Free e-books! Good ones!

Gwen Gades, publisher of Dragon Moon Press, has released electronic copies of several novels, including The Longevity Thesis, for free. That's right, nada.

If you'd like a free copy of The Longevity Thesis, skip on over to Gwen's blog:

http://dragonmoonpress.blogspot.com/

The hard copy version of the novel is due to ship out from the printers on Sept 25th.

Thanks and happy reading!



*The photo is taken from an article about Gwen, originally printed by The University of Calgary Alumni Association.

An Interview with Horror Novelist Mike Bennett

I was trying to write late one afternoon, and it was like walking through wet concrete, right before it hardened. Finally admitting defeat, at least for now, I pushed my keyboard back on my desk and stood up, thinking that perhaps a slice of cake and some coffee might help. Or maybe a few new CDs in the drive might get me going. As I walked into the kitchen, the loose end of a small gold chain dangling off the counter top caught my eye. The clasp at the end of it had been wrenched open, and my muse was gone.

"@#$*!" I muttered, and went to rummage through the usual places, looking in the pantry, the compost and finally in the fireplace. It was nowhere to be seen.

"Great. I've got a deadline, Sid, and now's the time when you decide to take off." I took a broom and began poking under the furniture, trying to find out where it had gone. I knew it had been pouting lately, so I'd bought some Miracle-Gro, thinking that might perk it up. Perhaps I'd given it too much, and now it had thoughts of independence! My worries deepened when I finally found its pot discarded by the back door, with the soil and pebbles strewn over the tiles and rooty little footprints leading to the outside.

"Oh, boy." This had never happened before. Did Sid just up and decide that now it wanted to be a tree in some forest? I had promised I'd get another plant soon, really I was going to. Could it not just wait until I had some time?

I pulled on my shoes and ran out after it. "Sid!" I called. "Come back here right now!"

It hadn't left a very definite trail, but I did catch sight of flattened grass and the odd exotic leaf that didn't belong with the rest of the foliage outside. I didn't really know where the trail was leading, but I figured that a tiny little plant running on roots couldn't have gotten far.

Or perhaps it could have.

"I don't believe this," I said, as I approached an old-fashioned stone well, which I was absolutely sure hadn't been there before. On the cross beam of the well a strange symbol had been etched:

"Just when I was not in the mood for creepiness," I complained, but there was no help for it, so I took a deep breath, and swung my legs over the edge of the well.

I will never understand bungee jumpers. Freefall is the most unpleasant sensation in the world. Never mind the world, in the entire history of creation. Since the start of the universe. Or even before that, but I digress.

Landing is equally unpleasant, especially after falling through the dark and into a mucky bog, which you were hoping would be there to break your fall, but then hoping it wouldn't be there to soak into your clothes along with an ungodly smell. I was not at all surprised that there was a bank for me to crawl out onto, having jumped down what I was fairly certain had been a magical well. As I stood there, shaking off the mud and in a very bad mood, I gradually became aware that someone was walking towards me through the surrounding trees. He was a well groomed man, wearing a strange black suit with white piping around the tailored collar, and a circular white badge with the number 6 on it.

"Hello," he said in an English accent. "Welcome to the Land of Inspiration." He pulled out some sort of ray gun, and before I could protest, shot me with it. I suddenly felt much more comfortable, and realized all he had done was zap away the muck. "Not bad," he said, looking me over. "Hasn't been working that well for a while, but seems to be all right now." He turned around and started walking back the way he had come.

"Excuse me," I called after him. "Who are you?" He slowed down a bit so that I could fall into step with him, then held out his hand.

"Mike Bennett. University of Brighton, BA. Hons. Media and Information Studies. Currently, I teach English." I shook his hand, somewhat dumbfounded.

"It's nice to meet you."

"And you," he replied.

"May I ask what this place is, and what you're doing here?"

"It's a place where artistic types come to think and get unstuck. Much the same as you, I'd imagine." He winked and flicked his collar. "We engage in a bit of cosplay, get the creative wit flowing. You don't recognize the outfit, do you?"

I shook my head.

"It's the official garb of Number 6, the character played by Patrick McGoohan in The Prisoner. If you've got time, I'd recommend you have a look. When they make the movie of my life, it's McGoohan I'd want playing me."

"I see. You're an actor then?"

