Want to get your science checked?

Those of you who follow this blog will have undoubtedly noticed that I don't post much any more. The number one reason for that is I've been in the throes of a PhD with very little desire to write about science/astronomy/astrophysics outside of work. Basically, blogging here stopped feeling like something fun to do and started to feel like more work, which is not what I wanted.

Defying Doomsday, an upcoming anthology

If you've been paying close attention, you may have seen my book blog, which I have been maintaining because talking about books is entirely unlike talking about science, even if they are science fiction and fantasy books. If you haven't already checked it out, you can do so here. I'm also editing an anthology, Defying Doomsday, which is currently being crowdfunded. You can read more about it here.

However, I still feel strongly about getting the science right (or at least, not horribly wrong) in fiction. To that end, I am selling five science checks as part of the crowdfunding for Defying Doomsday. If you've always wanted a professional astrophysicist to look over your story and tell you which sciencey bits are done well and which aren't so good, now's your chance! Here's what it says on our Pozible page:

Story Science Check

Tsana Dolichva, whose day job is astrophysics, will provide a professional science check of your work, assessing and critiquing the scientific validity of a piece of your fiction (up to 10,000 words) PLUS a limited edition hardcover copy of Defying Doomsday (exclusive to Pozible backers) PLUS the ebook edition of Defying Doomsday (all formats) AND your name in the book with our thanks

(For longer pieces please contact us and we can sort something out!)

I am more than happy to make arrangements to look at longer work if that's what you would prefer. It's a pretty good deal; not only do you get to have your science checked, you also get to support an awesome anthology! And if you're wondering, I have done some science checking before, including for professional authors.

Here's a bit more about Defying Doomsday:

Defying Doomsday is an anthology of apocalypse-survival fiction with a focus on disabled characters, which will be edited by Tsana Dolichva and Holly Kench, and published by Twelfth Planet Press in mid 2016.

Apocalypse fiction rarely includes characters with disability, chronic illness and other impairments. When these characters do appear, they usually die early on, or are secondary characters undeveloped into anything more than a burden to the protagonist. Defying Doomsday will be an anthology showing that disabled characters have far more interesting stories to tell in post-apocalyptic/dystopian fiction.

The anthology will be varied, with characters experiencing all kinds of disability from physical impairments, chronic illnesses, mental illnesses and/or neurodiverse characters. There will also be a variety of stories, including those that are fun, sad, adventurous and horrific.

The stories in Defying Doomsday will look at periods of upheaval from new and interesting perspectives. The anthology will share narratives about characters with disability, characters with chronic illnesses and other impairments, surviving the apocalypse and contending with the collapse of life as they know it.