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Afterglow
A drunken slip-up, made as a young cadet, leads Terran’s most celebrated starship captain down a road she never even knew existed. Captain Palmer Middleton had her life mapped out in such a way that her career would be her only priority in her life. On a routine deep space patrol, she’s confronted by a past, she had thought she had buried a long time ago.
Mysterious and feared, Hemheri ruled the universe with an iron fist. As the leader of an omnipotent alien race, she understood her duty and accepted her destiny. That’s until she encounters a being that changed everything for her.
Mysterious and feared, Hemheri ruled the universe with an iron fist. As the leader of an omnipotent alien race, she understood her duty and accepted her destiny. That’s until she encounters a being that changed everything for her.
253 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 19, 2015
12 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Stein Willard
48 books56 followersBorn and bred in Windhoek, Namibia, Stein has considerable experience in the media field and has worked as a journalist, TV producer, and PR consultant before starting her own small media production company. Her hobbies include writing, reading, cooking, travelling, photography, and scouting the airwaves for new music and watching soccer.
The thirty five year old Stein started writing at the age of thirteen after feeling cheated by the ending of a novel she was reading. She took the novel and rewrote it from the ending back to the front, adding 200 more pages to it. Since then she's only written in her native language, Afrikaans, a derivation of the Dutch language. Throughout her high school career, she 'lended' out her work to fellow boarding school students at a fee and made a killing writing love stories for couples on Valentine's Day.
Not a native English speaker she decided to experiment in 2007 by writing a few short stories in English, which since has been kept password-protected on her hard drive never to see the light of day. By pure accident, she came across platforms on the internet to publish her work and was encouraged by a friend to try and post some of her stories.
Stein still resides in Windhoek.
The thirty five year old Stein started writing at the age of thirteen after feeling cheated by the ending of a novel she was reading. She took the novel and rewrote it from the ending back to the front, adding 200 more pages to it. Since then she's only written in her native language, Afrikaans, a derivation of the Dutch language. Throughout her high school career, she 'lended' out her work to fellow boarding school students at a fee and made a killing writing love stories for couples on Valentine's Day.
Not a native English speaker she decided to experiment in 2007 by writing a few short stories in English, which since has been kept password-protected on her hard drive never to see the light of day. By pure accident, she came across platforms on the internet to publish her work and was encouraged by a friend to try and post some of her stories.
Stein still resides in Windhoek.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 15, 2025
Just freaking wow!! 🤩
I just rated one of your books a 3 star review. And it made me wonder, who am I to critique or review the creative works of such a wonderful author? I am no one but someone that doesn’t have much of a life outside her daughters and work excepting for her reading of fiction especially since I first learned to read. I’ve lost myself within the pages of these books full of lives and adventures told.
I am reading about Palmer and Hemheri. And this brilliant author has created such complex characters, worlds, and situations out of the chaotic human condition of our minds, thoughts, feelings, emotions, and being. These characters are finding themselves in situations and complicated circumstances of the heart. The finding of love, the losing of love and the realizations of love like none other. About sacrifice, traditions, giving, taking, sharing, loving and hating between beings and the world writ large.
With these characters, I find myself understanding. Being understood and a little bit more accepting, forgiving, brave, and honest in my dealings in the real world. These characters and trials and tribulations they face and the epiphanies they have as they navigate their unknown worlds, destiny, fate and whatever else the universe throws at them to test them is what keeps me coming back for more. And then more.
I feel like Palmer does about Hemheri. This authors books matter. They mean something to me. These worlds and these characters she creates helps the lone wolf, tiger, and extreme introvert in me see me through a lot of the characters she writes about. I hope this author as do I hope another of my favorite authors like Mardria PORTUONDO keep writing until they can no longer write. As I need them and will keep reading their books until I can no longer read.
Palmer, sweet and kind and Hemheri, protective and fierce gains fertile ground in my heart. Women telling stories about women loving women in this way is simply magical and breathtaking in all of our feminine complexity.
Thank you!
Lastly, Hemheri asked a very poignant question after her mate finally claimed her their first morning as a couple. She asked what the “Senator was up to now?” with that announcement at breakfast after the ceremony. And it was quite noticeable that Nael was different after Hemheri asked her to escort the Senator to the palace to keep her “safe.” I knew it was a bad idea. Nael of all people should have been the last person to get near the Senator who seemed bitter for not staking her claim on Palmer. It was already a losing battle. I thought she may wind up pregnant or something. But I fear whatever to come is much worse. She couldn’t be a gracious loser. She had to do this to hurt Palmer, but moreso Principal Hemheri. All I can say is, be prepared to meet the beast. She won’t survive this. And she brought it upon herself.
