While The Marann continues its slow climb up Amazon’s charts (a heady experience all by itself), I’m working hard on other stories in the Tales of Tolari Space universe.

The choice I was considering yesterday was the possibility of participating in NaNoWriMo. While it might be a good kick to get me writing the first half of book 3 — which still doesn’t have more than a sketchy outline — it would also distract me from editing and revising book 2, most likely for the entire month.

That’s not good.

So I have a different idea today. I don’t think I can get Daughters of Suralia out the door by Christmas, even if I work all day every day. But what I can give my readers is one of the shorter stories. I’ve spent the better part of the day editing First Contact.

It’s about, well, first contact. It’s one of two stories I wrote about how humans and the Tolari first meet: one from the human point of view, and the other from the Tolari point of view.

You’ll just have to see which one First Contact is.

Possibly I can get them both polished and published together. That’s definitely on the table.