Glass Walls

Beth pays for crimes she committed as a child while under alien influence. Languishing in indentured servitude, her employers use her to satisfy the needs of their alien guests. To cope, she withdraws. But when Beth meets an alien who endures the same loneliness Beth suffers, her actions surprise even her.


“Glass Walls” appears in a different form in the novel Alien Influences, which was a finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.


“A well-conceived, well-executed novel.”

—The New York Times Book Review on Alien Influences


“Rusch isn’t here on this Earth to hand out easy answers. Alien Influences is, like all her work, memorable, enthralling, and … there are always more questions after the final page.” 

—SF Site on Alien Influences


“[Rusch]’s examination of the heights and depths of the human spirit is what engages and ultimately satisfies.”

—Publisher's Weekly on Alien Influences



USA Today bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes in almost every genre. Generally, she uses her real name (Rusch) for most of her writing. Under that name, she publishes bestselling science fiction and fantasy, award-winning mysteries, acclaimed mainstream fiction, controversial nonfiction, and the occasional romance. Her novels have made bestseller lists around the world and her short fiction has appeared in eighteen best of the year collections. She has won more than twenty-five awards for her fiction, including the Hugo, Le Prix Imaginales, the Asimov’s Readers Choice award, and the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Choice Award. 

To keep up with everything she does, go to kriswrites.com. To track her many pen names and series, see their individual websites (krisnelscott.com, kristinegrayson.com, krisdelake.com, retrievalartist.com, divingintothewreck.com, fictionriver.com). She lives and occasionally sleeps in Oregon.