Death of East is a collection of 9 weird tales that strain against the borders of reality, filled with sky-painting giants, gods of the mud, and a world where the direction East can die. Readers have called it- “magical … poetic … out-of-the-box … a little gem.“ It’s currently available as an e-book through Amazon: – Amazon US – Amazon UK – Goodreads Story: The direction East is dead. When the direction East, a giant living atop an island at the far Eastern ‘pole’, is murdered, the Empire falls into disarray. The compass can no longer be trusted, and trade …
Cullsman #9 – 9 Science Fiction Stories
Cullsman #9 is a collection of 9 science fiction stories that chart the untamed outer fringe of existence, filled with ruined intergalactic civilizations, lonely globe-roaming robots, and a memetic virus that could destroy all things. Readers have called it- “Intriguing … atmospheric … other-worldly … excellent.” It’s currently available as an e-book through Amazon: – Amazon US – Amazon UK – Goodreads Story: Would you kill a world to save your family? In the depths of space, the cannibal planet the Host hunts. With its own resources depleted, it ‘hooks’ other living worlds through an immensely complex process called …
Cullsman #9 @ Andromeda Spaceways
The Cull needs you. My story Cullsman #9 is now available to buy in Andromeda Spaceways semi-pro zine, in edition 55, here. I first wrote Cullsman some 5 years ago, inspired by an idea I had 10 years ago, of a galactic hunter-gatherer ‘snail’ civilization that trawls across the universe dragging its own Dyson sphere with it, stopping to harvest planets along the way. Awesome? I always thought so, but I couldn’t make the story kick the way I really wanted to- it was all idea and no forward momentum. Then a year ago I dusted it off, completely rewrote …
The Tonsor’s Son @ Podcastle
I knew from the moment I saw him that his beard was full of evil. My story The Tonsor’s Son is now up on the PodCastle website- an awesome semi-pro zine that makes audio recordings of short stories. The rendering they’ve given to my story- which begins as above, about beards full of evil, is fantastic. When I wrote that the bad guy had a voice like curds comfortably stuck deep in his throat, I never really imagined what it would sound like. Well, reader Steve Anderson obviously has, and the result is pretty amazing. But what is The Tonsor’s …
The Bells of Subsidence @ Clarkesworld
My story The Bells of Subsidence is published this month in the professional magazine Clarkesworld. I really hope you’ll take the time to go read it- it’s one of my favorite stories and I’m so pleased Clarkesworld is giving it a wider audience. Read it here! It’s basically a Forrest Gump-ish love story across the massive sweep of super-string space. If you like it, I’d love it if you shared it with your friends via Facebook and Twitter. I’d love it even more if you also subscribed to this site’s free feed by RSS or email, so you get story …
The Orphan Queen @ Ideomancer
My story The Orphan Queen – which shows, slantwise, the terribleness of isolation and the terrible bravery it takes to conquer it – has been published this month on the semi-pro magazine Ideomancer. I’ve been striving to be published in Ideomancer for something like 8 years, so I’m totally psyched that I finally made it. How many stories have I submitted there over the years? What did Ideomancer have to say about them? Coniferous Bob – 2008 – “too much idiom, drowns out the rest” The Giant Robot and the Myna Bird – 2008 – “no but liked, however no …
Bone Diamond @ Beneath Ceaseless Skies
My story Bone Diamond – a sweeping tale of greed, madness, and murder in alt. Egypt – has just gone live at Beneath Ceaseless Skies. This is my first ever pro-rated sale, so I’m utterly proud and pleased with it. It’s the first step towards three pro-sales, which leads to SFWA (Science- Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) membership, which is another big stepping stone towards getting my work more widely out there. Here’s an excerpt- “Shh,” I whisper. I lift my bone shears and disconnect his left clavicle at the articular process, snap it at the foramen. He is …
Ice-Flock Gulls @ Kizuna Anthology
Kizuna: Fiction for Japan is a charity anthology of 75 stories from authors all around the world, with all proceeds going to benefit the orphans of the disaster-stricken Tohoku area, through the charity Smile Kids Japan. It includes a story by me- The Ice-Flock Storks of Soroya – one by Michael Moorcock, and 73 others ranging across all genres- Horror, humor, human drama, science fiction, fantasy, absurdist, bizarro, weird, new wave, bugpunk, Cthulhu, Sherlock Holmes, historical fiction, and more. Purchase At the moment it’s available only on ebook- here are the links: – Kizuna: Fiction for Japan > US – …
Sky Painter @ Something Wicked
My story Sky Painter – an epic fable about a fallen king and the love he left behind – has just gone live at Something Wicked, the South African magazine that also published Freemantle Mons a while back. SW was on hiatus for a while as editor Joe Vaz moved the production to ebook format. You can check the new style and subscribe here. Here’s Joe’s introduction to the issue- We start the issue off with ‘The Silver City and The Green Place’, by Abi Godsell, which tells the tale of a breakthrough scientific experiment in artificial intelligence. Next up …
Celibate Jayne the Hammerhand
by Michael John Grist It was nearing high-tide on the Sheckledown Sea when Celibate Jayne the Hammerhand finally bashed his way out of the belly of the whale. Ashen face covered with gobbets of blubber and gut, he slithered down the black rubber side of the beached leviathan, a river of purple slime showering down on his head. He gasped, coughed up a wad of bloody kelp and brine, then slumped himself starfish-splayed on the beach. Soon enough the jubilant cries of his crew carried raucously over the sand, as they moored the 6-oar gully, hefted up the smelting cauldrons, …