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Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith

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Category Archives: Science Fiction

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Stuck in the Elevator with the President of the World

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on May 22, 2023 by Michael D. SmithMay 22, 2023

Still working on the snappy, one-phrase, brand-defining pitch you’re supposed to have ready when you find yourself riding an elevator with the CEO of Random House. But all I have are concepts culled from various web interviews over the years, … Continue reading →

Posted in Character Images, CommWealth, Dystopia, Marketing, Novels, Science Fiction, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

Stay in Your Science Fiction Lane

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on May 17, 2023 by Michael D. SmithMay 18, 2023

At Last, a Generic Warning Easily Inserted After Any SF Title Page Author’s Note I am so terribly, shamefacedly sorry for having written this book from the vantage point of future space pilots, and for describing their reactions to aliens, … Continue reading →

Posted in Jack Commer, Novels, Satire, Science Fiction, Writing, Writing Process | 1 Reply

The Collapse and Delusion Trailer

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on May 15, 2023 by Michael D. SmithMay 15, 2023

Collapse and Delusion, Book Four of the Jack Commer, Supreme Commander Series available from Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, and other online booksellers Trailer created on canva.com Jack Commer trailers on YouTube Collapse and Delusion background

Continue reading →
Posted in Collapse and Delusion, Jack Commer, Novels, Science Fiction, Sculpture, Videos, Writing | Leave a reply

Asylum and Mirage: A Poetic Ancestor

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on March 10, 2023 by Michael D. SmithMarch 10, 2023

The previous post discussed the “33” story or novel attempt. I’d thought for a long time that since “33” is so surreal, it must have been sparked by dreams. But in perusing my 1985 journal from May to August, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Asylum and Mirage, Novels, Science Fiction, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

Asylum and Mirage: The Old 33

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on March 4, 2023 by Michael D. SmithMarch 4, 2023

In looking back at the long history of the ideas that led to Asylum and Mirage, I went back to a 1985 work, “33,” five loosely connected vignettes composed in the hope of fueling new novel ideas. “33,” so titled … Continue reading →

Posted in Asylum and Mirage, Science Fiction, Stories, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

Asylum and Mirage and the Long Compositions

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on February 1, 2023 by Michael D. SmithFebruary 1, 2023

Asylum and Mirage, soon to be published, is my eighteenth novel, though some of its ideas and plot go back to 1985’s unpublished Parts I and II. To look back at my writing history, I made a list of novel … Continue reading →

Posted in Asylum and Mirage, Martian Marauders, Novels, Publishing, Science Fiction, Supreme Commander Laurie, Writing, Writing Process | 1 Reply

The Damage Patrol Quartet: Four Stories

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 23, 2021 by Michael D. SmithDecember 23, 2021

A feckless young architect falls in with a sixteen-year-old’s dubious trucking venture. Drug-addled Randy bemoans his fate as a slave employee in New Fascist Australia. An archeologist arrives on a tiny artificial gravity platform to give a scholarly lecture to … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Comedy, Dreams, Dystopia, Literary, Perpetual Starlit Night, Science Fiction, Sortmind, Stories, The Damage Patrol Quartet, Twisted Tails, Writing, Zarreich | Leave a reply

The Balloon Ship Interviews: Arrogant, Desperate Characters Audition for the Role of a Lifetime

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on April 6, 2021 by Michael D. SmithApril 6, 2021

In developing Balloon Ship Armageddon, the seventh and final Jack Commer, Supreme Commander adventure, I interviewed twelve characters from the previous six books, wanting to know what motivations and energies they could bring to the project. Each character got a … Continue reading →

Posted in Balloon Ship Armageddon, Character Images, Interviews, Jack Commer, Novels, Science Fiction, Sortmind Press, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

The UR Jack Commer: A Look at the Childhood Beginnings of the Commer Saga

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on April 4, 2021 by Michael D. SmithApril 4, 2021

Okay, why revisit this early stuff???? After publishing seven Jack Commer novels I felt a need to pull together Jack’s entire history starting from my first fifth-grade story about him. That was the story that electrified my nine-year-old self. Although … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writing Biography, Early Writing, Jack Commer, Marketing, Martian Marauders, Novels, Science Fiction, Sortmind Press, Stories, Trip to Mars, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

Presenting Balloon Ship Armageddon, or, Nine Astronauts Were Walking to a USSF Meeting, or, Jack Commer Shot his Spaceship Directly into the Sun

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on March 3, 2021 by Michael D. SmithApril 4, 2021

To the Astute Reader of This Blog Certainly the reader will recognize in the “nine astronauts” phrase the fifth-grade, September 19, 1962 first line of “Voyage to Venus,” introducing space pilot Jack Commer. It’s elegantly followed, of course, by Jack’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Balloon Ship Armageddon, Interviews, Jack Commer, Novels, Publishing, Science Fiction, Self-Publishing, Sortmind Press, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

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Recent Posts

  • Stuck in the Elevator with the President of the World
  • Stay in Your Science Fiction Lane
  • The Collapse and Delusion Trailer
  • New Drawings
  • The CanvasRebel Interview
  • Asylum and Mirage: A Poetic Ancestor
  • Asylum and Mirage: The Old 33
  • Asylum and Mirage: Themes and Issues
  • Asylum and Mirage: A Note on the Cover
  • Asylum and Mirage: The Publication

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Archives

Categories

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  • The Damage Patrol Quartet (1)
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Recent Comments

  • angelle Gremillion on Stay in Your Science Fiction Lane
  • Asylum and Mirage: Themes and Issues – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on Justification, or, Flush These Notes Out of My System Before They Wreck a Novel!
  • Asylum and Mirage: The Publication – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on Asylum and Mirage and the Long Compositions
  • Asylum and Mirage: The Publication – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on Homage Part 1: Farewell to The University of Mars
  • Asylum and Mirage: The Publication – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on Progress: Asylum and Mirage and the Title Change

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Michael's books

Why Meditate: Working with Thoughts and Emotions
4 of 5 stars
Why Meditate: Working with Thoughts and Emotions
by Matthieu Ricard
WordPress Web Design for Dummies
4 of 5 stars
WordPress Web Design for Dummies
by Lisa Sabin-Wilson
Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End...
5 of 5 stars
Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End...
by Philip Plait
Using Joomla!
3 of 5 stars
Using Joomla!
by Ron Severdia
Serpent's Tooth
5 of 5 stars
Serpent's Tooth
by Toni V. Sweeney
On a cruise Melissa bonds with an older man, Travis, who turns out to be a famous celebrity in hiding from a once successful life. But by degrees we become aware that his enormous success came at the price of bonding with demonic forces...

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