White surf hissed against a pebbly black shore, curling around my toes in a wash of cold spray. Secrets from distant lands washed onto this ancient beach, catching on pebbles and snagging within tide pools. Collected and kept here where few knew to seek them.
The older secrets rested further up the beach, but the most recent ones lived here at the tide line. Dipping my fingers into the salty water, I came back up with a smooth stone the size of my thumbnail. No feature indicated what kind of wisdom it might hold, but I liked its shape.
Bringing the black pebble close to my mouth, I murmured, “Make your secrets known to me.”
Turning my head, I listened close over the roar of the pounding surf. Nothing, nothing.
Maybe this one contained no hidden message after all. But then… something. A mournful voice from far across the ocean, breaking with sorrow.
“Not all dreams come true.”
Bring the Wanderer Home
The Hopeful Wanderer
Wander a world driven from mundane to magical by a secret hidden at its heart.
A slow apocalypse has corroded a distant planet, with the uncanny living in uneasy commune alongside those remaining. On a forgotten quest from the stars, the Wanderer roams among them, through crumbling societies and vibrant wildernesses, navigating a murky path toward an incredible past.
While helping and receiving help-or hindrance-from strange denizens of unusual destinations, the Wanderer must finish righting a wrong that threatens to extinguish the universe itself. Should memory of the responsibility return at all.
Featuring
- 100 Hopeful Wanderer tales
- 20 new short stories
- 10-episode revelatory ending
- 100% revised and expanded
A far-future science fantasy with sub-tones of soft-apocalypse and climate change, this hopeful adventure combines exploration, eeriness, and wonder across 100 short tales.
Join readers who loved the web series and journey alongside them in discovering the Wanderer’s wondrous past and hopeful mission to save the stars.

