I’ve posted a new version of my Survivor audio book. This time around narrated by my friend Andrew Frueh. A very talented guy who has worked on projects ranging from games, animation, and even robotics. Take a look at some of his work over at http://www.andrewfrueh.com/.
I think you’ll find this new version has much better audio quality thanks to the equipment Andrew had available, and his performance really brings the characters to life.
I wanted to talk about an awesome piece of science fiction I saw as part of the 2015 Academy Award-nominated animated shorts, called “World of Tomorrow”. Written, directed, produced, animated, and edited by Don Hertzfeldt, a man of many talents and a strange sense of humor, if you’ve watched some of his other features like “It’s Such a Beautiful Day”. Hertzfeldt has produced an imaginative vision of the future that is equal parts wondrous and terrifying, with a twisted sense of humor, but also some very emotionally resonant moments. Don’t be fooled by the childlike simplicity of the draws, this movie is packed with themes and concepts.
The story revolves around a young girl named Emily, who receives a call from a woman claiming not only to be from the future, but a 3rd generation clone of the girl herself! The clone begins to relate to Emily, her “prime” about the future, where technology has allowed humans to obtain near immortality through cloning, or for the lower class, uploading their minds to computers for an accelerated, formless eternity. People also have the ability to re-watch any point in history on their view screens, which is how the clone is able to speak with Emily. As interesting as this sounds, more recent history consists mainly of of people sitting infront of view screens watching over people, a wink towards our own TV culture. Listening to the clone’s robotic, monotone voice, it seems the advancements have done more harm then good for future humanity.
Just when you think this might be nothing more than a prank call, the Emilly clone uses time travel to transport her progenitor to the future. Emily prime finds herself in the “Outernet” a physical manifestation of cyberspace. The Clone then takes Emily on journey through her memories, where we see a colony on the moon and aliens worlds, and more of strange culture that has evolved with these technologies. The clone also reveals the ultimate fate of humanity, and has a request of her prime. (more…)
A team of asteroid miners stumble upon a strange material buried deep within the rock. This amazing find could make them all rich, or prove to be their undoing.
I recently finished editing an audio book version of my first short story, “Survivor”. Narrated by my friend Carlos Vaca Mora, it’s a science fiction, horror story with an action packed conclusion.
The Summary: Jake Salnen awoke to find himself trapped under a pile of debris. He managed to free himself only to to discover the remote surveying compound where he worked had been attacked, and all his fellow personnel are now missing. Injured and alone, Jake searches the abandoned camp for answers, but may be unprepared for what he’ll find.
Hope you’ll give it a listen, and be to follow me over on SoundCloud for future podcasted stories.
Katherine Vestan is trying to relax after a stressful day at work, but her difficulties are just beginning when an explosion rocks the city. Was it an accident or a terrorist attack? It’s the least of Katherine’s worries as she realizes her six year old son has snuck off in the chaos. Desperate to find her missing child, Katherine investigates the rundown warehouse across the street, which may not be as abandoned as it looks.
I recently decided to remove some of my earlier shorts, “The Tombs” and “Over a Meal” from the stories page. They are older entries that don’t reflect my current writing style, and proceed some of my newer ideas like NC chips and OnBoard assistants.
More importantly, the titular Reptilia Droc do not appear in either story. Instead the threat is a hint towards a different opponent. The creatures referenced originally appeared right away in the series, but will instead appear as a future threat.
I may rework theses entries down the line, but for now, I want the stories page to remain focused on the Droc who are still mysterious themselves. But for those who want more adventures set in the Droc universe, the stories are available below.
Engineer, Alec Phirth, requested a transferred to a star-ship in hopes of finding adventure. However, his enthusiasm quickly disappears when Alec is assigned a solitary position among the ship’s dark and aging maintenance level. The situation worsens when he begins to suspect there’s something else stalking the silent halls.
In deep space, three crew-members narrowly escape the destruction of their ship by a powerful, unknown force. But over a meal, they discover that they aren’t out of danger yet.
Wealthy, corporate director, Masso Dubar, enjoys hunting exotic animals. For his latest trophy, Dubar has traveled to a distant planet called, Amothwa, with his sites on an endanger predator. Dubar has every advantage on his side, from an experienced guide, to advanced probes and weapons, but regardless, he may find himself to be the Hunted.
For more Cold Blooded News, like articles related to reptiles, science fiction, and fun pop culture items, head over to the Droc Facebook page. I decided to make the distinction that the Facebook page is where all re-post fun and interesting articles. While the Cold Blodded News section here on the site will be for articles I’ve written myself, providing my thoughts on the topic. This way the two pages will have unique features, but when I do post an article here, I’ll be sure to link to it on the Facebook page as well.
In addition to reptilian-related news stories, I’ll also be posting works in progress of my illustrations, as well what I hope to be a weekly sketch to help flush out more of the Droc universe. Hopefully together these features will help keep the content flowing on the Facebook page.
I may occasionally post a few “Best of” Selections from the Cold Blooded News here on the main site, for posterity. For example, one recent stand out article, was the siting of the Lizard Man in South Carolina.
“Yep. That is the story comin’ outta da South Carolina town of Bishopville. The urban legend Lizard Man is on the prowl again after a woman attending church services took a photo of it and sent it into the ABC News 4 newsroom.”
I recently completed work on a new short story called “Survivor”.
Jake Salnen awoke to find himself trapped under a pile of debris. He managed to free himself only to to discover the remote surveying compound where he worked had been attacked, and all his fellow personnel are now missing. Injured and alone, Jake searches the abandoned camp for answers, but may be unprepared for what he’ll find.
The Reptilia Droc series is set in a far flung future, of an unfamiliar region of space, rife with alien species, cultures, and technology. To this end, the Blog section serves as an online encyclopedia for the Droc universe, with entries on all of the relevant characters, locations, technology, and factions featured in my various stories.
Articles can then be sorted by subject using tags and categories to quickly track down related content. Tags can be found at the bottom of each post, the sidebar menu, and the Tags page. Also use the magnifying glass icon at the top right of the page to search for specific characters or terms from the stories.
In this section Chris will track the status of his projects, announce new short stories which have been posted, and works in progress. As well as up coming conventions and events he will be attending to promote his work and meet with fans.
The Reptilia Droc series combines Chris’ love of reptiles and science fiction. In that spirit, this section of his blog is dedicated to sharing stories from around the web, involving reptiles in science fiction, real-life reptiles and dinosaurs, and conventions or exhibits he’s attended.
See the stories page page for a list of all projects underdevelopment and completed. The first chapter of the novel is available to read as a PDF. There are also several short stories available to read in their entirety. Read the stories here on the site, or download the PDF’s for the Droc themed page skin.
Comments are currently turned off on the site, so that moderating spammers won’t take away from working on the next story. However, Chris would still like to hear from you. Questions, feedback, and comments on the stories and artwork are welcomed and encouraging. So be sure to stop by and write on the Droc Facebook page, or contact me directly.