Cora Buhlert's Blog, page 84

A handy guide to all SFF-related posts and works of 2017

I tend to feel uncomfortable with eligibility posts, but I posted such an overview for the first time last year, when someone added my name to the Hugo Nominations Wiki. And since I did it last year, I decided to make an overview post for 2017 as well.

So if you’re interested in what I write, here is an overview of all SFF related blogposts of 2017, in chronological order, as well as a list of the SFF fiction I published.

At this blog:

Rest in Peace, Richard Hatch, the original Captain Apollo
Some Thoughts on the 2016 Nebula Nominees, the Shadow Clarke Award and some other awards
Reactions to the 2016 Nebula Award Nominees
More 2016 Nebula Awards Reactions
An interview and a new post-apocalyptic collection: After the End
The Puppies Are Pooping Again
Of narrative catnip, cultural taste differences, telling my own stories and a new “In Love and War” novella: Dead World
The Space Opera Resurgence
The Obligatory Hugo Nominations Reaction Post 2017 – and the first ever Nommo Awards
Reactions to the 2017 Hugo Finalists
Yet More Reactions to the 2017 Hugo Finalists.
And even more reactions to the 2017 Hugo Finalists
Space Opera – It’s not just for white men anymore (and never was in the first place)
What is it that makes Space Opera so good?
A few words on the 2016 Nebula Awards, the 2017 Arthur C. Clarke Awards and the Shadow Clarkes
Rest in Peace, Roger Moore.
The July Short Story Challenge 2017 – 32 Short Stories in 31 Days
Some Comments on the 2017 Dragon Award Nominees.
A Very Few Words on the 2017 Hugo Awards.
Some Videos of my WorldCon Adventures.
Some More Words About the 2017 Hugo Awards.
WorldCon 75 Photos and a Report
Some Comments on the 2017 Dragon Award Winners
2017 Dragon Awards Reactions.
Let us welcome our Robot Overlords
Romance Bashing: The New York Times Edition.
Cultural Differences and Some Baseless Speculation about Star Trek Discovery.
Nobel Honours for SFF Writers and More on the Latest Round of Romance Bashing
Redemption Arcs and Yet More Complaints about Star Trek Discovery
Cannibalizing Star Trek: Yet More Star Trek Discovery Complaints
More Griping about Star Trek Discovery and Some Surprising Parallels to Raumpatrouille Orion.
The Darth Vader Parenthood Award for Outstandingly Horrible Fictional Parents
Star Trek – Into Grimdarkness
More than just a Bond Girl – Remembering Karin Dor
Star Trek Discovery – Of Rubberheads and Rushed Romances
Star Trek Discovery – Now with Sweet Gay Kisses, Full Frontal Nudity and Klingon Prison Rape
A Milestone, Two Sales and a New Science Fiction Story: A Mess of Arms and Legs and Limbs
Michael Burnham, Poe Dameron and the Decline of the Maverick Hero
Twelve editions plus a special holiday edition of Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month
Eight editions plus a special holiday edition of Indie Crime Fiction of the Month

Elsewhere:

Interview at Troglodad.
I also co-run the Speculative Fiction Showcase , a group blog focussed on indie SFF, and the Indie Crime Scene , a blog focussed on indie mysteries, crime fiction and thrillers.

Fiction (SFF only):

After the End – Stories of Life After the Apocalypse , short story collection
Dead World , novella
Tea and Treachery , short story
A Mess of Arms and Legs and Limbs , short story
Christmas on Iago Prime , short story
“Baptism of Fire” in The Guardian: Eleven Science Fiction Short Stories , edited by Alasdair Shaw, short story
“The Trump That Ate the Solar System” in Steaks, Walls and Dossiers: The Best Trump Anthology Ever , edited by George Donnelly, short story

Poetry:

“Experiment” in Umbel & Panicle, Issue 6, Graft

Send to Kindle

Happy New Year 2018

2018 is about two hours old here in Germany. So first of all, a happy, healthy and successful 2018 to all of you and may it be better than the trashfire of a year that was 2017.

I spent New Year’s Eve at home with my parents, since my Mom still doesn’t feel well enough to go out. What is more, the restaurant where we usually went for New Year’s Eve the past couple of years has closed. And whatever desire I might have had to attend some of the big public parties, which was already close to zero, was further reduced by seeing the extreme security measures which make partying at the Brandenburg Gate look about as much fun as a visit to a maximum security prison. Besides, the fireworks are pretty good in our neighbourhood and require no security checks to view.

[image error]

A potted four-leaf clover plant and some good luck symbols for the new year.

For dinner, we had mussels. The broth for steaming the mussels is based on this recipe and was very flavourful. Though we didn’t serve the mussels with pasta, but just with baguette. The broth also makes a great soup a few days down the line.

[image error]

Steamed North Sea mussels for dinner.

[image error]

And here is the champagne, ready for the new year to begin.

After drinking our champagne, we went outside for the fireworks. Well, my Dad and I went outside. Mom stayed indoors and watched from the window. Luckily, the rain stopped just in time for midnight. And because some of the people who’ve moved to my parents’ street in the meantime are enthusiastic igniters of fireworks, we had a great show.

Photographing fireworks is notoriously tricky, especially if you only have a smartphone camera, but I managed to catch some good shots:

[image error]

A close-up shot of fireworks.

[image error]

The Russian family who moved into the house behind my parents are enthusiastic fireworkers.

[image error]

And even more fireworks, courtesy of the Russian neighbours.

[image error]

The people a bit down the street are enthusiastic fireworkers as well and apparently have a lot of money to spare for the 25 to 30 EUR a piece fireworks batteries.

[image error]

And here is another look at a fireworks battery burning up in its full glory.

[image error]

No, the smoking bush is not the first miracle of 2018. Firework smoke simply got trapped in the foliage.

Send to Kindle

Michael Burnham, Poe Dameron and the Decline of the Maverick Hero

Science fiction has always been the genre of the maverick hero and occasionally, the maverick heroine. Han Solo, Malcolm Reynolds, Kirk and Spock, Riker, Worf, Kathryn Janeway, the Doctor (“Fine chaps, all of them” – and now a fine lady, too), Apollo and Starbuck, Commander Cliff Allister MacLane, Perry Rhodan, Miles Vorkosigan, Devi Morris, Sirantha Jax, Jim Holden, Breq – for all of those characters, orders were merely suggestions, to be ignored or creatively interpreted, if necessary. They went their own way, did what needed to be done and most of the time, they pulled it off, too. Occasionally, they got slapped down by their superiors, but mostly they got a pat on the shoulder from Admiral Ackbar, Commander Adama, Aral Vorkosigan, Colonel Wamsler and General Villa, Brian Caldswell or a random Starfleet admiral and were gruffly told, “Well, you did ignore orders, but you saved lives and the Rebellion/the Federation/the Fleet, so well done.”

Hell, Commander Cliff Allister MacLane of the patrol cruiser Orion himself put what seemed to be science fiction’s guiding principle into words, when he told off his navigator (“astrogator” in Orion lingo) Atan Shubushi, who had been out in a shuttle broadcasting an energy ring to mimic the Orion‘s signature, while the Orion crew was off investigating a cosmic oddity and ignoring orders as usual, and in the process managed to drain the shuttle energy so much that he nearly got himself and communications officer Helga Legrelle killed. When MacLane and the Orion crew rescues them just in the nick of time, MacLane tells Shubashi: “Why didn’t you just switch that shit* ring off? Don’t just blindly follow orders, but think for yourself!”

As I’ve mentioned before, I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that Raumpatrouille Orion is my science fiction lodestar in many ways and that “What would Commander MacLane do?” is the question by which I judge other science fiction characters. And MacLane very clearly tells Atan Shubashi and the audience not to blindly follow anybody’s orders, including his own, but think for themselves. I think that’s a good principle to live by.

And I have to admit that science fiction’s celebration of people (and the occasional alien or robot) who go their own way is a part of what drew me to the genre in the first place. I never particularly cared for following rules and doing what everybody else did myself, so the maverick heroes and heroines of science fiction appealed.

What is more, due to our sorry history, not blindly following orders, but questioning what you’re told is considered a good thing in Germany. At least those of us who came of age in the 1970s and 1980s were actively encouraged towards independent and critical thinking (honestly, this was a top-level educational objective at the time) and also told to question everything, though teachers usually weren’t happy, if you started questioning them. We also learned – from history lessons as well as movies and documentaries – that “I was just following” orders was not an excuse, when the orders were blatantly illegal, and were also presented those who did not follow orders, but quietly or openly defied or reinterpreted them as heroes to admire and emulate. What is more, TV was full of postwar movies about WWII and – less commonly – WWI, which sharply contrasted ordinary soldiers with heartless officers and officials. Two of the best of those movies – Rosen für den Staatsanwalt (1959) and Wir, Wunderkinder (1958) – also show how those ordinary grunts never catch a break and are still struggling in postwar Germany, while the nasty Nazis often just continued as before. In both movies BTW, the nasty Nazi gets his comeuppance at the end.

I should probably talk about Rosen für den Staatsanwalt (Roses for the Prosecutor) a bit. It’s not even remotely science fiction, but trust me, it will be relevant later on. Rosen für den Staatsanwalt begins in the last days of WWII, where a young soldier, Private Rudi Kleinschmidt (Walter Giller), is sentenced to death for the terrible crime of stealing two tins of chocolate (it’s this brand of chocolate BTW, which is still available) by the cruel military judge Wilhelm Schramm (Martin Held). Luckily for Private Kleinschmidt, an air raid interrupts his execution by firing squad and Kleinschmidt manages to escape, while pocketing his signed and stamped death warrant. Fast forward to the late 1950s: Kleinschmidt is still struggling, while working as an itinerant salesmen of novelty articles. Meanwhile, Wilhelm Schramm, the military judge who sentenced Kleinschmidt to death has risen to the post of head prosecutor in postwar West Germany. He also insists that he was totally never a Nazi, not at all. When Kleinschmidt and Schramm meet again, Schramm immediately feels threatened by this man who should be dead and who could expose his totally not a Nazi facade. Kleinschmidt has no intention of exposing Schramm, but Schramm uses his position to harrass him mercilessly anyway. Eventually, things come to a head, both men face off again in court and Kleinschmidt produces the death warrant signed by Schramm. Schramm’s career is destroyed, while Kleinschmidt gets together with the woman of his dreams (not a housewife type, but a selfmade businesswoman).

Rosen für den Staatsanwalt is a great film and you should absolutely watch it. Luckily, it’s available on YouTube. It still resonated when I first watched it sometime in the 1980s and it must have resonated even more with audiences in 1959, because there were a lot of Wilhelm Schramms in positions of power in postwar West Germany. And unlike in the movie, even exposure did not stop them, as this real life Wilhelm Schramm proves.

So in short, I’ve been very much primed to love the maverick heroes and heroines of science fiction who defy orders, if necessary, and do their own thing, though I don’t love them for the same reasons American readers/viewers do. And this is also why I am troubled by the fact that the maverick hero/heroine seems to be under threat in recent science fiction.

The three biggest science fiction franchises of our time, Star Wars, Star Trek and Doctor Who, all featured maverick heroes in their original incarnations. Star Wars, at least the original trilogy, is the story of a rebellion against an all powerful, oppressive regime. Its heroes are people (as well as Wookies and droids) who defy that regime, who choose to join the rebellion, even though it would be safer to just go along with the system and trust in her privileged position (Leia), to stay at home and become a moisture farmer (Luke), to continue smuggling, while staying under the Empire’s radar (Han). Star Trek is the story of a spaceship and its crew exploring the unknown and grappling with ethical dilemmas for which the laws and regulations of the Federation don’t always have a clear answer and even if they have one, it’s not necessarily right. Doctor Who, finally, is the story of a man who runs away from the all-powerful Time Lords, because he can no longer tolerate their passivity and their refusal to intervene when there are lives, planets and whole civilisations to save. All three franchises firmly come down on the side of the maverick hero/heroine who is willing to ignore orders and convention in order to do what needs to be done.

All three franchises are also currently having new installments out at the same time, which hasn’t happened in more than thirty years now. So far, the Doctor is still doing his own thing, though it remains to be seen how things will develop, considering he only just regenerated into the first female Doctor. However, both Star Trek and Star Wars have taken to condemning the order-defying, rule-breaking hero/heroine, which is a complete reversel from what these franchises usually offered us.

Spoilers for Star Trek Discovery and The Last Jedi under the cut:

Let’s start with Star Trek first. I have written at length about Star Trek Discovery and Michael Burnham, so here’s just a short summary: Michael Burnham, human orphan raised by Vulcans, joins Starfleet, rises to first officer aboard the USS Shenzhou and seems to have a stellar career ahead of her. All this changes, when the Shenzhou runs into Klingons for the first time in ages. Michael, who is not entirely objective, since Klingons killed her family, insists firing on them at once, because that is what Vulcans supposedly do. Captain Georgiou, however, wants to talk to the Klingons, which causes Michael to turn against her mentor and surrogate mother and mutiny against her. The mutiny goes nowhere except that Michael knocks out Captain Georgiou with a Vulcan nerve pinch for about sixty seconds. The Shenzhou never fires on the Klingons, Captain Georgiou recover and Michael lands in the brig. The Klingons, who are evil xenophobic isolationists in this version of Star Trek, attack anyway, Captain Georgiou dies, the Shenzhou is destroyed and the Federation finds itself at war with the Klingon Empire and loses eight thousand Starfleet personnel in the first few days, because Starfleet is fucking incompetent. And because Starfleet can’t just admit that they’re fucking incompetent, they find a convenient scapegoat to blame for everything, namely Michael. She sentenced to life in prison by a military tribunal that is only slightly less farcical than the one at the beginning of Rosen für den Staatsanwalt (though Michael no more started the war with the Klingons than Rudi Kleinschmidt stealing two tins of chocolate lost the war for the Nazis) and sent to a labour camp (because the supposedly post-scarcity society of the Federation is apparently based on slave labour). Later, she is forcibly conscripted by Captain Gabriel Lorca of the super-secret research vessel Discovery. Initially, everybody treats her horribly, because they all believe the Federation’s propaganda that Michael is responsible for starting the war (Michael even believes this herself), but later on several of the characters come around, in one case literally via a personality transplant. However, Michael still isn’t pardoned, while several white male characters in Star Trek Discovery (and one rubberhead) ignore orders with impunity and do things such as blowing up their own ship and killing off the entire crew that are much worse than anything Michael ever did. In short, Star Trek Discovery is set in a nightmarish dystopian version of the Federation as imagined by Wilhelm Schramm, if he’d ever watched Star Trek (though I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have. Too American for his refined Germanic tastes).

