Azureseas A world of sandy beaches under a yellow-orange sun. Human developers could turn it into the next great tourist world of the Consortia... except for its large, dangerous native animals. Ross Cantrell joined the animal control mission on Azureseas to earn the money he needed to marry and start a life together with his girlfriend. Dirty work, but necessary to keep people safe. Like plinking tree cats back home. Then Ross discovers the truth about the planet's "animals." Cantrell's War His former plans no longer matter. Against high-tech soldiers, illicit brain-hackers, and the billionaires backing them both, he puts everything at risk. Money. Love. Even his own life. All to do the right thing for humans and aliens alike.

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.

"Military science fiction [concentrating] on the psychology and politics of societies in conflict." —Analog, on the Confederated Worlds series The Confederated Worlds lost the war. Can Lt. Tomas Neumann win the peace? By the terms of the peace treaty, the citizens of the planet Arden will vote to stay in the Confederated Worlds or join the victorious Progressive Republic. Newly-minted Lieutenant Tomas Neumann leads his overstretched and demoralized Confederated Worlds Ground Force platoon in a mission that pushes men and machines to their limits, against elusive, deceptive foes out to tilt Arden to the Progressive Republic. If those foes succeed, they will turn the Confederated Worlds against itself.

A powerful alien ship. Heading to Earth. Intent unknown. Bad: mission control lost contact with the interstellar explorers on Concordia. Worse: mission control now detects an unknown ship leaving the Alpha Centauri system. Heading to Earth at relativistic speeds. Driven by engines more potent than anything humans ever built. Silent about its purpose. Its crew unknown. Leclerc, head of mission control, knows what he must do. If the ship comes to conquer or destroy Earth, the planet has only one chance. Its rival factions must set aside their cold war. They must turn their weapons of mass destruction to the common good. They must come together to prepare a mutual, desperate defense. But powerful alien technology could give one faction a military edge over the other. Enough to risk blowing up the world for a chance to conquer it. Leclerc must do more than find common ground with his former foes. He must face the lust for power of shadowy figures on his own side. The fate of the world hinges on what one man does... …and what he discovers about the crew of the alien ship.

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.

An assassin turned guardian finds a refuge. But in a galaxy approaching war, no place is safe… The entire galaxy knows about the Incepti Cataclysm. The occupation force from Vela destroyed a planet with nanotechnology. Only a few Inceptis fled the wave of death in time to join their brethren scattered across the Democracy. Anara Orden. Daughter of survivors. Recruited by fellow Inceptis to join Democracy intelligence. A loyal assassin, until she learned the truth and vowed to protect those who know it at all costs. Her new mission sends her and her allies through interstellar jump points to the Velan capital world. Though safer, she cannot rest. Democracy intelligence pursues her, in a bid to silence the truth forever. And there's one thing she does not know. New enemies lurk in the shadows, waiting for the time to strike… Feel the thrills and chills of epic space opera Revelation in Vela, book two of The Incepti Cataclysm trilogy.

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…

"I’m reminded of Poul Anderson’s Dominic Flandry series, or more recently, Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Anniversary Day saga." —Analog Capt. Tomas Neumann faces shocking dangers in an unexpected new battlefield. Assigned to the Confederated Worlds’ capital planet, Tomas works to rebuild the military’s confidence after the last war. He has no interest in politics. But after saving the Confederated Worlds’ next president from an assassin, politics becomes interested in him. Gone are the familiar lines between friend and foe. In the halls of power, Tomas plunges into a world of secrets and lies. Worse, he soon discovers a terrifying conspiracy threatening far more than his career, his family, or even his life. He finds a shocking truth capable of destroying the Confederated Worlds. Battling spies and pervasive surveillance, Tomas takes shadowy journeys from luxurious temples to secret police brain scanning chambers. The fate of the galaxy will hinge on his ability to tell allies from enemies. To tell loyalists from traitors. And remain true to his principles, as a soldier and a man. Military science fiction meets political thriller in the triumphant conclusion to the Confederated Worlds trilogy.

They will turn a barren planet into a refuge for life. Or die trying. On board the interstellar ship, Theodore wakes from forty years of suspended animation, eager to transform a barren, rocky planet into a living world. The plan: move an icy asteroid billions of miles, convert the ice into new seas and a breathable atmosphere, then seed the surface with life. But some among the crew want to speed up the process. By taking risks with nuclear explosives. A dangerous revision, but one supported by the mission's commander. Competing plans divide the crew into rival factions. With Earthly help over eight light-years away, Theodore must search alone for allies among oppressed workers, spiritual advisors, and the ship's artificial intelligence to save the mission—and stop the commander from seizing absolute power. Scientists and politicians, ideals and tyranny clash when the hidden agendas of Theodore, his foes, his friends, and the ship's AI reveal themselves in a riveting, ultimate confrontation.

R1000 stood before the two people. "Farewell, my human friends." The robot lifted its head, looking past them, in the direction where cattle grazed and wheat grew on the former battlefields, where the plague wards now had empty beds. "You no longer need my help. Your future is yours to choose." They never saw R1000 again. Zachary stepped back from the keyboard. The ending he'd just written echoed in his head. Destinies: Man and Machine. His best sci fi novel yet. Thank God for Paytron. Not a scramble for nickels and dimes from a thousand fans, like that other service, but real money from a real, though anonymous, patron. Money enough to pay child support without needing a real job. Money can’t buy happiness, but it increases your chances. Until his patron gives Zachary a harsh choice. Compromise his artistic vision, or lose funding. Zachary refuses to give in. He knows how to unearth secret information from the Internet. His patron won’t stay anonymous for long. What will his patron say when Zachary shows up at his door? —Previously published in Analog, January/February 2024