A Lone Star in the Sky

by J. Kathleen Cheney, William Ledbetter, Melanie Fletcher

The Texans are at it again!

A man sent to stop the world’s first zero-G birth. A deep space pilot who runs headlong into Einstein’s theory of relativity. A synthetic human fighting for survival in a world that sees her as disposable. All these stories and more can be found in A LONE STAR IN THE SKY, the second anthology from the Future Classics speculative fiction writers' group of North Dallas. Featuring eighteen stunning stories of science fiction and fantasy, including works by Nebula winner William Ledbetter ("The Long Fall Up"), and Nebula nominees Jake Kerr (“Biographical Fragments of the Life of Julian Prince”) and Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam ("The Orangery”), A LONE STAR IN THE SKY covers the gamut of speculative fiction and proves once again that everything is bigger in Texas.

“The Rings of Mars” by William Ledbetter
“Afterimage” by J. Kathleen Cheney
“Biographical Fragments of the Life of Julian Prince” by Jake Kerr
“The Damaged” by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam
“The Lotus Eaters” by Michelle Muenzler
“Surfing USA” by Gloria Oliver
“The River of Lost Souls” by C.A. Rose
“Ghosts To My Fingertips” by Rachelle Harp
“Kosher Beef” by Rook Riley
“The Lark Ascending” by Melanie Fletcher
“The Life Expectancy of Cockroaches” by Michelle Muenzler
“The Wanderers” by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam
“The Long Fall Up” by William Ledbetter
“The Queen Lorellai” by Gloria Oliver
“On Trial” by Rachelle Harp
“Lost in Whitby” by Melanie Fletcher
“Taking a Mile” by J. Kathleen Cheney
“The Old Equations” by Jake Kerr

Genres: Science Fiction

332 pages, Paperback

First published May 3, 2016

About the author

J. Kathleen Cheney is nothing if not versatile in her story telling. But, weaving through her work is a common thread, that of the improbable heroine. From worlds set in humanity’s distant post-apocalyptic future to alternate worlds of today or of the near past, Kathleen’s heroines include a siren who with help from a gentleman of the city must stop a regicidal plot, the neglected daughter of an absent king coming to terms with her shapeshifting ancestors, a blind teenager who dreams of others’ deaths and who uses her gift of touch to find their killers, and the widow of a trainer who with a most unusual horse must save her farm and way of life. All use their unusual gifts and talents to overcome obstacles and find their place in the world.

In 2005 Kathleen decided to pursue writing as a full-time endeavor and has since enjoyed seeing her stories published in Shimmer, The Sword Review, and Baen’s Universe. Her novella “Iron Shoes” was a 2011 Nebula nominee. Kathleen twice attended the summer Writer’s Workshop at the Center for the Study of Science Fiction under the tutelage of James Gunn. She lists C. J. Cherryh, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Georgette Heyer among the writers who influenced her most–as well as Ansen Dibell, whose ghostly fingerprints can be seen all over her work.

Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Kathleen’s parents actually were rocket scientists (they worked at White Sands Missile Range), which made for interesting dinner-time conversations. After graduating with degrees in English and Marketing she worked as a menswear buyer for retail department store chains before changing careers to become a teacher, where she taught mathematics ranging from 7th Grade Arithmetic up to Calculus. Kathleen also served a brief stint as a Gifted and Talented Specialist. She coached the Academic Team and the Robotics Team and was the Chess Club sponsor.

When not writing, Kathleen likes to don a mask and get sweaty fencing, both foil and saber. Quieter hobbies include putting on her Wellingtons and getting her hands dirty in the garden. She also enjoys traveling and taking care of her dogs. Two large, hairy, dogs.

Her first novel, "The Golden City" came out from Ace Books, November 2013.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this story to my friends. The story has action, passion and emotion. I look forward to reading more from this author.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second short fiction collection from the Future Classics speculative fiction writers group of North Dallas.

Volume 2 includes William Ledbetter's Nebula-winning novelette The Long Fall Up (and I can certainly understand and agree why this novelette won!).

Also, I particularly enjoyed Afterimage by J. Kathleen Cheney. This was a detective story but was particularly interesting because this detective is blind. I don't read too many stories told from the disabled person's point of view and I liked that a lot.

Authors also included Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam who had a Nebula Award finalist novelette this year (but in this collection, she had two short stories).

I enjoyed Jake Kerr's Old Equations story very much. Here is what he said on his Web site about this story: "The second story I wrote and the first one I published, "The Old Equations," appeared in Lightspeed magazine and went on to be named a finalist for the Nebula Award and to be shortlisted for the StorySouth Million Writers and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial awards.

Overall, this collection had 12 stories I considered either to be gloriously or terrifically written.

Additionally, another four left a powerful impact on me. Only last two were not exactly to my taste (but were certainly well written).

Can't wait for volume three!

[Kathy KS · Rating 4 out of 5]

For what this is, a novelette of just over 7,000 words, I found this story interesting. Ledbetter enables the reader to imagine a much wider world than that found in the characters' immediate story.

Because of that, I found this 23-page story of two (three?) people and an AI quite readable.

Found this copy through one of my State Library's periodical databases. Go libraries!

[Jonathan Harbour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story! A Nebula nominee.. Much of it reminded me of a few scenes in my novel, Mandate of Earth.