I’ve done something I thought I’d never be able to do. I’ve written a science fiction book. It started off as a short story, but as I worked on it, I discovered I had more to say than I had thought. In fact, it’s a novel since it meets all the criteria. 

Novel: an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose. The average word count typically falls between 70,000 and 100,000 words.

The book is  Try My Machines.  It tells the story of an average guy, Rob, in the year 2265, who finds himself struggling to fit into a society whose rules work for everyone but him. And that’s not easy when everyone is super stoked about the latest gadgets and gizmos. But he has some good friends to help him out, even if other people think they're losers. In the end, Rob must make some tough decisions that will change his life forever.

The book started out as a very serious, no-laughs story of government intervention and war. But humor kept creeping in and became an integral part of the story. The blend of seriousness and absurdity reflect how I view the world today.

So, where can you buy this book? It will be available on Amazon in both print and digital. The story was completed two years ago, but one of those years was spent creating the book's 40 illustrations. Now, all that’s left is the cover. However, due to deadlines with my commercial work, Try My Machines has been put on hold. I'm hoping to finish the cover soon and have the book published this fall.

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Here’s an excerpt along with a few interior illustrations. All hand drawn using vintage-style digital newsprint brushes for a cool retro look.

Rob meets 2Silas9 for the first time as he and JaQ stand in line at Liftoff, the hippest club in the city. . .

Just then a face pops in between the two of them. In a high pitched voice, he shouts, “Electric b’zectric my quazlo pals! Who’s ready to get all wired up?!”

It is 2Silas9, grinning wide and dressed like a circuit board dipped in marbleized paint. He is wearing a brim. Not a hat. Just a small, round brim of a hat. It is hard to tell the PBIs implanted up and down his arms apart from the psychedelic-colored suit. It all seems to be one. Surprisingly, he has only one small PBI visible on his temple above his right eye. His hair is slicked down in parts and jutting out wildly in others. He is wearing a pair of boots with suspenders attached to their outer sides, running through loops in his pants, connected to a copper-colored tubular belt. You would have to be blind not to see him.

“Looking roticulous, 2Silas9!” JaQ exclaims. “Almost as roticulous as me and Rob here!”

Pointing at himself and then to Liftoff, 2Silas9 proclaims, “I am here to be there! Time to get wired and plugged in!” 

He inhales a large drag of energy vapor through a PBI-STRAW, then turning to Rob, he shouts, “Robby-lectric! How’s it charging? First time, first time, always the best time!”

Rob does not quite know what to make of 2Silas9. He has met his share of peculiar characters, but 2Silas9 may be the most peculiar. Before he can reply, 2Silas9 looks him up and down, smirks, makes double pointy fingers at Rob, and declares in an unnaturally low voice, “Looky at you, dressed to overload!”

“I dress to impress,” Rob says with a smile.

“And that you do. That you do. Be your own man. I can download that!”

Rob suddenly feels the night may end up all right after all. Despite the first impression, 2Silas9 seems like an ok guy.
​
​JaQ turns his collar down, revealing a shiny new PBI. “Hey, Si-9! Check out my new ‘66!”

When the first Harry Potter movie was released to overwhelming success, everyone was anxiously anticipating the next installment. I believe it was around the time the second movie would be released when I was contracted by the now defunct Meredith Corporation to quickly create a maze activity for a proposed Harry Potter Magazine. Meredith published Better Homes & Gardens and Crayola Kids Magazine, the latter for whom I contributed many illustrated children's activities over the years, so it made sense that they asked me to design the game, even though I had never seen the movie.

My sketch was to be just one small part of a sales pitch to the Harry Potter people in charge of the franchise. I was given a rough description of what was needed and the basics of the staircase as it was seen in the movie. I think I knocked this rough draft out in a day and half. It was never meant to be a fully-working game, just a concept of what could be done. I FedEx'd the large two-page pencil sketch to the art director and waited.

When Meredith asked the Harry Potter people how much they would pay to have a magazine made of their franchise, they replied with something like..."Pay you? How much are you going to pay us?" The magazine was over before it ever began. It wasn't the first project I've worked on that never saw the light of day, and I'm sure won't be the last, but it would have been a fun magazine to work on. To quote Mr. Ollivander from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, “The wand chooses the wizard.”

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​Get ready for an adventure beyond your wildest imagination!
You have questions. Outer space has the answers! Modern-day social media and AI technology are brought to life in the Sci-Fi tales of 8-bit Cosmos. For we all know, without fiction, there would be no science.

Transport yourself to a mind-blowing universe of cosmic computers and amazing aliens!
Illustrated in classic 8-bit pixel art!

• Cheer for Captain J. Peg as he defends the 8-bit Cosmos with his Galactic Interstellar Fleet!
•  Cringe in terror as the evil robotic zombie Botnet seeks to destroy the 8-bit Cosmos!
•  Relax at the Space Bar, groove to the wild wavy sounds of the Funkisites, and party with a dancing banana!
•  Journey to alien worlds to see the future of social media, crypto banking, AI art, and chatbots!

With 90 pages of amazing B&W pixel illustrations and imaginative stories, 8-bit Cosmos is a must-read for anyone who loves science fiction and the unbelievable history of computers.

Written and illustrated by
Joe Lacey
Forward by
Demetrius P. Idle, PNG/UFO
 (Planetary Nebula Guide / United Future Oddballs)

I made my first book, 8-bit Kingdom: Medieval tales of computer technology  because of my love of classic arcade games of the 80s and my interest in mythology and folklore. When I completed the book, I knew I wanted to do another that would take place in outer space. Two years later, 8-bit Cosmos: Sci-Fi tales of computer technology was completed!  This book explores more deeply our modern-day social media and technological advancements (or setbacks depending on how you look at them.) It's also quite sarcastic and funny. If you've spent any time on social media, or interacted with an AI chatbot,  I think you'll enjoy this book. Believe it or not, I drew all the art by hand using a computer, but without the use any AI technology. Amazing, I know.

There's something joyful in those little jagged edges and square circles moving around the screen. They have an innocence and are loaded with personality and often humor. When writing and illustrating 8-bit Cosmos, I strove to bring this personality and humor to each page.

I made the art board 160 x 160 pixels in order to preserve that classic arcade feel. It’s impressive just how much character and emotion can be expressed in even the smallest pixel art image. A great amount of information can be delivered just a few pixels. Thirty pixels can depict a heroic fighter or cowardly person. It all depends upon the exact placement of the pixels. A pixel placed high - the character is happy, a pixel placed low - the character is angry. The idea of simple pixel art is actually an oxymoron. It can can be quite a challenge placing the correct pixel in the correct location to achieve the correct effect.

So, zoom into the 8-bit Cosmos! A collection of tales that blend retro gaming, personal computing, and social media all illustrated in classic 8-bit b&w pixel art!