D.A.

Dust jacket by J. K. Potter

Theodora Baumgarten has just been selected as an IASA space cadet, and therein lies the problem. She didn’t apply for the ultra-coveted posting, and doesn’t relish spending years aboard the ship to which she’s been assigned.

But the plucky young heroine, in true Heinlein fashion, has no plans to go along with the program. Aided by her hacker best friend Kimkim, in a screwball comedy that has become Connie Willis’ hallmark, Theodora will stop at nothing to uncover the conspiracy that has her shanghaied.

Trade: fully cloth bound hardcover edition
Limited: 400 numbered copies, bound in leather, signed by author

From Publishers Weekly:
“Some high school kids would do anything to be an IASA space cadet, but not Theodora Baumgarten in Willis’s cheerfully tongue-in-cheek SF novella... Getting out will require solving the mystery of how she got into the Academy in the first place, but it might have something to do with the annotation ‘D.A.’ in her station records. Willis (Inside Job) turns a cherished SF theme completely inside out.”

From SF Signal:
“Reading D.A. is like a getting a shot of Heinlein injected directly into the bloodstream. Actually, it’s like Heinlein on speed because the story mimics themes in his juvenile novels -- a young person overcoming obstacles by using ingenuity and intellect -- and moves incredibly fast.”

From Bookslut:
“Honestly, this book has to be one of the better ones I’ve come across for readers who are trepidatious about reading sci fi. It’s reminiscent of Ray Bradbury’s ‘R is for Rocket’ in that the story is grounded in thoughts and feelings that anyone could understand, just set in the future. It’s a perfect choice for the teenager eager to get out of their reading rut; kudos to Ms. Willis for finding a story that will get them interested early.”