complete nerd, and when Sarah realized she had to kiss him, she almost turned down the role. The director talked her into staying, which culminated in a show which received poor to mediocre reviews, a two-year courtship, and, finally, marriage.

       Sarah had never had much ambition in the career world. However, she worked in finance until Samuel finished law school, then quit the day he graduated. Six months later, she was pregnant with their first child. Unfortunately, the pregnancy lasted eight weeks before resulting in a miscarriage. After her third failed pregnancy, Sarah and Samuel visited a fertility specialist, who told them there was absolutely nothing wrong with either of them. Sure enough, he was right. Eleven months later Sarah and Samuel welcomed Sammy Berhane Jr. into the world.

       Having Sammy only encouraged Sarah to try for more children. Her wish would never come true. After Sammy’s birth, Sarah experienced five more miscarriages, the final one being when Sammy was ten. The failed attempts brought on a depression so profound that Sarah thought she’d never shake it. She tried therapy, medication, holistic remedies, and anything else she could find in books and articles. The results varied, but nothing she did brought back her true sense of self. She felt cold and passionless toward her husband; and, whether real or imaginary, she sensed an emotional barrier between herself and Sammy Jr.

       Things changed when, at the mall, she bumped into her old friend and roommate, Martha. During lunch, Sarah opened up to her friend about her troubles. Martha pushed her solution across the table in the form of a medicine bottle. The way Martha explained it, the pills were special anti-depressants that could only be purchased from CAG pharmaceutical companies, and were almost impossible to obtain except from black market sellers. In order to protect the sellers’ anonymity, Martha suggested that Sarah purchase the pills from her if they worked. Sarah thought of her son, Sammy, and how difficult she found it to connect with him lately. She thought of her husband, and how distant he said she sometimes seemed. Desperate to pull out of her months-long funk, Sarah accepted the pills, not knowing they were actually powerfully addictive amphetamines.

 Celebrate with me the single digits! Only 9 days left before the next book is released. Today we learn about a character who will appear in Psion Alpha in a minor but important role. Don't worry, there are NO SPOILERS.
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      Born in Lucknow, Territory of India, Harsh grew up a rabid fan of cricket. Part of this was due to the fact that he was born August 27, 2058, exactly 150 years after the birth of Don Bradman, considered by many to be the greatest cricket player of all time. However, by 2058, cricket was a dying sport except in India.

       During a cricket match at age 10, Harsh suffered a traumatic injury to his left leg when a ball struck him above the knee. An intoxicated doctor’s misdiagnosis and a large blood clot compounded the problem, ultimately resulting in amputation at the mid-thigh. The experience had such a profound impact on Harsh that he transformed his cricket obsession into an interest in medical law.

       At age 16 he chose to forego his last year of secondary school to enroll in Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. He graduated with honors in three years, and finished law school at Oxford before age 23. Two years later, he was selected to handle a high profile case involving the brother of the Governor of the Territory of India. Kansagra’s brilliant work led to a great surprise. Four years after graduation, at age 27, he was selected by the Governor of the Territory of India to be the junior Senator in the New World Congress, replacing the former senator who died in office. Senator Kansagra is known for his willingness to compromise to accomplish goals, his impeccable moral character, and for once removing his false leg and brandishing it on the Senate floor to make his point during a debate on a major reform bill.