Teaser Tuesday

Hello, dreamers! Welcome to another Teaser Tuesday!

My first novella, The Envoy will be released later this month, and will be available for pre-order this Tuesday. 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 One: “Guardian”

David took the opportunity to study her closely. She certainly looked like a human child, yet something about her made him uncomfortable. Every time he looked at her eyes, he felt his skin crawl. It took a moment for him to realize what it was: she didn’t smile. No smiles, no laughter. He’d always associated children with giggling and wide grins. Something about a child so expressionless felt deeply unsettling.

“United States,” she repeated. “A populous, ethnically-heterogeneous nation-state on the American landmass.” She paused, looking around as though appraising her surroundings. “This is one of your newer nation-states, if I am correct. Why does it serve as the seat of your global government?”

“Er…” the SecGen stammered, awkwardly, “We…do not have a global government…”

“Not yet,” David offered with a disarming smile. “But we’re working on it.” He approached her, pushing his discomfort aside in hopes of a good first impression. “Hi,” he began. He was unsure of whether to treat her as a visiting dignitary or a child, and ultimately settled on informality. “I’m David.”

She stared at him quizzically. “What is a ‘David’?” she asked, confused.

“It’s…his name…” Kelly replied from behind him, haltingly.

While the others were clearly confused, David understood. He’d spent years preparing for this moment; preparations that included extensive reading on theoretical interactions with alien species.

“‘David’ is my name,” he began, gesturing toward his chest for effect. “Our species uses names to differentiate between individuals.”

“It’s how we tell each other apart,” Kelly offered.

“I see,” she replied. She paused for a moment, thinking, before looking back up at David. “I will require a name,” she declared.

The Envoy will be available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Google Books, and Rakuten Kobo on Friday, April 5. It will be released to all platforms on Friday, April 26. Click here to learn more, and reserve your copy.