Some people are bothered by the way the Federation is portrayed in Star Trek Discovery and by the many disparities with established Trek continuity, but remarkably few are even remotely bothered by what happened to Michael and the excessiveness of her sentence which comes close to the military tribunal at the beginning of Rosen für den Staatsanwalt. Indeed, lots of people, including those otherwise critical of Discovery, dislike Michael and are completely okay with sentencing someone to do slave labour for the rest of their lives for the crime of a single nerve pinch that caused no permanent harm. Apparently, everybody has also forgotten that Michael’s foster brother Spock nerve-pinched plenty of people during the original series and the movies, including Starfleet personnel and superior officers. He nerve-pinched Kirk himself at least twice. In fact, I’ve also seen people claim that Michael got off lightly and that she should have been executed. I suspect these people would also watch Rosen für den Staatsanwalt and believe that the prosecutor was the hero.

Star Trek Discovery seemed to improve in the past few episodes before the winter break and I will hold off my final judgement until season 1 is complete. What is more, Star Trek was always a franchise focussed on members of the establishment, even if the establishment was a supposedly egalitarian utopia. And Starfleet, for all their talk about exploring and going boldly where no one had gone before, were always an official, state-sanctioned military organisation. Not to mention that we got hints before that the Federation is not really the utopia it likes to pretend it is.

But surely the other big science fiction franchise, the one focussed on a group of plucky rebels fighting an oppressive regime, still has room for mavericks who ignore orders and break rules and still somehow manage to save everybody and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. This is Star Wars, after all, the franchise of science fiction mavericks, created by the man because of whom I came across the word “maverick” for the very first time**.

So I watched The Last Jedi. And I enjoyed the film – with the same reservations I have about all of the Disney produced Star Wars films. I love the new diverse cast of Rey, Finn, Poe and now Rose as well as Jyn Erso and her multicultural crew from Rogue One and I love the fact that Force powers are not just for people from noted bloodlines anymore, but also for nobodies (and remember that Anakin was as much of a nobody as Rey and that kid from Canto Bight, when Qui Gon and Obi Wan found him), but I’m not all that happy how the new movies have basically turned the heroes of the original trilogy as well as the rebellion itself into complete and utter failures. I understand why they made the choices they did. After all, they were lucky enough that the entire cast of the original trilogy (with obvious exceptions such as Sir Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing) were still alive when The Force Awakens started shooting, so I understand why they wanted to bring them back. But personally, I would have been happier, if The Force Awakes and The Last Jedi had been set 100 rather than 35 years after Return of the Jedi (similar to what Simon R. Green did with his Deathstalker Legacy series) and Kylo Ren was a more distant Skywalker/Solo descendant.

Still, the movies are what they are and so we once again (since the New Republic was not just a failure that failed to adequately address the First Order, but also managed to get itself completely wiped out by them) follow a small and plucky group of rebels fighting against a seemingly all-powerful oppressive regime. At the start of the movie, the Resistance is on the run, mercilessly pursued by the First Order which can conveniently track them through hyperspace and picks off rebel ships one by one. Coincidentally, for those who complain about the new magical hyperspace tracking device, remember how the first Death Star was able to track the Millennium Falcon to Yavin in A New Hope via a tracker hidden onboard of the Millennium Falcon? Presumably whatever the First Order is using to track the Rebels in The Last Jedi is an updated version of that technology.

Poe Dameron is not all happy with how things are going for the Resistance. And therefore he decides to do something about it and orders a bombing run on the First Order’s forces, without consulting with the Resistance leadership first (and for those who complain about bombers in space, there were bombers in the original trilogy, so space bombers are a thing in the Star Wars universe). The mission goes disastrously wrong, all bombers are destroyed and all crews die and only one bomber even manages to deliver its payload. Whereupon Poe gets dressed down and demoted by General Leia Organa herself.

Shortly thereafter, Leia is nearly killed in battle in an “Okay, so that’s how they’re writing out Carrie Fisher – uhm, wait a minute, no, she survived.” moment. Since she is incapacitated, a new character, Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo (played by Laura Dern), takes command of the Resistance fleet. Arkady Martine says in her appreciation of the character that Amilyn Holdo seems to have wandered in from a completely different movie and indeed my first thought when I saw Holdo and her purple hair on screen (and note that though the Star Wars universe has clearly made great advances in hairstyling technology, they don’t actually seem to dye hair, at least not in colours not found in nature) was “Okay, so that’s what became of the moonbase staff from UFO.”

Coincidentally, one aspect of The Last Jedi that I haven’t seen discussed anywhere is how many callbacks to other 1970s filmic science fiction director Rian Johnson managed to sneak into The Last Jedi. Nowadays, the original Star Wars a.k.a. A New Hope is often seen as a singularity, which seemingly burst onto the scene from out of nowhere, forgetting that it is still part of the filmic science fiction tradition of the 1970s. Rian Johnson, however, sneaks in references to some of the immediate predecessors, successors and contemporaries of the original Star Wars. Amilyn Holdo and her glorious purple hair are straight from the live-action Gerry Anderson SF show from the 1970s such as UFO or Space 1999 (and coincidentally, Brian Johnson who did the effects for Space 1999 also worked on The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi). And of course Amilyn Holdo is played by Laura Dern whose father Bruce Dern starred in the 1972 science fiction movie Silent Running. The desperate chase through space evokes Battlestar Galactica (both the original and the remake), while Canto Bight recalls both the disco/casino planet from the pilot of the original Battlestar Galactica and the pleasure world of the domed (and doomed) city from Logan’s Run.

Poe Dameron does not get on any better with Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo than he got on with General Leia Organa. Because Holdo’s strategy in dealing with the First Order seems to consist of running away. Running away, however, is not something Poe Dameron does and therefore he comes up with a plan to disable the First Order’s tracking system, allowing the Resistance to escape. And so Finn (who actually does try to run away, knowing a doomed cause when he sees one) and Rose are sent to the pleasure casino world of Canto Bight to find a legendary hacker who can disable the tracking system. However, Finn and Rose don’t find the hacker they’re looking for and the hacker they do find, a guy called DJ, played by Benicio Del Toro, promptly sells out the Resistance to the First Order. To make matters worse, Holdo actually does have a plan – she just neglected to tell anybody except Leia about it. And since Poe has no idea what Holdo is planning, he decides to stage a mutiny against her. He is about as successful as Michael Burnham was in her mutiny, since Leia recovers just in time to shoot down the mutineering Poe with a stun gun. Holdo finally reveals her plan, which is to lure the First Order to a former rebel base on a planet called Crait. Except that Poe’s meddling and Finn and Rose’s actions on Canto Bight have accidentally exposed that plan to the First Order – oops. Cue a huge battle, in which Holdo heroically sacrifices herself to take down the First Order flagship, most of the Resistance is wiped out nonetheless and only a handful manage to escape.

Now unlike Michael Burnham in Star Trek Discovery, who was actually right (provided one accepts that Vulcans of all people would shoot first at Klingons – but that’s not the craziest claim Star Trek Discovery has made) and who is not responsible for the many things she is blamed for, from getting Captain Georgiou killed and the Shenzhou destroyed to starting the war with the Klingons and causing the deaths of eight thousand members of Starfleet, Poe Dameron is actually wrong throughout the movie. He is completely and tragically wrong and actually does indirectly cause the deaths of a whole lot of Resistance members who might otherwise have survived. And indeed, there are already people calling for his summary execution in the comments to this io9 post celebrating the character of Amilyn Holdo. Hey, I think I saw Poe pocketing two tins of chocolate in the galley of the Resistance flagship, too.

Now I can see what Rian Johnson was trying to do with the Poe/Leia/Holdo plotline. He was trying to deconstruct the trope of the male maverick hero who is always right and is telling Poe (and through him the audience) to listen to women, particularly older women, because they might just know something that the hot-headed young man does not know. Now that’s not a bad message at all and indeed, I have seen many people, particularly women, praising it (here is one example by Heather Rose Jones). However, I have issues with the way the Poe/Leia/Holdo subplot was handled, because it makes all three characters look bad. For though Poe’s plan was ultimately a disaster, it was not a bad plan at all. It could have worked, too, if Finn and Rose hadn’t run into DJ and enlisted his help. And while Leia and Holdo’s plan was not a bad plan either, would it have killed them to share it with their people? Would it have killed them to say even as much as, “We know it looks like running away, but trust us, we have a plan”? Especially since there is no real reason not to share their plan with their people such as a traitor in their midst. Nor is it the Rebel/Resistance way not to explain their plans to their people – indeed, the original trilogy contains plenty of scenes of Rebel leaders explaining the battle plan du jour to fighter crews and other Rebel personnel (and to the audience).

What is more, The Last Jedi – and to a certain degree Rogue One – make the Rebellion/Resistance seems like the sort of sticklers for hierarchy and order following that they never were portrayed as in the original trilogy, even if they borrowed their honour ceremony choreography straight from Leni Riefenstahl.

Now I was fascinated by Star Wars long before I got to see the actual movies (which were not easy to see in Germany in the 1980s, if you didn’t have a VCR and access to a video store – and my parents considered both a waste of money). So I built up my own image of Star Wars assembled from magazine clippings, trailers, comic books, a making of documentary and later the novelisations of the original trilogy before I saw the actual movies. In most cases, the movie version superceded whatever was in my head, but sometimes the version of Star Wars that existed only in my head persisted even after I’d seen the movie. And this was the case with the way I imagined the Rebellion worked. For you see, my Rebellion was an egalitarian and non-hierarchical organisation where pretty much everything was decided via the members taking a vote. And indeed the Rebels in my Shattered Empire series, who hold lengthy debates and votes on everything including which brand of toilet paper to use, are pretty much what I imagined the Star Wars Rebellion to be like.

Now I had a very good reason for imagining the Rebellion as a basis-democratic organisation. Because this was what my teenaged self viewed as the ideal way to run a political organisation. Now I’ve stated before that fighting against an oppressive system is SF catnip to me and indeed once was so important to me that it was part of my personal definition of science fiction. This is also part of the reason why Star Wars spoke to me so much. Because the original Star Wars trilogy with its story of a boy from a small town in the desert where nothing ever happens who wants nothing more than get out of there and who hates the oppressive system he lives in, a system that teachers, guardians and the media doubtlessly told him was a great place to live, even though the cracks were more than apparent, was born from the anger of the man who created it, another boy from a small town in the desert where nothing ever happens, who wanted to get out and who could see only too well that the system he lived in was not the perfect place that teachers, parent and the media painted it as, but that it was rotten and just plain wrong in many parts and that things could be so much better. George Lucas’ anger at the US of the Vietnam and Watergate era pretty much permeates the original Star Wars trilogy, so much that it radiated halfway across the world and struck a chord in another kid from a small town where nothing ever happens (not in the desert, though it might as well have been) who also wanted nothing more than to get out of there and who could also see that the system she lived in, a system everybody told her was such a great place, actually could be much better. George Lucas’ Empire was the US of the Vietnam and Watergate era, his Emperor was Richard Nixon. And my Empire was the West (and later unified) Germany of the never-ending leaden Helmut Kohl era. And no I’m not saying that either the US of the Nixon era or Germany of the Kohl era were truly like the Empire, cause they weren’t, just that they felt stifling and oppressive and that there were so many things that could have been improved. Plus, Kohl came to power through a coup of sorts (at least, that’s the way it felt at the age of eight, when I didn’t realise that his predecessor wasn’t any better) and then just sat there and sat there and sat there in office like the proverbial immovable object. I was a very politically interested teenager and very much much wanted to get rid of him, except that I couldn’t even vote. And I wanted to vote so very, very much, probably because I assumed that if I and other teens like me could vote, we’d kick out Helmut Kohl. Okay, so that probably wouldn’t have worked, but it still hurt not to even have a say, because we were supposedly too young. It still bothered me to be forcibly unified with a very alien country without anybody getting a vote (probably because they knew or suspected that the answer would have been ‘no’ in the West), just because some old men thought those people were our long lost compatriots.

