I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently, about where I am in life and, more importantly, where I want to be. I’ve taken a good hard look at my goals and I’ve realized that some things need to change. 

I also realized that it’s been years since I’ve done any sort of update or improvement to this here site. 

Since 2014, a lot has changed in blogging. Sadly, many bloggers that I used to love are no longer writing. People who used to be a weekly inspiration, who’s blogs posts I waited for and checked for and stopped everything else to devour just aren’t writing anymore. I stumble upon blogs on Pinterest that I would love to read, but haven’t updated in years.

In one hand, that sucks for me and the other loyal fans of those blogs. We were reading, we were taking our time to come to the site or pull up the posts because we got something out of them. 

On the other hand, some of the people who left the blogging world did so for completely understandable and valid reasons. One, Lisa Jacobs, left because she wanted to get a more traditional job so she could focus on her family more. Some leave because they want to devote more time to their other work, or because they’re not getting the same thing out of blogging that they used to. 

Some people find that they simply no longer have anything to say about a topic. Many bloggers have switched to podcasts or vlogging. Some bloggers should have stopped writing, or at least changed subjects a while ago because at this point they’re on repeat. Not naming any names here. They know who they are.

Before we go any further, I’m not closing down Paper Beats World. I like it here and I still feel like I’ve got plenty, plenty, to say. I’ve been on this earth for thirty-three years and I don’t think I’ve ever run out of things to say. But I might be out of things to say about writing. 

I also want to commit more time to work on fiction writing. I have some big, shiny, scary goals that I want to reach in the next ten years, and I need to take a look at my habits and make some changes.

So, with all this being said, I’m announcing today that Paper Beats World will be going through some changes. The new and (hopefully) improved PBW will launch on October 4th. It’ll have a whole new look, and hopefully a slightly new feel. 

Here’s what you can expect from me, starting then.

1. We’re going down to one blog post a week, on Fridays. 

2. Those blog posts are going to deal with topics concerning speculative fiction, fun things that are happening in my life and sometimes world and political events. I’ll be as respectful as possible.  3. I’m going to have the time to work more with the PBW Update. It will start going out again as of Monday. If you’re not signed up yet, here’s a link.

4. The site will have a whole new look, whole new color scheme, and just be all new and spiffy. 

I’m a big believer that if we stay still, we get stagnate. I’m not down for that. I’m very excited about these changes, and I hope you are too.

One thing that’s not going to change is that I always want to know what you think. If you have anything you want to see here, please let me know. Honestly, if you have any suggestions or questions at all, let me know in the comments below.

Station Central has been touted as the vacation destination in the stars. Its success and popularity as not only a great place to vacation, but a great place to live was the start of mankind moving off of Earth and into the stars.
Sennett, Godfrey and Liam head there in search of a much-needed vacation. Instead, they find a council at war with each other, a population starving and an accused murderer lurking in the shadows. Sennett and Godfrey fight to keep April safe as family secrets threaten to destroy them, even as the Hollow Suits come out of hiding and attack. Will they survive the fourth installment of Station 86?

Download Station Central today.

It had been a beautiful school once when Taylor had gone there. He stood in what used to be the playground, kicking rocks. The building was still beautiful, an architectural marvel. He wondered what ghosts awaited. And if he could exorcise them.

The previous headmaster hadn’t been able, or perhaps willing to tell Taylor why the school had closed down. Perhaps it was simply a staffing issue. No one seemed to work there, except Taylor himself. He was having a hell of a time finding teachers.

Taylor made his way inside, awash with memories. The time he’d spent there. This had been his home as a child, more than his parents home.

It was cold, inside, colder than he would expect on a warm day. He pulled his jacket closed.

Taylor’s footsteps echoed in the empty building. He had never had the place to himself before. It was odd.

Perhaps that was why he thought he heard another set of footsteps behind him. He turned but saw nothing of course. But there was a sound.

The sound was coming from the end of the hall where there was a set of doors that led to the maintenance area. Taylor sighed. There was probably some animal trapped in there. This lovely building’s neglect was criminal. He headed for the door.

Taylor opened the door to the maintenance area, trying to be as loud as possible. He hoped that the animal camping in there would decide to leave simply because the place was now occupied. But the sound, which now was clearly scratching, continued.

Angry, Taylor headed further into the maintenance area. This was too much. He hadn’t been just how run down the place was. Now he’d have to hire an exterminator and how much would that cost? The scratching continued. Bold creature, whatever it was.

