Novus Mundi is publishing hardcover editions of the Tales of Tolari Space. The Marann and Daughters of Suralia are available now! The Fall, Farryn’s War, and Rembrandt’s Station will come out in hardcover over the coming months as we receive the new covers from Kelley York at Sleepy Fox Studio.

This is so cool and awesome! Tolari Space, in hardcover!

8 Defiance, by C.J. Cherryh & Jane S. Fancher
9 Of Cinder & Bone, by Kyoko M.
10 Heart of Stone, by Johannes T. Evans
11 Adulthood Rites, by Octavia Butler
12 Imago, by Octavia Butler
13 The Dragons of Dorcastle, by Jack Campbell

Bad Actors, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread) (novella/shorts)
Bread Alone, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread) (novella/shorts)
From Every Storm, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread) (novella/shorts)
The Wrong Lance, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
Fair Trade, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Salvage Right, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Hellspark, by Janet Kagan

We have publishing news! Novus Mundi Publishing has given me a publishing schedule. Note that my self-published editions of the Tales of Tolari Space novels are no longer available other than at second-hand sellers.

January 23rd, 2024: Release of Daughters of Suralia, The Fall, Farryn’s War, and Rembrandt’s Station. Daughters of Suralia has a new cover!

February 20th, 2024: Release and re-launch of The Marann — with a new cover! (trust me, it’s gorgeous!)

April 2024: Release of Book 6 of the Tales of Tolari Space, Outcaste, in which the downfall of the interstellar megacorp Di Fata interrupts a Tau Ceti University professor’s sabbatical in a startling, not to say life-changing, way.

You will note that there are a great many titles by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller. This is by design. I went on a Liaden Universe® re-read jag, determined to read! everything! Liaden! I didn’t finish by the end of the year, but I am very close now, with only one title left, their latest, Salvage Right.

You might also notice that my novels are all listed. I actually needed to re-read them to get some things fresh in my mind while working on Outcaste. “Sunshot” is an unpublished short story (non-Tolari) that I polished up to start shopping around, but I needed to READ it first. So far, it’s garnered me several rejections one of which arrived on January 1st, which was, it must be admitted, a very inauspicious start to 2024. Well. I guess that editor REALLY hated it.

Without further ado, the list:

Shon’Jir, by CJ Cherryh (reread) (audio)
At the Feet of the Sun, by Victoria Goddard
Beat of Honor, by Amir Lane
Kutath, by CJ Cherryh (reread) (audio)
Imperfect Illusions, by Vanora Lawless
Androids & Aliens, by J. Scott Coatsworth
The Lawrence Brown Affair, by Cat Sebastian (audio)
The Empress of Salt and Fortune, by Nghi Vo
Mo Dao Zu Shi (Vol. 1), by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
Crime of Passion, by Jack Harbon (audio)
Mo Dao Zu Shi (Vol. 2), by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen, by KJ Charles
Mo Dao Zu Shi (Vol. 3), by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
The Missing Page, by Cat Sebastian (audio)
Mo Dao Zu Shi (Vol. 4), by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
The Visit, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Black Pages, by Nnedi Okorofor
2043, by Nisi Shawl
These Alien Skies, by C.T. Rwizi
Clap Back, by Nalo Hopkinson
We Travel the Spaceways, by Victor LaValle
Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu (Vol. 1), by Meng Xi Shi
The Forgotten Dead, by Jordan L. Hawk
Rattling Bone, by Jordan L. Hawk
Trader’s Leap, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Fair Trade, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Salvage Right e-ARC, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
A Thousand Li: The First Step, by Tao Wong
Agent of Change, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Conflict of Honors, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Carpe Diem, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Two Tales of Korval, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Fellow Travelers, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Plan B, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Duty Bound, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Certain Symmetry, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Trading in Futures, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Changeling, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Loose Cannon, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Local Custom, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Mo Dao Zu Shi (Vol. 5), by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
Scout’s Progress, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
A Thousand Li: The First Stop, by Tao Wong
I Dare, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Shadows and Shades, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Quiet Knives, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
A Thousand Li: The First War, by Tao Wong
If Found Return to Hell, by Em. X Liu
Boyfriend Material, by Alexis Hall
Balance of Trade, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
With Stars Underfoot, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Necessary Evils, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Show Girl, by Alyson Greaves
Crystal Soldier, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Allies, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Crystal Dragon, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Calamity’s Child, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu (Vol. 2), by Meng Xi Shi
Frontiers of the Imperium, by Jan Kotouc
Emperor in Exile, by Jan Kotouc
Fledgling, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Misfits, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Just Out of Jupiter’s Reach, by Nnedi Okorafor
Into Tolari Space, by Christie Meierz
The Marann, by Christie Meierz
Daughters of Suralia, by Christie Meierz
The Fall, by Christie Meierz
Farryn’s War, by Christie Meierz
Rembrandt’s Station, by Christie Meierz
Saltation, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
“Sunshot,” by Christie Meierz
Mouse & Dragon, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Halfling Moon, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Ghost Ship, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Skyblaze, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Courier Run, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Dragon Ship, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Legacy Systems, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Moon’s Honor, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Technical Details, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Necessity’s Child, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Throne of the Crescent Moon, by Saladin Ahmed
A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel, by KJ Charles
Dragon in Exile, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Sleeping With the Enemy, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Alliance of Equals, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
“Cutting Corners” by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Change Management, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Due Diligence, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Cultivar, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Heirs to Trouble, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Degrees of Separation, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Neogenesis, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Fortune’s Favors, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Shout of Honor, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Accepting the Lance, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
The Gate That Locks the Tree, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Ambient Conditions, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
“Preferred Seating,” by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Trader’s Leap, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)
Change State, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (reread)

A chance comment on Sharon Lee‘s Facebook page put me in touch with Walt Boyes, who has, unknown to me, been a fan of Tolari Space since The Marann, and who is now editor at Novus Mundi Books, an imprint of Top of the World Publishing. Since then, I’ve met with Walt, with Top of the World’s marketing lead, and with their attorney, and I am pleased to announce that I am under contract with Novus Mundi to publish all five of my novels of Tolari Space and the forthcoming sixth novel in the series, Outcaste. Not much will change right away for you, gentle reader, but new covers by the talented Kelley York are coming for the first two books and there may be a short interval — perhaps a week or so — when my books are unavailable as they switch out of my publication channels and into Novus Mundi’s.

Why sign with a publisher after so many years of successful indie publishing? Well, this move will enable me to focus more on my writing and my readers instead of  spending that time and energy formatting, marketing, lining up editing, covers, & distribution channels, and many other details that an indie author must juggle. Plus, I’m excited to have some new ways to get the word out!

Some of you know of the unfortunate situation in which I found myself nine years ago, cheated of my royalties and facing threats from a now-defunct small press. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever be with a publisher again, after that. But life goes on, and there are good people out there who were willing to work with me to get past my suspicion.

Thanks to everyone who was a part of making this happen!

Sunset on Lake Ontario. Summertime. Rochester NY

Back in the beginning, when The Marann was newly released and I was writing the prequel short stories contained in Into Tolari Space, I went to visit family in Rochester, a very picturesque small city on Lake Ontario. It is located in Monroe County, New York—and the name of my new Tolari province dropped into my lap. Monralar, you see, is based on Monroe.

Now you might justly protest that the climate in upstate New York is not even slightly akin to the climate on Tolar’s equator. Quite right! However, I am, as a person, a desert creature, a lover of dry heat. I have lived nowhere the weather pleased me so much as it did in south central Texas. Monralar is probably not as dry as I would like (and Bertie thinks the summers are beastly, but he comes from New Norfolk in Britannia’s North Isles, so you mustn’t listen to him), but given the choice between Monralar and Suralia? I’ll choose Monralar, no question, no hesitation.

