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Category Archives: The University of Mars

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The Major 2024 Book Energies

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 25, 2024 by Michael D. SmithDecember 25, 2024

I’m quite proud of the six books I assembled this year; I feel I’ve psychically moved forward with these projects and other unpublished work. But I’m also somewhat dazed to find myself at a stopping point. It feels strange, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Editing, Man Against the Horses, Novels, Publishing, Sortmind, Sortmind Press, Supreme Commander Laurie, The Soul Institute, The University of Mars, Writing, Writing Process, Zarreich | Leave a reply

A Writing Biography, Part VII: Organization, Lost Energies, New Novels, Publishing, 1994-2011

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 19, 2024 by Michael D. SmithDecember 19, 2024

It’s been difficult to write 1994-2011; this is quite a long era, from my thirties to my fifties, with several deluded sub-eras as well as breakthroughs. But the period seems anchored at each end: beginning with The Soul Institute charting … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writing Biography, Akard Drearstone, Art Shows, Double Dragon Publishing, Editing, Jack Commer, Jump Grenade, Man Against the Horses, Marketing, Martian Marauders, Nonprofit Chronowar, Novels, Painting, Perpetual Starlit Night, Publishing, Query Letters, Science Fiction, Self-Publishing, Sortmind, Sortmind Press, Stories, Tarot Cards, The Damage Patrol Quartet, The First Twenty Steps, The Soul Institute, The University of Mars, Twisted Tails, Writing, Writing Process, Zarreich | Leave a reply

The University of Mars – Publication

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on June 12, 2024 by Michael D. SmithJune 13, 2024

In a dysfunctional 2065 where religious zealots restrict the world to outdated twentieth-century technology, eighteen-year-old Zeke Venan dedicates himself to the life of the mind and to the further evolution of humanity. He drags his Australian girlfriend to an impoverished … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Covers, Double Dragon Publishing, Dystopia, Novels, Publishing, Science Fiction, The University of Mars, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

A Brief History of The University of Mars

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on June 8, 2024 by Michael D. SmithJune 8, 2024

As I mull over a forthcoming post to celebrate the long-overdue publication of The University of Mars, I’ve reflected a bit on its extended history. I.  Draft 1, 1980-1981 The novel began with a longing to describe an archetypal University … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Covers, Dystopia, Novels, Science Fiction, The University of Mars, Writing, Writing Process, Zarreich | 1 Reply

A Writing Biography, Part VI: Failures, Successes, Rhythms and Swerves, 1983-1994

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on January 8, 2024 by Michael D. SmithDecember 16, 2024

I’m struck by the veering between successes and failures in this period, losing control and skidding across all four lanes until I’d finally get enough sense to stop the car and take a good look around. Had I never learned … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writing Biography, Akard Drearstone, Asylum and Mirage, Character Images, Jack Commer, Martian Marauders, Novels, Painting, Publishing, Query Letters, Science Fiction, Self-Publishing, Sortmind, Stories, The Damage Patrol Quartet, The First Twenty Steps, The Soul Institute, The University of Mars, Writing, Writing Process, Zarreich | 1 Reply

A Writing Biography, Part V: Space, Time, and Tania through The University of Mars, 1974-1982

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on August 7, 2023 by Michael D. SmithJanuary 8, 2024

It’s time I brought this series further up to date; ideas for it have been kicking around since 2014. Though it’s seemed unnatural to try to split my life up into these various parts, which I keep rearranging as I … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writing Biography, Akard Drearstone, Book Covers, Character Images, Drawing, Dreams, Early Writing, Jack Commer, Novels, Publishing, Stories, The University of Mars, Writing, Writing Process, Zarreich | 2 Replies

The CommWealth Republication

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on June 13, 2020 by Michael D. SmithJuly 22, 2023

A. Property What if anyone could ask for anything you owned and keep it for thirty days until someone else wanted it … your home, your car … even your body? Members of the Forensic Squad theatrical troupe find themselves … Continue reading →

Posted in Akard Drearstone, Black Comedy, Book Covers, Character Images, CommWealth, Dystopia, Editing, Jump Grenade, Literary, Novels, Publishing, Query Letters, Self-Publishing, Sortmind, Sortmind Press, The Soul Institute, The University of Mars, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

Amid Work on Three Karmic Novels

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on September 11, 2017 by Michael D. SmithJune 26, 2019

I’ve finished good drafts of the Three Legacy Novels outlined in the June 18 blog post. The question was: could I make the older manuscripts of Jump Grenade, Akard Drearstone, and Sortmind into fully modern, high quality expressions? Was there … Continue reading →

Posted in Akard Drearstone, Black Comedy, CommWealth, Jump Grenade, Literary, Novels, Publishing, Science Fiction, Self-Publishing, Sortmind, Sortmind Press, The First Twenty Steps, The University of Mars, Writing, Writing Process, Zarreich | Leave a reply

Three Legacy Novels

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on June 18, 2017 by Michael D. SmithAugust 20, 2019

Why should writers’ blogs, including my own, continue to spout, in glorious marketing-ese dialect, a sort of Chamber of Commerce civic boosterism about our stunning writing careers and our usually boring buy-my-book blurbs? Why should I post as if everything … Continue reading →

Posted in Akard Drearstone, Jump Grenade, Marketing, Novels, Publishing, Self-Publishing, Sortmind, The University of Mars, Writing, Writing Process | 3 Replies

Reviewing Reviews

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on September 13, 2016 by Michael D. SmithJune 26, 2019

Recently an episode of relentless plowing through a novel I didn’t really want to read sparked a happy realization.  I’m always open to abandoning a book I’m not enjoying–after all, there are millions of great books out there, so why … Continue reading →

Posted in Marketing, Novels, Reviews, The University of Mars, Writing | Leave a reply

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Recent Posts

  • Introducing The Benign Incursion
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus
  • A Blog Post from February 13, 1976
  • A Writing Biography, Part VIII: The Exoskeleton, Archiving, Publishing, The Blog, and the Long Novels, 2011-2023
  • The Major 2024 Book Energies
  • A Writing Biography, Part VII: Organization, Lost Energies, New Novels, Publishing, 1994-2011
  • Zarreich – Publication at Last
  • The Sortmind Draft One Project
  • Dreams Used in Zarreich
  • Zarreich – The Draft Covers

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Recent Comments

  • Introducing The Benign Incursion – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The Unknown Ending for The Martian Marauders
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on Trip to Mars in Paperback
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The First Childhood Appearance of Jack Commer, September 19, 1962
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The Irregular Origin of The Martian Marauders
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The UR Jack Commer: A Look at the Childhood Beginnings of the Commer Saga

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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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