Who is butchering the English language?

Azura Chronicles award-winning scifi-romance series 

The conversation, on some Facebook groups for authors this month, turned to common mistakes in English grammar. As a wordsmith, I cringe at typos, misspellings, and grammar blunders in professional books. And I’m talking about simple mistakes, not wrong tenses, dangling participles, or run-on sentences. In the media arena, the language of Shakespeare is taking a beating. But it’s a lot worse than you would expect.

Here is a reminder of a few common mistakes… are you guilty of those? Maybe you should stick this note to the side of your tablet or computer screen.

And these are only a few. There are many more. I particularly resent “it’s” instead of “its” and “than” instead of “then.” There is also “lie” and “lay,” “affect” and “effect,”

I can easily forgive readers and casual posters for not remembering their schooling. But if you make any of these common mistakes on your resume, for instance, you may well have forfeited the job.

And if you run an ad for your business with a mistake in it, the return will be so low, you’ll lose your investment in advertising.

Furthermore, I see these common mistakes repeated by newscasters, on advertising spots, on printed ads, and in articles by news writers and other professional people of the spoken and written word.

What about “verbing” or “verbification?”

There is also the new tendency of making verbs with nouns, called “verbing” by the Oxford University Press, or also verbification. This is part of normal language evolution. When there is no verb to express the action, you can use a noun as a verb. “To parent,” for example, has become part of the vocabulary, like “to vacation.”

It used to be that the printed word was respected and valued. Nowadays, anyone can write and print anything, without any knowledge of proper language, grammar, or spelling. Worse, they do not hire an editor. If it’s important enough to say or write for the public at large, it’s important enough to be edited.

Another way to improve your grammar is to read well written books. Here are my latest series.

Vijaya Schartz, author
Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats
http://www.vijayaschartz.com
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How soon shall we have to venture into space for survival?

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Recently I saw a French documentary on the state of the agriculture in Europe that got me thinking. In it, a chemical expert for the study of soil and crops (in this case wheat) was explaining that all the chemicals we use to grow crops are killing the ground, interrupting the cycle of renewal through natural decay of vegetal and animal origin.

The elimination of weeds and insects has made the soil sterile. The ground is too compact due to lack of animal and vegetal decay, and doesn’t absorb water. If tomorrow the various chemicals used to grow crops were no longer available, the soil is incapable of sustaining any kind of growth, and could be sterile for decades.

Furthermore, the crops themselves, in this case wheat, have been genetically modified (GMO) to adapt to the new farming style. For example, the stems are much shorter and the harvested grain larger. Which is dandy, except that if we stop using chemicals and pesticides, the new species of grain will not be able to survive a natural environment. After all, mother nature made the stems high to protect the growing grain from natural predators, worms, crickets, floods, etc.

As a sci-fi writer, I can see how this could bring instant famine in a post-apocalyptic scenario, with radical weather changes, or even in a pandemic scenario, where the flow of chemicals is interrupted due to crippled manufacturing or interrupted shipping.

But traditional farming failed to produce enough reliable and bountiful harvests, and there are 8 billion mouths to feed in this world. When I was a child, the world population was only 1.5 billion. Think about it… and the numbers keep climbing exponentially.

The problem mankind refuses to face is that there are too many people on this planet and we are killing it to fulfill our needs, whether for food or with plastic waste in the name of practicality. As the population grows, the Earth will eventually die. But killing mother Earth will not help our survival. So, what’s the solution?

If you are familiar with the Avenger movies, Thanos had a simple solution. Instantly kill half the population of every planet. But he was a supervillain, at least in our minds. So, let’s not do that.

China tried restricting the number of children per couple to two, but it only led to selective breeding. They ended up with an overwhelmingly male population and a steep decline. Now, they allow three children per couple.

Of course, as a sci-fi writer, I also have a solution. Let’s colonize Mars and terraform it. Have you seen the movie THE MARTIAN? It is possible. Let’s build and develop autonomous human habitats on the moon and on Mars. Oh, wait, we are already working on that project.

