DavidKeener

Over the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, I'll be appearing at Balticon 58 in Inner Harbor, Baltimore. I'll be on panels, including both online and virtual (for those who are doing the Virtual Track), plus I'll be conducting one of my best writing workshops, "Creating a Setting for Your Series." I'll also have books to sell (and sign).

But WAIT, there's more! Because Balticon is an awesome convention, suitable for families, with sessions on all kinds of topics, from your favorite SF show to what books & comics you should discover. Plus, a great Dealer's Room, and Art Show, and more.

Hope to see you there!!!

My next appearance will be ComicLogic's Spring Lot Con, held in the parking lot of the Ashburn Village Shopping Center in Ashburn, VA (address in the comments). I'll be there signing and selling books, along with fellow SF writer Martin Wilsey. We'll also have tons of other vendors selling books, comic books, artwork, toys, and other swag. Come join us at this free, fun local event that's suitable for all ages!

Here's my schedule for RavenCon 2024, which is being held April 26 - 28 in the Richmond area. Come join me for this excellent SF/Fantasy convention...

Jonelle Crosse is a "cleaner," an elite mage who handles magical messes like hunting escaped demons, tracking down dangerous artifacts, and sanitizing the deadly residue of magical battles. It’s a dangerous job, but it pays well...

Tolan is a lowly Courier with only one magical skill: he can instantly transport a package, or a person, to anywhere he’s ever been.

When Tolan is commissioned to transport the Cleaner to her latest assignment, he has no idea that he’s about to meet the woman of his dreams…

… or that her case could very well kill him.

-------------------------

My new novelette just launched on Leap Day, February 29th. (What can I say? I couldn't resist the novelty of the launch date.) The ORDER Link is in the first comment...

Someone's going to WorldCon in Glasgow, Scotland this year.

My friend Erica Rue is giving away a free YA SF ebook to anybody who joins her new newsletter. It's the first book of her Kepos Chronicles, so there are three more if you like this one!

Here it is (link in comments)! The way to get a free copy of the first book in the series. I just finished writing a new welcome sequence that is either awesome or irredeemably weird (maybe both), and I'd love to have you on my mailing list. Or if you enjoyed some of the teasers from the book this week, you can snag a copy and bail. And if you've already read it, thank you

Jonelle Crosse is a "cleaner," an elite mage who handles magical messes like hunting escaped demons, tracking down dangerous artifacts, and sanitizing the deadly residue of magical battles. It’s a dangerous job, but it pays well...

Tolan is a lowly Courier with only one magical skill: he can instantly transport a package, or a person, to anywhere he’s ever been.

When Tolan is commissioned to transport the Cleaner to her latest assignment, he has no idea that he’s about to meet the woman of his dreams…

… or that her case could very well kill him.

-------------------------

My new novelette launches on Leap Day, February 29th. (What can I say? I couldn't resist the novelty of the launch date.) PREORDER Link is in the first comment...

Another day, another stock order. I love it when peoples keeps buying me's books. Makes me feel great to be a writur!!!

Gotta include something like this in one of my stories...

🔸Caravanserais were roadside inns along major trade routes like the ancient Silk Road, that doubled as hubs for the exchange of goods, ideas and culture.

The journeys of merchants and their caravans along the Silk Road through the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa would have been much more difficult if not for caravanserais, that dotted those ancient routes. Variously described as “guest houses,” “roadside inns,” and “hostels,” caravanserais were buildings designed to provide overnight housing to travelers. Merchants and their caravans were the most frequent visitors. In furnishing, safe respite for guests from near and far, caravanserais also became centers for exchange of goods and culture.

As traffic along the Silk Road increased, so did the construction of caravanserais. They were needed as safe havens, not just from extreme climates and weather, but also from bandits who targeted caravans loaded with silks, spices, and other expensive goods. In fact, caravanserais were built at regular intervals so that merchants would not have to spend the night exposed to the dangers of the road. They appeared roughly 32-40km apart, about a day’s journey on the busiest Silk Road routes.

The design of these buildings also reflected their protective purpose. Often built just outside the nearest town or village, they were encircled by immense walls resembling those of a fort. Caravans entered through a high, massive gate that could be secured from within at night with heavy chains. A porter stood guard just past the gate, charged with safeguarding the persons, goods, and animals inside.

The interior of a caravanserai looked more like an inn than a fortress, however. A large ground-floor courtyard ringed with storerooms and stables for camels, donkeys, and horses would often have a corner for cook fires as well. Small, unfurnished rooms for lodgers were found on the second floor. Some larger caravanserais also featured a bathhouse and prayer room.

Most of the old caravanserais still in existence today are crumbling stone ruins, of interest only to historians and tour groups. In contrast, medieval caravanserais were lively seedbeds for globalization, resembling the modern city in the variety of people, languages, goods, and customs found within their walls. Travelers from East and West, speaking many different languages, traded stories, news, merchandise, and ideas while they mingled at these trade hubs. They sampled local cuisine and observed foreign etiquette. They learned more about Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism from missionaries and scholars passing through. When they traveled on, they took much that was new and different along with them. The economic and cultural exchanges caravanserais made possible had far-reaching effects still seen today in the variety of languages, faiths, and cultures co-existing in this region of the world.

📷 : Obruk Kızören Obruk Han, a 13th Century CE, Seljuk Caravanserai, located within borders of Karatay district, Türkiye.

Do visit our Merch collection;
https://archeology-aesthetic.creator-spring.com
See more: 👉 https://instagram50.vercel.app/

Took some serious work to capture this photo...

Cathedral, Mountain, Moon (APOD: 2023 Dec 25)
Image Credit & Copyright: Valerio Minato
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231225.html

Explanation: Single shots like this require planning. The first step is to realize that such an amazing triple-alignment actually takes place. The second step is to find the best location to photograph it. But it was the third step: being there at exactly the right time -- and when the sky was clear -- that was the hardest. Five times over six years the photographer tried and found bad weather. Finally, just ten days ago, the weather was perfect, and a photographic dream was realized. Taken in Piemonte, Italy, the cathedral in the foreground is the Basilica of Superga, the mountain in the middle is Monviso, and, well, you know which moon is in the background. Here, even though the setting Moon was captured in a crescent phase, the exposure was long enough for doubly reflected Earthlight, called the da Vinci glow, to illuminate the entire top of the Moon.

https://www.facebook.com/ValerioMinatoPh

Starship Asterisk* • APOD Discussion Page
https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=231225

This is so true. I'd probably read a dragon story like this, though...

Who doesn't like free books? Here's the first book in Martin Wilsy's "Solstice 31 Saga"....

Merry Christmas gift! Link in the first comment!

It’s 2114 and a traveling exhibition of priceless artwork has gone missing in war-ravaged Brazil. Emily Dunkirk and her band of mercenaries and art historians have a bold plan to rescue the works.

https://tinyurl.com/mvjn2un8

I'm running a free writing workshop at the Cascades Library at 7:00 pm on November 14th. It's all about crafting strong, effective heroes for your stories. Come join us for a fun set of exercises that will help you craft truly great protagonists.

As a writer, I read something like this...and I think...

Our heroes have taken refuge in the lighted square, which is surrounded by vampires cloaked in the darkness beyond the light.

Then someone cuts the power. Slowly, ever so slowly, the lighted square shrinks, since the mirrors are no longer adjusting themselves to the sun's path.

Silently, the vampires wait...

Here's the neighborhood map that accompanies my book, "Bitter Days," about a young, homeless, orphan girl growing up in a gritty fantasy city. When her older sister is taken away by thugs, she embarks on a quest to get her back or avenge her...with the help of a strangely intelligent cat.



https://www.davidkeener.org/2023/05/cosaturi-the-tween-district-and-map/

Planet generator. Has some limitations, but it's still pretty cool.

Rimspace Planet Generator Explore endless planets in your favorite sci-fi TTRPG

"Fantastic Detectives" is now available in hardcover! An excellent anthology featuring a Baker's Dozen of stories about detectives solving crimes in fantasy settings. Available from your favorite online book retailers.

The proof of the hardcover edition of "Fantastic Detectives" came in...and it is looking FINE. We've now pressed the PUBLISH button, so it'll soon be available from all your favorite retailers.

Preview of the required SQUARE cover image of the upcoming audiobook for "Bitter Days."

Yes, I'm in the process of getting all my books published as audiobooks with professional narrators. Stay tuned for more developments!

The Eat Local Read Local Book Sale and Festival is back for 2023! And I'll be there selling books!!!

Get a taste of Loudoun County's homegrown writers and food vendors during this seventh annual outdoor celebration at the Cascades Library. The festival features local authors selling and signing books, food trucks, live music and children's activities. Bring the whole family and support the writers, businesses and artists in our community. It's a FREE event, too!

11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Saturday, October 14, 2023
21030 Whitfield Pl, Potomac Falls, VA