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Today we explore the technology of the Culture, especially its sentient AIs. We examine the reasons true AI might not be possible and decide whether those ideas seem likely to be true. We also look at how humanity will become a more complex and diverse species and civilization not only through our own genetic manipulation of our biology, but also by the inclusion of the AI lifeforms we create. Links Check out my novel, Critical Balance. Have you read Critical Balance? Please leave a review on Amazon. Subscribe via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Support the show on Patreon. Donate to the show. Follow me on Bluesky. Join my Discord server. Email me. Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391 Check out my YouTube channel. Join my Book Club, now on Discord. I’m looking for alpha & beta readers for my next novel. A Few Notes on the Culture by Iain M. Banks Start The Culture series with Excession. Check out episode 98 for my discussion of Martha Wells’s lecture on AI characters in stories.

I return to my discussion of The Culture setting and explore the Culture’s economic systems. This leads to a discussion of our current day economics systems and government corruption. How do we move our current corrupt systems to one like The Culture’s where there is true democracy and equality? Links Check out my novel, Critical Balance. Have you read Critical Balance? Please leave a review on Amazon. Links Subscribe via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Support the show on Patreon. Donate to the show. Follow me on Bluesky. Join my Discord server. Email me. Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391 Check out my YouTube channel. Join my Book Club, now on Discord. A Few Notes on the Culture by Iain M. Banks Start The Culture series withConsider Phlebas or The Player of Games

I return to my discussion of The Culture setting and explore the Culture’s origins and its structure of government, such as it is. I also touch on why galactic empires are impractical, unlikely, and probably a silly idea. We’ll also explore why rebellion against controlling powers is much easier in a space-living civilization than one limited to a single planet. Links Check out my novel, Critical Balance. Have you read Critical Balance? Please leave a review on Amazon. Links Subscribe via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Support the show on Patreon. Donate to the show. Follow me on Bluesky. Join my Discord server. Email me. Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391 Check out my YouTube channel. Join my Book Club, now on Discord. A Few Notes on the Culture by Iain M. Banks Start The Culture series withConsider Phlebas or The Player of Games

This week I share an amazing lecture Martha Wells gave on AI characters in science fiction stories. Quite often these stories involve the enslavement of sentient beings. She gives us a lot of food for thought and shares a little about the origins of her beloved character, Murderbot. I also talk (very) briefly about the heroine’s journey. Links Check out my novel, Critical Balance. Have you read Critical Balance? Please leave a review on Amazon. Links Subscribe via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Support the show on Patreon. Donate to the show. Follow me on Bluesky. Join my Discord server. Email me. Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391 Check out my YouTube channel. Join my Book Club, now on Discord. A Few Notes on the Culture by Iain M. Banks Start The Culture series with Consider Phlebas or The Player of Games Start The Murderbot Diaries with All Systems Red Murderbot show Ancillary Justice by Anne Leckie The Heroine’s Journey by Gail Carriger

This week I talk a bit about the Foundation and Murderbot TV adaptations. I give a quick update on my novel, Critical Balance, which is coming out. I also explain why I haven’t been able to share the beautiful cover art for Critical Balance until the book is released. I talk a bit about the upcoming Worldcon in Seattle. Then I begin my multi-episode series on exploring the setting of The Culture series by Iain M. Banks. Topics include how 9,000 years is a really long time and convergent human evolution across the galaxy. How “alien” will alien life really be? If you love sci-fi, worldbuilding, and/or The Culture, you won’t want to miss this series! Links Check out my novel, Critical Balance. Have you read Critical Balance? Please leave a review on Amazon. Lex Out Loud is now on Spotify. Check out my Guide to Novel Formatting in Word. Join my Book Club. How to get free ebooks & audiobooks from your library. J.J. Ackernecht Book of the New Sun Culture Series Murderbot show The Murderbot Diaries Storygraph Support the show. Join my Discord server. Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391

Today I discuss why I decided to publish my book on Amazon through Kindle Direct Publishing. I share how the whole process works and what I’ve learned so far. I also talk about why I finally decided to do a paperback and e-book, and why I’ve decided to enroll my novel in Kindle Unlimited. Links Check out my novel, Critical Balance. Have you read Critical Balance? Please leave a review on Amazon. Lex Out Loud is now on Spotify. Check out my Guide to Novel Formatting in Word. Join my Book Club. How to get free ebooks & audiobooks from your library. J.J. Ackernecht Book of the New Sun Culture Series Murderbot show The Murderbot Diaries Storygraph Support the show. Join my Discord server. Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391

Today I discuss some of how independently publishing works and compare and contrast to the discussion on traditional publishing from the last episode. I share why I think independently publishing these days is almost a no-brainer. Links Check out my novel, Critical Balance. Have you read Critical Balance? Please leave a review on Amazon. Lex Out Loud is now on Spotify. Check out my Guide to Novel Formatting in Word. Join my Book Club. How to get free ebooks & audiobooks from your library. Support the show. Join my Discord server. Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391