Let’s build space stations the size of a small country and grow artificial crops in orbit, while preserving natural life on this planet.

Let’s explore the universe in search of Earth-like planets to settle. Let’s look toward the stars for our salvation.

Too farfetched? Not at all. Several countries are already developing such programs. China has a very active space program and is already on the moon. Other countries have their own space program as well. 

And with the privatization of space technology, many companies see profit in space mining and are considering space tourism as a profitable venture. Soon, our news will be broadcasting from space, the new frontier, where pioneers will inspire young people to explore new worlds.

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All this has already happened in my science fiction novels. But despite scientific advancements, the fundamental needs of mankind remain the same. Food, shelter, friendship, love, recreation, happiness.

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Happy Reading!

Vijaya Schartz, author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats

http://www.vijayaschartz.com

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Sci-fi cats in space

 

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As you can tell from my book covers, I have cats in many of my Science fiction novels, even in those not featuring a cat on the cover. Most of these cats are telepathic, and it’s not by accident. We all know cats have a sixth sense… and nine lives to boot.

I love cats, and if I had to go on a long voyage through space to another planet, I couldn’t imagine not taking a cat as a companion. I would also want to seed that new earth-like planet with cats. It makes perfect sense as I couldn’t imagine life without these beautiful creatures.

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Marshmallow in BLACK DRAGON is a cuddly ball of fluff who helps the hero cheat at cards and charm the ladies. His favorite reward is synthetic tuna.

But some of these cats are enormous, and readers not familiar with my work sometimes ask: “How is it possible to have such big cats on a spaceship, or a space station?”

Alpha Space Station in the movie Valerian and the city of a thousand planets

Obviously, they have the wrong idea of the size of an interstellar ship. Since there is no limitation to size in space, ships can be the size of several football fields. As for the space stations of the distant future, we are not talking about our tiny ISS orbiting earth, but about space stations as large as entire cities or small moons, like artificial planets orbiting alien suns or gas giants, and supporting millions of people.

The Byzantium Space Station as I imagined it.

How do cats happen to be in space or on other planets?

Sometimes my fictional cats are wild and native to their alien planet, like Tibeta and her cubs in Angel Brave, the Smilodons of Azura, a planet teeming with large predators. I pity the hero, Keoke, who has to face this deadly family of cats.

Tibeta, the sabertooth Smilodon cat in Angel Brave

Sometimes, like in the Chronicles of Kassouk, the big cats are the result of a human experiment gone out of control, and are trained and used in battle, or kept as pets.

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There are also the big cats experimented upon, who are genetically modified and electronically enhanced to communicate telepathically with their owners. They usually become companions for bounty hunters, like Akira’s cheetah retriever in AKIRA’S CHOICE, or the telepathic cougar helping Fianna catch the bad guys in ANGEL MINE.

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In MALAIKA’S SECRET, Raja, the lion guarding the temple, was rescued from illegal smugglers of exotic animals.

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In SNATCHED, my heroine has to face a native saber-tooth tiger in the jungle.

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In ALIEN LOCKDOWN, set in the Andromeda galaxy, my protagonists face a native predator called a bearcat.

There are no significant cats in my medieval fantasy series CURSE OF THE LOST ISLE, based on Celtic legends, but I must mention for dog lovers, that I have a heroic dog named Kopek in DAMSEL OF THE HAWK, book 7, which is a standalone in the series.

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But there are more cats to come in my future books. In ANGEL SHIP, Book one of the Blue Phantom series, to be released in the fall of 2022, the heroine, a warrior princess, has a telepathic feline bodyguard with a keen sense of peoples’ true character.

