Stories of the fantastic, stories of the science fictional:
A young man lives alone on the far side of the moon, an artificial intelligence his only friend and companion. A hex-slinger encounters his dead wife, sword in hand, standing at a twilight crossroads. A young woman in prison for having superpowers is tested. A former Martian marine and her brilliant husband, investigate troubles on a colossal space station orbiting Saturn. A traveling medicine show where real magic happens faces evil in a frontier boomtown in 1901.Plus five more.
This story collection is a tribute to a friendship, and the influences writers can have on one another.
Dale Ivan Smith met K.C. Ball in 2009, when she was an editor guest at an online writing school. That led to Dale's first sales to K.C.'s online magazine 10Flash Quarterly, a lasting friendship, and a writing partnership. They co-wrote three stories, all of which are included in this collection, including the novella "Silver City," published here for the first time. Four of the other stories, written by Dale, were published by K.C. in 10Flash, while K.C. read and influenced "Persisting" and "Nullified."
Dale Ivan Smith is the author of The Empowered series, the urban fantasy Gremlin Night, and the space opera Spice Crimes. His stories have appeared in the High Noon, Street Spells and Underground anthologies.
K.C. Ball was the author of the novel Lifting Up Veronica and Snapshots From a Blackhole and Other Oddities. She passed away in 2018.
Rules Concerning Earthlight and Other Stories of Fantasy and Science Fiction includes introductions to each story, and additional bonus material.