Reprint: The Trader

My post-apocalyptic story "The Trader" is out now in the Best Vegan Science Fiction & Fantasy 2019 anthology.

The story was originally published in the Score anthology last year.

You can pick up a copy from Amazon.

Bullies

My latest short story "Bullies" out now in Theme of Absence. Alongside the story, a short author interview with me was published.

“It’s okay,” Jon’s therapist said. “They’re gone. Just breathe.”

Tears came to Jon’s eyes, fogging up his smart specs; he took the glasses off, and the AI therapist slipped out of view. He flung his backpack against the concrete wall.

He was taking shallow breaths, so he made an effort to slow and deepen his breathing.

When he put his glasses back on, they notified him he was two minutes late for History, building B, classroom 12. He picked up his backpack, said, “I’m not feeling well,” to his specs, and headed home. In the background, his therapist informed the school and his parents, and purchased one tram ticket for him.

On the ride home, he watched the city in the tram’s window passing by, buildings, people, trees, materializing and disappearing frame by frame, and he thought of them the way he liked to think about everything: in matters of optimized CPU cycles, in graphics shaders, in the processing power made available once these complex geometries slipped out of view.

...continue reading.

Podcast: Garden

My short story "Garden", a musical and narrative collaboration with dark ambient musician Nanohex from 2017, is out now in the SubverCity Transmit podcast.

It is a fantastic production, with Nanohex's music playing in the background while the story is read, which is exactly how the project was intended to be experienced.

You can listen to the music and story wherever the SubverCity Transmit podcast is available, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Big Sister

"Big Sister" -- a story about growing up with an AI-aged version of yourself in your head -- is out now in Unfading Daydream, issue #9.

Try as she might, Mina couldn't reach the cherry pit in her head. She closed her eyes in concentration, and she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, and yet—nothing. Silence rung hollow.

It was her mother who gave her the imagery back when she was a child: when you pop a cherry in your mouth your teeth chomp on fruit flesh while effortlessly avoiding the hard pit, then your tongue rolls it around as you swallow the pulp, before you finally spit the cherry pit out. In much the same way, her mother had gone on to explain, she would learn to isolate the pea-sized implant she carried in her, to roll it around in her thoughts and wake it and speak to it. Speak to herself, at a different age.

Buy the magazine from Amazon.

Voices in the Things

"Voices in the Things" is out now in the Labor Issue of Big Echo.

Anna's phone rang, and shrill voices packed into circuits screamed a polyphonic melody: Liliana, calling from out of country. She jumped out of bed and picked up.

“I'm through,” Liliana said, and the voices in the electronics quieted down. “We're now ten, down from a hundred.”

“That's great,” Anna said, almost meaning it.

“Won't have time for much coordinating before the final round, so you better be ready by then.”

“I will,” she said, pacing the bedroom. “We will.” She opened a blind to reveal a muddy dark sky. She said, “Good luck.”

Liliana was quiet, as if mulling something over—or perhaps it was the delay in the signal—then she thanked her and hung up.

It was not quite morning but Anna could see the horizon bruising, so she decided against going back to sleep.

(Continue reading...)

Interview: The Trader

A short interview about my story "The Trader" can be found on the Metaphorosis Books website.

"The Trader" is available in the Score Anthology.

The Trader

My story "The Trader" is out now in the Score: an SFF Symphony anthology.

What if stories were written like music?

Score is an anthology of varied stories arranged to follow an emotional score from the heights of joy to the depths of despair - but always with a little hope shining through.

Purchase the anthology on Amazon.