The Drath Series

Running for his life was normal for Ru, just part of living in Hexal City. Running with Nthanda and uncovering a plot to destroy both Nthanda and Ru's long-lost family? Not normal at all. Just meant Ru had to kick ass and fight for his future. And that the future might be brighter than Ru ever expected. Always providing he and Nthanda survived long enough to have a future together. Clash of Lines is an exciting adventure romance that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very end. Join Nthanda and Ru as they take on the universe and find true love together.

Duty defined Jing Althus' life. Duty to Nthanda, his cousin. To the Ceelen who expected him to lead if Nthanda fell. Someone had targeted the Ceelen for destruction. Only one person could help Jing discover them: Iman Hogarth, conman, genius and the most beautiful man Jing had ever met. If Iman would help. Jing's only hope was to convince Iman that he was worth risking Iman's life.

Imani had a problem: Bala Wirnhier, Platinum Consort of the Crystal Palace. Since her arrival, Bala had taken over. Overnight, Imani had gone from Chief of Staff to clerk. Nothing Imani did made a difference. That wasn't going to last. Imani would not fail. Taking Bala as her consort would restore Imani's power. No one was going to destroy Imani's life, especially not Bala.

Strange how life went. Hasenkamp had built an empire on to have it swept out from under him by the Drath. So he started over on Tasma, expecting nothing to work. But an old lover with allies promised to bring new opportunities in, if Hasenkamp could balance his love for Yannick with his love for his current lover Jerry. And if he could keep all of them from being murdered.

Shahnaz hummed as he sculpted the Wave around his asteroid tug. It was a simple life, herding asteroids to the space stations at Tasma's core. Until he found a drifting escape capsule. Caelan was everything that Shanaz wasn't: Gensyn, strong and hunted. Choosing to help xir will destroy everything Shahnaz cared about. Not helping will destroy the galaxy. Either way, his heart hung in the balance.

Mohana stumbled, head screaming with pain in the blinding sunlight as shouts echoed around him. His memory wiped, battle raged around him. Mohana had no idea which side he was on. But one side wanted him dead while the other, especially Tiyamike, risked her life to keep him alive. Finding his memory meant certain execution. Not finding it might mean the downfall of galactic civilization.

Lauren needed to get to space. Now. She'd tried following the rules to get an ID but no one would listen. Either she got to space or she starved to death. Clubbing Idowu Mas, Ceelen warrior, and stealing her jumpsuit and ID weren't smart but it was necessary. If she was really, really lucky it might give her a whole new life instead of starvation and death.

Alex shuffled his feet as he waited in line. His back ached. Stupid how much his back ached. Fleeing Melin to escape Yong's abuse was desperate. But what choice did he have? It was Yong and rape or leave everything he knew behind. Better to change everything. At least going to the far side of human space gave him a chance freedom. No matter how slim the chance, it was worth trying to escape.

Min-Su stared. The interstellar comms were down. All space liner travel was cancelled indefinitely. She was stranded. Not acceptable. Finding a way home pitted Min-Su against a hotel room stealing assassin named Sushila, fierce Drathanni, clone sisters with bombs and the collapse of her home planet's government. The scary part was falling in love with Sushila despite everything against them.

Cahya sighed as she collapsed into the couch. Just the thought of having a couch made her skin itch. Or maybe that was the exhaustion. Six assassinations in as many days had worn her down, just like her friends Lamar, Sheridan and Pesti. What she wanted wasn't going to happen, but at least she had her friends at her back. If something more did happen between them, well, Cahya sure wouldn't say no.

Addison studied the blackberry vines. It wasn't right that no one had celebrated Caelan and Shanaz's getting together. Not right at all. Xe'd make them a pie, wish them well. And maybe in the process of it all xe could figure out what to do about Russ and Lenora. At least while xe was picking no one would bother xir. Might be time enough to figure something out.

The crimson vest slithered through Guanyu's fingers, delicate embroidery snagging against the callouses on his palms. Embroidered by his mother before her death, it was everything he'd set aside to keep his job. Which was gone now. So off job hunting he went, dressed in his favorite sarong and shirt, topped with the crimson vest. Mother said it would bring him luck someday. Let today be that day.

Chinoso wasn't sure what was up with the Phoenix. Decent ship. Bit battered and the sheer number of minor repairs needed was odd. But the crew looked at her like she was Drath when she gave them what they needed to take care of their own stuff. Not to mention the whole terror of getting every little thing 'certified' instead of just fixed. Figuring that out was easy enough. Probably. Figuring out what to do about her attraction to Captain Marie Davidovic? Yeah. Lots harder. Street of the Phoenix is a SF novella filled with found family, rebuilding your life and taking chances that's sure to stick with you once you're done.

Jie's new life with xyr adopted parents Kunzang and Dumisani was hard work. Lots of hard work. More hard work than xe'd expected. Gardening and hauling dirt and, most importantly, making sure that Kunzang didn't overdue it while xe was pregnant. Why Kunzang was so calm about lifting things and doing stuff, Jie would never know. Until the baby came and everything changed. The First Roses tells the tale of queer people of color finding not just new homes but hard-won hope in the far distant future around a near-lethal star. Don't miss it!

