Star Stepping: An Anthology of Fantasy & Sci-Fi Tales

This anthology is available on the Wild Child Publishing site. For interviews and websites of the authors, please visit Debbie Mumford's blog. Contents: Beneath and Beyond by Debbie Mumford Archaeologist Erin Carstedter is a no-nonsense kind of gal. If something can't be defined by scientific method, it doesn't exist. Erin's beliefs are about to be tested by a ruin beneath the polar ice cap. What Erin discovers in those icy depths will challenge her thinking...and change the world. Read excerpt. That Old Sweet Smell of Deception by Martin Owton An ancient dragon tempted out to war for the first time in centuries finds the world greatly changed and dragons a rarity. Does an enemy wizard hold the key to saving dragonkind? Read excerpt. Fatal Wager by Andy Heizeler Read excerpt. A Pixie Story by Joe Miller Mike awoke to find himself in a strange land. To then find himself surrounded by a whole hoard of pixies, each one with an arrow aimed at his heart, one could hardly guess how things would turn out. Read excerpt. The Honorable Lady by Kim Knox Royal officials are vanishing and Evia-ben-Thiak doesn't intend to be one of them. As a high-ranking member of the court, she fears for her life. So, she takes the only option open to her. She hides on a boat sailing to her home-island. However, the boat is not the sanctuary she hoped for. A friend from her childhood, the now-feared sorcerer, Makovik is also onboard. To be seen with him could end her career; have her thrown in the deepest dungeon. But more than that, she finds he has a plan. And his actions will change her life forever... Read excerpt. Wakinyan's Valley by Debbie Mumford In a post-apocalyptic world, Mark Whitehorse and his friends search for a safe haven where they can raise their families. When they stumble across a hidden valley, they believe their search is over. But the valley is already inhabited. Will the band of survivors find refuge...or something else entirely? Read excerpt. Storms of Light and Shadow by Patrice Sarath Some gifts are better left unopened. Read excerpt. Under a Full Moon by Tom Fowler A weretiger wizard immune to the lunar cycles suddenly finds himself caught in a painful transformation -- one he suspects was caused by someone else. Can he stop it before he becomes a rampaging monster, and can he find the man who did this to him? Read excerpt. Casey by Noelle Sterne An ordinary junior high school boy, Casey suffers the trials of a teenager until one day his life is changed forever. Read excerpt. Bastet by R. S. Pyne Captain Kai Brenhin Righa of the corsair fighting ship Raven is quite happy not being human. The transition came without warning, a blessing from a stowaway with the face of an ancient Earth Goddess and a strange sense of humor. Now Bastet is back and she needs a favor. Read excerpt. Nana Genevieve by Julie Nordeen As science creates robots that behave more and more like humans, how will we know when they cease to be our creations and become self-aware beings of their own? Nana Genevieve knows. And she'll make sure the world understands...if it's the last thing she ever does. Read excerpt. The Tie That Binds by Debbie Mumford Twin brothers Cameron and Kyle McClellan have always shared a psychic bond. Though the adult men lead very different lives, when career military officer Kyle is wounded in Iraq, Cameron's ability to decipher their special link may mean the difference between his brother's life and death. Read excerpt.