Marya - It's not Gay Romance. Dare you to read it anyway.

Once upon a time, in a corporate tower in Wilmington, an unhappy drone toiled at a soul-sucking job. Something was missing - a terrible hole through the middle of her heart.

The little drone began to write and write and write, filling the gaping hole with words, with scenes, with stories. Pages and pages poured out while waiting for the endless meetings to start, during long commutes to other corporate towers in the empire and any time she could steal away mentally. Soon there was one novel, then another, and another. A kindly co-drone, who had begged to read the mad scribblings as they took shape, asked, "Are you going to get them published?"

Yes, of course the little drone was me and it was in 1999 that my friend asked this question. The Anchorage series was only a single book long at that time, the series itself had no title, and it was while the brave new world of e-publishing was still growing its stubby first wings.

There have been several editions of Marya since then, several stops and starts with publishers who closed or with whom I've had a parting of ways. Fifteen years later - ye gods, fifteen years - I've taken the series back and have decided to publish through our own consortium, Mischief Corner Books.

And, yes, that's my name on the cover. I know most of you know me as Angel - the slightly demented pixie who writes gay SFF, but Sandra is my birth name. Why the two names? What are you hiding? Are you ashamed of writing gay fiction? No. The separation is simple and, I think, necessary. My M/M stories are for grownups. They don't all have sex, and many have very little sex, but they are for adults.

Anchorage is for everyone.

These are novels adults would read, but they are suitable for younger readers as well, I'd say as young as ten or even a reading-precocious eight and I don't want the kids picking up Angel books by mistake. Sure, Angel gets more of the attention. She's much more outgoing and marketing savvy. But Sandra was writing and seeking publication first. Angel still sulks about this sometimes. Tough bananas. A little bit about Anchorage and the first book, Marya:

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Map of the Ktarate by Morgan Prettyman

Anchorage


Centuries have passed since a desperate human expedition settled a planet circled by three moons, far from commercial or military space routes. Through loss of tech and the need to survive on this often-hostile new world, the largest portion of the colonists has reverted to a feudal society on the eastern continent.

Of course, they do not inhabit this planet alone...

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Marya
by Sandra C. Stixrude
Mischief Corner Books

Also available from
Amazon
All Romance/Omnilit
Itunes
Smashwords
Barnes and Noble (coming soon)

Traveling has always frightened Marya, but when the Ktar chooses her to protect the heir on his confirmation journey, she fights panic. A prophecy concerning the heir's death, ominous dreams of a mysterious city, and news that one of the heir's companions will betray him all point to disaster.

Unfortunately, the discovery of the assassin's identity is only the beginning. His menace pales in comparison to the ancient evil lurking in the mountains. When Marya is trapped and the men with her enslaved, she is faced with two choices: surrender to the alien being who offers her power, or ally with the handsome assassin she sought to thwart. One way she loses her soul, the other she may lose her heart.

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