I wrote you a new story! It's live over at Daily Science Fiction, and it's called "You Can Adapt to Anything."
It follows Juniper and Miguel, two engineering prodigies who dream of being the first people to set foot in a parallel universe. The two were so alike they were almost destined to fall for each other. When they finally open that portal, they find another Juniper and Miguel, who've been working on the same project. The Junipers accidentally switch, and are stranded in alternate realities. But this isn't a bizarre land where the dinosaurs still roam over the North lost the Civil War. Our nearest neighboring universes are nearly identical to our own, just one probability variation away. So Juniper is stranded on earth just like hers, with a life that's nearly identical, trying to get back to her Miguel, and trying to ignore the identical man working beside her.
The reactions have been amazing. Thanks to everyone who's already read and shared this story. It's something I've wanted to write since I was 15.
Thanks as well to the small army of alpha, beta, and final readers who joined me in Juniper's journey. Thank you to A.T. Greenblatt, Cassie Williams, Janice Smith, Phil Margolies, David Twiddy, Laurence Brothers, and Katherine Hajer.
And thanks to Daily Science Fiction for publishing me for the third time. I do so enjoy being in their digital pages.
You can read the entirety of "You Can Adapt to Anything" for free by clicking this link.