In the meantime, you can find all my books at online retailers. amazon - B&N - Smashwords - Kobo

Vijaya Schartz, author
Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats
http://www.vijayaschartz.com
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Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, and a happy holiday season, whatever you are celebrating

 

It's raining in Phoenix this Christmas. Not exactly snow, but the closest we'll ever get, so it's fitting. The sun is taking a well deserved vacation. Hope Santa won't get too drenched. Time to stay inside with Princess Jasmine, and enjoy a cup of hot cocoa.

Princess Jasmine has inspired many of the cat characters in my books over the past fifteen years, with her indomitable spirit and determination. She still has it despite her age. I understand it's a common trait for calico cats like her. 

Although Christmas is the most common celebration in the Western world at this time of year, there are many other holidays being celebrated here and around the world.

Here is a list with a few more:

Saint Nicholas Day Dec. 6
Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexican)
Lucia Day (Swedish) Dec. 13
Hanukkah (Jewish)

Winter Solstice
Christmas Day (Christian)
Boxing Day (Australian, Canadian, English, Irish)
Kwanzaa (African American) Dec.26 to January 1st
Yule (Pagan)
Saturnalia (Pagan)

Omisoka (Japanese New Year)

New Year's Day - for all using the Western calendar

Three Kings Day/Epiphany - January 6th

Above all I wish you all a good health in these pandemic times, and peace on earth. May we learn to live in harmony with each other, as children of this beautiful but endangered planet. 

Love and peace.

Vijaya

Funny and clever swear words and expressions in Science Fiction

 

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This trend has been going on for a very long time. Many authors and screenwriters have used this tool to avoid vulgarity and spare the sensibilities of readers and viewers. We all remember Starbuck saying Frak. To me, it’s an opportunity for creativity. Adapting the words to the world you created is also a fun challenge.

Holy Motherboard from Angel Fierce. This expression is unique and fitting, in a futuristic world where no one would know what a motherboard is… except maybe a nerd who studied ancient technology, like Maksou, the skilled hacker and god’s gift to women.

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By the frozen hells of Laxxar – Many mentions of Laxxar in my sci-fi novels indicate it’s a mining colony in a frozen world, where they send lifers, criminals, and political prisoners, to die in forced labor. I will definitely explore this world in a future novel.

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Fark – This one is close enough and far enough to the contemporary word, so that readers can understand it without explanation.

Holy Mackerel from Akira’s choice (a contemporary expression which becomes weird and funny in a child’s mouth, on a space station where no one has ever seen a mackerel, or even knows what it is).

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Also in Akira’s Choice, since she is Samurai, I used a few Japanese expletives, which just sounds funny to the ear of an English speaker.

Fire-breathing volcano goddess! – Suggests a Polynesian inspired culture in the third book of the Azura Chronicles, ANGEL BRAVE

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But I’m still writing, and thinking up new worlds and new expressions for my characters to express their frustration.

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By the bountiful tits of Helsara – By the land of many waters - Coming in the new Blue Phantom series Book 1, ANGEL SHIP (October 2022 release)

In the meantime, happy reading!

Vijaya Schartz, author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats

http://www.vijayaschartz.com

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I was a presenter at the Arizona Literary Awards Banquet on November 6, 2021, at the Glendale Civic Center Plaza

Slowly the pictures are starting to surface from the November 6, 2021 Arizona Literary Awards Banquet. Here are the hosts, Toby Heathcotte, current President, and Vijaya Schartz, Former President, 2019 winner, and current Blogmistress.

The theme was 'Those were the days, my friend..." and many attendees, mostly nominees for the awards and their guests, chose to wear a costume. Here is the costume contest winner, Miss Butterfly in all her splendor. The costume is based on one of her published children's books.

Costume contest winner - Maureen Scanlon

Other notable costumes:

 

It was a wonderful event. The Mexican buffet was fantastic, and the deserts divine.

Then came the time for the awards, recognition, and speeches from the winners. On the left, Janet Crum, and on the right, Maureen Scanlon.

 

More pictures of costumed guests: Here Marty Feess and guest.

 

And, of course, group pictures: