A two-part motto…
Readers of this blog know that at the end of an article I usually sign off by writing, “Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!” Although it might be obvious, let me parse this motto’s meaning, which has two parts.
The first might be considered a genre statement, but it’s more a statement about my stories’ settings. (I’m no fan of genres or anyone who tries to categorize my fiction besides me.) Those settings can cover anywhere on planet Earth or go far beyond Earth into the cosmos. What that first part does not contain is the time element, which can go from prehistory (e.g., A. B. Carolan’s Origins) to more or less contemporary times (e.g., The Midas Bomb) or to the far future (e.g., Rogue Planet) or a lot of different times in parallel universes (e.g. A Time Traveler’s Guide through the Multiverse). That’s a flaw in my motto, of course, but I didn’t want to make it any longer!
The second part expresses a lot more in fewer Latin words than the first part (the English non-literal translation is a bit longer: “In books, there’s liberty”), and it’s more profound. Books are the traditional and best way to support the fight for liberty vs. autocracy, good over evil, and tolerance over bigotry and hatred. It’s also a statement against book banning, so important nowadays with haters, bigots, racists, and other fascist personalities trying to dictate what people can and cannot read. That such censorship is now ubiquitous and increasing in the US is troubling, to say the least, and I will never condone it. Whatever a book’s themes or topics, a reader is free to choose not to read it, and anything beyond these personal choices should not be a subject of discussion.
So, most everything I write, novels, short fiction, and even these blog articles, can be summarized by my motto. I know most authors don’t have one, but I’m not like most authors! Readers of my many books already know that. I hope the word about my books (and my motto!) gets out so that new readers will join me in this grand adventure we call reading.
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A Time-Traveler’s Guide through the Multiverse. From the hard sci-fi perspective, this is time travel done right, using the “Many Worlds Theory of Quantum Mechanics” to avoid paradoxes. It’s also a rom-com because physicist Gail and her newly hired tech Jeff create a time machine that can only go into the future but also become lovers. But “the future” of one universe in the multiverse can seem like the past in another! The two hop from universe to universe living one romantic adventure after another, exploring some of the various possibilities of human existence…and non-human existence as well, each adventure a different commentary about our Earth and our own Universe. Available wherever quality ebooks are sold.
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
