Release Blitz: Behind the Sun, Above the Moon Anthology

Title: Behind the Sun, Above the Moon

Author: Ziggy Schutz, Paige S. Allen, Brooklyn Ray, J.S. Fields, S.R. Jones, Alex Harrow, Emmet Nahil, Sara Codair, Anna Zabo

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: February 17, 2020

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: M/NB, F/NB

Length: 91300

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy, LGBT, contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, trans, nonbinary, magic, short stories

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

A Queer anthology inspired by magic and the cosmos, a vast and beautiful place where planets, stars, comets—entire galaxies, even—live without borders, specifications or binaries. Stories span science fiction, science fantasy, contemporary, fabulism and magical realism, and celebrate Non-binary and Transgender characters.

twice-spent comet by Ziggy Schutz

From Dusk to Dying Sun by Paige S. Allen

Lost/Found by Brooklyn Ray

Awry with Dandelions by J.S. Fields

The Far Touch by S.R. Jones

Ink and Stars by Alex Harrow

Horologium by Emmet Nahil

Death Marked by Sara Codair

Weave the Dark, Weave the Light by Anna Zabo

Excerpt

twice-spent comet
On an isolated asteroid, Fer serves out their sentence with a found family of ramshackle criminals. Life takes an exciting turn when they befriend Ophelia, a beautiful humanoid creature with a tail like a comet.

From Dusk to Dying Sun
Jay Morrison almost believes the rumors of magic and mischief haunting the US-50. But their partner, Luis Inoa, has made a career guarding the dusty Nevada trails. According to him, the only scary things on the highway are the silences, until a group of tourists break open the sun and disappear into a fiery blaze.

Lost/Found
When Hollis Griffin, a lonely sex worker living in Venice Beach, forms an unlikely friendship with a fallen star, she begins to face the truth about her life, her past, and what the future holds.

Awry with Dandelions
For thirty seconds every night, a disembodied specter named Mette visits with Orin who has long since written the ghost woman off as a recurring dream. But when Mette suggests meeting in real life, Orin’s inner world turns out to be more substantial than imaginary, and xie embarks on a journey to discover the truth of Mette and their strange connection.

The Far Touch
A long-standing coven of witches trek to their sacred space and accidentally discover life on another planet when their Solstice celebration interferes with a lone practitioner.

Ink and Stars
Locked in a contract to steal their ex-lovers ship, Chaz Neoma comes face to face with consequences, lost partnership, and the chance at a future, after discovering they aren’t the last Weaver in the universe.

Horologium
In the far reaches of the Horologium Supercluster, an astronaux is stranded alone on a long-distance astral ship where they’re visited by three apparitions, telling stories of ancestors who traveled space before them. Coeie must decide whether to follow the ghosts of the past, or forge their own path through the cosmos.

Death Marked
As chief security officer in the Lunar Guard, Enzi is in charge of the security for their sister’s coming of age ceremony. A fragile relationship with their family doesn’t make keeping Ulsa safe any easier, and neither does a group of pesky drones or a hidden plot to overthrow their sister’s place in the family.

Weave the Dark, Weave the Light
On a crisp night, Ari, a supposed elemental witch, meets Jonathan Aster, a powerful being they desperately want to understand. As they explore an intense, intimate and passionate relationship, Ari unearths long-hidden mysteries about themself and their magic.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Adana Affair by Mikala Ash #scifi #BDSM

Cover Artist: Renee George

Breaking News -- Who killed Nova Meridian?

The savage murder of a pleasure worker rocks the corridors of Spaceport Adana. Peri Barberossa and Fyche, her faithful AI, answer a call from her sister Holly to get to Adana posthaste. When they arrive, they find Holly gone and a case of mistaken identity allows Peri to make a big impression on the enigmatic private eye, Silas Archimedes, who finds that Holly's sister is even more trouble than the ace reporter herself.

