Two Old Farts Writing Science Fiction: Dennis E. Smirl & Ian Hall

Two Old farts writing Science Fiction.... what could possibly go wrong?

Can you remember when real Science Fiction was Asimov’s Foundation, or Herbert’s Dune? When Heinlein wrote Starship Troopers, and Clarke did 2001: A Space Odessy?
Yeah, so can we.
So, fed up with the dark matter of today's SF market, Dennis and I got together to write some of our own. We didn't want to wallow in depression, though, we decided to write some old-fashioned Science Fiction, you know, the stuff with blasters and aliens, rockets and ray-guns, the type of SF from a more buoyant age, stuff that we’d like to read. No more cruel, dark, Dystopia, no more end-of-the-world scenarios, each dimmer and more depressing than the last, and no Zombie apocalypse.
We decided go go back to the good old days of optimism, the eager look to the stars that once kindled longing in our childhood.
It wasn’t quite the dip into the age of Dan Dare, or Flash Gordon, but it was a definite vision into a time where the whole of mankind would rally together in the face of an alien foe, rather than wallow in fear in an age of terrorists and bomb-plots. It was a trip back to the day when the phrase ‘dirty bomb’, just meant one that had been rolled into a muddy puddle. It was a time of rockets to the Moon, then Mars, times when NASA actually launched rockets, not lectured about it.

Book 2... Things are heating up for poor Seth

Dennis and I began with a universe containing a small human federation of planets; the Fellowship. Then we gave everybody a corporate entity to universally hate; BIG SPACE.
The MacCollie Company owned space travel, having invented both drives to take us to the stars. They allotted franchises, they literally controlled the very nuts and bolts of getting out to the stars. It gave us a good feeling to give the humans an enemy of sorts, but then again, things change bloody quick up there.

3... Seth has a new crew mate... a woman!

So, to our story… the STAR-EATER CHRONICLES. MacCollie (with their new FTL drive) have sent 1000 Survey-Scouts to the edges of the galaxy to map it for mankind… well for MacCollie to collate the findings and sell it to mankind.
Seth Gingko is one of those Scouts. When he reaches the edge of the galaxy, his contract is over, as payment for his five year mission (yes, it was a five year mission, Star Trek fans, an homage, we did it on purpose) he takes ownership of his one man Scout ship.
But being an owner-operator was never going to be easy. Seth discovers an invading fleet, and must warn Earth of the impending doom.

4. More aliens than you could count!

Thus begins volume one in the STAR-EATER CHRONICLES, A Galaxy Too Far; Seth’s first solo adventure. We’ve worked so hard, we've finished book 9!, And we’ve raced right into book ten. We’ve put them on Amazon kindle, on Nook, iTunes, Kobo and in paperback.
It proves to be a great ride, but you better hold on to the safety bars, ‘cos it’s about to get real bumpy out there… real quick… and don't expect us to be "Politically Correct" about it.
And that's on of the good things about being... just Two Old Farts....