I’ve started a few different novels, and I’ve hit some snags. I’ve had a couple new novel ideas as well. I share the ideas with you, my progress, and my thoughts about which of these books I’m going to write next. I also share some musings on the future trajectory of our society and how it’s affecting my worldbuilding. Finally I consider whether courier ships in space make sense. Links Check out my novel, Critical Balance. Have you read Critical Balance? Please leave a review on Amazon. Lex Out Loud is now on Spotify. Check out my Guide to Novel Formatting in Word. Join my Book Club. How to get free ebooks & audiobooks from your library. Support the show. Join my Discord server. Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391

I’ve started a few different novels, and I’ve hit some snags. I’ve had a couple new novel ideas as well. I share the ideas with you, my progress, and my thoughts about which of these books I’m going to write next. I also share some musings on the future trajectory of our society and how it’s affecting my worldbuilding. Finally I consider whether courier ships in space make sense. Links Lex Out Loud is now on Spotify. Check out my Guide to Novel Formatting in Word. Join my Book Club. How to get free ebooks & audiobooks from your library. Support the show. Join my Discord server. Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391

Today I return to the show after being completely demoralized by my experience hiring a “professional” editor for my novel Critical Balance. It was a terrible experience. I got conned, lost a lot of money, and have nothing to show for it except hard lessons learned. I share the red flags I ignored or overlooked and the mistakes I made in the hopes you can avoid having to go through an experience like this yourself. Links Lex Out Loud is now on Spotify. Check out my Guide to Novel Formatting in Word. Join my Book Club. How to get free ebooks & audiobooks from your library. Support the show. Join my Discord server. Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391

This week I talk about a science-fiction writing club I’m starting in my home town. I also talk a bit about the ongoing revision process for Critical Balance and a couple story ideas I’m working on for my next novel. Links Lex Out Loud is now on Spotify. Get a free 30 day trial of Audible with my affiliate link. Check out my Guide to Novel Formatting in Word. Join my Book Club. How to get free ebooks & audiobooks from your library. Support the show. Join my Discord server. Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391

This week I share a method I’ve come up with to help me write every day that I’m calling a story sketch. It’s also a great way to practice as a writer, experiment, and try out new techniques. I also talk a bit about how writing longhand is very different than typing when writing and some distinct advantages it has. Even though it’s not how I would want to write most stories, it’s perfect for the story sketch. Finally, I share how the story sketch will help with improvisation in writing and why that’s important no matter what kind of writer you are. Links Lex Out Loud is now on Spotify. Get a free 30 day trial of Audible with my affiliate link. Check out my Guide to Novel Formatting in Word. Join my Book Club. How to get free ebooks & audiobooks from your library. Support the show. Join my Discord server. Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391

This week I discuss the differences between writing and storytelling. If you’re like me, you may have spent a lot of time and energy focusing on your writing while giving little thought to the art of telling a good story. I illustrate how point-of-view violations are anathema to good storytelling. Finally I explain how whichever path you’re taking—traditional publishing or independent publishing—good storytelling is far more important to your success than good writing. Links Lex Out Loud is now on Spotify. Get a free 30 day trial of Audible with my affiliate link. Check out my Guide to Novel Formatting in Word. Join my Book Club. How to get free ebooks & audiobooks from your library. Wired for Story by Lisa Cron Story Genius by Lisa Cron Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody Writing Excuses episode on The Hollywood Formula with Lou Anders The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers Support the show. Join my Discord server. Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391

This week I catch you up to what I’ve been doing writing-wise. I discuss protagonist flaws and problems. I also explore the limitations I’ve found in the misbelief concept. I think these limitations are overcome by realizing a misbelief is just a type of flaw. Links Lex Out Loud is now on Spotify. Get a free 30 day trial of Audible with my affiliate link. Check out my Guide to Novel Formatting in Word. Join my Book Club. How to get free ebooks & audiobooks from your library. Wired for Story by Lisa Cron Story Genius by Lisa Cron Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody Writing Excuses episode on The Hollywood Formula with Lou Anders Support the show. Join my Discord server. Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391

This week I share some of what I learned at a local writing conference I attended recently. I also share some decent writing craft books I’ve discovered that I’ll likely be talking some more about in future episodes. Links Lex Out Loud is now on Spotify. Get a free 30 day trial of Audible with my affiliate link. Check out my Guide to Novel Formatting in Word. Join my Book Club. How to get free ebooks & audiobooks from your library. Wired for Story by Lisa Cron Story Genius by Lisa Cron Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermeer Writing Excuses episode on The Hollywood Formula with Lou Anders Support the show. Join my Discord server. Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391