A few years ago I wrote a short story (short for me, in any case, around 8K words) for Matthew Wayne Selznick’s The Sovereign Era: Year One anthology. It was called “Every Breath You Take.”It’s the story of high school senior Christian Murphy, who has it bad for a foreign exchange student named Stacey… ‘but in a world where thousands of people are learning they possess unique, incredible powers, what exactly stands in the way of Christian getting what he wants?’

Last Fall, Matt did a Kickstarter for his second novel set in this universe, and I offered to write a ‘sequel’ to my first story as a pledge reward for his fans. Matt allowed me to play in his universe once again, and this story became more of a ‘novelette,’ with a word count of nearly 14K. Now that Matt has fulfilled his Kickstarter obligations, we’re getting this puppy out as an e-book on Amazon and B&N for $3.99. The name of this novelette? “Canary in a Coal Mine.”

“Canary in a Coal Mine” on Amazon.com

“Canary in a Coal Mine” on B&N.com

So, more about ‘Canary,’ which can be read as a standalone story (although there are characters from the first story that appear in this one as well, so go get ‘Breath’ for 1.99 at Amazon or B&N… it’s good)

“Sovereign Conduct Enforcement Team (S.C.E.T.) investigators Adoette Smith and Joshua Wolff team with a local police officer to investigate what happened at the end of ‘Breath,’ and the disappearance of the potential Sovereign, Stacey Miller

When circumstances bring Adoette’s violent, troubled past to the surface, will she be able to utilize her own Sovereign abilities in time to find Stacey?

I had fun with this story, and doing it got me back in the writing mood, in a big way. I hope you enjoy it. And if you enjoy the setting and haven’t read Matt Selznick’s Sovereign novels, please do!!

It’s classified as a short story, but it weighs in at around 8K. Long enough to be called a “novella?” Maybe not. But definitely a good lengthy read for those that missed it when the anthology came out.

“Every Breath You Take” by P. G. Holyfield

P. G. Holyfield is the author of the award-winning fantasy mystery “Murder at Avedon Hill,” a podcaster, and speaks at many conventions in the science fiction and new media fandom community. His “Every Breath You Take” has the distinction of being the single longest piece of Sovereign Era fiction to date (not counting “Brave Men Run — A Novel of the Sovereign Era.”)

“Every Breath You Take” is a tale of teen aggression and obsession. Chris has it bad for Stacey… but in a world where thousands of people possess unique, incredible powers, what exactly stands in the way of Chris getting what he wants..?

Get “Every Breath You Take” for the Nook or Kindle, or buy the epub / Mobi bundle right here… and be sure to visit P. G. Holyfield’s own site for more from him!

People who purchased a print version, a Kindle version, and/or wrote reviews on Amazon and sent me an email about it were entered. Here are the winners (and what they won), based on numbers called out by my Vanna White in the Chatroom, Mistress Jett!

Rob Stauffer – MaAH Mousepad
Joe Mieczkowski – MaAH Mousepad
Kristin Mayo – Signed copy of Murder at Avedon Hill
Tim Dodge – The Rookie signed by Scott Sigler
Shawn Murphy – POD version of Mur Lafferty’s Playing for Keeps
Beth Case – MaAH Mousepad
Cathy Monblatt – MaAH Mousepad
Cliff Lowe – POD version of Mur Lafferty’s Playing for Keeps
Kevin Crosby – Signed copy of Murder at Avedon Hill
Michell Plested – Samson CH700 Headphones
Paul Fischer – MaAH Mousepad
Scott Roche – MaAH Mousepad
Terri Flynstress – Signed copy of Murder at Avedon Hill
Ed Parrot – Matthew Wayne Selznick prize pack – BMR, The Sovereign Era- Year One, Anyman: The John Smith EP from CD Baby.
Michael Spence – Framed Study, acrylic/water color, the initial painting that was a test for the original POD cover of Murder at Avedon Hill.

A lot of these folks will be at Balticon, so they’ll get their prizes there. The rest will have their prizes sent to them through the mail. Congrats to those that won prizes; you made this weekend an unforgettable one for me, that’s for sure!