Category Archives: Flash fiction

2019 Publication Round-up

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It’s mid-December, which seems a decent time for participating in this annual ritual:

Short fiction:

The Girl and the House, in Nightmare, April 2019, a story of, well, a girl, a house, and Gothic tropes. It received a number of very kind reviews and appeared on some recommended reading lists.

Gorilla in the Streets, in Diabolical Plots, Year Five. This also made its first appearance in April, but so far, hasn’t received as much attention – quite possibly because it’s only been in the anthology so far, not online. It will be available online starting in January. Update: Now available to read online!

Flash fiction:

Feather Ties, in Daily Science Fiction, March 2019. A little look at what happened after the events of the fairy tale of the golden goose.

Breaking the Enchantment, Daily Science Fiction, July 2019. Probably my most popular flash fiction story of the year, a little gender bent story about – what else – breaking an enchantment.

The Wolf, Daily Science Fiction, August 2019. A tale of Little Red Riding Hood. The overtones – disturbing, sexual and otherwise – are deliberate.

Sunflowers and Blood, in Automata Review, August 2019. This had the misfortune to be published while I was in Ireland this summer, in the middle of all of the excitement with my broken wheelchair, Aer Lingus and Worldcon, and thus, ended up getting overlooked by pretty much everyone, including me, alas.

Transformation, Afterwards, in Daily Science Fiction, November 2019. A little look at what happened after the princess kissed the frog.

Poetry:

Just one poem this year, the late entry Gretel’s Bones, out in Strange Horizons, December 2019.

Nonfiction:

On Fairy Tales, the other most popular thing I did this year: finishing up a two year essay series Tor.com, which covered everything from the surprisingly incestuous history of well-known fairy tales like Jack and the Beanstalk to the less well known, elaborate, intricate tales penned by the French salon fairy tale writers to occasional detours into the history of animation and the Technicolor process. And some poetry.

Dragonriders of Pern reread for Tor.com. A look back at the first three Pern books by Anne McCaffrey.

So, less than in previous years – which happens after a year spent largely sick. But next year sees some new stuff in Uncanny, Lightspeed, Syntax and Salt, Kaleidotrope, Mithila Review, Wizards in Space, The Baum Bugle and possibly more, as well as poetry and (hopefully) snippets of works in progress on my Patreon.  Stay tuned!

The Wolf

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Little Red Riding Hood has never been one of my favorite fairy tales. When I was a small kid, I much preferred the stories of the princesses with the beautiful dresses (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty) or the tales of the girls who went out on adventures and rescued their brothers or princes (East o’ the Sun, West o’ the Moon, The Seven Swans, though calling “weaving together nettle shirts” an adventure of any sort is probably a bit much). Little Red Riding Hood had a bright red hood, but that was about it for the clothing, and then a wolf ate her, and then someone else shot the wolf. Not really my sort of story.

As a grownup, I could appreciate the warning in the tale from Perrault and the Grimms. But appreciating the warning didn’t necessarily make me value the tale all that much.

Still, something about the story nagged at me – enough that I’ve ended up using it as inspiration for a poem or short story or two. This is the latest, The Wolf, up at Daily Science Fiction today. Enjoy!

Happy Watermaidens Day

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Today is, by decree fee, the day of the watermaidens – and this year, the watermaidens intend to invite a unicorn or two to their celebrations.

Such invitations are rare events – sometimes happening only once a century, if then.  It is not that the watermaidens dislike unicorns, precisely – indeed, some have even opened their springs and ponds and lakes to the delicate yet wild creatures from time to time, when the unicorns need to refresh themselves in cold water.  A few watermaidens have even entered into long friendships with unicorns, guarding the creatures with their magics, or beckoning young people to come closer, and place their chests against a unicorn’s horn.

But watermaidens, like unicorns, tend to be solitary creatures, and when not solitary, tend to enjoy certain activities not entirely approved of by the more proper unicorns. Not that all unicorns demand chastity – far from it – but many of the older and more traditional unicorns do feel that it is their duty to uphold the standards associated with them. And although few watermaidens continue to practice their ancient art of dragging mortals down into the water depths – in part because many of them have no depths to drag mortals into – the very existence of that tradition causes even the most frivolous, unconventional unicorns to shudder. Nor do watermaidens, for the most part, care to venture into the deepest parts of the forests and meadows where unicorns hide or dance – they are not comfortable leaving their waters for long.

