Cresting the Sun: A Sci-Fi / Fantasy Anthology Featuring 12 Award-Winning Short Stories

FIRST PLACE WINNER of the 2020 GOLDEN QUILL AWARD from the Utah League of Writers!

Cresting the Sun is a science fiction and fantasy anthology compiling twelve award-winning short stories (with a taste of crime and horror mixed in). Each included tale has in recent years earned recognition from the esteemed L Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest judges, with adventures sure to rattle your bones, launch you beyond the stars, and carry you through space and time.

Prepare yourself, hold on tight, and enjoy the ride!

Roadblock by Brian C Hailes - All Drew really wants is a chance with his high school crush, Lily. But on his way to a party where he plans to give it one last shot, he's forced to take a detour off Highway 89, where fate has something else waiting in store.

The Hubbard Drive by Rick Bennett - I just can't resist comedy. This time-dilation romp is my little Einsteinian "thought experiment" and tribute to L Ron Hubbard, a sci-fi giant.

L.E.A.P. by Nicholas P Adams - A cop with the ability to navigate the timestream puts his skills to the test when a series of murders threatens his freedom and the future of those he'd kill to protect.

Sketch Artist by Brian C Hailes - An innocent girl witnesses a murder, and works with a San Francisco Police Department sketch artist who has an uncanny ability to draw portraits based on witnesses' firsthand accounts with a ninety-five percent facial recognition accuracy rate. However, as they both find themselves caught in the middle of a deadly mob war, can they find the killer or killers before they themselves fall prey to the infamous crime families?

The Devil & Woody Harrelson by Rick Bennett - Ever think about selling your soul to the devil? You may already have done just that if you clicked "accept" on the terms and conditions on an online program license agreement.

Half Z's by Nicholas P Adams - A human/alien half-breed, desperate for a connection with either world, travels to the Gya'ol enclave for answers when she discovers a rapidly forming growth inside her body.

The Chaser's Prey by Brian C Hailes - Having been shipped off to alien scout camp, Gareth Stillwater stumbles across the other boys torturing and mutilating a squirrel-like creature called an ehkhoor'n. When he confronts the alpha scout, Morrow Krin, and his accomplices, they bully him into secrecy . . . until he decides to steal Krin's hoverbike and put the animal out of its misery, placing himself (and everyone else) in harm's way.

Overture to The Opera of The Blades by Rick Bennett - This literal "rock opera" features a computer genius who speaks only in palindromes and shows the effect she has on an immortal being.

Uncoiling the Loop by Nicholas P Adams - A temporal manipulator struggles against time, the authorities, and a crotchety barkeep, to prevent his father from going on a killing spree before it happens.

The Artist's Model by Brian C Hailes - An artist's model with a past veiled in amnesia meets a mysterious visitor who claims to know who and what she really is. But when her most beloved master artist and patron unexpectedly dies, she must find a way to live up to her otherworldly destiny, and fulfill her new role.

Gone are the Light-Wielders by Nicholas P Adams - A shepherd boy holds the fate of the colony in his hands when he must choose between keeping a promise to his mother and his responsibility to the community.

Brian C. Hailes, creator of Draw It With Me (drawitwithme.com), is also the award-winning writer/illustrator of three graphic novels, entitled Blink, Dragon's Gait and Devil's Triangle, the children's picture books Skeleton Play and Don't Go Near the Crocodile Ponds. Other titles he has illustrated include Heroic: Tales of the Extraordinary, Passion & Spirit: The Dance Quote Book, Continuum (Arcana Studios), as well as McKenna, McKenna, Ready to Fly, and Grace & Sylvie: A Recipe for Family (American Girl). In addition to his several publishing credits, Hailes has also illustrated an extensive collection of fantasy, science fiction, and children's book covers as well as interior magazine illustrations. Hailes has received numerous awards for his art from across the country, including Winner of the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of the Future contest out of Hollywood. His artwork has also been featured in the 2017-2019 editions of Infected By Art. Hailes studied illustration and graphic design at Utah State University where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, as well as the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He has been a regular panelist and presenter at Salt Lake Comic Con, FanX, LTUE, and was the Artist Guest of Honor at Conduit 2013. He has also appeared as a special guest at San Diego Comic Con. Hailes currently lives in Salt Lake City with his wife and four boys, where he continues to write, paint and draw regularly. His work can be seen at: HailesArt.comDrawItWithMe.com Instagram: drawitwithmeofficial Facebook: drawitwithme ArtStation: bchailes

In addition to the four stories in this anthology, Rick Bennett has two published novels, both of which are available on Amazon: Destroying Angel and Daddy's Little Felons. Rick's cybersecurity blog, www.TheMorganDoctrine.com, outlines his 22 principles of the perfect computer virus and introduces The Cyber Privateer Code. He still does guerrilla warfare for high-tech companies and can be contacted by emailing rick@rickbennett.com or texting 801.556.2012. Rick's one-man ad agency took Larry Ellison and Oracle from $15 million to $1 billion annual revenue in just six years. He also created Marc Benioff's pre-IPO ads attacking Siebel for Salesforce.com. Documentation of his guerrilla warfare advertising philosophy and examples of his work can be found at www.rickbennett.com. Rick went to Andover with George W. Bush (who became the 43rd president of the United States), and with Darrel Salk (son of polio vaccine creator Jonas Salk). He majored in mathematics at Whitman College. His invention, a voice stress analyzer, made the front page of every major newspaper in the country, and he appeared on numerous television shows, including NBC's Today and Tomorrow shows, ABC's Good Morning America, the McNeil-Lehrer Report, and The Mike Douglas Show. Believing his own press clippings, he sold his company to run for congress in 1978 from the state of Washington. Luckily, he lost that race and found a career working behind the scenes for high-tech moguls. He and his wife Rita have 4 children, 19 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren. He runs his business from The Pirate Cottage on a mountainside in Draper, Utah and rides his bike several thousand miles a year up and down the mountain.

Nicholas Adams grew up in the small, rural town of Boring, OR with his six brothers and sisters. After graduating from High School in Gresham, OR he attended BYU-ID and received his Associate Degree in Pre-Med. From there he returned to Portland, OR and attended Portland State University where he earned his Bachelor's Degree in Biology/Pre-Med before changing his career track to Architecture. He completed his second Bachelor's Degree in Architecture at Portland State University before going on to achieve his Master of Architecture Degree from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT. After his graduation, he and his wife moved to the Phoenix Arizona area where they adopted four children over the next eight years. He currently lives in the Salt Lake City area where he is an Associate Member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the League of Utah Writers. Nicholas caught the writing bug at the tender age of forty-three and self-published a science fiction novel, after which he started learning about the craft and skills of prose, grammar, and story composition. In the following years, he's received awards for several short stories submitted to The Writers of the Future. His current literary goal is to receive the Golden Pen. Aside from storytelling and living in fantasy worlds, his other interests include movies, singing, and motorcycles. NicholasAdamsWrites.com