Well, "The Land Between Days" launches in just five days! It will not be immediately available on Wattpad, but you'll still be able to read it right here (for free) on my blog. I can't wait! Until then, I have a couple of surprises in store for this post: the cover and the teaser itself.

The cover
  I'm really excited about this cover. It resembles a lot of the teaser graphics that I've already been sharing (all of which reference a certain concept in the book). Here it is!

   This is personally one of my favorite covers I've done for any of my short stories. I like how the pink contrasts the black and white background. "What is all that pink about anyway?" you might be thinking. Today, you'll get some answers in the teaser!

The teaser
   As promised, here is a short excerpt from the story. It isn't a very long story (a fact which those of you with busy schedules will no doubt enjoy), so this paragraph doesn't give away too much. I hope it will just give you a taste for what to expect in the story when it drops. Here goes!

   When Morgan awoke, he found himself not in the light of an orange, flickering streetlamp in the shadowy alleyway, but, instead, in the morning sun’s golden light in the middle of a wood. Instead of cold concrete, he lay upon a soft bed of fallen leaves. He shook his head, sending a dull pain down his face. Gingerly, he rose, not fully realizing the peculiarity of his sudden appearance in a forest. The shush of leaves in the towering trees was the only noise around him, and the fresh air the only smell. As he surveyed the imposing trees, he noticed a strange sort of pink luminescence that traveled between them like fireflies and seemed to breathe a vigorous new life into their leaves. He shut his eyes and opened them a few times, but he did not wake. He did not recall such a wood anywhere near Cincinnati, and he certainly was not dreaming--so, where was he? 

   What do you think about the excerpt? And what about the cover? Let me hear you in the comments below & be sure not to miss the launch of "The Land Between Days" on May 4th. 

   The wind gently rustles my hair and caresses the grass. The pine trees before me wobble, uncertain if at any moment they might topple over. Suddenly, a small insect swarms around my Weimaraner's head. Seeming to imagine herself as a giant, havoc-wreaking monster, she snaps her jaws at it again and again with no success. Eventually, its incessant flittering around her drives her to lay on her back. She rolls back and forth, pawing at it as if to say, "Shoo! Shoo!" When at last the creature departs, she leaps back to her feet. I call to her. She approaches me, her little grey tail wagging as if nothing had happened. 
   At the same time, my black lab makes his way over to me. I look into his face. His eyes have grown dimmer; his walk has turned more into a hobble; and the hairs around his chin have turned grey. I recall when he was just a pup: healthy, energetic, and, at times, troublesome. Ah, how I long to reach back in time and relive those days! He knows none of my thoughts, but if he did, he would not care; he wags his tail and pants gleefully anyway. He loves the moment, not pondering on the past. I envy his and my Weimaraner's carefree attitude. Oh, that I might forget the sadness of the past and the pressures of the present as the dogs do...

   Now that you've had a little time to soak in all that was revealed at The Last Jedi panel at Star Wars Celebration, I think it's time for a customary breakdown of the teaser trailer and poster (there might actually be more to chew on there than you realize). First, the poster:

(photo credit: Lucasfilm)
   Oh, that's so beautiful, right? That was my first thought when director Rian Johnson revealed this poster. It's a fitting throwback to the original poster for A New Hope. There's actually a lot to think about here. It seems from the poster, as well as from the trailer, that Luke has rejected his first lightsaber, opting to let Rey keep it instead. It's interesting to note that the entire background of the poster is red, including Luke and Kylo Ren's face. Coincidence? Mark Hamill hinted that it's possible that Luke is tempted by the Dark Side in this movie (gasp!). Also, the side of Ren's face where Rey gave him a nice big scar in Episode VII is concealed. In fact, it overlaps with Luke's face--perhaps a subtle hint about some sort of emotional scar that Luke left on him from his time as his padawan. Maybe all this speculation is much ado about nothing, but it's definitely intriguing to ponder on.

That trailer

   All right, let's face it: that was amazing. I literally stopped everything to watch The Last Jedi panel in anticipation of the trailer's release--and it was worth every minute! Now, let's break each clip down to see what easter eggs Lucasfilm has hidden for us.

