Making the future better than it used to be

My novelette, An Illicit Mercy, is part of a new promotion in November: Short Story Smorgasbord.

Nearly 65 short stories, available at no cost.

When aliens arrive in Sol, how does humanity react in the first few hours?

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After several years of unstable peace throughout Sol, mankind is confronted with the arrival of an unknown alien force. Everyone deals with the unexpected arrivals differently.

Military forces guarding the front lines of a century old conflict struggle to comprehend the alien arrival. Unhealed wounds from past battles stress Inner and Outer Ring soldiers, as a rogue among them takes matters into her own hands.

Hours into the alien arrival, the president endeavors to contain a centuries old subterfuge. She never imagined she’d be the one responsible for guiding mankind in its darkest hour.

A washed up vid-sim sports star turned messiah predicted the alien arrival with uncanny accuracy. How does a world react when his prophesies come true?

New York City hosted the first World Science Fiction Convention, or “Worldcon,” in 1939. Pulp illustrator Frank R. Paul attended as Guest of Honor, along with about 200 writers, fans, and other artists.

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Since then, the World Science Fiction Society has sponsored Worldcon every year except the World War II years of 1942-1945.

This year, Glasgow hosted the 82nd Worldcon, with a half-dozen Guests of Honor and a total of more than 8000 attendees, about 7200 in-person and upwards of 600 online.

Worldcons offer a number of activities, including Guest of Honor presentations, panel discussions, author autograph opportunities, multiple parties, the Hugo Awards, board games, card games, role-playing games, a vendor’s room, art shows, and a business meeting to decide the location of future conventions.

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Seattle will welcome the 83rd Worldcon from August 13-17, 2025, hosted by authors K. Tempest Bradford and Nisi Shawl. Guests of Honor will include:

* Martha Wells (author)

* Donato Giancola (artist)

* Bridget Landry (fan)

* Alexander James Adams (musician)

“Building Yesterday’s Future–For Everyone” is the theme of next year’s convention, celebrating science fiction’s optimism from a half-century past, expressed in today’s spirit of multiculturalism and inclusion.

You can register online to attend in person or virtually. Registration includes the right to vote for next year’s Hugos.

I plan to attend. Please respond in the comments if you expect to be there as well. Perhaps we can set up a small Cosmic Codex party to join the fun! :)

Questions or comments? Please share your thoughts!

My latest novelette, “Nasty, Brutish, and Short,” now appears in Boundary Shock Quarterly 28: SF Horror.

When the first expedition to the mysterious planet Janus takes a deadly turn, Lieutenant Carita Keahi must fight for survival against an alien ecosystem unlike anything humanity has ever encountered. As crew members fall victim to bizarre and lethal life forms, Keahi races against time to escape the dangers of this two-faced world. With mind-bending alien biology and gut-wrenching sacrifices, this tale of planetary exploration gone horribly wrong will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. Prepare for a journey into the unknown that will challenge everything you thought you knew about life in the cosmos!