So the Rebellion I imagined was a Rebellion that let its people vote on everything, because I wanted to have a say in how things were run so very much. Of course, there is no indication on screen that this Rebellion ever existed, but there also is no real indication that it didn’t. Because we simply don’t learn very much about how the Rebellion is organised, where its leaders come from and how they were selected, etc… in the original trilogy. What we can glean, however, is that the Rebellion doesn’t seem to care for the past of its members, since they accepted Han, Chewie and Lando (and Luke for that matter) without any questions, and that it doesn’t much seem to care for its members following orders, since hardly anybody ever does. Luke, Han and Chewie go against Obi-Wan’s initial orders to stay put and go off to rescue Leia. Luke switches off his targetting computer against explicit orders and uses the force to blow up the Death Star. Han explicitly tells off some Rebel commander and rides out into the icy night on Hoth to rescue Luke. Leia defies evacuation orders and stays on Hoth until Han literally drags her out. Luke does not fly to the Rebel rendezvous point, but goes to Dagobah instead, and later defies Yoda and Obi-Wan to go to Bespin and rescue Han, Leia, Chewie and C-3PO. I’m pretty sure none of the Rebel leaders ever authorised the mission to rescue Han from Jabba and Luke goes against orders, pleadings and common sense and surrenders himself to Darth Vader to bring his father back to the light. None of these people ever follow orders and yet they pull it off every single time.

And this is why seeing the Rebellion/Resistance in general and Leia in particular suddenly turning into sticklers for hierarchy who issues orders and don’t even bother to explain them bothered me so much. When Leia dressed down and demoted Poe, I thought, “Okay, so that’s who you are now, Leia? Someone who insists on hierachy, orders and the chain of command? No wonder Han left you.”

Now unlike Michael Burnham’s arc in Star Trek Discovery (where we have a bunch of white and mostly male people dressing down a woman of colour at every turn), Poe’s arc in The Last Jedi is not actively offensive, since here we have a hot-headed ace pilot, a typical Star Wars character, rebelling against the authority of two older women who actually do know better than he does. Though it’s interesting that both Poe and Michael mutiny against older female authority figures (Philippa Georgiou in Michael’s case and Leia and Amilyn Holdo in Poe’s) and that Michael explicitly does not try to take down Gabriel Lorca and Saru, at least not so far, though both are actually awful commanders, unlike Georgiou, Leia and Holdo. But then, Gabriel Lorca is a white man and Saru, while alien, is a sort of honorary white man played by a white actor.

And while I have no idea what Star Trek Discovery is trying to do except a badly thought out redemption arc for a character who doesn’t need one (but then I strongly suspect that the Star Trek Discovery producers have no real idea what they’re doing either), I can see what Rian Johnson is trying to do with Poe’s arc. I just don’t think that it works. What is more, unlike Star Trek Discovery, the Disney Star Wars films also give us a positive example of a character who chooses not to follow orders that are blatantly wrong and illegal in Finn, the Stormtrooper conscript turned rebel (and Rogue One does something similar with Jyn Erso and her crew). And I suspect the whole Poe/Leia/Holdo plot wouldn’t have annoyed me quite so much, though I still wouldn’t have liked it, if it hadn’t come so hot on the heels of Star Trek Discovery with its dystopian Federation, incompetent Starfleet and Rosen für den Staatsanwalt worthy mutiny plot. But seeing two of the three biggest science fiction franchises on the planet going from “the maverick hero/heroine is always right” to “follow orders and be a good little soldier” in the space of three months was truly striking.

What is more, given our current world political situation, I find the message of “Conform or else…” that these stories send – though I’m pretty sure it’s not the message Rian Johnson wanted to send and who the hell knows what the Star Trek Discovery people are thinking? – extremely problematic. Yes, I know that the US has a problem with extreme and toxic individualism and that this is the lens through which many Americans view Poe’s arc in The Last Jedi, but my lens is different. Because here in Germany and not just here, we are increasingly hearing voices that call for less individualism and more conformity and social cohesion, because apparently those of us who insist on individualism and diversity are leaving those people who live lives of conservative conformity behind and thus force them to vote AfD and become rightwing extremists or some such thing. Like the UK after Brexit and the US after the 2016 presidential election, we have been inundated with thinkpieces and profiles about whiny white people who just want the world to be as it was in some idealised past that never was and this is why they were forced to vote for Brexit/Trump/the AfD. It’s not because they are racists, xenophobes and homophobes, you see, it’s because the rest of us – those they call the elites, even though many of us actually earn less than many of them – are just so in their face with our individuality and don’t want to conform to their idea of what a real German/American/Brit is like.

What is more, pretty much every culture page of every newspaper and every cultural program on TV felt compelled to discuss this book by a sociologist who believes that today’s elites and middle classes are being much too individualistic and that we must enforce more conformity, lest the lower middle and working classes feel compelled to vote for the AfD. Here is one example and here is another – there are many more. Honestly, for a while it seemed as if you couldn’t open a newspaper or switch on a cultural program without being confronted by that bloody book. To be fair, I haven’t read the book itself and the author’s point may well be more differentiated than the fairly crude summaries pushed by the cultural press.

There is also the “Leitkultur” debate, which rears its ugly head every couple of months, when some politician (usually, but not always conservative) calls for common values which everybody who lives in Germany supposedly has to accept. Why our laws don’t suffice and what those common culture and values supposedly are no one is quite sure. Shaking hands and exchanging germs is often named, as is not wearing burqas (because burqas are such a huge issue in Germany that I’ve never even seen one in the flesh). Occasionally, someone starts blathering about Martin Luther’s Bible translation (non-Christians apparently can’t be Germans now, never mind that very little of the modern German Bible we are familiar with is actually based on Luther’s translation) or Goethe and Schiller (apparently, you can’t be German either, if you haven’t read them, not to mention that Schiller was very much a non-conformist himself). In short, it’s a stupid concept and a stupid debate that nonetheless refuses to die.

So in this context and viewed through this lens, it is obvious why I find it deeply troubling that even Star Trek and Star Wars now come out in favour of conformity and following rules. Even if that’s not the message they want to send – and I’m pretty sure that it’s not the message The Last Jedi wants to send, though I’m not sure about Discovery – that’s the way it comes across.

And yes, I want more awesome older women like Philippa Georgiou, Leia Organa and Amilyn Holdo in positions of authority in science fiction. But I also want science fiction that allows misfits, mavericks and non-conformists of any age and gender to thrive, that allows a character to do what they think is right without getting punished for it, often way out of proportion for whatever wrong they committed. And I definitely never want to see a science fiction version of Rosen für den Staatsanwalt as anything other than a clear dystopia.

*Yes, this is the first time I know of that the word “Scheiße” was uttered on German TV in adjective form, 15 years before Horst Schimanski burst onto our screens.

**In the late 1980s, I assembled a collection of movie books and backissues of Starlog Magazine, all found at the wonderful Dutch used book chain De Slegte. It was in one of those books or magazines – I don’t remember which one – that I came across the phrase “George Lucas is a movie maverick”. I had no idea what the last word meant, so I looked it up. Amazingly, I actually found it, too. And the ancient English-German dictionary that had once belonged to my great-uncle defined “maverick” as “cattle without a brand” (which would have been the sole definition in 1902, when the dictionary was published). This left me very confused and I thought, “So George Lucas is cattle without a brand? But that makes no sense at all.”

Send to Kindle

Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month for December 2017

It’s that time of the month again, time for “Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month”.

So what is “Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month”? It’s a round-up of speculative fiction by indie authors newly published this month, though some November books I missed the last time around snuck in as well. The books are arranged in alphabetical order by author. So far, most links only go to Amazon.com, though I may add other retailers for future editions.

Once again, we have new releases covering the whole broad spectrum of speculative fiction. This month, we have epic fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal mystery, paranormal romance, science fiction romance, space opera, military science fiction, dystopian fiction, post-apocalyptic science fiction, time travel, witches, werewolves, vampires, dragons, cyborgs, fugitives, angels, demons and demon slayers, assassins, Christmas in space and much more.

Don’t forget that Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month is also crossposted to the Speculative Fiction Showcase, a group blog run by Jessica Rydill and myself, which features new release spotlights, guest posts, interviews and link round-ups regarding all things speculative fiction several times per week.

As always, I know the authors at least vaguely, but I haven’t read all of the books, so Caveat emptor.

And now on to the books without further ado:

Fringe Campaign by Rachel Aukes:

There is no turning back from war now.

The Fringe Liberation Campaign has sparked protests and rebellions across the Collective. Can the fringe unite into a single front before the Collective Unified Forces send everything they’ve got to destroy the Campaign and kill every last torrent?

 

 

Fugitive by Krista D. Ball:

Hope is a luxury traitors can’t afford.

To say Rebecca has some doubts about her personal choices would be underestimating the situation. In this second installment of the Collaborator series, Rebecca finds herself being chased by Blackout officers, border patrol, military intelligence, and surveillance drones.

Rebecca still isn’t sure she can trust any of these people who’d escaped the exploding station, but what choice does she have? She is a fugitive and a certain Blackout officer wants her back.

Christmas on Iago Prime by Cora Buhlert

Eight-year-old Libby has come with her parents to spend a year at the newly established colony on the planet Iago Prime. Libby’s parents believe that this is a great opportunity for all of them, but Libby is unhappy on Iago Prime. There are no other children on Iago Prime and Libby can’t go anywhere, because she doesn’t even have a space suit. Worst of all, they will spend Christmas on Iago Prime, where there aren’t even any Christmas trees.

However, Libby’s parents, with a little help from Santa Claus himself, conspire to give Libby an unforgettable Christmas on Iago Prime.

This is a science fictional Christmas story of 6600 words or approx. 22 print pages.

[image error] Dragon Storm by Lindsay Buroker

Dragons have been gone from the world for over a thousand years. Now they’re back.

Telryn “Trip” Yert has always been a little odd, with hunches that are too accurate to explain. Magic is feared and forbidden in Iskandia, so he’s struggled his whole life to hide his eccentricities. As a boy, he was forced to watch his mother’s execution. Her crime? Witchcraft.

Understandably, Trip wants nothing to do with the power that lurks within him, always threatening to reveal itself. Instead, he dedicates himself to serving as an officer in the king’s army, to battling pirates and imperial conquerors. He longs to become a soldier as respected and renowned as the legendary General Zirkander.

But his country is in need of more than a soldier.

After disappearing for over a thousand years, dragons have returned to the world. A few of them are willing to be allies to mankind, as they were millennia before, but far more want to destroy or enslave humans and claim the world for themselves.

There are few people left with the power to fight dragons. For reasons he doesn’t understand, Trip may be one of those people. But if he chooses to learn more about his heritage and the power he can wield, he risks losing everyone he loves and everything he longs to be.

I Witch You a Merry Christmas by Snow Eden:

A heart-warming story about Christmas, elves, Santa Claus…and a really mad witch.

There are many things Cinnamon Mercy Claus is struggling with this holiday season: the memories of long forgotten holidays when the Christmas season was about family; that she’s just found out her grandfather is Santa Claus; and that her grandmother is a witch—who is bent on destroying Christmas for them all.

This is a 30,000-word novella with a dose of Hallmark warmth and crazy witch mayhem!

It is a ‘clean’ read with no cursing. Situations should be appropriate for all ages.

Valence by Jennifer Foehner Wells:

Earth’s days are numbered.

Two very different women race to prepare for the battle to come. The future of Earth is in their hands.

One struggles to resurrect her ruined ship so she can navigate the politics at the galactic core in a desperate bid to recruit allies.

The other strives to master alien technology to supply the forces of Earth with the tools needed to defend themselves against the ravenous Swarm.

Between them, Jane and Zara offer humanity its best chance at survival, but the odds are stacked against them and their best may not be good enough.

Blood Ties by K. Gorman:

Together again, and ready to bring the system to its knees.

Karin Makos has spent the last two months running from one thing or another—but all that’s about to change. Her sister’s back, and Nomiki’s ready to grab their problems by the horns, throw them on their backs, and rip into them with her modified carbon steel blades.

With the backing of the Fallon Empire and a promising new lead, the two are determined to reach down into the mystery of their past and pull out its secrets, once and for all.

But they aren’t the only ones on the move. And looking may uncover more than even they could have bargained for.

Nerves of Steel by Lee Hayton:

For a thousand years, vampires ruled the earth. They bent men to their will and molded cities into hotbeds of depravity.

Ha! Just kidding. Vampires are weaklings that catch fire if you push them into sunlight. As soon as humans found out they existed, they captured the suckers, enslaved them, and put the pallid creatures to work.

So, imagine my surprise when a free vampire strolled into Joe’s Bar just before closing. Fair enough if he’s ditched his chains but walking around in public? That does not compute. As an escapee cyborg with a bounty on her head, I don’t want to dig for trouble. Don’t see, don’t tell is the motto for survival on the empire’s rough streets.

If it weren’t for my best friend, I’d turn a blind eye. But I owe that thirteen-year-old vampire my freedom and most probably my life. If something is changing for his species, then he deserves to know.

Sure, this investigation might open a seething can of bother, but if trouble comes for me, I’m ready. My body is 34% titanium, my skin is silicone polymer, and I’ve got nerves of steel.

Star Keeper by Chris Heinicke and Kate Reedwood:

Axel Ryan is running for his life.

Pursued by bounty hunters with a price on his head, he should disappear into the stars to hide and continue his search for Stardrives. But his soulmate, Element Cruz, has resurfaced and after spending the last six months searching for her with no luck, finding her again is worth gambling his life. She’s putting her own in danger by infiltrating an illegal slave auction where the Star Keeper of Endaria is being sold; a woman with empathic abilities, worth more credits then Axel can legally gather.

It should be an easy mission. Crash the auction, save his girl, and fly off into the galaxy to live happily ever after together. But the universe has another destiny in store for Axel, one he’ll need to embrace to save them all, or die trying.

The Siege of Sirius by Eddie R. Hicks:

The dream to travel to the stars has become the nightmare to escape from them.

Rebecca’s passion for space exploration made her a captain. Living through an alien invasion made her strong enough to endure the harshness of the galaxy.

Rebecca has been given the opportunity of a life time, command of the ESRS Carl Sagan an exploration and colonization starship. She along with her trusted crew embark on an expedition to establish the human race’s most remote colony located in the heart of the Sirius system.

