Spoiler? … In A Fire Upon The Deep Vernor Vinge has created a race of aliens unlike any others I can remember.  The individuals are small packs of dogs or wolves with shared minds.  Without going into many of the other interesting aspects of this creation, I found one that, if not exactly mathematics in sci-fi, is a unique application of computer science theory.  Vinge has an antagonist experimenting with the network architectures of these packs/individuals in a very mad-scientist kind of way.  With certain techniques of biological and behavioral manipulation he constructs ring and star network topologies out of the alien minds.  This is definitely not the Borg, or even the Buggers of Ender’s Game.  I can’t wait to read what he does with this concept.

In an attempt to get my books in front of an enthusiastic sci-fi audience, I’ve signed up to sell at the LI-CON2 conference in Ronkonkoma, Long Island this August 14-16.  I attended this conference the last time it was held, two years ago, and met many like-minded individuals.   Unfortunately manning a dealer’s table means that I won’t be able to attend many of the other exciting events this time.
The last time I signed my books was after a presentation I gave at a local library.  Those in attendance got a lecture on self-publishing, which was just catching on at the time, and a good introduction to what my first novel, The Fifth Prophet, was about.  This time I will only have a minute or so to pitch one of the five novels in my Family of Man series.  I’m still practicing what I will say. 🙂  My protagonists are all human, and the Fifth Prophet wore flannel shirts and blue jeans, so I won’t be able to attract much attention amidst the hordes of aliens and super heroes attending the conference.
It should be an adventure, and I am looking forward to meeting some interesting people and of course, selling a few books.