Snippet 1: Exploration, Ghost Squadron #2

General Lance Reynolds’ Office, Onyx Station, Paladin System.

“Chief? You there?” asked General Reynolds.

“I’m here. Comms out here aren’t secure, but I don’t have to tell you that,” said Chief Jack Renfro.

“I’ll keep it brief,” said General Reynolds. He stubbed his stogie out, a slight smile on his face. He’d taken to Jack early on. There were very few you could trust when everyone was out to serve themselves or have the Federation serve them. However, Jack Renfro didn’t do something to get something. He’d passed up many promotions because they didn’t make sense for his real ambition. This was a man who wanted to serve in the right position, not the one that got him a better title and more money. At the core, he had always been a servant to the cause.

“I’ve got a job for you,” said Lance.

“When and where do I need to be?” asked Jack.

“You haven’t even heard the details yet.” Lance laughed.

“When did that ever matter between the two of us? If you need my help, then I’m there.”

“I wouldn’t normally ask, but I have a squadron that needs some oversight. I was taking care of it, but I’ve been pulled away for more…pressing matters. I’m sure you know why and by whom,” said Lance.

“I believe I do,” responded Jack.

The cloud of smoke Lance blew out filled his office, making it appear gray. “Anyway, I wouldn’t trust anyone but you to handle this group. They have an incredibly important mission, and I’ve handpicked them myself. I’m sending over the details of the team right now, along with their previous mission assignments. You’ll find that they’ve been quite busy.”

“The report is just coming through. Give me a sec,” said Jack, a shuffling sounding over the comms. “Holy shit, General. You can’t be serious?”

Lance chuckled. “I’m completely serious. See, I thought you’d have fun with this.”

“Those two working together?” he asked. “I’m impressed, boss.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

“And you’ve given them the ArchAngel?” asked Jack.

“They have an important mission,” said Lance.

“Damn, and you even brought back Hatcherick, I see. Damn impressive, sir. Haven’t seen a team like this since…well, you know. It’s been a long time.”

“Just wait and see who else I have lined up for this crew,” said Lance.

“Don’t leave me hanging, boss. Send over the report.”

“Does that mean you’ll oversee them?” asked Lance.

“I already told you I was committed, and that was before you gave me the details,” said Jack.

“I knew I could count on you, Chief,” said Lance. “Sending you the rest of the report now. Good luck, Jack.”

“Thank you, sir,” said Chief Jack Renfro. “It’s always an honor to serve.”

Exploration releases December 4th! Get book one here.

Snippet 5: Formation, Ghost Squadron, #1

“Weren’t you on the ship with us?” asked Eddie. “How’d you make it back here so fast?”

Lance dabbed his cigar into an ashtray. “I took a shuttle before you docked. They make you wait too long when you bring a cruiser in. I had shit to do.”

“Perks of being the boss,” mused Eddie.

“Pretty much,” said Lance.

“Are the reports ready?” asked Julianna.

“Not yet,” said Lance. “I need to review the latest intel before I hand it off to you. I’m thinking tomorrow morning. We’ll be able to get you both situated soon.”

“Understood.”

Eddie scratched his chin. “Sir, if you don’t mind me saying so, I haven’t agreed to anything yet. I’m only here because you asked me to listen.”

The General chuckled. “Of course, you’re right, but let’s wait and talk about that tomorrow. I’ve got a presentation lined up that I think you’ll want to see. In the meantime, why don’t you two go and have some fun? You can show Julianna around the station.”

“How do you know I’ve been here before?” asked Eddie.

“Do you really need to ask that question?”

Eddie smirked. Of course, General Reynolds, because of his intelligence chief, Nathan Lowell, probably already knew everything there was to know about him. His parents, favorite foods, ex-girlfriends, former residence. “Right.”

“Anyway, you’ll be happy for the extra downtime, if you decide to sign on for this job. Trust me. You too, Julianna.”

“Yes, sir,” she answered.

“Yeah, I get the feeling she could use a break,” remarked Eddie, glancing back at Julianna, who was still standing at the door.

“I’m perfectly fine,” she said.

“Still, go have a drink,” suggested Lance. “Bond, for shit’s sake. You’re about to be partners.”

“If you insist,” said Julianna.

“I’ll be happy to drink,” grinned Eddie. “You covering the tab?”

