A hundred light-year quarantine zone protects the primitive jungle tribes of the Platypus Planet from unauthorized interference. But not from BastadoCorp acquiring mining rights through bribery and fraud.When Dirk Beretta's girlfriend tells him to get off the couch and look for a job, he finds the perfect opportunity, thousands of light years from her, with free guns and beer, as security chief for the mines.But no-one told him what happened to the previous security chief, ...

Frank has finally finished the time machine in his garage. But the expedition to the future with Uncle Jim, Fatso the cat, and a keg of real ale goes centuries off course. Can they solve one of the greatest mysteries in the history of beer before they find their way home, or will they become sizzling entertainment for a world with no TV or Internet?A 7,500 word science fiction short story.

Tired of healing wounded soldiers on the borders of the British Empire, Silas Cane returns to the heartlands of Victorian England as a rural doctor. The quiet Oxfordshire village is a welcome break from the chaos of war, until a smiling madman dies of a disease never seen before.After watching so many men die, Cane will do whatever it takes to keep the villagers alive.If they don't kill him first.A 14,000 word science fiction horror novelette.

Vicious, congenitally bureaucratic, and proud of their resplendent flame-red uniforms which give them a five minute life expectancy in combat, the Flaming Space Weasels wiped out most of Dirk Beretta's fellow space marines at the battle of Din Bin Foo... then served them for lunch with a nice Merlot.In the aftermath, Dirk quits his job as poster boy for the Space Marines, to drown his sorrow in cheap booze and cheaper women. But when a gang of pirate Weasels come hunting fresh meat...

How do you repair a dead planet?Maintenance Bot M-3 was always proud of the smooth and reliable operation of the starships it maintained, as they roamed the galaxy searching for life on unexplored worlds. It lived for the desperate struggle against the forces of chaos and decay, fighting against time to complete repairs before disaster struck.But this job may be beyond even its capabilities.A 15,000 word science fiction novelette.

After Dirk Beretta, ex- poster boy for the Space Marines, saves the Winterbotham Nachos heiress from a fate worse than death in the Space Weasel kibble factories, a romantic cruise around the galaxy with her looks like a well-earned rest.But Royalist revolutionaries on the Planet Of The Squid have other ideas. When they hatch a plan to replace the democratic government with a moronic monarch, Dirk faces a difficult choice: can he kill his new drinking buddy to save democracy?

Time is out of joint, and Dirk Beretta, ex-poster boy for the Space Marines, is the only man who can set it right.Fleeing his bunker in the ruins of Berlin, Adolf Hitler escapes to ancient Egypt, where he can build the Fourth Reich and take over the world before anyone can oppose him. The repercussions race up the timeline to the 69th century, changing everything they touch along the way.Now Dirk must venture back in time to restore history, and save the universe from Phara...

Guardians are defenders, carers and guides. Some look after individual people, others whole planets or universes, but all share a strong belief in their responsibility to protect their charges.The Guardian is an anthology of eleven science fiction short stories by writers from across the globe. It is part of the Newcomer series of scifi anthologies.The stories are:-Awakening - Alasdair ShawThe Lattice - Jeff TanyardBiting Shadow - C GoldGate of D...

24 Extremely Short Halloween Stories for your Briefest MomentsFrom a Hillary Clinton stripper to mythical beast-women in the harsh Scandinavian tundra and from an unusual band of steadfast teddy bears to the last man in zombie-occupied Chicago, fill your briefest moments with pulse-pounding frights and off-beat chuckles with this collection of 24 flash fiction stories.Commuting to work? Grabbing a quick coffee? Each story tells a complete t...

Ulysses S. Grant was the first four-star general in the history of the United States Army and the only president between Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson to serve eight consecutive years in the White House. As general in chief, Grant revolutionized modern warfare. Rather than capture enemy territory or march on Southern cities, he concentrated on engaging and defeating the Confederate armies in the field, and he pursued that strategy relentlessly. As president, he brought stability to the...

Since 2005, Murder & Mayhem in Muskego has welcomed and hosted over 150 authors a thousands of fans of crime fiction to the Milwaukee area. Just in time for the 8th annual benefit, a short story anthology featuring bestselling, Edgar and Shamus award-winning writers who have attended the day-long convention has been created. The collection is edited by Jon and Ruth Jordan.Contributors include: Megan Abbott, Dana Cameron, Reed Farrel Coleman, Hilary Davidson, Sean Doolittle, J.M. Ed...

This anthology draws together some of the best new stories of mystery and murder—compiled by the Anthony Award–winning crime fiction editor.This anthology collects the most original stories of murder by some of mystery fiction's most inventive talents from the United States and United Kingdom. With innovative new takes on locked-room mysteries and impossible crimes, these short stories are full of vexing conundrums and reality-defying puzzles. A murder has been comm...