Category Archives: Publication day

Jack London, Publication day, Science fiction

At the Edge of the Crater

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I’m pleased to announce that the winter issue of Tales from the Crosstimbers is now available on Amazon. It includes my story “At the Edge of the Crater.”

Jak, a newcomer to the mining colony on the asteroid 16 Psyche, ignores his partner’s warning not to travel alone into the asteroid’s Badlands. There’s a rich new vein of iridium to claim, and Jak wants first pick. All he has to do to win the race is to venture into a forbidding impact crater.

I wrote this tale as a futuristic version of “To Build a Fire” by Jack London. In “Crater,” the protagonist lets greed drown out the warnings of his more experienced partner. Space, like all of nature, often overwhelms us with its beauty and mystery but can also snuff out human life in an instant. To understand ourselves, and to grasp our place in the universe, we must realize we are mites compared to the limitless expanse of space. Survival is a struggle, one best waged with friends at our side.

Tales from the Crosstimbers features speculative tales “grounded in strong characters interacting with a gritty, realistic world.” So it’s the perfect venue for this story. I’m honored to be included with this line-up of authors.

Poetry, Publication day

On the Train from Charlotte

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And now for something completely different: Poetry. Yes, it’s a new endeavor for me, a craft I’ve only dabbled in (such as this silly piece for the Charlotte Observer).

My poem “On the Train from Charlotte” is included in the latest Metaworker, a spunky little journal that has been featuring fiction and poetry since 2015. Here’s the magazine’s mission statement:

“Driven by passion, our fires are fanned by sharing engaging stories that aren’t afraid to put a spin on rules of craft, spit in the eye of convention, and provoke in ways that surprise, challenge, or enchant. We hope our readers leave the page with experiences that you can take back into your daily life, maybe even change a perspective you didn’t know you had.”

I hope “On the Train from Charlotte” affects you the same way.

Publication day, Science fiction

A Rookie Mistake

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I’m pleased to announce the latest issue of Tales from the Crosstimbers is now available on Amazon. It includes my story “A Rookie Mistake.”

Deputy Malcolm Lamb, the newest member of the marshal’s office on the rowdy mining asteroid Psyche, gets a chance to prove himself to the older deputies when he’s sent to find a stolen minebot. But when he finally catches up with the culprit, he’s forced to question where his duty lies. The choice he makes shows heroic action can spring from simple kindness, from our realization we are connected to others.

I’ve long imagined what mining would be like in the asteroid belt, a vast region rich with precious metals, yet forbidding and treacherous. To me, the combination of grizzled prospectors of the Old West and space exploration is endlessly fascinating. My first foray to the asteroid Psyche was “The Calculus of Karma,” the cover story in the June, 2020 issue of Mystery Weekly Magazine.

The return trip there was long overdue, and I’m thrilled with the result. Check it out! It’s available on Amazon as a Kindle or paperback.

Publication day, Science fiction

Making A Ton

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Alpha Mercs has published Minstrels in the Galaxy, their latest anthology, and I’m pleased to say it includes my story “Making a Ton.” Editor Sam Robb was very kind in his acceptance letter: “Loved your story. Definite Larry Niven / Known Space vibes.”

The music of Jethro Tull is the theme for this unique anthology of twelve romping tales. I’ve always loved “Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young to Die!” so it was a natural choice for my story “Making a Ton.”

And that cover art is truly a thing of beauty. Cedar Sanderson outdid herself.

The action in my piece unfolds at an ice mine on Saturn’s frozen moon Enceladus. (Yes, I’ve been there before. I find Enceladus endlessly fascinating.) Ray, an aging pilot who can’t find work, bets his life savings on a race against an alien who not only has a state-of-the-art ship, but an inborn talent for speeding through the Asteroid Belt.

What is Ray thinking? Does he plan to go out with a bang? Could this be the final take?

There’s only one way to find out.

Available on Amazon in Kindle or paperback.

Publication day, Science fiction

Workforce Reduction

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In Another Time Magazine has published my short story “Workforce Reduction.” In her acceptance letter, editor Agatha Grimke wrote, “This was very well written and a fun piece, and we really liked the way you told the story through executive emails.”

Thank you, Agatha! This is my first shot at epistolary fiction, and it was a blast to research and write. Not sure how you’d classify it — dark sci-fi? satire? Whatever you call it, I was extremely pleased how my observations on religion and current events dovetailed into the story arc.

“Workforce Reduction” draws on my days working in Organizational Development for an insurance company, where I analyzed workflow and designed new procedures. That’s where I first learned about Dr. Jerry Pournelle’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy. In addition to being a science fiction author, Pournelle was an influential OD scientist. His Iron Law says, “In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control.”

In other words, bureaucracies tend to become self-serving. I can attest to the accuracy of that law. Boy, can I ever. My story features creepy aliens and back-stabbing bosses, but Pournelle’s law is the real antagonist in this story.

Available now on Amazon in Kindle or paperback.

Publication day, Science fiction

Only You and I Together

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So thrilled to see my story Only You and I Together published at White Cat Publications. Kay DiBianca, the award-winning author of Time After Tyme, read it and commented, “Very moving.”

The inspiration for this story hit me when my brother and his wife joined me and Julie at the beach, the first opportunity we’ve had in years to spend a week together. We both commented on traits we saw in each other that reminded us of our departed father. Dad’s voice, mannerisms, and wry humor filled a room overlooking the ocean once again, recalling family vacations from long ago.

Later, it dawned on me that the two of us, in a way, had made our father come alive. So this is a story I put my heart into. I still get a little misty when I read it.

The title? I borrowed that from The Waste Land, which is fitting inspiration:

When I count, there are only you and I together

But when I look ahead up the white road

There is always another one walking beside you

My father witnessed the horror of war and death, and struggled the rest of his life to overcome PTSD. Despite that all-but-consuming torment, he made himself into a loving husband and father. He was the most decent man I have ever known. This story is for him.

Fantasy Fiction, Publication day

Due Diligence

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On Spec Magazine has just released its Winter 2023 issue, and I am pleased to announce it includes my short story “Due Diligence.”

Lucille Moon is not your ordinary realtor. Born with the ability to sense the presence of ghosts, she specializes in finding haunted houses for her buyers, mostly rap singers and movie stars looking for the ultimate thrill. However, Grayson and Eve Sterling have their own reasons for moving in with a ghost, which they hide from their realtor. Lucille can’t read the minds of the living, but the ghost haunting the mansion the Sterlings want to buy can. And deceit makes this ghost angry.

A frequent winner of the Aurora Award, On Spec prides itself for being more of a literary magazine than the typical science fiction and fantasy magazine. It is Canada’s longest-running, and, according to Hugo-winning author Robert J. Sawyer, most successful speculative fiction magazine. Since their goal is to highlight mostly Canadian writers, it’s a special honor to have my work appear here.

Two of my beta readers told me this was the saddest tale I’ve ever written. Maybe so, but it ends with a promise of hope and healing. The loss of a loved one is an unending emotional ache, something we cannot conquer or ignore. All we can do is deal with it the best way we can. Writing this story was my way.

Click here to buy On Spec #126 (and support your favorite author).

Publication day, Science fiction

Winter Star

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Renowned fiction podcaster Tall Tale TV has published my short story “Winter Star.” Here’s what managing editor Chris Herron had to say: “Have just read your story. I loved it. It feels almost nostalgic in the way you wrote it. Like an 80’s sci-fi movie.“

I’m honored. I was aiming for a retro feel, something along the lines of Stand By Me, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Super 8.

It’s 1988. High school senior Trey Evans borrows his father’s pickup to haul a shortwave radio to the top of Winter Star Mountain, one of the highest peaks in the southern Appalachians. Trey and his friend Booney hope to intercept rare, elusive transmissions with the help of their high altitude monitoring post and a once-in-a-lifetime solar storm.

But their efforts attract unexpected attention from a mysterious visitor.

Tall Tale TV features sci-fi and fantasy authors from around the world. The site was a finalist for the now-discontinued Parsec Awards, which recognized outstanding science fiction podcasters.

This little story is my love letter to the glory days of shortwave radio. In its heyday, shortwave was the Wild West of the radio spectrum, where you might hear spies, drug smugglers, or NASA. There’s also a wistful nod to my camping expeditions of long ago to the dark, magnificent Appalachian Mountains.

Nostalgia, suspense, adventure — it’s all there. It’s also available on YouTube and Facebook.

Nature, Publication day, Science fiction

Little Blue Marble 2022 Anthology

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I’m pleased to announce that Little Blue Marble has selected my short story “A Tree Amid the Wood” for its 2022 anthology.

In my story, biotech pioneer Franklin Pratt builds a living house that senses and responds to the needs of its owner. Franklin’s invention has the potential to reduce homelessness, pollution, and social isolation, but a stroke robs him of the ability to communicate. And worse — he fears and distrusts the only person who can help him.

Little Blue Marble publishes speculative fiction and articles aimed at raising awareness about the environment. I can’t tell you how proud I am to have my work included with so many fine authors.

My reverence for nature inspires both my fiction and blog posts about the wild places I’ve explored, from maritime forests to deserts. One of the themes I keep returning to in my writing is the mismatch between human needs and the unnatural straitjacket of modern life. Culture and nature should complement each other. Media analyst Arthur Asa Berger has observed that “culture” comes from the Latin “colere,” which means to tend to the earth and cultivate. Humans, like all other living things, need a nurturing environment. I believe the disconnect between human nature and creeping global homogeniety is at the root of modern neuroticism.

But don’t let the serious subject matter fool you — this book features well-crafted, entertaining stories. Little Blue Marble’s 2022 Anthology not only promotes a vital cause but will make a great Christmas present.

Now available in print from Amazon.

Fantasy Fiction, Publication day

The Quarter(ly) Myths, Fables, and Folklore

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I’m thrilled to announce that Quarter Press has released the second volume of The Quarter(ly) Journal. It offers fantastical poetry, fiction, comics, and art by award-winning authors and artists, and includes my story “An Alignment of Wood and Water.”

Zach Benson is a master carpenter who builds special projects for special clients along the North Carolina coast. He returns to a client’s house to handle a complaint, something he absolutely dreads having to do. The disgruntled client is a newcomer to the area who lives in an isolated bungalow on Pamlico Sound. She’s a novice witch who claims Zach did not make a witching floor according to her specifications.

As Zach inspects the floor’s enchanted shapes of ash, oak, and cedar, a mysterious figure shows up outside. It takes Zach a while to get his nerve up, but he decides to confront the intruder.

It’s a scary/fun story featuring a creepy familiar, a dreamy shoreline, blue-collar stoicism, and a magical showdown. It also includes my thoughts on malignant do-gooderism. Please check it out! Quarter(ly) Journal is now available at Amazon.

The Quarter(ly) Myths, Fables, and Folklore