Dammit! Someone used my story's title!!
Ah, but wait... His story series is actually called "Singularity Point," and only the first book is named "Shepherd Moon," whereas my series is called "Shepherd Moon," which is named after the first book.
And, besides, his is a LitRPG book - a genre I have never explored (yet). And, also, my story came out 2011, when the term "LitRPG" was yet to be coined (the Russian publishing house, EKSMO, coined the term "LitRPG" for this "new" genre in 2012) - that means, I have the advantage of DIBS! 
Anyway, in case you're curious...
Oh, well...
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Comments
Not to be confused with.....
…Enya's 3rd album, "Shepherd Moons" back during the 90s....
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I am a leaf on the wind, but someone turned the fan off.
welcome to the world of publishing
Bobbie, no matter how inventive we writers get with titles and stories there seems to be like out there from other authors. Search for the titles of my published novels and there are literally dozens of like out there. It's the same with names. At one time search for "Barbie Lee" on the net and that was me. Try it now and yep, thousands. Unique only lasts so long until others want on the same train.
Take it as a compliment. They wouldn't want to copy if they didn't admire or desire what you present or project. I read in a story one time, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
Hugs
always
Barb
Life is a gift. Treasure it until it's time to return it.
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
I can with honesty say...
... that there is only one of me, my name on the internet.
Search for 'Sam Mantori' and you will only find ... Me...
but it is the rare moments of beauty and peace
in between the chaos,
That makes it worth living."
- Tertia Hill
Thanks!
Hey, Barb.
I totally agree with you about that - although, even though it hurts my pride to admit it
, he probably wasn't copying my title.
"Shepherd Moon" is semi-famous, after all, since the title of Enya's second hit album, and the title track from that album, was "Shepherd Moons" (as Beverly pointed out), and "Shepherd Moon" (or "Shepherd Satellite") is an actual astronomical term, which makes it something someone who's into space exploration and science fiction might know.
But I do dream of a time when people will start imitating my stories and stuff lol.
As many writers here probably do as well. Heehee.
Of course, if someone decides to rip off my story stuff, let it be known that I'm not authorizing any of that. 'kay?
Oh, here's a time out for some nerd talk: Did you know that the name of the title track from Enya's second album, "Shepherd Moons," was inspired by two of Saturn's actual moons, Pandora and Prometheus? Because they're real shepherd moons?
Here's another one: there have been several versions of the quote, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," but this current and most known version is from this cleric and writer from the 1800s who was an inveterate creator of aphorisms named Charles Caleb Colton. And it only became famous when Oscar Wilde quoted it, and added some other stuff to it. And now, it's quoted a lot.
Oh, btw, Barb, my Shepherd Moon stories aren't published, except for the fact that they are posted here and in a few similar sites. Sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.
But I am actually a published writer. Not really a big deal - back in the late nineties (or early 2000s), when the internet had finally become a ubiquitous part of modern life, I joined a writing contest of a new imprint of a big publishing house, and I, along with several deluded "up-and-coming" writers, submitted transcripts of their romance epics, and I along with nine others won.
The prize was a nice chunk of cash (which I used up for the first few months rent and deposit for my first - and only - apartment, plus paying for my first car - in cash, can you believe it? lol), and my manuscript was included in that new publishing line's group of "newly discovered writers."
I didn't mind that the publisher owned all the rights to it. Besides, it didn't do well at all, actually. But I did get a check every three months or so, but it was a really small check, which wasn't really royalty checks nor a reflection of my readership, but was actually a part of the contract with me for their owning my story.
'course, they eventually canceled the contract, and even those tiny checks went away, and I finally got the rights for my book back.
That twenty-year-old book, by the way, was my one-and-only published book, but I'm not really counting that, and I'm not sure if there would be a second one since I am not really trying to publish another one. (Realistically, though, I need to put in more than a token effort if I really want to have another one - which I'm not doing.)
In any case, at least that book allows me to say I am a "published writer" and not just a self-published one.
Not really surprised the book didn't do well, though - that story was totally cheesy, even for a romance-type book. I'm talking dozens of wheels of gouda, swiss, cheddar, mozzarella, parmigiano-reggiano...
It was a preppy-type office romance thing, and I fear it's not even good enough for the Hallmark Channel. And, no, I won't tell you the title nor my pen name. Good luck looking for it. Mwahahahahah!
(I've told this story to lots of folks here, already, and, like I told them, I will take the title of that book to my grave. Mweheheheheh! Although I have a dozen mint-condition paperback copies of it, just in case it becomes a collector's item - I even signed a few of them.
