Hard to believe that Phenomena published five years ago! If you missed it, the audiobook is a great way to catch up. In many ways, Phenomena is my favorite, in part because after writing the Quantum Series, I finally felt I knew what I was doing. Enjoy! www.audiobooks.com/promotions/p...

Yesterday, I checked to see if anyone recognized the Goldstone Radar Observatory, located in the Mojave Desert of California. It's run by NASA, and if you were alive during the Apollo missions, you may remember Walter Cronkite and others speaking the Goldstone name.

I've been scrolling around Google Maps this morning and found this unique place in the Mojave Desert of California. I've never been there, but I'm writing about it today. If you're old enough, you might remember it from the Apollo program. Do you know what it is? #SecondAscent

Today my series starter books are #1 and #4 at Amazon! These novellas kick off the Ascending Carbon Series (3 books) and the Quantum Series (5 books). I give these books away free to allow readers to decide if they like the story and characters well enough to invest time in the series. It's working!

For each book I write, I stumble into a theme song often by accident. Right now, I'm writing Second Ascent, with a vibe that matches Karma by Taylor Swift. Such a beautiful song with a dreamlike feel. Nicely done, Taylor. www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzOv...

Welcome to Seattle, Toronto Blue Jay fans. I've been to your beautiful city, and now you get to visit mine.

Progress around the world! Everyone needs to make a plan to get to 100% electric. I'm already there. It's a great feeling.

When a government says Tylenol (developed in 1955) is linked to autism (documented cases dating back to the 18th century) you may wonder if they're spewing BS (hint: they are). That's also a good time to reassess the same government's message that "climate change is a hoax" (second hint: it's not).

Yesterday at Chinook Pass in the great (best) state of Washington. This beautiful place is crowded all summer, but on a Monday in the fall we had it all to ourselves.

"It's a free country." How many times did I hear that growing up? For Americans, the meaning has always been obvious: speak your mind, you can do that in a free country. We imagine our country as the standard bearer for this high concept. So, it's shocking to witness freedom of speech collapsing as

To celebrate the Seattle Mariners taking first place... Have you heard ALL of the lyrics to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"? These days, we only sing the chorus to this 1908 song, but there's more! When you hear the rest, the song finally makes sense. www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4-g...

I may have inadvertently predicted the future when I published #QuantumSpace in 2017! A new study examines a method to produce a coherent beam of neutrinos, exactly the mechanism I used in my book to expand a hidden fourth dimension of space. Fiction becomes reality? physics.aps.org/articles/v18...

This afternoon I'll be delivering a presentation to the International Space Elevator Consortium to talk about my sci-fi book, First Ascent, and its sequel! If you're interested in joining us on Zoom, the conference begins at 4 pm Pacific time Sept 6. It's free. Register: www.isec.org/events/isec2...

If you just received my email newsletter, here's a reminder to take my sci-fi survey. It's a fantastic way to connect, plus I really need your help for my upcoming ISEC 2025 Conference session! And if you're not on my email list, why not? You're missing half the fun. douglasphillipsbooks.com/signup

Google's own AI admits it does NOT follow Google's own core principles for AI development. We live in a world without responsibility, shame, or accountability. #GoogleGemini

You're seeing it here first... my blurb for the next book in the #AscendingCarbonSeries Eighteen months after Sahalie Spark’s epic space elevator climb, a new megastructure is taking shape high above the equator. But for all its wonders, there’s trouble brewing on this colossal ring of carbon.

I'm writing today! And that means I need a good theme song in the background. This has to be the best song Metric ever recorded. From 2009, Satellite Mind. Emily and James even did an acoustic version which amazingly has all the same intensity of the original. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABvO...

My faith in people is restored!! My monthly newsletter went out today, and I asked 2,400 followers to reply. Real people, not bots or auto-responders. Guess what? They did! Now, I have a ton of emails to answer personally. My own fault. I did ask. :-)

Want to find your next read? Try shepherd.com Create an account, then click on My Book DNA to pick your three favorite books. Now search on a topic or genre and you'll get customized recommendations that match your tastes. Typically, you'll see lesser-known books that other people LOVE.

Have you noticed a lot of what Google's AI regurgitates references at least one Wikipedia page? I hope Google donated $100 million to Wikipedia (a non-profit, publicly supported), but something tells me the Google execs didn't offer a penny when they copied this material and claimed it as theirs.

I'm NOT a fan of AI because these tools are based on stolen copyrighted material. That said, if AI companies started paying for the material they collect, it could be a superb tool. An intelligent thesaurus is one use case.

This 1969 song has got to be the grooviest the 60s ever produced. The lyrics just kill me. www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_tf...

I thought I'd answer some questions that came up in the poll I sent out a few days ago: Q: How do you pronounce Halie (the protagonist in First Ascent)? A: Same as Kalie (or Kaylee) but with an H.

