A couple of years ago, when practically no one knew what augmented reality was, I put together a prediction about the future of augmented vision.  A recent development from the leader in augmented vision, Vuzix, made me realize my prediction might not be far off.

Engadget recently reported about the state of Vuzix’s AR vision line (taken from the floor of CES 2012.)

The end result is that Vuzix is promising a $350-600 AR vision line available in 2013.  This model is built off their military line used for creating the next generation of super-soldier.

So how well am I doing on my prediction?  Back in early 2009 I put together this info-graphic to show when we’d be seeing real augmented vision.

Some of the predictions are moving along and others are lagging.  It appears that AR glasses might be closer than I first thought, thanks to DARPA funding.  It’s still too early to tell how widespread usage might be or what could be done with them, but it’s still interesting to watch how my fictional worlds of The Digital Sea and Gamers might come to pass.  Hopefully, leveraging the wonders of Moore’s Law, we see them sooner rather than later.

The second book in the Gamers trilogy — Frags — is now available just in time for the holidays.  If you haven’t read the first book in the Gamers trilogy, go pick up a copy now at your favorite retailer.  The trilogy has been compared to a cross between the Hunger Games and the Uglies trilogy by many reviewers and readers.

When the Frags escape to the Freelands, they find freedom has its own challenges.

Without the familiar rules of LifeGame, Gabby and the Frags stumble from one dangerous Freeland to the next, while conflict in the group threatens to split them up. As the trail to Zaela becomes confused by the looming war, Gabby must reinvent herself or never see her best friend again.

The novel can be purchased by e-book at Amazon, B&N and Smashwords for $4.99, or as a paperback for $13.99.

I’m please to announce the second book in The Digital Sea trilogy — The Godhead Machine.  This one takes up a couple of years after the first book, when life has seemingly settled down for our favorite heroine Zel Aurora.  Here’s the back cover blurb:

When religions spread like computer viruses, even atheists have to take notice.

An old enemy seizes control of the newly expanded Wiki-religion to create a new world order.  To stop him, Zel must join forces with a mega-celebrity doing penance and an orphan girl out for revenge.  However, mired on a thawing city in Greenland, she cannot just use her considerable powers to bend reality and fix the problem.  Instead, she must turn her greatest weakness – understanding people – into a strength or doom the planet to endless religious war.

The novel can be purchased by e-book at Amazon, B&N and Smashwords for $4.99, or as a paperback for $14.95.

Certain songs encapsulate The Digital Sea for me.  ”Right Where It Belongs” from Nine Inch Nails is one of those songs.  Especially at the point the concert noise fades into the quiet song.  The Digital Sea is all about augmented reality and augmented reality is all about the perception of reality and “Right Where It Belongs” captures that moment of realization, when it passes from one state to another.  Enjoy.

One major allure of writing near-future science fiction novels is that the technology is right over the horizon.  So near you can almost reach out and grab it with your ape-like hands make magic happen.  Every year the technology that makes up the collective writings about augmented reality I call “The Digital Sea” moves closer and closer to reality.  After watching this video, I felt like the technology had taken another huge step forward.  It’s not commercially available yet, but it’s certainly possible.

And if that video intrigues you, stop by Amazon and pick up a copy of The Digital Sea or Gamers.

As a little experiment, I decided to make a couple of my short stories free on Amazon: Sagan’s Law and The Cageless Zoo.  I didn’t think much would happen and I pegged my expectations very low.  As of 5pm yesterday they were free on Amazon.  Exactly twenty-four hours later, they are #2 and #4 on the science fiction bestseller lists for free e-books (and Sagan’s Law is #99 on the overall free list.)  I’m flabbergasted by the number of free downloads and even more pleasantly surprised by the novels sold because of these free offerings.  My novels have jumped way up the rankings as well, though no where near as high as the shorts.  My guess is that a fair number have enjoyed the short stories and are willing to take the plunge with a purchased novel.

If you’ve been on the fence about purchasing one of my novels, here’s your chance to try a sample story.  If you decide you like, come back and pick up a copy of The Digital Sea, Gamers or the Fires of Alexandria.  I’m not sure how long I’m going to leave them up free, but get them while you can.

** Update — 8pm.  Sagan’s Law is #1 on the free sci-fi ebooks.  Rather strange to be next to George RR Martin (he’s tops on the paid list) but I’ll take it.

What do all these random images have to do with anything?  I finished my tenth book this weekend.  Seems hard to believe that I’ve written that many, all one word at a time.  The first four will never see the light of day.  They were my practice novels and unless I use the source material and completely rewrite them from scratch, they will stay on my trunk forever.

The book I finished was The Godhead Machine, book two of the Digital Sea trilogy.  I have to say, I think it turned out awesome.  I’ll be thrilled when I release the book in the fall.  My next goal is another book two, Frags, this time for the Gamers trilogy.

Between the grueling heat wave and the torrential storms, I’ve had plenty of reasons to stay indoors this summer and keep working.  I’m past the center post and it’s hard to imagine I’ll get as much done as I did the first half, but with many deadlines looming I have no choice but to keep steaming forward.  

