Together is a Distant Star by A.J. Calvin, V. Carvajal Leiva, Nancy Foster, Andrea Marie Johnson, Natalie Kelda, C.B. Lansdell, Karen Lykkebo, Erika McCorkle, Branwen OShea, Alyse N. Steves, Delilah Waan, Isabelle Wagner

How far would you go to find where you belong? A shapeshifting alien changeling raised by humans. The “wicked” child selected as the village sacrifice. People trapped in rigid belief systems, oppressive regimes, well-intentioned families, complicated relationships, and their very own bodies. Is it better to succumb and survive, or escape by staking everything on a slender hope? What triumphs in the end, love or vengeance? And if all that remains is ashes, is it still worth it? Grapple with these questions by diving into twelve new science fiction and fantasy stories. Together is a Distant Star is a collaborative anthology that encompasses authors hailing from Europe to Australia, South Africa to South America, and celebrates a kaleidoscope of perspectives—female, nonbinary, BIPOC, queer, and more. Featuring stories from: A.J. Calvin, C.B. Lansdell, Nancy Foster, V. Carvajal Leiva, Karen Lykkebo, Erika McCorkle, Branwen OShea, Alyse Steves, Delilah Waan, and Isabelle Wagner.

Far Removed by C.B. Lansdell

SPSFC 2023 SPSFC 2024

On the moon of Knyadrea, the sea yields intelligent life. For a species shaped by tides, change is the only constant. Charismatic and innovative, Oklas Sayve has risen to prominence in Apidecca, the moon's capital city. A politician and college director, he has the resources to effect the changes he envisions for the world. But the sovereigns he serves oppose him at every turn and his status cannot protect the low-strata students attending his college. After a young knyad is wrongly linked to insurgent activity, Oklas must find a way to smuggle her out of the city while hiding his involvement from the authorities. Below the grand Assembly Chambers, a knyad in a mask sculpts, grasping for scraps of beauty in her shrinking world. Years ago, Prismer made a costly mistake and now has only her job at the projection booth and a few special interests to fill her days. But it is not her sculptures that draw the attention of a powerful client, and she is soon met with a request to undertake a dangerous mission. Will she answer the call and risk losing the little she has left? Mysteries surface. A supernatural substance is used in corrupt ways. As identities shift and predicaments are reshuffled, what alliances might be forged?

Our Ways Unmasked by C.B. Lansdell

Return to Knyadrea, a world of sea-born people shaped by tumultuous forces. Nearly a year after the events of Far Removed, the resourceful Oklas and guarded Prismer face a unique set of challenges in their socially stratified society. Knyadrea’s sovereigns grow ever more paranoid. Armed enforcers patrol Apidecca’s streets, and tensions escalate. With nothing to lose, Oklas Sayve turns to resyn for solutions. Could the mystical substance that unravelled his life also prove to be his salvation? There is no room for doubt. Too many are relying on his expertise. The knyads he once considered charities are now close friends and allies … and one of them might even be something more. New threats stand between Prismer and the dreams she’s only beginning to open herself up to. Venturing out from under the shadow of the Pentarchy, can she recover her faith in the knyad god, in herself, and in the people who see past her mask? In Our Ways Unmasked, the second book in the Apidecca Duology, Oklas and Prismer are not the only ones with an eye on the city’s future. Rebels, traitors, and scumbled outcasts have a myriad of reasons to seek change. Together, can they overcome an oppressive regime that has stood for hundreds of years? No Gen AI was used in the production of this book.

The Tidelings of Dras Sayve by C.B. Lansdell

Maverick diplomat Emis Rindar travels to the northernmost clan in the Dras Channel, seeking the assistance of an old friend. After a lifetime of adventures across Knyadrea, a large moon, his next planned endeavour will be unlike anything he has attempted. Isolated and enigmatic, the knyads of Dras Sayve keep even their neighbours at a distance, and few welcome the unorthodox ideas Emis brings from abroad. But all his breakthroughs happen here, and the Sayvians are the most technologically progressive knyads on the moon. Can Emis convince them that he will make a worthy mentor to one of their more curious juveniles? This story is set 30 years before the events of Far Removed (C.B. Lansdell’s debut sci-fi novel).