I've been struggling with my sci-fi book for quite some time now, mostly because I couldn't come up with interesting/believable alien civilizations.

I found an old article written by one of my favorite writers, CJ Cherryh, that's really helped. She talks about designing the planet first, and then writing how life would evolve based on the conditions of the sun and the planet.

Fascinating stuff, and you can read it here (pg 24)

https://fanac.org/fanzines/Spang_Blah/Spang_Blah15-finder-1977-Aut_US.pdf

#scifi #writing #cjcherryh

GATE OF IVREL (1975)
Acrylic and Oil on Canvas Board - 17" x 18"

The context for this commission—quite possibly lost in the long arc of our careers—was as C.J. Cherryh’s debut novel. It was a unique assignment coming in the first year of my career when I was almost exclusively paired with well established authors. 1/4

#fantasy #illustration #morgaine #cjcherryh #dawbooks

INVADER (1995)

Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 30" x 22"



In a chapter introduction for WONDERWORKS, C.J. Cherryh wrote:



"To my mind, there cannot be so great a difference between the imagination of the writer and that of the artist. Both see. A writer’s instinct is to tell that vision in such elaboration and detail that the reader can live through that moment and into others, a flowing process and internal.

1/5

#sciencefiction #illustration #cjcherryh #dawbooks

Pour ce dernier jour de l’année ce sera un abandon.
#lecture #lacitadellenoire #cjcherryh #blogpost #mastolivre #books

https://fabysway.home.blog/2025/12/31/la-citadelle-noire-c-j-cherryh/

CHANUR’S HOMECOMING (1986)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 30” X 18”

The biggest challenge painting alien creatures is finding ways to communicate information about the way they think via gestures available to their peculiar forms. The more humanoid the alien, the easier the job because everyone has innate knowledge of the subtleties of human nonverbal expression. 1/3

#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #illustration #cjcherryh #dawbooks

CHANUR’S BREAKOUT (1991)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 30” X 22”

An opportunity to paint C.J. Cherryh’s catlike Hani was always welcome. I was fortunate to have done several covers for this popular series, yet for CHANUR’S LEGACY I came up with more new concepts than ever before. 1/5

#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #illustration #cjcherryh #hani #chanur #dawbooks

I've finished: Foreigner by C. J. Cherryh

Until lately I was unaware of C. J. Cherryh's work. She is one of those authors I missed out on before the internet made buying books internationally practical.

So you could say I finally popped my cherry :^).

Foreigner is dated in some ways but as usual it is the women authors that do better over time as they tend to deal with more progressive ideas.

Cherryh breaks expectations as she makes the human colony the threatened side in a fragile peace accord with the local aliens.

Bren Cameron is the Paidhi, a human ambassador to the Atevi.

While capable, Bren isn't a competence porn protagonist. He is out of his depth for most of the novel and only comes through by the skin of his teeth.

We follow Bren's account of events, keeping us confused until things start to come together.

I understand things are clearer in the subsequent novels. I was glad to experience Foreigner without any spoilers.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/23ae3070-0c88-4571-b1b2-5ba56dd69d90

@bookstodon @audiobooks #ScienceFiction #CJCherryh #bookstodon #AudioBooks

A couple new and not so new science fictions for you!!
#TheAfterlifeProject #DownbelowStation #TheEnd from #TimWeed #CJCherryh #MarkGolding

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