Welcome, new visitors! Enjoy a little startup post with a sample of my short stories that are currently free online, in approximate order of recommendation. All audio & online text links are free.
If you came here from the American Society for Neurorehabilitation webinar “The Craft of Writing, Prose Techniques for Clear and Memorable Text,” you can download my tip sheet of writing tools, purposes, & prioritization here.
Selected Stories: Science Fiction
- “For Every Bee, a Hive” – science fiction/space opera, 5200 words (print, audio, online text). First published in Analog Science Fiction & Fact, Jan/Feb 2024. Found families, AI hiveminds, cyborg futures, human-centered neurotechnology.
- “Didn’t matter why the AI wanted to connect. Didn’t matter whether the AI wanted at all. Only mattered what she wanted.”
- “Conference of the Birds” – science fiction/cyberpunk, 3900 words (print, audio, online text). First published in Analog Science Fiction & Fact, Jan/Feb 2021. Artificial intelligence, embodiment, and distributed minds.
- “No program-layer could predict what a human might do, but Surveillance Hub could see everything that mattered.”
- Related nonfiction essay on Analog blog: “Embodied and Empathetic Minds“
- “Eight Reasons You Are Alone” – science fiction, 900 words (online text). Published in Nature: Futures, November 2021. Regret, conscience, self-definition. CW: suicidal ideation.
- “If I asked you what kind of person you are, you wouldn’t know the answer.”
- “Cruise Control” – science fiction, 1100 words (online text). Published in Fireside Fiction, July 2021. Unhappy families, retiree brains, self-driving cars.
- “Why the hell would I want to become a car?”
Selected Stories: Fantasy
- “I Would” – secondary world fantasy, 5600 words. (online text, audio) Published in Fantasy Magazine, July 2021. Prophesied relationships, prophesied breakups, and using what power you have when someone else is the hero.
- “Some people say the stars control fate. I would never say such a thing.”
- “The Work-Clock” – gaslamp fantasy, 3900 words (online text). Published in Sunday Morning Transport, Jan 2023. Crummy jobs, keeping the Evil One bound, for-profit temple factories.
- “Funny thing. The world would bleed and die without an apprentice inspector to keep the Temple Works running, but didn’t mean the job paid well.”
These six stories are just a taste of the fiction I’ve published over the years – you can find the full 30+ here!