Return To The Galaxy

Who Wants To Be A Billionaire?

We live on a rock with limited resources, surrounded by an ocean of possibility.

Desperate and alone in a city where mercy is just a legend, Kya’s only weapon against the God-King’s priests is her courage and her knife. When the tithing cull threatens her disabled sister’s life, Kya will risk everything—her freedom, her innocence, even her very soul. With all hope gone, could mysterious foreigners herald a new dawn—or an even darker fate?

Return of the Star Lords

Short Story

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James Webb Space Telescope Finds Alien Life?

Every so often, science fiction takes a wild guess—and real science catches up.

Fewer Space Elves, More Giant Spiders!

If you’re expecting our first alien encounter to be with tall, noble beings who look vaguely human, I have some bad news…

Velal battles alien fleets while her Space Marines defend her new colony. On Earth, bored deskbound analyst Darya must enter the field to help the SAS find nuclear-armed terrorists as all-out nuclear war looms. Ewan navigates a steamy love triangle while corrupt governments try to seize his alien-tech-powered company. He regenerates old colleagues and upgrades new friends, preparing for interstellar space.

Reach for the Galaxy

Book 2

I Still Believe in Hope

So, if you're ever feeling overwhelmed by the chaos, here's a thought worth holding onto: The future hasn’t happened yet. And we still get to help shape it.

Brandon Sanderson Gave Me Some Writing Tips

These Are the Scenes They Said You Shouldn’t Read Before Bedtime Secret Chapters of Book 4 Revealed Below!

We Just Won in London AND Los Angeles

A quick update, and an exclusive never before released chapter, just for you, at the bottom of this page

View our collection of Short Stories and get your free copies today

Free Short Stories

Discover Free Short Stories

Return to the Galaxy

Book 1

An ancient Federation. A deadly alien war. A man reborn to save Earth from annihilation. A woman trying desperately to lead her people to freedom. Dive into a galaxy of colossal battles, inter-species love affairs, lost colonies, and a mission that will determine the fate of humanity.

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Seek the Galaxy

They found the tech to reach the stars. But the galaxy they enter is burning.

On Earth, the team suffers betrayal, torture, and death at the hands of brutal enemies.

Ewan and his companions discover a hidden Saret asteroid base brimming with futuristic technology. When they uncover a fully operational interstellar warship, humanity’s dream of returning to the stars finally seems within reach.

Armed with advanced ships and weapons, they set out to find lost human colonies, hoping for allies. Instead, they find bloody chaos.

On Kifrun, a malevolent God-King rules through dark sacrifices and ancient terror, plotting to invade a peaceful republic. To stop him, Ewan’s team must fight on two worlds, and their best chance may lie with a desperate girl thief with fire in her heart and nothing left to lose.

Admiral Velal leads her Space Marines in desperate clashes against hostile alien powers, fighting to protect a fleet of vulnerable refugees and keep her people alive.

And in the outer reaches, Beryn, medieval prince turned starfighter ace, must choose which civilizations live or die, as the Ranid wipe out human worlds in waves of nuclear annihilation.

If Earth is to survive, allies must be found, old wounds must heal, and humanity must face its darkest hour.

Not all of them will make it. But if they fail, Earth burns next.

Perfect for fans of John Scalzi, Orson Scott Card, and Jack Campbell, Seek the Galaxy delivers cinematic action, epic battles, and brutal moral choices in a galaxy where survival is never guaranteed.

Who Wants To Be A Billionaire?

We live on a rock with limited resources, surrounded by an ocean of possibility.

For most of human history, we didn’t know what was out there. We stared up at the night sky and saw stories. Gods, monsters, and threats. But now we know the truth is even more extraordinary. Because space isn’t just stars and silence. It’s full of energy, metals, and life-changing ideas waiting to be used.

And for the first time in human history, we might actually reach them.

There’s a metal-rich asteroid called 16 Psyche floating between Mars and Jupiter. NASA plans to survey it in 2028. Scientists believe it could be worth around ten quintillion dollars in gold, copper, and precious metals. Enough to make every person on Earth a billionaire. And that’s just one rock.

Thousands of asteroids hold water, platinum, and rare earth elements we’re already struggling to source here on Earth. There are magnitudes more resources in the asteroid belt than we’ve ever mined down here, and they’re just sitting there, untouched, waiting.

But the solar system isn’t just about metals. One of the most important substances out there is the simplest: water.

There’s ice locked in the shadowed craters of the Moon. Water beneath the dusty red surface of Mars, frozen but present. And beneath the thick ice crust of Jupiter’s moon Europa, lies a vast hidden ocean, containing more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined.

Water matters. Not just because we need it to drink, but because it can be split into hydrogen and oxygen. That gives us breathable air and rocket fuel. Wherever there’s water, we have the beginnings of a self-sustaining outpost. It’s no exaggeration to say that water is the key to unlocking the solar system.

Some people still say space exploration is a distraction. Too expensive, too far away, too self-indulgent. Too many selfies of celebrities drinking champagne in Zero-G.

But space has already transformed life on Earth in ways we’ve come to take for granted.

