Kismet: The Birth of Outcast Station
by Jeanne Adams and Nancy Northcott
Even outcasts deserve a shot at redemption.
“Really?” Jeanne responded with great enthusiasm. “Me, too! Want to do it together?”
And so Outcast Station was born. Its real name is Paradise Station, and it encompasses the planet and an orbital space station out in the far reaches of colonized space. The nickname, Outcast Station, came about because the place is the dumping ground of the Federated Colonies. It’s jokingly referred to as the place careers go to die. Anyone in government service who’s a slacker or crosses the wrong person lands there. So do people who can’t make sense of their lives and are desperate for a new start.
We thought exploring lives of the misfits on the station and the planet would be fun because, as noted above, even outcasts deserve a shot at redemption.
We decided to launch the series with a two-novella anthology, with one story by each of us. That sounded great on paper, but then came two or three weeks of building the world in a series of emails and marathon phone calls as we came up with a history of the Federated Colonies. We then had great fun inventing the huge, pterodactyl-like rocs, the buffles that were the equivalent of North American buffalos, and the bacca crop that’s the core of the planet’s economy because it’s used in pharmaceuticals. Then we turned to inventing various non-human races, which was also fun. As we wrote our individual novellas, we refined and expanded the world, depending on what we each devised as the stories grew.
Jeanne created BVax, a pharmaceutical company that is one of the foundational pieces in the worlds we’re creating. With BVax, you’ve always got a resource when an unknown plague or virus strikes. You’ve got a member of every major expansion/expedition team and station unit who’s essentially above and beyond the law when it comes to recognizing and stopping the spread of spaceborne plagues and viruses. It makes for interesting challenges, not to mention fascinating personalities!
Jeanne’s hero in The Accidental Plague, Dr. Ravinisha Trentham, faces the usual issues with being BVAX on a station (Not a marshal, not a tech, not medical staff, per se…) as well as being the new kid on the block, so to speak. In addition, she comes from a world that’s been known for its negative contributions to Galactic expansion. She’s got an uphill battle to win over her fellow station inhabitants, even on a place like Outcast Station.
Already the subject of gossip and dislike due to her origins, Ravi has to put all that aside when a major plague breaks out onstation. If they can’t solve the riddle, then everyone will die. Hell of a way to start the new job, right?
Nancy, who likes police procedurals, created the Federated Colonies Marshals Service. These marshals serve as the local law enforcement and so are more like the marshals of the old American West than the present US Marshals, whose duties have wider scope and don’t generally include things like arresting drunks or solving murders.
The outcast hero of Nancy’s story, The New Badge, is Deputy Marshal Hank Tremaine. He was a rising star in the marshals service until he crossed the wrong man. Even though his decisive actions were necessary and resulted in a successful hostage rescue, they left his immediate supervisor looking ineffective. That’s never a good career move. So Hank was sent to the purgatory known as Outcast Station. He’s determined to keep his head down and his nose clean and get out of the place as soon as his three-year rotation is up.
Unfortunately, fate has other plans. The Chief Deputy Marshal for Paradise Station is a buddy of Hank’s old boss. Within 48 hours of landing on the planet, Hank is assigned to a murder case in a place where he doesn’t know the ground or the customs. Solving the case could help him redeem his career from the disgrace of being posted on Outcast Station. Failing, however, will torpedo his hopes.
To read excerpts from both novellas, click here: http://www.nancynorthcott.com/welcome-to-outcast-station/?action=excerpt
The excerpt for The New Badge follows the one for The Accidental Plague.
by Jeanne Adams, Nancy Northcott
August 31, 2017
312 pages
Welcome to Outcast Station
Even outcasts deserve a shot at redemption.
The Accidental Plague by Jeanne Adams
Outcast Station is a backwater, but for BVax Scientist Ravinisha Trentham, any posting is better than washing dishes. Ravi is top in her graduation class, but only Outcast would hire a McKeonite. Someone on the station wants her dead, but when a plague breaks out, Ravi may be their only hope. If the murderer gets to her first, everyone will die.
The New Badge by Nancy Northcott
Deputy Marshal Hank Tremaine crosses the wrong person and lands at Outcast Station, the armpit of Terran space. His hostile boss promptly assigns him to a backcountry murder. Solving it will help redeem his reputation and get him posted somewhere more civilized. But failing to find the killer will bury his career once and for all.
About the Authors:
Jeanne Adams is an award-winning suspense, urban fantasy, and paranormal suspense author who really knows how to get rid of the evidence… She’s written for traditional publishers, while concurrently stepping into independent publishing. Find her books on all major digital outlets. Featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine, Jeanne’s books are consistently hailed as “Best Suspense Books of the Year!” by Romantic Times.
Nancy Northcott’s childhood ambition was to grow up and become Wonder Woman. Around fourth grade, she realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes, but she still loved comic books, science fiction, fantasy and YA romance. A sucker for fast action and wrenching emotion, Nancy combines the action, and high stakes (and sometimes magic and romance) she loves the books she writes.
Reviewers have described her books as melding fantasy, romance, and suspense. Library Journal gave her debut novel, Renegade, a starred review, calling it “genre fiction at its best.”
Reviewers have described her books as melding fantasy, romance, and suspense. Library Journal gave her debut novel, Renegade, a starred review, calling it “genre fiction at its best.”
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