Glynn Stewart's Blog, page 14
November 2, 2021
The Universe of Scattered Stars
The stories of Scattered Stars take place on the fringes of the galaxy. Humanity has spread far out from its place of origin, but limits to faster-than-light travel means that most people will never set foot on the core worlds, and vice versa.
As humanity spreads out from these core worlds, technology levels start to drop. Low-level technology in the Core is sometimes 100 years more advanced than the Rim and beyond. Which means any technology that makes it to the Rim is significantly more technologically advanced – if much fewer in number. Those few pieces of technology threaten to upset the region’s balance – for good or for ill – depending on who holds it.
There are forces in this universe who seek to control the wilder and more unpredictable worlds by sometimes brutal means. But there are heroes who oppose them, and those who do their best to bring justice and assistance to those with no one else to help them.
This is the universe of Scattered Stars. Follow their stories.
Kira Demirci is the protagonist of Scattered Stars: Conviction. A former Nova Fighter Commander from the system of Apollo, Kira and her pilots were forced to flee at the end of the war by elements who saw them as a threat. She smuggled out a handful of starfighters, and she and her people made their way to the Rim. Once there, she and her comrades built Memorial Squadron, and become mercenaries for hire – but ones with discerning taste in clients.
But you can’t fully outrun your past, and the same people who ran them out of their home are now trying to exert their influence over the systems of the Rim. Kira and her people must expand Memorial Squadron not only for their own survival, but for the protection of those the shadowy Equilibrium Institute seeks to control and exploit.
Evridiki “EB” Bardacki was one of the Nova pilots who fled Apollo to escape bounty hunters along with Kira. Unlike his comrades, EB took a buyout and left Memorial Squadron, preferring to leave the life of a soldier behind. Scattered Stars: Evasion sees EB as the captain of a ragtag crew of the freelance starfreighter, Evasion. Despite wanting to shed his past, EB is still a noble man with a found family to protect who can’t turn a blind eye to those in need.
Explore the World of Scattered Stars
The story begins with Scattered Stars: Conviction #1, Conviction and continues through Deception, Equilibrium and Fortitude. The series is ongoing.
EB’s story branches off after book one of Scattered Stars: Conviction and begins in Scattered Stars: Evasion. The first book in his story is Evasion. The series is ongoing.
Audiobooks are produced by Podium Audio and available via Audible.
The post The Universe of Scattered Stars appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
October 26, 2021
Audiobook for Mage-Commander Now Available
The audiobook for Mage-Commander, Book #11 in Starship’s Mage is available now, exclusively on Audible!
Here’s more about the book:
Some soldiers are the shields of innocent souls
Others are the fanatics of their cause
And for them…no war is ever truly over!
Tempered on the anvil of the war against the secessionist UnArcana Worlds and tested against the evil of Project Orpheus, Mage-Commander Roslyn Chambers has risen through the ranks of the Royal Martian Navy to serve as second-in-command of one of their most prestigious battlecruisers, Duke of Magnificence.
A desperate call for help sends Roslyn and her new ship deep into the frontiers of Protectorate space, where they discover that hold-outs of the UnArcana Worlds’ fleets have returned to plunder innocent ships across the Fringe.
To protect the innocent and serve her Queen, Roslyn Chambers must rise to the task before her. She must learn to command—both herself and a warship of the Mage-Queen of Mars!
The post Audiobook for Mage-Commander Now Available appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
October 12, 2021
Evasion, Book #1 in Scattered Stars: Evasion, Available Now for Preorder
A brand-new adventure begins in the Scattered Stars universe! Evridiki “EB” Bardacki was once a Nova fighter who, like Kira Demirci, fled his home system and was pursued by bounty hunters. Unlike his former comrades, EB decided not to sign on with Memorial Squadron and to instead branch out on his own.
EB’s adventures begin on his star freighter, Evasion. His crew are all running from something – but the old Nova fighter has good instincts about the people he surrounds himself with. These aren’t the kind of people to turn away from those in need.
Preorder Evasion, Scattered Stars: Evasion #1 on Amazon now! Coming November 9th.
Here’s more about the book:
A captain on the run from the horrors of his past
A girl on the run from the trap of her present
A ship that will bring them together
Captain Evridiki “EB” Bardacki was once a nova fighter pilot for a nation he truly believed in. Betrayal and failure sent him into exile and flight. Now owner-operator of the freelance star freighter Evasion, he treks the edge of human space, taking cargos that lead him ever onward—but there are lines he will not cross.
