GriffonRider

It's six weeks until the scheduled launch of the first manned Mars fly-by, when Diana Erden--one-half of the married "Phobonaut" crew--loses consciousness. The choice facing the TransMars Collective, a private venture on the threshold of history? Proceed as planned, or fail. Under the circumstances, the replacement they find has some issues but seems almost perfect. Almost. ADULT SITUATIONS.

I was invited by a genre publisher to submit a story for an anthology of stories featuring witches with attitude and embroidery--human or otherwise. I was reluctant, given my troth to the human condition, but I thought the stretch might be good for me. Long story short, I sent them "GriffonRider" and they didn't like it. Too much science and not enough occult, I'm guessing. I can't help it--I was raised by an engineer and lived through Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. Anyway, I had fun writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it.