Six Moons Before Mating — H.C. Turk

After Stan Power's ex-wife accidentally kills their daughter, heartbroken Stan vows to do anything to change this tragedy, even if it means living the events over again. And again. And again. His weapons are alchemy, magic, and a science that won't exist until he creates it.One morning, Stan has to pick himself up after falling on his face. He doesn't remember what caused the fall, but he's not injured. So, he continues with his day, which includes the terrible idea of abducting his own daughter—he just can't stand to be away from her any longer. But the abduction goes terribly wrong, and Stan's ex-wife accidentally shoots and kills the girl. Horrified, Stan runs to the body, only to trip and fall on his face.Stan picks himself up, just like he did in the beginning, and relives the same events but with important differences. This time, just before his daughter is about to be shot, he recalls what happened before. Though able to shield her body, he is shot dead himself.Stan picks himself up, entering the same sequence of events. This time, he recalls what happened during the previous loop, and manages to save himself, and his daughter. Stan has entered a series of time loops that differ slightly with each repeat. But a huge change soon transpires: Stan finds himself and his daughter in an ancient alternative life only because it coincides with a story that father and daughter were creating together. A world-class expert in unique plant life, Stan eventually learns that his ability is not science, but magic, and that his daughter is imbued with the same powers. Together they try to grasp the nature of the time loops that take them to the surface of Mars, the interior of a werewolf, and a fairytale from centuries past. Beyond the obvious goal of controlling these loops in order to survive their increasingly fantastic events, Stan wants to end them and return to normal living. He wants to bring his family together the way they always should have been but never were.A cross-genre literary piece of contemporary fantasy, magical realism, and family saga, Six Moons Before Mating is a story of unique originality.