Books published by Dog Star Books

You're never too young or too old to experience a paradigm shift.Toria Connor is 25 when tripping over an artifact in the ruins of Nacostina thrusts her a century into the past, before the city is destroyed during the Last War. Now, she finds herself alone. Adrift in a time where she must hide everything important to her, from her mercenary career to her true magical ability.Victory is over eight centuries old when she follows her adopted daughter. She has seen empires rise and fall, but never anything like this. She must survive alone in a city inhospitable to vampires, dodging friends and foes from her past alike.Both of them know the clock is ticking down to the moment when the city is wiped off the map.Now, they're in a race against time. To find each other. To escape the past. And to save the future."Gribble brings the newest generation to the forefront with an adventure reminiscent of Tamora Pierce's Alanna series. VERDICT: Strong plotting and captivating characters will please fans of fantasy quests." -Library Journal"This is a solid first effort that sets the stage for more installments in an intriguing world with complex characters."-Publishers Weekly"A deviously raucous romp through a modern world filled with were-creatures, mercenaries, and Victory-a fanged kickass heroine…"-Diana Dru Botsford, author Four Dragons and The Drift"Strong characters rule in this unique debut. Magic, murder, and mayhem wrapped up in one package-definitely my type of book!"-Maria V. Snyder, The Chronicles of Ixia series

300 years in the future the world is run by the Theocracy and the Apostles are their representatives. The tiny, dusty and ironically named town of Big City has never seen Apostles until the newly deputized team, Reesa and Joule, are given their first assignment-get to the bottom of the town's untapped oil reserves. They are a married couple, supposed to have been matched perfectly by the Theocracy, and Reesa is eager to do her duty while Joule is dismayed at the backwater, Old West-style location they find themselves in.Just as Big City belies its name, so do nearly all appearances in this small town. Efforts to find out what's going on there are thwarted by the mayor and citizens alike. Soon they discover that the quaint false front of the town hides a terrible truth-it's under siege by creatures known as Takers. The town has placed their faith in Tombstone, a stoic straight shooter, but even he can't keep everyone safe. As the bodies begin to mount Reesa strikes out on her own only to discover that she is at the center of the biggest lie of all.

A Planetary Romance with Mysterious OriginsIn this prequel to The Man Who Loved Alien Landscapes we discover what Mykol Ranglen has kept buried in his past. It's a mystery of ancient galactic secrets, an adventure on colonized alien worlds, a romance in distant star systems, and a dark and sinister planetary noir that disturbs all he's known about his universe. He must decide just how far he'll go to keep the planet of his dreams and the future he desires. What he learns about his world, and what he has to do to save it-and to save himself-will haunt him forever.

Not everyone lands their dream job.Take Abe: He's bottomed out as an Imaginary Friend and has to find a new job before his bosses assign him a truly crappy one. Just as he's about to resign himself to a life of making toys in a workshop, he's given a reprieve-of sorts. Now he has the opportunity to be the first policeman on the Hill and solve an impossible murder.For assistance he ropes in his career counselor, a Bigfoot, and his best friend, a Boogeyman. The job requires him to talk to Tooth Fairies, Leprechauns, Yetis and everything else humanity has dreamt up over the years. None of them offer any clues, but since Abe's supervisors are Mother Nature, Father Time and Death, he can't just give up and walk away.Dream job? Dream on.

Funerals are usually the end of the story, not the beginning.Newly graduated warrior-mages Toria Connor and Kane Nalamas find themselves the last remaining mages in the city when a mage school teacher mysteriously falls ill and dies. But taking over the school themselves isn't in the cards. They're set to become professional mercenaries-if they make it through the next 18 months as journeymen first.The debate over whether to hunt mutated monsters in the Wasteland or take posh bodyguard jobs is put on hold when a city elder hires them to solve the mystery of the disappearing mages. Toria and Kane's quest brings them to the British colonial city of New Angouleme, where their initial investigation reveals that the problem is even greater than they feared.But when a friend is kidnapped, they'll have to travel to the other side of the globe to save her, save themselves, and save magic itself."In this return to Gribble's unique world-blend of fantasy and alternate history, readers will relish the compelling portrayal of magic and the sometimes easy-going, sometimes sexy, sometimes heart-wrenching tests of the warrior-mage bond."-Jen Brooks, In a World Just Right"Well-written and a fun read, Steel Magic by J.L. Gribble is filled with mystery, sacrifice, and challenges that will keep you turning the pages until the very end."-Jennifer Brozek, Never Let Me Sleep

In the twenty-second century, a second Civil War is decades past. The states of the New British Empire have been reduced to working with Victorian-era technology-that is, except physicist Edward Vere, who invents time travel with a little help from aviation pioneer Wilbur Wright. Vere partners with historian Ben Jonson to monetize the invention, founding the first time travel agency. Unbeknownst to them, a serial killer is using the technology to murder without detection. When Ben discovers the killer has targeted the woman he loves, the mild-mannered academic must become brave enough to change history rather than merely observing it.

A science fiction novel that begins as a murder mystery and is taken over by an interstellar treasure hunt.What could draw poet, explorer, loner and paranoid Mykol Ranglen away from the relative peace of his own stellar habitat? He has no choice in the matter as one by one acquaintances are murdered or disappear altogether. Propelled by ever changing and deepening mysteries Mykol embarks to uncover secrets which could make people rich beyond their wildest dreams...or tear apart human civilization.The escalating quest takes him through worlds of many dangerous extremes, leading him to confront the deadly alien "fist of thorns," extinct species refusing to give up their power over the future, and those racing against him to uncover the secret first. But in the course of his pursuit, he must also face his own secrets. And some of these are more dangerous.""In Wendland's intricately plotted, character-driven debut, pulp exploration meets philosophical speculation, and a moralistic sensibility is fused with Philip K. Dick's paranoid fantasies and Ray Bradbury's awe of alien encounters."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)"Inside are alien worlds and titanic space habitats and a brilliant and paranoid hero, all skillfully blended together with long-vanished galactic secrets." --from the Forward by William H. Keith, New York Times Best Selling Author

As her children begin lives of their own, Victory struggles with the loneliness of an empty nest. Just when the city of Limani could not seem smaller, an old friend requests that she come out of retirement for one final mercenary contract-to bodyguard his granddaughter, a princess of the Qin Empire.For the first time in a century, the Qin and British Empires are reopening diplomatic relations. Alongside the British delegation, Victory and her daywalker Mikelos arrive in the Qin colony city of Jiang Yi Yue. As the Qin weredragons and British werewolves take careful steps toward a lasting peace between their people, a connection between the Qin princess and a British nobleman throw everyone's plans in disarray.Meanwhile, a third faction stalks the city under the cover of darkness.This is not a typical romance. It's a good thing Victory is not a typical vampire.