Steve and I had intended to write a new story for the Liaden Universe® Silver Anniversary, but. . .

The world has been just a little too much with us.  Deadlines, real-life matters, including the fact that we — or at least I — have been under quite a bit of heavy weather.

So, anyway, the brand-new story went on hold — after all, this is the twenty-fifth year of the Liaden Universe®; plenty of time to write a new story when the schedule becomes, shall we say, a little less action-packed and filled with excitement?

Still. . .we felt that the occasion of February — the month in which It All Began, back in 1988, with Agent of Change, and the month that It All Continues, with the publication of Necessity’s Child — we felt that the occasion should be marked in some way.

Which is why we’re offering a splinter; the first 12,000-ish words of the Lute and Moonhawk novel we put aside in 1996, meaning to get back to it, someday.

We hope you enjoy it.

Here’s the link.