Just Across Town has been published

     My second work of short science fiction, Just Across Town, has been published in this month's issue of Gallery of Worlds, published by Lantern Hollow Press! The journal is available as a Kindle e-book, which you can purchase at Amazon.com.  I made up a book cover with the help of the Pulp-o-Mizer. The cover is not available with the Kindle edition, it is available only here on this blog. Enjoy.
 

     A while back I wrote up short descriptions of the main characters, which you can find here:
http://deepinthestax.blogspot.com/2011/11/just-across-town-meet-characters.html
http://deepinthestax.blogspot.com/2011/12/just-across-town-meet-characters-2.html
http://deepinthestax.blogspot.com/2011/12/just-across-town-meet-characters-3.html

 an excerpt from Just Across Town:
      As Alex was speaking, Consul Tellis dashed out onto the balcony and crouched next to Alex and Eddie. “Captain Howard, I am going to need you and your crew to help me. I'm sure by now you've observed that we are under attack. I need you to . . . .” Several flashes of light played on the palace walls, followed a fraction later by a stutter of booms, mixed with cries of pain from below and frightened screams from the guests on the balcony, who fled in panic. Alex peered through the balcony railing to see squads of Jorabite guardsmen forming up on the hilltop to face the invaders. They were terribly outnumbered, but stood their ground  . . . as Alex watched, most of them fell before the flash-and-boom of the strange guns. The survivors retreated back to the palace through a side door, behind the cover of the cloud of gray smoke the guns produced. Somewhere above them, a bell rang out.
      Consul Tellis tried again, “I need you to get me to the military headquarters building. If we are to stop this invasion, I have to get there.” Alex looked at Eddie, who was looking out at the soldiers advancing towards the palace. The first of them had reached the doors, and had forced them open. As they began to file inside, Alex counted heads, and wished he had brought even his sidearm with him.

and later on . . . 


     Meanwhile, Eddie, Alex and the Consul had made a dash across the street to the shadow of another house. Eddie leaned against the wall, gasping for air. “Gehenna, I wish I could breathe,” He panted. “Yeah, that would be nice,” Alex nodded agreement and sank to the ground. Eddie managed a wry smile. “You know, I always said I wanted to see the universe, but this wasn't what I had in mind.”
      Consul Tellis gave a short laugh, “So why did you buy your ship, then, Captain Howard?” Eddie puffed a few more times and then answered. “I spent twenty years in the Space Patrol, right? Never once in that whole time did we ever leave the Kingdom. We just patrolled the same places over and over again. I wanted to get out and explore. That was what I thought I'd be doing when I joined the Patrol. I saved up all the money I could and got out and bought the Not Yet. I like the name, right? It reminds me there's still more to see. 'Have we seen everything?' 'Not Yet.'” “Well,” Alex remarked, “if we want to do any more exploring, we've got to get this business finished first. Let's get moving again as soon as Jake and Scott catch up.”