suenielsen.com

Avatar and immortality

2010-01-09T15:15:00.000-08:00

Seeing the film 'Avatar" has helped me break through the writer's block which overcame me when my mother died last July. Grieving for someone who had so inspired me, I was not sure why I should continue writing the Behind the Sun series. What do I want to say? Watching Avatar, I wondered too what exactly Cameron was trying to tell us. The visuals are so fantastic that it's hard to concentrate on deeper meaning while being whirled around another planet. The ecological themes and the parallels to 'Dances with Wolves' are pretty obvious. Avatar raises the question of why we would abandon our own kind and 'turn native'. As one character asks Sully - 'What does it feel like to betray your species?
But Avatar provides no clear view on that and completely ignores a question which is deeply connected to avataras, a question which has always preoccupied humanity - immortality. The Sully character gets the chance to overcome his injuries and as you watch his first exuberant steps in the alien body, it's pretty clear he isn't going to give that up without a fight. In the movie the technology exists to allow anyone to do that, for any purpose, but this idea is never explored.
The idea of avataras used to mean the manifestation of a higher entity into a lower one, usually when the earth was in trouble, to set things right. Now it is used so much in computer games and reality shows that its original meaning is lost. The avatar may not be a force for good, only a way to expand and perhaps prolong our own lives, as it does for Sully in Avatar. In the last chapters of Behind the Sun, the characters have to confront the possibility of their own immortality - what it would mean for their sense of humanity and personal identity to be able to live indefinitely, in their own or other bodies. Gilgamesh (pic) gave up the search for eternal life, but medical science is leading us on. Organ transplants, artificial aids and the possibility of repairing the telomeres of our cells - in the end, what do we become? What do we want to become? The sequel to Behind the Sun is back on track.

Supanova super guys!!

2009-04-11T01:49:00.000-07:00

No, I am not kneeling down! Great to catch up with ICT past students - Lance and Rappo at the Behind the Sun stall. The axe has no significance. They are both charming young men (even if they did major in software engineering instead of information systems :(

Richard Hatch at Supanova

2009-04-06T13:47:00.001-07:00

Supanova 09 was terrific. Best memory was meeting Richard Hatch and getting a pic with him holding my book - which he made nice comments about - that's why they call them film stars! But really, a lovely guy - total charmer and even better looking than when he played Apollo. If I'd had the nerve I would have asked him to audition for the role of Rick Jones in Behind the Sun. Never mind, I'll keep him in mind for Annomee Awakening.

Amazing costumes and some great performances. Up for special mention is the Doctor Who - dead ringer for David Tennant - almost paid for his autograph.

Special thanks to Jen Gasston who struggled valiantly against the flu (managed to look amazing anyway in that blonde wig!), Ellie who stayed the whole day and Colleen Box who kept me amused for hours on end (and pushed me towards the Richard Hatch squee moment).

Annomee Awakening

2009-03-31T12:18:00.000-07:00

After I finished writing Behind the Sun I couldn't wait to start on the sequel and The Golden Apples is well underway. But I also wanted to tell the stories of some of the Annomee, so I decided to co-write a prequel with Jen Gasston. Annomee Awakening should be finished by mid-year. It is set two years before the action starts in Behind the Sun so none of the characters from Earth know that Earth 2 even exists. The story follows the adventures of a group of young people who are abducted and taken to Earth 2 and their encounters with the Annomee (and all the other bizarre people on Earth 2). Of course, we couldn't get it all into one book so there will be at least one more Annomee book before their story intersects with that of the Millennium team.

Earth 2 - a great view

2009-03-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

At last a clear picture of Earth 2, created by Jen Gasston from her memories of the return voyage from behind the sun (only joking Jen).
An article in National Geographic discussed what life would be like on a planet with a 45 degree tilt; greater variation in temperature between seasons and possibly less stability in the axial tilt (more wobbling). Apparently Earth's tilt has been a lot more extreme in the distant past. There would be an ice belt around the equator. What else?
We don;t find out in Behind the Sun because the climate on Earth 2 is not what it seems (nothing is).

