I make it no secret that I am friends with A.E. Ash. I’ve already mentioned her once here in this space. We share our writing journeys with each other as well as the day-to-day realities of our existence. Having a writing buddy has been invaluable—someone to share challenges, epiphanies, doubts, and achievements.
She’s been doing some great stuff, like the amazing poem she published with Strange Horizons late last year. It is one of my favorites that she’s shared with me (yes, I sometimes get sneak peeks of poems! 😀 ). You can imagine how incredibly happy I am to see her latest published piece, Luminous, doing so well! It’s a short story published by Book Smugglers Publishing.
Luminous is a scifi romance about a fallen star at the end of his existence taking on human form and a woman who’s been marooned on a planet that was being terraformed just as a war broke out. She’s been doing her job every day, gathering samples and sending in reports, but hasn’t heard back from anyone in nine years. Whenever I think about this, her isolation hits me hard every. single. time.
The prose is of course rich with poetic descriptions, the setting is the perfect backdrop for the characters and story, and the themes are powerful and moving. I was reminded at times of my favorite Greek myth, Bacchus and Philemon. Luminous has that kind of enduring feel to me. I love how the story reminds readers that growing old does not mean becoming obsolete, and that comfort and companionship can come from the most unexpected of places.
As I understand it, Luminous will be available for free on The Book Smugglers’ site on July 21, but you can buy it now on Amazon if you can’t wait.
Writing can be a lonely journey, and I am triply blessed not to be on this path alone. Having A.E. to talk to has helped make the dark times more bearable and the bright times more luminous 😀 I wish all of my writer friends continued success at all their various stages of development, and hope that our readers find lovely gems like this one to enjoy!
You are so good to me. Thank you so, so much! <3
I keep telling you, I seriously love your writing.
!!!! <3
I’m so glad I remembered that Twitter is a thing I should check, which led me to hear. Congrats on getting published and I can’t wait to read it!
It is a beautiful story 🙂 I hope you love it!
OMG. It led me to “here.” Not “hear.” If it led me to freaking HEAR, I’d be throwing money at you!
🙂