Opening Acts

OPENING ACTS

  Twenty-five First Chapters from Twenty-five Writers

  All works within this collection are Copyright 2005 - 2011 by their respective authors.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  First electronic edition July 2011

  In Case You Were Wondering...

  Who ARE you people?

  We're members of SFNovelists - a community of science fiction and fantasy writers that provides mutual support and professional advice, discussions about writing and publishing, and a forum to celebrate our accomplishments and offer the occasional cyber-shoulder to cry on when we're frustrated.

  Our ranks include those who have been working in the business for decades and others who are just beginning their careers. Bestselling novelists and award winners as well as up-and-coming authors. Although we are scattered throughout the world, we are linked by our love of genre fiction and our desire to spread the word about it via our website and blog.

  Why this sampler?

  It's another way to spread the word about who we are and what we do. You may find some of your favorite authors in OPENING ACTS. You may discover others who will join the ranks of your favorites. Either way, we hope you'll want to read more! If so, just follow the links included after each selection to order or download the complete book.

  So why these authors?

  These twenty-five are just a few of the nearly two hundred members of SFNovelists.com, and they all have work that is available for ordering (or pre-ordering) now. Future samplers will give you a peek at the works of some of the others, so keep your eye out for forthcoming samplers from SFNovelists!

  What can you do with this sampler?

  Read it! Enjoy it! Share it! Spread it far and wide! Just don't charge any money for it and it's all good.

  The Acknowledgments

  This sampler would not have been possible without the behind-the-scenes work of:

  Laura Anne Gilman, who organized the author information.

  Joe Nassise, who transformed disparate files into a coherent e-book.

  Jenn Reese, who created the cover art.

  And, of course, all of the writers who graciously allowed us to feature them in the volume!

  Table of Contents

  7th Sigma

  Bone Shop

  Bones of Faerie

  The Brahms Deception

  Carousel Tides

  The Cloud Road

  Dangerous Water

  The Dread Hammer

  Flesh and Fire

  Fright Court

  The Heretic

  House of the Star

  Indigo Springs

  Jade Tiger

  Kat, Incorrigible

  Medium Dead

  Midnight at Spanish Gardens

  Play Dead

  Shade

  The Snow Queen's Shadow

  Spellcast

  The Spirit Lens

  TruthSeeker

  Up Against It

  With Fate Conspire

  7th Sigma

  (A Novel of the Territory)

  by Steven Gould

  It is the hardest thing in the world to frighten a mongoose, because he is eaten up from nose to tail with curiosity. The motto of all the mongoose family is “Run and find out”; and Rikki-tikki was a true mongoose.

  — Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book, Volume II, “Rikki Tiki Tavi”

  In statistics, Sigma levels denote where a sample falls on the graph of Normal Distribution.

  A Sigma level of one means an event will occur over 2/3 of the time.

  A 6th Sigma is equivalent to 3.4 occurrences in one million (34 in ten million). 99.99966% odds against.

  A 7th Sigma is equivalent to 1.9 occurrences in a hundred million (19 in a billion). 99.9999981% odds against.