In 2020, a couple of years after beginning work on the Jupiter Skye Series, I started planning the first novel.
At that time, the novel was only a premise: Nigel Stansberry hires Jupiter to transport an unknown soldier in stasis.
The novel stayed exactly there for several years, until one day last year the soldier in question finally appeared.
Only, he wasn't a soldier, or not only a soldier. He turned out to be an undercover operative, a trusted member of the Ochlos Peace Force's elite High Guard unit.
That operative was named Cobalt, and while I didn't realize it at the time, he turned out to be the key to unlocking the entire series. Explaining why would (mostly) be a major spoiler, so you're just going to have to trust me. Not only is Cobalt a fantastic character, his presence changed everything, including the number of books in the mainline series.
Without Cobalt, Jupiter's series would still be floundering as an unfinished premise, lost among the many, many other story concepts tucked into my idea vault.
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Around the time I was writing the final few scenes of Renegat, the first full-length novel in Jupiter's series, heavyweight indie SciFi author Craig Martelle issued an open call for submissions for the twelfth volume of his The Expanding Universe anthology series.
I've wanted to have a story in a TEU anthology since volume four or so, but to qualify, writers had to have at least one Science Fiction story published. The closest I ever came to fulfilling that requirement was with the SciFi Romances I wrote under another pen name. But, Craig specifically wanted non-romantic short stories for each TEU, which disqualified that pen name from the get-go.
Last year, however, when I finally switched to this pen name, my first two non-romantic SciFi short stories were published. So when I saw Craig's open call this past January, I knew I had to try for it.
Brainstorming a story turned out to be the easy part. The Jupiter Skye story world contains a lot of interesting characters. However, it's told from Jupiter's perspective, which left plenty of fodder for other characters' stories. TEU12's open call gave me the opportunity to tell a small part of Cobalt's story from his perspective. And I knew exactly which story to tell: what Cobalt was doing near the end of Renegat.
Roughly a month later, I submitted the finalized story, "Knuckling the Hull," and a few months after that, it was accepted.
That acceptance fulfilled two bucket list goals. The first, obviously, was having a story published in one of Craig's anthologies.
The second, however, was to use my dad as a resource for his demolitions expertise, acquired during his days in the Green Berets back in the 1960s.
"Knuckling the Hull" is a fast-paced adventure with a touch of espionage and intrigue. And, of course, an explosion. It's Cobalt at his finest. I hope you enjoy reading his story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
The Expanding Universe 12 also includes excellent stories by eighteen other writers, including Craig Martelle, Tyler Burnworth, Lawrence M. Schoen, Jay Veloso Batista, John W. McIntire, Jacque Alanbery, Eduard Meineima, Adam Gaffen, Robert G. Williscroft, Andrew P. McGregor, Scott D. Rodriguez, J.K. Stephens, Lorri Moulton, Richard Fierce, T.D. Wilson, Brice Chandler, L.J. Dix, and R.K. Paul. It's an awesome collection and I'm pleased to be a part of it.
Here's a little more about the anthology.
Explore the universe… with the 12th Volume of The Expanding Universe, a short-story collection to pique your interest and sharpen your mind.
“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe, or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” Arthur C Clarke penned those words, and they stand true to this day. Do we want to be alone? Leave it to science fiction authors to address that question in equal measure.
Aliens can be peaceful or not. Who will emerge as the superior strain of intelligence? Humanity may be new to the game, but they aren’t new to conflict.
Fantastic races vying for dominance. A microcosm of the greater good. Battles fought for higher ideals. Battles fought just to survive.
War doesn’t care about human or alien. The soldiers fight, and they fight hard, as if their lives depend on it.
Because they do.
Join new friends as you immerse yourself in high-tech worlds scattered across the stars. Seize your copy of The Expanding Universe Volume 12 today to enjoy these compelling tales.
