Zhao Lian is a sheriff without a county. A member of an old magical order called the Shuli Go, she was raised to uphold the law and protect her fellow citizens. But after her order was disassembled, she was left with no choice but to wander in search of work for someone with her very particular set of skills. That wandering leads her to the town of Three Paths and an old associate who soon draws Lian into the biggest contract of her life. A foreign king, political rivalries, and the fate of a nation hang in the balance as she weighs the value of the law against that of her own life. The first in a series of short stories set in the Central Empire and its surrounding kingdoms: a magical early-modern world based on the history of China, Japan, and other East Asian countries.

❖ Interstellar pilot and ex-adventurer Alex Gallegos must keep their team safe on an icy moon as sentient storms threaten to repeat the tragedy that ended their last career. ❖ Everyone in the United Inhabited Solar Systems (for some reason, UIS for short) knows to stay away from Mahaha. The icy moon is notorious for failed probe landings and research missions that end in tragedy: the only people to ever venture to its surface needed rescuing after just two weeks. When a prestigious research group decides they want a turn, they ask Alex Gallegos to lead the team. Perfectly qualified and haunted by their past, Alex accepts, hoping to make up for old mistakes and get just a little further from the earth they've left behind. Two months into the seven-month mission, the team is struggling with discontent, damaged equipment, and blizzards acting less and less like normal weather. As Mahaha moves out of range of help and the storms take on a more malicious character, Alex must face the one foe they could never have prepared for. Mahaha may or may not be alive. ❖❖❖ Complete. Wattys 2021 Shortlister. Standalone sequel (Rocks Can Dance) coming in 2023. Comments and critiques are both welcome and appreciated. I write characters from many different backgrounds, with many different experiences. If you share those traits and find that I have misrepresented anything, please let me know! I am feedback-friendly and here to learn :)

No one lives on the island anymore. But plagued by a lack of sleep and an unshakable feeling of wrongness, its last visitor begins to question whether they are really alone.

Sealed inside the towering city walls of Acadia, magic users known as Wielders are feared and hunted for the abilities they have been blessed with. They're living in hiding, terrified of revealing themselves to the Authorities that hunt them. But while Acadia digs into the earth for the magical stone that weakens the Wielders, they are unaware of the ancient evil, known as Foulings, trapped underneath. Three young Wielders, scattered across Evaros, have the power to not only end the oppression of innocent Wielders, but also stop the Foulings from repeating a history of chaos and death. Determined to save her brother, Marina fights to control the ice she manipulates. Going against her own rules, she makes dangerous deals with a flame from her past. Adira, imprisoned for powers she has just discovered, gives hope to the others that one day her unique abilities will free them. She doubts she is the savior they want, when she doesn't even understand the powers she has. Soren struggles to reconnect with a girl seared into his memories. Controlled by a dark Wielder whose plans put the world in jeopardy, he realizes that the girl might be the key to restoring his humanity. Against the odds, Marina, Adira and Soren fight for freedom, strength, and love with their lives and their hearts on the line. / Fantasy / Romance / Young Adult / **First Draft** **Current Cover by @sugarcrystals**

Watty's 2019 Poetry Winner An LGBTQ+ Poetry Collection, about the good, the bad, and the sad of coming out, dating, and existing as a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I started so small With nothing to say for me at all Just a bird in a world of birds Just a being who has not much to show for themselves I worked hard though Even when everyone else cast me out Threw me out I stayed strong I battled the forces of nature As they came my way I kept going And learned to fly I flew above everyone else And saw what I had become With my wings outstretched I saw who I am; A mockingbird ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~Dedicated to Keefe, who supported me when I found myself lost in the midst of my identity~

With all of those exoplanets out there, who is looking back at us? Inspired by Carl Sagan's Life on Jupiter, apexeno is a collection of short stories that explores the scientific weirdness of extra-solar planets and the sentient creatures that rule over them.

When a knight-in-training sets out on a dragonquest to win the hand of a fair princess, he expects to return in time for a pavilion wedding in the fall. But after fifty years of tracking his quarry across godforsaken hinterlands, he is starting to wonder if he has the stamina to finish the job.