Whatever it was living in there was large. It was making a good deal of noise now that Taylor was focusing his attention. He was a patient man, but he felt his temper rising. Why had this beautiful building been left to fall apart like this?

Taylor stormed forward. He stepped in something sticky that caught his foot. He tried to pull free to no avail. As he struggled, the sounds came closer. It was moving faster. Taylor looked around. He saw claws, teeth, and glowing red, hungry eyes.

Soon Taylor was gone. The creature left not even a drop of blood on the cement to tell where he’d been. Satisfied, it slunk out into the hall of it’s hunting grounds. There would be other meals. After all, it was such a beautiful building.

Station Central has been touted as the vacation destination in the stars. Its success and popularity as not only a great place to vacation, but a great place to live was the start of mankind moving off of Earth and into the stars.
Sennett, Godfrey and Liam head there in search of a much-needed vacation. Instead, they find a council at war with each other, a population starving and an accused murderer lurking in the shadows. Sennett and Godfrey fight to keep April safe as family secrets threaten to destroy them, even as the Hollow Suits come out of hiding and attack. Will they survive the fourth installment of Station 86?

Download Station Central now!

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but in case you missed it, I’ll talk about it again. V for Vendetta is the best comic book of all time. And if you get your hands on the paperback collection, you’ll be treated to a great story from the author, Alan Moore.

He found himself sitting in a pub one day, which seems like a pretty nice way to spend the day. He was watching the news while he enjoyed a meal and a few pints. When the pub owner’s wife came in near supper time, she turned the tv to some game show or another. According to Moore, she apologized and explained that she didn’t like the news, it was too depressing.

Yeah, she hadn’t seen anything yet. This was back in the eighties. 

Man, I feel her. It hurts so damn much to be aware of what’s going on right now. At least once a day, I’m consumed by rage over something I’ve seen on the news. 

It freaking hurts to know how many people are hurting. Those people at the border in concentration camps break my heart every single day. Children ripped away from their parents, innocent people who are seeking asylum (which is totally legal by the way) are being housed in the most inhumane way as possible on purpose. It hurts to know that women are losing our rights to decide what happens to our bodies. 

And let’s be real, the news is also scary as hell. I am worried, daily, about a long list of things that I can’t do anything about! I’m worried about the bees. I’m worried about housing costs, and how stupidly expensive it is to even live. I’m worried about what we’re doing to our planet, and if we’re going to be able to keep it habitable. I’m worried about the polar bears, the tigers, the lions. All of the endangered animals. I’m worried about the fire ants infesting America. (Why are polar bears endangered and these damned little fire ants are flourishing. How is that fair?) I’m worried about getting shot at a garlic festival because apparently, that’s a thing that could happen to anybody. I’m a little worried someone might find me for my anti-church and pro-gay opinions, and try to shoot me. I’m worried about a whole slew of other things, too, but there’s only so much room. And you’re probably worried about all the same shit anyway, so it’s not like I’m telling you anything you don’t already know.

It hurts, it hurts so damn much, to be aware. And there are days when I just want to put my head down and keep my eyes on my own work.

But that’s how things got so bad in the first place. Because too many of us are doing just that. We’re not taking action, because we’re not aware, because it hurts too bad. 

Look, I get it. But there are things you can do that will help you stay aware, but not break your heart. One thing I do is to have one day a week, Sunday, where I don’t read or seek out the news. I stay off social media altogether on Sundays. I don’t check my email, either. Those who follow me on social media will note that I don’t post anything, even though I use an automatic poster and could easily schedule posts and not have to look at social media to do it. But still, I don’t. That day is kept sacred. That day I permit myself to look away.

I also try to focus on what I can do, rather than what I can’t. I can call and write my elected officials. I can put political pressure on them. I can send money to candidates that are supporting the changes we need to make. I can share things on social media that help other people be more aware, too. Kind of like what I’m doing right now. 

If we focus on what we can’t do, it’s easy to sink into depression. But there’s always something we can do. We can always use our voice. But we can’t do that if we don’t know what’s going on. 

And as Alan Moore says, don’t turn off the news. Even when it hurts.

A few months back I did a post about the podcasts and blogs I’ve been reading. I like to update that from time to time because they change. I give up on some podcasts, start listening to new ones. Blogs that I live switch to Newsletter only, and I find new ones. Or not. Honestly, a lot of blogs I love just aren’t around anymore. This saddens me. I feel like blogging had a big surge, and now is sort of going downhill. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I’ve been here for five years, and you’ll pry this blog from my cold dead hands.