“Why not?” asked Lance. “Enjoy yourself.”

Eddie strolled into the hall to wait.

Julianna drew closer to the desk. “Sir, is this really necessary? It might be a better use of my time to assist you with the reports.”

“Not this time, Commander Fregin. Try to enjoy yourself, for once.” Lance puffed on his cigar and dabbed it one more time on the tray. “That’s an order.”

Formation releases November 13th

Snippet 3: Formation, Ghost Squadron, #1

Passenger Lounge Six, QBS Atticus Finch, Lorialis System.

Eddie sat with his hands at his sides, watching as the QBS Atticus Finch—home to the Trill Mining Co. and the Five Trees Bar—departed the system.

As the ship activated its FTL (Faster Than Light) drive, slipping into warp, the planet became an instant blur, fading into the void like a pebble into the sea. It had been several years since Eddie had been aboard an Etheric ship like this one. He’d been out of the service for almost a full decade, never spending much time on any of the core planets, and typically hitching rides on cargo ships. It was simply too difficult to be around these types of vessels and not be actively involved.

Even now, the memories flooded him, reminders of a better time, back when he was still useful.

Not the wandering exile he’d since become.

What could General Reynolds possibly need a man like Eddie for? Didn’t he have enough soldiers at his disposal to do the job? What could one guy with a drinking habit and a bad haircut do that no other person could?

He scoffed, rolling his eyes. Don’t be an idiot, Eddie. Your hair is fucking phenomenal.

Eddie had hitched a ride on this cruiser all because a man claiming to be the head of the Federation had asked him to.

Maybe this was all a giant mistake, but Eddie didn’t think so. He had a feeling that everything the old man had told him was true—that humanity was under attack and it needed to be protected. After traveling across the outer rim of the galaxy for the last decade, Eddie could tell there was a stink in the air, a certain level of unrest building against the original Empire and the rest of the core planets. Pirates and smugglers had appeared in larger numbers; raiders were becoming more prone to attacks. The people were afraid, and no one understood why.

But something told him that General Reynolds knew the answer to that question, and, right now, Eddie was willing to follow him to find out. Even if it was all bullshit, the truth was worth taking a chance on. It was worth uncovering, if only for his own curiosity’s sake.

The lights of the passing stars whipped by in a mesmerizing display, relaxing Eddie as he sank into his seat. He watched them fade in and out like falling raindrops, disappearing back into the darkness from which they came.

Formation releases November 13th.

Snippet 1: Formation (Ghost Squadron, #1)

Five Trees Bar. Trill Mining Colony, Lorialis System.

T’turk played with his drink. His four shipmates were rowdy and occasionally bumped him, so he had to be careful not to spill his alcohol.  He looked around Five Trees, the only damned bar worth visiting, in his opinion, for five systems.

That wasn’t saying much, of course, since the only people living out this far from the Etheric Empire’s territory were pirates, miners, and smugglers. Bastards, all of them.

“My kind of people,” he muttered to himself, smiling as his shipmate Fr’ling caught the eye of one of the girls.

Fr’ling wouldn’t be leaving this space station with much money. Hell, neither would the other three. By the time the night ended, they’d each spent most of their earnings.

Nursing his drink, he looked around the establishment, blinking with his yellow eyes. There were a lot of Kezzin in the bar tonight, including himself. Their red skin gave off a familiar glow in the artificial light. T’turk’s homeworld wasn’t far from here, so it was common to see his people on many of the stations in the neighboring systems. He liked it that way. The rest of the galaxy was far too crowded with non-Kezzin species, like humans and the other Etheric Empire scum. He couldn’t stand any of them.

It was unfortunate, then, that he saw a man sitting on a stool with his face planted on the table. A human male who didn’t belong here.

T’turk smirked. Perhaps he’d have a little fun today, after all.

“Hey, you,” grunted T’turk as he got up from his table and walking to where the man was sitting. “Human.”

The man had his face on the table—probably passed out from too much alcohol. “Look at this guy,” said T’turk. “Typical human. Can’t even handle his drink.”

The man moaned, shifting a little.

T’turk leaned over him and examined his equipment, hoping to find some money or possibly a key to a ship. The bastard wasn’t holding much except for a gray bag on the seat next to him. T’turk reached for it.

“Don’t,” said the human, slowly looking at him.

T’turk could never tell one human from the next. They all looked like a bunch of slugs to him, ugly and spongy. This one was no different.

