For the Love of Airagos — Shannon Muir

Destined to be a pawn in a game without even knowing it, Heather Candor grew up playing RPGs with her friend Abe and a regular group of college friends. One day he mysteriously disappeared, but tried to keep the game going as Play By Mail turns - until one day those turns also mysteriously stopped. Years later, as a freelance journalist, Heather ends up in a strange encounter with a journalistic source that leaves her pregnant and befuddled. Hiding away from the world and getting immersed in MMOGs, she's put in contact with friends old and new that start reviving the mysteries of the past. They come to learn they've been pieces in a larger game for a race from another world to come to Earth, and there's more to what's going on that meets the eye. Ultimately it takes an acceptance of love, at times lust, and destiny to stay one step ahead of those using her and do what is needed to save the present and shape the future of two worlds in this story that blends gaming and the games of interstellar interaction. Part of the SPONTANEOUS CHOICES ADVENTURES COLLECTION presented by INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS.