In another time, and in another world, America never wins the war for Independence.For over 300 years, the Empire of Great Britain has dominated the world as the only unchallenged superpower. Though the British Empire has tried to contain the proliferation of the American philosophy, its ideals and supporters have survived across the centuries and have now, in their modern world, formulated the largest uprising since 1776. As part of a pivotal operation to dismantle the Americans and their leadership, the Empire’s top special forces unit is sent to capture their most wanted man, and with all hope, put an end to the American cause once and for all. However, after their mission begins, they discover that they are fighting an entirely different war. ©2022 Dynamic Meausres LLC Read more

“Military science fiction [concentrating] on the psychology and politics of societies in conflict.” —Analog, on the Confederated Worlds series The Confederated Worlds implanted in Tomas’ brain the skills to make him a soldier. He had to learn for himself how to survive interstellar war. Tomas Neumann sought escape from his backwater planet and overbearing mother, and a mentor to replace his long-dead father. “Taking the shilling”—enlisting in the Confederated Worlds military—promised both. But despite the soldier’s skills implanted in his brain, combat against fellow humans, especially ones who should have welcomed him as a liberator, threatened to destroy him, in body and in spirit. Grieving for lost comrades, demoralized by harrowing combat, could Tomas learn what he needed to survive, before facing his war’s ultimate challenge? Take the Shilling is the first book in The Confederated Worlds series. * * * Want to learn more about science fiction author Raymund Eich? Here’s a Q&A to tell you more about this distinctive voice in new science fiction. First off: Raymund Eich. Am I spelling it correctly? And how do you pronounce it? That’s the correct spelling. My immigrant parents split the difference between the Anglo-French Raymond and the German Raimund. My last name is pronounced with a long-i vowel sound, like both syllables in Einstein. The preferred consonant sound is a sh. Overall, one syllable, eye-sh. Tough to pronounce, and also tough to spell. I’ve seen Elch, Einch, Etch, Eitch, Iech, Eric, and Erich. The misspellings used to bother me, but I’ve grown philosophical about them. What are some of your publishing credits? I’ve had short stories published in Analog science fiction and fact magazine and the sci fi anthology Surviving Tomorrow. And over a dozen novels and six short story collections are available as ebooks and paperback books, and some also as audiobooks. Why did you write a military science fiction series? Writers are always looking for settings full of conflict, because conflict makes good stories. Wartime has many conflicts. Not just the obvious between armies or space fleets. There are interservice rivalries. Personality clashes. Officers versus enlisted. Soldiers versus civilians. Military necessity versus political considerations. Above all, conflicts in human minds and human hearts. Self preservation versus self sacrifice. The moral paradox of killing for a higher purpose. That last conflict has scarred many ex-soldiers back in their civilian lives. No matter how just your cause, it’s tough to fight a war and keep your honor intact. Another motivation I had to write this series was that a lot of prominent sci fi writers wrote war stories. Heinlein, Haldeman, Drake, Weber, Scalzi, and dozens more. I wanted to see if I could measure up. Military SF is a crowded subgenre. What makes the Confederated World Series stand out? One obvious way is the Confederated Worlds universe has no aliens. There’s no easy “humans good, aliens bad” moral framework. The conflicts in the books are between human interstellar republics fighting each other. The biggest point of uniqueness is something Analog book reviewer Don Saker noticed. The series gives a lot of attention to the politics and psychology of wartime. Tomas becomes a psychological casualty in book 1, and how he heals from that changes the end of book 1 and sets him on his path through the rest of the trilogy. Final question. Science fiction, sci fi, SF, speculative fiction, or spec fic? Is it an adventure on future Earth, an exploration of a distant planet, a discovery beyond the limits of human knowledge, or a journey across deep space? Then I’ll read it. The genre fiction label doesn’t matter. Read more

A lonely illustrator, an ancient spirit K, a Thai-American artist for a tech company, has found a way to be well-liked – but love has so far eluded him.So in his isolation, he draws and draws – and finds himself drawing a red-haired girl over and over again.He doesn’t know who she is, but his friend Jon is particularly intrigued by her. Jon tells K that this red-haired spirit is trying to deliver an eternal message. Jon doesn’t know what this message is, but he tells K that the message is a big one – and K must continue to draw her in order to see what this angel is trying to tell the world. Artist meets authorFrom the editor:‘Artist Kaoklai Thepchinda and author Jonathan Maas team up to deliver Kandora, an illustrated novel. You can read it in one sitting, and if you are like me, you might read it over and over again to explore its inner meaning. It involves art and numbers, spiritual themes and neanderthals – and above all else, I can tell you that you haven’t read anything like this before.’ – J. Shaw, Cynical Optimist Press For fans of genres: Illustrated tales, art, painting, DeviantArt, Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, hybrid tales, SciFi, Science Fiction, heartwarming tales, Cozy Mystery, Cozy Mysteries, alternate history, alternate reality, Magical Realism, Thai fiction, ThailandFor fans of books: The Neverending Story by Michael Ende, Boy Genius by Yongsoo Park Read more

Bookshop assistant Aurora “Rory” Hawthorn thinks reality will never be as interesting as fiction. Content to spend her time escaping into a good book to avoid her micromanaging boss, the very last thing she expects is to be cornered by a group of terrifying strangers hunting down a journal that belonged to her late father. It turns out Dad was keeping a secret or two… most importantly, that he was a wizard, and that Rory has a hidden magical family she’s never met. When her witchy relatives invite her to live with them in their enchanted library on the south coast of England, it’s literally a dream come true. Until she stumbles upon a dead body concealed behind a bookshelf. Juggling a new family and job would be enough of a challenge without also having to deal with a murder mystery, cranky familiars, and the attention of the local reaper — even if he is the hottest guy in town. It’s up to Rory to embrace her new witchy powers to help catch a killer before she loses the new life she never knew she wanted. This fun paranormal mystery from author Elle Adams contains an eccentric family of British witches, a magical library of endless possibilities, and plenty of snark and adventure. Read more

A barren world. A crashed colony ship. A saboteur at work. After a tarnished military record leaves her unable to find work on Earth, Margo is hunting for a fresh start. A colonizing mission heading to a new world creates the perfect opportunity—or at least that’s what she thinks. Strapped into a crashing colony ship, she realizes how wrong she is. On the ground of their destination planet, the straight forward colonizing mission becomes a scramble for survival. Her new world is harsh and unforgiving. Accidents keep happening. Too many to blame on bad luck alone. The trail of evidence leads Margo to a startling conclusion—one of her fellow colonists is a saboteur. Tomorrow is the colony’s first communications window with Earth and their only chance to send a message home. With the fate of the colony at stake, will Margo stop the saboteur before it’s too late? Read more