I just rated one of your books a 3 star review. And it made me wonder, who am I to critique or review the creative works of such a wonderful author? I am no one but someone that doesn’t have much of a life outside her daughters and work excepting for her reading of fiction especially since I first learned to read. I’ve lost myself within the pages of these books full of lives and adventures told.
I am reading about Palmer and Hemheri. And this brilliant author has created such complex characters, worlds, and situations out of the chaotic human condition of our minds, thoughts, feelings, emotions, and being. These characters are finding themselves in situations and complicated circumstances of the heart. The finding of love, the losing of love and the realizations of love like none other. About sacrifice, traditions, giving, taking, sharing, loving and hating between beings and the world writ large.
With these characters, I find myself understanding. Being understood and a little bit more accepting, forgiving, brave, and honest in my dealings in the real world. These characters and trials and tribulations they face and the epiphanies they have as they navigate their unknown worlds, destiny, fate and whatever else the universe throws at them to test them is what keeps me coming back for more. And then more.
I feel like Palmer does about Hemheri. This authors books matter. They mean something to me. These worlds and these characters she creates helps the lone wolf, tiger, and extreme introvert in me see me through a lot of the characters she writes about. I hope this author as do I hope another of my favorite authors like Mardria PORTUONDO keep writing until they can no longer write. As I need them and will keep reading their books until I can no longer read.
Palmer, sweet and kind and Hemheri, protective and fierce gains fertile ground in my heart. Women telling stories about women loving women in this way is simply magical and breathtaking in all of our feminine complexity.
Thank you!
Lastly, Hemheri asked a very poignant question after her mate finally claimed her their first morning as a couple. She asked what the “Senator was up to now?” with that announcement at breakfast after the ceremony. And it was quite noticeable that Nael was different after Hemheri asked her to escort the Senator to the palace to keep her “safe.” I knew it was a bad idea. Nael of all people should have been the last person to get near the Senator who seemed bitter for not staking her claim on Palmer. It was already a losing battle. I thought she may wind up pregnant or something. But I fear whatever to come is much worse. She couldn’t be a gracious loser. She had to do this to hurt Palmer, but moreso Principal Hemheri. All I can say is, be prepared to meet the beast. She won’t survive this. And she brought it upon herself.
November 17, 2015
Mediocre. Read if you just want the couple to get together with a minimum of fuss.
Instant attraction and after 18 years both immediatly want each other again. The main person instantly gets along with her three 18 year old daughters she never knew existed and they immediately treat each other as if they hadn't just meet. The alien race is superpowerful apparently but not all that interesting. Nothing potentially interesting is really explored. A woman finding out she has children with an alien stranger she only stayed with one night and now gets to know them? Cultural clash of two different species meeting? There are many things that could be explored.
But it's just the standard "we love each other so much despite barely knowing each other, let's add some token reluctance for reasons." in a scifi setting.
(Also at one point they meet the mother of the alien love interest and the MC remarks that she will get even hotter when she gets older. And then some talk about sticking around until then. Thing is it is an alien species that lives for thousands of years, and the MC is a human that apparently ages normally.)
But I guess if you want just a uncomplicated feel good romance its decent.
Instant attraction and after 18 years both immediatly want each other again. The main person instantly gets along with her three 18 year old daughters she never knew existed and they immediately treat each other as if they hadn't just meet. The alien race is superpowerful apparently but not all that interesting. Nothing potentially interesting is really explored. A woman finding out she has children with an alien stranger she only stayed with one night and now gets to know them? Cultural clash of two different species meeting? There are many things that could be explored.
But it's just the standard "we love each other so much despite barely knowing each other, let's add some token reluctance for reasons." in a scifi setting.
(Also at one point they meet the mother of the alien love interest and the MC remarks that she will get even hotter when she gets older. And then some talk about sticking around until then. Thing is it is an alien species that lives for thousands of years, and the MC is a human that apparently ages normally.)
But I guess if you want just a uncomplicated feel good romance its decent.
August 28, 2023
Brilliant! This book is set in space, and even if you don't like space and Sci-fi books, you'll like this one. It centers around the characters and their feelings. It's like having a one night stand with supergirl only to find out 18 years later you made her pregnant. I love how age isn't a factor in Stein's books. Humans and aliens live really long lives. This had a mature love feeling to it because they are both mom's. But the chemistry and longing is awesome. There is a sequel Hereafter.
July 23, 2015
I look forward to reading the next book in the series!
September 2, 2015
I really enjoyed this book. Perhaps there is a next one based on the ending?
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews