Introduction to Unrefined
My first entry in the Writers of the Future Contest was a Finalist. It wasn’t one of the three winners for that quarter; but contest administrator Joni Labaqui told me that judge Jerry Pournelle loved my story. I looked at my bookshelf, saw all of Pournelle’s books there, and realized, the Writers of the Future Contest is a big deal. Up to that moment, I had been ready to give up on writing; but after that call I resolved to give up giving up.
Three years later, I was at risk of selling enough stories that I would be disqualified from the contest. I knew that this story had to be special. I had a vague idea about an asteroid- mining family, working the asteroid belt, trying to bring home a load after the death of their head. But before I could even start writing, Jerry Pournelle’s voice was in my head, quoting from his essay, “Those Pesky Belters and Their Torchships.” In there he proved mathematically that the asteroid civilization made popular by many writers (including his friend and partner, Larry Niven) was impossible. It’s cheaper to go from any asteroid to Earth and back than to go from any asteroid to another distant asteroid. My idea was shot down before it started—shot down by one of my heroes and mentors.
But Pournelle didn’t just ruin a whole subgenre, he showed another approach: “So we can end on a cheerful note, saying Goodbye to the Belters, but also making ready to greet the Minister Plenipotentiary and Ambassador Extraordinary from the Jovian Moons.”
I happily adopted that solution. I set this story in Jovian space, a region I dubbed the Pournelle Settlements. And a year-and-a-half later, I stood on the Writers of the Future stage as Larry Niven handed me my third-place trophy for a not-a-Belter mining story.
So, this story is in memory of Dr. Jerry Pournelle. Without his encouragement, I would have given up writing. Without his influence, I wouldn’t have written this story. Without him, you wouldn’t be reading this book.