A science fiction short story published in Interzone, Issue 224 September/October 2009.
This is one of my attempts at writing truly alien aliens. At least in the sense that they are hominids with bumpy foreheads, anyway. Ultimately, for believable biology, I relied heavily on the kind of thing that dwells deep below the ocean. Muskblue’s ecosystem and life is based on the concept of whalefall, and the […]
A science fiction short story published in Federations, 2009.
I was thinking to myself: What’s the difference between the Federation and the Borg, really? Both assimilate other cultures into themselves. One just does it a little more violently. I started thinking about what a realistically capitalistic federation would look like, and the story was born. The Humpty Moon vanished two days ago, devoured by […]
A science fiction short story published in Seeds of Change, 2008.
What if our social cliques weren’t just social constructs, but biological ones? Combine that with some ideas about living graffiti and you’ve got the world of arties, brainiacs, and thicknecks. A few of us arties were hanging out in Tube Station D, in the dry part that hadn’t flooded. Tin men had busted Blaze and Ransom […]
A fantasy short story published in Shimmer Magazine, 2007.
In the Magic P1r4tes setting, computers can process spells like programs. The only problem is, copyright of spells is tied to the life of the wizard that created it, and wizards live forever. What’s a young wizard to do? Pirate magic, of course. Unfortunately, the Magical Association of Atlantis, (MAA, or, Big Mother) are in […]
A fantasy short story published in Fantasy, 2007.
Written long before I became a parent, this story deals with the anxieties of expecting parents, and the anxieties of even making the decision. What does it mean to create new life on a geologic time scale? Michael’s yeti sits lightly on the foot of the bed, watching with soft brown eyes as Michael makes […]
A science fiction short story published in Interzone, 2005.
In the Otakuverse, science fiction fans run the world, and they’ve remade everything in the image of their favorite television shows, movies, and comics. Each U.S. state has its own giant monster, or daikaiju, that does battle with the others. The Kansas Jayhawk is one of the weakest, most disliked kaiju of them all, and […]
A science fiction short story published in All Star Zeppelin Adventure Stories, 2004.
The story of a mad scientist’s robot assistant, set at the dawn of World War II. Zed struggles to hold on to anything that reminds him of his lost humanity as his master Dr. Octavio’s plans grow more and more dangerous. We are somewhere among the tallest mountains of the world. When we arrived, I […]
A fantasy short story published in Polyphony 4, 2004.
Emelia’s home is in a city where only children are allowed to draw graffiti on the crumbling walls. The old bricks and stones are covered in crude pictographs and stick figures, smoking chimney houses and bicycles with four wheels and two seats. Chalk is a penny a piece, any color to be had. A little […]
A fantasy short story published in Ideomancer, 2004.
I heft the axe. Lighter now, and warm in my palms. My old bones creak, I lift it over my head. I stare at the groove in the ground, beaten into the land. Many a storm been broke here. Too many, maybe… A story of blues music, weather magic, and old hurts.
A fantasy short story published in Lightspeed Magazine, February, 2016.
The silhouette of a centaur beckoned towards the gathering crowd from within the rabbit hole. In a melodious voice, she called out, “Richard! Come quickly. Without your aid, the Inkies destroy everything that is beautiful and good in our world!” A middle-aged man in a gray business suit laughed and ran forward, the crowd begrudgingly […]