Anyway, since I’ve been listening to so many podcasts, I wanted to introduce you all to three fictional podcasts I’ve been devouring recently. They’re all spooky and mysterious, and absolutely life absorbing. If you haven’t listened to these yet, you’ve got to take some time.

Limetown

I’m warning you now that the third season isn’t out yet, and we’re all waiting patiently for it. There’s also a show coming out on Facebook of all places.

At any rate, the story is about the mysterious Limetown, a company town where something terrible happened. In one night almost all of the inhabitants vanished. I say almost because the remains of one man were found. He’d been burned at the stake in the middle of town. The story is told in a found-footage style, guided by a young journalist named Lia Haddock. As she digs further and further into the story, she finds that she’s more connected to Limetown than she thought.

After you listen to the first two seasons and hate me for introducing this to you, you can read the prequel book while you wait for season three like the rest of us. 

The Black Tapes

Straight up, I’m only sharing this one because I’ve heard rumors of another season. It’s sorely needed. 

The Black Tapes is about a paranormal investigator that considers it his mission in life to prove that the paranormal isn’t real. It starts as a one-episode interview of Richard Strand and his black tapes, paranormal experiences that he hasn’t yet been able to explain with science. He’s being interviewed by a journalist named Alex. Her one episode about Strand quickly turns into an obsession with his black tapes. And the realization that there’s something that wants her to keep right on digging. What she finds is a demonic conspiracy that involves her.

As I said, the ending as it stands right now is terrible. But there is much hope that they’re going to make another episode. So, fingers crossed.

Tanis

From the same group, and including some of the same characters as The Black Tapes, Tanis is less demons and ghosts, and more an adventure story about finding a lost city that manifests at random places all over the world. Information is found in random radio frequencies, and it all goes back thousands of years. There’s a cabin that’s bigger on the inside but is far from benevolent. I haven’t finished this one yet, but I’m eager to do so.

Seeking Tanis, Runner wanted.

Have you listened to any of these podcasts? Are there other awesome scary podcasts I should check out? Let me know in the comments. 

Station Central has been touted as the vacation destination in the stars. Its success and popularity as not only a great place to vacation, but a great place to live was the start of mankind moving off of Earth and into the stars.
Sennett, Godfrey and Liam head there in search of a much-needed vacation. Instead, they find a council at war with each other, a population starving and an accused murderer lurking in the shadows. Sennett and Godfrey fight to keep April safe as family secrets threaten to destroy them, even as the Hollow Suits come out of hiding and attack. Will they survive the fourth installment of Station 86?

Available now on Amazon

The day has come, Station Central is now available on Amazon!

Station Central has been touted as the vacation destination in the stars. Its success and popularity as not only a great place to vacation, but a great place to live was the start of mankind moving off of Earth and into the stars.
Sennett, Godfrey and Liam head there in search of a much-needed vacation. Instead, they find a council at war with each other, a population starving and an accused murderer lurking in the shadows. Sennett and Godfrey fight to keep April safe as family secrets threaten to destroy them, even as the Hollow Suits come out of hiding and attack. Will they survive the fourth installment of Station 86?

I can’t believe we’ve reached the fourth book in the series. I hope you’re all loving it as much as I’m loving writing it. And after you’ve read it, please don’t forget to leave a review. It’s greatly appriciated.

If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, here’s a link.

Thanks everyone for reading. Happy launch day.

Once upon a time, five years ago in 2014, I started this blog to talk about the trials and tribulations of being an aspiring author. Five years doesn’t seem like a long time in retrospect. In some ways, it feels like a week ago I started this little project. In other ways, it feels like a lifetime ago. This, I think is more akin to the truth, because I am not who I was when I started this. In some ways, my life has become much harder. Some people were walking this Earth at the start of this who aren’t there anymore. Some people were in my life who aren’t around anymore.

In other ways, my life has become much better. I attribute that, largely, to making creativity a central part of my life. And a big part of that has been sharing this blog with all of you.

For the last five years, I’ve had a self-imposed deadline, the best kind for an Upholder like myself. I’ve shown up here, on PBW, twice a week, to share something with the world.

With you.

And the best part is, you showed up too. You, all of you reading this, showed up. You helped keep me accountable, made me feel heard. And I can’t thank you enough for that. 

I’ve had such a great time over the last five years. Here’s to many, many more to come.

Episode Three

Thursday, AC April 6

Sennett was laying upside down on her couch, feet propped up on the headrest and her head just brushing the floor. She was watching the news, trying to figure out how they could make station life seem so boring.

