Standard Candle

G.B. Lindsey

Denny Wyatt: friend.

Denny, who sleeps in threadbare tees that smell like his cigarettes, who coats his arms in the guts of engines, who kisses like he's sampling you, scenting you, until you forget that there are things you can't afford to forget.

Denny Wyatt: with benefits.

It's not dating. You've both done enough of that. You're both stuck in this town, you're both going nowhere, but at night, you have each other. It's sex. It's an arrangement. It suits you both.

Denny Wyatt: yours.

Tonight, the lie shatters. Denny Wyatt is so much more than friend, than lover, than any one word. But you'd better speak—better find the words—or he's gone.

Tales From Tharassas

Prequel to the Tharassas Cycle

J. Scott Coatsworth

These three tales tell the story of Tharassas before the Tharassas Cycle, including the origin of the hencha queens, the ce’faine, and the colonization of the Highlands, essential companions for the four novels that make up the cycle:

The Fallen Angel

Charlie Fah, Cha’Fah to most of the world, has never fit in with the other citizens of Gully Town, thanks to his darker skin that sets him apart. But one day, an Angel arrives on a supply run from Earth, and what happens next sets Charlie on a new path that will turn his life upside down.

The Last Run

Sera is the last runner from Earth, bringing badly needed supplies to the Tharassas Colony across a twenty-five year gulf between the planets. Jas works on a hencha farm to make ends meet, harvesting berries from the semi-sentient plants. Neither one that knows their lives—and worlds—are about to change forever.

The Emp Test

Jey awakens to find himself in the care of a handsome stranger—a cheff from one of the mountain tribes. Afraid for his life, Jey has no choice but to let the man take care of him and his broken leg. Avain is on his Aud'ling—the coming-of-age test that requires him to spend a couple months away from his own people. The two of them will have to come to an understanding if they're going to help one another.

The Last Run and The Emp Test have been published before in previous stand-alone editions, but The Fallen Angel is a new story written exclusively for this collection.

Excerpt:
Reviews:Wallace Rinkelhaus on Amazon wrote:

"Well-told, thoughtful, beautiful stories, with strong world-building. Yes, reading these stories before The Dragon Eater, would add to one's understanding of this world and its people they do stand alone."


Homecoming

J. Scott Coatsworth

Spaceman meets wolfman.

When his own world is destroyed, Aldiss and his crew barely manage to escape, leaving friends and lovers behind. What was meant to be an exploratory trip back to the home world becomes a mad dash for survival.

When they awaken from deep sleep on Earth, abandoned by humanity five centuries before, they must quickly learn about their new home. While exploring the region around the ship, Aldiss meets Hari, a human-wolf hybrid, whose people harbor secrets which just might cost the crew their lives.

Will Hari and Aldiss uncover the secrets of the past and find common ground? Or are Aldiss and his team doomed to failure?

Excerpt:
Reviews:Paul on Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words wrote:

“This book clicks on just about every level... a ride worth taking.”

Mike Bode wrote:

"A good read for a long afternoon with an engaging bread crumb trail of clues to lead you to a satisfied ending."

Adele S. on Amazon wrote:

"Once I started this it took me little more than an hour to finish it. The world building was flawless & there was a great pace to the writing. It's a fantastic story through & through. I'd love to read more from this universe. To see if other clans have survived, whether anyone else made it away from Antana & to see how the Earth continues to rebuild."


Flames

J. Scott Coatsworth

Alex always thought love was enough to keep him and Gio together. Why did they need wedding rings or legal certificates? But now, with Gio lost in a coma after a fire has destroyed their home, his partner’s mother banishes Alex from his side.

Locked in a gray limbo inside his head, memories are all Gio has left, and the urge to let go is getting stronger.

Nothing can keep Alex from Gio's side, even if he has to break the rules. In their stolen moments alone together, Alex fights to reach Gio, one memory at a time.

What if Alex’s voice is the only thing that can bring Gio back?

Excerpt:
Reviews:Lee on Liminal Fiction wrote:

"Gio awakens in an empty white room, empty of self. But he returns, a piece at a time, to himself through emotional memories—feelings—derived from his loving relationship with Alex. Coatsworth has paid homage to Descartes in saying to the reader that, “The essence of the soul is a thing that feels.”

This is a brilliant device, elevating what would have otherwise been a too-straightforward, simple story. The motif, of reconstructed self, is emphasized at key points in the story, such as when Alex at first cannot make a list of the possessions that he and Gio lost. As the story progresses and Gio’s sense of self begins to return, Alex is able to populate that list...

...the ideas employed in Flames, and the clever use of metaphor, make this an excellent novella."


12 Blind Dates

Pat Henshaw

Following a horrific break up with his fiancé, Luke Bennet spends two years as a social hermit, only going to work and talking with Tina, Gina, and Rita, three friends from high school.

Refusing to let him wallow any longer, they intervene and talk him into going on twelve blind dates to get him back in social circulation.

The Trio have not only planned the dating venues but also chosen the perfect guys to lure Luke from his isolation.

Will he find love through these dates? Or will he run for cover again?

Excerpt:

About the most positive part of date four was the date showed up. Equally, that could have been the worst part of the date.

Since dates four and five had already been lined up without Mike and Bert being invited to go on them, we decided to start the foolproof date backup plan on date six. I mean, what could go wrong on Friday and Saturday?

Rita who organized catering for gala events had scored a pair of tickets to the premier of the newest Marvel film at the refurbished mall Cineplex. During the pandemic, the Cineplex had gutted its theaters, transforming its rows of hard-backed chairs into home entertainment seating.

I’d read a couple of online articles about how incredible the new wave of movie theater comfort was becoming, so even if I wasn’t gung-ho about another blind date, I was excited to be one of a pampered audience.

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Bernard showed up in a three-piece suit looking like he’d stepped out of a GQ ad. Audience members around us ranged from those costumed to those in theme T-shirts. I wore jeans and a neutral sweater.

After exchanging names and a hearty handshake, we were greeted by people with clipboards who logged us in and told us where our seats were located. As we waited our turn to enter the theater itself, Bernard glanced around and sighed.

“I should have known.” He looked like he was in pain. “Who are these people?”

Thinking it was a genuine question and he’d never seen cosplayers before, I started to answer as he shook his head, disgust written all over his face.

“They have no appreciation of the time, trouble, and creative genius that went into this production,” he said.

“What? No! You’ve got it wrong. They’re the ones who truly appreciate what we’re going to see.”

I realized my mistake almost immediately. Obviously, nobody ever told Bernard he was wrong.

The date immediately plunged toward disaster status.

With him ignoring me, we were checked off the guest list, given brochures about the operation of the lounge seats, and ushered into the theater.

I was reading how the seats reclined, featured built-in speakers, sported cup holders with cold and hot settings, and even gave massages. To break our silence, I was about to comment how a massage might put me to sleep instead of enhance the movie experience when I realized Bernard wasn’t anywhere near me.

He was down the row facing a handsome twenty-something in the center chair.

“I don’t give a fuck who you think you are! I’m sure this is supposed to be my seat,” Bernard yelled.

After we were escorted from the theater -- without seeing the movie -- Bernard stalked off to the parking lot and it was the last I saw of him.

Mike thought the story of the date was really funny.

“Okay, wise guy. What would you or Bert have done to help me out?”

“Um, I would have stepped in and explained how we weren’t responsible for your blind date’s actions and let Bernard leave and be his own unhappy self. Then we all would have sat back and enjoyed the movie. You were being too nice to have walked out with him.”

“Well, he was my date.”

“Not right then he wasn’t.” Mike looked at me with a huge grin. “Did you even get to try out the new lounge chairs?”

At my head shake, he added, “Well, I’m putting them down on our to-do list.”

Our to-do list?

How come his words made me feel hopeful? I didn’t tell him, though.

In the end, he and I thought the next date couldn’t possibly be worse.

We were wrong. So wrong.

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