I got to go on the radio today to talk about my new book, The Star Dancers, with my old buddy, Jack Ebling.
Jack and I have know each other since I hit him in the stomach with a fast ball in our first little league game. The next time we met was in Lola Valley Junior High School, in gym class---where he immediately recognized me as the pitcher who came within an eyelash of making him the first candidate for a solar plexus transplant. We were soon fast friends, playing all kinds of sports together...though I don't know if I've forgiven him yet for choosing Michigan State over the Maize & Blue of Michigan.
As always, we chatted about a numer of things---including politics and law. But it was nice that the "kick-off" for my new book got to launch on his radio show.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Two New Sci-Fi Novels by Jeff Caminsky
The first in my series of four sci-fi novels, set 500 years in the future, called The Guardians of Peace have just been released. They are currently available on Amazon...and should be available soon in bookstores (at least in the Great Lakes area; but, such are the problems of unknown writers).
The entire series follows the adventures of Roscoe Cook and the Cosmic Guard (the Interstellar Navy of the day) shortly after Terra (ie, the humans) encounter alien cultures and civilizations for the first time. Unfortunately, humans in the 26th Century are little different from those we see around us today: while many are quite cultured and refined, many are as boorish and self-centered as ever. And since Outer Space in the year 2550 is not the exclusive province of philosophers and scientists, Terran riff-raff has spread throughout the Frontier...and is pressing their government to take a harder line against the aliens.
The first book—The Sirens of Space —lays out the background for the rest of the series. Commander Cook (a gifted officer, with little patience for those he deems fools and an unfortunate talent for rubbing powerful people the wrong way) is promoted to captain and given command of his starship. But, military contractors having changed little over the years, his ship causes him nothing but grief—and it’s all he can do to keep everyone’s mind focused on getting their ship ready to sail. Meanwhile, conniving politicians are scheming to bring about a change in the Terran Government...one more amenable to the commercial interests who see riches beyond compare in the star clouds and planets of the Cosmic East, where the aliens are resisting Terran encroachment. As the book ends, the principals are taking to the skies...toward whatever fate awaits them among the stars.
The second book—The Star Dancers —is where the adventure begins. The reader learns about alien culture, suffering its own schisms and divisions. There, a reform movement is gaining influence, renewing hopes of bringing modernization to the old and decaying culture that has left them stagnating for the last several millenia. Pirates are infesting Terran skies as they have for hundreds of years...leading Terra to develop ever-better machines of destruction to protect their lanes of commerce. Meanwhile, a band of ne’er-do-wells, eager to recover a treasure hidden away deep inside alien skies, confronts an alien scientific outpost just as a peace conference is concluding on an alien regional capital...setting the stage for conflict and tragedy, unless both sides are able to control the hotheads on either side of the border. The book ends with Captain Cook struggling to find his way back to Terra through uncharted skies...as the galaxy is descending into chaos.
The next volume—called Clouds of Darkness—will be published next fall. And the concluding book in the series—entitled, unsuprisingly, The Guardians of Peace—should follow the year after that. (The entire series was finished in1994...but being an unknown author, it’s been tough to get anyone in Mainstream Publishing to read anything I’ve written. So, what the hell...I decided to use a small press to bring it all out).
I hope this sounds interesting enough to generate some interest...or, at the least, to keep the hoots and cat-calls to a minimum. In the meantime, I’ll be plugging away at my computer, working on my next project and waiting for inspiration to strike....
JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a veteran public prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.
The entire series follows the adventures of Roscoe Cook and the Cosmic Guard (the Interstellar Navy of the day) shortly after Terra (ie, the humans) encounter alien cultures and civilizations for the first time. Unfortunately, humans in the 26th Century are little different from those we see around us today: while many are quite cultured and refined, many are as boorish and self-centered as ever. And since Outer Space in the year 2550 is not the exclusive province of philosophers and scientists, Terran riff-raff has spread throughout the Frontier...and is pressing their government to take a harder line against the aliens.
The first book—The Sirens of Space —lays out the background for the rest of the series. Commander Cook (a gifted officer, with little patience for those he deems fools and an unfortunate talent for rubbing powerful people the wrong way) is promoted to captain and given command of his starship. But, military contractors having changed little over the years, his ship causes him nothing but grief—and it’s all he can do to keep everyone’s mind focused on getting their ship ready to sail. Meanwhile, conniving politicians are scheming to bring about a change in the Terran Government...one more amenable to the commercial interests who see riches beyond compare in the star clouds and planets of the Cosmic East, where the aliens are resisting Terran encroachment. As the book ends, the principals are taking to the skies...toward whatever fate awaits them among the stars.
The second book—The Star Dancers —is where the adventure begins. The reader learns about alien culture, suffering its own schisms and divisions. There, a reform movement is gaining influence, renewing hopes of bringing modernization to the old and decaying culture that has left them stagnating for the last several millenia. Pirates are infesting Terran skies as they have for hundreds of years...leading Terra to develop ever-better machines of destruction to protect their lanes of commerce. Meanwhile, a band of ne’er-do-wells, eager to recover a treasure hidden away deep inside alien skies, confronts an alien scientific outpost just as a peace conference is concluding on an alien regional capital...setting the stage for conflict and tragedy, unless both sides are able to control the hotheads on either side of the border. The book ends with Captain Cook struggling to find his way back to Terra through uncharted skies...as the galaxy is descending into chaos.The next volume—called Clouds of Darkness—will be published next fall. And the concluding book in the series—entitled, unsuprisingly, The Guardians of Peace—should follow the year after that. (The entire series was finished in1994...but being an unknown author, it’s been tough to get anyone in Mainstream Publishing to read anything I’ve written. So, what the hell...I decided to use a small press to bring it all out).
I hope this sounds interesting enough to generate some interest...or, at the least, to keep the hoots and cat-calls to a minimum. In the meantime, I’ll be plugging away at my computer, working on my next project and waiting for inspiration to strike....
JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a veteran public prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
New Books by Jeff Caminsky: Proofs approved for Star Dancers and Sirens of Space
Well, it's been a long time coming, but the Guardians of Peace series is finally underway: proofs for both The Sirens of Space and The Star Dancers were approved this morning, and the books are on their way to the printer. (Now, of course, I'm afraid to read through the proofs at all, for fear of finding goofs that I missed).
Of course, this only means different sorts of headaches to come...though once the books are ready, and we can start sharing them with readers, I suspect those kinds of headaches will be a bit less mind-numbing than pouring over proofs. In the meantime, let's just hope for the best.
Of course, this only means different sorts of headaches to come...though once the books are ready, and we can start sharing them with readers, I suspect those kinds of headaches will be a bit less mind-numbing than pouring over proofs. In the meantime, let's just hope for the best.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Book on Shakespeare's Sonnets
This has been a long time coming...but at last, I'm starting to get through some of my proofs.
I just approved the final version of The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and arranged to have it sent off to the printer. (No telling when it will come back...but we have to cross one bridge at a time).
Still to go: reviewing The Sirens of Space and The Star Dancers---hopefully, in time to head off to a seminar this weekend. But, last weekend taught me not to count my chickens prematurely: I'd hoped to approve proofs of all three books a week ago, only to discover a few mistakes that---anal-retentive artist that I am---I just had to correct.
The book should be available on Amazon soon...and we can start filling orders as soon as copies come back from the presses. We already have several orders to date...and if the early reactions are any indication, it should be well-received.
JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a veteran public prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed The Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.
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