When those lines are challenged, EB makes enemies of the most powerful crime syndicate for a hundred light-years. When one of their victims stows away on his ship, he finds himself pursued by an enemy with assets everywhere he turns.
Caught between the devil and the deep dark void, EB has run out of places to run—but in a child looking to him for salvation, he may have found something to fight for!
CONTENT WARNING: This novel deals with themes and details of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
The post Evasion, Book #1 in Scattered Stars: Evasion, Available Now for Preorder appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
October 5, 2021
Fortitude Audiobook Now Available
The audiobook for Fortitude, book #4 in Scattered Stars: Conviction is now available, exclusively on Audible!
Here’s more about the book:
An offer that no one else could match
A mission that no one else could achieve
An enemy only a few know they share…
Commodore Kira Demirci is now the commander of a small but powerful mercenary force—one of the most dangerous in the cluster of stars she now calls home. Her own actions have brought peace to the Syntactic Cluster, though, and a mercenary is in limited demand.
A mutual interest brings her into the circle of the heir to the Royal Crest, a wealthy kingdom dozens of light-years away. Jade Panosyan has a nightmare brewing—and a plan to deal with it.
In the Crest, a powerful political party beholden to Kira’s own enemies is maneuvering to remove Jade’s father before he can free a dozen star systems from the clutches of the Equilibrium Institute. If they are to fail and the Institute’s plans be thwarted once more, Jade Panosyan needs someone to complete an impossible mission.
The payment? The fleet carrier Fortitude, unmatched by any ship within a hundred light-years.
The catch? Kira Demirci has to capture the carrier—from the elite forces of her employer’s nation!
The post Fortitude Audiobook Now Available appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
September 21, 2021
Mage-Commander, Starship’s Mage #11, Now Available on Amazon
After the destruction of the ship where she was the executive officer, Roslyn Chambers finds herself thrust into command. Can she bring her crew together and gain their confidence in time to hunt down the remnants of an enemy she thought they had defeated?
Get Mage-Commander, Starship’s Mage #11 on Amazon now! The audiobook will release on October 26th. You can preorder it here.
Here’s more about the book:
Some soldiers are the shields of innocent souls
Others are the fanatics of their cause
And for them…no war is ever truly over!
Tempered on the anvil of the war against the secessionist UnArcana Worlds and tested against the evil of Project Orpheus, Mage-Commander Roslyn Chambers has risen through the ranks of the Royal Martian Navy to serve as second-in-command of one of their most prestigious battlecruisers, Duke of Magnificence.
A desperate call for help sends Roslyn and her new ship deep into the frontiers of Protectorate space, where they discover that hold-outs of the UnArcana Worlds’ fleets have returned to plunder innocent ships across the Fringe.
To protect the innocent and serve her Queen, Roslyn Chambers must rise to the task before her. She must learn to command—both herself and a warship of the Mage-Queen of Mars!
The post Mage-Commander, Starship’s Mage #11, Now Available on Amazon appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
September 13, 2021
Frequently Asked Questions About Starship’s Mage
Over the course of various Q&As (that happen quarterly on Facebook Live) Glynn has answered your questions about Starship’s Mage and talked about his universe in general.
Here are some of his answers, starting with his most frequently asked question: how did the series come about?
Starship’s Mage is the Literal Interpretation of a TV TropeScrew it, a wizard literally did it. All of our fancy tech that’s beyond stuff we can reasonably project is magic.”
FTL (faster-than-light travel) has many explanations in science fiction – some based on real technology or theories, and some that are entirely made up. Examples of this include the Minovsky particle in Gundam Wing, Element Zero in Mass Effect, and mass manipulators in Glynn’s other series, Castle Federation.
In the world of Starship’s Mage, this technology isn’t technology at all – it’s magic. Glynn got the idea from the TV Tropes entry called, “a wizard did it.” The trope doesn’t refer to an actual wizard, rather any technology that is not based on current scientific theories.
Instead of giving the FTL a projected future technological origin, Glynn imagined a world in which it was literally a wizard. Or, to be more specific: a mage.
From that concept, everything fell into place. Starship’s Mage started as a short story back in 2012, that he turned into a novella, then into a series of serialized ‘episodes’ that became Starship’s Mage book one.
Now, the series is ten books strong, with a new instalment arriving in the fall of 2021.
Starship’s Mage Has ArcsUnfortunately, we have no ability to link between series on Amazon. So it’s easier for discoverability for readers to keep finding the new books to just have one very long series, intimidating as that sometimes is.”
