Get a Jump on Some Great Scifi Reads – Not a Turkey Among Them #scifibooks #goodreads #HappyHolidays

Halloween left-overs, turkeys, and scifi & fantasy today, so let’s get to it. Want some creepy stories via podcast? Suitable for scaredy-cats. Scroll all the way down for the link. But first…

American Thanksgiving is nearly here, and I haven’t seen any wild turkeys below my bird feeder this fall. But I know they’re out there in the forest. Turkeys are incredibly alert all the time – not just as the holidays approach. I’ll keep my camera ready, and here’s a picture I got last year.

Don’t worry, wild turkeys. My Thanksgiving bird will come from the supermarket. Now, scroll on for today’s selection of good reads through Story Origin. No turkeys among them.

Science Fiction Box Sets offer hours of reading at a great value. Choose from over two dozen Science Fiction series. Click here to check them out.

Not ready to commit? Discover a New Favorite Series among these series-starters. Click here for dozens in Fantasy and Scifi.

Holidays can be expensive, so it’s a perfect time for Free Science Fiction. From short reads to full novels, loads of fine stories. Click here and share the link with your friends.

I want to specially point out two fine offerings.

Here’s the complete Federation Diplomat series. With grit, determination, and a flair for the unexpected, Federation Diplomat Kate Stevens dives into the volatile crises that are poised to rip worlds apart or mire them in bloody war. But can she remain untouched by the deadly violence, or will she end up a casualty of the forces of destruction?

Travel through flickerspace with Kate, her quirky but expert crew, and her cat Shebang. Click here and hold on to your space helmet because the ride is going to get bumpy.

In the Heisenberg Corollary, a nerd squad blind-hops across the omniverse from high-tech galaxies to magic-powered medieval planets, while hunted by ridiculously persistent aliens. With laugh-out-loud geeky pop-culture references. Click here to join the fun.

Now for those creepy stories I promised. What’s the most frightening thing that’s ever happened to you? Plenty of Skeptoid’s listeners sent in stories, and click here for eight of them with some broad-daylight thoughts on the happenings.

Skeptoid is one of my favorite sites. It’s fun. Can you resist clicking into more episodes? I never can. Try some that are season-appropriate, like The Exorcism of Anneliese,
Siberian Heel Sounds, or the Real Amityville Horror.

Happy Holidays!

Science Fiction Fantasy Adventure on a Strange Planet

Wander farther than ever before in my latest story. Cross the galaxy with colonists to start life on an exoplanet and discover an alien race touched by fantasy. Join me in this stand-alone tale – the entire story is right here in one book.

A journey to a new world. An unexpected indigenous culture. Two reluctant leaders desperate to save both their people.

Trey Jackson yearns for purpose. Burdened by guilt over his lover’s death four decades prior, the old pilot languishes in a small community fearful of exploring the planet they colonized. But he’s inspired by a fresh-faced teen studying native whales… and shocked when their research raft gets dragged by one of the creatures to the aliens’ shore.

Zahra strives to protect her own kind. Unwillingly serving as a Shamanic herbalist for an abusive chieftain, she struggles to stop him from his murderous raids by keeping him drugged. But once her herbs lose their effectiveness, she desperately steers the violent man’s attention from her birth home to plunder other islands.

When Jackson seeks Zahra’s help returning to the colony, his communication with the mysterious natives risks triggering a dangerous chain of events. And while Zahra fears her leader’s unquenchable greed and plots the unthinkable to save those she loves, she senses the tired old man could be the hero they all need…

Will their mutual first contact bring opportunity and understanding, or end in tragedy?

Chronicle of an Alien World is an action-packed science fiction adventure. If you like relatable heroes, fascinating what-if scenarios, and heartbreaking moral quandaries, you’ll love this thought-provoking tale.

Buy Chronicle of an Alien World to cross faraway frontiers today! Click here.

What Goes on in a Writer’s Mind? #author #Readers #iamreading

What if a reader sneaked into a writer’s lair? Here’s a satirical look at writing and reading, inspired by a 1960s TV show. Read my very-short story on Amazon’s Vella for free: Click here now.

Do you recognize the TV show? I’ve been semi-binging the series on MeTV, hoping to study its use of a “straight-man” (to use the old term from classic comedy teams) surrounded by comic characters (or “stooges.”) The TV show presents action within a situation, so the comedy-team analogy isn’t perfect, but I’m watching how reactions make comedy. (Or, for those of you who are also writers, how sequels make scenes. If that makes no sense, count yourself lucky to have escaped the fiction-writing bug.)

Do you recognize the TV show? Let me know in the comments below. Even if someone else has guessed it, I’d like to know what you have to say. As I’m learning, that’s what makes a piece. Also, if you feel generous, please leave a review on the Vella site.

Click here now to read the piece for free