Patreon subscribers to Hexagon Speculative Fiction Magazine now have early access to its premiere issue. It features my flash fiction story “Mirrors.”

While conducting a solo study of the fauna on Specula C3, Dr. Annette Thatcher witnesses the crash-landing of an alien spacecraft. She rescues Gregarin, the lone survivor of a ship from Etzi, a previously unknown planet. During the weeks Thatcher and Gregarin wait for an Earth rescue shuttle, they learn about each other’s language and culture — and surprising truths about themselves.

The idea for this story came to me while re-reading Dr. Lewis Thomas’ marvelous book, The Lives of a Cell, a beautifully written treasure chest of insights into the interconnectedness of all life. Thomas’ thoughts on collective societies that behave like single organisms got me to imagining how human society would appear to an alien species.

Hexagon Speculative Fiction is a new Canadian publication featuring poetry, fiction, and mixed media from all over the world. Its goal is to blend the fantastic, the absurd, the horrifying, and the humorous.

The debut issue also includes the work of Evan Marcroft, Nicholas C. Smith, Michael M. Jones, and John Grey.

I was pleasantly surprised to see my short story “Hunting Ground” included in DAOwens Publications’ Unbound – The First Collection. It’s an exciting blend of fantasy and science fiction stories, featuring the themes of the successful Unbound series, including Lost Friends, Changed Worlds, and Goodbye Earth.

Here’s what one reviewer had to say: “I enjoyed M.C. Tuggle’s “Hunting Ground” for its unusual antagonist. CHANGED WORLDS (Unbound Book 2) is a great read for those wanting to spice up their lives with something new.” Ben A. Sharpton, author of 2nd Sight.

Available at Kobo. Check it out!

The latest issue of Bewildering Stories features my story “The God Particle.”

Though he’s a rookie engineer at the Ising Particle Collider, Larry Bethany knows the facility’s inner workings better than anyone else. When all safeguards mysteriously fail and the system’s super-magnets overheat, Larry descends into the accelerator’s interior to shut down the power and prevent a meltdown. Racing against time, Larry discovers the impending disaster is no accident, and learns more about the collider – and himself – than he thought possible.

Not long ago, I read there are over 30,000 accelerators slamming sub-atomic particles into each other at near-light speed just to see what they’ll do. Science, however, is insatiable, so universities and research facilities around the world are pouring billions into building even bigger, more powerful units.

That got me to thinking — could there be ANY unforeseen consequences of tinkering with the basic building blocks of the universe? Just wondering …

“‘Cathedra’ is beautiful, realistic, fun to read.” Alice Osborn, author of Heroes Without Capes.

My story “Cathedra” is featured in the latest issue of Metaphorosis. It’s free online all week.

Ben Kaplan is a loner who considers himself the best astrogeologist in the Asteroid Belt. But when he’s blamed for the deaths of two miners on Enceladus, Saturn’s most mysterious moon, he confronts more than a threat to his reputation. When a previously unknown species that rules the moon’s sub-surface ocean captures Kaplan, the only way to save himself is to stop the creatures from destroying the entire colony.

In a wondrous yet deadly setting of underground oceans, organic atomic reactors, and sunlit geysers shooting into space, “Cathedra” is a tale about the individual’s quest for identity and purpose within society, as well as one’s connection to the universe. The title and theme came from this beautiful anecdote:

A man came upon a construction site where three people were working. He asked the first, “What are you doing?” and the man replied: “I am laying bricks.” He asked the second, “What are you doing?” and the man replied: “I am building a wall.” As he approached the third, he heard him humming a tune as he worked, and asked, “What are you doing?” The man stood, looked up at the sky, and smiled, “I am building a cathedral!”

This is my first appearance in Metaphorosis, which bills itself as “a magazine of science fiction and fantasy. We offer intelligent, beautifully written stories for adults.” “Cathedra” is hard sci-fi inspired by an article in Astronomy magazine about Enceladus, one of the most promising sites for life in our solar system. (That’s a NASA photo of Enceladus on the cover.)

I want to express thanks to my wife Julie and to my comrades-in-critique at the Charlotte Writer’s Club for their invaluable suggestions and insights. I hope you enjoy “Cathedra.”