   We first see a clip of what appears to be space, perhaps an indication of the vastness of what seems to be another vision of Rey's as the trailer progresses. The events of The Force Awakens, and, indeed, this movie, send ripples throughout the galaxy. In fact, Rian Johnson said at The Last Jedi panel that the First Order has taken advantage of the chaos that has erupted across the galaxy after the collapse of the New Republic and the destruction of Starkiller Base.

   Then, bam! We suddenly realize that it isn't space at all--it's Luke's remote island on the planet of Ahch-To, which will clearly get some more screen time in Episode VIII. 

   Rey, gasping for air, is clearly overwhelmed by whatever she's seen--vaguely described throughout the trailer. This is much similar to the vision she experienced in The Force Awakens in Maz Kanata's castle, only perhaps much larger. 

(photo by Latent0Image on Flickr)
   The moon, they say, is a mirror--a mere reflection of the sun's golden light. The Man in the Moon chuckles darkly at this notion. "The Sun," says he, "knows nothing. While the Sun stands at a distance, my ear is close to the earth. While the Sun's light is blocked out by fleeting gray clouds, I command the clouds, tinging them eerie shades of purple, green, and red. While the Sun is loud with its heat beating upon the earth, I am silent, my pale light softly illuminating the unseen. The Sun believes it is the center of everything, the largest thing in the universe. Haughtily, she cries, 'Look at me, the brightest of stars, the largest of lights!' But, ah, as for me, the Man in the Moon! The stars are my right hand, and distant galaxies my left. Who loves the Sun but herself? She proclaims how great is her love for men--yet who was the one upon whom men strove to walk? Who is the one who remains in the heavens when the Sun has vanished below the horizon? Only I, indeed."
   All this he utters without a language. But as I look up at the noiseless moon, I see it all written in his ageless smile. 

A couple of big things happened in sci-fi this week, including the announcement that Carrie Fisher would return for Star Wars: Episode IX and the release of a the first trailer for Thor: Ragnarok.

Carrie Fisher Will Be in Star Wars: Episode IX
When Carrie Fisher tragically passed away last year, Star Wars fans everywhere braced for the worst--Princess/General Leia was going to have to die, too. But, fear not! Carrie's brother, Todd Fisher, announced earlier this week that the beloved Leia Organa would, in fact, be in the as-yet-unfilmed Episode IX. He said, "[Carrie's son, Billie Lourd, and I] were like, ‘Yes, how do you take her out of it?’ And the answer is you don’t. She’s as much a part of it as anything, and I think her presence now is even more powerful than it was, like Obi-Wan – when the saber cuts him down, he becomes more powerful. I feel like that’s what’s happened with Carrie. I think the legacy should continue.”
I can already hear the screams of those of you who hated the CGI Tarkin in Rogue One. However, interestingly, it has been confirmed that Leia will not be digitally resurrected: Disney will be using real footage of Fisher from Episode VIII: The Last Jedi for Episode IX. I'm honestly unsure of how they plan to pull this off, but, using old footage, I would imagine Leia's role in the ninth episode will be greatly reduced. I guess we'll just have to wait until May 2019 to find out.

New Thor: Ragnarok Trailer

   There's a lot going on in this trailer, but there a few main things to pull out. (1) Lots of destruction. Hela (Cate Blanchett), the girl with the huge, spidery helmet and mask, seems to blow through the heavily defended Asgard like a tornado in an RV park. As the ruler of Hel (it's just about what it sounds like), she is likely seeking to populate her kingdom with the souls of Asgardian warriors. And, ahem! She totally crushed Mjolnir! It definitely seems like Asgard is in a real pickle this time.
   (2) Much lighter tone. Despite the overwhelming destruction featured in the trailer, the music throughout and lighthearted joke at the end ("He's a friend from work!") give the impression that this movie might not be as serious as the previous Thor movies were; in fact, the director of the film said that he wished to display the funnier side of Thor (Chris Hemsworth). However, I do not expect that this movie won't have its fair share of action and suspense.
   (3) Return of some old characters. Of course, what we all noticed was the return of Loki and the Hulk. Some questions obviously remain from these appearances--what is Loki doing? And how did the Hulk end up on Sakaar (the planet on which the coliseum-like building is located)? We know that Dr. Banner disappeared after Age of Ultron, but his final destination was left a mystery. 
   (4) Thor's haircut. Sorry, had to mention it! Just saying, it looks pretty cool.
   What do you guys think? What kind of role do you think Leia will play in Episode IX? And will you be seeing Thor: Ragnarok, and what are your thoughts on the trailer? Tell me in the comments below!