Upon awaking from their multiyear cryostasis sleep, Rebecca and her crew quickly discovers that what exists in the Sirius system isn’t what scientists had predicted.

Not even remotely close.

Their journey to the brightest star in the skies of Earth has now become a dreadful catastrophe with the potential to reach Earth if left unchecked. With innocent colonists at risk and no means of communicating with Earth, Rebecca must abandon her primary mission of exploration in order to take on a new one, survival.

Magic Runes by Devyn Jayse:

Meet Carmen Rebello – Rune Witch, owner of the best magic store in Barcelona, and black sheep of her family.

When Carmen successfully removes a spell from a bewitched human, she never thought she would get ensnared in an ongoing Supernatural Bureau of Investigation case. Her life is already complicated by trying to stay hidden from her powerful family members, Carmen can’t afford the attention of joining the investigation but the SBI insist on her involvement. Add an annoying (but hot) SBI agent and her life is getting more difficult by the day. Can she help the SBI without exposing her identity?

Magic Runes is the intriguing first novel in the Magic Runes series. If you enjoy stories filled with supernatural creatures, magic and mystery, and a sprinkle of romance in an urban fantasy setting, this is the book for you!

[image error] Blue Skin by Steven Jenkins:

What will you do when they come for your children?

The world has turned inward, away from the sun, in the wake of a mysterious disease that has altered the human race. No longer able to bear healthy human children, our mothers and daughters have brought vampire-like hybrids into the world, and with it a new order. Now that reproduction has been banned, those left with young children face a terrible and devastating decision – turn your babies over to the government or pay the price. For young Freya, keeping her brother hidden is the only real option.

Enemies of the state, Freya must stand between her family and the forces of a fearful world. Although her brother may not be human, there is little else separating her and those of the blue skin.

Choices will be made. Lines will be drawn. The battle for humanity has only just begun.

BLUE SKIN is the first book in a 5 part vampire dystopian, thriller horror series.

[image error] The Game Players of Meridien by Robert I. Katz:

Douglas Oliver loves to play games.

Playing games is in his blood.

Douglas Oliver’s ancestors were genetically engineered to be perfect soldiers for the Imperial armies. The Empire has been gone for 3000 years but it’s legacy remains. Strong, fast, smart and aggressive, the people of Illyria relish competition of every sort.

In Meridien, the richest nation on Illyria, the greatest game of all is the Game of Life, and in the Game of Life, keeping score is simple. Status, riches and power mean that you’re winning, but the rulers of Meridien know that too much competition can destroy everything. The Guilds and the Guild Council ensure that the rules of the Game are followed.

Douglas Oliver is nowhere near the most powerful player in the Game, but he’s young and he’s successful. He has time. He understands the rules and he isn’t afraid of being challenged, until a challenge arrives from an unknown agent and suddenly, the Game is no longer just a game. It’s an all-out war with Douglas Oliver at its center, a war that threatens everything and everyone that he loves.

Chameleon’s Death Dance by B.R. Kingsolver:

Even a chameleon can be a target.

Libby makes her money as a thief and an assassin, but a girl has to have a cover. To her surprise, her business installing security systems in 23rd century Toronto is taking off, as is her romance with Wil—North America’s top cop.

Then an insurance company hires her to recover a fortune in stolen art and jewelry. Bring them the stolen goods and they’ll pay an outrageous fee, no questions asked.

The Vancouver art scene is hot, in more ways than one. Billionaires compete for bragging rights, and they aren’t picky who they deal with.

With big money and reputations on the line, Libby is on a collision course with the super-rich. When too many questions make the art thieves uncomfortable, one of the world’s top assassins is hired to eliminate those who know too much—including Libby.

[image error] The Lion of Ackbarr by Erme Lander:

“Primal forest, dim light and the muscular grace of a large predator sliding through the undergrowth. Mika twitched, caught up in her dream. Gnats swarmed above the moss coated pools. The crashing of beasts in the distance and the humming of bees. She threaded her way through, blinking in the green light.”

Fifteen year old Mika is to be married to a foreign boy she has only met once, despite her family mourning the recent disappearance of her twin brother, Kaylan. Forced to live in a strange land, far from her home in Cassai, she is resigned to her life as a lady until the day she discovers her new family dead around her. Mika escapes the city and disguises herself to travel to Ackbarr, certain she will discover the real reason for her brother’s disappearance.

Meanwhile, her dreams are filled with a predator stalking the forests of her homeland. Dreams that leave her trembling with the taste of blood.

The Ministry of Detection: Project Cocoon by James Lawson:

Arthur Winter’s job at the Ministry of Detection used to be simple: track down the humanoid alien hybrids and lock them up.

But after a botched operation, he finds himself on a different kind of assignment. One that’s off the books and very hush-hush.

Mary Haddon, eminent scientist and daughter of a senior politician, is missing and its Winter’s job to find her.

But when Winter discovers Mary’s history of communication with illegal alien hybrids, he realizes that his assignment is about more than just a missing woman. As he gets deeper, he finds questions going in every direction.

If Mary ran, who is chasing her? Why is her disappearance a matter of secrecy? And what is Project Cocoon?

The only thing Winter knows for sure is this is definitely above his pay grade.

[image error] Back to Black by Kyoko M.:

Seer and demon slayer Jordan Amador has had it rough lately: separated from her husband the archangel Michael, hated by the angels who think she betrayed them, hunted by demons who want her dead or enslaved, and rejected by her friends and family for lying to them. Disgraced and miserable, she’s all but ready to lay down and die until another Seer named Myra Bennett saves her life. Myra gives Jordan a new mission: to wipe out a nest of demons that are terrorizing her family as well as the innocent people of Houston, Texas. Jordan goes undercover to infiltrate the demons’ nest and figure out how to eliminate them. Meanwhile, she’s locked in a deadly game with the archdemon Belial, who constantly visits her night after night in her dreams to convince her to give him her soul. Between the insanely gorgeous, but dangerous archdemon poking around in her head and the vicious creatures surrounding her, she’s not sure how much longer she can survive.

Back to Black takes place between She Who Fights Monsters and The Holy Dark in the Black Parade

[image error] The Ghost Club: Newly Found Tales of Victorian Terror by William Meikle:

Writers never really die; their stories live on, to be found again, to be told again, to scare again.

In Victorian London, a select group of writers, led by Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker and Henry James held an informal dining club, the price of entry to which was the telling of a story by each invited guest.

These are their stories, containing tales of revenant loved ones, lost cities, weird science, spectral appearances and mysteries in the fog of the old city, all told by some of the foremost writers of the day. In here you’ll find Verne and Wells, Tolstoy and Checkov, Stevenson and Oliphant, Kipling, Twain, Haggard and Blavatsky alongside their hosts.

Come, join us for dinner and a story.

Not His Christmas by Annie Nicholas:

It’s Eoin and Angie’s first Christmas together and he wants to make it special. But his dragoness is lacking holiday spirit and doesn’t want anything to do with celebrating. Does Angie think Eoin is the type of dragon who could ignore her unhappiness? Clipping on his jingle bells and grabbing the mistletoe, Eoin is on a mission.

 

 

 

How Aunt Tillie Stole Christmas by Amanda M. Lee:

Fourteen years ago, Christmas hit Walkerville with a bang. Or, rather, a big ball of fire.

When a local group home for orphaned children goes up in smoke right before the holidays, Tillie Winchester volunteers her family to take in some kids – even though her arch nemesis Margaret Little is dead-set against it. Of course, that’s part of the appeal for Tillie so she’s considering it a win.

Three boys – all of them with a little attitude – have no idea what to expect from the Winchester household. No matter what, Tillie is sure they’re about to get more than they bargained for. In short order, they’re welcomed into the family at the same time the town is on edge due to a second fire.

Tillie is determined to prove the boys are innocent while also finding them a forever home … even if she has to take on a local judge and declare all out war to do it.

So, hang your stockings by the fire and sit back for another Christmas with the Winchesters. You’ll never be the same again.

Note: This is a 28,000-word novella set in the Wicked Witches of the Midwest world. It’s set back in the past so it can be read in any order.

Christmas in New York by Monique Martin:

Time-Traveling adventurers Simon and Elizabeth Cross return in an all-new Christmas novella!

Along with their young daughter, Charlotte, the Crosses travel back to 1937 New York City to visit an old friend, Charlie Blue. But Charlie’s in trouble — holiday-sized trouble — and their plans for a pleasant little Christmas vacation soon fly out the window.

Christmas in New York is the fast-paced and heartwarming tale of the true meaning of Christmas — and the importance of the people we share it with.

Snowed in with the Alien Dragon by Sonia Nova

A Christmas without warmth…

Rachel hates her life in Alaska. She hates the weather, but even more, she hates her job which requires her to stay in the sodden state even for the holidays! Instead of going to visit her family in sunny California, she will be spending the holidays alone in the cold north. But when she encounters an unconscious, golden alien on the way home from work – amidst a massive snowstorm to top it all off – it looks like the holidays might not end up as boring as she’d thought after all!

A dragon paralyzed by cold…

Captain Erro of Traag never thought to go down in a battle. Even less did he think to find his mate on the surface of the planet he crashes on! Trapped in the planet’s frozen wasteland, Erro can hardly function in the cold climate. He’s a dragon, for heaven’s sake! He needs some heat! And yet, despite the icy weather seeping into his bones, every time the strangely beautiful alien female smiles at him, his inner flame burns stronger than ever. She is his mate, there is no question about that.

Now, if only he could understand what the hell she was saying…

Snowed in with the Alien Dragon is a standalone sci-fi romance novella with a scorching hot dragon, a HEA and no cliffhangers. Intended for mature audiences only.

The Krampus Hunters by J.P. Reedman:

Krampus, haunter of the dark winter’s nights before Yule, comes bearing a switch to beat ‘bad children’…

Young Snoefrith, daughter of the Erl-King, leaves her homeland on a quest to find her lost mother…and a life. As she travels in wild, unfamiliar lands, she is accosted by Old Nickor, a red-robed goblin who flies the wintry skies in a sleigh pulled by coal-black deer, and his bestial companion, Krampus. Nickor sets Krampus upon Snowfrith, seeking to capture her to sell to the Kobold King who dwells under the mountains.

Rescued by Red Roo, a feisty girl who is the best archer in the Wandron tribe, Snoefrith believes she is now safe.

But Krampus is determined to capture his prey and please his master, Nickor. Under cover of darkness, he destroys the Wandron’s caravans and sends Snoefrith and Red Roo fleeing into the forest and beyond.

Soon they learn that they cannot flee forever.

The hunted must become the hunters….

KRAMPUS HUNTERS

A short fantasy novelette for all ages, 15,000 words.

[image error] Piercing the Veil by Guy Riessen:

What do flesh-eating cell phones, brain-enhancing tacos, and a real live dead foot have in common?

They’re all tools in the destruction of our world, and a weapons-grade team of heavily-armed Miskatonic University nerds may be humanity’s last hope.

Something is ripping holes in the Veil of energy that separates our world from that of the ancient evils writhing just beyond what we think is reality. Time is running out for Professors Derrick LeStrand, Howard Strauss and their team of researchers as they race to hunt down a mysterious Frenchman who wields Necromantic Death Magic unlike anything they’ve seen before.

Tearing open psychological wounds from Derrick’s past, the cabalistic sorcerer is gathering ancient icons of power to pierce the Veil and bring down the only thing shielding mankind from the relentless horrors beyond.

If they fail, the only questions that will remain are who will live in servitude to the Great Old Ones and who will die…and who will supply Derrick with tacos?

Set against the backdrop of a world where H.P. Lovecraft was not a fiction writer, but a Sweep, a special operative trained to protect the collective sanity of the human race with misinformative blends of fact and fiction … where the Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual is little more than a slightly skewed Audubon Field Guide, and the monster movies you grew up with are more documentary than not.

It’s Lovecraftian Lethal Weapon cranked to eleven.

Joyeux: A Musketeer Space Novella by Tansy Rayner Roberts

There’s mistletoe growing out of the walls, it’s snowing inside the space station, and a sex scandal is brewing that could bring down the monarchy. Must be Joyeux!

Joyeux on Paris Satellite is a seven day festival of drunken bets, poor decision-making, religious contemplation and tinsel. But mostly, poor decision-making. Athos and Porthos aren’t going to sleep together. Aramis is breaking up with her girlfriend because it’s that or marry her. Athos is not ready to deal with the ghost of his ex-husband. Oh, and no one wants Prince Alek to break his marriage contract by hooking up with a sexy Ambassador…

It’s down to the Musketeers and the Red Guard to save the space station and the solar system from disaster. So… that’s not going to end well.

This novella is a festive prequel to Musketeer Space, a genderflipped space opera retelling of The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.

Jingle Starr by Jenny Schwartz:

When a starship decides to play Santa Claus…

Ahab is a mLa’an artificial intelligence embedded in the starship, Orion.

The campaign for AIs to be recognized as full citizens of Galaxy Proper is within reach of its extraordinary goal. The only thing that could stop it now is if an AI did something foolish…like take a space station hostage to save eight orphaned children.

***

And this is the letter to Santa that starts it all:

Dear Santa

I don’t know if yourreindeers work in space. But if you have room in your sleigh after you finishdelivering presents to the lucky kids with parents and homes, can you come and getme and my friends? Please?

We’ve been good. Well,we haven’t been really bad. We’re on Station Elphame, in the junkyard, and Zoeis sick. She’s bad sick. I think she’d be better on a planet. We don’t needpresents. We just need a way out of here. Ollie tried to sneak onto atrampship…he died.

Please, Santa, I don’twant any more of my friends to die.

