Stephen D Covey

Science, Science Fiction & Thriller Writer

Bibliography

As I complete works and get them published, these pages will be expanded to provide more details about each story and/or collection.  For now, here is a list of my completed stories:

  • NOVELS:
    • The Last Tomorrow   (a techno-thriller) I'm currently seeking representation for this novel.
           Yesterday was an illusion
           Tomorrow never arrives
       
  • SHORT STORIES & NOVELETTES:
    • The Road to NPS (with Sandra McDonald, author of The Outback Stars trilogy)
      The science fiction anthology Edge of Infinity (edited by Jonathan Strahan) includes the first collaboration between Stephen D. Covey and Sandra McDonald, The Road to NPS, a short story (7,400 words) set in the near-future of humanity's expansion into the Solar System. The working title was "Ice Road Suckers," as it is a story about an ice road trucker on Europa (an icy moon of Jupiter). It's now available in mass-market paperback, as part of Jonathan Strahan's anthology, Edge of Infinity published by Solaris.
       
    • Futuredaze cover The Stars Beneath Our Feet (5,900 words, with Sandra McDonald, published in the Futuredaze anthology). What happens when a teenage boy in love tries to impress the girl of his dreams (who barely knows he exists) with an invitation to a secret adventure: stowing away on a spaceship to a new orbiting colony? What could possibly go wrong?
       
    • Grimm Future / For Want Of A Nail by Stephen D. Covey and Sandra McDonald For Want Of A Nail (5,009 words, with Sandra McDonald, published in the The Grimm Future anthology).
      Inspired by the Grimm Fairy Tale with the same title, this young-adult story is about a group of teenagers who were invited to participate in a science camp on the far side of the Moon. A contest - a race in space - gives them a chance to compete, with exiting new opportunities awarded to the winners. But you can try too hard, and fail harder. It's now available in mass-market paperback, as part of Erin Underwood's anthology, The Grimm Future.
       
    • The Treasures of Fred (1,977 words, with Sandra McDonald)
      "The Treasures of Fred," is a free easy-read story available at Daily Science Fiction.
      Everything in this story, except for the time travelers, can be found in Steve's marvelous home office. He's held onto his textbooks from college, has collected many classic sf books and magazines over the years, and owns a closet full of rocks, lasers, lab coats, and equipment. Neater than Doc Brown's garage but just as interesting, the office exemplifies Steve's love for science and science fiction. We really wanted to have fun putting the items in a story about fathers, daughters, and love. If we wrote a story about Sandra's office, it would include Star Trek posters, Stargate DVDs, military souvenirs, yoga blocks, and hairballs from all the cats who own her.
       
    • Time Enough To Say Goodbye (4,574 words, with Sandra McDonald), published in the May-June 2018 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
      A time-travel story about a woman seeking a long-lost connection to her past, very loosely based on the actual DSI Laboratories facilities in Orlando, Florida (since closed). Steve's DSI Lab was part of Deep Space Industries, Inc., performing NASA research contracts, with UCF employees and partners, and delivered 5 Mg of carbonaceous chondrite asteroid regolith simulants to NASA KSC.
       
    • Technesia (9,500 words)
      Inspired by watching NASCAR on TV: your headset should tag the people and places you see, keep you informed about your current events of interest, and be a non-intrusive GPS. But what happens when this technology fails?
    • Apophis 2029 (10,000 words)
      In 2004, scientists feared the asteroid Apophis was on an April 13, 2029 collision course with the Earth. Later observations predict a 2029 near miss but a possible Earth impact in 2036. Even if it misses us it will return every seven years, until some day our luck will run out. Small as asteroids go (only 1000 feet wide), a land strike will still devastate an area the size of Connecticut. But an ocean strike is much more likely. The resulting tsunami will destroy coastal communities around the globe—a hundred million lives lost, a trillion dollars damage. We must prevent this catastrophe. This story is about a mission to deflect Apophis.
    • Infertility (6,000 words)
      The year is 2056, and humanity is expanding into space in a series of habitats in Earth orbit. But no woman born in space has ever gotten pregnant without at least visiting the Earth. Does this spell doom for the long-term future of humanity in space?
    • Ghost Rights (6,000 words) (the first of a series of short stories on this theme of life after death)
      Today I celebrated the 25th anniversary of my death....
    • The First & Last Time Machine (2,000 words)
      A humorous take on the perils of building a time machine.
    • Portalnaut (9,000 words)
      Two astronauts learn that jumping through wormhole portals is not as easy as it sounds.
    • Ewakening (2,000 words)
      What's it like to be the first person to wake up as a computer program?
    • The Dark Within (6,000 words)
      The true nature of dark energy is explored - and it's not nice.

And my works-in-progress:

  • NOVELS:
    • RIPPED (a techno-thriller)
      I'm currently seeking representation for this novel.
      What if, when you died, your brain could be RIPPED into a computer, uploading your memories, personality, and consciousness into a lightning-fast program that lived forever? What if you could work and buy processor upgrades as technology continues to improve?? What if bio-humans claimed you were dead, a mere simulation, and were not a person and could not own anything or earn money??
       
    • Leo's Call (currently at 40,000 words, starts nice and slow, ends fast and horrifying. How can civilization survive an invasion by an intelligent techno-virus?)
    • The Awakening (currently a 6,000 word thriller short story about awakening AI)
    • The Wall At The End Of The Universe (a far-future sequel to The Last Tomorrow)
    • Beneath The Peridot Seas (We are not alone, even on the Earth)
    • The Cometwealth (When the population is in the trillions, scattered over millions of worlds, can we remain ONE people?)
    • The Dhreesah Crusades (Joint custody of the Earth is not an option)
  • COLLECTIONS:
    • Strip Search, LLC.
      The life of a detective in a world of universal surveillance is not as simple as it seems. These NOIR SF stories feature a Private Investigator (and his awesome assistant) as they solve mysteries along the Las Vegas Strip.
      • Party Line (2,000 word WIP, SF mystery/humor)
        Investigating a murder in a world where everyone records everything, and nothing is quite as it appears.
    • Terran Technologies and Other Stories
      Travelling salesmen ride alien starships to sell our unique technologies, arts, and cuisine to civilizations throughout the galaxy.
      • Terran Technologies, Inc. (3,000 words, sexy SF humor)
        I knew we were in trouble well before the translator console said “If war is what you want, then war is what you will have.”
      • Adventure on Axar VII (7,000 words, sexy SF humor)
        Our travelling salesmen visit a human outpost - populated only by women.
    • Moore's Demise (stories about the end of Moore's Law)
    • Fermi Paradox (stories about why we appear to be alone in the universe)
  • SHORT STORIES:
    • APOPHIS 2030 (The fight to possess Apophis)
    • APOPHIS 2035 (The Babysitter) needs a better name - it's about the first day care center in space
    • ALPHA 2044 (middle-grade SF about the first girl born in space)