With the publishing of the Audiobook for Kitra, a whole new audience of listeners was introduced to the story of the Majera and her crew. Ever since, we’ve been flooded with requests: when is Lorelei Esther going to narrate the sequel, Sirena?

Wait no longer! The Sirena audiobook is here, and it’s sensational. Plus, we’ve made it available in a variety of formats: as a .zip file of mp3s, on Google Play, and (sigh) yes, even Audible. The .zip makes us the most money, but the important thing is that you enjoy the book, whichever format you prefer!

The audiobook for Hyvilma (Book 3) should be coming out next month, and we’ll likely be releasing the audiobook for Majera, fourth book in the series, as a prelude to the print version! Look for that one early next year.

Our goal is to release audiobook versions of all our books over the next two years. In addition, we have some great new titles besides Majera coming your way in 2026-7. So keep watching this space for more exciting developments!

That’s when we made libraries a fundamental part of our distribution. Not only do we let libraries know about each of our titles, but we often encourage our readers to do the same (hint! )

The other day, our efforts paid off in a huge, really fun way.

San Diego Library presents… Gideon and Janice (and Lorelei)!

Isn’t that a beautiful building? The new San Diego Library is an absolute marvel. One of the many cool things they do is work with local authors to showcase worthy books. That’s how Rediscovery 2, Sirena, and At First Contact ended up in special display cases in the main concourse of the library!

More than a hundred local authors congregated for the event. We hadn’t realized there were so many writers in the community, but it makes sense–San Diego is the eighth largest metropolitan area in the country, and the event covered all genres of books.

They had a fantastic singer and accompanist duo, a lovely catered spread, and lots of interesting folks to talk to. It was a lot of fun, and we are looking forward to next year’s event!

Interview with Clarkesworld

Clarkesworld is one of science fiction’s leading magazines, so you can bet we were honored when the esteemed Arley Sorg dropped us a line and said he’d like to interview Gideon and Janice about their books, as well as their involvement with their web project, Galactic Journey.

We don’t know when the interview will come out, but it’s a good, long one, and we’ll let you know when it publishes!

A brief pause

The winter “vacation” ended up being a whirl of activity. We’ve got an exciting (but secret) new author we’re discussing the possibility of working with. Also, Gideon was approached by several agents in the last few weeks over the possibility of shopping the Kitra saga out to traditional (i.e. Big 5) publishers. There are pros and cons to doing that, but the attention certainly is flattering!

In any event, as a result, we’re not quite sure when our next book will be released, or which one will be first. But don’t worry–we’re not going anywhere, and you can still get all of our great line-up at your local bookstore, library, or at the online shop of your convenience.

Until next time…keep flying high!

Sirena longlisted for the Lodestar

At the 80th annual Worldcon, held in Chicago, Sirena (Book #2 in the Kitra saga) got 8th place in the Lodestar (YA award) nominations. That means it was just two slots from being on the ballot!

We are infinitely grateful that Sirena has gotten such a positive reception. From a recent review:

“If you enjoyed the pacey mild peril of Kitra, with interpersonal tensions mixed equally with spaceship shenanigans, this will be a similarly satisfying read. Really, I feel like I’m just repeating what I said in my earlier review, but it all still stands, because this is a very consistent sequel in terms of tone and enjoyability! ” _{~Asha – A Cat, A Book, And A Cup Of Tea}

Kitra Illustrator Lorelei Esther made history

Did you see the news? Lorelei Esther, who has drawn the illustrations for all three Kitra novels, was up for a Hugo this year! In case you don’t know, the Hugos are like the Oscars of science fiction. Given out since 1953, they represent the very best our genre has to offer.

This year, Lorelei was nominated in the Best Fan Artist category for her non-professional work. Great pieces like these, drawn in honor of Robin and Superboy coming out as officially queer:

At just 18 years old, Lorelei is the youngest Hugo Finalist in the history of the award. And while she didn’t ultimately win (there was some excellent competition), as they say, it’s an honor to be nominated…and she didn’t come in last!

You can follow Lorelei’s work at her Instagram account.

Kitra, Book 3, is our next release!

If you haven’t read Kitra and Sirena, now is a good time to pick them up, because there will soon be three books in the Kitra saga!

Hyvilma will come out at the end of February 2023, and it’s the most “space-opera” entry in the series. But don’t worry–it’s still got the found family, Pinky jokes, and hard science elements that charmed readers of the first two books. And, of course, Lorelei’s illustrations.

Next up, we’ll be talking about what’s up with the amazing Marie Vibbert. Stay tuned!