HC

  “Paddy, did it veer too much into cutesy, cheesy, cliched sentimentality?"

  “What is life without sentiment, Wimpy? What? Are you meant to write without emotion? What a boring story that would be! Humans live and breathe feelings every second of every day, and pretending otherwise is a recipe for a dull book. But if you won’t believe me, then ask the beta readers.”

  Right. I had one of them on this very starliner, and for some reason, I was hesitant to show her this story.

  Perhaps that was because I knew it would be the last short I’d write. Everything else from here on out was emotionally intense because life was about to get very, very difficult for Harley and Muriel, and I wasn’t much looking forward to writing that part.

  I had a sneaking suspicion that I wasn’t just avoiding my next book. It was what we were flying into that felt much the same way.

  “Paddy? Do you get the sense that leaving Earth was more than just us going on vacation?”

  “Wimpy, I know something big is brewing. ‘We’re running with the shadows of the night, so baby take my hand, it’ll be alright. Surrender all your dreams to me tonight; they’ll come true in the end.’”

  My wife squeezed my hand as she sang that old rock song softly, “And love, I think this trip to Andromeda is about more than our dreams coming true. To be honest, I was starting to wish we’d brought the girls. I’ve got an uneasy feeling about leaving our grandkids back home when we’re going off to solve a mystery that’s been chasing you your whole life. Don’t you think it’s time to tell the family all about the Red Phoenix and how Harley and Muriel’s story truly came about?”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Paddy had an excellent point. Our girls knew I’d published a book before they were born and that my graphic novels were popular all over the 9 Galaxies.

  But I was just Dad to them and hadn’t really done the famous-author-limelight life while they’d been growing up. They knew of the Red Phoenix, but they didn’t know the story behind the story.

  “Let’s call and tell them, and your brother Kadesh. The whole family should know the complete history, Paddy—“

  She cut me off, “And let’s tell them about the publishing company and why we’re going all the way to Andromeda, Wimpy. I want them to come, and I’m worried they won’t see the point, but maybe if we let them decide for themselves, they’ll feel like it’s a mystery they want to be in on too? Show them all the teasers? Maybe it will look like something worth investigating? Worth interrupting their busy lives for?”

  So we did exactly that, and our whole family decided to book their own flights across the Known Cosmos for a grand adventure. Our paths crossed a couple of weeks later, and by then, I was no longer the same man.

  Now, I know this is a cryptic way to end a series of short stories, but what you have to understand is that these adventures of Muriel and Harley were a taste of things to come. You got attached to my characters, then I took them on a tour of the fantastical. And that’s what happened to my wife and me once we arrived in Andromeda.

  I know how to tell a story like Muriel and Harley's well because that’s exactly what it’s like living my life.

  I may seem like an ordinary writer with a wife and two daughters, but I’ve had dreams that are mysterious and have met people who are as close to magic as you can get, so I know there’s a lot more going on in the Known Cosmos than most people realize.

  That’s why I’m writing. So you’ll get a taste and want more. If you like what you’ve read here, then join me in the full books because there’s a lot more in store for all of us, and I hope you’ll be along for the ride.

  “Perfect ending, Wimpy.”

  “Think so?”

  “I’m sure of it. Who won’t want more of us after that?”

  ?? Click to Read

  The Dungeon Broker

  The Sewage of Slaughter.

  System Log: Subject STEVEN YORK.

  Status: Dungeon rep.

  Assets: crime interface, slime contacts, shady contracts.

  Origin: MMO corporate nightmare.

  Complication: gremlin lawsuits, loot farmers, idiotic accomplice.

  Risk factors: HR audits, economic collapse, sewer stench.

  Forecast: criminal empire (pending).

  The Dungeon Broker.

  ?? Release Schedule:

  2 chapters a day!

  Until corporate switches it to 1 per day in October.

  No hiatus, Book 1 is finished.

  Just crime, slime, and at least one gremlin lawsuit!