Everyone knows about Teflon, but space research has given us much more. GPS and weather tracking. Scratch-proof lenses. Wireless headsets. Medical monitors. Advanced prosthetics. Image sensors in phone cameras. Water filters that save lives in disaster zones. Insulation that keeps buildings warm. Radios used by emergency responders. Satellites, worldwide live TV and internet.

Every time we push into space, we create tools we end up using here at home. Space has always paid off, often in surprising ways.

And now, the cost of getting into space is plummeting. When the space shuttle launched, it cost around fifty thousand dollars to send a single kilogram into orbit. With reusable rockets, SpaceX has already pushed that figure down to about one thousand, and it’s still dropping.

It’s easy to roll your eyes at billionaires floating around in zero-G, but every one of those joyrides is funding better engines, smarter navigation systems, and stronger life-support tech. These flights are trial runs. For the colonies, factories, and survey ships that will surely follow.

So, what do we do with all this?

We imagine bigger.

The first wave of expansion won’t be led by astronauts. It’ll be micro-satellites, solar-sailed drones, and ion-engine scouts, flitting out to the asteroid belt to map the terrain and tag the richest rocks.

Before we finish, let me take you back to Europa.

This moon, barely smaller than ours, hides an ocean beneath its frozen shell. An ocean that’s never seen sunlight. It’s warmed only by the tidal pull of Jupiter. Some scientists believe it may even contain hydrothermal vents like the ones in Earth’s deepest oceans, where life thrives without sunlight.

We may not just find resources out there. We may find life.

If that doesn’t stir your imagination, I’m not sure what will.

But fiction often gets there first.

In Return to the Galaxy, you’ll find space mining, planetary colonization, alien invaders, interstellar battles, hidden alien tech, courage, betrayal and love. It’s the story of how a galaxy-spanning federation gets ripped apart and about the terrifying monsters coming for Earth. The only thing standing in their way is a cancer-ridden seventy-seven-year-old special forces veteran on his death bed.

Well, him and the sarcastic alien avatar who turns him into a twenty-year-old bio-engineered super soldier.

The humans are coming.

The galaxy better be ready.

Discover More Free Sci-Fi Adventures

Each month, I’ll team up with a group of talented sci-fi authors to bring you an incredible selection of free books. Whether you’re looking for thrilling space battles, deep space mysteries, or first-contact encounters, these promotions are packed with stories to fuel your imagination.

Each book is completely free to download—just follow the links below and explore new worlds. Don’t miss out, as these giveaways are only available for a limited time!

Author Spotlight

Return of the Star Lords

In a dystopian world ruled by the tyrannical God-King, those who can't pay his tithe are sacrificed by his merciless priests. Thirteen-year-old orphan Kya is desperate to protect her disabled sister Syla from torture and death at their hands. With the tithing cull looming and no way to pay the deadly tithes, Kya faces a brutal choice: sell her body to the streets or risk everything as a thief in the desperate struggle to save Syla. Ruthless cut-throats, brutal pimps, and danger lurk in every shadow of the city of Jensel.

When a band of mysterious foreigners arrives, Kya must risk everything. Could they be the Star Lords, long thought to be gone forever? Or is this just another lethal threat in an already murderous world? Will she trust the strangers who offer her a chance at freedom, or will her battle to survive consume her first?

Return of the Star Lords is a stunning mix of dystopian drama, sci-fi fantasy, unforgettable characters, and the fierce love of family.

Fans of Brandon Sanderson, Suzanne Collins, or Raymond E. Feist will devour this tale of rebellion, sacrifice, and courage when hope is gone.

Multi-Award-Winning Short Story:-

Winner – New England Book Festival 2024
Gold Award Winner - Literary Titan 2024
Winner – Firebird Book Awards 2024

Get Your Free Copy Today

James Webb Space Telescope Finds Alien Life?

Every so often, science fiction takes a wild guess—and real science catches up.

That’s exactly what’s happening now, thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). In just over a year of operation, Webb has transformed our understanding of the cosmos—and it may have just spotted something truly astonishing.

Let’s talk about K2-18 b, a super-Earth about 120 light-years away. It orbits a red dwarf star, sits in the habitable zone, and may be wrapped in a thick hydrogen-rich atmosphere with a vast liquid ocean below.

But the real shock came when Webb detected dimethyl sulfide (DMS) in the planet’s atmosphere.

On Earth, DMS is produced exclusively by life—specifically, by marine plankton. It’s not just a chemical. It’s a biosignature—a possible sign of life.

And for the first time in human history, we may have seen that sign on another world.

Water, Methane… and Something More?

K2-18 b isn’t Webb’s only headline. This infrared powerhouse has already detected water vapor, methane, and carbon dioxide in the atmospheres of numerous exoplanets—molecules associated with biological processes here on Earth.

It has studied planets in systems like TRAPPIST-1, a collection of Earth-sized worlds just 40 light-years away, many of them orbiting in the habitable zone. These worlds are dark, tide-locked, and potentially wild—but they might also host life clinging to the narrow band of eternal twilight between heat and ice.

Webb has even glimpsed clouds made of sand on distant worlds, and seen signs of active weather cycles—wind, storms, maybe even rain—in alien atmospheres.

We’re not just discovering planets anymore. We’re reading their skies.

