I’m thrilled to announce that I have a brand new short story, “Starlight Express,” in the BEYOND THE STARS: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE anthology, which is out today. Better yet, the anthology is on sale for 99 cents for release week only - and free to read in Kindle Unlimited - so grab it quickly.

** SPOILER WARNING ** If you’re still making your way through the Aurora Rhapsody novels, Starlight Express contains major spoilers for the end of Requiem. In fact, even the summary below contains spoilers. So get the anthology now, while it’s only 99 cents, and stash it to the side. Once you finish Requiem, I think you will find this story an absolute delight to read. :)

For everyone else:

…

Six months after The Displacement transported humanity to a universe teeming with advanced alien civilizations, they’re working diligently to settle into their strange new world. Diplomatic relations with the other species are proceeding in fits and starts, and peace hangs by a tenuous thread. But in the meantime, for most of humanity, life goes on.

The Starlight Express has a reputation as the wildest, most exotic alien bar in two dozen galaxies. So when Noah and Caleb want to kick back for a few hours the night before Noah’s nuptials, it’s the obvious choice. And the wrong one.

See, aliens tend to be the quirky sort, and humans haven’t quite gotten the hang of them yet, which is why no one should be surprised when a friendly disagreement over one too many drinks goes sideways. Now, a jailbreak, a police chase across seven galaxies and an exploding ship have to get them out of this mess, or else Noah’s last night of freedom will end up being his last night, period.

…

BEYOND THE STARS: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE also features fantastic, original space opera tales from David Bruns, Jack Lyster, Cindy Hung, J.M. Thomas, Nemma Wollenfang, Nadya Duke and Thomas A. Farmer, and is edited by Patrice Fitzgerald and Richard Leslie.

I am happy to report that I am now successfully ensconced in the new house in Montana - and once again utterly surrounded by boxes. The move has gone more smoothly than I had any right to expect, for which I am so grateful. I need to get just a few of these boxes unpacked, then I will be returning my attention to ALL OUR TOMORROWS. Expect a cover reveal, release date and pre-order announcement very soon!