No one knew better than a police officer how many stories there were to tell on any given day. Where were the stories of muggings and people finding their life’s savings that had been hacked just in time? What was this crap about what tie Marshal Howard was wearing, or how many times he’d worn it before? Why did they spend so much time talking about one missing boy, when dozens more were missing, had been missing? Was it just because he was an adorable little boy that was easy to put in front of the cameras? And what the hell did Sennett care if some celebrity on Station Central was gaining weight?

She was watching the news, but she was also watching the clock. She still had three hours and eight minutes until April got out of school and she could go pick her up. Maybe they’d go to the shopping district and replace April’s sneakers. Maybe they’d go down to Level One, get some frozen yogurt and people watch. Literally, anything would be better than what she was doing then.

Which was nothing.

Liam’s bedroom door opened. He came out into the living room, still dressed in a tank top and sweatpants, scratching his head vigorously. He stopped when he saw her, sitting upside down. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked.

“Watching the news,” Sennett muttered.

“That ain’t healthy,” he replied, shuffling towards the kitchen.

“I don’t have anything else to do,” Sennett replied, “I don’t know what you do all day.”

“Mostly I run the vacuum and read,” he called, “I do some research on the Core, what little there is to do. I clean my guns, and I rest up. This quiet thing, it ain’t goin’ to last, Sen. You might want to enjoy being bored while you can.”

Her wrist pad started beeping. She tapped the screen, still upside down on the couch.

It was Schultz. “Montgomery,” she said, then hesitated, a look of surprise on her face. “What in the hell are you doing?”

“Being bored out of my damn mind, Commissioner,” Sennett said, not bothering to sit up. She wasn’t on duty, after all.

“I’d hoped you’d get some rest. Which is why I don’t like having to ask you a favor,” Schultz said. “Can you come up to the barracks?”

“I will be there in fifteen minutes,” Sennett replied. She was on her feet an on the way to her bedroom before she even disconnected the call.

Sennett tried not to skip as she walked into the barracks. She couldn’t believe that she’d missed the smell of burned coffee and vomit that often permeated the place, but she had. In the waiting room, people sat on hard benches, waiting for any number of things. Two uniforms watched over them, a pretty young blond man at the desk and a wide, rough looking woman standing at ease next to it. They both waived at Sennett, then went back to their charges.

Past the entryway, where civilians only went if they’d been in trouble or were about to be, sat the desks of the detectives and ranking uniforms in neat lines. Sennett spotted Patty, recently promoted to street supervisor, and waived. Patty gave her a warm smile and a wave, then went back to her work. She had gray in her hair and lines around her eyes that hadn’t been as prominent before her partner died.

Joyce, recently promoted to detective, spotted Sennett. She was a solid woman, with her hair pulled back from her face severely.

“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be on bereavement,” she said.

“Schultz called me in for something,” Sennett said, “I actually don’t have any idea what it’s about.”

“For someone who’s being called into the bosses office unexpectedly you look surprisingly happy,” Joyce replied.

Sennett chuckled and headed for the commissioner’s office.

It was considerably more crowded than she’d expected. Five people, two men, and three women stood around the room. They all wore black fatigues with their symbol, IHP in silver surrounded by one hundred stars, on the arms of their jackets.

Sennett did a quick check for rank. Both of the men wore a single line of white on their shoulders, indicating corporeal rank. One girl, who couldn’t have been more than nineteen and was bouncing a bit, wore no ranking at all. Another, with a long braid and a studious expression, had the double lines that marked her a sergeant. The last woman, with short cropped black hair, observing Sennett from next to Schultz’s desk, wore the four lines of a commander.

“Montgomery,” Schultz said, “thank you for coming. Please come in and shut the door behind you.”

Sennett pulled the door shut with a snap. She was suddenly less happy about the situation.

“This is Commander Evelyn Greenwood, originally from Station 68,” Schultz said, indicating the frowning woman next to her. “She’s from the IHP.”

“I thought IHP was on Earth,” Sennett said, reaching out to shake Evelyn’s offered hand.

“I was on a recruitment mission when the order went out, along with my second, Narumi Holms, Station 63,” Evelyn said, nodding to the woman with the long braid. “By the time we were in range of Earth no one was responding to my messages. I didn’t want to take green recruits into an unknown situation. So I decided to keep patrolling the stations. Turns out, that was a good decision.”

The younger girl was bouncing still, looking from Schultz to Sennett, then back again to Schultz.