While Fyche discovers the joy of human sex, Holly's old nemesis, Mischa, reaches out with her long and vicious right arm.

Stay tuned for further carnal developments in The Adana Affair, a Peri Barberossa Spaceport adventure.

Available Today at Changeling Press

SNEAK PEEK

All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2020 Mikala Ash

"Am I forgiven?" Fyche asked.

"You're lucky I'm still talking to you. You're lucky you're still on my ship. You're lucky you still have a body!"

I was referring to the organic body I'd finally agreed to buy for my long-serving ship's AI. He had been begging for it for ages. He cited all the usual practical reasons why an artificial intelligence might want an organic body; guarding me while on assignment, helping me with my research, being an extension of the ship's core memory and effectively allowing him to be in two places at once.

The list went on, but his real agenda was quite selfish. He, Fyche, an artificial intelligence, had fallen in lust with me. He openly admitted it, though was at a loss to explain it. I, and my body, had become an obsession with him. He wanted, he said, to taste my bodily delights after witnessing so many of my sexual adventures.

I wasn't entirely sure this was a good idea, and I offered to have him psychoanalyzed, or whatever the equivalent was for artificial intelligence, but he convinced me that was not a good idea. Such analysis could destroy his distinct personality which, I must admit, I'd come to appreciate and grown accustomed to. What finally swayed me was the prospect that the month it took to grow a synthetic organic body around his positronic brain presented me with a too good to miss opportunity to linger at the capital and spend some extra bed time with Laz.

Laz. The thought of my lost lover sent me into another bout of sobbing. I'd been in this morbid state for three days. It was ridiculous.

"I know what will get your mind off him," Fyche said.

"Fyche, for the last time, you are not going to get into my pants!"

"I meant this."

I opened my scratchy eyes. Phong knows what I must have looked like. Three days crying can't be a good thing. "What is it?"

He held a data card. "It arrived an hour ago."

"Who is it from?"

"The transmission didn't say," he said. "It was coded private and confidential."

"And you didn't even peek?"

"Tampering with private transmissions is an offense."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, not entirely believing him. "When have you not opened my mail?"

"I'm offended that you would think I would break my basic code of ethics."

I waved him into silence lest he start quoting me the AI code of behavior. "Don't just stand there like the piece of furniture you are, plug it in."

The holo-screen lit up on a face I hadn't seen for years. The eyes grabbed me first, like they always had. I always hated those eyes. They were too blue to be real, but were, in fact, her own. Her face was framed by a halo of jet curls. When I'd last seen her, Holly's hair had been straight and long, but that was years ago when we were teenagers. Her face was animated, full of life and energy. She was beautiful.

I haven't really thought about her in ages, really thought about her, that is. I was surprised that even now I still resented her. Call it petty but I was never one for sisterly affection.

Holly smiled that dazzling smile that would melt my father's heart.

"Peri, I need your help," she said bluntly. "Come to Spaceport Adana. I have attached the coordinates." She fixed me with her azure gaze, the confidence slipping to be replaced by something like melancholic resignation. "I need you." The recording faded and I sat back in my chair.

"Your sister?" Fyche asked me. "I can tell by the resemblance. The same intensity in the manner, the arresting presence, yet, I sense she is naïve, a child almost, and she plays on that perception. Men want to protect her, and she lets them."

Starting with my father. I glanced at Fyche. He was watching me closely, his dark eyes attentive and kind. He always knew the right thing to say. Though I called him a simple AI and treated him abysmally, he was not a simple piece of furniture. He was, in all things where it counts, a good friend, probably my only one. "Her physiological signs?"

"Impossible to pick up on a hologram. I have to be in the person's physical presence to detect their vital signs. However, pupil dilation, non-verbal behavior and phase variations in her voice suggest she is in a state of some anxiety. Is she susceptible to pressure?"

"Not that I ever noticed," I said.

"How long has it been since you've seen her?"

