C Gockel Writes

Want to keep reading for free (or close to it)?

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I Bring the Fire Omnibus eBook and The Defiant audiobook

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You can read (and listen to!) most of my books through subscription services:

  • Everand* (formerly Scribd) – ebooks + audiobooks
  • Kobo Plus – ebooks (no Kobo device needed—the app is free)

Both offer 30-day free trials—so if you’re a fast reader, you could get through quite a bit at no cost.

Learn more about KoboPlus and Everand. 

Or Read & Listen Completely Free

You can also find my books at your local library:

  • Libby / OverDrive
  • Hoopla
  • CloudLibrary
  • BorrowBox

If your library carries ebooks or audiobooks, there’s a good chance they have my books—or can request them.

Find Libraries that Offer Libby/Overdrive

If Your Library Doesn’t Loan eBooks or Audiobooks

You may be able to get a library card at a larger library system for a modest fee. Here is a website that lists libraries with non-resident borrowing priveleges.

A quick note

I’m a big library user myself and often enroll in various subscription services (books add up fast—and so do growing kids’ expenses).

However you choose to read—buying, borrowing, or listening—I’m just glad you’re spending your time with my stories.

*Everand isn’t currently featuring Magic After Midnight.

Special Feature: Meet My (Sci-fi) Cover Designer Tom Edwards

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Volka From Admiral Wolf

DESIGNING THE GALAXY

Science fiction lives or dies by imagination, and nowhere is that more visible than on its covers. Before a reader even turns a page, the art has already whispered a promise of adventure, danger, and wonder. Few artists capture that better than Tom Edwards, whose work has become the visual signature of modern space opera and military science fiction.

Over the past decade, Tom has designed hundreds of covers for some of the biggest names in the genre, from vast fleet battles and alien worlds to intimate portraits of lone heroes against the void. His art doesn’t just illustrate; it invites. It’s that rare fusion of painterly realism and cinematic light that makes you feel the hum of engines and the chill of deep space.

To celebrate his contribution to the worlds we write, and you love to read, a group of us, Joshua T. Calvert, C. Gockel, James Rosone and BA Gillies, have come together to showcase some of our favourite covers by Tom and to ask him how he brings galaxies to life.

[Read more…]

Featured Sci-fi: Andy McBean and the War of the Worlds (The Amazing Adventures of Andy McBean Book 1) by Dale Kutzera

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Featured Sci-fi: Andy McBean and the War of the Worlds (The Amazing Adventures of Andy McBean Book 1) by Dale Kutzera

FREE as of May 22, 2026
Click for Current Price: Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany

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What could be worse than middle school? Home work, band class, bullies, a new kid who may be a new friend…Andy McBean is struggling to survive it all in the soggy hills of the Pacific Northwest. Even worse, he spent much of the past year in the hospital battling leukemia.

Then one night a meteor storm devastates the county, cutting off power and phones. One giant rock crashes into Andy’s neighborhood, skids up the street, and stops right on Andy’s front lawn. The towering boulder draws the attention of neighbors, the media, the army, and even the new girl from Andy’s art class. He is thrilled at the notoriety, but everything changes when the meteor opens and a towering machine steps out.

Separated from his family, Andy must fend for himself and rescue his friends. Join the adventure as Andy meets an alien, devises a plan to stop the invasion, and learns how strong he really is.

Featured Fantasy: A Mythical Case of Arson (A Mythical Pet Sitting Mystery) by Melissa Erin Jackson

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Featured Fantasy: A Mythical Case of Arson (A Mythical Pet Sitting Mystery) by Melissa Erin Jackson

FREE as of May 17, 2026
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Just when she thinks her day can’t get any weirder, she finds a baby dragon …

Deandra Hendricks works her fingers to the bone at two jobs to keep her Los Angeles apartment. With a rapidly dwindling savings account, the prospects for her future are bleak. So when her cousin invites her to visit Axia—the hidden magical hub their grandparents retired to—she agrees. Deandra doesn’t possess a stitch of magic herself, but a long weekend vacation in a strange new town might be just what she needs.

Her first day in Axia is so bizarre, though, she wonders if her bleak life in Los Angeles hasn’t been so bad after all. And just when she thinks her day can’t get any stranger, she finds a baby dragon trapped in a dumpster. At a loss, she takes a trip to the vet, hoping they can help find the little guy’s owner.

The dragon, it turns out, only appears in its true form to her, while everyone else sees a dire wolf puppy. She and the vet discover that, as long as the dragon wears his bespelled collar, his true identity is hidden. Someone went to great lengths to keep this supposed-to-be-extinct animal a secret.