The Mind's Eye: Her crew held her together day by day, scrabbling for a living at the margins of the solar system. Meade would fix everything if she could, her pilot's seat's squeaking on up to the glitchy engines and too small fuel tanks. But Captain Celeste wouldn't spend money on the Mind's Eye. So, sweat dripping, Meade piloted the Mind's Eye for the next big score. If it existed.

Scents of a Long-Gone Past   Trinn stood, one paw held in space, as she breathed in the scents of the Well. Centuries of human lives lived in the Well filled her nose, carried in strata like slowly-formed sandstone.   Such an old site, holding secrets of humanity's expansion into space. Trinn expected it to be amazing to explore and catalog. It was the exact sort of thing that she loved best as a historian.   Until she went deeper into the Well and found a history that went much father back, all the way to the Drath's ancient roots back before they were people. Then the question became how to explore this amazing, absurdly ancient site without destroying herself, the site and her human partner Camille.

Adjusting to life on the Graceful Swan had not been easy for Ale Aukema. Yes, it was better than living in the Undercity. Safer, at least. But she had no idea how to handle the social side of things. So when King Ru Shashi asked her to be his aide, to guard his back and help him deal with his birth clan, Ale accepted. Eka Losnedahl was trapped between the vacuum and the blaster. Worst part was that xe'd been put there by xyr supposed friends Dominque and Brogan. Xe wasn't sure there was way out that didn't involve lots of blood spilled. Then xe met Ale and all thoughts of battling Dominique and Brogan disappeared. Abandoning xyr sides was the easiest choice that Eka had ever made. Ale was worth it. But their shotgun marriage revealed a conspiracy that could destroy not just Eka and Ale's lives but all humanity throughout the galaxy.

The emergency lights blinked, slow as the heartbeat of a dying man. Kawehi watched them, trapped in the debris left by an explosion that had rocked the Stellar Darkness. He couldn't move, couldn't call for help, and could feel his blood slowly draining away. Even microgravity wasn't allowing him to wiggle free from his floating tomb of debris. The worst part was not knowing whether his beloved husband Ejiro had survived. Decades together and now they were going to die apart, their ship adrift around them. Stellar Darkness Adrift is a SF struggle for survival where age and wisdom are as important as youth and vigor. Don't miss out on this tense little story!

The walls curved as the Wave Drive engaged. Briar braced herself, trying to cope as the Wave grew and grew and grew. She'd never been on a spaceship with a Wave this strong. Too strong. The Wave thundered around her, warping reality along with the gravity of the universe as they flung themselves across the galaxy. Why didn't anyone else see how close they were to destruction? Gravity's Shadow takes you along as destruction hovers just out of reach.

Wisdom glared. They'd taken her ID. They had no right to take it, none at all. Even less right to drug her and question her like she was a Banger from the Undercity. Be easier to bear if the walls stopped melting. Or was that her brain melting? Kelsey found the entirety of Melin terribly difficult to handle. They were so very informal and the number of dangers on the planet were mind-boggling. If only she had a way to navigate between the requirements of her job and the dangers of Melin. Separately, Wisdom and Kelsey were at a loss. Together? Rest of the world better watch out.

Amahle bit xyr lip as xe peered over the edge of the balcony. Station manager'd brought in bruisers, big ones, to hunt xem out. Not just Amahle but also Dana and the kids that'd survive his slaughter. They couldn't face down those guns. Or the people carrying them. Claws and Scales out in the lead was death stalking prey. The two women behind him carried guns bigger'n Amahle. And the little one in synth leather behind them? That one was more dangerous still. Xe signaled everyone to pull back but it was already too late. Amahle ran. If xe could just get away there might be a chance. Except that maybe, just maybe, the bruisers were the chance they'd all been waiting for since this began. The Mother of Ransom is a SF short story that nonbinary and queer people are sure to love even after the adrenaline fades.

The Drath: Wolf-like alien rulers of the galaxy. Unknowable, all-powerful, predatory. Melin: Desert world settled thousands of years ago by a human generation ship. Nthanda Ceelen: Ruler of the Ceelen, space-faring clan of warriors, traders and explorers who exploit the Wave Drive gifted to humanity by the Drath. Ru Shashi couldn't care less about any of it. Survival demanded all his attention as a Runner in Hexal City's Undercity caverns. Until the day that Nthanda Ceelen and the fate of the human species landed in his lap. This collects the first three books of the Drath series: Clash of Lines, Joining of Lines and Consort of the Crystal Palace.

Morgan ducked down behind a plasteel crate bigger than xyr runabout. Frankie Delaney. What in the name of the Drath was Frankie Delaney doing on Tasma Station 2? Had to be a trap. It had to. He'd hired Morgan to smuggle a load and now he was here before xem. Nope. Not stepping into that trap. But trying to slip away led to blasters drawn and a shot in the spine that sent Morgan spinning into space. Surviving that would be a trick. So would making sure Frankie got his due.

A Lazy Vacation…   That's all that Narcisse had planned. Just a long, lazy vacation on a light-grav world with her little sister Tracey who absolutely claimed all credit for choosing the lovely tropical location. And really, she deserved credit. The islands were gorgeous.   And filled with danger.   A quiet dinner turns into running for her life as Narcisse meets her first alien. With the Drathanni Shanni sick, her bodyguards abandoning her, and threats coming at them from land, air and sea, Narcisse makes a promise to get Shanni to safety. Even if it starts a galactic war.   The Promise by Meyari McFarland is a fast-paced space opera thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very last word.