Parents of Deaf Children workshop

2009-03-07T15:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I attended an all day workshop run by the POD group, to help (grand)parents of deaf children improve their parenting skills and handle difficult situations which are particularly important for deaf children.
What an inspiring day! Not only because of the range of topics and skills which we covered but also because of the other participants. I met parents from six families all of whom are facing challenges which seem overwhelming. All of them have kept their sense of humour, gratitude for the things which go well and acceptance of things which they cannot seem to change. Most of these parents had children with multiple handicaps/illnesses and it was an inspiration to watch them interacting with their children and listen to their stories. I was humbled and grateful for the experience. Check out the website at
http://www.deafchildrenaustralia.org.au/

Live forever?

2009-02-18T07:13:00.000-08:00

As I write both the prequel and sequel to Behind the Sun, I am thinking hard about the pros and cons of immortality (the characters', not mine!!). What do you think? Would you like to live for ever (or as long as you wanted to)?

I've been fascinated by this topic ever since reading The Epic of Gilgamesh (check out Silverberg's version - Gilgamesh the King). There's a good summary on the wikipedia page.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortality

Behind the Sun

2009-02-06T01:58:00.000-08:00

Firstly, thanks again to everyone who purchased the book.

It has been very difficult to find out how many books were ordered on Tuesday the 27th of January, despite hitting #7 on an online shopping website. Whilst the number sold have not been worked out as of yet, I believe sales did go quite well.

I am disappointed about the cost of postage and shipping to Australia and apologise about the cost involved. I did not realise that postage would be so dear, and the decline of the Australian dollar has not helped either.

The next book is coming along well (15, 000 words and counting), so I hope that I can find a cheaper way to make and distribute the next book. Doing this within Australia would be ideal as the postage would be cheaper (or free) and the waiting times would not be as long as they have with Behind the Sun.

Please leave any feedback about the book or in regards to the above issues.

Anyone got a wristwatch mobile phone?

2009-01-30T14:53:00.000-08:00

Watchers arise!
Just seen the first signs of the ‘watcher’ technology which features in Behind the Sun.
Has anyone bought or used one of these mobile wristwatch phones? What do you think of them?

Here are the websites.
http://www.current.com.au/2009/01/30/article/ZSCITWMVSP.html
http://www.nvmobile.com.au/

BTS hits # 7 for sci fi adventure on amazon

2009-01-28T08:03:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was an exciting day. Been so busy - had no time to write about it till now.
Will started Prep - he looks unbelievably cute in his uniform. I will post a photo soon.

And BTS went up to #1089 (out of 3 million plus) on amazon and for a short while was #7 in the sci fi adventure category - just above a star wars novella. Thanks heaps to all who bought and supported it. Will let you know when I find out actual sales figures.

High tech exercise

2009-01-24T19:01:00.000-08:00

So excited (again). Just ordered a Vibrating Fitness machine, just like the one in Behind the Sun (p.57). These were first developed to help prevent bone mass loss in astronuats. See the report at http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=9939 NASA status report August 2003.
"The vibrating platform uses low-magnitude, high-frequency signals to reintroduce this stress by tricking the body into thinking it is in something akin to normal gravity."
Also shown to help with balance, weight loss and flexibility. Just standing on the platform is good, but of course you can use it with specific exercises too (no excuses Sue)

Brendan Cowell in Behind the Sun

2009-01-19T09:51:00.000-08:00

Middle of the night - can't sleep - daughter with a gastric bug. What to do? Keep searching for the best actor to play Alistair Stuart. Then it hit me - Russell Crowe is a bit too old and too famous (sorry Russ)
Brendan Cowell would be perfect. Perhaps rather too good looking but, hey, the guy can act any part he wants. Check out his website.
http://worldfilm.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=worldfilm&cdn=entertainment&tm=25&gps=79_167_1020_571&f=10&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.geocities.com/sydneyactorwriter/

Getting to know Amazon!

2009-01-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

Sales rankings, search inside, tags - things I had never thought about a few months ago. So much to learn, so may ways to promote your book on amazon.com. It's great fun watching your book creep up the list. I started at #11 and am now on #2 (if you search for Behind the Sun).

http://www.amazon.com/Behind-Sun-Sue-Nielsen/dp/1439213542/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231443876&sr=1-2

Also a little weird - I still feel like a mother watching her kid on the first day of school, running off into the noisy school yard. Will the other kids like him? Will he get lost in the crowd of 3 million?