"Many years. A lifetime, maybe two."

"She seems to be in trouble."

"What do we know of Spaceport Adana?"

I waited the half second it took for him to interrogate the ship's library and collate the results. "According to one travel writer, 'Adana is a seething cauldron of crime, corruption and political unrest, a cancer on the tattered edge of civilization.'."

It seemed typical of Holly to end up in such a place. She seemed to have an affinity with degradation. "Prepare a summary for me," I said. "Holly's a reporter. No doubt you'll find some of her stories."

"The only one," Fyche mumbled.

"What?"

"She's the lead journalist for the only independent news service, the Adana Observer."

I laughed. "You mean she has the whole spaceport at her mercy? Phong help them."

"Shall I set a course for Adana?"

"As fast as you can."

ABOUT MIKALA ASH

Aussie Mikala Ash lives a hectic double life, mild-mannered training & development consultant by day... wild sci-fi and paranormal adventure writer by night. "For me, burning the candle at both ends is not such a terrible problem; I'm having too much fun!"

Cover Reveal - Jennifer and the Alien Badass (Intergalactic Brides)

Coming January 2018

Jennifer Montgomery has never needed anyone in her life except her daughter. A single mom of a now eighteen year old, her entire life has revolved around Lila. But when Lila goes missing, Jennifer is devastated and determines to do whatever it takes to find her. She just never expected her search to lead her to the Terran Station and their bride program. Or to learn that her daughter isn’t who Jennifer thought she was.

Siril is revered on his world. The best of the best, as they say. If killing people were an art, he’d be Da Vinci. But all the blood and dismembered bodies are starting to wear on him. There are only so many heads you can lop off before it grows old. At fifty, he’s ready for a break, but when he agreed to a vacation on Earth, he never expected to meet his perfect match, something he’d decided didn’t exist. Who would ever want a battered and broken male like him? But Jennifer is fierce, sexy as hell, and he wants to make her his.

As the two come together, and sparks become a blazing inferno, Jennifer realizes that maybe it’s okay to live her life and do something completely selfish – like fall in love.

Guest Spotlight: Rescued by the Cyborg by Jessica Coulter Smith

Cover Artist: Karen Fox
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre(s): Futuristic, Scifi, Action Adventure & Suspense
Theme(s): Cyber-Punk, Alien Encounters

Magnolia Baker has spent most of her life in space with her father. Despite the rowdy crew, she’s been sheltered… until pirates board them and kill everyone in sight. She hides, avoiding them at all cost and praying for a miracle. Then more men board the ship. When a sexy cyborg finds her hiding in the cargo hold, she has the strange urge to trust him.

Zelranian cyborg, Lathim, has only ever wanted one thing. A mate. When he boards a stolen ship and finds a frightened human female, his protective urges take over. He’s seen human females before, but not once has his body responded to one. Until now. One look at Maggie and all he can think is — Mine.

Available December 15th a Changeling Press

Pre-Order for December 22nd at:
Amazon / B&N / iTunes / Kobo

Excerpt

Lathim sat in the captain’s chair and stared out into space. It had been ten years since they’d gained their freedom, such as it was. He thought about that long-ago day and knew they wouldn’t have done anything differently, even if it had meant being exiled by their people. The Zelranians had been intolerant and wouldn’t listen to reason, so Lathim and many others had taken a stand. It had meant an end to the Cy-Con program, which in his opinion wasn’t a bad thing.

“You look deep in thought,” Tenz said. ”You aren’t still upset about that whore screaming her head off when she saw us, are you? We knew it was bound to happen.”

“I’m tired of sex bots,” Lathim said. “No matter how realistic they make them look, they don’t feel the same as a living female.”

“If Zelran hadn’t labeled us renegades and used the terms ‘unstable’ and ‘dangerous’, I’m sure we wouldn’t have quite so much trouble. As it is, males want to challenge us and females fear us. If I could kick the Zelranian parliament’s collective ass, I would.” Tenz snorted. “Not like any of them have been in battle before anyway.”

