Where were you on the day that the Earth disappeared?
So there I was, on an awkward first date with my secret crush, when the colonies went into revolt. They nuked the moon and hijacked half of Earthfleet—and that was just the opening salvo.
Then I learned that my date was one of the terrorists (or patriots, depending on your politics), and I had to make a choice: join her, or spend the next few days stuffed in an EVA suit locker. I chose the former, and that's the only reason I'm still here.
The name's Rex Carter. On the day the Earth disappeared, the civil war had just broken out, and I didn't know which side I was on. All I knew was that my homeworld had been swallowed by an alien anomaly, and I had to get to Jane and Sam, my gunslinging sister and brother-in-law.
Unfortunately, the Kletchkas are no longer with us. But that's part of my story, too.
Joe Vasicek fell in love with science fiction and fantasy when he read The Neverending Story as a child. He is the author of more than twenty books, including Genesis Earth, Gunslinger to the Stars, The Sword Keeper, and the Sons of the Starfarers series. As a young man, he studied Arabic at Brigham Young University and traveled across the Middle East and the Caucasus Mountains. He lives in Utah with his wife, daughter, and two apple trees.