Although it’s not particularly clear from the way that Amazon presents books to readers, but the Starship’s Mage series has several distinct arcs. As we’re not able to link series on Amazon, we were left with the choice to keep all the books under the banner of Starship’s Mage, or break out each arc into its own series. The latter would make it very difficult for readers to discover the next book in the series. So that’s why all books, whether they feature Damien or Roslyn as the major POV character are labeled as Starship’s Mage.
Here are the arcs and their corresponding books as of spring 2021:
Arc 1: Starship’s Mage
Arc 2: UnArcana Rebellion
UnArcana StarsSword of MarsMountain of MarsThe Service of MarsArc 3: Mage-Officer of Mars (current arc)
A Darker MagicMage-Commander (coming September 2021)Red Falcon Trilogy
Interstellar MageMage ProvocateurAgents of MarsStandalone Novella
Pulsar RaceWhich leads to Glynn’s other oft-asked question: when will Damien return as the focus?
Damien Montgomery Has Responsibilities on MarsI’m not going to do an Honor Harrington and try and come up with reasons why a character who should be at home doing her job is out screwing around.”
Damien’s chained to a desk as of The Service of Mars. Glynn didn’t want to keep making up excuses for why Damien would shirk his responsibilities to Kiera or his role as Prince Regent. He had a significant arc over the course of nine books, and has now settled into an advisory role.
If Glynn had to stick to Damien, the series would have ended when the war with the Republic did. Having Roslyn as the new primary point of view character allows Glynn to continue telling stories within the universe of Starship’s Mage.
Passing the torch from Damien to Roslyn has ensured the series will continue for several more books. That doesn’t mean no more Damien at all – just that he will not be the primary point of view character going forward.
So what’s the plan for the next arc?
Roslyn Chambers is Currently the Primary Point of View CharacterThe latest arc is going to mostly be based around Roslyn Chambers, and covering her career rise from Mage-Lieutenant Commander, at the very least to Mage-Commodore over the course of about 10 years.”
As of The Service of Mars, Roslyn is the current main point of view character for Starship’s Mage. She has many qualities in common with Damien, but her role as an officer of the Royal Martian Navy and her more moderate (but still powerful) power levels leaves room for continued adventures. She is starring in the latest arc that will carry through the next several books.
But what about other stories within the Starship’s Mage universe? What about its origins?
Glynn Has No Plans to Write About the EugenicistsTo write a Eugenicist War novel or series would require me to get more thoroughly into the heads of the Eugenicists than I would really want to do. I don’t think that would be good for my mental health.”
Although it may seem like interesting fodder to delve into the Eugenicists who created the mage bloodlines, Glynn has no plans to set any stories during that time period.
Glynn has written the Red Falcon Trilogy and the standalone novella Pulsar Race, which explores different aspects of the Starship’s Mage universe. More in that vein is certainly possible, but delving in to the psychology of the monsters who created the mages? That strays too far from Glynn’s mission statement of delivering optimistic science fiction.
We hope that this covers the most burning questions readers have about Starship’s Mage. You also might be interested in 10 Random Facts About Starship’s Mage.
Got more questions about Starship’s Mage, Glynn’s other universes or the business of writing? Submit your questions here, and follow Glynn’s Facebook page for the announcement of the quarterly Q&As. You can also join the Facebook Group to chat with other fans about his work.
The post Frequently Asked Questions About Starship’s Mage appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
August 31, 2021
Mage-Commander, #11 in Starship’s Mage, Available Now for Preorder
After the destruction of the ship where she was the executive officer, Roslyn Chambers finds herself thrust into command. Can she bring her crew together and gain their confidence in time to hunt down the remnants of an enemy she thought they had defeated?
Preorder Mage-Commander, Starship’s Mage #11 on Amazon now! Coming September 21st.
Here’s more about the book:
Some soldiers are the shields of innocent souls
Others are the fanatics of their cause
And for them…no war is ever truly over!
Tempered on the anvil of the war against the secessionist UnArcana Worlds and tested against the evil of Project Orpheus, Mage-Commander Roslyn Chambers has risen through the ranks of the Royal Martian Navy to serve as second-in-command of one of their most prestigious battlecruisers, Duke of Magnificence.
A desperate call for help sends Roslyn and her new ship deep into the frontiers of Protectorate space, where they discover that hold-outs of the UnArcana Worlds’ fleets have returned to plunder innocent ships across the Fringe.
