“The Exomaton of Panner’s Bend” Published!

Yay! My latest flash fiction story, “The Exomaton of Panner’s Bend,” has just been published in the latest issue of Havok. And since this is a contest issue, it means this is the first time one of my stories has been a writing contest finalist. Woohoo! Check it out here.

This month’s issue of Havok is called Rampage! Monsters Vs Robots. Think Pacific Rim or a Godzilla vs. Transformers crossover. But instead of setting it in the modern day or near-future, I wanted to explore how the prompt might look sometime in the past. What resulted is a pseudo-Weird West alternate history where pioneers have developed enormous steampunk robots piloted by volunteers to protect themselves from gargantuan monsters that roam the prairies. If you like action on a grand scale (… pun not intended), this story is for you. I really enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Get contest finalist “The Exomaton of Panner’s Bend” and nine other epic kaiju stories in Havok’s July issue, available now!

Hard copy & digital: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1481066

Kindle edition: https://amzn.to/2NyssHs

“Returning Home” Published!

Woohoo! My latest flash fiction story, “Returning Home,” was just published in Splickety’s June issue. Check it out here!

This month’s theme is “Heirs and Spares.” In other words, royal teenage drama. But in case you think you’ve read it all, perhaps you’d be interested to hear that this story is set in the classic Maya period—inspired by the story of the mysterious site of Dos Pilas breaking its alliance with the powerhouse of Tikal. It’s my most heavily-researched story to date, and I’m really happy with how it turned out!

If that intrigues you, you can read “Returning Home” along with ten other royal flash fiction stories in Splickety’s June issue! I’d love to hear what you think about it 🙂

Hard copy & digital: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1472873

Amazon Kindle: http://a.co/2XiMEQj

Sword of the Stones Published!

Exciting news! Havok has published my latest flash fiction piece “Sword of the Stones” in their latest issue! You can check it out here!

This month’s theme/prompt was “Extraordinary Exploits.” Think Indiana Jones, Warehouse 13, The Librarian, or other adventure stories with some supernatural elements thrown in.

I’m really excited to be part of this issue. This genre is right up my alley, so I was super pumped when I got the news that my story was accepted. I think you’ll like it if you’re a fellow fan of action/adventure stories with a dash of magic and/or sci-fi—plus, you’ll get nine other stories also in the same genre (all of which are a blast, but I must give a special shout out to the cleverness of “First Contact”). If you do check it out, I’d love to hear what you think!

Once more for SEO: Read “Sword of the Stones” today!

Hard copy & digital: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1441511

Amazon Kindle: http://a.co/6DuPj1D

The Imp and the Elf

As you know from last week’s post, I was published in the most recent issue of Havok! If you haven’t read it yet, check it out before reading the rest of this post.

Moving on. As I mentioned last week, the prompt for this issue was “Holiday cauldron.” But I didn’t mention that “Lunar Eclipse” was actually the second story I wrote for this prompt. Originally, I wrote a different flash fiction piece about an imp and an elf struggling with some issues in their workplaces. I finished this story, then re-read the prompt and realized that Havok wanted something with a darker tone than what I had written. Thus, “Lunar Eclipse” was conceived.

But I still have the imp/elf story, and one of my friends recently said he’d be interested in reading my original holiday mashup. And this blog seemed like just the place to share it. So click through to read “The Imp and the Elf” and let me know what you think!

Continue reading “The Imp and the Elf” →

Lunar Eclipse

Today’s a big week! This month, Havok Magazine (Splickety’s genre fiction imprint) published my flash fiction piece “Lunar Eclipse”! Check it out now!

The prompt for this month’s theme was “Holiday cauldron” — basically mashing up several holidays (like A Nightmare Before Christmas or Rise of the Guardians), and throwing in a little Halloween spookiness.

Which holidays did I pick, you might ask? St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, and … Lunar New Year. I’m stoked with how it turned out and super honored that it was chosen for publication. Plus, when you purchase the issue, you’ll get ten other stories based on the same theme! (I particularly liked “Diary of a Colonist” and “The New World.”)

So what are you waiting for? Read “Lunar Eclipse” now!

Hard copy & digital: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1354309

Amazon kindle: http://a.co/iTOa3ne

The Bard’s Blessing

As a college student, I took a few fiction writing courses as an ETS (English and Textual Studies) minor. A couple of those have been lost to the ravages of time and/or computer migrations. But some still remain … including “The Bard’s Blessing.”

I wrote “The Bard’s Blessing” at a time when I wrote most of my stories as gifts for people, who in turn had heavily influenced those stories. So when my fiction writing professor tasked my class with writing a flash fiction piece, it was only natural for mine to be based (extremely) loosely on the class.

This means that “The Bard’s Blessing” is the first story I wrote as a piece of flash fiction (rather than one I just thought of as an assignment). I don’t think I’ll ever submit it anywhere, but I still think it should be made available for historicity’s sake if nothing else. It’s extremely short and kinda funny, so you should go read it now!

The Journal of Wonders

Let me start off this post about a short story . . . with a short story. A few months ago, I submitted a flash fiction* piece to Splickety’s “Medieval Mayhem” issue that I was really proud of. The prompt was to write a story set in medieval times that incorporated real historical figures or public domain characters from that period (King Arthur, Robin Hood, etc.). I brainstormed ideas and eventually came up with an angle that I thought might set it apart from other submissions. So I wrote it, sent it off, and waited.

They responded a few weeks later. They didn’t accept it for publication, but they did provide super encouraging feedback. So I moved on to the next prompt.

A few months after that, I received an email practically out of the blue from Splickety asking if they could feature the story on their blog! Of course I said yes. So I incorporated their feedback and sent it off once again. A few weeks later . . . they posted it! And thus “The Journal of Wonders” became my first published story. As for how it incorporates the medieval theme, you’ll have to read it to find out. To whet your appetite, here’s the first line:

I do not, as a rule, take kindly to shoppers who only look, never buy. But in this case, I studied this customer as much as he studied my wares. Fair skin is no common sight in Hormuz, and I wanted an opening to engage him.

Intrigued? Keep reading on Splickety’s Lightning blog! