Twenty five years ago today: my recollections of the Challenger disaster
🔗 http://stacyjuba.com/blog/2011/01/29/25-years-ago-today-science-fiction-author-jaleta-clegg-recalls-the-challenger-explosion/
Story Behind The Book
I discovered science fiction a very long time ago, when I was about nine. The first science fiction novel I read was by Andre Norton. I can’t remember the exact book, there were so many, but I remember staying up until two or three in the morning, unable to put the book down until I finished. The images of alien worlds and people, dangerous creatures and crime lords, strange technologies and starships, filled my imagination to overflowing. It was about the same time I discovered Carl Sagan’s Cosmos on TV. The possibilities, real and fictional, captivated me completely. I watched the space shuttle Columbia launch for the very first time, sneaking out of bed at 4 a.m. to turn on the TV. I shivered in breathless anticipation as the countdown slowly moved to zero. I savored the moment, all alone in my pj’s in front of an old television, as the engines fired and the shuttle roared into orbit. I get the same goose bumps every time I watch a launch. Science fiction gives us something no other type of fiction does: a sense of wonder about future possibilities. With that statement, let me introduce Nexus Point. The first version was written years ago. I’d read just about every SF book in the local library and bought all I could afford. I’d given up on several in a row–bad plots, worse characters, a sense of utter futility about life. That wasn’t what I wanted to read. I wanted a book that drew me in, made me care about the characters, the kind of book that when you turn the last page you think, “No! I don’t want this journey to end, not yet!” I set about writing my own stories. Things snowballed. I learned a lot about writing. And I made new friends with the characters I'd created. In some ways, they are more real to me than my family. They live in my head, visiting my dreams. Nexus Point is not so much a story about science or the future. It's a story about a woman with a tangled past and a simple dream, fumbling her way through a nasty situation. It's about Dace, told from her point of view. It's space opera, a grand story about people overcoming daunting obstacles and learning about each other. At its heart, Nexus Point is a romance, but not your typical bodice ripper. Nexus Point opens the series: The Fall of the Altairan Empire. I hope you enjoy the ride. I hope you turn the last page and think, "No! I don't want this to end, not yet!" If you do, I've done exactly what I set out to do.
Media Links
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Guest Blog on The Child-Finder
🔗 http://childfinder.us/2010/04/science-fiction-author-jaleta-clegg-lands-on-the-child-finder-trilogy/↗
Excerpt on Quackers & Tease
🔗 http://quackersandtease.blogspot.com/2011/02/welcome-jaleta-clegg-contest.html↗
Radio talk show discussing The Last Man Anthology, my story Omega Museum is one of their favorites
🔗 http://www.scifisaturdaynight.com/?p=1996↗
Dungeon Crawlers Radio mentions me at my day job
🔗 http://www.dungeoncrawlersradio.com/4/category/dcr%20event/1.html↗
Reviews
Tristi Pinkston, author - http://tristipinkston.blogspot.com/2011/01/book-review-nexus-point-by-jaleta-clegg.html<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nexus-Point-Jaleta-Clegg/dp/193602103X/ref=cm_cmu_up_thanks_hdr">Nexus Point: The Fall of the Altairan Empire</a> by <a href="http://home.earthlink.net/~jaletac/">Jaleta Clegg</a> is a science fiction novel with strong romantic elements. I have to admit, I’m not much of a sci-fi fan—my experience is largely confined to Star Trek: The Next Generation. Many of the finer details of the story went right over my head. But I thought the action was compelling, the romance was sufficiently heart-thumpy, and Dace makes an inspirational main character, someone you can root for and want to see succeed. I can see myself broadening my usual reading fare to include more novels along these lines.<br /><br />A. F. Stewart, author & reviewer - http://afstewartblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/sci-fi-witty-and-droll-review-of-nexus.html<br /><em>Nexus Point- The Fall of the Altairan Empire: Book One</em> by Jaleta Clegg is a jaunty science fiction novel mixed well with a little romance, a little wit and a few skewed medieval legends; at times I half expected someone to show looking for the Holy Grail.<br /><br />Black Sun Reviews - http://soleilnoir.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/nexus-point-by-jaleta-clegg/<br />Nexus point, from start to stop, beginning to end, chapter 1 to chapter 40, is a fast paced, adrenaline rush of a read. Jaleta Clegg’s style is very to the point, very no-nonsense. No fluff or extraneous detail of any kind. Just constant forward motion. She doesn’t slow down by much, and keep in mind, I think this is all a good thing. Because there is a lot of story to cover.