Then the “dog” is accused of arson and is seized by authorities. Determined to help him, Deandra searches for the real arsonist. She catches wind of a thriving black market that’s populated by those who would stop at nothing to claim an animal this rare. She must work quickly to clear her dragon’s name, because if he falls into the wrong hands, she could lose him forever.

Featured Fantasy: Demon’s Reign (The Bloodwood Saga Book One) by David Estes & Ben Galley

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Featured Fantasy: Demon's Reign (The Bloodwood Saga Book One) by David Estes & Ben Galley

FREE as of May 22, 2026
Click for Current Price: Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany

Tarkosi Terelta is a nobody. A nobody who will save his world from demons and the hellfire they bring.

The third-born of a shamed family, Tarkosi’s lot in life is to spend his days as a worker, feeding temperamental lancewings under a harsh master. His days in the bloodwood city of Shal Gara are full of drudgery, tedium, and pain, his own ambitions cast aside in the name of order.

That is until demons from a broken world invade the forest realm of The Swathe, and an accident born of violence and dark magic intertwines Tarkosi’s fate with the greatest among them.

Forced onto the frontlines of a war forgotten by history, Tarkosi must balance battling the royal demon bound to him with the rapid progression of the magical abilities its presence has bestowed. Risking everything, he will need to tread a thin line between hero and heretic to keep Shal Gara from falling into ruin and chaos.

Avatar: The Last Airbender meets Venom in this epic progression fantasy perfect for fans of Iron Prince, Cradle, and Kingfall.

Featured Sci-fi: Mammoth by John Varley

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Featured Sci-fi: Mammoth by John Varley

$1.99 as of May 22, 2026
Click for Current Price: Amazon US (Full-price: United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany)

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A “rollicking, bittersweet tale of time travel and ecology” from the Nebula and Hugo Award–winning author of the Gaea Trilogy (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
 
“H. G. Wells meets Jurassic Park” in this novel about a multibillionaire, a time machine, and a baby woolly mammoth named Little Fuzzy (The Best Reviews).

[Read more…]

Featured Sci-fi: Bubbles in Space Complete Series (Books 1 – 5) by S.C. Jensen

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Featured Sci-fi: Bubbles in Space Complete Series (Books 1 - 5) by S.C. Jensen

99¢ as of May 20, 2026
Click for Current Price: Amazon US, United Kingdom (Full-price: Canada, Australia, Germany)

Blade Runner meets The Fifth Element in this eccentric cyber-noir thriller series about a bleak world ravaged by corrupt leaders, mega-corporations, and crime lords… and the washed-up cyborg detective who might be the only one crazy enough to take them on.

#1 – Tropical Punch – The adventure begins when Bubbles Marlowe uncovers a disturbing secret that reveals the truth behind the cold-case death of an old colleague, a secret that someone will kill to keep…

#2 – Chew ‘Em Up – Bubbles is being stalked by an army of unhinged fans and her best friend is on the run from deadly corporate head-hunters. The good news is, there is a cure for their unwanted fame. The bad news is, it might be fatal…

#3 – Pop ‘Em One – High-tech, low-life? Bubbles must delve deep into the gritty underbelly of the city’s meanest streets to save her ex-partner from the cruel hands of a mad megacorp scientist. But the corrupt heart of HoloCity’s black market might be the cruelest discovery of all…

#4 – Spit ‘Em Out – Revenge tears Bubbles from the only home she’s known as she hunts down the killer she let get away. With the blood of his victims on her hands, she won’t rest until she brings the monster to justice…

#5 – Cherry Bomb – An old enemy has left Bubbles a gift from beyond the grave. And it’s a real killer…

Bubbles Marlowe, cyborg detective, struts her stuff in five thrilling back-to-back adventures in Bubbles in Space, the COMPLETE SERIES! Delve into the secrets of this gritty future world, and buckle up for a roller-coaster ride packed full of unusual characters, dark humour, and non-stop action.

Featured Fantasy: No More Black Magic (Here Witchy Witchy Book 1) by A.L. Kessler

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Featured Fantasy: No More Black Magic (Here Witchy Witchy Book 1) by A.L. Kessler

FREE as of May 17, 2026
Click for Current Price: Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany

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A hex.

Ancient runes steeped in black magic.

A decades-old crime.

Abigail Collins has her hands full as a Paranormal Investigation Bureau Agent. Accompanied by a stubborn werewolf, challenged by an overprotective coven, and introduced to a Cult linked to her parent’s death, Abby must solve her case before the murderer comes for her.

When an ancient langue connects her past with the murderer’s Abigail might just be in over her head.