Misty Mankin hated Halloween. She hated ghosts and princesses and black and orange. Especially orange. She hated frozen pumpkin pie, the most common kind in Rolynka, Alaska. She hated witches and masks and what qualified as seasonal office parties near the Arctic Circle. She hated all the interruptions of her evening accompanied by screaming and giggling and variations from innocent to profane...
The Allied Interstellar Community first contact team on the planet Kailazh is faced with even more challenges than most. But dealing with an alien culture is not only difficult for those who arrive on a foreign world. What of the inhabitants of the planet, who now have to deal with realities so strange to their way of thinking, it will have an impact on everything they believe? Kislan is a...
As the only woman on the first contact team, xenolinguist Toni Donato expected her assignment on Christmas would be to analyze the secret women's language -- but then the chief linguist begins to sabotage her work. What is behind it? Why do the men and women have separate languages in the first place? What Toni learns turns everything she thought they knew on its head. Originally published in...
Seventeen-year-old Chiara Dragoni is a master glassmaker of Venice, a position that is both a privilege — and a trap. For the glassmakers of Murano are forbidden to ever leave the islands of the Venetian lagoon. When Chiara's uncle is caught on the mainland and thrown into the dungeon of the Doge's Palace, she must use all her talents, including magic, to help free him. But the gift she creates...
Jordyn has brought the birds of sorrow with her to Rolynka, Alaska, where she hopes to start over after a tragic accident. But in Rolynka, nothing is quite the way it seems, and the help of neighbors takes very strange forms. "In the Middle of Nowhere with Company" is a short story of about 5000 words, or 20 pages. It is the first in the series "Tales From Far Beyond North."
Oregon is a strange an wonderful place. These short stories explore that strangeness through the genres of fantasy and science fiction. Here a sampling: "The Old Man and the Sneakers": It began the summer the Nikes washed up on the beach by the dozen — but never by the pair. The old man knew it was a sign ... "The Sea Gives, the Sea Takes Away": After a painful divorce, Elisabeth returns to her...
Have you written your first book and are considering self-publishing? Perhaps you have started looking into the possibility and are feeling overwhelmed by all the options, all the things you need to do and learn in order to become an indie author? Or maybe you aren't even sure yet whether self-publishing is for you or not, and you want to find out more of what is involved before you decide...
Gawain was not only Arthur's champion, he was the champion of the ladies as well. He loved many women, but none too much -- until one of his lovers told him she intended to marry another man. Now, a year later, he is running away from his disappointment, traveling north to fight against a mysterious warrior who has taken the hill-fort of the lady Ragnell. But there is a mystery to Ragnell too...
So you think magic isn't necessary in order to leave? Think again ... Victoria Askew doesn't want to leave remote Rolynka, Alaska when she finishes high school; it's all she's ever known. At least, not until her mother knits her the most beautiful sweater she's ever seen, a sweater imbued with magic -- a leaving sweater. "The Leaving Sweater" is a magic realist short story of about 2500 words...
Near future dystopia, colonies in space, galactic empires: this collection has it all! "Almost All the Way Home From the Stars" is a collection of seven science fiction short stories by award winning writers Jay Lake and Ruth Nestvold. The settings range from galactic empires on distant worlds, to a dystopia in the near future warped by fundamentalism, to an alternate US where slavery was never...
New science fiction from award winning authors Ruth Nestvold and Jay Lake! Over 100 years after the mutiny and war started by the original expedition to the planet Bonificium, a new recontact team arrives to assess the damage done. But even the Polity admits the mission to put the situation to rights is logically impossible. Field agent Rogelio finds himself drawn into the politics of the...
New science fiction from award winning authors Ruth Nestvold and Jay Lake! Sharan never wanted to be fleeing for her life on a foreign planet. But when Arnoldson leads a mutiny and takes over the ship, that is exactly where she finds herself. She never wanted to betray Polity Force Protocols either — only, in order to survive, she doesn't have a choice. While Arnoldson attempts to become a god...
Red Planet Adventures provides customized tours on Mars. Naturally, they have been optimized for safety. Soon, satellite coverage on the planet will even reach 100%! But what happens in the meantime ... ? "Mars: A Traveler's Guide" was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in January 2008. It was nominated for the Nebula Award in 2009. "Ruth Nestvold's clever story...
"From Earth to Mars and Beyond" is a collection of ten previously published science fiction stories by award-winning author Ruth Nestvold. But reader be warned: these stories of galactic empires, space exploration and first contact tend to be on the dark side and do not depict an ideal future world. Here a selection: "The Far Side of the Moon" - Women from all over the world have been...
"Science fiction at its best!" "Compelling and thought provoking!" - Reader reviews Looking Through Lace As the only woman on the first contact team, xenolinguist Toni Donato expected her assignment on Christmas / Kailazh would be to analyze the secret women's language -- but then the chief linguist begins to sabotage her work. What is behind it? Why do the men and women have separate languages...