Star Language by Charon Dunn

SPSFC 2023

Melina is super unlucky when it comes to mothers; hers is an abusive greedy drugged-up nightmare who sells her to traffickers. She’s a lot luckier when it comes to boyfriends – her big strong alien bae makes everyone thirst. The one department where her luck is absolutely on point has to do with her talent – a flair for learning languages that makes her the only one capable of performing translation duty once the aliens reach Earth. Trigger warning: SA, ultraviolence, 18+, explicit badness.

The Least of Elves: A Land of Fathara Novella by Robin Glassey

Toran looked upon the other Elves in Xanti with wonder. They all had at least one Gift, they all had a trade, and they all knew their path in life. Why did he have to be so different? Toran's only claim to fame had been the attention the queen had given him on his Naming Day. She had called him a harbinger … but of what? And now that he was entrusted with a delivery to the Human village of Kipra, he hoped great things finally lay in store - but feared his history of mistakes might spell disaster.

Whiskey and Warfare by E. M. Hamill

SPSFC 2024

Running on caffeine and spite with nothing left to prove. GOLDEN GIRLS meets FIREFLY in this rollicking space opera adventure. Maryn Alessi retired from mercenary service after her last assignment went horribly sideways and settled down on a quiet planet with the love of her life. Unexpectedly widowed, Maryn must fulfill a promise to return her mate’s ashes to zer home planet for funeral rites, but a brutal civil war has destabilized space travel. Former Artemis Corps sisters-in-arms and their sassy ship, the Golden Girl, are up to the task, counting on luck and their rather sketchy cargo business to get Maryn passage through the contested star lanes. But when the crew of the Girl rescues survivors of a ruthless war crime, Maryn and her ride-or-die friends must take up their old profession to save the lives of innocents from a genocidal dictator.