Scout Shannon's whole family died the day the Space Farers dropped an asteroid on their domed city. Now she lives alone, out in the wild with only her dogs for company. She prefers it that way. But Scout finds herself at a crossroads. One road leads back to a quiet life snug under the protective dome of a city. The other road leads to a life in the rebellion, a life of adventure and excitement but also danger. Dare she try to find the rebels hiding in the hills? Then a chance encounter with a stranger from the other side of the galaxy threatens to derail what remains of Scout's life. The entire galaxy awaits her, if she survives the next four days. "Under Falling Skies", a young adult science fiction novel, set on a remote planet with a distinctly Old West feel. For fans of gunslinging women and young girl assassins. And dogs.

It all started with Penelope.Or perhaps Jane, for Jane's letter sent Edgar on the first leg of his improbable journey.The man Penelope wed in Edgar's place lies at the bottom of the sea, her heart with him. Bedridden, she vomits sea water and slowly drowns. She needs her heart back. But Jane lost something else, something more than her heart."On Desperate Seas" follows a ship searching for the remains of the Sir John Franklin Expedition but finding something deadlier lurking beneath the Arctic Sea.

When a demon takes up residence in the princess's chambers, the onmyoji of Heian-Kyo find themselves fatally outmatched. They send for a famed onmyoji from a distant prefecture but his widow Chiaki arrives in his place. How can this old woman succeed where master onmyoji failed? The head of the order believes her the real power behind her husband, but the young apprentice Kenji suspects Chiaki hides another, deeper secret. Set in the ornately structured world of tenth century Japan, “The Onmyoji’s Wife” shows just how much power a good marriage can generate.

When Pa left Pete in charge of his sisters on the farm overnight he stated only one rule: no talking to the Greens.No need to spell that out, Pete thinks. Every child knows never to speak to the Greens. An easy rule to follow. The Greens keep to themselves.Then a Green turns up in the yard with a strange object. The Green wants something. They refuse to leave until Pete figures it out. And Pete always strives to be neighborly."Beingly Neighborly", a science fiction short story originally published in Analog magazine.

The 21st century sustains one significant commonality with the decades of the preceding century. The majority of individuals parenting on their own and heading one-parent families continue to be mothers. Even so, current trends in globalization (economic, political, cultural) along with technological advancement, shifts in political, economic and social policy, contemporary demographic shifts, changing trends in the labor sector linked to global economics, and developments in legislative and judicial output, all signify the distinctiveness of the current moment with regard to family patterns and social norms. Seeking to contribute to an existing body of literature focused on single motherhood and lone parenting in the 20th century, this collection explores and illuminates a more recent landscape of 21st century debates, policies and experiences surrounding single motherhood and one-parent headed families.

History sleeps beneath them all, but only she sees it. Lafayette Eloi always knew her parents thought differently from others. They kept their books buried beneath her mother’s house. They spoke an old language in the dead of night, whispering behind closed doors and bolted shutters. She grew up in a village where no one was related to her, and she never knew why. Then, after her mother died, her father came to fetch her. Now she and her mother’s dog assist her father in his work. The work discussed in whispers in the dark. The work that had cost Lafayette so much all her young life. But now she learns just how much her father’s work means to their entire world. Only no one knows anything about it. Only her father. And only Lafayette. Because the work that consumed her father’s entire life and her mother’s too now nibbles at the fringe’s of Lafayette’s own life. And she cannot refuse its call.

After narrowly escaping death at the hands of a band of escaped prisoners, the Chai Makhani Trio now rely on those same young renegades to get them to the only hope that still remains for them. The hidden rebel spaceport. But Koltn Ward and his Enforcers from the Commonwealth pursue them still. The sounds of his tanks and shuttles echo through the jungle, drawing ever closer. The rebellion holds the only hope for the Trio of evading Koltn Ward. But what if the rebels refuse to help? What if the trio leads the Commonwealth Enforcers straight to the rebels’ door? But none of that matters if they never reach their destination. It all depends on their guide Jax, the last person the Trio wants to depend on. "The Hidden Spaceport” is the fifth episode in the ongoing monthly science fiction adventure serial TALES OF THE CHAI MAKHANI TRIO.

Elyot loathes the massive Commonwealth ships that hover menacingly over his home world of Adghal. He hates the Commonwealth enforcers who harass the populace even more. But with his mother missing so long she surely must be dead, Elyot keeps his head down and strives to avoid notice. And he succeeds until the day two strangers appear in the tavern where he waits tables. One dressed in rags with her hands bloodied and bruised, the other in finery beyond the means of the average citizen of Adghal, but both sharing an anxious jumpiness and a fondness for deep hoods to hide their faces. Then a squad of enforcers troop in. Just looking for an after-shift drink? Or something more sinister? Elyot knows with enforcers, one shifts to the other in the blink of an eye. And that squad sits between everyone in the subterranean tavern and the only way out. "A Tanjo, Two Knives and Three Cups of Chai Makhani" is the first episode in the ongoing monthly science fiction adventure serial TALES OF THE CHAI MAKHANI TRIO.

The Chai Makhani Trio survived a night and a day in the jungle of a thousand easy deaths. They even evaded capture at the hands of Koltn Ward and the rest of the enforcers. But night falls again. And the best Commonwealth medicines that Alextra keeps pulling from her seemingly bottomless belt pouches only slows the spread of venom up her leg. But not as fast as the venom slows her steps. And somewhere out there they know Koltn Ward is regrouping. Their only hope lies in the last place Keani ever wanted to see again: home. "Prisoners and Rebels" is the fourth episode in the ongoing monthly science fiction adventure serial TALES OF THE CHAI MAKHANI TRIO.

The Chai Makhani Trio no longer need to run. The Commonwealth Enforcers, with all of their specialized equipment and brutal drive for domination, stand no chance of every finding where the Adghal rebellion lurks. But freedom from Captain Koltn Ward’s relentless pursuit comes with a price. Someone needs to get a message to Elyot’s mother. And the most uniquely qualified for that mission? Elyot himself. Not that Keani and Alextra entertain any plans of abandoning him now. But they all keep secrets that pose a risk to that mission. But the airing of secrets and the exposure of lies contains its own hidden dangers. "Secrets and Lies” is the sixth episode in the ongoing monthly science fiction adventure serial TALES OF THE CHAI MAKHANI TRIO.