Leigh Saunders

If you didn’t read Tendrils when it was first printed in Fiction River: Hard Choices, here’s another place where you can find it. Fiction River Presents: Space Travelers collects a handful of stories from previous Fiction River anthologies, all centered around space travel.

From the book description:

From little rovers exploring the planets where humans cannot yet go, to human explorers flung into realms of space/time beyond their knowledge and experience, to aliens who drop in for a visit to Earth for purposes only they can fathom—these travelers entertain, sometimes terrify, and always fascinate.

You can pick up Fiction River Presents: Space Travelers in print or ebook from your favorite online retailer.

Enjoy!

There is a scene fairly early in Memoirs of a Synth: Gold Record where Brianna uses the sticky label from a beer bottle to preserve the memory molecules given to her by Y’reui, an aged Callibrini Queen. The story in those molecules is never revealed in the novel – it has no bearing on the events of Brianna and Jerrold’s first adventure – but the Alien Days anthology gave me a perfect opportunity to share the tale.

Told entirely from Y’reui’s chemical-memory point(s) of view, Where All Memories are One recalls the events of Brianna’s first encounter with the insectoid Callibrini – and the disastrous results of that meeting.

This was a difficult story to write, not only because the events themselves were so very painful, but also because of the sheer challenge of trying to present the thoughts and multiple points of view of the insectoid characters in a way that we mere humans could wrap our heads around.

I hope you enjoy it.

“…Covering vast areas of space with flashing spaceships and nifty alien races, space opera in the hands of great authors helped me time after time to get off this planet and live among the stars where life was a lot more fun than my real life. So for me, great, classic space opera is always my favorite kind of reading still to this day…”

– Dean Wesley Smith

I am delighted to announce that my novel, Memoirs of a Synth: Gold Record, is included in the 2019 Space Opera StoryBundle! It’s truly an honor to see my book on the shelf with this amazing collection.

If you don’t know how StoryBundle works, they assemble a themed collection of great novels, and then make the whole set available, DRM-free and in both .epub and .mobi formats (for your Kindle or other ereading apps/devices). Best of all, you not only get to set your own price, but you can choose to donate part of your purchase price to AbleGamers, to help them provide custom video gaming setups to people with disabilities so they can have fun with their friends and family.

UPDATE: The Space Opera Storybundle is over, but you can still find many of these great books at your favorite online retailers:

• Sticks and Stones: A Trek Novel by Robert Jeschonek
• Dreams of a Fool by Michael D. Britton
• Naero’s Run by Mason Elliott
• Gold Record – Memoirs of a Synth by Leigh Saunders
• The Runabout by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
• Fiction River Presents: Among the Stars by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
• Star Rain by Dean Wesley Smith
• The Drath Series: Books 1-3 by Meyari McFarland
• The Jani Kilian Chroncles: Books 1-3 by Kristine Smith
• Queen Anne’s Revenge by Blaze Ward

And thanks to all our readers for supporting us!

I never know what to expect when an opportunity to write for Fiction River crosses my desk, and this one was no different.

At the time, I was immersed in research for another project that centered on the largely unexplored world of our own oceans and the creatures that make their home in the depths – themes that carried over into Tendrils, the story in this great collection. The alien character of Oma owes her heritage to a combination of this research, multiple YouTube videos of cuttlefish, octopuses, and squid, and the tanks of jellyfish in our local aquarium. All I had to do was envision these amazing creatures floating in space instead of salt water, and ask myself, “what if…”

Victoria Silverwolf, one of the reviewers at Tangent Online, had this to say about Tendrils:

“…The protagonist of Tendrils by Leigh Saunders is an alien who sneaks aboard human starships out of a hunger for new experiences. She is a squid-like being who is able to flatten her body and change colors in order to remain undetected. [When] a disaster on the ship threatens the lives of its crew, the alien tries to save them, while running the risk of exposing herself to those who might see her as a dangerous invader.

The author creates a sympathetic character who is completely different from a human being. The way in which the alien perceives her environment is colorful and imaginative. Her self-sacrificing struggle to help the crew of the starship is inspiring…”

In addition, Tendrils was included in Tangent Online’s 2018 Recommended Reading List, which I consider a great honor!