Aiden.

Send to Kindle

Indie Crime Fiction of the Month for December 2017

Welcome to the latest edition of “Indie Crime Fiction of the Month”.

So what is “Indie Crime Fiction of the Month”? It’s a round-up of speculative fiction by indie authors newly published this month, though some November books I missed the last time around snuck in as well. The books are arranged in alphabetical order by author. So far, most links only go to Amazon.com, though I may add other retailers for future editions.

Our new releases cover the broad spectrum of crime fiction. We have cozy mysteries, small town mysteries, culinary mysteries, paranormal mysteries, historical mysteries, a whole lot of holiday mysteries, police procedurals, legal thrillers, crime thrillers, psychological thrillers, private eyes, missing children and missing adults, lawyers, meddling witches, crime solving housemaids, deadly doughnuts and much more.

Don’t forget that Indie Crime Fiction of the Month is also crossposted to the Indie Crime Scene, a group blog which features new release spotlights, guest posts, interviews and link round-ups regarding all things crime fiction several times per week.

As always, I know the authors at least vaguely, but I haven’t read all of the books, so Caveat emptor.

And now on to the books without further ado:

[image error] Fatal Festive Donuts by Cindy Bell:

Christmastime at the holiday market means mistletoe, colorful lights and…a dead body.

It is almost Christmas and Joyce and Brenda are excited to get a coveted spot at the local holiday market. Business is thriving and they are looking forward to celebrating the holidays.

But Christmas becomes the last thing on their minds when a dead body is found on ‘Donuts on the Move’. Not only is their truck shut down, but they become the prime suspects. With the evidence stacking up against them and a detective who thinks they’re guilty, they decide to take things into their own hands and find the murderer.

Joyce and Brenda’s investigations lead them straight towards danger. Will they find the killer before they land up in handcuffs or even become victims themselves?

Recipe Included: Baked Gingerbread Donuts with Ginger Glaze

[image error] Merry Masquerade in Savannah by Hope Callaghan

Carlita, Mercedes, and Tony are gearing up to celebrate their first Thanksgiving at their new home in historic Savannah, Georgia. Along with the excitement of the upcoming holiday season, there’s a lingering sadness because part of their family won’t be there to celebrate.

When Carlita’s friend, Victoria “Tori” Montgomery, invites the Garlucci family to her “Merry Masquerade” party at Montgomery Hall, Carlita is thrilled to have something to take her mind off the approaching holiday.

Despite a recent theft and an assault on her butler, Tori moves forward with her party plans, a grand affair and a gathering of Savannah’s elite. The Merry Masquerade turns out to be everything it was billed to be and more, when one of Tori’s employees is found murdered inside the pool house.

Is the murder linked to the recent break-in and the butler’s attack at Montgomery Hall? Could the killer be living under Tori’s roof? Or was it a masked party guest trying to make it look like an inside job?

Join the Garlucci women as they help one of Savannah’s most prominent residents track down a killer!

[image error] Tampa Two by David Chill:

David Chill’s colorful and brilliant mystery captures both Raymond Chandler’s gritty vision and Robert B. Parker’s biting humor.

Tampa Two marks the return of Judy Atkin, the teenage runaway who P.I. Burnside arrested a decade earlier for prostitution. He made an enormous mistake by trying to help her, and wound up losing his job as an LAPD officer, along with his honor and reputation. Judy was the catalyst that led him down the path of becoming a Private Investigator, and all the good and bad that came with it.

But Judy is back in L.A. again, and is desperate for Burnside’s help. Her life is in danger, and she tries to persuade Burnside to accompany her into a dangerous situation. While Burnside isn’t fooled this time, she still manages to rope him in, and he quickly finds himself to be a person of interest in a grizzly Santa Monica homicide.

Tampa Two continues to showcase Burnside at his wise-cracking best, exchanging quips with an assortment of fascinating characters, no matter what side of the law they are on. This well-crafted novel is the embodiment of the classic Southern California noir mystery, set against a Los Angeles backdrop, a city that many think they know, but few really do. The story leads readers down a trail of theft, murder and deceit, with sharply honed banter and strikingly original characters. It is a tightly written story that is loaded with both suspense and humor, as well as some jaw-dropping surprises!

Little Lies by Stacy Claflin:

He’s dedicated his life to saving missing persons, but will it be enough to save himself?

Alex Mercer traded in his troubled past to protect the powerless. His blog for tracking down missing persons got his foot in the door at the police academy. But on his first day of training, a heroic act drops him into the hands of the captors he once hunted.

Zoey planned to tell Alex how she felt the night he disappeared. As she and Alex’s family discover the bloody signs of his fate, past regrets and dark secrets begin to come to light. It’s enough to tear Alex’s loved ones apart.

Without hope of rescue, Alex must rely on his cunning to escape captivity. In his line of work, he knows all too well that each passing hour could kill his chances of survival…

Little Lies is the third captivating standalone novel in the Alex Mercer series of thrillers. If you like edge-of-your-seat suspense, complex characters, and unflinching explorations of real-world problems, then you’ll love USA Today bestselling author Stacy Claflin’s pulse-pounding novel

[image error] Merry Buried Christmas by Lyndsey Cole:

Murder always ruins the best baked plans . . .

Annie Hunter has a lot on her plate just before Christmas, but it’s not all sugar and spice and everything nice! With an open house at her aunt’s new Blackbird Bed and Breakfast, all Annie hopes for is a drama-free day.

Of course, events never go as planned.

On top of preparing a whirlwind of food, holiday decorating, and keeping to a tight schedule, a surprise visitor is also on the menu. When that visitor turns up dead, Annie must search for the killer to keep everything from crumbling like a stale Christmas cookie.

Annie’s plan to flush out the murderer includes one tasty bribe, a pinch of needling, and a heaping tablespoon of accusation. When she is threatened, it’s time to put it all on the back burner.

But the killer has other ideas.

While the snowflakes fly, Annie finds herself caught between a cookie and a crazy person. This time, it looks like she bit off more than she can chew.

***Merry Buried Christmas is volume 12 in the Black Cat Cafe Cozy Mystery Series. Lyndsey’s books can be read and enjoyed in any order.

[image error] Where We Went Wrong by Andi Holloway:

Two families’ pasts unravel when the last person to see a missing girl alive is murdered and the victim’s crime-writing father becomes the prime suspect.

Second wife Harper Stone’s life is nothing like she imagined. A talented writer bound for the kind of greatness she inspires in her husband, Harper exchanges her lifelong dreams of becoming a bestselling author for the ready-made family of her nightmares.

With her eight-year-old stepson at the center of a missing person’s investigation, Harper struggles to balance the obligations of motherhood with her calling as an author, ultimately sacrificing her success in support of her husband, whose crime-writing career is fueled by their ordeal.

It’s only when he becomes the prime suspect in his son’s murder, years later, that she begins asking the difficult questions about his past, about their marriage, and about the disappearance of the little girl whose remains have never been found.

As Harper looks into the cold case where their problems began, she discovers people aren’t who they seem. Not the missing girl’s mother. Not Matthew, the last person to see the girl alive. Not her husband, whose obsession with the disappearance has caused an irreparable rift between them. Not even Harper herself, a woman trapped by obligation and circumstance.

In the throes of an investigation based in the past, solving Matthew’s murder means getting to the bottom of what happened all those years ago. Two families are destroyed by a single bad decision. The question is which decision, and whose was it?

How Aunt Tillie Stole Christmas by Amanda M. Lee:

Fourteen years ago, Christmas hit Walkerville with a bang. Or, rather, a big ball of fire.

When a local group home for orphaned children goes up in smoke right before the holidays, Tillie Winchester volunteers her family to take in some kids – even though her arch nemesis Margaret Little is dead-set against it. Of course, that’s part of the appeal for Tillie so she’s considering it a win.

Three boys – all of them with a little attitude – have no idea what to expect from the Winchester household. No matter what, Tillie is sure they’re about to get more than they bargained for. In short order, they’re welcomed into the family at the same time the town is on edge due to a second fire.

Tillie is determined to prove the boys are innocent while also finding them a forever home … even if she has to take on a local judge and declare all out war to do it.

So, hang your stockings by the fire and sit back for another Christmas with the Winchesters. You’ll never be the same again.

Note: This is a 28,000-word novella set in the Wicked Witches of the Midwest world. It’s set back in the past so it can be read in any order.

Kathleen Catches a Killer by M. Louisa Locke:

It’s the very end of December, 1880, and the servant Kathleen Hennessey expects to spend a quiet week taking care of the O’Farrell Street boarding house while her employers, Annie and Nate Dawson, are off spending the Christmas holidays with Nate’s family. However, when she agrees to help out one of her friends, Kathleen discovers that a simple case of a servant being dismissed without notice has turned into a complicated puzzle that she is determined to solve.

While featuring minor characters from Locke’s Victorian San Francisco mystery series, Kathleen Catches a Killer contains all the light romance, humor, and suspense of the longer works. Chronologically, this novella comes right after the events in Pilfered Promises, but it can be read as a stand-alone and an excellent introduction to this mystery series about the gas-lit world of the late 19th century.

[image error] Frostycake Murder by Summer Prescott:

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM MISSY AND CHAS!!!

Life is full of surprises in the sleepy beachside town of Calgon, Florida, and the holiday season proves to be no exception. Echo faces a new reality that could change her life forever, Missy and Chas wrestle with the pain of facing their own limitations and uncertainties, while Spencer finds himself in a sticky situation relationally.

In the midst of all of the personal turmoil, a gruesome murder is discovered, and Chas once again has to take charge and hope that he finds the ruthless killer, before tragedy strikes a bit closer to home.

Murder Over The Bones by Stephen Randorf:

Detective Gilbert Bass searches for the identity of a homeless man found dead in an archeological dig site. Dinosaur fossils unearthed in the city? Mrs. Wicker and her adult children want the bones, two partners in real estate want the land, and a local activist wants to keep his girlfriend.

 

 

 

[image error] Beset by E.H. Reinhard:

Beset: The Lieutenant Harrington Series, Book 2.

When a spring breaker is found with his head all but removed along the side of a posh Miami Beach hotel, Lieutenant Nash Harrington is tasked with tracking down the person responsible.

But the dead college kid in the bushes is only the beginning. The victim came to town with friends—friends who start dropping like flies.

Just as the lieutenant closes in on his killer, the case takes an immediate left turn into the unknown, a place where Harrington could find himself directly in harm’s way.

North Pole Unlimited: Decker and Joy by Elle Rush:

Jaded P.I. Decker Harkness must track down a missing prototype if he wants a shot at a corporate security contract. Sexy cat-lady Joy McCall has her own investigation running after someone breaks into her animal shelter. When they cross paths during a triple kitten-napping, they’ll have to work together to close their cases. Will everyone make it home to celebrate a merry Christmas together?

Only Santa knows.

 

[image error] Reasonable Doubt by Rachel Sinclair:

A prominent artist from New York City, in town for a show, is found brutally murdered in the back of an art gallery. A prominent gay art dealer stands accused of the murder. He fears he might have done it. He doesn’t remember if he did or not. Damien must get at the truth, which is made more difficult by the fact that even his client doesn’t know the truth about what happened.

In the meantime, Damien throws himself into getting his three best friends out of prison. These men mean everything to him. But getting the three guys out means that they must leave Connor O’Brien behind. Damien can’t stand for this to happen, so he risks everything to make sure that Connor can be freed with the others.

With the hairpin turns and lightning fast pace that you’ve come to expect from a Rachel Sinclair legal thriller, “Reasonable Doubt” is not to be missed!

Send to Kindle

Christmas 2017

So here is the obligatory Christmas post. I spent the holidays at my parents’, as usual. Though this year, I did all of the cooking on my own, because my Mom was in hospital until a few days ago and still isn’t 100% well. I also forgot my camera, so the following are all smartphone pics.

So let’s have some photos:

[image error]

Here is our Christmas tree with many vintage ornaments as well as real beeswax candles.

[image error]

A close-up look at the tree. The two woodshavings angels are personal favourites of mine.

[image error]

The Madonna of the Burning Heart, which is not a miracle, but a kitschy votive candle holder. Though it inspired my crime short “Our Lady of the Burning Heart”, where she puts the fear of god into a small time crook.

[image error]

More holiday ornamentation: Two votive candles make this glass nativity scene glow.

[image error]

Wrapped presents (my Dad’s)

[image error]

Wrapped presents (my Mom’s): The bag holds some chocolates.

[image error]

Wrapped presents (mine). Except for the hairdryer, because I used it a day before Christmas. For why should I keep using the old, annoying hairdryer, when I have a brandnew one just sitting there?

[image error]

My Mom is unwrapping presents.

[image error]

My Dad unwrapping presents.

[image error]

Me unwrapping presents.

[image error]

Unwrapped presents (my Dad’s). The Wonder Woman DVD is from me. I actually wanted to buy him a different movie, but when two stores didn’t have it, I bought Wonder Woman instead. After all, my Dad says he had a bunch of golden age Wonder Woman comics inherited from an older cousin.

Coincidentally, this is the first year I don’t have to “censor” the calendar with strategically placed socks and the like, because the model on the cover is wearing a top.

[image error]

Unwrapped presents (my Mom’s): The books are the German versions of “Midnight Bayou” by Nora Roberts and “Honour’s Knight” by Rachel Bach respectively.

[image error]

Unwrapped presents (mine). The books are evenly split between romance (Alyssa Cole), mystery/thriller (Rachel Caine and G.B. Williams) and science fiction (Mike Brooks and Catherine Cerveny). The gender split is one man (Mike Brooks) and five women.