“We’re closing in on the ship Titanium from Earth,” Rorwick reported. “It’s been marked as stolen by pirates, with enough goods on board we should be able to do a hefty trade and be set for a few months.”

“Shields or other defenses?” Lathim asked.

“It has shields and blasters, but I’ve locked onto their ship and it seems their shields have been damaged by asteroids. If we hit them just right, we can take out the blasters and damage their engines,” Rorwick said. “Hit about two meters from the docking port. It will take out the blasters and the heat should kill the engines.”

Lathim maneuvered the ship for the best possibly outcome. “Let me know when you’ve gained control of their systems.”

“Done,” Rorwick said, having linked with the Titanium using his neural transmitters.

Lathim fired three shots at the Titanium and waited for the ship to stop. He continued course until they pulled alongside. Blasting open the docking port, they connected to the battered ship and prepared to board. Lathim checked his weapons and waited for his crew to meet at the port. When they were ready, he sent the command for the doors to open, and he and his fellow cyborgs boarded.

They’d expected a crowd of pirates to attack, but the ship was eerily silent. Moving through the cargo hold, they fanned out with two remaining to guard the docking port, and scoured the ship for signs of life. As they neared the crew quarters, they saw what had happened to the original crew. The damn pirates had killed every last one and hadn’t bothered to even jettison them out of the airlock. The stench was horrendous as they moved through the ship and drew closer to the captain’s quarters.

The captain lay dead on the floor, his chest cavity opened and his heart removed, but the shredded clothing of a female drew Lathim’s attention. He knelt and picked it up, noticing it was free of blood. Whoever had worn it might very well still be alive, if she’d fought back and managed to break free. And if there was a human female on board, there might be a chance to save her. And if they saved her, maybe she’d show some gratitude in pleasurable ways. He’d of course seen human females before, but he’d never bedded one that wasn’t synthetic and looked forward to the experience.

“Find the woman,” Lathim said quietly. “But don’t scare her.”

Tenz snorted. “She’ll take one look at us and scream. The only Zelranians with white hair are those of us from the Cy-Con program. We’re hard to mistake for anyone else.”

“Just do it,” Lathim said tersely.

His men left and he scoured the chamber for any sign that the woman might still be nearby. After he cleared the captain’s quarters, he turned to leave, but as he neared the door, a sound stopped him. A slight whimper had come from somewhere in the room. His gaze scanned the area again, stopping on the cabinet across from him. Moving slowly, he eased the doors open, but it was empty. He heard movement behind him and spun, just in time to see a swatch of dark hair and a flash of pink skin disappear around the doorway and down the corridor.

Lathim took off after her, not wanting to scare her, but wanting to make sure she came to no harm in the event pirates were still on board. Whoever she was, she was damn fast, because she’d vanished by the time he entered the corridor. Opening communications with his shipmates, he notified them of the female’s presence and continued the search. He backtracked to the cargo hold and examined every corner, looking behind every crate.

The same small whimper drew him again. One of the crates was partially open, containing half a dozen sex bots and one very terrified human female. He lifted his hands to show her he wouldn’t hurt her and approached slowly. The female cowered and tried to make herself disappear into a corner of the crate.

“I mean you no harm,” Lathim said. “Do you know what I am?”

She nodded slowly.

“I’m not here to hurt you. I want to help.”

Her wide eyes said she didn’t believe him, and he couldn’t blame her, not with the lies Zelran was spreading about his kind. He moved a little closer and watched as she trembled. He noted her lack of clothing, and cursed his body’s reaction to her. It had been a long time since he’d had a living female and not a bot, and she was damned tempting with all her sweet curves.

Other Changeling Press Books by Jessica Coulter Smith

Visit Jessica’s Website

Sign-up for Jessica’s Newsletter for New Releases