If We Can See Them… Can They See Us?

In Return to the Galaxy, Earth is a forgotten colony, lost in the great silence of space. But in our world, we might be the ones breaking that silence. Our planet glows with oxygen, methane, and pollution—atmospheric fingerprints that scream: “Life is here.”

If we can detect biosignatures light-years away, then it’s likely that older, more advanced civilizations could do the same… to us.

This may be the beginning of a story humanity has told for centuries. But this time, it’s real.

5 British Sci-Fi Authors Every Fan Should Know

Arthur C. Clarke

A giant of speculative fiction and co-author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Clarke imagined satellite communication and space elevators long before they existed. His stories blend big ideas with scientific rigor—pioneering the concept of first contact in ways that feel startlingly relevant today.

John Wyndham

Author of The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos, Wyndham’s work introduced the world to “cozy catastrophes”—apocalypses unfolding quietly in suburbia. His understated, eerie style has influenced generations of sci-fi writers with stories that feel both quaint and deeply unsettling.

Iain M. Banks

Creator of the Culture series, Banks imagined a galaxy governed by anarchic, hyper-intelligent AIs called Minds. His worlds are beautiful, brutal, and philosophical. Iain wrote my favourite book of all time of any genre—The Player of Games. If you enjoy my work, you’ll likely love his.

Peter F. Hamilton

A master of sweeping space operas, Hamilton crafts thousand-page tales filled with politics, physics, aliens, and time-spanning conflicts. His books—like Pandora’s Star—offer hard sci-fi with blockbuster pacing, packed with immersive detail and twisty plots.

Christopher Nuttall

An indie powerhouse, Nuttall is best known for his Ark Royal and The Empire’s Corps series—mixing military action, character-driven tension, and believable space politics. He’s incredibly prolific, and his fanbase proves that gripping storytelling will always win hearts in sci-fi.

I’d love to hear what sci-fi authors you grew up with—or are reading now, let me know!

Discover More Free Sci-Fi Adventures

Each book is completely free to download—just follow the links below and explore new worlds. Don’t miss out, as these giveaways are only available for a limited time!

Author Spotlight:

Fewer Space Elves, More Giant Spiders!

If you’re expecting our first alien encounter to be with tall, noble beings who look vaguely human, I have some bad news…

Because if evolution works the same way in space as it does on Earth, then the first extraterrestrials we meet won’t be anything like us. Instead of graceful humanoids, we might find ourselves negotiating with something that has more legs, more eyes, and no concept of personal space.

The Math is Against Us

Let’s look at what evolution tells us about what works best:

7,000+ species of octopuses
50,000+ species of spiders
1 million+ insect species (making up 80% of Earth’s biodiversity)
And humans? Just one.

Nature favors small, adaptable, multi-limbed creatures over big-brained bipeds like us. If survival and reproduction drive evolution, then intelligent alien life might look more like spiders than space elves. A terrifying thought—or maybe just a practical one.

Tentacles Over Hands?

Science fiction has convinced us that aliens will be bipedal, but is that really the smartest design?

Octopuses have nine brains—one in their head and one in each limb.
They can solve puzzles, use tools, and camouflage themselves like alien shapeshifters.
More limbs could mean greater adaptability, which is why many scientists suspect that alien civilizations might be arachnid- or cephalopod-like.

Maybe we should stop assuming we’d shake hands with an alien… and start wondering how many hands they’ll have to shake back with.

Predator or Prey?

Would intelligent aliens be peaceful explorers or something much worse?

The smartest creatures on Earth—wolves, dolphins, chimpanzees, humans—are all predators or opportunistic scavengers.
Intelligence often evolves from competition, not passive survival.
Gentle herbivores don’t usually need advanced problem-solving skills to survive.

If first contact happens, we’d better hope they don’t see us as food or a primitive species taking up valuable real estate.

Where Do They Live? How Does That Change Things?

The kind of planet an alien species evolves on could change everything about their body type and intelligence.

Water worlds? Tentacled creatures might dominate—no bones, just endless adaptability.
Low-gravity planets? We could see creatures that are taller, thinner, or even balloon-like, floating rather than walking.
Extreme environments? Insect-like or burrowing creatures could thrive where humans wouldn’t last a minute.

Maybe we’ve been thinking too small. Instead of imagining one dominant alien species, there could be thousands of intelligent forms—each shaped by their unique home world.

But Maybe It’s Not All Bad…

If intelligence favors adaptability and social cooperation, then maybe aliens are more like chimps and dolphins—clever, resourceful, and possibly even friendly.

And even if they turn out to be hyper-intelligent spiders… well, at least we know they’ll be fantastic at pest control!

Readers Are Hooked—Want to Join Them?

I wanted to share a quick note from a beta reader who just finished an advance copy of my novel - Return to the Galaxy—in less than 24 hours!

The book is awesome. I am hooked and waiting for the next one. It was very well written. Reminds me of the Doc Savage series to some extent. 5 stars all the way!—Willow

And another reader? They couldn’t put it down twice!

I absolutely loved this book. I sat down to read it for an hour one evening, but read until I finished it six hours later. Two weeks later, I read it again. Definitely 5 Stars!—Connor

Want to see what all the excitement is about?