[image error]

Christmas eve afternoon coffee with holiday cookies and a vintage Scandinavian Modern candleholder. I rediscovered the candleholder in a closet and liked it so much I promptly put it on the table.

[image error]

Christmas Eve lunch: Deer mushroom stew with red cabbage, penne and apple cranberry sauce.

[image error]

Christmas Eve dinner: Cobb salad, olive bread and truffle butter. I decided to forego the herring salad this year, because it is too much work for just one person to make.

[image error]

Christmas Day lunch: Sailor’s curry with plenty of pickles.

[image error]

And here is the pickle tray to go with the sailor’s curry (clockwise from top left to bottom right): Mango chutney, pickled beetroot, banana, hard-boiled egg, lime pickle, chopped gherkin, chopped onion, atjar tjampoer

For more about sailor’s curry, see this post from 2016. And yes, I decided to take my own advice and use the dish in a space opera setting.

[image error]

Christmas is also Star Wars time, so enjoy Paige, Rose, Chewie, a Porg and a random panda pose for a picture.

And that’s it for today. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas or other seasonal holiday of your choice.

Send to Kindle

Two new releases just in time for the holidays: Christmas on Iago Prime and Weihnachtsshopping mit gebrochenem Herzen

Well, I promised you more new release announcement in the run-up to the holidays and today, I am pleased to announce not one but two new releases. Both of them are holiday stories, one in English and one in German.

Let’s start with the English language story. Back during the first July short story challenge in 2015, I wrote a little story called Valentine’s Day on Iago Prime, in which a couple attempts to celebrate Valentine’s Day at a new settled space colony.

I’d assumed that this was the first and last time I’d ever visit the colony of Iago Prime. However, I try to write a holiday story every year. And when I searched for ideas for a holiday story for this year, I suddenly thought “Why not write a science fictional holiday story about Christmas in a space station or interplanetary colony?” And then I thought, “Why not reuse the Iago Prime setting?”

The result is Christmas on Iago Prime. The protagonist this time around is Libby, a little girl whose scientist parents are due to spend a whole year on Iago Prime, including Christmas. Libby is not at all thrilled about this, at least at first. Kai and Maisie from Valentine’s Day on Iago Prime also appear and they have big news to share.

Currently, the A Year on Iago Prime series has only two installments. However, I may well write other holiday stories set on Iago Prime. After all, we haven’t yet seen Easter on Iago Prime and we only get a tiny glimpse at Halloween on Iago Prime.

But for now, let’s blast off into space and celebrate…

Christmas on Iago Prime

[image error]Eight-year-old Libby has come with her parents to spend a year at the newly established colony on the planet Iago Prime. Libby’s parents believe that this is a great opportunity for all of them, but Libby is unhappy on Iago Prime. There are no other children on Iago Prime and Libby can’t go anywhere, because she doesn’t even have a space suit. Worst of all, they will spend Christmas on Iago Prime, where there aren’t even any Christmas trees.

However, Libby’s parents, with a little help from Santa Claus himself, conspire to give Libby an unforgettable Christmas on Iago Prime.

This is a science fictional Christmas story of 6600 words or approx. 22 print pages.

More information.

Length: 6600 words

List price: 0.99 USD, EUR or GBP

Buy it at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Netherlands, Amazon Spain, Amazon Italy, Amazon Canada, Amazon Australia, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Japan, Amazon India, Amazon Mexico, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple iTunes, Scribd, Smashwords, Inktera, Playster, Thalia, Weltbild, Hugendubel, Buecher.de, DriveThruFiction, Casa del Libro, e-Sentral, 24symbols and XinXii.

***

The second new release for today is not actually a brand-new story. Instead, it is an existing story, Christmas Shopping with a Broken Heart, translated into German.

So enjoy…

Weihnachtsshopping mit gebrochenem Herzen

[image error] Zwei einsame Herzen finden im vorweihnachtlichen Shoppingchaos zueinander.

Als ihr Freund sie vier Wochen vor Weihnachten sitzenlässt, stürzt Hannah sich in die Weihnachtsvorbereitungen, um die Schmerzen zu betäuben. Aber nichts scheint zu helfen, bis Hannah beim Weihnachtseinkauf im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes mit Owen zusammenstößt.

Zwischen Hannah und Owen funkt es sofort. Dabei kämpft Owen mit seinen eigenen alten Schmerzen…

Dies ist eine kurze weihnachtliche Liebesgeschichte von ca. 6300 Worten oder ca. 25 Buchseiten.

Mehr Informationen.

Länge: 6300 Worte

Preis: 0,99 EUR, USD oder GBP

Erhältlich bei Amazon Deutschland, Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Amazon Niederlande, Amazon Frankreich, Amazon Italien, Amazon Spanien, Amazon Canada, Amazon Australien, Amazon Brasilien, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Japan, Amazon Indien, Kobo, Apple iTunes, Thalia, Weltbild, Hugendubel, BOL, Osiander, Mayersche, buecher.de, buch.de, eBook.de, Barnes & Noble, Scribd, 24symbols, Playster, txtr, Inktera, Smashwords, DriveThruFiction, Casa del Libro, Flipkart, e-Sentral und XinXii.

Dieses Buch gibt es auch auf English.

Send to Kindle

Magic under the Mistletoe – A Round-up of the Best Indie Holiday Speculative Fiction

Our monthly round-ups of new speculative fiction and new crime fiction releases by indie authors are a perennially popular feature. Therefore, we now offer you a round-up of our favourite holiday science fiction, fantasy and horror by indie authors.

These holiday stories cover the broad spectrum of speculative fiction. We have epic fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, paranormal mysteries, science fiction, space opera, time travel, post-apocalyptic fiction, plenty of dragons, werewolves, were-reindeer, elves, telepathic detectives, crime-fighting witches, orphans in danger, troubled marriages, musketeers in space, alien invasions, Christmas in space and after the apocalypse, robots, sentient starships playing Santa and much more. But one thing unites all of those very different books. They’re all set around the holidays.

As always with my round-up posts, this round-up of the best indie holiday mysteries is also crossposted to the Speculative Fiction Showcase, a group blog which features new release spotlights, guest posts, interviews and link round-ups regarding all things speculative fiction several times per week.

As always, I know the authors at least vaguely, but I haven’t read all of the books, so Caveat emptor.

And now on to the books without further ado:

[image error] A Dark Root Christmas: Merry’s Gift by April Aasheim

When ten-year-old Merry Maddock makes a holiday wish on a shooting star, she has no idea how her life will change.

Suddenly, she’s become the parent to a strange baby owl, and the caretaker of what appears to be an enchanted tree.

But will her wish for a family Christmas be granted? Or will her mother’s desire for a year without a holiday win out?

Magick, mystery, and family take center stage in this charming witchy novella featuring the Maddock girls when they are young.

This 20k word novella is a prequel story to the popular Daughters of Dark Root series and can be read as a stand alone novel.

A Very Mercy Christmas: A Witch Squad Holiday Special by M.Z. Andrews:

It’s Christmas time at the Paranormal Institute for Witches. Excited to go home for the holidays and be reunited with their families, Mercy, Jax, Holly, Sweets, and Alba say their goodbyes. However, when an unpredicted snowstorm ravages Aspen Falls, the girls must scramble to figure out their next move. Tempers flare as blame is placed and feelings are hurt. By the looks of it, Christmas will surely be ruined.

But when a surprise visitor arrives, the girls are forced to find out what friendship really means and decide whether or not it’s worth saving. Visited by some blasts from the past, the girls are given glimpses into each other’s pasts and find out what life would have been like if they’d never met and formed the Witch Squad on the first day of classes.

A Very Mercy Christmas is the 5th book in the Witch Squad Cozy Mystery series – there is no mystery to solve, instead sit back and enjoy a Christmas story about what went down over the Witch Squad’s first winter break and get a glimpse into the lives of each of the girls before they met.

The Journey of Joseph Winter: A Christmas Fairy Tale by John Anthony:

A heartwarming Christmas story in the tradition of the holiday classics It’s a Wonderful Life and A Miracle on 34th Street.

Take a personal journey to discover the true magic of Christmas.

Joseph Winter is a good and gentle man, but he carries with him the pain and regret of a childhood mistake.

When a package mysteriously arrives on his doorstep, he is invited on a path to redemption.

Traveling far from his cozy little home in St. Paul, Minnesota, into the snowy landscapes of the Arctic, his touching Christmas journey takes him in search of the one man who may be able to help him find peace—Santa Claus.

An inspirational family Christmas tale in the style of the classic Christmas stories shared by families every holiday season, The Journey of Joseph Winter: A Christmas Fairy Tale is the inspiring story of a man in search of Santa Claus, his childhood, and ultimately—himself.

A Tale of Christmas Past by Katelyn A. Brown

A woman from the future, trapped in the past…

Avery Lawson expects to spend another holiday alone, with only memories of her parents and her abandoned faith for company. One chilly day, she reads an old journal that once belonged to a pioneer named Kathleen. Avery is captivated by the story, but she never imagined how much her own life would be turned upside down after reading it. In a strange twist of fate, she finds herself transported to a Kansas homestead in the year 1880, with no conceivable way to get home to the future.

Widower Jacob Cole is in desperate need of a housekeeper and nanny for his three young children. When the mysterious Miss Lawson shows up at his farm, his instincts tell him to trust her, despite the bizarre circumstances surrounding her arrival. She quickly becomes an important part of his world. Could she be just what his hurting family needs?

But being from the future, Avery has a dreadful secret. With Christmas fast approaching, can she stop another terrible tragedy from befalling the family? Will she ever make it home to the future? Or–with the Cole children and Jacob steadily breaking down the walls around her heart–does she even want to anymore?

Christmas on Iago Prime by Cora Buhlert

Eight-year-old Libby has come with her parents to spend a year at the newly established colony on the planet Iago Prime. Libby’s parents believe that this is a great opportunity for all of them, but Libby is unhappy on Iago Prime. There are no other children on Iago Prime and Libby can’t go anywhere, because she doesn’t even have a space suit. Worst of all, they will spend Christmas on Iago Prime, where there aren’t even any Christmas trees.

However, Libby’s parents, with a little help from Santa Claus himself, conspire to give Libby an unforgettable Christmas on Iago Prime.

This is a science fictional Christmas story of 6600 words or approx. 22 print pages.

[image error] The Tinsel-Free Christmas Tree: A Not Really SF Short Story by Cora Buhlert

Bertha and Alfred, married for twenty years, enjoy a truly science fictional life in the twenty-first century. But in spite of all the technological marvels surrounding them, an argument about how to decorate the Christmas tree escalates and threatens their marriage.

This parodistic piece is a mundane short story of 2900 words or approximately 12 print pages, written in the style of science fiction’s “golden age” of the 1940s and 1950s.

 

I Witch You a Merry Christmas by Snow Eden:

A heart-warming story about Christmas, elves, Santa Claus…and a really mad witch.

There are many things Cinnamon Mercy Claus is struggling with this holiday season: the memories of long forgotten holidays when the Christmas season was about family; that she’s just found out her grandfather is Santa Claus; and that her grandmother is a witch—who is bent on destroying Christmas for them all.

This is a 30,000-word novella with a dose of Hallmark warmth and crazy witch mayhem!

It is a ‘clean’ read with no cursing. Situations should be appropriate for all ages.

[image error] Carrie Hatchett’s Christmas by J.J. Green:

It’s Christmas! The alien invasion has begun.

Carrie Hatchett’s hoping for a quiet Christmas. She’s got five times as much food as she needs, and she’s made a catnip surprise and a dogfood cake for her pets.

But there’s no rest for Carrie.

An ancient race seems intent on invading Earth. As a Transgalactic Intercultural Community Crisis Liaison Officer, Carrie’s duty-bound to respond to the threat.

The aliens have been spotted at Santa’s Grotto and in a pantomime. Will Carrie find them in time and send them packing before they ruin everyone’s Christmas?

Carrie Hatchett’s Christmas is a standalone novelette in the comedy sci-fi romp Carrie Hatchett, Space Adventurer.

Follow Carrie on her adventures today.

Bringing Christmas to the Dragons by Rinelle Grey:

She may not be a dragon, but it was her humanity they needed right now.

With time running out before his clan’s prince is discovered by mining or killed by enemy dragons, dragon shifter Jayrian needs to convince the elders to accept help from the humans. He hopes that the clever librarian, Gretchen, might be able to help him with that. He didn’t count on falling for her—that wasn’t part of his plan at all.

Gretchen longs for adventure outside of the books she reads in her job as a small town librarian. But not the kind that involves her moving to the big city to take the promotion her Aunt Mary offers. The cute guy who’s been hanging around the library seems far more exciting—there’s just something about him that draws her—so on impulse, she invites him to her family’s Christmas celebration. When a dragon lands on the front of her car on the way there, she wonders if she’s gotten more than she bargained for.

Together they must find a way to save his prince and clan, without sacrificing who they are, or their budding relationship.

Meet Douglas Fir by Kyndra Hatch:

People put objects on trees? As a holiday tradition? The singing tree creature is a threat that needs to be eradicated.

Being human isn’t easy with robotic alien residents misunderstanding the simple stuff. Alex can’t imagine his family life without Bazin and Miaxa, though. Time to show them Christmas holiday traditions, preferably without space aliens blowing things up.

 

 

How Aunt Tillie Stole Christmas by Amanda M. Lee:

Fourteen years ago, Christmas hit Walkerville with a bang. Or, rather, a big ball of fire.

When a local group home for orphaned children goes up in smoke right before the holidays, Tillie Winchester volunteers her family to take in some kids – even though her arch nemesis Margaret Little is dead-set against it. Of course, that’s part of the appeal for Tillie so she’s considering it a win.

