Mysteries of Damascus Steel

April 25, 2016July 23, 2016 mm

No one knows exactly how these swords were made. Doing some research on manufacturing swords, I stumbled across Damascus Steel, a process for creating blades from mixing iron, steel […]

A giant ship hovers above a traditional red barn and pierces it with a blue beam - as in all space operas, the farm must be crisped to provide some appropriate angst.

Space opera art of the day by Eduardo Peña

April 24, 2016April 24, 2016 mm

The theme of the local farmers kid being sucked into galaxy-spanning affairs is a very tasty staple of so many epic space opera stories. Sadly, the farms never weather the […]

A spiraling hole into the ground is lined by stones, the relics of an ancient civilization that harnessed wind as a hydraulic system to force water out of the ground. If you made this up in any old space opera, people would probably make fun of you.

One mystery of the Nazca plains explained

April 19, 2016April 18, 2016 mm

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160408-the-ancient-peruvian-mystery-solved-from-space I 100% get inspiration from stories like these when writing Shadow Run. Ancient civilizations are part of any good space opera, and AdriAnne and I tried to instill a sense of […]

Russian superheroes are on their way

April 19, 2016July 23, 2016 mm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeGIa5HO37Y There is a certain type of superhero movie I regard as being firmly fixed in the space opera genre. Marvel, in particularly, falls into this category – a bit grandiose, […]

Author at work

April 18, 2016April 19, 2016 mm

This is how I get most of my work done. By the very cool Daryl Mandrake

Pure space opera glory - the hero stands on the ledge, lightning coruscating around him, space ships hovering in the dark clouds. Either that, or it's a really seriously alternate history of Benjamin Franklin. Way to go, ben, I want to write a superhero story about you like that.

The Hero Convinced

April 18, 2016April 18, 2016 mm

I kept telling Margaret that if we got hit by lightning in the storm we’d develop super powers, but she was not convinced. Still, here’s an awesome image in keeping […]

Punta Del Diablo is a small coastal city, populated by quaint cottages, street lamps, and strikes of lightning through the clouds.

Coolest Lightning Strikes

April 18, 2016April 18, 2016 mm

Growing up in Alaska, lightning is not a common occurrence. Occasionally, in June, you might hear distant thunder or, if you’re very lucky, see a few flashes. So, much as […]

What it feels like to be bitten by a black widow spider, and my less exciting story

April 17, 2016April 17, 2016 mm

Nope, I am very happy to report that this is not my personal story. But it is one I dug up on Quora doing research about spiders, and like many […]

The man and woman in epic poses together is very reminiscent of Star Wars posters, and the general scale and retro-future look of the ships is classic space opera styling

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets looks like pure Space Opera goodness

April 17, 2016July 27, 2016 mm

Early first look for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Valérian and Laureline, a french comic from the 1960s are giants in Space Opera annals. Exotic other worlds, […]

Uneven colors streak up crooked towers alongside the orange and green ivy that almost obscures the building. Try describing that in your space opera book, yeesh.

Hundertwasser – awesome name for awesome architectue

April 15, 2016April 14, 2016 mm

http://gardencollage.com/garden-style/garden-history/hundertwasser/ In the process of researching architecture for our little space opera story, I was reminded of the existence of Friedensreich Hundertwasser , an Austrian architect whose name was so […]

Michael Miller

Not all who wander are lost, but some could use a map anyway