To protect the innocent and serve her Queen, Roslyn Chambers must rise to the task before her. She must learn to command—both herself and a warship of the Mage-Queen of Mars!
The post Mage-Commander, #11 in Starship’s Mage, Available Now for Preorder appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
August 24, 2021
Drifter’s Folly Audiobook Now Available
The audiobook for book 4 of Peacekeepers of Sol a is available now, exclusively on Audible!
Here’s more about the book:
An enemy on the run to neutral space.
An elite squadron beyond the reach of any backup.
A secret deal that could doom the whole sector…
When United Planets Alliance Captain Henry Wong and Ambassador Sylvia Todorovich attempted to bring peace to the Ra Sector, they turned to the Drifters for neutral ground. Instead, the nomadic spacers betrayed the summit and attempted to kill everyone there.
With peace forged despite the Drifters’ betrayal, Henry and Sylvia take an elite squadron in pursuit of the Drifter Convoy. Their enemies have friends at every turn, neutral worlds who will give them shelter – and if the UPA breaches that neutrality, everything Henry and Sylvia have worked for could crash down in flames.
If the UPA is to keep the peace in the stars of a fallen empire, their diplomats must be untouchable, their honor unblemished. But as Henry’s superiors prepare for all-out war, his ships fly ever closer to a deadly trap laid by an enemy that knows them all too well.
The post Drifter’s Folly Audiobook Now Available appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
August 3, 2021
Fortitude, Scattered Stars: Conviction #4, Available Now
The adventures of Kira Demirci and Memorial Fleet continues in book 4 of Scattered Stars: Conviction. Get it on Amazon Now.
The paperback can be found here. The audiobook will be available on October 5th.
Here’s more about Fortitude:
An offer that no one else could match
A mission that no one else could achieve
An enemy only a few know they share…
Commodore Kira Demirci is now the commander of a small but powerful mercenary force—one of the most dangerous in the cluster of stars she now calls home. Her own actions have brought peace to the Syntactic Cluster, though, and a mercenary is in limited demand.
A mutual interest brings her into the circle of the heir to the Royal Crest, a wealthy kingdom dozens of light-years away. Jade Panosyan has a nightmare brewing—and a plan to deal with it.In the Crest, a powerful political party beholden to Kira’s own enemies is maneuvering to remove Jade’s father before he can free a dozen star systems from the clutches of the Equilibrium Institute. If they are to fail and the Institute’s plans be thwarted once more, Jade Panosyan needs someone to complete an impossible mission.
The payment? The fleet carrier Fortitude, unmatched by any ship within a hundred light-years.
The catch? Kira Demirci has to capture the carrier—from the elite forces of her employer’s nation!The post Fortitude, Scattered Stars: Conviction #4, Available Now appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
July 27, 2021
Excalibur Lost & Pulsar Race Audiobook Available Now
Get the standalone novella, Excalibur Lost and the Starship’s Mage novella, Pulsar Race, in an audiobook bundle on Audible!
Here’s more about the novellas:
Pulsar Race
A retired Mage with no plan.
An old friend with no hope.
A ship built on a daring dream.
Mage-Captain Ivan Halloway has retired from the Royal Martian Navy and the service of the Mage-King of Mars. He has returned to his homeworld to rest, but his only real plan is to avoid the war he sees coming to the Protectorate.
Captain Karl Charpentier – captain and pilot of an interstellar jump-courier – is his oldest friend. Crewless and drowning in debt due to a series of mistakes, Karl turns to his newly unemployed friend with a desperate plan to solve all his problems.
To save his friend’s ship and career, Ivan must help him take his courier into an illegal race through a deadly region of space – a race run by the very people Karl Charpentier owes money to. How could it possibly go wrong?
Excalibur Lost
A broken species
A broken man
A lost legend.
Only dreams and stories remain of the world humanity once called home, but scattered refugees live in the corners of the empire of their conquerors, the Sacred Council of Races.
Among those refugees is Gerard Arkanis, first officer of a salvage ship dedicated to picking over the remains of his species’ desperate attempt to stand against the Council’s galaxy-spanning theocracy.
Hard work and hypocrisy have kept Arkanis alive, serving a god he cannot believe in. Humanity’s fate leaves him no choice – until their ship stumbles onto a legendary lost warship and the remains of a failed plan to save all mankind.
The post Excalibur Lost & Pulsar Race Audiobook Available Now appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
