J.M. Dattilo

Authors of the Time's Edge science fiction series. Imagine being in a place that sits between worlds, dimensions and times... jmdattilo.com

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Fisheye galaxy

The plane of our galactic home is only rarely visible to most people on our planet now that we live a majority urban lifestyle. As we lose our connection with the night, the last remaining connection to the reality of nature is slipping away from the majority of humanity stuck in the teeming megalopoli of the world. Even from small and spread out Montevideo I rarely glimpse it, let alone the companion galaxies of the Magellanic Clouds, though things are much better than when I dwelt in London, many years ago.

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Science Fiction is Good for Science

Science Fiction is Good for Science

Lately, there has been a trend criticizing science fiction books and movies for not being “scientific”. Headlines proclaim “what the new Star Wars movie got wrong” and articles, tweets, and blogs all rush to point out the errors in science fiction books and movies. Some have gone so far as to label speculative fiction as bad for science. Our opinion: Lighten up, guys! Naturally, fiction makes…

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An Ode for Retail Employees Who Work on Thanksgiving

An Ode for Retail Employees Who Work on Thanksgiving

In response to many requests, we are rerunning our popular Thanksgiving post, Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving.   Twas the night before Thanksgiving and all through the store, Not an employee was stirring. They could give no more Their stockings were torn but they did not care. They just hoped that closing time soon would be there. The children’s department was completely a wreck While the…

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Why, Zoe, Why?

We have two cats. One is Katie, a gray-striped, furry ball of affection. Nothing bothers hers. She rolls with schedule changes, house repairs, and guests with equal aplomb. She spends her days sleeping beneath our writing desk or lounging on top of the sofa in the sun. The other cat is Zoe. There is only one way to describe Zoe. She’s a maniac. Amazingly, she and Katie are sisters, found by…

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Writing Instead of Blogging

Writing Instead of Blogging

We know it’s been awhile since our last post. Where have we been? Writing. Books, that is, not blog posts. We were originally committed to writing one blog per week, and we did for a few years. Then we noticed how much time it took to prepare a blog post. Time to think of a topic. Time to write it and rewrite it. We began to ask if blogging was worth all the time we were spending on it. We…

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Time’s Phantoms Sneak Peek “Strength is having the guts to be who you are,” Jafrey said. “Strength is allowing yourself the right to have doubts and make mistakes.

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Ten Quotes about Time from Time's Edge

Ten Quotes about Time from Time’s Edge

A few readers have asked what our favorite quotes about time are — from our own books! We debated and argued and wrangled over some of them but managed to come up with a list of ten. So, for posterity, here are our favorite quotes about time from the Time’s Edge series: 1. Time exists in cosmic strings that run parallel to each other, each with a slightly different frequency and, hence, a…

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Your Brain on Fiction Turns out reading fiction is great for your brain! It's the cognitive equivalent of taking your brain for a jog. So exercise daily with a good book.

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Why We Love NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day

Why We Love NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day

For those who are not familiar with NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) site, it is a collection of amazing pictures of the universe. Their tagline explains it best: “Discover the Cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.” And why do we love it? It’s simple. Inspiration and…

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[schmidt-cassegrain]

Whirlpool Galaxy, NASA

[schmidt-cassegrain]

Aurora over Icelandic Glacier, NASA/James Woodend

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J.M. Dattilo turned 1 today!

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The Agony and the Ecstasy of Releasing a Book for Publication

Ah, that wonderful day when it is time to approve that final proof for publication. You’ve slaved over the manuscript, rewritten it, edited it, submitted it, edited it some more, resubmitted it, and then… final approval for publication. Sounds easy, right?

Well, giving the okay for your novel to emerge into the realm of published books is both wonderful and terrifying. You stare at that final…

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A Note to Santa We purchased this handmade card many years ago. It always has a prominent spot on our Christmas tree where Santa can easily spot it.

[jmdattilo]

A Note to Santa We purchased this handmade card many years ago. It always has prominent spot on our Christmas tree where Santa can easily spot it.

[jmdattilo]

The Rules of Writing

The Rules of Writing

It seems everyone has a list of what they believe are the Rules for Writing. Authors often create lists giving their rules. And that’s great. If you want to write just like other authors.

The trouble with the Rules, especially for fiction writers, is that they are too restrictive. Writing is a creative process. Nothing will stop a first draft more effectively than trying to obey all the Rules.…

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Time's Edge Is On Sale

Time’s Edge Is On Sale

The Kindle edition of Time’s Edge is on sale!

From December 8th through December 14th you can purchase the Time’s Edge ebook for only 99¢.

This new edition includes a character and place name index.

Treat your family and friends to a gift of Time’s Edge for the holidays!

Available at Amazon.

Time’s Edge is the first place winner of the Tassy Walden Award,a literary prize given by the Shoreline…

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