Not long now, folks!

My next book, the third (and final?) book in my co-written Starship Ass series, will go live on Amazon on Thursday, November 14th!

That’s only days away! Ah!

It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago (at the end of May) was the release of Book 1, and also my first full-length novel publication.

Less than six months later, and I’ll have three full-length novels out there! Holy crap! 😛

I also wrote a whole ‘nother novel in that time (and a flash fiction and a short story), and will be releasing that one in February 2020, with hopefully another two before 2020 is done. Busy busy! Yowza!

But for now, I have a preview of Starship Ass Book 3 for you, in case you haven’t pre-ordered your copy yet or want to get a glimpse at the book early! Below is Chapter 1! Enjoy!

Vice Admiral Doyle

Vice Admiral Doyle was not a patient man. In fact, to hedge against the event of an untimely death and forgetful friends, he’d signed it into order, All memorial effects shall refer to me as thus: ‘Vice Admiral Reginald Sigmund Doyle was not a patient man.’

So, when Junior Comms Officer Richie Fochs interrupted the Vice Admiral’s train of thought as he strode the bridge of Star Station Alpha of the United Federation of Mankind, Doyle was less than amused.

“Sir, a citizen is disparaging the white patriarchy,” announced Richie, from down in the area known as the “bullpen,” with all the urgency and self-importance of not just a man on the job—but a man on a capital ‘M’ mission.

“You idiot,” Doyle barked, causing Richie to blanch instantly. Doyle straightened and softened his voice, taking on his lecturing demeanor. “We don’t call it that, anymore, remember? We’re the Federation.”

The Junior Comms Officer, known by some as Richie the Fox (due to his white fur and resemblance to said animal), gaped up at the senior-most officer in said Federation for a solid heartbeat, then closed his jaw and swallowed. “Right.” He brightened momentarily, the tinder spark of inspiration rekindling. “Sir, requesting permission to launch a verbally offensive social media assault on the offending citizen, sir.”

Doyle rolled his eyes. He does know that he’s not white under that fur, doesn’t he? The tribes of the Arctic Foxmen originated from a remote colony in the Lyra system; there were few members in the Federation, given their general lack of reputation as fighters. Cunning? Perhaps. Though one wouldn’t guess it from the presence of this moron. Oh well … this entire conversation was beneath his contemplation. “Granted.”

“Thank you, sir,” Fochs said, swiveling back to his console with a self-satisfied grin.

Before Doyle could even begin to pivot away, a Senior Comms Officer, seated two chairs down the line from Fochs, turned to face him.

“Sir, an unregistered corvette has entered our airspace, requesting docking access. They claim to be—”

Doyle cut him off with a wave of the hand. “One of ours, yes.”

The officer looked impressed. “How did you know, sir?”

“It’s my job, of course.” Doyle hefted an eyebrow, waiting for the officer to challenge him on the point. Truth was, he’d been in regular communication with this ship for the past two days. “Open a channel and put them on the viewscreen.”

“Right away, sir.”

Doyle pivoted toward the large central viewscreen, draped down over the front half of the command chamber, and checked his uniform for wrinkles. Satisfied with his appearance, he tried for the casual posture of a bully lying in wait for his prey.

Two faces appeared onscreen. Rather, the lower halves of two faces, in ultra-high resolution. The left-most sported the square jaw of what might be considered a classically handsome, clean-cut man-in-charge. The other was currently flushed red with apparent anger.

Doyle was dismayed to discover he could see up both of their noses.

“Sir,” they said in unison, a baritone and an alto voice.

“I don’t imagine you’d be so good as to duck your heads down, or kneel, would you?” Doyle asked.

The chins appeared to trade glances, then the pair tried to squat down in their seats, giving the Star Station bridge a glimpse of their eyes before two foreheads took up most of the view.

“That, uh, better, sir?” asked the alto.                                 

“No,” remarked Doyle, who took a moment to gaze around the command center. More than one officer had their mouths covered with their hands, possibly trying to hide an inappropriate display of emotion. He let a creeping sense of impatience seep into his voice. “Can you scoot back or something? All I can see are your foreheads.”

A confused moment of mumbling, muttering, and possible curse words ensued, much to the collective embarrassment of the witnessing Federation officers. Finally, an unobstructed view of two familiar faces peered into the camera, both disheveled and visibly unnerved.

“Rear Admiral Hawke,” Doyle acknowledged, a growl in his throat. “Commodore Corvus.” Less growl.

“Vice Admiral,” they acknowledged in unison. Hawke tried for a grin, while Corvus settled for a distinct frown.

Doyle cared little for either of them, truth be told. Hawke had secured his position prior to Doyle’s appointment as Vice Admiral. A complete bumbling moron. Corvus, then? Forever jealous of her superiors, it was a trait he could make use of. A means to an end … an imminent end, for one of them. “We’ve been expecting you.”

“Of course, sir,” Hawke replied.

“We?” Corvus always was the smarter of the two.

Doyle allowed a small parting of the lips, a predator’s grin. “The Grand COG awaits your presence.”

Hawke’s grin slipped, while Corvus’s frown practically reversed itself. No doubt she could sense blood in the water.

Opportunity knocks, eh, Commodore?

“The Grand COG is here?” asked Hawke, as if the Vice Admiral needed to repeat himself.

Doyle arched an eyebrow. “Indeed, Rear Admiral. The Center of the Galaxy, Himself. It’s not every day you lose a flagship, is it?”

Hawke sank further into his seat, while Corvus glowered across the distance between them.

“Docking request granted,” Doyle continued into the heavy silence. Sneering at the viewscreen, he added, “You’d best be quick.”

***

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You can get book 3 here, or if you haven’t dived into this series yet and want to start at the beginning, you can find the prequel here or book 1 here!

And as always, if you do give these books a read and enjoy them, do please consider leaving a review on Amazon! More reviews = more visibility on that massive marketplace, and more visibility = more potential readers seeing our books, which means more possible sales, which is always a good thing for us indie authors!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the ride! ^_^