Grab your free ARC copy!

But be quick—I’m only offering a limited number of advance copies to my email subscribers, and once they’re gone, they’re gone!

What Do You Think?

Would an advanced spider-alien civilization be terrifying, or would you shake one of its eight hands?
Have you ever read a sci-fi book where the aliens weren’t humanoid? What did you think of them?

Contact me and let me know!

Next Time: The Best British Sci-Fi Authors

In two weeks, I’ll be diving into some of the greatest British science fiction authors of all time—the writers who shaped the genre and inspired modern sci-fi. From Arthur C. Clarke to lesser-known legends, I’ll be sharing my top picks.

Until next time, keep looking to the stars… but maybe keep quiet while you do.

Looking for your next read?

Click the image below to download now:

Discover More Free Sci-Fi Adventures

Each book is completely free to download—just follow the links below and explore new worlds. Don’t miss out, as these giveaways are only available for a limited time!

Reach for the Galaxy

An Ancient Federation Dies

Recently, Commodore Velal Farn patrolled the frontier commanding a single frigate. Now, she leads a ragtag fleet of overcrowded refugee ships. As her people flee her dying world, Velal must hold the line against relentless alien monsters and rally her fractured Space Marines to defend her new colony or watch millions perish.

Earth Burns

GCHQ analyst Darya Clarke was bored until a flash of intelligence plunged her into a nightmare. Inserted behind enemy lines and fighting beside the SAS in the UK, she races to stop terrorists before nuclear fire consumes Britain. One mistake could doom humanity before the aliens even arrive.

Interstellar War Is Coming

Former SAS captain Ewan Scott has a plan. Reborn by alien tech, he’s building a secret megacorp to arm Earth for the stars. As assassins close in, his next discovery will shake the foundations of human history. The Federation is dying. Earth is next.

Thousands of readers gave Return to the Galaxy a 4.5-star rating, calling it “better than Scalzi” and “the best book since Heinlein died.” Grab Reach for the Galaxy today and discover why this award-winning series is taking the sci-fi world by storm.

I Still Believe in Hope

So, if you're ever feeling overwhelmed by the chaos, here's a thought worth holding onto: The future hasn’t happened yet. And we still get to help shape it.

I want to try something different today.
No alien theories. No analysis of the solar system.
Just a quiet message about the future, and why I think we still have good reason to hope.

It’s easy to feel like the world is falling apart.
War, politics, climate, conflict, division. It can wear you down.
You look at the news and think: How are we going to make it through the next five years, never mind fifty?

But when I look past the headlines, I see something else.
Something quieter, but far more powerful.

We are on the edge of breakthroughs that would’ve sounded like magic fifty years ago.

Cancers are being dismantled one molecule at a time by personalized medicine.
AI is helping doctors spot illness earlier than ever. Gene therapy is rewriting the future of inherited disease. Blindness, paralysis, deafness, conditions once seen as permanent, are beginning to crack.

Energy is shifting too.
Solar is now the cheapest form of power in human history, and the cost will continue to fall.
Fusion, that holy grail of limitless clean energy, is no longer a fantasy. It’s a race. And no matter who cracks it first, the planet will be the winner.

And then there’s space.
We are so close to becoming an interplanetary species. Moon bases are being prototyped.
Mars is on the table. Private citizens are already flying to the edge of space.
What we once called science fiction is quietly becoming science fact.

That’s the big stuff.
But the small things matter just as much.

People are starting businesses in their sixties.
Grandparents are video-calling grandkids from different continents.
Someone who never thought they’d write a novel sits down and starts typing. (That one’s me.)

Because the next 50 years won’t belong to the fastest or the loudest.
They’ll belong to the curious. The stubborn. The ones who still believe in trying.
It won’t be easy. There will be heartbreak. But I believe the quiet momentum is toward something better.

Maybe not perfect. But better.

So, if you're ever feeling overwhelmed by the chaos, here's a thought worth holding onto:

The future hasn’t happened yet. And we still get to help shape it.

That belief, that humanity can still rise, still reach, still build something astonishing, is at the heart of the universe I’ve been writing for the last two years.
It pulses through Return to the Galaxy.
In every tough decision, in every battle and quiet act of loyalty, it’s always there.
A flawed but stubborn belief in something better.

And now, that story is almost ready to launch.

In just a few weeks, Return to the Galaxy will be available to the world.
Book Two is already finished. Books Three and Four are ready for September and October.
Books Five and Six will follow early in the new year, and I’ve already mapped out my second series.

If you’ve ever read one of my short stories, or even just opened one of these emails; thank you.

Truly.

This is my first novel launch. I’ve poured everything I’ve got into it. Time, love, late nights, and a ridiculous amount of coffee. And if you’d like to help me get this series off the ground, I would be quietly grateful beyond words.

You can:
• Read or borrow Return to the Galaxy on Kindle Unlimited when it launches
• Leave a short Amazon review, even a sentence or two. The early ones help enormously

But even if you don’t, thank you for being here.
Thank you for believing that stories, and futures, are still worth creating.

We’re not done.
Not by a long shot.

