The Power Of Gray Blog

Invitation to Andromeda: A Flower-of-Sands Adventure

by Grahame R. Smith, 23rd April 2022
I had the idea of combining a journey to the Andromeda galaxy but linking it with many of my favourite characters. Flower-of-sands is decidedly one, but there are others. Elphina, the outrageous young female being from a super-advanced race, transcending the need for a body but choosing to have one. I have been searching for a way of describing races that have evolved beyond the level of humankind. Not an easy thing to do without sliding into fantasy - I wanted to convey a lightness of being and a simplicity alongside what we would describe as superpowers. And the idea that civilisations must pass beyond war and crime to evolve further. I have introduced the idea that powers exist that sanction the progress of societies until they have transcended the need for war and violence. Yet I need to tell this within a framework that involves conflict and peril to express the contrast and to have a fun, exciting, and, hopefully, engaging story. We must have an account. If everything were perfect, there would be no story. And we must have humour. Humour is essential.
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Journey into the Oort Cloud.

by Grahame R. Smith, 25th January 2020
Hello, fellow SciFi readers. I have given free rein to my interest in the outer solar system in this novel. There are many areas in astronomy which have interested me greatly. One is the early universe, and in my books, Journey to the Dawn of Time and No More Moon in the Water, I have brought this into the narrative through a planet called Sphinx of the Folly system. In my last two published novels, Flower-of-Sands and Journey into the Oort Cloud, I have indulged my interest in the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud. Flower-of-Sands features Pluto and its moon Charon. One of the characters, Venetia, is in honour of Venetia Burney, who, in 1930, at the age of 11, is credited with coming up with the name Pluto. (Incidentally, many regard Pluto and its five moons as a binary mini-system. Space-geek thing.) In Journey into the Oort Cloud, I feature the dwarf planet Makemake and the planetoid Sedna, which is seriously in the solar system's outer reaches. From then on in, it's sci-fi-fantasy with layers of characters and aliens. A central character is Dr Venetia Woods, astrophysicist and authority on the outer system, who heads the science team on a follow-up rescue mission into the Oort Cloud. Her close friend Arabella travels with Venetia, who comes from the Triangulum galaxy - and then there is Aaliyah, a soul-mate from across aeons of time and space. The novel is full of adventures, challenging relationships, and strange and scary encounters. I put this book out there for people to enjoy. So far, most have done so, and I hope you do, and I hope that continues. 
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In the UK this week going interstellar.

by Grahame R. Smith, 28th February 2019
Here in Bristol in the UK we are experiencing warm serene weather with deep deep shadows and low warm sun. I have been so busy with my music and in other areas that I have had little time for writing. Also, I have been slowed down over the last few months by a wound complication following a triple hernia op. But my latest novel is almost ready, and I am struggling to find a title. One can divide novel writing into three sections: the novel itself, the book description, and finding a title. I have come up with something, but I will wait and see for a few days, or weeks, but not months.
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The Love Dart

by Grahame R. Smith, 21st August 2013
They had a new, lethal weapon: the love dart. This cunning creation slipped past SLs and implants for as long as it took to seduce the victim into not wanting rescue. Earlier that evening the management of the auditorium had pleaded with the more responsible Marleeseen to refrain from using the love darts during the evening’s performance – Meeko did not realize how near she had come to circumvent this. This arrangement, however, did not extend to Rahhoon’s party; the Marleeseen were there with serious and energetic intent.
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Scenes from a Perfect World Part 3

by Grahame R. Smith, 26th February 2013
This is a deleted scene from my first novel At Risk ... A Perfect World.
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Scenes from a Perfect World Part 2

by Grahame R. Smith, 7th February 2013
A low hum filled the air, indicating the end of the interval. Gradually, people returned to their seats. It was a slow process. For anyone anxious to see the second half it would have been a time of great frustration. Indeed, anyone of that persuasion would have been advised to stay away from the evening's live performance altogether and watch the whole thing later on holo. This was because the interval was of supreme importance for the audience, for much more important even than the performance itself. Intervals in Glory Town sometimes lasted for hours, in some cases much, much longer - there was even anecdotal evidence of intervals lasting for days, resulting in the complete cancellation of the second half. 'Do you know it was a wonderful show, but we never got passed the interval?' The Marleeseen were often at least partly to blame for this. Not this evening, however, as everyone knew of Rahhoon's party, for which the Marleeseen were saving the happy mayhem they planned to bestow.
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Scenes from a Perfect World

by Grahame R. Smith, 1st February 2013
As the overture of evocation came to an end complete darkness invaded the auditorium. No one stirred or made a sound. Silence pervaded. Then, after what felt like an eternity, a light appeared centre stage, opaque and fragile to begin with, but gradually growing stronger. Encased in this shimmering light was the figure of a man. It was of extraordinary beauty, of divine and angelic proportions; it was Limbardin. Omigali gasped as her hands went to her face. She was elated, never had she seen such beauty. Rapturous applause now swept the hall in recognition of this great dancer. He began to move, slowly building speed, sweeping from one side of the stage to the other, entwined and complimented by other performers who little by little entered the arena.
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Spirituality, Mysticism and the Worlds At Risk Series

by Grahame R. Smith, 18th January 2013
I remember when I saw Ben-Hur how impressed I was by the story of Jesus of Nazareth running quietly alongside the general narrative. Here was an exciting story involving adventure, political intrigue, action, and excitement, yet something came in from different angle, a parallel, transcendent story, a message of peace and hope. Despite the cheesy Hollywood thing, I was moved, not because it was Christian, but because it spoke of another possibility running across the storyline of human suffering and conflict.
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