"Me? No, no. When I was very young, I wanted to be a stunt man in the movies. When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a rock star or a writer. I used to sing in a band, no spandex for me, mind you, but the writerly ambition's the one that won out. I'd still like to be on stage though. Perhaps someday, but then I'd also like to be able to fly. We can't have everything."

"That's very interesting. Any books out?"

"One Among the Sleepless was my first. It's also a podcast novel. Ever been disturbed by noisy neighbours? Wondered which one of them it was and what you'd do when you found out? It's like that, along with a few mysterious disappearances.

"Then there's Hall of Mirrors. It's a collection of stories that draws on a variety of genres, from horror and the grotesque to contemporary fiction. I wrote 90% of the stories about nine or ten years ago when I was doing a lot of temp work: hotel portering, garbage man, grounds maintenance and grave digging etc. It was while working in these jobs that I started to see the stories that weren’t being told by anyone else, and I thought, ‘Ah-ha, now there’s a horrible situation.’"

"They sound like they might be funny."

"I suppose. However, I'd say they're more inspired by the macabre. Humour just sort of happens, rising naturally out of the situations. Often the more desperate or unpleasant the situation, the better the chances are for finding something to laugh at."

"Why did you have to come here? Are you not writing now?"
"Nothing right now. I may write a few more stories for Hall of Mirrors. Then I’ll think about starting my second novel. I kind of got out of the writing habit about seven years ago and I’m finding it hard organising my life in such a way as I can start up again."

"I suppose that's why Sid came. I must have been putting too much pressure on it. Expecting more than it could give."

"Was that the little green runt I saw running by? Your muse, was it?"

"Did you see it? Where did it go?"

"Probably where they all go. To see him. Come on, then. Let's go find your plant."

"This is starting to sound creepy. Are you sure it's safe?" Mike laughed.

"The only thing I'm afraid of is bureaucracy. And well, if I get knocked off, I'll be happy so long as they remember to play the theme from The Black Hole by John Barry at my funeral. Can't be worse than doing hospital laundry. I hated that job."

"Well, let's not get ahead of things. I just want to collect Sid and leave. None of this dying stuff. And who is this him person?"

We had left the murky forest we had been walking through, and were now traversing a dark street, where the odd wraith passed us by, and if there were strangers that shared it with us, they stayed in the shadows, not giving me a clear view of whether or not their feet touched the ground. With a grin and a flourish, Mike pulled a card of some sort out of thin air and showed it to me. It bore the same symbol as the cross beam of the well.

"He's a strange one, he is. Aliester Crowley, founder of the Argenteum Astrum. Member of the Golden Dawn, Freemasons and the Ordo Templi Orientis. For a time in Britain, he was known as The Wickedest Man in the World. If you're going to write anything in the horror genre, Jen, you might want to sit in on one of his talks. He was *the* philosopher and mystic of his time."

"What do you mean, 'his time'?"

"Oh, well, he's dead now, isn't he?"

"Hmm, well, I sort of write dark fantasy, but it's not really horror. This guy sounds rather beyond me. I'm not so sure I want to meet him."

"I wouldn't mind being related to him. All of my real relatives are all very normal."

"Mine aren't, but the ones I associate with are all still very much alive."

"Ah yes, the joy of being alive. But that's what we write for isn't it? We describe the dark to enhance the contrast of all that's best in life. Like my wife, the people who contact me and tell me that what I do entertains them. These demons we meet here will never leave the page, so not to worry. I think some of my favourite authors must have sojourned here. Philip K. Dick, Richard Brautigan, P.G. Wodehouse, Ian Fleming, Sarah Waters. Even if we don’t all write horror, we still need to struggle against the elements of the dark, or there is no story."

"Ah-huh." We had approached an imposing temple made of tarnished metal that rose up against a restless sky, silhouetted against black clouds swarming through a red night. The strange symbol again appeared at the apex of the roof, and inscribe across the entry way were the words: "All Ye Who Enter Here Shall Follow The Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema."

"Sid!" I saw my little muse sitting on an overturned milk carton, munching on a leafful of nitrogen pellets. I ran over to it, scooped it up and tucked it into my sweater.

"Well, Mike. Thank you for helping me find my plant. I'll leave you to your visit with Mr. Crowley. Um, I just go back the way we came, right?"

"Yes, of course. Just make sure you watch out for the Chess Men. They tend to climb out of the ground and walk around at this time of night."

"Right. Thanks! Bye!"

I turned around and ran.