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Brandon Sanderson Gave Me Some Writing Tips

These Are the Scenes They Said You Shouldn’t Read Before Bedtime Secret Chapters of Book 4 Revealed Below!

Brandon didn’t email me personally (I wish!), but I did read an article where he described how he stays creatively sharp by working on several books at once. He might be outlining one, editing another, writing the first draft of a third, and marketing a fourth. The constant rotation, he says, keeps the ideas fresh and the momentum strong.

To my surprise, I realised I’d been doing the same thing, just less deliberately. Since reading his method, I’ve reorganised my own process to follow suit. It’s already paying off.

Here’s where I am right now:

Book 1 – Return to the Galaxy is up for pre-order and goes live in one week’s time
Book 2 – Reach for the Galaxy is finished and with the formatter
Book 3 – Seek the Galaxy is going through its final detailed edit
Book 4 – Defend the Galaxy has a full first draft completed and is being polished
Book 5 – (working title classified) is already 60% written

I thought you might enjoy a sneak peek at what’s coming. Below, you’ll find the opening chapters of Book 4. They’re dark, emotional, and full of tension, and they hint at just how far Velal is willing to go to protect what’s left of the galaxy.

Here are the chapters. Let me know what you think. It’s a seven-minute read.

Book 4: Defend the Galaxy

Chapter 1: At This Time of Year?

The fire crackled low in the hearth, casting golden light across the stone walls and creaking beams. Jufin’s voice dropped into a gravelly growl as he read the giant’s lines from Little Pelin and the Giant, making Ternu and Filun giggle even as their eyelids drooped. The twins shared a bed, blanket tucked beneath their chins, grinning in anticipation of the ending they knew by heart. It didn’t matter that they could read the story themselves. What mattered was hearing it from him.

In the next room, six-year-old Chela had hugged him tight before she crawled in beside Sanba and baby Renva. They were sprawled together like puppies, the warm contentment of a good day wrapped around them like a quilt. Dulma’s hand had found his as he backed out of the room, her eyes still glowing from the news she’d shared last month. Their family was growing. Again.

Ten years ago, he and Dulma had come north with nothing but tools, seeds, and stubbornness. The forest had been thick, the land rough. Fourteen miles from the swelling settlement of Botis, they’d cleared the trees by hand and burned the stumps into ash. That first winter nearly broke them. But the soil had turned rich and dark, the harvests good. And now they had a home.

Their thousand-acre grant had seemed impossibly vast then. He’d managed to bring just over three hundred acres under plow. The rest would come, a few acres at a time. Every field carved from the wild felt like a gift he could hand to his children. He'd heard the newer settlers only got four hundred acres now, and half of that poorer land. He didn’t feel smug about it. Just lucky. And tired.

Dulma’s parents were talking about joining them. She was thrilled. Jufin had mixed feelings. Burin was a skilled carpenter, sharp-witted despite his age, and always ready with a rough joke and a helping hand.

Rusma was endlessly kind to the children, but her tongue never stopped wagging. Jufin figured a few crates of ale might convince Burin to build a men’s room extension, his first project on arrival.

His favorite place was the raised porch. He’d hammered every board himself, rough but honest work. From here, he could see over the gentle rise of cleared farmland, all the way toward Botis. The night air was warm, carrying the scent of turned earth and growing crops. Dulma had brought out chilled mead and a plate of cold meat and pickles.

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. She held her hand out for him to hold, but as soon as he took it, she pulled him down for a warm, happy kiss.

They sat in silence, the kind built from long days, hard work and deeper love.

"I just saw some meteors," Dulma said, her voice low. "High ones. Odd for this season."

Jufin took a sip of the mead, wiped his mouth, and looked up. A streak of white light arced across the stars. Then another. Then five.

"Ooh," Dulma whispered. "Those are brighter. Lower, too."

More came. Dozens. Then hundreds. The sky lit up as if burning threads were being pulled down from the heavens. Jufin rose slowly, the mug forgotten in his hand. He felt the earth shift beneath his boots. A soft rumble, deep and far away.

Then came the flashes.

Over the hills, in the direction of Botis, a string of lights burst in rapid succession. White, then red, then black columns rising like thunderheads. Dulma stood beside him, hand clamped to her mouth.

"My parents," she whispered.

His last thought was that it was strange that the rapidly rising clouds seemed to be shaped like mushrooms.

The Ranid missile struck three miles west. Eighteen seconds. That’s what they had.

A firestorm raced through the farmhouse. Their skin vaporized before they could scream. Their bones blackened, their dreams incinerated. Twenty seconds later, the shockwave followed, flattening everything that remained, and extinguishing the fire.

And then, like nothing had happened, the stars blinked on again.

Two weeks after the last plume of radioactive ash settled over Botis, the Ranid returned.

An angular, gunmetal-gray assault shuttle drifted through the irradiated haze before descending on rust-stained landing struts. Its underside cracked open, spilling out a full company of Ranid Marines. The arachnids moved with crisp coordination, each wearing a chitinous black battlesuit that shimmered faintly as it adjusted to the toxic atmosphere.

Their mission was simple: locate and recover any advanced technology the Saret might have hidden. Their commanders knew the odds were low, but Ranid doctrine did not allow for assumptions. And more than tech, they hunted for survivors. A colony could regrow from a few individuals. Their task was to stamp out every last spark.

