Sci-Fi Extravaganza!

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I've been away from this blog for quite a while, but I'm not completely disengaged from it, nor do I have the intention of abandoning it. Truth is, I've been busy with something else——writing a book of a totally different genre. As the post title suggests, I am currently writing a hard sci-fi romance novel. And now that I'm near finishing, I thought it is time to announce it to my readers who're following this blog. 

This is my first attempt at sci-fi narrative. Readers may wonder why I chose this seemingly unrelated path in my writing endeavor. Well, for one thing, this has also been my dream all along. But being an engineer by trade, my interest and focus is in passing on my knowledge to the engineering community, to leave a legacy if you will for future generations of engineers who want to take up this niche skillset of PCB reverse engineering.

But after finishing my sixth and last engineering book (PCB Diagnostics) some time last year in February, I felt quite burned out on this genre of writing. Not that I do not have any other skillset or knowledge to impart, but eight years writing the same kind of related stuff can be quite stifling even for any prolific writer, much less an indie author like me. 

Recent years have seen advancements in the fields of AI, quantum computing, and neurosciences. I've kept myself abreast on these development and wonder if there is a way to integrate these elements into a coherent sci-fi narrative. That's when I suggested to my wife and she seemed quite excited at the prospect. So, after some deliberation, I decided to give it a go.

The result——HAVAH, a love that transcends the metaphysical realm. Readers who bought my engineering books would have been familiar with my writing style. The novel will be no exception, except (pun intended) that you can expect more of my creative demeanor in the storyline and the colorful characters. And it's not just a sci-fi romance. Through engaging dialogues in the novel, readers will be exposed to a plethora of issues and questions accompanying these technologies that are shaping and changing the world we're living in.

My primary purpose for writing this novel then, is to create awareness of the changing landscapes and encourage healthy, constructive discussions that will prepare us to embrace the inevitable future, and not be caught off-guard and find ourselves being left behind. 

I hope to release it by end of this month. As usual, there will be a print edition to be followed by an electronic edition later on. Readers can keep track of my progress by simply clicking on the banner on top of this post to go over and take a look.

Do spread the word around to family or friends who enjoy reading science fiction. Cheers and take care in the new year!

 

A Young Apprentice in the Making...

Recently, someone by the name Jason Earle connected with me on LinkedIn to enquire about some reverse engineering work on his company's upcoming product. He is the CEO of MycoLab USA LLC, a company that specializes in air quality testing solution and services. To cut the story short, I helped him assessed a printed circuit board and reproduced a bill of materials (BOM), plus some simple PCB artwork prints as a good gesture.

He asked to reimburse me for my effort but I politely declined, and instead suggested that he get a copy of my book, The Art of PCB Reverse Engineering, to learn how to identify components on a PCB to create his own BOM. After a couple of days, he sent me a photo of himself proudly holding my book (the full-color version), and some time later, with another photo of his son:

I reckoned that little junior must've been attracted by the colors on the book cover, but I'm doubly sure that he will grow up to be a fine young apprentice of this niche skillset in 7-10 years time.

Way to go, young Skywalker! ;)

Trilogy Controversy (Part 1)

George Lucas' iconic Star Wars Trilogy was a big hit with loyal fans the world over, yet there are always critics who read the original novels by Alan Dean Foster and felt strongly that the order of screening did not conform to the actual story line depicted in the books. Lucas, of course, had his reasons to film series IV (Star Wars), V (The Empire Strikes Back) and VI (Return of the Jedi) as the classic trilogy in the pre-90s...

before going on to produce series I (The Phantom Menace), II (Attack of the Clones) and III (Revenge of the Sith) as the next set of Trilogy films.

Similarly, there are people who may be confused about my series of PCB-RE books and perhaps questioned the need for a trilogy instead of just one volume. I'll have to admit that when I first started out to write about this topic, a trilogy is far from my mind, let alone a sequel book. After all, I was just starting out as a relatively unknown indie author with a passion to share my knowledge of 15 years in this niche field, something which other PCB-RE engineers might not want to do or thought it too big an undertaking to worth their time or effort.

To be honest, The Art of PCB Reverse Engineering was published without any fanfare or advertising, and with much trepidation. Thankfully, the response was encouraging with readers who posted their comments on Amazon, one by a J. Ryan I thought was pretty cool:

Reverse engineering PCB's is to electronic circuit boards what hacking is to computer software... something people do, but no one admits to doing it, LOL. 

Mr Ng not only does it, but he lays out a very clear and systematic approach to the entire process. I am self-taught in this field, and it was a real joy to find that someone had actually written an entire book on the subject. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic.

Even now as I look back, the emotions still run high to know that there are those who do appreciate my hard work, though admittedly I made an early blunder as an inexperienced author to have my book published in full-colors, and consequently priced beyond the reach of the average reader due to high printing cost. I realized it soon enough and went to work to produce a non-color edition that seen a wider readership.

I was quite content to leave things as is and went to write some other genre of books, co-authored with my wife as a way of saying thanks to her for supporting me in pursuing my lifelong writing passion. But as fate would have it otherwise...

(To be continued)