(photo credit: By ZooFari - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6332090)
   As I pass by the roadside, I catch a glimpse of some dainty pink flowers growing amongst a jungle of untamed grass. Every year when they sprout, their quaint, rosy petals signal the advent of the busy springtime. For a moment, I gaze in admiration at them. A gust from the west suddenly blows their frail stems to and fro. Some call their movements in the wind dancing or twirling, like a graceful ballerina, whose leaps and whirls enchant onlookers; others call it waving, like a queen, majestically clad in all of her glorious attire, passing by her adoring subjects. 
   What should it be called? I know not--but, oh! How I admire the freedom of the flowers! The wind goes here and there, and they flow with it. Their elegant petals do not weigh them down nor does any fear or threat of man even cross their mind. Though the bees may come and steal every drop of their nectar, they happily carry on, knowing they are blessed with the light of a golden sun. Though the summer will one day come and wither their leaves, they carry on, concerned only with when the life-giving rain shall come. Oh, that we might have the heart of a flower! It knows nothing but to grow ever upward towards a pale blue sky. 

   Gravity is great--I mean, getting around would be a little bit frustrating without it--but it's boring. Earth is fantastic--except there are only so many places you can go. Outer space offers a literally limitless expanse free from the confines of gravity. For millennia, we have looked up to the stars and dreamt of reaching this beautiful sea of stars, planets, and galaxies. Once we did, a whole new world opened to us, and soon, you might see "Made in Space" stamped on your groceries.
   Maybe it seems stupid, but manufacturing in space actually offers numerous benefits over making things on Earth. Companies like nScrypt, Bioficial Organs, and Techshot see space manufacturing as the next big leap in organ transplants. These three companies have collectively created a 3-D printer that literally prints hearts:

tra(photo credit: popsci.com)
   Why can't you do that on Earth, you might ask? Eugene Boland, head scientist at Techshot, puts it this way: "If you think about the heart, you're really talking about four big open voids wrapped in muscle." Because of this fact, to actually print a heart in Earth's gravity, the heart has to have some type of support system. No such system that can be removed or dissolved without causing damage to the heart has yet been devised. In the zero-gravity environment of outer space, this issue disappears. Furthermore, printing on earth requires the heart to be printed in separate two-dimensional layers and then reassembled in an extremely lengthy process; however, printing in space allows the organ to actually be printed in 3-D, saving a ton of time. 
   Why go through all this trouble? For patients with heart transplants, they are required to take drugs for the rest of their lives to prevent their immune systems from rejecting the transplanted organ. But, if the heart were to be printed from the patients own stem cells, the chance of the immune system rejecting the organ drops significantly. Plus, the heart can even be printed to the exact size of the patient's first heart. 
   But organ transplants are just the tip of the iceberg. Space manufacturing could produce clearer fiber-optic cables, resulting in significantly faster internet speeds. Another intriguing prospect is space-made solar panels. Solar panels made of gallium-arsenide are far more efficient than the silicon ones typically found on earth; however, this compound releases toxic byproducts when manufactured. Making these panels in space lowers the risk of these toxic chemicals causing harm to humans. When complete, these panels would orbit with the Earth in order to capture the maximum amount of sun rays, then "beam" this energy back to Earth in the form of microwaves, diffused enough to avoid harm to organic matter. 
   Of course, like the dreams of commercial space flights and extraterrestrial colonization, we've got a long way to go before product starts rolling off the celestial manufacturing lines. However, it's not as unrealistic as it may seem at first glance. What are your thoughts? Do you see real benefit in manufacturing in space or does it seem like folly to you? Let me know in the comments below!