I’m working on a first book for The Robot Whisperers. Yes, it’s now plural. That’s because I rehashed the story so that there is a team of five who go in and solve some of the galaxy’s ugliest robot problems. I have a working title for the first book, but I’m not crazy about it. Which means it’ll change. I have to get that set in stone pretty soon, because I need to order a cover for the book and get the little widget going in the sidebar. I have almost a thousand words done for this story. Just the intro scene.

Tomorrow is Pioneer Day here in Utah, and I work for a credit union, so I get a holiday for that day. Which means it’ll be a writing day. I’ll try to get a title solidified, the cover ordered, and throw down some more words. I don’t quite have the whole story hashed out yet, but I do know what I plan to do for the twists and the ending.

I have a pretty good story idea setup for a potential next Daphne book. It’ll be titled, “Dust Bargain.” I’m going to pull in an old character (or two) into the story. I’ll order a cover for that book as well (and maybe even another Daphne book or two, just to get ahead). There’s a second Daphne story that I hashed out, called “The Missing Link.” That one’s going to be crazy, and I’ll be pulling in Detective Ramsey for that one. There’s a third Daphne story that I’ve spent some time hashing out, called “Hazard Pay.” The story is going to require a larger ship, so I think I’ll use that as the first book of a second Daphne series (which will start out with her trading her ship up for something bigger and better). I might stick “To End the Silence” at the end of the first series. Ah, you probably want a book blurb, or maybe an elevator pitch for each of those…

Dust Bargain

Space hauler Daphne Blazefire takes a sketchy shipping job for a promised big payday, only to land on a backwater planet where the payout’s a scam and the law’s in on it. Trapped by a crooked sheriff and a shady town, Daphne must decide: cut her losses or take on the corrupt Company behind it all, knowing the truth could kill her.

The Missing Link

The book blurb for this one might change a little:

While trawling the galactic net for entertainment and encrypted schematics, Rusty, Daphne Blazefire’s quirky (and possibly sentient) robot companion, stumbles across something curious: a cache of unsolved criminal cases, long buried in forgotten databanks.

One case stands out: the disappearance of Lyra Venn, daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the inner systems. Detective Ramsey chased every lead until the trail went cold. A million-credit reward has gone unclaimed for years.

But when Daphne reads the file, something clicks. A memory. A name. A detail she’d dismissed long ago suddenly shines like a beacon. Could she really be the missing piece in a galaxy-wide mystery? And if so, who’s been hiding the truth… and what are they willing to do to keep it buried?

Hazard Pay

The outer worlds promise danger and high profits. Daphne Blazefire has the cargo, the route, and the nerve.

But one woman and her robot can’t face pirate space lanes alone. So she hires a crew of grizzled mercenaries with big guns and bigger secrets.

At first, everything runs according to plan. Then the arguments start. The ship feels smaller with every passing day. Personalities clash, tempers flare, and Daphne realizes that she’s not the only one keeping secrets.
As tensions boil over and loyalties shift, Daphne must figure out who’s running a side hustle… and who plans to take over the whole ship. Out here, trust is as rare as breathable air, and twice as flammable.

To End the Silence

This one is subject to change as well, and it has several twists.

Daphne Blazefire thought she was delivering medicine. Instead, she delivered death.

When a job hauling medical supplies turns into a nightmare, Daphne’s world is upended. Her first delivery ends in the sudden capture of a rebel camp. The second? The same. Only after her ship is impounded and her quirky robot companion RUSTY runs a diagnostic does the truth come out: the supplies were rigged with tracking nanites—designed not to heal, but to expose resistance hideouts for targeted strikes.

Now marked as a traitor and unwitting pawn in a brutal military operation, Daphne sets out to clear her name. But things get even stranger when a captured rebel calls her by name—before she ever introduces herself. The resistance has been watching her. One of them flagged her as either an ally… or a threat.

The Robot Whisperers

I don’t have a blurb for this one yet. I have a working title: “Blackout at Research Station Xray.”

OK, I came up with a title: “Frozen Logic.”

The story is about a station of scientists on a frozen world. The scientists have not reported in for some time. Robots at the station stopped transmitting data back to the corporate office. The team is sent in to repair any damaged robots and investigate what happened to the scientists. Of course, nothing will be as it seems, and everything goes sideways right away…

I anticipate the Robot Whisperers to be published near the middle of September. I should have the next book after that nailed down before then.