More on the cast for Behind the Sun

2008-12-31T18:59:00.000-08:00

See my earlier blog for the casting of the Millennium crew. But my ambitions don't stop there!!

I would cast Damien Lewis as Rick Jones - such a great actor and he can do the American accent ok.

On Earth 2, you would see Naomi Watts, Cate Blanchett, Rufus Sewell, Catherine Zeta Jones, Claudia Black (so great in Farscape), Scarlett Johansen,

and a couple of lesser known faces

Jens Albinus

www.avforlaget.dk/html/indlaser/jensa.html

Peter Mygind- http://www.nkbooking.dk/?Iid=307&Eid=36

2008-12-30T00:07:00.000-08:00

Got the physical proof of Behind the Sun in the mail today - such a big book - so weird to see it in hard copy. I have to check it through and then once I sign off on it, it will take about 3 weeks for it to become available on amazon.com.

Now when I look at it, I remember all the things I thought about, and the research I did while writing it - so much more than is in the book. But it's been a great journey and really only the first step on where I want to go.

The Earth and the moon

2008-12-24T04:02:00.000-08:00

One of my favourite photos - one of the few shots of the Earth and Moon together, taken by Voyager 1, way back in 1977. (Thanks to GRIN - Nasa's copyright free image website). We only have one moon but it has such an amazing relationship to our planet - why we can only see one side of the moon; how the moon can eclipse the sun. What an amazing series of coincidences - nothing mystical about this - just another wonderful set of facts.

International Year of Astronomy 2009

2008-12-22T12:43:00.000-08:00

I have been checking out facebook groups for IYA and there are some great groups, but I wonder why noone seems to have set up an Australian group.

The Australian website is great http://www.astronomy2009.org.au/

I aim to do more stargazing in 2009. What about you? Send me your ideas here for celebrating IYA 2009.

Behind the Sun - the song

2008-12-17T21:52:00.000-08:00

Ok, ok. I give in. Here is a link to the other "Behind the Sun" (from one of my favourite bands)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suH0xS1zxHA

2008-12-06T13:09:00.000-08:00

In my dreams Peter Jackson turns "Behind the Sun" into a mega saga

with the following cast (I can dream)

Major John Armstrong - Taye Diggs

Sally Burns - Rose Byrne

Alistair Stuart - Russell Crowe

Jeremy Stuart - Gerard Butler (but blonde & with an Oz accent)

Asronaut Sima Vaschenko - Oleg Menshikov (also blonde)

Astronaut Sharon Bright - Jodie Foster

Vicki Law - Michelle Yeoh

Thomas Beecham - Jude Law

Mohun Patel - Daveen Andrews

When you've read the book, let me know what you think :)

Deaf Services Queensland and learning to sign.

2008-12-04T05:24:00.000-08:00

Visited DSQ at Annerley today to sign the agreement re donating 10% of profits. What an inspiring bunch of people - so enthusiastic and knowledgeable. DSQ provides great services, including a support group for parents of deaf children.
I can't wait to do Auslan level 2 (but first I need to practice a lot more to get the most out of the Auslan 1 class).
So if you ever see me gesturing furiously to no one in particular - it's just me trying to improve my signing. I sign a lot to my grandson but as I see him only a couple of times a week, I need to make more effort to sign on a daily basis. Auslan has a great website with videoclips of signs
http://www.auslan.org.au/

Where is Ulysses now?

2008-12-01T23:27:00.000-08:00

The Ulysses spacecraft was launced via shuttle on October 6, 1990, and used Jupiter's large gravitational field to accelerate out of the ecliptic plane. The aim was to achieve high latitudes, to get a view of the sun that we can't see from Earth.

One of the characters in 'Behind the Sun' used data from the Ulysses' mission to make an important discovery. You can check this website to see where the Ulysses is now.

http://ulysses.jpl.nasa.gov/

One of my favourite photos

2008-11-20T23:38:00.001-08:00

Almost finished the proofreading; looking forward to going back to one of my favourite places. Do you recognise it?

Welcome to my blog

2008-11-09T13:47:00.000-08:00

My website is up and running at www.suenielsen.com
Check out the cool graphics!