(Indeed, even on this day, many watermaidens will remain under their frozen lakes, or hide in seafoam – they prefer their comforts, those watermaidens.)

This, of course, makes it rather hard to invite the unicorns to their celebrations.  Without knowing precisely where the unicorns live – and with no safe way to travel there – messages must be sent instead. And the watermaidens, of course, have never been overly fond of paper and pen – paper tends to disintegrate, if in their hands for too long. A few of them do have cell phones – but those phones rarely survive long in their watery grasps. Most birds cannot be trusted to send messages.

Still.

The watermaidens have their ways of leaving messages on starlight and the wind, on moonlight and clouds.

And they know how to sing to the unicorns.

So as you travel today, keep an eye out. That white flash – that gleam of light – it might be nothing more than a reflection of sunlight, or some creation of mortals, or an optical illusion.

Or it might just be a watermaiden dancing with a unicorn.

2017 Roundup

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Time for the obligatory end of year round up of Various Things I Published/Was Involved in During 2017, a year where we learned that if you don’t write all that much in 2016, you won’t publish all that much in 2017.

I know. Who would have thunk?

But it wasn’t a completely empty year either, including, as it did:

One novella:

Probably the publication I was proudest of this year, an epic, novella length poem (yes, about 28,000 words), Through Immortal Shadows Singing, published by Papaveria Press.

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and multiple other outlets. The SFPA reviewed it here, and a few Goodreads readers chimed in here.

One short story:

You Will Never Know What Opens, in Lightspeed Magazine, December 2017. Portal fantasy. Hasn’t been out long enough to garner that many responses, but Charles Payseur was kind enough to give a thoughtful review here.

Six flash fiction pieces – not all of them in Daily Science Fiction!

The Lion, in Daily Science Fiction, March 2017.  A little fairy tale.

We Need to Talk About the Unicorn in Your Back Yard, Daily Science Fiction, April 2017.  Humor. Possibly my most popular short fiction piece from last year. An audio version is coming up from Toasted Cake, but in the meantime, if you missed it, it’s a short read. I promise.

The Witch in the Tower, Fireside, July 2017. One of my personal favorites from the year. Another little fairy tale.

Stealing Tales, Daily Science Fiction, November 2017. Another little fairy tale.

“Gingerbread Smoke,” in Typhon: A Monster Anthology Vol 2., by Pantheon Magazine. This was probably the hands down hardest piece of mine to find this year, bar none, but I promise: the anthology really truly is available through Amazon now, and is forthcoming from other outlets shortly, and the anthology overall is well worth the hunt.

Pipers Piping, Daily Science Fiction, December 2017. A little Christmas story.

Five poems:

The Study, in Mithila Review: The Journal of International Science Fiction and Fantasy

The Stained Oak Leaves, in Umbel & Panicle.

Euryale at the Shore, in Polu Texni

Hunter, in Mythic Delirium

Burning, in Wild Musette (this one is literary/non-speculative)

Related Work:

On Fairy Tales: A weekly essay series on Tor.com discussing fairy tales and various works inspired by fairy tales.

The Pixar Rewatch. A sequel to the 2015-2016 Disney Read-watch, this monthly essay series on Tor.com explored the Pixar movies – discussing development and financial details, animation, other tidbits and of course the films themselves.

The Secret of NIMH.  Another add-on to the Disney Read-watch, this essay appeared over at Uncanny, and focused on Don Bluth and his first animated picture.

And speaking of the Disney Read-watch, the very last post in that series – a wrap-up post – appeared in January 2017, making the entire series – technically – still eligible for Best Related Work awards.

And one more essay: Where Should You Start Reading the Chronicles of Narnia, which generated several comments.

Dramatic Presentation (short)

Deathlight, which originally appeared in Lightspeed back in 2016, was turned into an audio play this year by Fancy Pants Gangsters.

Onwards to 2018!