A Drabble and a Podcast

Two new publications to share with you since my last (*ulp*) very-long-ago update:

Cover of Martian: The Magazine of Science Fiction Drabbles Issue 1, Fall 2021, picturing an alien cityscape against a blue and orange sky, with a lone cloaked figure walking towards it on a road.

Jupiter Mission One is a drabble–a complete story of exactly 100 wordsin Martian Magazine, a new publication from editor Eric Fomely specializing exclusively in such stories. While this is the first drabble I’ve published, I’ve played around with the form before (dare I say, I’ve dabbled in drabbles?), and it’s delightfully challenging! It’s easy to pump out a hundred words of description or narrative; the challenge is to tell a whole story, beginning, middle, and end, with a conflict and resolution, rather than just a vignette or sketch. If you’ve ever attempted to write a sonnet, writing a drabble is a similar experience, where limitation and structure breed creativity, only in narrative prose rather than verse. I hope you’ll give this one a read and drop me a line if you enjoy it!

Pseudopod Podcast logo picturing green tentacles holding an eldritch book with yellow glowing runes.

In another first, my story Knock, Knock, Wolf, originally printed in Footsteps in the Dark from Flame Tree Publishing, has been produced for audio by the best in the business over at the long-running PseudoPod horror podcast. I thought narrator Rish Outfield did an amazing job bringing the widow Clarabel to life in this dark, chilly tale, and it was a real thrill listening to a voice actor perform my work! The episode dropped back in July, but it makes a great listen right now at this time of year here in the American northeast, when the bare trees rattle their bone song to an empty sky…

That’s all for now, but I should have another new story to announce soon… Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!

Out Now! New Fiction Sep. 2020

A short lyrical account of a far-future city, pining for a savior from the stars…

The dark, suspenseful tale of a misanthropic widow facing off in a battle of wits and magic against a certain wolfish visitor…

My two newest stories are out this month!

“The Sound of Her Clarion Thunder” appears in Issue 4 of the flash fiction and poetry ‘zine Frozen Wavelets. This one had its genesis in my writing group’s just-for-fun flash fiction contest and Ray Bradbury’s “Rocket Summer.” You might hear some echoes of that classic in the story’s opening, but from there I think you’ll see it takes quite a different turn. You can read it here.

You can find “Knock, Knock Wolf” in Footsteps in the Dark, the latest release from Flame Tree’s popular Gothic Fantasy series. You might call it a witch vs. werewolf story, or maybe a chilling sequel of sorts to Little Red Riding Hood. Whatever it is, I think you’ll find it the perfect read for a chilly autumn evening! I’m really delighted to be in such great company, both contemporary and classic. You can get your copy of the book here.

Announcement: New Fiction, Coming Soon!

footsteps-in-the-dark-short-stories-ISBN-9781839641879.0

I’m very pleased to announce that I’ll have a new short story appearing in the upcoming anthology, Footsteps in the Dark, from Flame Tree Publishing’s Gothic Fantasy series. These beautiful books collect classic stories from some of the greats alongside new stories from current authors–including, now, yours truly!

The story is called “Knock, Knock, Wolf,” and I hope it will keep you on the edge of your seat. I had a lot of fun writing it, and I look forward to telling you a little more about the story-behind-the-story when it comes out (June in the UK, August in the US).