C Gockel Writes

Featured Sci-fi: Mirrors in the Dark by KT Belt

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Featured Sci-fi: Monster of the Dark (Mirrors in the Dark Book 1) by KT Belt

START THE SERIES FREE—Book 2 only 99¢
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Carmen Grey always knew she was different.

None of the other children seemed able to read minds. None of the other children were able to manipulate their toys without touching them. On the morning of her sixth birthday, three men dressed in black arrive to remove her from the loving care of her parents.

She is taken to an underground facility meant for others like her, for Clairvoyants. Stripped of her name and identity, over the years she is fashioned into something scary—something lethal. Each day is an endless struggle and every night is plagued by nightmares. Yet Carmen’s ultimate battle won’t be to save her life but to keep her soul.

Featured Sci-fi: Emergence (The Valmoran Chronicles Book 1) by Poppy Orion

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Featured Sci-fi: Emergence (The Valmoran Chronicles Book 1) by Poppy Orion

FREE as of April 12, 2026
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★★★★★ “Stayed up until 2 AM on a work night … you’ve been warned.”

Eight heroes. Two galaxies. One epic mystery.

Matthai Valtrellin, reluctant heir to a galactic dynasty, never questioned his role—until a mysterious woman appears, heralding impossible news. Within days, the foundations of his reality and civilization shatter.

On Earth, microbiologist Kat Miller’s career is over, her body is failing … and she’s losing her grip on reality. An unsettling job offer from a ruthless heiress is her last chance at answers—and a cure for her bizarre illness.

With lives destined to intertwine, eight heroes—including a four-armed gladiator, luck-obsessed smuggler, brooding politician, hacktivist, and pop star—must unravel a mystery that threatens both civilizations.

The Valmoran Chronicles is a gritty, kaleidoscopic space opera readers describe as ‘utterly engrossing’ and ‘refreshingly original’.

Featured Sci-fi: Shades of Starlight by B.L. Dean

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Featured Sci-fi: Shades of Starlight by B.L. Dean

START THE SERIES FREE—Books 2 – 4 only 99¢ Each US
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A smuggler, a spy, a brewing revolution…and a rogue agent who could destroy it all.

Perrin Hightower can fly a run-down freighter through the galaxy’s most dangerous wormholes blindfolded, a handy skill in her shipping business…and her smuggling enterprises.

Special agent Tai Lawson dreams of leading the Ruby Confederation’s spy agency. But when his partner steals a top-secret list of revolutionaries and vanishes, Tai’s accused of helping his friend escape.

When Tai seeks her navigation expertise, Perrin would rather jump out an airlock than help. But the missing person is her ex-boyfriend—a double agent she thought was helping the revolution. Her name’s on that list, and she’ll do anything to keep it secret.

Hiding their true agendas, Tai and Perrin follow the rogue spy’s trail across the galaxy. Each must decide where their allegiance truly lies when they learn the spy carries more than a list of conspirators—he carries information that could shatter the fragile peace in the galaxy.

Book Review: The Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon

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Book Review: The Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon

$1.99 as of April 10, 2026
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What a lovely story of first contact! The Remnant Population is the tale of a crotchety elderly woman’s whose colony world is disbanded. The colonists are moved to a new world. She resists, remaining on her colony world preferring to die alone in her home. It turns out she is not alone. I’m not going to give too much away. It is not an action adventure story, but there is suspense, and wonderful characters.

Featured Science Fiction: The Catalyst (Targon Tales Book 1) by Chris Reher

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Featured Science Fiction: The Catalyst (Targon Tales Book 1) by Chris Reher

Free as of April 6, 2026
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It’s no easy tour of duty for Lt. Nova Whiteside when her interstellar transport is taken by pirates and she is then tagged for termination. Could it have something to do with the mysterious alien they were transporting? Having gone from merely MIA to technically AWOL, any chance of escape leaves her no choice but to rely on Sethran Kada, a former lover, for help.

Unfortunately, she realizes that they are now on opposite sides of an escalating war between the Commonwealth Union of Planets and an increasingly dangerous rebel organization.

In trying to find who is threatening her life, they discover a plot to destroy a distant planet – a world inhabited by creatures that are the key to Nova’s survival – and a conspiracy that threatens the stability of the Union Commonwealth.

Can Nova go beyond her strict military training to cooperate with people whom she is sworn to destroy?

“The characterizations are solid, the writing is crisp and fluid, and all of the questions posed within the story are answered. Reher is a great storyteller, and you know they know this from the confidence exhibited in the book.”

“What a fascinating imagination Chris Reher has! … descriptions of all the other worldly beings was a fun mind exercise along with rather exciting adventures. Read it! It is worth the time!”

Featured Sci-fi: Junkyard Cats Book 1 by Faith Hunter

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Featured Sci-fi: Junkyard Cats Book 1 by Faith Hunter

$3.99 as of April 4, 2026
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From the author of the best-selling Jane Yellowrock and Soulwood fantasy series comes a tough new SciFi heroine who is far more than she seems.

After the Final War, after the appearance of the Bug Aliens and their enforced peace, Shining Smith is still alive, still doing business from the old junkyard bequeathed to her by her father. But Shining is no longer human, and the junkyard is no longer just a scrapyard, but a place full of secrets that she has guarded for years.

This life she has built, while empty, is predictable and safe. Until the only friend left from her previous life shows up, dead, in the back of a scrapped Tesla warplane, a note clutched in his fingers, a note warning her of a coming attack.

Someone knows who she is. Someone knows what she is guarding. Will she be able to protect the junkyard and its secrets? Will she be able to stop the coming attack without the recon satellites overhead discovering what is hidden on the barren land? Or is the life she has built for herself over? Will she have to destroy everything she loves to keep her secrets out of the wrong hands?