The Search for the Crimson Lady


Book Description

One hundred years ago the pirate ship Crimson Lady terrorized the space lanes, then she disappeared without a trace, leaving behind nothing but tall tales and legends. Until Tara Wyndham finds an artefact from the lost ship Rys Kovas made a mistake when he left Fleet to take over his uncle’s tourist business. He jumps at the chance to hire out his luxury yacht to go hunting for a ghost ship with the lovely Tara and her grandfather. But murder, sabotage, and accidents mar their journey. It’s clear somebody doesn’t want them following the trail. As the danger ramps up Rys suspects there’s more to the mystery of the Crimson Lady than a long-lost spacefarer’s story. Can Rys, Tara, and her indomitable grandfather unravel the mystery and escape with their lives?




The Demon's Eye


Book Description

Krystina Merkos is reluctant to leave her home planet, but agrees it’s best that her father doesn’t have to concern himself with her safety while he fights a civil war. The journey on an Imperial warship becomes much more palatable when she discovers that Ben Paulsen, an old flame from her high school days, is a senior officer on the ship. But it’s not all plain sailing. The captain wants to seduce her, Ben’s trying to keep his distance – and pirates want to sell her to the murderous sect waging war on her father. When the frigate is attacked by a pirate fleet intent on capturing Krys, she faces impossible choices. If she hands herself over to the pirates, she will die a painful death. If she doesn’t, everyone will die. Unless she and Ben can contrive a way out for them all. This short story is a space opera, full of action and adventure, with a romance thrown in.




The Crimson Lady


Book Description

Book description to come.




The Search for the Beautiful Woman


Book Description

While a slender body is a prerequisite for beauty today, plump women were considered ideal in Tang Dynasty China and Heian-period Japan. Starting around the Southern Song period in China, bound feet symbolized the attractiveness of women. But in Japan, shaved eyebrows and blackened teeth long were markers of loveliness. For centuries, Japanese culture was profoundly shaped by China, but in complex ways that are only now becoming apparent. In this first full comparative history of the subject, Cho Kyo explores changing standards of feminine beauty in China and Japan over the past two millennia. Drawing on a rich array of literary and artistic sources gathered over a decade of research, he considers which Chinese representations were rejected or accepted and transformed in Japan. He then traces the introduction of Western aesthetics into Japan starting in the Meiji era, leading to slowly developing but radical changes in representations of beauty. Through fiction, poetry, art, advertisements, and photographs, the author vividly demonstrates how criteria of beauty differ greatly by era and culture and how aesthetic sense changed in the course of extended cultural transformations that were influenced by both China and the West.




The Thunder Egg


Book Description

No ordinary rock… History Professor Drew Torson’s purchase of a thunder egg at a market leads to an astonishing discovery when what should have been just a rock… hatches. He isn’t the only one who wants the unusual creature that emerges. When thieves attempt to capture his new friend, Neyru, Drew is left stunned and bleeding in an alley. Freighter captain Afra Abrussen is shocked when a strange, but beautiful creature named Neyru seeks her help. She’s no heroine. She has cargo to haul and debts to pay. The last thing she needs to do right now is get drawn into Drew and Neyru’s plight. Drew insists that all they need to do is find out what Neyru is, where she comes from, and get her home without being caught by pursuers who will stop at nothing to get hold of the little creature. Afra thinks Drew forgot one important clause: They need to do all that without falling in love. Can a freighter captain and an academic stay one step ahead of the thieves determined to capture Neyru, and if they do, what will happen when they discover they broke the all too important clause about not falling in love? This story first appeared in Pets in Space 6 in 2021. It is a novella-length space opera.




Duroc-Jersey Swine Record


Book Description




A Vistory Celebration


Book Description

What’s good for the gander has to be good for the goose … or so Morgan thinks. The fleet has won a major battle and Ravindra’s doing his celebratory thing with his officers. Morgan gets a rare invite for a girls’ night out. Dinner, a little dancing, a little jealous pining… And a whole lot of trouble when Ravindra discovers his lady is out ‘n about… without protection. What started as an innocent night on the town turns into something very, very different. A short story that takes place after Morgan's Choice.




Imperial Agent Collection


Book Description

Three complete stories from the Dryden universe starring Tian, Brent – and Puss Eye of the Mother When fate throws Brent Walker and Tian Axmar together, it's strictly a business arrangement. She's an Imperial agent with a problem to solve, he's a space jockey with an empty bank balance and a tramp freighter for hire. Somebody's murdering Yrmaks and Humans. Somebody wants interspecies war. Tian hires Brent to help her investigate. It's an increasingly dangerous game, with more than just lives at stake. Before it's over Brent and Tian will be faced with choices which will change both of them forever. For the Greater Good A Human settlement is destroyed and all signs point to an Yrmak raid as Tian and Brent scour the site for clues. They never expected to find a survivor, a rare alien feline with special abilities. They uncover a devious plot to incite an interspecies war designed to strike at the very heart of the Empire. With lives at risk, there's no time to waste. Racing against the clock, Brent, Tian, and Puss must stop the planned carnage, and this time for Brent and Tian… it's personal. Retribution Tensions simmer on a world where Humans blame Yrmaks for their defeat in a recent war. For Celia Whitley, former head of Imperial Security and director of Humans First, it's a great place to incite an interspecies war. All it takes is money and weapons – and she can organize both. Revenge over the Yrmaks who murdered her husband will be hers. Tian and Brent scramble to prevent a war from spilling over to engulf the Empire. But interspecies war is not the only vengeance Whitley wants. Tian, Brent and Puss will need all of their abilities to prevent the cruelest blow of all.




Supertech


Book Description

She’s a Supertech, bioengineered from birth, fresh out of the Academy and tasked with designing a control system for an experimental fighter. Morgan’s up for the challenge but there’s more to the job than meets the eye. The Fleet invested in her education but did they train her for … this? Ensign Morgan Selwood was almost too good at her job and far too casual about Fleet rules and regulations. Tasked with designing a control system for an untested attack fighter seemed like a dream come true and a real career booster. But the specs and modules tell only part of the story—what Morgan discovers can put not just her career, but lives at risk. A short story about Morgan's origins as a supertech. Precedes Morgan's Choice.




Shorts


Book Description

A collection of short stories from across the Galaxy Dive into worlds where intrigue and danger lurk around every corner, where unexpected reunions reignite old flames, and where the line between friend and foe is blurred. In this collection of gripping short stories, join a cast of characters as they navigate treacherous waters, from the corridors of warships to the depths of space, from the tranquil halls of a restaurant to the unforgiving wilderness of distant planets. With every turn of the page, prepare to be swept away on a journey of suspense, betrayal, and unexpected alliances. Will they emerge unscathed, or will they succumb to the darkness that threatens to consume them? Find out in these thrilling tales of adventure and survival. Features three stories from the Morgan Selwood universe, two from the Dryden Universe – all previously published separately - and three stories a little closer to home.