Three boys – all of them with a little attitude – have no idea what to expect from the Winchester household. No matter what, Tillie is sure they’re about to get more than they bargained for. In short order, they’re welcomed into the family at the same time the town is on edge due to a second fire.

Tillie is determined to prove the boys are innocent while also finding them a forever home … even if she has to take on a local judge and declare all out war to do it.

So, hang your stockings by the fire and sit back for another Christmas with the Winchesters. You’ll never be the same again.

Note: This is a 28,000-word novella set in the Wicked Witches of the Midwest world. It’s set back in the past so it can be read in any order.

A Mind Reader’s Christmas by Al Macy:

Eric Beckman, a mind-reading private investigator, is spending Christmas in snowy Vermont with his wife and daughter. He needs a break from solving cases, but the townspeople convince him to look into the village mystery: Every holiday season, someone switches the baby Jesus with one of the other figures in the town’s Nativity scene.

With the help of his ten-year-old daughter, also a mind reader, he soon learns that some of the residents of the small town are not who–or even what–they seem to be. There’s something supernatural going on in Newburn, Vermont.

His investigation causes an escalation of strange happenings, and soon, swapped manger figures are the least of the town’s worries. If Beckman can’t adjust his view of the world–force himself to believe in things he never thought possible–the Christmas vacation could turn out to be his family’s last.

A Mind Reader’s Christmas may be read as a standalone book or as Book Four in the Eric Beckman series.

In Time for Christmas by Monique Martin:

At a time when interest in the Christmas holiday was waning, Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol and inspired the world.

But now, history is changing, and the book is never written. When the Council for Temporal Studies asks time travelers Simon and Elizabeth Cross to “save Christmas,” they think he’s joking.

But it’s anything but a laughing matter. Simon and Elizabeth must go back to 1843 London and convince Dickens to write his endearing story, or the Christmas holiday we all know and love will cease to be–forever.

Christmas in New York by Monique Martin:

Time-Traveling adventurers Simon and Elizabeth Cross return in an all-new Christmas novella!

Along with their young daughter, Charlotte, the Crosses travel back to 1937 New York City to visit an old friend, Charlie Blue. But Charlie’s in trouble — holiday-sized trouble — and their plans for a pleasant little Christmas vacation soon fly out the window.

Christmas in New York is the fast-paced and heartwarming tale of the true meaning of Christmas — and the importance of the people we share it with.

Not His Christmas by Annie Nicholas:

It’s Eoin and Angie’s first Christmas together and he wants to make it special. But his dragoness is lacking holiday spirit and doesn’t want anything to do with celebrating. Does Angie think Eoin is the type of dragon who could ignore her unhappiness? Clipping on his jingle bells and grabbing the mistletoe, Eoin is on a mission.

 

 

 

Snowed in with the Alien Dragon by Sonia Nova

A Christmas without warmth…

Rachel hates her life in Alaska. She hates the weather, but even more, she hates her job which requires her to stay in the sodden state even for the holidays! Instead of going to visit her family in sunny California, she will be spending the holidays alone in the cold north. But when she encounters an unconscious, golden alien on the way home from work – amidst a massive snowstorm to top it all off – it looks like the holidays might not end up as boring as she’d thought after all!

A dragon paralyzed by cold…

Captain Erro of Traag never thought to go down in a battle. Even less did he think to find his mate on the surface of the planet he crashes on! Trapped in the planet’s frozen wasteland, Erro can hardly function in the cold climate. He’s a dragon, for heaven’s sake! He needs some heat! And yet, despite the icy weather seeping into his bones, every time the strangely beautiful alien female smiles at him, his inner flame burns stronger than ever. She is his mate, there is no question about that.

Now, if only he could understand what the hell she was saying…

Snowed in with the Alien Dragon is a standalone sci-fi romance novella with a scorching hot dragon, a HEA and no cliffhangers. Intended for mature audiences only.

[image error] When Birdie Babysat Spider: A Jayne Frost Short Story by Kristen Painter:

Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year.

Jayne Frost is a lot of things. Winter elf, Jack Frost’s daughter, Santa Claus’s niece, heir to the Winter Throne and now…private investigator. Sort of.

But none of that matters at the moment, because Jayne is headed back to the North Pole to visit her family, and leaving everyone’s favorite werewolf, Birdie Caruthers, to watch her cat, Spider.

With the heartfelt promise that all will be well, Birdie follows Jayne’s instructions to the letter. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop Spider from getting into trouble.

It takes the help of a gentlemen friend (and a few others), for Birdie to make things right again. But not before her love life takes a very interesting turn…

The Krampus Hunters by J.P. Reedman:

Krampus, haunter of the dark winter’s nights before Yule, comes bearing a switch to beat ‘bad children’…

Young Snoefrith, daughter of the Erl-King, leaves her homeland on a quest to find her lost mother…and a life. As she travels in wild, unfamiliar lands, she is accosted by Old Nickor, a red-robed goblin who flies the wintry skies in a sleigh pulled by coal-black deer, and his bestial companion, Krampus. Nickor sets Krampus upon Snowfrith, seeking to capture her to sell to the Kobold King who dwells under the mountains.

Rescued by Red Roo, a feisty girl who is the best archer in the Wandron tribe, Snoefrith believes she is now safe.

But Krampus is determined to capture his prey and please his master, Nickor. Under cover of darkness, he destroys the Wandron’s caravans and sends Snoefrith and Red Roo fleeing into the forest and beyond.

Soon they learn that they cannot flee forever.

The hunted must become the hunters….

KRAMPUS HUNTERS

A short fantasy novelette for all ages, 15,000 words.

Joyeux: A Musketeer Space Novella by Tansy Rayner Roberts

There’s mistletoe growing out of the walls, it’s snowing inside the space station, and a sex scandal is brewing that could bring down the monarchy. Must be Joyeux!

Joyeux on Paris Satellite is a seven day festival of drunken bets, poor decision-making, religious contemplation and tinsel. But mostly, poor decision-making. Athos and Porthos aren’t going to sleep together. Aramis is breaking up with her girlfriend because it’s that or marry her. Athos is not ready to deal with the ghost of his ex-husband. Oh, and no one wants Prince Alek to break his marriage contract by hooking up with a sexy Ambassador…

It’s down to the Musketeers and the Red Guard to save the space station and the solar system from disaster. So… that’s not going to end well.

This novella is a festive prequel to Musketeer Space, a genderflipped space opera retelling of The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.

Jingle Starr by Jenny Schwartz:

When a starship decides to play Santa Claus…

Ahab is a mLa’an artificial intelligence embedded in the starship, Orion.

The campaign for AIs to be recognized as full citizens of Galaxy Proper is within reach of its extraordinary goal. The only thing that could stop it now is if an AI did something foolish…like take a space station hostage to save eight orphaned children.

***

And this is the letter to Santa that starts it all:

Dear Santa

I don’t know if yourreindeers work in space. But if you have room in your sleigh after you finishdelivering presents to the lucky kids with parents and homes, can you come and getme and my friends? Please?

We’ve been good. Well,we haven’t been really bad. We’re on Station Elphame, in the junkyard, and Zoeis sick. She’s bad sick. I think she’d be better on a planet. We don’t needpresents. We just need a way out of here. Ollie tried to sneak onto atrampship…he died.

Please, Santa, I don’twant any more of my friends to die.

Aiden.

Elves and Deer by Hollis Shiloh:

Greer is a reindeer shifter working at a magical shipping hub up North. He has little use for or understanding of elves—such delicate, short-lived creatures—but he tries to do his best by the ones in his life. And it seems like more and more are coming into his life, confusing and frustrating him, needing help, needing rescued.

Since Greer is always busy, it’s easy to overlook the things he doesn’t want to acknowledge—until a terrible danger gives him unwanted time to think…and to realize there’s just one elf who means more to him than he’s ever wanted to admit.

A Christmas tale

38,000 words

Heat level: very low

[image error] Blood and Mistletoe by E.J. Stevens:

Holidays are worse than a full moon for making people crazy. In Harborsmouth, where many of the residents are undead vampires or monstrous fae, the combination may prove deadly.

Ivy Granger, psychic private investigator, returns to the streets of Harborsmouth in this addition to the bestselling urban fantasy series.

Holidays are Hell, a point driven home when a certain demon attorney returns with information regarding a series of bloody murders. Five Harborsmouth residents have been killed and every victim has one thing in common–they are fae. Whoever is killing faeries must be stopped, but they only leave one clue behind–a piece of mistletoe floating in a pool of the victim’s blood.

The holidays just got interesting. Too bad this case may drive Ivy mad before the New Year. Heck, she’ll be lucky to survive Christmas.

Cloaked in Christmas by T.F. Walsh:

After fleeing her abusive ex, wulfkin Cacey Varg and her daughter settle happily with a new pack in Finland. As Christmas approaches, Cacey learns her ex has found them and is on his way to take their daughter back. But a massive snowstorm prevents her from packing up and leaving town – and instead delivers a sexy stranger to her doorstep. Can she trust that he isn’t one of her ex’s henchmen?

Second-in-command to Europe’s most powerful wulfkin, hunter Vincent Lyall’s spur-of-the-moment decision to check on his ailing mother soon finds him marooned at a cabin in the woods by the blizzard of the century. Trapped with this spirited vixen, resisting temptation is easier said than done . . . But she refuses to believe he is who he says he is.

Is love powerful enough to win when two sexy wolf shifters, an unwelcome past, and animalistic urges wreak havoc on the holiday season?

Sensuality Level: Sensual

[image error] A Most Apocalyptic Christmas by Phil Williams:

On the night before Christmas, mercenary Scullion’s ride home is ambushed halfway between the last surviving cities in America. Concerned only with getting drunk for the holiday, his attempts to abandon his fellow passengers to bandits lead him on a collision course with a barbaric community who have utterly distorted the seasonal spirit. This is one madcap night he cannot survive alone, challenging his perceptions of the meaning of Christmas.

A Most Apocalyptic Christmas is a near-future dystopian novella, set in a war-ravaged land where chaotic city states are all that are left of once powerful countries. Born fighters like the thug Scullion are the predominant survivors in this desolate world devoid of resources, comforts and hope.

This is a Faergrowe Free State novella, set in the same world of the screenplay The Faergrowe Principle.

Send to Kindle

Murder under the Mistletoe – A Round-up of the Best Indie Holiday Mysteries and Crime Fiction

Our monthly round-ups of new speculative fiction and new crime fiction releases by indie authors are a perennially popular feature. Therefore, we now offer you a round-up of our favourite holiday mysteries by indie authors.

The holiday mysteries cover the broad spectrum of crime fiction. We have plenty of cozy mysteries, small town mysteries, culinary mysteries, paranormal mysteries, historical mysteries, romantic suspense, police procedurals, pulp thrillers, men’s adventure, private eyes, masked crime fighters, telepathic detectives, crime-fighting witches, orphans in danger and much more. But one thing unites all of those very different books. They’re all set around the holidays.

As always with my round-up posts, this round-up of the best indie holiday mysteries is also crossposted to the Indie Crime Scene, a group blog which features new release spotlights, guest posts, interviews and link round-ups regarding all things speculative fiction several times per week.

As always, I know the authors at least vaguely, but I haven’t read all of the books, so Caveat emptor.

And now on to the books without further ado:

A Very Mercy Christmas: A Witch Squad Holiday Special by M.Z. Andrews:

It’s Christmas time at the Paranormal Institute for Witches. Excited to go home for the holidays and be reunited with their families, Mercy, Jax, Holly, Sweets, and Alba say their goodbyes. However, when an unpredicted snowstorm ravages Aspen Falls, the girls must scramble to figure out their next move. Tempers flare as blame is placed and feelings are hurt. By the looks of it, Christmas will surely be ruined.

But when a surprise visitor arrives, the girls are forced to find out what friendship really means and decide whether or not it’s worth saving. Visited by some blasts from the past, the girls are given glimpses into each other’s pasts and find out what life would have been like if they’d never met and formed the Witch Squad on the first day of classes.

A Very Mercy Christmas is the 5th book in the Witch Squad Cozy Mystery series – there is no mystery to solve, instead sit back and enjoy a Christmas story about what went down over the Witch Squad’s first winter break and get a glimpse into the lives of each of the girls before they met.

[image error] Fatal Festive Donuts by Cindy Bell:

Christmastime at the holiday market means mistletoe, colorful lights and…a dead body.

It is almost Christmas and Joyce and Brenda are excited to get a coveted spot at the local holiday market. Business is thriving and they are looking forward to celebrating the holidays.

But Christmas becomes the last thing on their minds when a dead body is found on ‘Donuts on the Move’. Not only is their truck shut down, but they become the prime suspects. With the evidence stacking up against them and a detective who thinks they’re guilty, they decide to take things into their own hands and find the murderer.

Joyce and Brenda’s investigations lead them straight towards danger. Will they find the killer before they land up in handcuffs or even become victims themselves?

Recipe Included: Baked Gingerbread Donuts with Ginger Glaze

A Bullet for Father Christmas by Cora Buhlert:

When two men dressed up as Father Christmas rob a London jewellery store and one of them ends up dead on the floor, shot by his own accomplice, it’s certainly one of the more unusual cases for Detective Inspector Helen Shepherd and her team. But as Helen begins to investigate, it turns out that the case is even more bizarre than she suspected.

This is a mystery novelette of 9300 words or approx. 30 print pages.

 

St. Nicholas of Hell’s Kitchen by Cora Buhlert:

Christmas time in 1930s New York. After escaping through the chimney of an orphanage in Hell’s Kitchen, Richard Blakemore a.k.a. the masked crimefighter known only as the Silencer is mistaken for Santa Claus by one of the children and learns that the orphanage is under siege by both a gang of brutal racketeers and an unscrupulous landlord.

