J.D. Moyer

sci-fi author, beatmaker

Communicating with Your Unconscious Mind (a Two-Way Street)

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On June 12

In Metaprogramming

Keep your eyes on the watch…

During the most recent SFWA Nebulas Conference I had the opportunity to speak with author Lawrence Schoen about hypnosis. One of the conference events is something called “office hours” during which authors, publishers, and other conference attendees share their time and expertise in scheduled fifteen-minute one-on-one conversations. Lawrence was offering to share his knowledge in regards to hypnosis, and I signed up out of curiosity, and because I already knew and liked Lawrence from last year’s SFWA conference in Pittsburgh, where he was my conference mentor.

Going into the conversation I knew very little about hypnosis. I knew that therapeutic hypnosis could be used for a variety of applications, everything from smoking cessation to wart removal, and also that some susceptibility to hypnosis might be related to dopamine levels in the brain, regulated by activity of the COMT gene. Lawrence confirmed the former and strongly disagreed with the latter, a position which appears to be backed by fairly recent scientific research (susceptibility to hypnosis appears to be unrelated to dopamine levels and the ability to focus attention).

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The Guardian Cover Reveal

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On May 7

In Creative Work/Career, Writing

Yesterday I sent my editor Don D’Auria a very-close-to-final version of the manuscript of The Guardian, sequel to The Sky Woman and Book 2 of the Reclaimed Earth Series. I’ve been working on revisions for the past couple of weeks, and it’s been gratifying to re-immerse myself in the minds and lives of the characters (including Tem, the ten-year-old son of Car-En and Esper, and Umana, aka the Squid Woman, the novel’s archvillain).

Here’s the cover!

You can preorder the book here, or at your local bookstore (most Barnes and Noble locations carry the Flame Tree line). The novel (hopefully) stands on its own merits, regardless if you have read The Sky Woman, so you can jump in wherever.

Please feel free to share the word on social media!

In the year 2737, Earth is mostly depopulated in the wake of a massive supervolcano, but civilization and culture are preserved in vast orbiting ringstations.

Tem, the nine-year-old son of a ringstation anthropologist and a Happdal bow-hunter, wants nothing more than to become a blacksmith like his uncle Trond. But after a rough patch as the only brown-skinned child in the village, his mother Car-En decides that the family should spend some time on the Stanford ringstation. 

Tem gets caught up in the battle against Umana, the tentacle-enhanced ‘Squid Woman’, while protecting a secret that could change the course of humanity and civilization.

The Guardian, the sequel to the The Sky Woman, is a story of colliding worlds and the contested repopulation of a wild Earth.

How To Eat Animal Products and Still Protect Your Heart and Circulatory System

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On April 19

In Health/Body-hacking

Over the last few days I’ve gone down a rabbit hole while researching the use of various amino acid supplements to modulate neurotransmitter levels, improve mood, and influence mental states in specific ways (increase concentration, motivation, reduce anxiety, etc.). One supplement that’s of particular interest to me is acetyl-l-carnitine (often abbreviated as ALCAR). I first became aware of ALCAR from this now-famous 2002 anti-aging animal study in which old mice regained their youth after being fed a combination of acetyl-l-carnitine and alpha-lipoic acid with their chow.

But there are possible risks to consuming supplemental acetyl-l-carnitine. Low blood levels of acetyl-l-carnitine are associated with negative outcomes, including depression (according to this recent Stanford study), so we want to make sure we get enough. Can we just eat more read meat (which contains substantial amounts of l-carnitine) or take supplemental ALCAR to bolster our blood levels? There’s always a catch. In this case it’s TMAO, a dangerous chemical that promotes hardening of the arteries. Various pathogenic gut bacteria convert dietary and supplemental l-carnitine to TMAO.

Well that’s a drag.

So are there ways to kill off these bad bacteria, or inhibit their metabolic processes so that l-carnitine can be absorbed into the bloodstream, and less TMAO is created?

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Word Craft #7: Russell James

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On April 18

In Fiction Writing, Word Craft Series, Writing

Russell James has been writing daily, apparently without any extended breaks or even weekends off, since 2001 (personally I feel pretty good if I write four days out of seven). I admire that kind of consistency, even if I can’t particularly relate to it.

I can relate to having my wife as my first reader. There’s no one I trust more with that raw, flawed draft.

I enjoyed reading Russell’s responses to my Word Craft questions, and I hope you do too. Please welcome Russell James to Word Craft!

-J.D.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to become a writer.

Author Russell James

I’m currently a technical writer for a Fortune 50 company. When my wife and I used to go on long drives, I’d say “You know what would be a good story?” and then tell her about a plot idea I had. Eventually she said “Why don’t you write these stories down and get them published.” I said “Because no one would ever pay to read something I wrote.” But I did end up trying what she suggested, and here we are.

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Short Promotional Post, Upcoming Posts, and a New Experiment

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On April 5

In Creative Work/Career, Reverse Aging, Writing

Nobody listened.

Just a few things to mention today:

  • My new progressive breaks album MOVE with Mark Musselman keeps slowly creeping up the charts. I don’t know if the album has legs or if it’s climbing the charts because my mom, some friends, and a few of you kind blog readers bought it, but it’s currently #11 on Beatport Breaks releases. If it breaks the Top 10 I promise I’ll shut up about permanently, at least on this blog, but if you’re an electronic music fan and you’re feeling the Momu vibe, I’d greatly appreciate if you could buy the album on Beatport. I think eventually Elon Musk will file a cease a desist, so grab it while you can (or maybe he’ll tweet-blast it because we’re amplifying his warnings about rogue AIs taking over the world).

  • A nice surprise on Twitter today — I learned that my story The Fo’dekai Artifact (originally published by Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores in 2017) was recently podcasted. You can listen to the full story on Youtube for free (which is great, as this story was previously behind a paywall). If you enjoy the story please follow Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores on Youtube and maybe subscribe to the zine.
  • After a few hiccups I was finally able to claim my author page on Goodreads. If you use Goodreads, please follow me over there (I currently have all of five followers). I turned “Ask the Author” to ON, so if you have any burning questions about my novel The Sky Woman or any of my short stories (including The Fo’dekai Artifact), please ask them on Goodreads and I’d be happy to answer.

OK — that’s everything I have to promote. Thank you for any links you may have clicked on!

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