And now for something completely different: I just self-published “East of (h)Eden”, my first science fiction novella! You can buy the Kindle version at Amazon for US$2.99 (and it’s available in other currencies too, though not other languages). If you’re interested, here are two short excerpts: excerpt 1 and excerpt 2. From the blurb:

Ben Cereno is a divorced middle-aged middle manager, working for a tech company and trying to be the best dad he can be for his kids. When his best friend convinces him to go to (h)Eden, a sex resort staffed by androids, Ben plans for nothing beyond a fun getaway. The robotic staff, known as Compandroids, are the most advanced machines in the world, their inner workings a closely-guarded secret. (h)Eden itself is as exclusive as a resort can be for that reason, and Ben is curious about every aspect of it.

But Ben is soon caught up in unexpected events, which force him to reconsider what he thinks about himself, his friends, and the nature of the androids staffing (h)Eden. Loosely based on a novella by Herman Melville, “East of (h)Eden” is story about denial and the costs of waking up to a new awareness of a changing world.

Trigger warnings: brief references to domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse.

A note on the cover art: The main image in the cover art was painted by Ed Valigursky, and comes from the March 1956 issue of Amazing Stories, the famous pulp magazine. The art illustrated a story I haven’t read called “The Iron Virgin”, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have the same plot as mine. As far as I can tell from extensive searching, Valigursky’s painting is no longer under copyright and in the public domain now, and I created my cover image under that assumption. See http://www.philsp.com/mags/amazing_stories.html for more information, along with the Wikimedia page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amazing_stories_195603.jpg .

Click here to buy it now. I’m already working on the sequel!