Richard vows to help the children and their guardians. However, it turns out that the attacks on the orphanage are only part of a much larger plot, when Richard’s quest for justice leads him into the upper echelons of Manhattan’s high society.

Soon, the Silencer finds himself face to face with one of the most powerful men in the city, while Richard and Constance struggle to save the orphanage and give the children of Hell’s Kitchen an unforgettable Christmas.

This is a novella of 30000 words or approximately 100 pages in the Silencer series, but may be read as a standalone.

[image error] Merry Masquerade in Savannah by Hope Callaghan

Carlita, Mercedes, and Tony are gearing up to celebrate their first Thanksgiving at their new home in historic Savannah, Georgia. Along with the excitement of the upcoming holiday season, there’s a lingering sadness because part of their family won’t be there to celebrate.

When Carlita’s friend, Victoria “Tori” Montgomery, invites the Garlucci family to her “Merry Masquerade” party at Montgomery Hall, Carlita is thrilled to have something to take her mind off the approaching holiday.

Despite a recent theft and an assault on her butler, Tori moves forward with her party plans, a grand affair and a gathering of Savannah’s elite. The Merry Masquerade turns out to be everything it was billed to be and more, when one of Tori’s employees is found murdered inside the pool house.

Is the murder linked to the recent break-in and the butler’s attack at Montgomery Hall? Could the killer be living under Tori’s roof? Or was it a masked party guest trying to make it look like an inside job?

Join the Garlucci women as they help one of Savannah’s most prominent residents track down a killer!

[image error] Merry Buried Christmas by Lyndsey Cole:

Murder always ruins the best baked plans . . .

Annie Hunter has a lot on her plate just before Christmas, but it’s not all sugar and spice and everything nice! With an open house at her aunt’s new Blackbird Bed and Breakfast, all Annie hopes for is a drama-free day.

Of course, events never go as planned.

On top of preparing a whirlwind of food, holiday decorating, and keeping to a tight schedule, a surprise visitor is also on the menu. When that visitor turns up dead, Annie must search for the killer to keep everything from crumbling like a stale Christmas cookie.

Annie’s plan to flush out the murderer includes one tasty bribe, a pinch of needling, and a heaping tablespoon of accusation. When she is threatened, it’s time to put it all on the back burner.

But the killer has other ideas.

While the snowflakes fly, Annie finds herself caught between a cookie and a crazy person. This time, it looks like she bit off more than she can chew.

***Merry Buried Christmas is volume 12 in the Black Cat Cafe Cozy Mystery Series. Lyndsey’s books can be read and enjoyed in any order.

The Cop Who Stole Christmas by Christie Craig:

It’ll take a tall, hot Texan and a little holiday spirit to mend a broken heart and catch a Christmas killer . . .

Savanna Edwards is feeling downright Scrooge-like. Who can blame her? A truly unjolly Santa—suit, beard and all—just repossessed her car because of her ex’s shady business dealings. She’d like to murder the no-good lying cheat, but somebody already did that for her—and left him right in the middle of her kitchen, wrapped up with a bow.

Detective Mark Donaldson has a rule against getting involved with his neighbors. He can look—and he’s studied every sweet curve of Savanna from across the street—but he can’t touch. So when she lands on his doorstep in need of help, he finds himself torn between being naughty or nice, and fights every urge to unwrap her like a shiny new Christmas present.

Trouble is, even Mark can’t resist a little holiday magic . . . and there’s definitely something magical happening between him and the girl next door.

Winter Downs by Jan Edwards:

Bunch Courtney stumbles upon the body of Jonathan Frampton in a woodland clearing. Is this a case of suicide, or is it murder? Bunch is determined to discover the truth but can she persuade the dour Chief Inspector Wright to take her seriously?

In January of 1940 a small rural community on the Sussex Downs, already preparing for invasion from across the Channel, finds itself deep in the grip of a snowy landscape, with an ice-cold killer on the loose.

 

Potluck by Cynthia E. Hurst:

The R&P Labs staff members are planning their Christmas potluck lunch when a stranger arrives on the doorstep with an announcement that threatens to turn several lives upside down. ’Tis the season to be wary, and in this short story, the five scientific sleuths have to do some rapid research to discover whether one of them will be getting a very unusual Christmas present.

 

 

Zukie’s Gift by Cynthia E. Hurst:

All sorts of things were donated for St Augustine’s Christmas bazaar — books, second-hand clothes, cookies, murder weapons …

Zukie’s Gift is a short story and part of the Zukie Merlino Mysteries series.

 

 

 

How Aunt Tillie Stole Christmas by Amanda M. Lee:

Fourteen years ago, Christmas hit Walkerville with a bang. Or, rather, a big ball of fire.

When a local group home for orphaned children goes up in smoke right before the holidays, Tillie Winchester volunteers her family to take in some kids – even though her arch nemesis Margaret Little is dead-set against it. Of course, that’s part of the appeal for Tillie so she’s considering it a win.

Three boys – all of them with a little attitude – have no idea what to expect from the Winchester household. No matter what, Tillie is sure they’re about to get more than they bargained for. In short order, they’re welcomed into the family at the same time the town is on edge due to a second fire.

Tillie is determined to prove the boys are innocent while also finding them a forever home … even if she has to take on a local judge and declare all out war to do it.

So, hang your stockings by the fire and sit back for another Christmas with the Winchesters. You’ll never be the same again.

Note: This is a 28,000-word novella set in the Wicked Witches of the Midwest world. It’s set back in the past so it can be read in any order.

[image error] Cremas, Christmas Cookies and Crooks by Harper Lin:

It’s almost Christmastime in Cape Bay, and another murder has everyone in town talking. A despised new drama teacher at the local high school is killed in the school’s parking lot. The police arrest a beloved teacher, Mrs. Crowsdale, but everyone else thinks she is too nice to murder anyone. Mike, however, says they have solid evidence that proves she did it.

Sammy is particularly devastated. Mrs. Crowsdale was her favorite teacher and still her hero. Sammy begs Fran to find the real culprit. Fran isn’t so sure. Mike would be angry with her for butting in on another case. And what if more danger befalls her? After all, there are some pretty dangerous people in town…

Includes 3 special recipes!

Pilfered Promises by M. Louisa Locke:

Holiday cover edition: It is November, 1880, and the future looks promising for Annie and Nate Dawson. Nate’s law practice is taking off. Annie has made the transition from pretend clairvoyant to a successful financial consultant. And they are looking forward to spending their first Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays together.

For Robert Livingston, the owner San Francisco’s newest grand emporium, the holidays don’t look so promising. Not if he can’t figure out how to stop whoever is stealing from his department store, the Silver Strike Bazaar. However, when he hires the Dawsons to investigate, they discover that behind the doors of his “Palace of Plenty,” nothing is quite what it seems.

Pilfered Promises, a sweet cozy historical mystery, is the fifth novel in the Victorian San Francisco Mystery series featuring Annie and Nate Dawson and their friends and family in the O’Farrell Street boarding house and it comes right before the newest novella, Kathleen Catches a Killer

Kathleen Catches a Killer by M. Louisa Locke:

It’s the very end of December, 1880, and the servant Kathleen Hennessey expects to spend a quiet week taking care of the O’Farrell Street boarding house while her employers, Annie and Nate Dawson, are off spending the Christmas holidays with Nate’s family. However, when she agrees to help out one of her friends, Kathleen discovers that a simple case of a servant being dismissed without notice has turned into a complicated puzzle that she is determined to solve.

While featuring minor characters from Locke’s Victorian San Francisco mystery series, Kathleen Catches a Killer contains all the light romance, humor, and suspense of the longer works. Chronologically, this novella comes right after the events in Pilfered Promises, but it can be read as a stand-alone and an excellent introduction to this mystery series about the gas-lit world of the late 19th century.

‘Tis the Season: Two short holiday stories by Jean Louise and Michael Yaworsky:

Heartwarming stories of comfort and joy….

In Stealing Christmas, two modern-day Robin Hoods use a little fa-la-la-la-larceny to bring cheer to those who could use it most.

Tipping Point is the story of a single act of generosity that sets a series of acts into motion, touching a surprising number of people with the holiday spirit.

 

A Mind Reader’s Christmas by Al Macy:

Eric Beckman, a mind-reading private investigator, is spending Christmas in snowy Vermont with his wife and daughter. He needs a break from solving cases, but the townspeople convince him to look into the village mystery: Every holiday season, someone switches the baby Jesus with one of the other figures in the town’s Nativity scene.

With the help of his ten-year-old daughter, also a mind reader, he soon learns that some of the residents of the small town are not who–or even what–they seem to be. There’s something supernatural going on in Newburn, Vermont.

His investigation causes an escalation of strange happenings, and soon, swapped manger figures are the least of the town’s worries. If Beckman can’t adjust his view of the world–force himself to believe in things he never thought possible–the Christmas vacation could turn out to be his family’s last.

A Mind Reader’s Christmas may be read as a standalone book or as Book Four in the Eric Beckman series.

[image error] Frostycake Murder by Summer Prescott:

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM MISSY AND CHAS!!!

Life is full of surprises in the sleepy beachside town of Calgon, Florida, and the holiday season proves to be no exception. Echo faces a new reality that could change her life forever, Missy and Chas wrestle with the pain of facing their own limitations and uncertainties, while Spencer finds himself in a sticky situation relationally.

In the midst of all of the personal turmoil, a gruesome murder is discovered, and Chas once again has to take charge and hope that he finds the ruthless killer, before tragedy strikes a bit closer to home.

North Pole Unlimited: Decker and Joy by Elle Rush:

Jaded P.I. Decker Harkness must track down a missing prototype if he wants a shot at a corporate security contract. Sexy cat-lady Joy McCall has her own investigation running after someone breaks into her animal shelter. When they cross paths during a triple kitten-napping, they’ll have to work together to close their cases. Will everyone make it home to celebrate a merry Christmas together?

Only Santa knows.

 

[image error] Blood and Mistletoe by E.J. Stevens:

Holidays are worse than a full moon for making people crazy. In Harborsmouth, where many of the residents are undead vampires or monstrous fae, the combination may prove deadly.

Ivy Granger, psychic private investigator, returns to the streets of Harborsmouth in this addition to the bestselling urban fantasy series.

Holidays are Hell, a point driven home when a certain demon attorney returns with information regarding a series of bloody murders. Five Harborsmouth residents have been killed and every victim has one thing in common–they are fae. Whoever is killing faeries must be stopped, but they only leave one clue behind–a piece of mistletoe floating in a pool of the victim’s blood.

The holidays just got interesting. Too bad this case may drive Ivy mad before the New Year. Heck, she’ll be lucky to survive Christmas.

[image error] Gusty Lovers and Cadavers by Anne R. Tan:

Gusty winds…and a trail of destruction.

Graduate student Raina Sun is in for a season of mayhem and murder. When she volunteered to take the new foreign exchange student shopping on the last weekend before Christmas, she ended up in a riot for the last hot toy of the season and an abandoned baby. Sometimes it doesn’t pay to be a Good Samaritan.

But calling the mysterious phone number in the diaper bag leads to more questions than answers. A strange man claims to be the child’s father, and his alleged mother turns up dead. The local police are more interested in keeping the town’s good name out of international news than considering if there’s foul play. And to make matters worse, she has less than a week to find his birth parents before the FBI takes over the case.

Raina summons her sleuthing skills to protect this baby and soon discovers everyone has a few skeletons in their closets. With her pimp-cane-toting grandma, she must track down a hidden killer before she becomes the next victim. There’s no place for an amateur when it comes to murder…

Don’t miss out on Raina’s new adventure–get your copy of “Gusty Lovers and Cadavers” today!

Run-A-Way for Christmas by Victoria L.K. Williams:

Christmas is all about children, but usually not all the children at once.

Megan and her faithful beagle Barney meet a gang of runaway children at the beach. Soon the investigative duo learn of exploitation, injury, and murder and with the help of FBI consultant Aiden and his dog, Gypsy, begin to investigate.

Megan’s family and friends rally round and share the joy of Christmas with the children who need it most, while Megan finds that Christmas is truly a time of love.

Send to Kindle

And Another Announcement: New Poem Published

Yes, as the title indicates, this is another announcement post. Well, I warned you there might be a few of those in the run-up to the holidays.

This time, the announcement concerns an aspect of my writing that I don’t indulge as much anymore as I once did, namely poetry. As the Haiku Box on the right indicates, I actually do have a history of writing poetry and also had a couple of poems published. However, ever since newleaf magazine, which automatically got the first look at any new poem I wrote, went on indefinite hiatus, any new poem I wrote usually ended up in the “poetry” folder on my harddrive with a note “Find a place to submit this later”. Alas, “later” often turned into “never”.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when I saw a call for submissions for a poetry webzine called Umbel & Panicle that focusses on photography and poems about all things botanical, largely because I follow their editor-in-chief Joyce Chng and their social media manager Jen Zink on Twitter. I checked out the magazine, liked what I saw and thought, “Botanical poems on the theme of ‘graft’? Let’s check the poetry folder.” So I submitted a poem, had it accepted and now you can all read it in Issue 6 of Umbel & Panicle.

My poem is called “Experiment” and you can read it here, illustrated by a beautiful photo of a hybrid fruit tree in bloom. However, you should really read the whole issue, which also contains some wonderful poems by Eva Papasoulioti and Jessica Seaborn as well as stunning photos by Darin Wahl. And while you’re at it, why don’t you check out the back issues, too, because Umbel & Panicle does some very good work.

Send to Kindle