Desert Stars (47 page)

I still didn’t know how Jalil’s story
was going to end, however. For the second draft, I threw in a
subplot in the latter half of the book where he leaves the camp to
raise the desert, Lawrence of Arabia style, and launch an attack on
New Amman in order to capture the spaceport and save his people.
That turned out horribly, but it gave me the motivation to finish
the draft, and once I had a finished manuscript to work with, it
was a lot easier to make the changes. I decided to take out the
whole save-the-world angle and focus on the deeply personal stories
of Jalil and Mira.

I finished the last major revision in
mid-July of 2011, and was much more satisfied with it than with the
previous ones. The story had largely taken its final shape, and
while my second round of first readers pointed out a couple of
things that needed to be fixed, none of those took a major
overhaul. By this time, I’d already ventured into indie publishing,
so I didn’t bother sending out queries or looking for
representation to sell my book. The digital revolution has opened
up a world of new options for writers, and I knew that I wanted to
epublish first, and do it myself, while waiting to see how things
shake out in the rest of the publishing world.

So that’s how this book
has come into your hands. I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, the
best thing you could do is blog or tweet about it, share it with a
friend, or post a review. To follow me online, be sure to check out
my writing blog:
One Thousand
and One Parsecs
(onelowerlight.com/writing). I blog pretty regularly about my
books, as well as other books that I like, and writing and life in
general. There you can also sign up for
my email list
, where I
share the news on my latest releases and do periodic giveaways. My
email is
[email protected]
,
if you’d like to reach me that way. You can also find me on
Twitter
(@onelowerlight),
and
Goodreads
. So many ways to stay
connected—feel free to take your pick!

Finally, I want to thank you for
taking the time to read this book and make this story come alive.
Stories don’t actually exist until they are read—before that,
they’re just scribbles on a page, or switches on a disk. Literature
in particular is a highly collaborative art, where the reader’s
imagination fills in all the details of the landscape, and the
writer is more of a guide to the story than its actual creator. No
matter what other accolades we writers receive, the greatest honor
is just to be read, and for that, I thank you.

That’s all for now, but I
hope you’ll stay in touch! I have a lot of other ideas for novels
in the Gaia Nova universe, including a few with the characters
in
Desert Stars
,
so this certainly won’t be the last time you see Jalil, Mira,
Tiera, Rina, Lars, Michelle, and the others. In the meantime, don’t
be a stranger! Take care, and I hope to see you again
soon!

Acknowledgments

This novel has been in the making for
so long, it’s hard to thank everyone who helped make it possible,
and I apologize if I forget anyone. First, I’d like to thank Dil
Parkinson, Kirk Belnap, and Spencer and Karina Scoville for
organizing and running the 2008 BYU Jordan study abroad program,
which was so influential in the genesis of this book. I would also
like to thank my first round of first readers: Laura Christensen,
Mykle Law, Caitlin Wall, Charlie Holmberg, Megan Hutchins, Kindal
Debenham, Emma Penrod, Logan Kearsley, and Angela Felsted; and my
second round of first readers: Jason Housely, Liel Boyce, and Evan
Witt. Both Kindal’s writing group and the Quark writing group at
BYU were also very helpful. I’d also like to thank everyone who
made a pledge for the short-lived kickstarter campaign: Caitlin
Wall, Evan Witt, Mark and Sharon Vasicek (thanks, Mom & Dad!)
Lauren Astle Cowles, Alysha Rogers Whiting, Gini Richards,
Christopher Sterner, Laura Christensen, and Andrea Brokaw. The
campaign didn’t work out, but thanks for being willing to help fund
it. Finally, I would like to thank Lorenz Hideyoshi Ruwwe for the
cover art, Josh Leavitt for the editing assistance, and my mentor
Brandon Sanderson for teaching me so much through his English 318R
class at BYU. Thanks so much for your help and support! You’ve all
made the journey truly worthwhile.

Thousands of years after mankind’s exodus from
Earth, a young starship pilot and his accidental bride wander the
stars in search of a homeworld in
Star Wanderers: The Jeremiah
Chronicles (Omnibus I-IV).

PART
I: OUTWORLDER

When Jeremiah arrived at Megiddo Station, all he
wanted was to make some trades and resupply his starship. He never
thought he'd come away with a wife.

Before he knows it, he's back on his ship, alone
with his accidental bride. Since neither of them speak the same
language, he has no way to tell her that there's been a terrible
mistake. And because of the deadly famine ravaging her home,
there's no going back. She's entirely at his mercy, and that
terrifies him more than anything.