Sighing, Schultz said, “This is my niece, Fernie.”

“It’s so amazing to meet you,” Fernie said, rushing forward to shake her hand. “As soon as I found out that we were going to be meeting you I just about died!”

“Thank you, why?” Sennett asked.

“Because you’re a hero, of course!” Fernie said.

“I’m not, really,” Sennett replied.

“Since we’re doing introductions,” Evelyn said, “This is Lee and Wesley, from Stations 7 and 6 respectively.”

She indicated the two men at the back of the room. Lee was a broad man, who seemed to take up more room than any other two people that Sennett could think of. His hair was cropped short, nearly shaved on the sides. He gave Sennett a respectful smile and nod which she returned.

Wesley was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He’d taken his uniform jacket off, revealing his arms. Somehow, Sennett was having trouble looking away from his arms, which were well defined. His dark hair curled and fell slightly around his ears. When he noticed her looking at him, he gave her a shy smile. She smiled back, then turned to Evelyn. “Nice to meet all of you,” she said, “What can I do for you?”

“We’re looking into a situation on another station. Fernie suggested that you might be of assistance since you’ve been instrumental in taking care of some strange situations here,” Evelyn said.

“That’s not how I would describe it, but sure,” Sennett replied.

“Have you heard about Station 16 going dark?” Schultz asked.

“Yes ma’am,” Sennett said, “I didn’t hear much, but I know it was in a few news feeds.”

“We got a garbled SOS from them before they went dark,” Evelyn said. “Fernie has a friend who lives there, Etta Simpson. She sent something out to her.”

She nodded to the younger girl. Fernie reached over to Schultz’s desk and tapped it.

The wall screen lit up with the face of a woman. Thick dark hair was flowing around her face, and a smudge of mascara was running from under her eye down to beside her strangely circular nose. She seemed to be in what looked like a dorm room, with messy looking bunk beds and a small table covered with bowls and coffee cups. The shades were drawn, and she hadn’t bothered with the light.

“Hey,” Etta said, whispering. “I know you’re off learning to be a superhero and all, but we might need some help here. Normally I’d go to Station security, but they’re not really around anymore. They’ve been replaced by these guys.”

They could see her open the window shade, then she held the camera up to the glass. There were soldiers, marching in battalions. They were armed with weapons that looked more lethal than crowd control. Black, with long muzzles and thick handles, they resembled the ancient two barrel shotgun.

“Pause that, please,” Sennett said. Fernie obliged.

With her new roommate being a gun runner, Sennett’s knowledge of weapons had increased dramatically. “That’s a Winchester Honorarium, second edition,” she said, “Based on those clips, they’re firing acid rounds. I thought the IHP banned the use of those on Stations.”

“They’re not banned on Earth, though. At least not all of Earth,” Schultz said. She came to Sennett’s side, inspecting the image. “I don’t see any insignia. But, I assume you agents have already checked for that.”

“Yes,” Evelyn said, “And we knew it was a Winchester.”

“We hadn’t identified the ammo, though,” Lee said, “That was pretty good.”

“Go ahead and play the rest of the message, please,” Sennett said.

Etta brought the screen back to her. “The mall’s been shut down, but no one’s explaining why. The weird thing is, there hasn’t been an outbreak. At least not one we know about. The lab’s open, we’re all still going to work every day. And if there had been an accident, even a little one, that wouldn’t be happening. You remember what happened when Qa broke that beaker, and it was only a sulfur mixture.”

“They shut the whole building down for three days,” Fernie said, pausing the video. “Actually, that was fun. They shut everything down, but still paid us.”

“This doesn’t sound like a normal station,” Sennett said.

“Station 16 is a disease research facility. It’s a company station, the only people who live there are people who work at the lab and their families,” Narumi explained, “Fernie was working security there with Etta before she signed up for IHP.”

“She was higher rank than me,” Fernie said. She started the video again.

“Listen, the soldiers aren’t the worst of it. There’s a woman on your home station, Sennett Montgomery. I’ve been hearing about some of the crazy shit that’s been going down there. Seems like the only reason that place is still in the sky is because of her.”

“What the hell kind of rumors have been running around?” Sennett muttered.

“Get her, get anyone you can think of, and come. Please, we’ve got people here who are scared. These soldiers are saying that they’re here to protect us, but they’re not saying what from. If it were just me, I wouldn’t ask you, but-,”

In the background, there was a knock. Etta looked up, and the video ended abruptly.

