Issue 031, Archived
Hello,
Welcome
to The Newb Files, issue 031, Archived.
News
Merry
summer!
Currently,
I’m working on my summer to-do list more
than I am writing. The list is much
shorter than last summer, but it is
infinitely more annoying.
Scream
and Leapt, "Space and
War", and EXTINCTION
SPECIES
While
almost all of my projects are on
“pause,” I am working on Scream and
Leapt, expanding it to novel
length.
I
am also working on my cookbook, “The
Bailey / Kelly Recipes.”
SEEKING A
CRITIQUE PARTNER
I
have been writing for six years and do
not have reliable, unrelated
beta readers. I have also not had the
beta readers I’ve had develop further
into a critique partner.
This
is what I am, what I have to offer, and
so, what I am looking for.
PROS:
- Brutal honesty
and ruthless self-editing skills.
- Ability to
follow instructions. (A full edit
from someone when you are looking
for an overview is a big fat “NO.”)
- Ability to look
beyond oneself and NOT impose how
you would write something onto
everything you read.
- Genre flexible.
(I was, I thought, focused on
Science Fiction and Fantasy. But
Action, Thriller, Horror, and a
little Romantasy have snuck into my
writing and/or reading in the last
few years.)
- Good time
management. (If you're not sure you
can read a given piece, don't offer.
We are mostly Canadian here, but
it's okay to say "No.")
- I have nothing
new to share with anyone at the
moment, but I would be happy to
critique something of yours first.
(We could try samples of my older
works to see how we fit, if you
wish.)
- Fucking
swearing is okay.
- I am an
atheist. (You need to be okay with
that; otherwise, not my concern.)
- No graphic sex.
... not into reading it. (It won't
bother me, but I'm probably not the
best judge of it either.)
- I was a
draftsman for most of my life.
Uppercase is standard practice;
uppercase is for emphasis. It's NOT
yelling.
- Two spaces at
the end of a sentence was in
response to a mechanical problem in
typewriters. One space is now
standard. (Get over it.)
- Please ignore
the fact that in number ten above, I
am insisting on using something that
perhaps is out of date. ... while
insisting that no one should use
number eleven above because it is
out of date.
Below
is a list of what I hope you can bring.
... to offset (or at least minimize) my
CONS.
CONS:
- My weakness is
grammar and punctuation.
- Even after six
years, I am still a Newb to a
degree. ...
Contact
me by the usual methods, including
email: eric@ericcbaileyauthor.com
Other News
Adult Rating
I
have added a long overdue notice on my
author website that it and my writing
are Rated
18+ Adult.
The Newb Files
Archive
A
reminder that my newsletters are
archived online.
The Newb Files Archive
Destiny's
Road
by
Larry Niven
WARNING
SPOILERS!
I
recently reread this after
many years. I had forgotten
many of the details. Great
book, and unique in several
ways. Few books follow a cook
as an MC, but I'm getting
ahead of myself. It was
amazing to be immersed (again)
in a new world, something
Larry Niven excels at.
It takes place in the
same universe as The
Legacy of Heorot. On
the planet Destiny, but there
is not much crossover.
Destiny's Road
follows a young boy, Jemmy
Bloocher, who is involved in a
life-changing incident at home
(Spiral Town) and escapes to
travel the “world”— an
isthmus of a continent on the
alien planet.
This book is also of
note in that it was the first
Larry Niven's book I read
(1997), where he repeated
himself. In this case they
limited the problems by only
settling an isthmus.
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(cont.)
In The Legacy of
Heorot, they did the
same thing by settling on an
island.
On Destiny, their
“world” is a road made by one
of the spaceships that brought
humans to the planet.
As the ship traveled
the length of the isthmus,
they blasted the rock into a
fused lava road, including the
spiral road in Spiral Town.
“Hydraulic empire” is
the second idea that he used
before. It is the basis of the
fundamental problem in the
society he is writing about in
Destiny's Road. The
first Larry Niven book I read,
A WORLD OUT OF TIME,
used this premise; in that
case, the resource was water.
Controlling a
resource also controls the
people who rely on it; that is
a hydraulic empire.
With the planet
Destiney, it is a trace
element required for human
survival. The settlers of the
planet create systems of
transportation, trade, food,
and breeding. The gene pool is
too small, which is a problem.
Built into the transportation
and trade routes is easy
access to sex that will mix
the genes as much as possible.
Over two hundred
years later, the bottom levels
of society still don't realize
that this inherently unfair
system is not required. Of
course, everyone at the top
still thinks it's great.
Jemmy spends his life
on the run, working as a cook,
exploring why they built the
road where it is, and the
interactions of the planet's
flora and fauna. Including
humans.
Leading to a
brilliant solution to blow up
the status quo.
HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED
WARNING
SPOILERS!
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Question
for Subscribers
Destiny's
Road is unique in that food and
cooking are key plot elements. It of
course does not include recipes because
it is an “alien” planet that humans have
colonized.
I
know of one other fiction book, a murder
mystery that included recipes. The
writing let it down, so it was a DNF for
me.
Does
anyone know of other fiction books
that have a cook as the main
character? Or that includes
recipes?
F.A.Q.
Future
newsletters may have Frequently Asked
Questions. Send your question(s) to Eric.
That's
all for now!
Thanks,
Eric
C Bailey, August 14, 2025
website: ericcbaileyauthor.com
email: eric@ericcbaileyauthor.com
The Newb Files Archive
(Rated 18+
Adult)
Copyright
© 2020-2025 Eric C Bailey (All rights
reserved)
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