Jeremiah isn't ready to take responsibility for
anyone. He's a star wanderer, roaming the Outworld frontier in
search of his fortune. Someday he'll settle down, but for now, he
just wants to drop the girl off at the next port and move on.

As he soon finds out, though, she has other
plans.

PART
II: FIDELITY

Oriana Station: a bustling frontier settlement
between the Outworlds and the Coreward Stars. A popular
port-of-call for free traders and independent starfarers alike—and
the latest target in the aggressively expansionist plans of the
Gaian Empire.

Life was simple for Jeremiah and Noemi before they
arrived. Though neither of them speak the same language, they've
reached an understanding that goes beyond words. But when the
colonial authorities make them into second-class citizens of a
fractured empire, even that might not be enough.

Their newfound friends in the immigrant community
can only do so much. With Noemi and her people depending on him,
Jeremiah must find a way back to the Outworlds—before they lose
everything that they came for.

PART
III: SACRIFICE

When Jeremiah found himself alone on his starship
with an accidental bride, he had no idea how much his life would
soon change. Now, with Noemi's quiet confidence supporting him as
she carries their first child, it's hard to imagine life without
her.

But life in the Outworlds isn't so simple. Good men
are hard to come by, and Noemi's friends expect her to share. As
part of a colony mission bound for an unsettled star, Jeremiah
can't say no without causing a rift in the community. But if he
says yes, his new-found happiness may soon come to an end. One way
or another, he will have to make a sacrifice—one that could tear
their starbound family apart.

PART
IV: HOMEWORLD

For years, Jeremiah has wandered the stars in search
of a home. With his wife Noemi about to have a baby, he thinks he's
finally found a place to settle down. The Zarmina system lies on
the edge of the Outworld frontier, but together with their friends,
they hope to establish a thriving new colony. The only problem is
that the system is already inhabited—by pirates.

The colonists no sooner arrive than they fall
prisoner to Captain Helena and her band of rogues from the New
Pleiades. She gives them an ultimatum: live like slaves on the
planet's surface, or breathe vacuum. With all their dreams about to
be shattered, they have to find a way to fight back. But to do so
may endanger everything—including the lives of the ones they love
most.

CLICK HERE TO BUY STAR WANDERERS: THE JEREMIAH CHRONICLES
(OMNIBUS I-IV)

A coming of age sci-fi romance from the author of
Desert Stars.

THE ULTIMATE VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY ENDS WHEN YOU LEARN
THE TRUTH ABOUT YOURSELF.

Michael Anderson never thought he would set foot on
a world like Earth. Born and raised in a colony of scientists on
the farthest edge of the solar system, he only studied planets from
afar. But when his parents build mankind's first wormhole and
discover a world emitting a mysterious artificial signal, Michael
is the only qualified planetologist young enough to travel to the
alien star.

He is not alone on this voyage of discovery. Terra,
his sole mission partner, is no more an adult than he is. Soon
after their arrival, however, she begins acting strangely—as if
she's keeping secrets from him. And her darkest secret is one that
Michael already knows.

Twenty light-years from the nearest human being,
they must learn to work together if they're ever going to survive.
And what they discover on the alien planet forces them to
re-examine their deepest, most unquestioned beliefs about the
universe—and about what it means to be human.

CLICK HERE TO BUY GENESIS
EARTH

The saga of Gaia Nova continues in
Stars of Blood
and Glory!

THE ONLY HOPE FOR THE LAST FREE STARS NOW LIES ON
THE PATH OF BLOOD AND GLORY.

The princess of Shinihon could not have picked a
worse time to run away. The largest Hameji battle fleet ever
gathered threatens to overrun the last of the free stars. To make
matters worse, a rogue assassin from an unknown faction has killed
the high admiral of the Federation. Without clear leadership, the
war may be lost before she can be found.

But Danica Nova and her band of Tajji mercenaries
are no strangers to lost causes. They've fought the Hameji before,
and they'll fight them again—not for honor, or for glory, but
simply for the pay. War has been their way of life ever since the
diaspora from the homeworld.

Master Sergeant Roman Krikoryan is one of the few
remaining mercenaries still old enough to remember the homeworld.
But he's an old cyborg, and his humanity is fading. Death is a
mercy he doesn't expect to find on this mission.

They aren't the only ones after the princess,
however. Hungry for glory and eager to make a name for himself,
Sholpan's son Abaqa seeks to make the girl his slave. Though only a
boy, he'll stop at nothing to prove himself to his Hameji
brethren.

With the Federation in disarray, the bloody
end of the war may come too soon for some of them. But one thing is
certain—not all of them will live to see it.