Martin L. Shoemaker

I’m releasing print copies of some of the Shoemaker.Space stories so that I’ll have low-cost offerings at book fairs and craft shows. They’re priced for impulse shoppers so they can sample my writing.

The print copy of Honor Guard is now available.

a.co/d/0a2iWrAc

Here it is! Hyperself!

a.co/d/03OqOObZ

Cara escaped from hyperspace... but that was just the beginning of her nightmare.

For the passengers and crew of the Longworth, it was a few hours to hyperjump to Proxima. But for the outside world, the Longworth was lost for 50 years before scientists finally found the vessel and rescued the passengers and crew.

That was a dozen years ago. Life moves on... for everyone but Cara. She has memories she shouldn't have. She has nightmares that won't abate. And she has started to hear voices.

Then Captain Smythe disappeared...

A short story (12,500 words) from Shoemaker.Space.

Unboxing Marked by Magic: The Soulstealer’s Secret by Annmarie SanSevero!

I was stupid. I knew I was stupid. But I didn’t see another choice.

In college, I worked as a security guard. My regular beat was a grocery warehouse with a complicated alarm system. The lieutenant liked college kids because it was an assignment with a lot of paperwork and study.

But sometimes we got other assignments. I worked several other beats for a night or two.

This was a temporary beat: A grocery show downtown at the convention center. It was a change of pace.

After the shift, I walked back through the unfamiliar streets, looking for where I had parked. It was mid afternoon. Keep in mind: cell phones wouldn’t be invented for two decades. And I had left my radio for the next shift.

I heard screams and a car horn.

I turned a corner, and a guy was spread-eagle across a woman’s hood. She saw me in uniform, and she screamed for help. He was her estranged husband, and she was trying to get away.

Now I wasn’t stupid. I knew what police say: domestic calls are among the most dangerous. You never know what will happen. I should walk away, find a pay phone, and call the police.

But I was stupid. She was screaming NOW, not five minutes from now. I walked toward the car.

The woman kept screaming and honking. The guy told me to get away or he’d kick my ass. I kept walking.

When I got close, the guy slid off—on the far side of the car. She tried to leave. He moved to block her. I moved to block him. He backed away.

This repeated for a while. A passerby yelled that she had called the cops. The guy backed away, and the wife escaped.

Then the guy hung around. In retrospect, I think he was trying to show he hadn’t lost, and he could’ve kicked my ass any time he wanted. He just didn’t want to. He even tried to act friendly. I kept my hand on my MagLight.

Then the police cars arrived, and he rapidly faded into the surrounding buildings. The police had no one to interview but me.

I got damn lucky. I know that. I knew it then. I knew I was stupid.

And I’d do it again.

Sentry the crow failed once, and the flock paid for it. He's not going to let it happen again. And so...

The Fat Guy's Gotta Die!

Coming this month to my Patreon subscribers. patreon.com/c/MartinLShoem…