The (not so) Little Anthology That Could

Some time ago, though not in a galaxy far away, the Mischief Corner authors decided on a series of anthology prompts. Their lone science fiction writer (that would be me) grumbled and groused about some of them, but the Mischiefers kept prodding and suggesting and we managed some really cool collections of stories.

I think this one was to make me feel better. Or have my revenge. Or something.

The Science Fiction anthology was a first for a couple of our authors, though most of us are SF fans of one sort or another (even Toni, who's fallen in love with new Kirk and such ;) )

Still, for folks who don't normally write SF, it did cause some anxious moments. Will it work? Can I do this?

My vote? Yes. They could. They did. And here's the result.

Not In The Stars is a collections of four SF stories - all quite different in tone, flavor and subject matter. Two are on Earth, two aren't. Two are traditional romances in structure, two aren't. Two are serious with dashes of humor, one is deadly serious and one is decidedly...not.

Come join us on our little jaunt into the future, even if it's just a teensy bit of a leap forward. There's room for everyone, since like every good space/time vehicle, it's bigger on the inside.


Not in the Stars
Amazon
All Romance
By Toni Griffin, Mathilde Watson, Freddy MacKay and Angel Martinez
Mischief Corner Anthologies, #4
Release Date: April 5, 2014
Word Count: 138,700

Since the dawn of human expression, man has gazed up at the heavens in wonder, inspired by the wheeling of the stars to explain his surroundings. While our perception of those surroundings have changed, from thinking of the Earth as a flat, stable plane to realizing we’re falling through space in a tiny atmospheric bubble, our wonder remains constant.

Space stations, alien races, far-flung planets—join the Mischief Corner authors as they explore the possibilities the stars might offer. The catch? Returning to mundane old Earth might be harder than you think.

Finding Connor: The Borillian Twist, Book 1 - Toni Griffin
Mark, a RAAF fighter pilot, is on leave for the first time since the aliens decided to say 'Hello'. He meets Connor, a numbers man for a casino, at a gay bar and danced the night away. Their one night together changes their entire lives and what people think they know about life on Earth.

The Usual Conventions: Unconventional Romances 1 - Mathilde Watson
When Chris meets the alien—man—of his dreams, "Ensign Brodeich Geinn" aka actor Brody Gates, it's as one of the coordinators for the first annual OBX Science Fiction Convention in North Carolina. To his delight, Brody seems to return his interest, albeit in typical alien "Brodeich" fashion. Awkward alien or not, Chris is more than willing to play out any sexual fantasy for his SciFi crush, especially when Brody fumbles over the simplest of human conventions.

Feel Me - Freddy MacKay
One terrorist blast changed Master Tobias Zimmer's entire existence, relegating him to being nothing more than just a "Coppies" because of the metal replacing his flesh. As the once future Shogun of moon colony Orion 1, he now idles his time away keeping tabs on the Loyalists while his father and brother broker negotiations with the Earth Consortium.

A confrontation with his childhood enemy, Dr. Thorsten Nordenfelt, sets into motion events that cannot be undone and puts Tobias's sheltered heart at the center of the colony's attempts to free itself from the repressive Earth's rule.

Shax's War: Brimstone 3 - Angel Martinez
The boys desperately need a vacation. With the not-quite-ill-gotten gains from the Frog incident, Shax takes the Brimstone's crew to the exclusive resort planet, Opal. What could possibly go wrong there?

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