One platoon fanned out toward the northern perimeter, where farmland met crater-rim. The lead Marine paused at the edge of the ruins that had once been a farmhouse. His ocular cluster rotated slowly, scanning the collapsed structure and scorched soil. No heat signatures. No movement at all.

He advanced.

His armor hissed and shifted around him, adapting to the ambient radiation. He moved with methodical grace, legs clicking as he skittered over what remained of the porch. Ash rose in plumes beneath his clawed feet. The wooden boards had fused into warped, blackened slabs. A scorched ring marked where the fire had consumed everything in seconds.

He bent low and probed the debris. He found Filun’s left leg. With a faint hydraulic sigh, he quickly opened his face mask to chew on the appetizing mouthful. He searched for more but only found Chela’s right foot, which was barely a morsel.

He uncovered a larger leg, half-charred. His faceplate opened again. He ignored the painted toenails and brought it to his mandibles. The meat was dry, but edible. He bit off a chunk and chewed slowly, savoring the smoky flavor.

Beneath a warped beam, he spotted a book. The paper had baked into brittle curves, the cover still partially legible. He tapped it once. A scanner in his chest blinked, sent data to the orbiting dreadnought. A second later, the reply came: no value. Little Pelin and the Giant. Children's story. No military relevance.

He discarded it without another glance.

The Ranid soldier moved on, eyes sweeping the horizon for movement, his claws already hungry for more.

Forty-three years later, the Saret survey ship fell into orbit. They found a poisoned world, lifeless and still.

Missing Persons Velal Farn

I was walking on the streets of a small town on a destroyed Wild Colony planet. We didn’t know its name, and now it didn’t matter. It would never matter again.

Gray dust clung to the soles of my boots, rising in slow, lifeless spirals with each step. The air tasted of old ash and broken stone. No wind. No sound. Just the silence of extinction.

The Bugs had done their work thoroughly. Nuclear fire had swallowed every city. Dirty bombs had poisoned the sky. The soil would reject life for ten thousand years.

I walked through what had once been a town square, trying not to think about how much of this dust had once been human. A flicker of movement caught my eye. A girl in a red dress. Small, maybe six. Black shoes, black belt, red ribbon in her hair. She was walking away from me.

"Wait," I called. My voice sounded too loud, like it didn’t belong here.

She didn’t stop. Just turned a corner and vanished.

I broke into a jog, boots crunching over debris. Gray powder sprayed with each stride. I rounded the corner and froze.

Twenty figures stood in the road. Clusters of men, women, children. All dressed in simple medieval garb. Most had their backs to me. The few who faced my direction stared down at the ground.

"Who are you? How did you survive?"

The girl turned. Her face was a horror of peeling skin and raw lesions. Her eyes were nothing but dark, glistening sockets.

The others turned too.

One had tumors bulging from his neck and arms. Another’s mouth oozed yellow pus. A woman opened her lips and white maggots spilled out, writhing down her chest.

They stepped toward me. I backed up and felt a wall behind me. Nowhere to run.

The girl pointed at me. "You could have saved us,"

An old man dragged himself across the broken pavement, his elbows scraping stone. "You were too slow."

"Too lazy," said a crone with skeletal hands, her claws twitching.

A younger woman nursing a baby said, “Too late to save my child.” She pulled the baby away from her withered breast and opened the baby’s shawl to show a tiny skeleton mewling pathetically with hunger.

The crowd surged. Bony fingers clawed at my uniform, tearing, grabbing, reaching for my face.

"Velal," they screamed. "Velal, why didn’t you save us?"

I tried to draw my sidearm.

But all I found were sheets, soaked with sweat and tangled around my legs.

“Velal, Velal, wake up, you’re screaming again.” I felt gentle hands caressing my face and stroking my hair. As I drew in a ragged breath, Vana gathered me in a gentle embrace. As soon as I realized where I was, I wrapped my arms around her in a fierce grip. Even though I knew I must be hurting her, I couldn’t let go.

After a few more deep breaths, I was able to relax my grip and sit up in the large bed in the Admiral’s quarters. My body was completely soaked, sticky sweat running off my sides into the sheets on the floating bed. I could feel more pooling under my breasts and sliding unpleasantly down my spine. Vana said, “Was it the same dream?”

I could only draw in a breath and nod, completely drained and dispirited. Before we’d gone to sleep, we’d made love for two hours, starting with a long, relaxing massage. Vana tried everything she could think of to help me unwind and get the restful sleep that kept evading me.

Before Vana could say anything else, I stood up from the bed and said, “Thank you so much, Vana, but I need a shower. If you can make me a coffee, that would be great. I need to do something about this. If any of Stane, Leris, or Morin are available, could you ask them to come to our lounge in half an hour?”

“Of course. You go and relax and make yourself feel better. I’ll ask Qinas to reach out to anyone who’s awake. Now go.” She gave me a quick kiss and looked on worriedly as I went for a shower.

I stood in the huge shower cubicle while cold water blasted my flesh, pummelling me. The fierce jets battered my head, and icy needles of spray deluged my shrinking flesh.

