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Press Release: March 31, 2004
Sam Penny's Novel Memphis
7.9 Awarded Honorable Mention
in 2004 Darrel Award Competition for
Best Science Fiction Novel at MidSouthCon 22
Memphis, TN - March 30, 2004
- The Memphis Science Fiction Association recognized Sam Penny's
Memphis 7.9 as Honorable Mention for the 2004 Darrell Award for
Best MidSouth Novel at ceremonies on March 27, 2004 at MidSouthCon
22 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Michael Kingsley, member of the
Darrell Awards Committee for MidSouthCon 22, states, "Memphis
7.9 is the first novel by RV enthusiast Sam Penny, and is the
first volume of his proposed tetralogy. Mr. Penny is a retired
engineer, and puts into his novel all the hard science that would
appeal to the average reader of Analog magazine."
Penny explains, "Memphis
7.9 addresses the question of what happens when, not if, a great
earthquake strikes on the New Madrid Fault forty-five miles from
Memphis. My book is fiction but it is based on hard scientific
facts. That is what makes it science fiction."
The Darrell Awards (see darrellawards.org)
are named in honor of long-time Memphian Dr. Darrell C. Richardson,
world-traveler, Baptist minister, internationally known fan of
Edgar Rice Burroughs, and founding member of the Memphis Science
Fiction Association. The Darrell Awards are designed to promote
regional literacy by recognizing the best published science fiction,
fantasy, or horror that is either by a Midsouth author or uses
the area in a prominent way.
Penny continues, "The question
is, what happens to our cities, our land, our society when a
great earthquake once again fractures the New Madrid Fault in
the center of the United States as it did in 1811. Seismologists
agree such an event is inevitable, and though they disagree on
the timing they admit it will happen again in the near future.
Memphis 7.9 is the first book in The 7.9 Scenario series and
tells through the eyes of those who are there of attempts to
predict the event and of effects across the country when the
earthquake happens. Most people do not realize the extent of
the catastrophe that will happen."
The 7.9 Scenario is a series
of four novels scheduled for publication in 2003 through 2005.
Visit Penny's website at www.the79scenario.com for information
about the series and more facts about earthquakes on the New
Madrid Fault. |