)
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SF Writers and Technical Terms
"... `Shepherd Moon' (or `Shepherd Satellite') is an actual astronomical term, which makes it something someone who's into space exploration and science fiction might know." I only remembered what it meant, when I saw this particular sentence. And even now, I only have a vague sense of what it means.
I can't speak for persons into space exploration, but science fiction authors generally pick up technical terms, and throw them as jargon into their writings lacking any sense of what they mean. Hence we get "north-south geosynchronous orbits", "inverse-square forces" that increase as one gets farther away. I suspect that the term "Shepherd Moon" might be used similarly.
The two Bobs managed to get away with this, with "jiggawatt" in you-know-where. "Flux capacitor", not so much -- although Doc Brown had to call it something.
-- Daphne Xu
well, let's not generalize.
Hey, Daphne.
I agree that some writers that write scifi don't make the effort to research their terms. But I think some do make the effort (some of these might not get everything correct, but at least they make the effort). So I wouldn't want to generalize.
As for the term "Shepherd Moon," I, for one, researched it - I even included the actual definition in my story's narrative (BTW, you can check this out - https://www.yourdictionary.com/shepherd-moon ).
I do find that term you mentioned (jiggawatt) quite funny, as you intended: phonetic spelling when writing out words is sometimes hilarious (btw, the pronunciation of gigawatt with a soft "g" is actually correct - there are two ways to pronounce it: see this entry from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gigawatt ) - this pronunciation makes me think of an Irish lightning bolt folk dancing or something, or Will Smith dancing to his 90s song in a lightbulb costume.
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You mean to tell me
Let's get Jiggy Watt It came after the Greased Lightning and Electric Slide? Ain't that a bolt out of the blue.
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Flight of the Phoenix
Bernard Doove wrote a series set on the starship Phoenix. But he had to change the title in order to make it even a little bit original.
lol
My own Better Late Than Never isn't exactly unique, either.
Ah, yes. The Flight Of The Phoenix
Ah, yes. The Flight Of The Phoenix by Elleston Trevor was a great read, made into a great movie. Here's the write-up from Amazon for those unfamiliar with it:
'An air freighter carrying 14 men from a North African oil town crashes in the Sahara Desert during a violent sandstorm. Two passengers are killed instantly, a third is dying, and the rest struggle to survive brutal heat by day, cold at night, intense thirst and slow starvation. Communication with the outside world is cut off and when no rescue mission arrives, the choice becomes stark: die or find a way to build a smaller plane from parts of the damaged vehicle. Only one man may have the know-how to create a new plane out of the wreckage of the old one. But getting this group of men to cooperate under these hellish conditions seems next to impossible, as fears, anger and rivalries surface. The London Evening Standard called it: “Tense, exciting . . . horribly vivid.''
This classic novel, made into the 1965 movie starring Jimmy Stewart, Sir Richard Attenborough and Ernest Borgnine, remains one of the finest, most astute novels of human behavior under stress. In the midst of starvation, excruciating thirst and angry confrontations -- from the brilliant, steely-eyed young aircraft designer to the aging, bitter pilot -- Elleston Trevor offers insights into human conflict and what men will do to survive. One of the few novels to have two films inspired by it.'
Kris
{I leave a trail of Kudos as I browse the site. Be careful where you step!}
One of my favorite movies
I dearly loved the story. Two of my favorite actors, Stewart and Borgnine, in a tail of survival. While Stewart's role was typical of his style and not his first as a pilot. He played the part well. Borgnine, was in an unusual part for him and he played it to the nth degree.
Loved Stewart's line at the end, "Just how far did that plane fly?"
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin ein femininer Mann
My Bad
I had worked for months to create a unique title for my latest novel.
It's all about the erratic flight we take through life, buffeted by the many storms our relationships can throw at us. It's the uniquest story I've ever written.
Finally, I hit on "Gone with the Wind."
That title spoke to my main theme like peas and carrots.
Imagine my surprise when I did a search.
Oh fiddle-dee-dee. I'll think about that tomorrow.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
I cannot believe, Angela,
you not rememebering that one! Who could ever forget those dresses? I seem to rememeber it being standard TV fare in my youth in Germany for public holidays.
Monique S
This Old Thing
"I saw it in the window and I just couldn't resist it."
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Jill has her tongue in cheek
She's quoting the Carol Burnett Show skit for Gone With the Wind.
now my turn
"Frankly Scarlet, I don't give a damn!"
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
M. Mitchell's Warning to Our Community
“That is the one unforgivable sin in any society. Be different and be damned!”
JIll
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)