I just got the craziest idea. While we all wait for Endurance to release on June 21, I’m going to post a bit of the first chapter each day (if I don’t forget…). I’ll interrupt when the pre-order link goes live. It’s Pride month, and I’m so damn proud of this book, I can’t wait to let everyone see it. So here goes…

Chapter 1

Captain Lyn Randall entered the packed Observation Lounge. Soft piano music dampened the clink of glasses and bursts of laughter, voices breaking through. A bar bot moved among the small tables and upholstered chairs, delivering drinks. Her guests jostled for seats like the music might stop and the chairs run out. An energy of high expectation buzzed through the crowd. They’d spent the last month and a half speeding through space pretending to enjoy the stops along the way when what they came for was right here, right now. Given what happened the last time Lyn had been here, it was only natural that a completely opposite energy coursed through her. So instead of sitting front and center, the captain’s prerogative, she slid along the back toward an empty chair by the map table.

The lights dimmed, showtime. Stragglers found seats. The crowd quieted and looked up. As their eyes adjusted, points of light popped against the black background. A river of stars, the Milky Way, spanned the clear dome overhead. A teaser. From the left, dull gray rings slowly crossed their view. The Keeler Gap followed, then more rings, brighter and brighter against the dark edge of space beyond.

“There,” someone called out.

They turned and leaned. Like the sun rising from a vertical horizon, brilliant Saturn slid into view, growing, glowing with sand-colored bands of cream, yellow, and almost pink. Wavy storm clouds swirled near the southern pole. The mood of the room rubbed off on Lyn. An unexpected awe thrilled her. This was what she had hoped for when she requested this orbit. To feel with her guests a pleasant shiver tingling the toes and scalp.

Once the planet filled the dome, the ship, which had been turning to create this spectacle, stilled. The room went quiet.

To be continued…