Smoke and Mirrors
AvoNova, June 1996
Cover art by Dorian Vallejo
Smokey is a touch telepath, resident of the planet Arizona. For years she has made a profitable and enjoyable living as a highly skilled whore — and industrial spy. Then her pleasant life is shattered. When entertaining a client, her mind touches another mind, a second personality that seems to be riding within the mind of her customer. When Smokey is asked to investigate the survivors of a wrecked spaceship and another whore is murdered, Smokey realizes that her own life — and that of her ten year-old daughter — is in danger. She flees via spaceliner, entering into a journey that will force her to learn more about her abilities and her past than she had ever wanted to know.
Author’s Note: I love science fiction, although these days I write more fantasy. Smoke and Mirrors gave me a chance to write a story set on colony planets and in space ships. In a way, it’s my book about terraforming — although what gets formed here might surprise you.
