One human. Six legs. All hero.

Merchant Academy grad Ciarán mac Diarmuid wants to do well by doing good. But when he rescues a mysterious stranger from foreign assassins no respectable merchant captain will hire him.

On a superluminal mission of epic proportions.

Now Ciarán must apprentice himself to the black sheep of the powerful nic Cartaí clan, a young woman who is almost certainly a pirate, aboard a sentient starship that is almost certainly insane, on a mission that will almost certainly get both him and his cat killed.

Across a galaxy more dangerous than anyone imagines.

Ciarán has no idea he has been chosen. Any competent human may win a merchant’s license. And any interstellar vessel will do. But it will take more than two legs and a pair of opposable thumbs to liberate the galaxy and see justice done.

It will take the heart of a tiger. And of the champion who walks beside her.

Your destiny awaits.

Book 1 of an exciting new space adventure is just one click away.

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To save the living he must wake the dead.

Seanscéal means ‘old story.’ Like a parable, or a fable, but generally more long-winded. It’s like… entertainment, but often with something meant to be learned hidden inside. Not only is it good fun, but sharing a seanscéal is also a way of getting around the not-waking-the-dead custom.

And that’s exactly what Ciarán does, three times, skirting custom to explain:

How he won a posting to the Freeman Merchant Academy.

How he and his cat, the mong hu Wisp, first met.

How he learned the Iron Rule and the enduring cost of that lesson.

It’s no small thing, breaking with custom. But when the price of ignorance is measured in lives?

Someone has to speak up.

Note: The events of this story take place between books one and two of the Freeman Universe series. (There are spoilers.)

Your passage to unforgettable worlds of imagination and escapism. From the farthest reaches of the universe to the innermost workings of the human heart and mind... Let tomorrow's masters of science fiction and fantasy books take you on a journey that will capture your imagination.

A peaceful warrior tries to impose peace on warring alien races, even if that means destroying the world to save it.

From survivors on a sky city to salvage specialists hunted by space pirates...biological warfare to an immortal woman cursed for eternity, this is a non-stop look into the Science Fiction & Fantasy greats of tomorrow.

“Keep the Writers of the Future going. It's what keeps sci-fi alive.” —Orson Scott Card

Writers of the Future has become the most respected and significant forum for new talent in all aspects of speculative fiction. Never before published first-rate science fiction and fantasy stories selected by top names in the field. Authors and artists discovered by Writers of the Future have gone to publish more works than other Writing Contest. It is a leading showcase of creative writing.

Writing Contest Judges: Kevin J. Anderson, Doug Beason, Gregory Benford, Orson Scott Card, Eric Flint, Brian Herbert, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Dr. Yoji Kondo, Anne McCaffrey, Rebecca Moesta, Larry Niven, Frederik Pohl, Jerry Pournelle, Tim Powers, Mike Resnick, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Silverberg, Dean Wesley Smith, K.D. Wentworth, Sean Williams and Dave Wolverton (AKA David Farland).

Illustrating Contest Judges: Robert Castillo, Vincent Di Fate, Diane Dillon, Leo Dillon, Dave Dorman, Bob Eggleton, Laura Brodian Freas, Ron Lindahn, Val Lakey Lindahn, Stephan Martiniere, Judith Miller, Cliff Nielsen, Sergey Poyarkov, Shaun Tan, H.R. Van Dongen and Stephen Youll.

Blood from a Stone

Getting a straight answer from the mysterious Hector Poole is like getting blood from a stone. But once the blood starts flowing there’s no stopping it, not without revealing further secrets best kept hidden.

Senior Captain Maris Solon knows better than to trust Poole twice. But trust him she must, when she’s lured to the planet Sampson by the Queen’s Merlin and forced to choose between darkness and light.

There is more at stake than anyone has imagined and Maris isn’t sure she wants to know.

Will the truth set her free or shackle her to a destiny only a martyr, or a madman, would embrace?

Note: The events of this story take place between books two and three of the Freeman Universe series. (There are spoilers.)

READER WARNING: If you’re the sort of reader that likes to discover the world along with the main characters then don’t read this story. But if you abhor a mystery? Read on.

Fair warning, you will not be able to unlearn what Maris learns.