I have this little universe, you see...
Most SF authors do. Some have many. Some universes are related to one another, others stand alone in magnificent solitude. Some writers share their universes, some take up residence (temporary or permanent) in someone else's universe. Occasionally a writer's universes will merge, becoming one great multiverse. Heaven may be a house with many mansions, but SF goes Heaven one better -- science fiction is a house with many universes.
I call my universe "The Scattered Worlds." It's a consistent background against which I've set various novels and shorter works. And there are more to come. The whole thing consists of history, science, and mythology covering over two billion years and thousands of planets and species, with everything from near-future cyberpunk to millennia-old sapient trees.
Unlike many series out there, the Scattered Worlds stories are meant to stand on their own. You can pick up any title without having read the others. That's why I call it a mosaic rather than a traditional series. There is no required order for reading the constituent parts. However, after a while you will come to realize that they are all part of a larger pattern, a continuing narrative. In the end (and I promise you, there is an end), the Scattered Worlds books will tell a complete story that transcends the individual parts. If you want to see how the various titles fit together, check out the timeline.
So far, the Scattered Worlds universe is off to a good start. Two Scattered Worlds novelettes were chosen for The World's Best SF anthologies in their respective years. Scattered Worlds novel The Leaves of October was a finalist for the Compton Crook Award. Dance for the Ivory Madonna was a Spectrum Award nominee, and garnered 56 Hugo nominations.
If you want to know more, check out the resources below.
Don Sakers