"Probability Amplitudes": Incremental progress and a new prospective story

My novelette, An Illicit Mercy, is part of a new promotion in April: FREE Adventures in Sci-fi & Fantasy.

Over 150 stories, novels, samples and excerpts, available at no cost.

My latest novelette, “Fire From Heaven,” now appears in Boundary Shock Quarterly 29: First Contact.

In the shadows of an alien world, terror awaits. On the radiation-blasted planet Janus, a team of explorers descends into Abbadon—an ancient mountain facility hiding unimaginable secrets. As they navigate bizarre chambers filled with cryptic carvings, they unleash a nightmare. But the true horror lies not in the alien ruins, but in the chilling implications of the team’s discovery.

Fire From Heaven is the sequel to my previous novelette, “Nasty, Brutish, and Short.”

by Brian Scott Pauls

Writing a book, I’m finding, is all about getting the words out.

I’m grateful I continue making headway on Probability Amplitudes, my first collection of science fiction short stories. Since I last reported my progress in February, I’ve edged ahead from 43% in the “New Material Required” category, to 42%. While this represents only about 1600 of my 160,000 word goal for the pre-edited manuscript, they are 1600 words in the right direction. Like the tortoise who keeps moving, I’ll get there sooner or later.

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In the meantime, I’m pleased to add the title of a new prospective story to the list I revealed last month.

“Guan Tayen and the Spirit of Quantum Chaos”

As the youngest member of a free trader’s crew, fifteen-year-old Tayen feels like the rest of her family doesn’t take her seriously. Her elder sister and brother treat her like she’s in the way, her dad doesn’t have time for her, and her mom thinks all she can do is take care of her baby brother. If only she had some way to prove she’s a grown-up, just as valuable as anyone else on the ship.

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Disaster strikes when a mysterious influence wreaks havoc on the quantum network linking the worlds and vessels of Tayen’s star system. As ships go offline and governments teeter on the edge of collapse, can she succeed where everyone else has failed? Can she draw on the inspiration of her Objibwe and Chinese heritage to confront and defeat the destructive presence threatening to destroy them all?

This feels like it will be a fun story to write. I’m excited to see how it turns out!

New Material Required: 67,463 words

First Draft: 85,123 words

Final Draft: 7414 words

TOTAL: 160,000

Questions about Probability Amplitudes? Please comment below!