My science-fiction story, “Gentle Push,” is now published and available in print in Volume IX, Issue 3 of Tales of the Talisman, produced by Hadrosaur Productions and edited by David Lee Summers. The issue includes other great stories as well, and is available for $7.00.

Says the publisher of the issue:

“M.E. Garber introduces us to a werewolf who seeks freedom from the wizard who enslaved her only to find that freedom isn’t all she imagined. David B. Riley reminds us that insurance adjusters will still be around in the future, and that sometimes investigating claims, especially involving mysterious disappearances, can be dangerous business. John C. Conway shows us that saving humanity sometimes requires a willingness to meet long lost loves and that such willingness can be a selfless act. Karissa B. Sluss reminds us that not all vampires crave blood and that most feel trapped by the paths they must walk. These and other chilling tales await in the winter issue of Tales of the Talisman!”

The full table of contents can be found HERE.

Art Director Laura Givens provided this stunning black and white piece to perfectly illustrate the story. Givens has been the Art Director for Tales of the Talisman for a number of years now and examples of her work for it and other venues can be found at her site HERE, including cover pieces and other black and white works.

“Gentle Push,” which first appeared in the e-zine Mindflights, and appears now in print at Tales of the Talisman, recounts a unique encounter between an ancient and highly advanced alien and a lone, eccentric human. The meeting is important for a lot of reasons, but nothing near what the alien expects. It begins:

I encountered the leading edge of retreating human vessels 20 light hours from Delta Pavonis—a steady column bound for Earth, where they believed we could protect them. My mission would determine if that faith was justified, and if so, for how long.

As I skirted the system’s rocky halo, I spotted the small starship drifting quietly in the mid-outer dust cloud—a tug with strong field generators fore and aft. It was not preparing to flee. I looked closer. Its artificial environment was intact. Its engines were functional. It had a single human occupant, alive and well as far as I could tell.

I hailed it. “Do you require assistance?”

It responded abruptly: “Leave me alone.”

It was my first direct conversation with a human, and not what I expected…

Please check out the very excellent fiction periodical, Tales of the Talisman, for the rest of the story and other wonderful tales worth reading.

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