Reviews

Great reviews still coming in for my first three novels (well, nothing yet for Fires, but many of the ARCs just went out last week.  It’ll be a month until we see the first one.)  The latest ones nearly bowling me over with comparisons to my favorite characters and writers.  See for yourself:

The Digital Sea Reviews

Gamers Review

“…If you’re a fan of science fiction, you’ll love this book. Especially if you like Scott Westerfield’s Pretties series. If you’re like me, and not a big fan of sci-fi (but you liked the Pretties), then you will also like this book. The action keeps the story alive and makes it hard to put down. Plus, the concept behind life being a live or die game is highly original, which makes the book all that much better. “

~ The Flashlight Reader 

Updates

The Mirror Shards Anthology is progressing at expected speeds.  Still on target for a September release date.  Also, finishing up The Godhead Machine, book two of the Digital Sea trilogy, and outlining Frags, the other book two on my agenda (Gamers Trilogy.)

Only a week left of the Smashwords Summer Sale.  I have a number of free stories and half-priced books up on the site.  Find Fires of Alexandria here for only a couple of bucks using the code SSW50.

Links

If you enjoy reading books on your smartphone and use iTunes to search.  See this link for my current titles–iTunes Book Link.  Fires of Alexandria should be available on iTunes in a couple of weeks when the book gets pushed to Apple.

Finally, a cool video about Heron of Alexandria and the “miracles” of the temples.

I find it hard to believe that the year is halfway over, but I guess I’ve been so busy it’s hard to keep track of the time. I rarely lament having nothing to do. Usually, I’m crying about not having enough time to get everything I want done.

But rather than do that today, I’d like to spend a moment to review what I have accomplished in the first half of the year.  This serves as more than just selfish trumpeting of deeds.  As my wife knows, I beat myself up about my self-imposed tasks too often, adding stress when none is necessary.  It’s time to take stock and, for a brief moment, enjoy what I’ve done.  Plus, it’s my birthday tomorrow.  :)

My word count goal for the year was 250,000 words.  As of today, I stand at 165,003, which is about 65,000 words above goal.  That 165k word count includes one and a half novels and a half-dozen short stories.  I’ve sat down to write on 70% of the days during the year, which usually translates to about five days a week.

I’ve received well over fifty rejections from various magazine markets.  I don’t feel like counting the exact number and it doesn’t mean as much to me as it used to.  Before it was a nice way to know if I was getting myself out there.  Now I’d like to start seeing some sales, primarily with the Writers of the Future contest.  That one sale would be worth ten of the others.

On publishing, my plan has been to get six novels and one anthology online (not including a host of short stories.)  So far I have two with a third coming this week.  I’ve published The Digital Sea and Gamers.  Later this week, I will be publishing my historical fiction novel – Fires of Alexandria.  It’s a book that will cast a wide net when it comes to potential readership and I know it’s my best work to date.

I’m also working on publishing an anthology about augmented reality called Mirror Shards.  I’ve already bought a number great stories from professionals and neo-pros alike.  The deadline is this Friday, July 8th.  Once all the stories are in, I’ll pick the final few that will join the others and decide which will be the Gold Award, getting full pro pay.  It’s going to be a difficult decision.

Writing-wise, I’m finishing up the second book in the Digital Sea trilogy: The Godhead Machine.  When I complete the novel in a few weeks, it’ll be my ninth one.  The first three will never see the light of day, but the others are published or waiting to be published.  After I get that and a few short stories complete, I’ll move onto book two of the Gamers Trilogy: Frags.  My daughter, Zoe, can’t wait for me to complete that one.

So the first half of the year has been hell-bent and chalk-full of writerly work.  The second half will prove to be just as busy and I hope, just as successful.  While I can only control what I write, submit and publish, I do hope to see a few more boons in sales, and hopefully, success in the WOTF contest.  Here’s to a good second half of the year, and may yours be as well.

Reality is perception.  Perception is made from the sum of our experiences filtered through our current bodily state.  Augmented reality can change perception by showing you a different world than the one expected.  Yes, we can gorge ourselves on Disney escapes or fetish porn, but Michael Harboun takes us on a journey to the transcendent side of AR.

Transcendenz from Michaël Harboun on Vimeo.

This is Michael’s take on his video:

In a world in which we are constantly bombarded with injunctions to react or to distract ourselves it gets scarcely possible in our everyday life to dwell upon the essential, the existential, the metaphysical…

Transcendenz offers to connect our everyday life to an invisible reality, the one of ideas, concepts and philosophical questionings which the world is full of but that our eyes cant’ see. By bringing together the concepts of augmented/altered reality, Brain Computer Interface (BCI) and social networks, Transcendenz offers to live immersive philosophical experiences.

Through meditation, users access the world of Interconsciousness, a white and silent universe in which they can connect themselves to the metaphysical experiences. These experiences transform our perception of the world and reveal an unseen philosophy.

Transcendenz also enables us to access the knowledge of history’s great philosophers, who, since antiquity, try to answer the question: “Why is there something, if there could be nothing?”