My monthly newsletter went out today, asking for advice from my most loyal readers (I'm kicking off book 2 in the Ascending Carbon series this week). I asked, you responded! Fascinating insights are pouring in. I take each comment very seriously.

The movie trailer is out and it looks great! The only downside is we still have 9 months to wait. youtu.be/m08TxIsFTRI?...

A new study is out on the use of copyrighted material for AI training. The smoking gun is Meta's Llama 3 model (released in 2024). When prompted, it reproduced 42% of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone verbatim more than half the time. arstechnica.com/ai/2025/06/s...

Hey #Seattle. We need a portal to the world. Who's in? www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GrX...

Quantum Chaos audiobook is still on sale at 50% off through July 15. It's a fun story to listen to, perfect as a travel companion by plane, train, or car! www.audiobooks.com/promotions/p...

I have my own prism sculpture garden this morning. #SecondAscent #AscendingCarbonBook2

Happy solstice! It's 12°C (55°F), cloudy and rainy here in Seattle-- exactly how we like our early summer. :-)

Need a laugh? This has to be one of the best comedy sketches of all time. Pat Cashman, Almost Live, Seattle, 1990s. youtu.be/T0q1i2mqMgs?...

My audiobook publisher just announced a half-price deal for Quantum Chaos! It's one of my favorite books narrated by a talented voice actor, Amanda Ronconi. The story is fun sci-fi perfect to take with you on vacation or a weekend at the beach! www.audiobooks.com/promotions/p...

In case you missed it, my blog post from October 2017. douglasphillipsbooks.com/blog/spectro...

I love data, so I thought I'd share. It's the number of link clicks, by country, for the newsletter I sent yesterday. I have friends around the world! If you haven't yet signed up for my monthly newsletter, you're missing out on all the juicy details. Sign up here: douglasphillipsbooks.com/signup

While America's Health secretary is killing citizens through vaccination disinformation, scientists just saved hundreds of lives in Switzerland.

Since Trump took office, every American has objectively lost 10% of our savings due to the decline in the US dollar. Your account balance hasn't changed, but the money simply isn't worth as much. Ten percent is a catastrophic loss for such a short time. Why aren't more people talking about it?

I downloaded five Taylor Swift songs to my mp3 player. Does that make me a Swifty now? m.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Y8...

I'm wrestling with cosmic ideas today. Our physical universe clearly exists. Even if it's a simulation, the mechanism of creating a simulation exists. So, why is there something instead of nothing? Why does anything exist?

Our return to the US was through Newark Airport, which was a ghost town. Passport control was literally empty! It felt like 9/11 again when nobody was flying. We spent a few nights at a hotel in Manhattan with a fantastic terrace overlooking Lexington Ave. NYC is always fun.

In case you're interested in written interviews, this is one I did for First Ascent. www.newinbooks.com/interview-wi...

Amazon's Best Seller list is a great place to be, the Top 100 books by category. My latest book, First Ascent, is also on the New Release list at #3. Competition is fierce these days, so I'm thrilled and thankful for the huge response from readers! www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2C7NCVS

My new series has kicked off in a big way. The #2 new release in hard science fiction! It's a fun page-turner with a theme of discovery. www.amazon.com/First-Ascent...

First Ascent is out! It's #6 in Amazon's Top 100 new releases. That's fantastic visibility, I'm thrilled. If you pre-ordered, it should now be on your Kindle. Enjoy! www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2C7NCVS

The first book in my new series officially releases May 6, but you can order the paperback copy at Amazon on May 5, getting it into your hands one day faster! I hope you enjoy it. This book was a lot of fun to write. mybook.to/4tFjt

I've never been to Chamonix, but always wanted the see the views to Mont Blanc. On a gorgeous blue sky day, it was better than I'd hoped! The Aiguille du Midi peak is one of the world's most spectacular vistas. At 3842 m, it is literally breathtaking.

Nice day in Geneva! I've already met two CERN physicists, Sandro who comes up amazing neutrino experiments, and Richard who optimizes the # of protons in the LHC beam. Chamonix tomorrow, then the CERN tour on Tuesday.

Check out my new book trailer. First Ascent is coming May 6 to Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2C7NCVS

For the movie premier of my next book, I'm definitely wearing the cyclops VR glasses. www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2C7NCVS

It's official. Today I received an itinerary for my visit to CERN on April 22. I'll be meeting with five scientists and will tour multiple facilities, including the LHC control room, the CMS detector, and the AD hall where antimatter is captured! These are places normally off limits.

I recently joined Marty Kurylowicz on his podcast "The Science in the Fiction" to talk about my book Quantum Space, particle physics, and extra dimensions of space and time! Oooh. We had fun. The first half of our discussion is out now. www.buzzsprout.com/2201157/epis...