You can visit Mike Bennett at http://oneamongthesleepless.com/ or http://oneamongthesleepless.com/hallofmirrors.htm and http://myspace.com/themikebennett.

Get home safely!

===================================================================

Post Script: I've just emerged from the Hall of Mirrors podcast. Despite what Mike says, he is an actor, and quite a mesmerising one. It's really crrrrreeepy. And not for children. Just in time for Hallowe'en.

===================================================================

Post Post Script: Sid (on the right) finally got a new friend. I've decided to call it Bennett.

The Elegant Universe

I've never been very mathematically minded, except for biostats, so I've always been the one who sits and listens in awe while the engineers on Star Trek gush technobabble about the warp engines, while scoffing at their medical jargon. (The visual cortex is at the *BACK* of the head, Dr. Crusher!)

Anyway, a while back I thought to rectify this, so I went to Google and typed in "string theory for dummies", since I accurately predicted that would be the appropriate level for me. I found a wonderful website that explains many things at close to my level, in video format that can be watched on-line. The series is called "The Elegant Universe". I understood about 80% of it, even though it was massively dumbed down, but enjoyed every minute. Finally, I had an inkling of what those Trek engineers were talking about.

The series is narrated by Brian Greene, who is himself a string theorist and professor at Columbia University. He's also a very good story teller. The contents of The Elegant Universe are also available in much more detailed book form, and have a companion volume called The Fabric of the Cosmos. I was so enthusiastic that I ran out and bought both of them, but silly me should have realised it would take me years to get through the material. I'm still trying.

So if you've ever wondered about string theory and particle physics, and despaired that you didn't ever have a hope of understanding, check out the Nova website and enjoy.

===================================================================

P.S. If anyone is physics savvy, maybe you can explain the following to me: Dr. Greene states that we cannot travel faster than the speed of light because as particles accelerate, they increase in mass. As they approach light speed, they get so heavy they can't be moved forward. Well photons are described as particles, so why isn't light heavy? And does this only apply when there is a gravitational field to create the experience of weight? Anyone know? See, I still don't get it.

Reviews for The Longevity Thesis - Reactions so Far . . .

"This beautifully written, action-packed story is full of mystery, suspense and pathos. Jennifer Rahn weaves an intricate tale about a young boy who is an outsider. He loses his mother at an early age and this profound loss shapes his entire destiny, by leading him into the field of medicine where he becomes fascinated with prolonging life.

Our protagonist faces much adversity and many obstacles in his quest for answers to the search for immortality and longevity. A classic tale of good versus evil that keeps us on the edge of our seat, rooting for Antronos to succeed."

Sigrid Macdonald
Author of D'Amour Road

"Who knew that the hallowed halls of academia were actually dark tunnels rife with intrigue, racism, murder and magic? The Longevity Thesis is Approved and Dr. Rahn graduates summa cum laude as the new face on the speculative fiction's Dean's List."

Timothy Reynolds
Author of Stand Up & Succeed

"In the desert, magic swirls through reality, as death spirals through life. Antronos is desert-born, transformed by it from human to a half-reptilian outcast. After his mother's death, he seeks the vast underground human community, free of the desert's uncanny influence. Despite his pariah status, he rises through the university, becoming the high prince Jait's personal physician and an associate of Sen Vernus, lead researcher in causes of mortality. Danger lurks behind such knowledge. In the deep pit of power and intrigue, friends turn enemies, and enemies become allies, some reverting, others not, through twists and turns of intrigue and terror. Antronos must come to terms with the desert he escaped if he is to understand the true meaning of longevity.

The Longevity Thesis is a curious tale, told in smoothly flowing prose. Often moody, sometimes touched with affectionate tolerance, Ms. Rahn's prose shifts easily between poetic expression and down-to-earth characterization. Like Peter Beagle's work, the story carries you along in a river of thought, only to let you emerge wondering how you got there. On occasion, I felt disoriented, wondering if the entire story was an extended metaphor that I didn't quite grasp. It probably is. But as with Beagle's work, one can read for surface story or for deeper meaning and be satisfied with either.

I found The Longevity Thesis to be both intriguing and unsettling. Fantasy novels often do not require great thought of a reader�one simply goes along with the ride. For Thesis, however, a reader can't just ride the waves of a story. Instead, you dip your feet into philosophy and moral thinking without quite realizing you've done it until afterwards, when your mind doesn't quite settle down again.