After five minutes, I felt I’d punished myself enough and allowed the water pressure to reduce and the temperature to rise. I was just in time as Vana walked gracefully into the cubicle. Even in my miserable state, I marveled at how smoothly and elegantly she moved.

I said, “Vana, I’m so sorry; I’m just not in the mood to make love again.”

“That’s just as well,” she said, “Because neither am I. I just wanted to share a hug and a warm shower with my beautiful wife. You have so many responsibilities. You need someone to look after you. Now turn around and let me wash your back.”

I was grateful she wouldn’t take no for an answer, as the pampering was exactly what I needed. As she sponged my body, I had to lean against the wall because my legs were shaking so much. I felt as weak as a newborn kitten.

After a couple of minutes, she kissed me passionately. Suddenly, I wished we had time to go back to bed, but she slapped me lightly on the buttock and said, “Go get dressed, Admiral; the Navy needs you! I’ll join you in a couple of minutes. Now get.”

She gave me a quick peck on the lips and shoved me out the shower.

Ten minutes later, I stood looking out over the large central park that made up the middle of my dreadnought, Quiet Strength. I could see the waterfalls and the gentle simulated evening light glinting off the surface of the larger lake

I returned to the circular stone table and sat beneath the glowing canopy of JJ's garden design, its flowering vines releasing a subtle fragrance that curled through the night air. The villa’s lighting was low, mimicking dusk, though the dreadnought’s internal clock never stopped. My hands were still damp. The cold water hadn’t rinsed the nightmare from my skin.

Stane joined me first. He'd been pulled from a strategic meeting on Anadroid production; an issue that could wait. Our freighters had enough units in hibernation to outfit a dozen systems. Now he sat beside me at the stone table, not as my officer, but as my partner. He took my hand, said nothing. It was enough. Vana gave him a kiss and sat down on my other side.

Footsteps approached. Morin arrived next, already in uniform, eyes sharp from duty. Suna followed, fresh from her shift, her captain’s uniform slightly rumpled. Then came Leris, his jacket half-fastened, hair tousled with sleep. I felt a pang of guilt. He should have been resting. I gave Qinas no instruction to wake him. Still, I was relieved he was here. Of them all, Leris had been with me the longest. He understood the weight I carried, even when I said nothing.

I hesitated. The silence stretched. Then I said, "I need to tell you something."

Their expressions shifted. No one spoke. Good. Let it hang.

"The dreams haven’t stopped. They're worse. Clearer. And they’re not just echoes. My psyche’s been pressing me, warning me. Not with logic. With guilt."

Suna leaned forward. Her eyes never blinked when she was locked in.

"We've been in orbit over Trimon for months," I continued. "First to study them, then to insert our reconnaissance teams. And I still believe that was the right call. We have to understand how these Wild Colonies think. How they’ll react when they learn how dangerous the galaxy has become."

I looked up at the artificial stars. They were perfect, but distant in all the wrong ways.

"But in that time, we’ve confirmed the destruction of six other colonies. Poisoned. Burned. Gone. The Bugs didn’t wait. They never wait. And while we were studying, they were killing."

I let that settle. The scent of the vines drifted between us.

"We have the ships now. More than enough to defend this planet. We can divide our forces. We can act. We must."

My voice was steady. My decision, final.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are going on a bug hunt."

I hope those short chapters whetted your appetite for Book 1, Return to the Galaxy, released on Amazon on the 17th of June.

We Just Won in London AND Los Angeles

A quick update, and an exclusive never before released chapter, just for you, at the bottom of this page

Return to the Galaxy has just picked up two major honors:

Winner – London Book Festival 2025 (Science Fiction)
First Runner-Up – Los Angeles Book Awards 2025 (Science Fiction)

Honestly? I’m stunned. This is my first-ever novel, and now it’s collecting international awards. (You can enter before it’s published.)

Since submitting it, I’ve rewritten the entire book from the ground up. Version 2 has been professionally assessed across 18 key storytelling and commercial factors. Everything from pacing and character arcs to emotional depth and world immersion.

The result?

My editors said it’s over 20% stronger across the board. That’s the version that will be published on Amazon in June.

But here’s the twist - it’s Version 1 that just won in London and LA.

That version is available to download free on Book Funnel until May 1. After that, Amazon’s exclusivity rules kick in and I’ll have to take it down.

So, if you haven’t read it yet, now’s your last chance to grab the award-winning edition:

Download Now

Or of course, you can wait until Version 2 launches in June. (But full disclosure, I might spend your money on beer and use the buzz to write something even better!)

For those of you who downloaded Return to the Galaxy but have not cracked it open yet, what are you waiting for? They’re not going to give me a Nobel Prize!

Seriously though, I owe you a huge thank you.

Next week, I'm uploading a brand-new, 100-page novella to BookFunnel and StoryOrigin, and you can grab it for free.

It's called Wild Prince at the Starfighter Academy, and it follows Prince Beryn through his next two years at the Academy, just before everything explodes into chaos.

(Heads-up: the first 15 pages overlap with Return to the Galaxy, but after that, it's all-new action.)

One small ask: If you are willing, all I'd love in return is a short, honest review. Even two sentences would be amazing!