Why not Parania? I hear you asking.  A good question, and the answer is this: I prefer purple to green. It’s as simple as that.

I live in Monroe County now, having moved here from Texas in 2021, and I freely admit that the weather does not please me—so I turn up the heat and pretend it isn’t there. I am, you will understand, still in Monralar, and if it is not hot, and it is not dry, well. Living in the heart of my family makes up for living where the air hurts my face. We, the Husband and I, purchased a house here last year. We are putting down our roots for the last time. We intend to spend the rest of our days here, watching the grandchildren grow up.

Perhaps I shall call my new home the Stronghold in Monralar.

Yes. That sounds very well.

A door never closes, but a window opens . . .

With origins in the Old Universe, the malevolent, acquisitive intelligence of Tinsori Light sought to infect others with itself, and send those agents out into the wide new universe to infect even more.

For centuries, two heroes stood between Tinsori Light and the vulnerable universe—Light Keepers Jen Sin yos’Phelium and Lorith of the Sanderat.

Just when it seemed that they—merely human—must fail, Tinsori Light, enfeebled by aged systems, succumbed to the stress of a unique spatial event . . . and died, leaving the station a shell.

Luckily, the light keepers have back-up. A mismatched team of arcane specialists are on-station, working non-stop to preserve the Light, build trustworthy systems, and open the refurbished station for business.

In fact, ships are already incoming, and it becomes a matter of urgency to sort friend from foe. In particular, the Lyre Institute wishes to acquire Tinsori Light, and will do anything, spend anyone, to achieve that goal.

Lee & Miller do not disappoint. The prose is rich, the characters compelling, and the universe fully-realized—a masterful expression of the art of Space Opera. Salvage Right lands as a satisfying entry in a now-26-book series, touching on a number of plot threads across the sprawling universe in which it is set, and tying up some in a satisfying manner. Expect a number of familiar and less familiar faces, though I was disappointed that not everyone managed to make it to the party. That unfortunate company included my personal favorite character, who might just be supplanted by Jen Sin yos’Phelium, should we be so fortunate as to see more of him. Jen Sin has certainly joined the ranks of my favorites, no matter what rank he eventually holds in my regard.

So! Expect, of course, new friends and old enemies, shared joys and, since this is Clan Korval we’re talking about, a body count.** Expect tension. I spent the entire second half of the book fearing the worst, although what the worst is, you will have to read the novel to find out. Suffice to say that Lee & Miller are masters of keeping the reader guessing. Whether you guess wrongly or rightly, you will greet the conclusion wishing to read more.

If you are familiar with Lee & Miller, buy it. If you are new to the Liaden Universe®, buy it anyway, to support the authors so they can continue to bring us more stories, and to either puzzle through it or leave it in your TBR pile while you read the rest of the series, beginning with Agent of Change, which is FREE (there is also a 30th Anniversary edition available, which is NOT free—take your choice). However, I believe Salvage Right can make itself understood to first-time readers, even if the details sometimes make good their escape.

Note that while Salvage Right does not release until July 4th, it is still possible at the time of this writing to purchase an eARC from the publisher, Baen. This is a limited time offer, so if you cannot wait to get your hands on this new offering by veteran writers Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, buy it sooner rather than later.

Buy it. Buy it now. Really.

**The Universe would probably be safer without Clan Korval. At least at first.

I am writing to let you know that “REMBRANDT’S STATION” has been selected by our Indie editors to be included in the upcoming February 15th issue of Kirkus Reviews. Less than 10% of Indie authors are selected for this.

Kim leaned back. “So. The rules are different, therefore I can be as unethical as I like?”

“That’s not what I’m saying and you know it.”

“Do I?”

Marianne crossed her arms again.

“I’m serious,” he said. “Just exactly how are you not saying that it’s okay for me to commit a crime?”