The Paraxous Star Cluster Series by Rebecca Inch-Partridge and BayCon 2026!

I first met Rebecca Inch-Partridge at a local author event, and after spending some time with her, I can attest that she is both a great author and a wonderful human. Her Paradous Star Cluster series features both ESCAPING THE DASHIA and HUNTING THE DASHIA, and the first book in the series has one of the best beginnings I’ve ever read. I also included some pictures from BayCon 2026 this past weekend, since Rebecca was an author panelist and I had a table for The Etiquette of Voles (doesn’t the vole look dapper in his hat?).

Discovering who you are can be dangerous — even deadly.

Twyla’s been living in hiding on Earth, hoping to leave her past behind. But when her mother, Madam Cassiopeia DeConnett finds her and kidnaps her back to the Paraxous Star Cluster, she expects her daughter to take her rightful place within the family business. The DeConnetts are Dashia— a group of genetically- engineered telepaths who use their powers to control some and ruin others. Their criminal organization is rich, powerful, and spans The Cluster.

When escape seems impossible, Twyla considers suicide. Then she meets Dovain, another prisoner, and their friendship blossoms into something more. Together, can they figure out how to free themselves? Can she trust herself enough to risk loving him? If she does, will that love save her, or lead to her destruction?

Twyla Millett thought she’d escaped the clutches of her sadistic mother, Cassiopeia DeConnett. She was wrong.

Now, the lives of her best friends are in jeopardy. Twyla’s only hope is to trust a mysterious Dashia Hunter whose only job is assassinating all psychic vampires within the Paraxous Star Cluster. But Twyla doesn’t want to settle for being hidden away again. She wants to end the threat once and for all-she wants to become a Dashia Hunter and take down Cassiopeia and the entire DeConnett crime family.

Will the Hunter train Twyla and her friends? Can she trust him, or will her own psychic abilities give him reason to eliminate her as another potential Dashia? The choices made could shake the Paraxous Cluster to its very foundation.

According to your website, you are a frequent panelist for area Science Fiction conventions such as BayCon and LosCon, What do you love most about being on panels?

My favorite thing(s) about being on panels at science fiction conventions:

1. Meeting great fellow panelists that I wouldn’t otherwise get a chance to know. The panelists usually meet in the green room beforehand to prepare a great presentation. This also gives us the
opportunity to get to know each other, build a community, and brainstorm.

The wide variety of topics. It is amazing the subjects that get covered at convention panels, everything from ethical issues of cloning, to practical steps to surviving nuclear disasters, to writing about alien worlds. My favorite thing is volunteering to be a moderator for a topic that I am researching. This allows me to interview experts on the subject. I end up learn as much as the audience does.
Fandom is a community that is very accepting, and I feel more like it is a family reunion than a conference. It doesn’t feel like part of my job as an author and editor; it sheer pleasure. I have been friends with many of the people that I see there for over 20 years.

Yup! Being on panels is very rewarding, and one of my favorite things to do. And I love the voice in ESCAPING THE DASHIA. What do you think helps writers most in honing a good voice?

It depends on what point of view you’re writing from. If you are using first-person point of view, you are role-playing and trying to get into the head of that character because the narrator telling the story. Often, it is more difficult to have a strong narrative voice when you are writing in third person and when you are outside your character’s head. In that case, the protagonist is not the narrator, so the voice and style blend. It becomes abut choosing the right words for creating a specific mood and finding a way of transporting the reader. Most of all, it’s about not letting you, the author, get in the way of the story.

Hmmm, maybe that’s why I write in first person more often! What are some of your favorite speculative fiction books, and what do you love most about them?

My husband and I literally turned our son’s bedroom into a library after he moved out because we have so many books–most of them speculative fiction. Since my trilogy is a young adult science fantasy, I’ll start with my favorite YA Fantasy writer, Tamora Pierce. I love her Alanna series, Rebecca Cooper series, and Trickster’s Choice series. And of course, the classic Anne McCaffrey’s Pern saga. Since you brought up narrative voice, Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files is by far my favorite in that regard. The character development over the series is incredible, and you really feel like this guy is telling you his story. But for the list of 31 novels that I ranked for my May’s Speculative Fiction month, see my list at https://www.ripartridge.com/events/31-novels

The voice in the Jim Butcher novels is indeed stunning, and I’m particularly excited about one of the books on your list that I bought at BayCon: Dragon Princess by Jason P. Crawford. What are some of your current projects?

Many authors think once they finish writing a book, their job is done. Not true. Next, an author must convince a publishing company to publish it, or go through all the steps to successfully self-publish. Then comes the launch. I am in the middle of my launch window since my second book just came out. And I am in the middle of doing interviews, attending conventions, and finding other ways to promote Hunting the Dashia, all the while I am trying to finish my final draft of book 3.

And if that’s not enough, besides my day job as a freelance editor, I am an active member of several writing groups. I serve as the Director of Spin-off groups for Gold County Writers in Auburn, and am heading two major projects: our participation in the local fair and partnering with the Sierra Writers Conference (Sierra WordFest) in 2027. It’s going to be an exciting year for me.

Readers can follow my journey on Facebook @RIPartridge
and on my website: www.ripartridge.com.

May the Muse be with you!

Order ESCAPING THE DASHIA