Thanks again for being part of this galaxy.

You are in on the ground floor, and I am honored to have you here. It means more than you know.

If you do send a quick review, feel free to also let me know your favorite moments. I always love hearing which parts you like most.

Exclusive Bonus Scene – Subscribers Only

Version 2 has new content, several new scenes, including this one, unreleased anywhere else.

It’s short (about five minutes), but if you like high-stakes galactic politics, emotionally charged revelations, or the feeling of being punched in the heart by a hologram…

This one’s for you.

Message from the Dark | Ewan | 2039 AD

Now that he had more nanites, Jera had been trying to connect to his deeper memory vaults. Fragments lost during orbital insertion. It didn’t work.

But the attempt triggered something unexpected. A signal. Weak. Fragile. A scatterpod, long hidden in a stealth orbit above Earth. Stirred once and sent out a pulse. Then it shut down; burned out like a flare in the void.

Jera caught it.

She appeared in mid-air in the cave, projected in flickering light: auburn hair, pale blue eyes full of urgency and pain. Human-shaped. Fully formed. But not human. Not anymore.

Not Jera. Another avatar. Her body crackled, nanite clusters flickering erratically in the haze.

“If you’re seeing this… I didn’t make it.”

My mouth went dry.

“My name is Arel. I was one of twenty avatars assigned to Earth’s rescue fleet. We launched from Jintel with cruisers, destroyers, a freighter packed with upgrade tech, and a hibernation carrier full of engineers and troops to save your splinter colony. But we were betrayed.

“The Kuskoi, the centipede species. Software specialists. They’ve been quietly allied with the Ranid for decades. We never suspected. They inserted a backdoor into our navigation AIs. Elegant. Devastating. We dropped out of hyperspace into ambush.”

She swallowed. Paused.

“The Bugs had more dreadnoughts than we had ships. The others fought and died to give me this chance. I launched this pod blind. It was never designed to reach this far, not in this condition. But the Ranid can’t get this information.”

Her voice cracked, then steadied.

“We managed to destroy Earth’s exact coordinates before they breached our bridge. The Ranid don’t know exactly where you are. But they know you’re in the Orion Arm. And they’re coming.

“They fear you, Jera. They fear Earth. If you can get a population of ten billion prepared, armed, trained to fight? It could turn the whole war.

“But if they find you as you are now, weak, divided, primitive? You won’t last a day. Probably not an hour.

“Get them ready. You owe it to us, Jera. To all those we lost. They’re searching, Jera. Coming for you. You’re out of time.”

She looked directly at him now, softly, then with rising fury.

“The Kuskoi corrupted everything. It’s obvious now. Federation members for centuries but they were the ones who inserted the betrayal code into our ship AIs, even before the mutiny started. We trusted them. Thought they were friendly and helpful.

“I’m sending you their world’s coordinates. If you can get there, don’t hesitate. Burn them, Jera. Their whole rotten, treasonous species. Billions of Saret ghosts demand vengeance. Don’t fail them.”

Her image glitched again. Reappeared. She smiled, barely.

“I was supposed to be your liaison. I was so looking forward to meeting you, Jera.”

Then she seemed to look straight into my eyes.

“Honor our sacrifice.

“Fight well, brother.”

She smiled, a sad, quiet curve of her mouth. Waved once.

Then she was gone.

The cave felt colder after Arel vanished. The silence tightened like a noose. No hum of systems. No joke from Jera. Just my own pulse, hammering in my throat.

Her message echoed like massed artillery fire in my skull. Rescue fleets betrayed, engineers and soldiers atomized, Earth’s location barely erased in time. I clenched my fists. Staring at the empty space where she’d been.

It felt like I’d been gut-punched by a ghost.

That fleet, they’d been the cavalry. The ones coming to save us.

But we never heard their bright bugles ringing out.

They’d never made it over the hill.

Somewhere out there, the Ranid were getting closer. And the centipede traitors who’d sold us out were still breathing.

Thanks again for being part of this journey. Your support, your feedback, and your presence here mean more than I can say.

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Return to the Galaxy

The Humans Are Coming. The Galaxy Better Be Ready.

The astonishing truth? The human race didn’t evolve on Earth.

Ewan Scott was a dying SAS veteran, until a 300-year-old alien AI Avatar offered him a second chance: rebirth in a bio-engineered body, fitter, stronger, and movie-star handsome. His mission? Reunite humanity with its parent civilization, the Saret Federation, before merciless enemies erase all life on Earth.

Frigate Captain Velal, haunted by her past and bound by impossible orders, fights to save what’s left of her civilization. As worlds fall to alien invasion and nuclear fire, the ancient monsters she dreads are hunting for Earth.

An ancient empire falls to betrayal. A merciless enemy closes in. Earth lies defenseless. Its last hope a flawed hero reborn, and a woman who will fight until the stars go dark.Join Ewan, Velal, and wise-cracking Jera in an epic, fast-paced space opera packed with:

Savage interstellar war
Planetary colonization
Special Forces warfare
Found alien tech
The secrets of a dying empire

If you love John Scalzi, Craig Alanson, and David Weber, the epic scale of Peter F. Hamilton, and the military brilliance of Elizabeth Moon