“The station went dark a few days after Fernie received this,” Evelyn said.

“And no one’s gotten any other word?” Sennett asked.

“Nothing,” Fernie said.

“We need to investigate the situation,” Evelyn said. “And, as Etta mentioned you specifically, Fernie thought it would be a good idea to ask you to come with us.”

She turned to Sennett, her eyes sharp. “Do you have any idea why Etta would have asked for you? I mean, besides you be a hero and all.”

“I’m not a hero,” Sennett said, “Lots of other officers and civilians did as much as me and more during the AI attack and the Core assassinations.”

“I agree,” Evelyn said, “That’s why I’m wondering if you know why she would ask for you.”

“Not a clue,” Sennett said.

“I think it’s a good idea for you to go,” Schultz said.

“You want me to go to a station that studies diseases and has gone dark?” Sennett asked. “What did I do to you, Commissioner?”

“It’s just a recon mission,” Evelyn said, “There are only five IHP agents not on Earth right now.”

“Our plan is to get into the station on Level One, and release drones to scan the rest of the levels,” Narumi said.

“How long would all of this take?” Sennett asked.

“The trip’s a few days, but we don’t intend to be there more than one or two,” Evelyn replied.

“So, I’d be off station for what, a week?” Sennett shook her head. “I have a kid, I’m not leaving her for that long.”

“April will be fine with Mason while you’re gone,” Schultz said. “If you’re worried, I’ll send some uniforms around from time to time to check up on her.”

“Commissioner,” Sennett said, “I really don’t think now is the right time for me to be leaving the station.”

Schultz sighed. “Evelyn, can you and your people meet us at the gun range? I think Detective Montgomery and I have a few things to discuss.”

“Alright,” Evelyn said. She headed for the door, her people forming a line behind her. Wesley lingered just for a moment, giving Sennett a short wave. Surprised, she returned it.

Schultz waited until the door was closed before speaking. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t a request. This is an order.”

Sennett turned to face her. “And why the hell is it an order, Ma’am?” she asked.

“I would think that my reasons for wanting you to go on this mission are clear.”

“I know why you want me to go,” Sennett said, “Your niece is going and you don’t trust her team to bring her back alive. But what I don’t understand is why you think that would be more important to me than my daughter.”

“Because I don’t think that these people are who they say they are,” Schultz hissed. She glanced toward the glass door, making sure that the IHP agents were far enough away. “This woman says she was recruiting new people just as the rest of the IHP was called o Earth. It’s too coincidental.”

Schultz reached into her desk and pulled out a bright blue handgun with a silver handle. “Since I can’t really send you off station just because some scientist we’ve never heard of asked for you, the official reason for your trip will be to test these new pieces. It’s called an icer.” Sennett lifted the weapon. “What’s it do?”

“It traps the perp in a gel casing, freezing them in place safely,” Schultz said, “The very latest in crowd control. The only problem is that the gel is a little unstable.”

“Unstable, how?” Sennett asked.

“Unstable in the time it keeps someone frozen. Sometimes it’s thirty minutes, sometimes it’s, well, not as long.”

“So you want me to go to a dark station that’s got a bunch of illnesses in little jars, and arming me with a weapon that might be faulty?” Sennett asked.

“I know it’s bad. I don’t like any of this. I don’t know why this scientist that we’ve never heard of is asking for you. I don’t like that my niece is tied up in this. I’m sure that she’s not lying to me, but that just makes me wonder who’s involved in a conspiracy and who isn’t. Sennett, I’m asking you to go as a friend. Fernie’s father was my baby brother. I don’t want to lose her too.”

Sennett crossed her arms over her chest, thinking. “This could be Core related,” she said.

She turned to Schultz. “You’ll make sure April and Mason are okay?”

“I promise,” Schultz said. “I can’t imagine anyone on this station will let anything happen to them. You’re a hero.”

“I’m not,” Sennett said, “especially if heroes get stuck doing crap work like this.”

Copyright © 2019 by Nicole C. Luttrell

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Station Central has been touted as the vacation destination in the stars. Its success and popularity as not only a great place to vacation, but a great place to live was the start of mankind moving off of Earth and into the stars.
Sennett, Godfrey and Liam head there in search of a much-needed vacation. Instead, they find a council at war with each other, a population starving and an accused murderer lurking in the shadows. Sennett and Godfrey fight to keep April safe as family secrets threaten to destroy them, even as the Hollow Suits come out of hiding and attack. Will they survive the fourth installment of Station 86?

Preorder Station Central now on Amazon