A father and son go searching for the stars, but much more than gravity will hold them back Born the year of the Moon landing, Chris Terence spends his life fighting to return humanity to that pinnacle. An engineering student with dreams of spaceflight, he finds upon graduation that the United States no longer has need for astronauts. Years of bureaucratic meddling have reduced the space program to a shell of itself, and it will take the greatest...

Miriam\u2019s parents died in a car crash when she was almost 8 years old. Just as she settles into a new life with her aunt and uncle, they decide to leave to work at an orphanage in Kenya and Miriam has to move in with her Grandma. The night after her 12th birthday, she sees something that can\u2019t be real – glowing writing on the attic door in her room. The message encourages her to open the door and behind it she finds a tropical island where...

I am fire. I am pain. I am death.My name is Ashley Warfield, a child of the foster system. I've bounced around town to town, home by home. I don't trust anyone except for my twin brother and my BFF. The jury's still out on the hot guy who shares my abilities.Just before my 18th birthday, I'm charged with arson after failing to keep my newfound talents in check. Then I'm shipped off to juvie with my only option being to join the army - I need discipline,...

In I'm Fine, But You Appear to Be Sinking, the strange and the mundane collide. These are stories of strange experiences set in familiar places, and of familiar experiences set in strange places. Many of the pieces in I'm Fine take place close to home, in suburban neighborhoods, or rural communities. The settings are conventional, yet something unexpected, or even magical, is occurring. In one piece, a couple speculates about random objects that appear...

Welcome to Blackbirch. It's a place no one forgets. Except for Josh Taylor. The fatal car crash took more than 17-year-old Josh's parents. It stole his memories and returned him to his birthplace, Blackbirch, a tourist town steeped in a history of witchcraft. Amongst friends, he's forgotten and a life he doesn't want, Josh is haunted by nightmares so believable he swears the girl in his dreams is real. Kallie is so captivating he ignores her bloodstained...

What has to happen to be able to understand who you truly are? Adya thought that life would be simpler once she Awakened, but she finds it difficult to know who she is supposed to be, especially around her unAwakened friends. She struggles to connect with other students until Lir returns to take her on a trip over winter break. When Adya thinks she's finally found the path for this lifetime, Myra returns and steals away two of the most...

When the truth involves demons, murder, and magic, everybody gets hurt. Fabian knows with magic comes pain. He already lost one friend to a demon attack. Now his best friend is falling apart in the bloody aftermath of what should have been a joyful celebration. With demons haunting the streets of Greenvalley, and dark secrets threatening to tear their group apart, Fabian wishes he'd never unlocked the water magic inside of him.But he is no coward....

The Wizard of Oz meets Avatar meets The AbyssOn the outside, Rigel is a super-bright, nerdy, high school grad, eagerly anticipating a future as an astronaut. On the inside, she's extremely stubborn, emotionally closed, and terrified of water.When she discovers she has a rare heart disease that needs immediate treatment, all her meticulous plans rocket into outer space. And when treatment begins in Florida, things go mysteriously awry and she finds...

A war had broken out in America concerning the safety and the right to practice magic freely. Magical bloodlines and magical roots were guarded by families and practitioners with their lives. Those guardians who kept the secrets of sorcery and spells for generations were now called to defend the very elements and doctrine that made them who they were. A final quest and confrontation would be necessary to gain liberation once and for all for those...

First published in 2013, Volume Five of the Bardic Tales and Sage Advice collection continues our tradition of bringing fans of speculative fiction the winners of our annual writing competitions. In this installment, stories by Craig Comer, Victor Kowalski, Jamie Lackey, David Lawrence, Victor James Night, Lynn Veach Sadler, Chad Strong, and George S. Walker.