You can pick up your copy of Fiction River: Hard Choices from your favorite online retailer.

 — Leigh

Two bits of news here – first off, I am very proud to announce that last summer my short story, Stone Soup, was awarded 1st Place in the 2017 League of Utah Writers Short Fiction contest.

There were many times, as my children were growing up, when I wished for even the simplest of magics that might make our lives easier—particularly during those difficult times between jobs, when the pantry routinely resembled Mother Hubbard’s cupboard. And while all magic comes with a price, I don’t know of many mothers who wouldn’t gladly pay it if it meant their children were better off.

Stone Soup is a lovely little story (if I do say so myself), and I’m glad the judges agreed!

And now you can read Stone Soup and judge for yourself.

The story has been included in A Year of the Monkeys, an anthology of short fiction by the “Infinite Monkeys” chapter of the League of Utah Writers. How cool is that!

A Year of the Monkeys is available in print and ebook formats.
Visit www.Books2Read.com/AYearOfTheMonkeys and order a copy from your favorite online retailer.

Dangerous spirits lurk in the woods. A bargain can bind a soul. Enchanted sleep can only be broken by true love’s kiss… You know these things are true… even in this modern world. Your heart still recognizes the power and mystery you can only find in a fairy tale. In Beauty and Wickedness, sixteen authors retell and reimagine some of the most enchanting fairy tales ever told. Within these pages, you’ll find beauty and treachery, magic and courage, innocence and wickedness… and at least some happy endings.

Included in this collection, is my own novelette, Marriage of Convenience.

An unexpected demand by the powerful Rhysa throws fragile treaty negotiations into a turmoil. Tasked with brokering an interspecies marriage of alliance between humans and Rhysians, Earth’s negotiation team finds themselves caught in an interstellar re-enactment of Beauty and the Beast – one demanding personal sacrifices to ensure peace, and where no one will be magically transformed in the end.

Pick up your own copy of Beauty and Wickedness from your favorite online retailer.

*This novelette was previously a Finalist in the Writer’s of the Future contest.

Drum Roll, please…!

Mirages & Speculations finished in TOP TEN ANTHOLOGIES list of the 2017 Preditors & Editors Reader’s Poll – landing solidly in FOURTH Place!

I am so very proud to have my own story – Spaceman Sid & the Tentacles of Peace – in this great collection!

I’m delighted to announce my latest release – a fun, pulp-fiction style short which is included in Mirages and Speculations, a collection of desert-themed fantasy and science fiction.

Over-the-top heroes and improbable adventures are at the core of the pulp fiction novels, action comics, and Saturday afternoon creature-features I grew up with. So when a red-rock, alien landscape on the cover of a favorite comic book caught my eye, I let my imagination wander, and my own inner fiveyear-old out to play.

Spaceman Sid and the Tentacles of Peace is an homage to the ‘Spaceman Spiff’ cartoon character from Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes comics. I hope you have fun with it!

Mirages and Speculations is distributed through BundleRabbit, and is available in print and ebook formats from your favorite online retailers: www.Books2Read.com/Mirages

I am delighted to announce that my short story, The Last First Time, is the Second Place winner in the 2017 Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story competition!

I wrote this charming story during a Short Story Intensive workshop led by my good friend, Mary Robinette Kowal (who you may also know as one of the hosts of the Writing Excuses podcast), and am pleased to share it with you now. You can read it free of charge on the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable website.

Enjoy!

When I was invited to write a story for the Beneath the Waves collection, I knew that I didn’t want to write about the same sea-creatures everyone else would be writing about. Instead, I let my mind drift back to a vacation in the Caribbean a few years ago, and let my search through myths and legends lead me to the warm waters – with results I hope you’ll enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing!

In the spring of 1810, the death of his father – and discovery of an unknown uncle – sends fifteen year-old Samuel Harlowe from his simple life in England across the sea on a journey filled with dangers and wonders he never imagined.

And when a kraken attacks his ship, Samuel must choose to whether to let his crewmates perish in the watery depths, or to pay the price demanded by the Caribbean goddess, Mami Wata, the Mother of the Waters.

Available as part of the Beneath the Waves bundle, on BundleRabbit, or from your favorite ebook distributor (Kobo, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iBooks).