It’s the last day of 2018. I’m thinking a lot about my ancestors as I plan to write the biography of Colonel Thorn during 2019. It’s a tale of lost fortunes, artistic audacity, passion, betrayal, tragedy, family jealousies, runaway brides, the court of Louis Philippe, and New York society. It will be my magnum opus. Here’s a snippet of my research about Thorn’s daughter, Jane, who married Etienne de Pierres:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jane (Thorn) de Pierres is bottom left in a white dress with blue ribbon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A hundred years later in Australia, circumstances were vastly different. Jane and Etienne’s descendants were pioneers in a harsh country. I feel deeply humbled when I think about how hard my grandparents life was, and how hard they worked to leave a legacy to their children.

I’ve always been a futurist, but there is something very grounding, very important in knowing what came before – the path that was paved for you (me) and how you honour those memories. I try never to take it for granted.

So, today I honour my parents and grandparents: my dad and grandfather in the Stockman’s Hall of Fame, and my mum in the Pioneer Women’s Hall of Fame. Thank you for everything.

Yes, you read it right! It’s a real thing.

He Said, She Said: Fake News and #MeToo in Marianne de Pierres’ Sentients of Orion.

Dr Thea Boshoff and her colleague, Dr Deirdre Byrne, have had their work accepted into the Mensageiros das Estrelas Journal. The article will be published in 2019 in Issue #4, LIES, Inc. lies and “alternative facts” in Science Fiction.

If you want to know what this is about, grab a digital copy of the Omnibus.

 

 

 

Some of you may remember that Dr Thea Boshoff wrote her PhD thesis about my Sentients of Orion series. Her thesis is entitled: 

Crafting positions: representations of intimacy and gender in The Sentients of Orion.

Well, Thea just contacted me to say that she’ll be presenting a paper called *The Aliens of Orion* at a conference in Lisbon. The main theme of the conference is what it means to be human. Thea’s paper shows how the progression in my depiction of aliens reflects a progression in the nature of humanity.

Here is the poster from the conference. Giant lobsters. What is not to love?

Wish I could be there!