Hello, dreamers! Welcome to another Teaser Tuesday!
My first novella, The Envoy, is now available. The Envoy follows David Ferguson, a career diplomat with the United Nations. Ninety years after humanity was first contacted by the Cheron, David is assigned to the first envoy of an alien species. But when the envoy appears to be a human child, he makes the fateful decision to become the envoy’s guardian. And ultimately, he finds himself experiencing something unexpected: parenthood.
Now, enjoy a sneak peek at The Envoy:
Taken from Chapter Four “Loss”
Still, now and then it became painfully clear that Olivia was not an ordinary child. One such occasion occurred over dinner nearly a month into her stay. The two sat at the table as usual, plates of kale salad with chicken in front of them.
“Do you like it?” David asked.
Olivia chewed her kale thoughtfully, before swallowing. “It is…stiff,” she began. “I think I like it, but I still prefer pizza.”
David snickered. “Me too, but this is a lot better for us.”
The two resumed eating briefly, before Olivia lowered her fork, abruptly announcing, “I have decided that I require a boyfriend.”
David nearly choked, lifting his napkin to his face as he sputtered. “Excuse me?”
“I have decided that I require a boyfriend,” she replied, clearly believing he hadn’t heard her.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought you said.”
She looked at him, confused. “Am I not using the correct term?”
God I hope so, David thought, though he knew that was unlikely. “I think you are. I just don’t know why you think you require a boyfriend.”
“Part of my purpose here is to explore human nature,” she replied, nonchalantly. “If I am to do so, I believe I must experience a romantic relationship. I was hoping you might offer some advice. Liam seems nice. If I wanted him to be my boyfriend, how might-”
“Look,” David began, cutting her off, “I understand your…curiosity…but it’s not that simple. There are a lot of problems with…look, it’s complicated, okay?”
Olivia frowned, shrinking back in her chair. It was a surprisingly human response. “If I have said something wrong, I am sorry.”
David sighed, sitting back. “It’s okay. It’s just…there are a lot of reasons why it’s considered unacceptable for children to engage in romantic relationships.”
She looked at him, seeming to consider this. “Humans do not reach sexual maturity until after puberty. Perhaps that is the problem?”
“It’s one of several,” David replied, exasperated.
She paused, thinking. “I do not know how long I will be here. If I am not able to reach sexual maturity before my assignment is complete, how will I experience romantic relationships?”
“I don’t know,” David replied. “Maybe you won’t. But remember those rules I’ve talked about? About how our society regards children? Well, this is one of them. And it would be a really bad one to break.”
“I see,” she replied, seeming disappointed. “Perhaps it would be a sufficient alternative to learn about such relationships, rather than experiencing them.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” David replied, relieved.
“How did you meet Sarah?” she asked. “I have watched enough movies to know that is a common question about romantic relationships. Is it not?”
“It is,” David replied. Normally, he felt uncomfortable discussing anything about Sarah. But his time with Olivia had done much to heal old wounds. Deciding to test himself, he took a deep breath, and began.
The Envoy is available now on Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Google Books, and Rakuten Kobo. Click here to learn more, and get your copy.
Writing Tomorrow 