To be honest, I'm not really much of a short-story writer: I'm far too long-winded. (Ahem.) But it's a genre I'd like to become better at, so with your permission, I'll use you as my guinea-pigs (or clay pigeons, whichever you prefer.) So, without further ado:

"Food Source" A creepy little tale, appropriate perhaps for the 31st of October, notwithstanding the fact that it was written in February. What happens when a human and a Sah'aaran are stranded together on a barren world--and the food begins to run out? Rated PG for mild violence and non-explicit sexual content.

"The Hunters" The owner of a Sah'aaran hunting park accepts a commission from a flamboyant Terran big-game hunter. But is a brush-demon really what he's after? Rated PG for mild violence.

"Life Lesson" This one is a bit of a curiosity, being both a sequel of sorts to "The Hunters" and a companion-piece to my novel "The Darkness Beneath." But I think it's sufficiently entertaining to stand on its own. Let me know! Rated PG for mild violence.

"The Deal: A Vignette" Another minor curiosity. It's not so much a story as a character exercise, which began life as a deadly-dull essay on the subject, "What happened to Ehm'ayla between 'Chosen Few' and 'Darkness Beneath'?" Not a great deal of plot--but hopefully enough information to be interesting, especially for those who have read those two novels. Rated G; nothing objectionable whatsoever.

"From An Antique Land" A Combined Forces Security investigator finds himself aboard a Survey vessel with a very strange--and possibly hazardous--cargo. Will it reach its destination--and does he really want it to? This novella guest-stars a minor character from my novel "The Darkness Beneath," and features a supporting-cast member from my upcoming book "The Raven's Shadow." And if some of my long-term readers know him by another name--well, as they say, that was then, this is now. Rated PG for no readily-explicable reason.