C Gockel Writes

Featured Sci-fi: The Dark Lady by Mike Resnick

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Featured Sci-fi: The Dark Lady by Mike Resnick

$1.99 as of November 23, 2025
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An alien art expert is caught in a dangerous hunt for an enigmatic beauty in this science fiction classic by a five-time Hugo Award–winning author.

For thousands of years the Dark Lady has appeared in portraits across the galaxy, but very little is known about her. She wears only black. She has been seen by many but known by few. And if you do see her, it will be after you’ve taken your last breath . . .

Alien art historian Leonardo has seen paintings of the Dark Lady before and sees her image again when he comes to work at a human art gallery. There he meets a wealthy old collector who hires him to track down portraits of the mysterious woman. However, Leonardo is not alone in his search. There’s an art thief out to make some money, and a man desperate to see the model herself in the flesh.Legend says that the Dark Lady summons men to great deeds or to their demise. As Leonardo’s search begins, his obsession with the woman grows. She will either be the key to his salvation or his destruction . . .

Featured Fantasy: Whiskers on Kittens by R.J. Blain

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Featured Fantasy: Whiskers on Kittens by R.J. Blain

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The next time a friend dared her to steal something, Kelsie would say no. Should the friend also be a succubus, not only would she say no, she would run for the nearest border faster than a bat fleeing the dark depths of hell.

Under normal circumstances, she didn’t even mind serving community service. It added spice to an otherwise boring day and gave her something productive to do.

Hoping to contain her prankster ways, the judge teams her up with a grouchy wolf of a cop with an attitude problem. According to her virus, Kelsie needs to get the good officer out of his pants. According to her common sense, the last thing she needs or wants is a goody-goody hampering her style and getting in her way.

When they’re assigned to help rescue kidnapped kittens, Kelsie knows one thing for certain: to create a Christmas miracle, she’ll do a lot more than bend the law—she’ll break it over her knee and unleash hell on Earth while she’s at it.

Whiskers on Kittens can be read as a standalone.

Featured Sci-fi: Dark Space by Jasper T Scott

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Featured Sci-fi: Dark Space by Jasper T Scott

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HUMANITY IS DEFEATED
Ten years ago the Sythians invaded the galaxy with one goal: to wipe out the human race.

THEY ARE HIDING
Now the survivors are hiding in the last human sector of the galaxy: Dark Space—once a place of exile for criminals, now the last refuge of mankind.

THEY ARE ISOLATED
The once galaxy-spanning Imperium of Star Systems is left guarding the gate which is the only way in or out of Dark Space—but not everyone is satisfied with their governance.

AND THEY ARE KILLING EACH OTHER
Freelancer and ex-convict Ethan Ortane is on the run. He owes crime lord Alec Brondi 10,000 sols, and his ship is badly damaged. When Brondi catches up with him, he makes an offer Ethan can’t refuse. Ethan must infiltrate and sabotage the Valiant, the Imperial Star Systems Fleet carrier which stands guarding the entrance of Dark Space, and then his debt will be cleared. While Ethan is still undecided about what he will do, he realizes that the Imperium has been lying and putting all of Dark Space at risk. Now Brondi’s plan is starting to look like a necessary evil, but before Ethan can act on it, he discovers that the real plan was much more sinister than what he was told, and he will be lucky to escape the Valiant alive. . . .

Featured Fantasy: The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa

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Featured Fantasy: The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa

$1.99 as of November 18, 2025
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AN INDIE NEXT PICK!

From the #1 bestselling author in Japan comes a celebration of books, cats, and the people who love them, infused with the heartwarming spirit of The Guest Cat and The Travelling Cat Chronicles.

Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his beloved bookworm grandfather. Then, a talking cat appears with an unusual request. The feline asks for—or rather, demands—the teenager’s help in saving books with him. The world is full of lonely books left unread and unloved, and the cat and Rintaro must liberate them from their neglectful owners.

Their mission sends this odd couple on an amazing journey, where they enter different mazes to set books free. Through their travels, the cat and Rintaro meet a man who leaves his books to perish on a bookshelf, an unwitting book torturer who cuts the pages of books into snippets to help people speed read, and a publishing drone who only wants to create bestsellers. Their adventures culminate in one final, unforgettable challenge—the last maze that awaits leads Rintaro down a realm only the bravest dare enter . . .

An enthralling tale of books, first love, fantasy, and an unusual friendship with a talking cat, The Cat Who Saved Books is a story for those for whom books are so much more than words on paper.

Translated from the Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai.

“Cats, books, young love, and adventure: catnip for a variety of readers!” –Kirkus

Featured Fantasy: Mending Magic by W.J. May

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Featured Fantasy: Mending Magic by W.J. May

START THE SERIES FREE: Books 2 – 6 only $3.99 Each
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Your curse is your biggest strength.

I just didn’t know it yet.

Jamie Hunt’s the high school quarterback in his senior year. He’s popular, smart, got the prettiest girl in the school chasing him. Everything couldn’t be more perfect.

But a single mistake changes everything. His new “ability” puts him in the middle of a war he doesn’t want to be a part of, protecting a girl he barely knows and running from the one thing he loves—his family.

Never give up. Never give in.

Featured Sci-fi: Ad Astra (Adventures of the Starship Satori Book 1) by Kevin McLaughlin

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Featured Sci-fi: Ad Astra (Adventures of the Starship Satori Book 1) by Kevin McLaughlin

99¢ as of November 18, 2025
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Exploring space was Dan Wynn’s dream, but after years of work won him a berth on the first mission to Mars, a tragic accident left him too injured for NASA’s space program.

Second chances don’t come along every day, so when an old friend offered him one, he grabbed on with both hands. Little did Dan know that simple offer was anything but! John has a secret other people will kill to learn. His discovery will change humanity’s fate forever.

Soon Dan finds himself on the moon, piloting humanity’s first starship while fighting his way through one peril after another.

The risks are vast – but given one last chance at his dream, Dan could choose no other path.

Read the exciting first novel in the bestselling Starship Satori series today, now in a special 10th anniversary edition with bonus content!