Footprints in the Stars

by Danielle Ackley-McPhail (Editor and Contributor), Gordon Linzner (Contributor), Ian Randal Strock (Contributor)

Beyond the Cradle

To follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before, first we must find them.

Dreaded hope settles over mankind as we stare into the heavens, looking for a sign we are not alone. Fearing we will find it, puzzled when we don’t.

Among the stars or in our own backyard, lose yourself in the wonder of these tales as we humbly posit mankind’s reaction to the awesome certainty that ‘they’ are out there…or at least, they were…

Footprints in the Stars

With stories by Gordon Linzner, Ian Randal Strock, Robert Greenberger, Dayton Ward, Aaron Rosenberg, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jody Lynn Nye, Christopher L. Bennett, James Chambers, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Russ Colchamiro, Judi Fleming, and Bryan J.L. Glass

200 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2019

About the author

Award-winning author, editor, and publisher Danielle Ackley-McPhail has worked both sides of the publishing industry for longer than she cares to admit. In 2014 she joined forces with husband Mike McPhail and friend Greg Schauer to form her own publishing house, eSpec Books (www.especbooks.com).

Her published works include eight novels, Yesterday's Dreams, Tomorrow's Memories, Today’s Promise, The Halfling’s Court, The Redcaps’ Queen, Daire’s Devils, The Play of Light, and Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn, written with Day Al-Mohamed. She is also the author of the solo collections Eternal Wanderings, A Legacy of Stars, Consigned to the Sea, Flash in the Can, Transcendence, Between Darkness and Light, The Fox’s Fire, The Kindly One, and the non-fiction writers’ guides The Literary Handyman, More Tips from the Handyman, and LH: Build-A-Book Workshop. She is the senior editor of the Bad-Ass Faeries anthology series, Gaslight & Grimm, Side of Good/Side of Evil, After Punk, and Footprints in the Stars. Her short stories are included in numerous other anthologies and collections.

In addition to her literary acclaim, she crafts and sells original costume horns under the moniker The Hornie Lady Custom Costume Horns, and homemade flavor-infused candied ginger under the brand of Ginger KICK! at literary conventions, on commission, and wholesale.

Danielle lives in New Jersey with her husband and fellow writer, Mike McPhail and four extremely spoiled cats.

Reviews

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of first contact stories. I did not want Building Blocks to end, I feel like it ended on a huge cliffhanger.

[J.D. DeHart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A number of quality short fictions populate Footprints in the Stars — a worthwhile set of stories for fans of this genre and those new to interstellar travel.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy sci-fi fiction on occasion. And anthologies always work for me as I am always on the look out for short stories to read. These aren't bad, on the whole. I don't believe I've ever read any of these authors before, but I enjoyed some of the tales. I am sure there are going to be some stories that appeal to everyone.

I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

[Craig Pearson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. None of the stories had any wow factor. The alien civilizations are apparently long gone and the stories end before any impact is felt by mankind. They all address the concept of 'are we alone' but they just seem undeveloped.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mix of stories. There are better anthologies out there, but this one is pretty good. Probably worth giving it a chance. 3.5 stars.

I really appreciate the advanced copy for review!!

[Pablo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This a fairly run-of-the-mill collection of recent SF stories by authors I don't recognize. The first story is reminiscent of the old Spider Robinson "bar at the end of the world" (or whatever he called it) stories - not quite a tall tale set in a bar, but almost the SF equivalent of it As with most multi-author collections, the stories can be hit-or-miss depending on your interests.