If you enjoy intrigue and magic, as well as delving into the delicious terror between life and death, you'll quite probably enjoy this book as much as I did."

Jeanette Cottrell
Author of The Shadebinder's Oath

"The Longevity Thesis is at turns darkly primeval and disconcertingly modern, grimly macabre and life-afirming: compounded together, these ingredients create a powerful and unsettling tale. The Temlochti State University is the centre of scholarship in an underground land, where the inhabitants have so long avoided the desert above them that many now regard the stories of its magic as mere superstition. Antronos, who has been touched by that magic, knows better. But even he does not suspect what ancient and unnatural beings are at work within the University itself, until his desire to study longevity places him in their power. Jennifer Rahn is a daring new voice in dark fantasy, and I hope that she will give readers a chance to explore this world further."

Jennifer Kennedy
Author of Dominion

"This book sucks. The villian was too hard done by. All copies should be destroyed by fire."

Sen Vernus
Professor Emeritus of Surgery, Temlochti University

Name Tag

OK, so Nina over at The Alien Next Door, has tagged me with a challenge to Google myself under "Images" to see what weirdness the internet spews up at me. At first, it was beyond mundane, but as I persevered, some interesting hits were generated.

1) From the game Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight, I found "Qu Rahn". Dude is dead and wants his light sabre to be passed to somebody named "Kyle", who is supposed to have a powerful Jedi destiny. Kyle's also supposed to get a journal that tells him how to use the force. Ya man!






2) I am not the only Jennifer Rahn. This one was taken by a marine biologist of the same name. I very much doubt it's a self portrait.














3) They found me! This is from glass-bottom-dishes.com. When I was a grad student, I published a paper using their products, and somehow they found the paper and listed it on their website to convince other users of how good their products are. (For those not confocal savvy, a glass bottomed dish is used for laser microscopy of biological samples, such as cancer cells. Specific molecules in cells can be imaged in 3D using this technique. Or, they can be used for conventional fluorescent microscopy. The glass is needed to get clear images.) For the record, their products are very good and reasonably priced. We got a JBC paper out of the data collected. (Check out the movies under "Supplemental Data".)

4) This is from the website of the Marine & Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center out of the University of Miami. Apparently, there is a third Jennifer Rahn out there who is a grad student at this facility. (Hmm. I'm detecting a trend here.)

5) This is from a friend's myspace. My first reaction was "ACK!" until I realised I was just coincidentally mentioned on the same page.








6) I don't know what this is. Perhaps I never will. But for some reason it's associated with my name.

More Fun from CV23

As promised, here is the video of the medieval combat demonstration from ConVersion 23. Thanks to Dragon's Own for giving permission to post this. You're great, guys!

If you'd like to see more videos from CV23, skip over to Nina's Blog.

Dragon's Own Combat Demo

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Con Version 23

So . . . Guess where I went this weekend. CON VERSION!!!! This is the annual convention put on by the Calgary Science Fiction and Fantasy Society, and it was a lot of fun. Time to indulge in unbridled appreciation of all things SF & F. Here are the first pictures from the event. I've got some videos and a few funny stories to tell, but I'm so exhausted right now, this is about all I can manage until later.

Here I am (middle) with Tim Reynolds, Publisher of Comet Catcher Press and author of Stand Up & Succeed, and my own publisher, Gwen Gades of Dragon Moon Press. Tim was the reader for DMP who recommended that Gwen accept my novel.


This was at dinner on Saturday. Nina Munteanu, author of Darwin's Paradox, is a bundle of fun. So is Karl Johanson, Publisher of Neo-Opsis magazine. Nina has a video of him performing some magic on her blog.


Here I am with Nina and Brian Hades, the Calgary Publishing Overlord. He's the Publisher of EDGE Science Fiction & Fantasy (Hades Publications), which Dragon Moon Press just became an imprint of.

Some Men in Black. (I could have sworn the blond guy was a hobbit that morning.)

A close encounter with Captain Kirk. (That's actually Roy from IFWA still in his Phantom of the Space Opera costume.)

Here is one of the knights from the Dragon's Own medieval combat club during a demonstration. These guys were pretty cool and gave me permission to post of video of them fighting, which I'll put together after I've had some sleep.



















This gentleman was also from Dragon's Own.

That's it for now. I've got lots more to post, and some of it I promised I'd send to Nina for her blog. I hope she puts all of it up. Some of it's classic! Hee hee hee!