About Us
Ashok’s Story
I was twenty-three when I left Rithena, armed with an engineering degree from the University of Datter and my certification from the Coalition of the Far Worlds that allowed me inspect buildings for structural safety. I’d checked “no destination preference” on my application, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when I ended up on Gobi, a planet that was almost entirely desert, so hot that human habitation was possible only near the poles. Gobi had been settled because of its location, though, not its weather, and it was a busy transportation hub. I was posted to the city of Ansla Tell, where there was a major docking station and not much else.
I was overdressed and underprepared when I went to Treer’s Saloon as soon as I arrived. After all, I’d grown up on one of the most conservative Worlds in the Galaxy. Ansla Tell was about as far as you could get from Rithena. Treer’s was a little farther. I made a fool of myself a dozen ways that day.
Fortunately, Cade Daka, the dark, mysterious musician who was playing at Treer’s, took a chance on me anyway.
Cade’s Story
I’d been on my own since I was sixteen, more than twenty years of traveling from World to World, playing my music in venues from dive bars to concert halls. I’d long ago given up on the idea that I’d find someone to travel with me. Then Ash Bruge walked into Treer’s Saloon looking like the God of All the Stars and made me reconsider a lot of things I’d given up on.
Twenty years of experience told me Ash was too young and too naïve. Twenty minutes of conversation showed me he had enough courage that it didn’t matter. He met me where I was, trusting me even before he had time to know me.
I didn’t expect it to be easy, and I was right. I didn’t expect it to last forever, and I was wrong.
Author’s story
Call me Jen. I write. As soon as I knew what words were, I began making up stories. When I learned to use a pencil, I wrote them down. I never stopped, although I’ve progressed from pencil to keyboard. So when people ask when I began to write – a surprisingly frequent question – the only answer is that I’ve always written. I don’t remember a time when there wasn’t a story to tell.
I’ve written and published novels, short stories, and poetry under other names, but I’ve chosen to use J.W. Grieve, a new pseudonym, for Ashok’s Song because this trilogy is a departure from my usual style and subject. The framework has been in my head for a long time, and I’m happy that Ash and Cade’s story is now going out into the world.