Do you only read speculative fiction that's predictable? Filtered by sensitivity readers? Rewritten to the critical taste of a creative writing professor? Validated by a New York publisher*? Or that hits every trope, and only every trope, of one particular bookstore subcategory? Then this collection probably isn't for you. On the other hand, you might like speculative fiction where the author follows the muse wherever it leads him. Across time and space. Across genres and subgenres. From serious to humorous. Following characters male or female, young or middle aged, black or white. If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, come on in. From the author of The Reincarnation Run and Portia Oakeshott, Dinosaur Veterinarian. Azureseas: Cantrell's War Cantrell didn't question his 'animal control' mission on the tropical planet of Azureseas. Then a scrap of troubling evidence came to him out of thin air. A complete novel! A Fistful of Monopoles The alien derelict held a fortune in magnetic monopoles. A fortune the two men agreed to split fifty-fifty. A dangerous retrieval... but Bartlett had his back. Bodacious Ursula and the Phone Call from Hell Old boyfriends never call. Especially when they're twenty years dead. A contemporary fantasy about second chances and making things right. Seven Out Three young men. One telekinetic power. From a street craps game in the 'hood to the high-roller tables in Vegas, how far will they let it ride? Iphigenia of Khufu Iphigenia peeked at the docked ship. She craved an escape from the conformist culture of her home asteroid colony. But with this pilot? Return Blessing Living a lush life on the planet Valoduria, paid for by his father's generosity, Jeffrey cheerfully accepted the gifts pressed on him by the planet's insectoid aliens. Then they asked for something in return. *New York gatekeepers aren't all bad. Two of these stories previously appeared in Analog magazine.

In his debut work, author Gregory Wright shares a stunning and evocative collection of thoughts and unique perspectives that have been inspired by his personal experiences and feelings, spanning several decades of his life. Themes such as unrequited love, heartbreak, hopes and dreams, and a glimpse into what might have been are presented for readers to contemplate and explore. With a raw and uninhibited voice, Mr. Wright seamlessly connects the dots between everyday and extraordinary events, random and deliberate choices, and how they can have an unexpected and profound effect on a person's life for years to come. Mesmerizing and powerful in its truth, Chasing Rainbows is a baring of one man's soul, heart, and mind to the world.

Renowned travel authority and NBC Today show travel editor Peter Greenberg shares his insider secrets. Americans now travel more than ever before. Yet as our traveling has increased, the service we receive from airlines, hotels, and other agencies has deteriorated dramatically. Industry surveys reveal what you already feel: growing dissatisfaction among travelers of every age, income, and education level. We've been abused by the travel experience. Peter Greenberg is here to help. The Travel Detective tells you the things most travel agents can't — or sometimes just won't — tell you. In his characteristic friendly and conversational tone, Greenberg tells how to find the secret walk-up fares that can save air travelers hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on last minutes flights; which coach seats on which planes are better than first class; the secret rule to know to avoid being bumped from a flight, which cruise ship brochures lie; which credit card companies are fastest — and slowest — to come to your aid in a foreign land, or worse, in the U.S.,; which hotels have the best — and the worst — fire and crime safety records, and how you can protect yourself; how to negotiate the best hotel room deal; which hotels have the worst water pressure in their showers (and better yet, how you can get great water pressure, even at those hotels); and much, much more. Accessible and entertaining, The Travel Detective gives you the information and tools you need to make every trip an affordable pleasure.

Smuggle the “reborn” spiritual leader of an oppressed people past their conquerors. What could go wrong? Solitary spacejock Landry Krieger ekes out a living transporting data through the galaxy—and smuggling people past the watchful eyes of governments, in hiding places he builds in his ship. When the priests of Tao Pacem ask for his help, Landry resists. Dow patch’em? Yin-yang symbols? A plan to sneak a young boy, the “reincarnation” of their spiritual leader, to their conquered homeworld to spark a rebellion? After earlier experiences with religious leaders, he needs far more than the big payday they offer to say yes. He gets it when an arrogant agent of the oppressors tries to scare him off the job. But during a month-long interstellar journey, what starts as just another hustle gets complicated. The oppressors track Landry’s ship. His personality clashes with the priests… …and meshes with the boy’s beautiful young governess. Fail in his mission, and not only his passengers will suffer. Millions of innocent people will remain in bondage. Then Landry finds evidence one of his passengers is a saboteur and spy…

A deeply-reported, riveting account of a cold case murder in Los Angeles, unsolved until DNA evidence implicated a shocking suspect – a female detective within the LAPD’s own ranks. On February 24, 1986, 29-year-old newlywed Sherri Rasmussen was murdered in the home she shared with her husband, John. The crime scene suggested a ferocious struggle, and police initially assumed it was a burglary gone awry. Before her death, Sherri had confided to her parents that an ex-girlfriend of John’s, a Los Angeles police officer, had threatened her. The Rasmussens urged the LAPD to investigate the ex-girlfriend, but the original detectives only pursued burglary suspects, and the case went cold. DNA analysis did not exist when Sherri was murdered. Decades later, a swab from a bite mark on Sherri’s arm revealed her killer was in fact female, not male. A DNA match led to the arrest and conviction of veteran LAPD Detective Stephanie Lazarus, John’s onetime girlfriend. The Lazarus Files delivers the visceral experience of being inside a real-life murder mystery. McGough reconstructs the lives of Sherri, John and Stephanie; the love triangle that led to Sherri’s murder; and the homicide investigation that followed. Was Stephanie protected by her fellow officers? What did the LAPD know, and when did they know it? Are there other LAPD cold cases with a police connection that remain unsolved?

Concordia’s mission reflected the best of the human race. Crew and scientists from both of Earth’s rival factions journeyed for years at relativistic speeds to reach Bravo Charlie, a life-bearing planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B, to expand the frontiers of knowledge for all. Concordia’s mission also reflected humanity at its worst. Corrupt bureaucrats and ambitious political leaders in both factions maintained a status quo backed by weapons of mass destruction. The faction commanders on the mission each sought to seize advantages for their side alone. Then the ship receives transmissions. Signs of an ancient alien presence buried on the planet. Sent to explore, Jaeger and McIlroy, born and raised in a Texas divided by razor wire and minefields. Men torn between the mission's ideals and orders from their faction commanders. When they decode the message left by aliens dead over a million years, the future of the human race will change forever.