For a writer, there is no better way to welcome the new year than with a new publication. I am delighted to announce that my story Piety, Prayer, Peacekeeper, Apocalypse has been published by Podcastle and is available both to read and to listen as a podcast, narrated by Stephanie Morris. Thanks to the lovely folks at Podcastle, and to Stephanie for an amazing narration!

This is a story that I loved ‘world’-building’ – and although I rarely go back to the world of my short stories, this is a world that I may visit again: an alternative Earth ruled by a distant ‘Star Emperor’ through sixteen ‘death-hunters’.

Here, to give you a taste, is the first paragraph:

Soru Khara had been hunting her death for many years before she arrived at the crumbling old port of Tyron. She camouflaged her skimmer and stalked up to the rusty gates as the sun set over the citadel, the fishy tang of the sea sharp in her nostrils. The smell of childhood – the smell of things best left buried. It was why she usually avoided ports. This time, though, she had no choice. She was to deliver a letter, like a common messenger. She had not questioned the inanity of her assignment. One did not question the Voice of the Star Emperor; one merely obeyed it.

You can read the whole story here. Let me know what you think!