“What are you trying to hide, human? Got yourself a secret stash?”

The man said nothing.

T’turk laughed. “That’s what I thought. Too bad you were stupid enough to come in here.” He reached for the bag.

A hand grabbed his wrist, surprising him. “I said don’t.”

T’turk paused, glancing at the man again. “Do you have a death wish, meat sack? Back off before I kick your ass.”

“No can do,” replied the stranger. “That’s my stuff. I need it more than you do.”

“It’s mine now, unless you want a bullet in your empty head.” T’turk shook his wrist free, then took the bag and began emptying it. A pad fell out, hitting the counter, along with a handful of unopened soda cans, one of which rolled and hit the floor, breaking and hissing.

T’turk stared at the contents of the bag, confused. “What’s all this trash?”

The stranger looked at the soda on the floor as it sprayed chaotically. “Mother fucker,” he muttered.

T’turk threw the empty bag down by his feet. “You better have something on you, human! I’ll rip you a new one right now. You know how many of your kind I’ve killed just this week? You’re all a bunch of mushy pieces of—”

“You killed humans?” interrupted the stranger, raising his brow.

“Over a dozen in four days!” bragged T’turk. “Ain’t that right, boys?”

His crew cheered. “We raided a ship on its way to Nexus Colony,” announced Fr’ling. “Killed half and saved the rest for later.”

T’turk grinned, revealing a set of razor sharp teeth. “That’s why we’re here celebrating.

The human let out a sigh. “All I wanted was a drink and some food, but you just had to go and bring that up like a fucking jackass.”

“What’s he saying, T’turk?” asked Fr’ling. “Tell him to speak up! It’s hard to hear humans. They’re too tiny.”

T’turk laughed. “He’s scared. He knows he’s about to die.”

The door to the Five Trees opened, and in walked another human. A woman, perhaps, but T’turk couldn’t be certain. They all looked the same to him, ugly and pathetic.

She took a seat at the bar beside the male, motioning to the barkeep. “Whiskey,” she requested, turning away from T’turk.

“You,” he said, puffing his chest at the female. “You’re interrupting us.”

She didn’t answer.

T’turk was about to raise his fist to the woman, when the male got to his feet. “Let’s leave the lady out of it. This is between you and me.”

“Between us?” grinned T’turk. “Finally.”

The man turned to the female. “Hey, wanna do me a favor?”

She shrugged. “Depends.”

“Just watch my drink while I take care of this idiot, would ya?” He slid his glass over to her. “I’m Eddie, by the way.”

“Whatever,” the female answered, still not bothering to look.

The human male turned back to face T’turk. “All right, then, big fella,” grinned the little man. “Let’s see what you can do.”

Formation releases November 13th.

Someone Dropped Me Off Here… Oriceran Has Been Unlocked

People keep asking me what I’ve been up to. But it’s not the casual, “How are you?” It’s the one where they stare deep into my eyes with a bit of caution. “Sarah, where have you been?”

The short answer is that I got pulled away, figuratively and literally.

Man, I loathe when people say that and I just did it.

Anyway, I’m ready to really share what I’ve been up to. It’s not a secret as much as I’ve been too busy to tell you.

Several months ago a friend recommended an author to me. He said this author, who is incredibly talented and successful, was inviting other authors to write inside of his universe.

“I don’t write real sci-fi,” I had said. “I only write the soft stuff.”

“Doesn’t matter. There’s a new universe for you. It’s called Ori-something,” my friend said.

So I arranged a call. I spoke with a stranger. He told me of his plans. I told him I wanted in… and the rest is history.

Fast forward three months.

I’ve been working relentlessly, writing books in a brand new world. It’s the world of Oriceran. It’s a different planet full of magic and the gates between our world and that one only opens every several thousand years. But what happens in between is where the stories really take place.

I never thought I’d leave the Dream Traveler universe, but I’m kind of glad I have. It’s been crazy to stroll through the Dark Forest and happen upon a gnome in my imagination. Apparently a pixie lives there too, and a whole lot of other mythological creatures.

So now to answer the question honestly. What have I been doing? I heard about an opportunity and I took it. I jumped down a rabbit hole, hoping that the stories I weave on my way through are something incredible.

Welcome to the world of Oriceran. It’s connected to Earth, and nothing like it.