About Simultaneous Times Vol. 3:
Space Cowboy Books Presents: Simultaneous Times Vol.3 Science Fiction Anthology. 16 wonderous stories of science fiction by authors from all over the world! From alien invasions to sentient planets to intergalactic species, this book has it all. Featuring stories from the two-time Hugo Award longlisted podcast Simultaneous Times, as well as stories appearing for the first time, this collection spans multiple generations of science fiction authors and covers a wide variety of SF styles and themes.
Stories by:
Jonathan Nevair
F. J. Bergmann
Brent A. Harris
Gideon Marcus
A. C. Wise
Tara Campbell
David Brin
Robin Rose Graves
Renan Bernardo
Christopher Ruocchio
Toshiya Kamei
Todd Sullivan
Susan Rukeyser
Ai Jiang
Cora Buhlert
Michael Butterworth
Cover art by Austin Hart
Edited by Jean-Paul L. Garnier
Excerpt:
“We need to talk…”
Okay, so I know this is awkward, but seriously, we need to talk.
I mean, I get it. Really, I do. I get that you guys are seriously lonely, considering that your species apparently doesn’t have any females. And honestly, what the hell went wrong with evolution on your planet that your species has only males? I mean, how do you guys even reproduce?
Oh god, I just realised… You are male, aren’t you? Cause it’s kind of hard to tell with you guys and if it turns out you’re not… — Well, that would be really awkward, cause I’m totally not a lesbian, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, assuming for now that you’re male, I completely understand why you felt you had to abduct us. I mean, there’s just dudes on your planet and all of you are kind of… — well, let’s just say “not conventionally attractive” — so yeah, I get it. I understand why you felt the need to abduct a bunch of women from Earth, especially considering that fifty-one percent of us are women and many of us are really attractive.
And believe me, I feel flattered that I’m one of the chosen ones, one of those who were deemed pretty enough to be abducted. I mean, this is like winning the intergalactic version of America’s Next Top Model, just without Heidi Klum making nasty remarks about the size of your butt or thighs.
So in short, I’m flattered, I’m happy and I think this is totally awesome and cool.
But — and it really pains me to say this, believe me — this won’t work. It just won’t. Cause at the end of the day, I’m still a human woman and you… — well, I don’t know the politically correct way to say this, but you are a bug-eyed monster.
In fact, you’re the most bug-eyed bug-eyed monster I’ve ever seen. Those buy-eyed monsters on the covers of the old science fiction magazines? They’ve got nothing on you, dude. Honestly, you’re the king of the bug-eyed monsters, if I’ve ever seen one.
So really, it’s not you, cause you’re awesome in all your bug-eyed glory. It’s me.
Bookshop.org | Book Trailer
About Jean-Paul Garnier:
Jean-Paul L. Garnier lives and writes in Joshua Tree, CA where he is the owner of Space Cowboy Books, a science fiction bookstore, independent publisher, and producer of Simultaneous Times podcast. In 2020 his first novella Garbage In, Gospel Out was released by Space Cowboy Books and in 2018 Traveling Shoes Press released Echo of Creation, a collection of his science fiction short stories. He has also released several collections of poetry: In Iudicio (Cholla Needles Press 2017), Future Anthropology (currently being translated into Portuguese), and Odes to Scientists (audiobook - Space Cowboy Books 2019). He is a two time Elgin Nominee and also appeared in the 2020 Dwarf Stars anthology. His new collection of SF poetry, Betelgeuse Dimming has just been released and is available as a free download audiobook / ebook at spacecowboybooks.bandcamp.com. He is also a regular contributor for Canada’s Warp Speed Odyssey blog. His short stories, poetry, and essays have appeared in many anthologies and webzines.
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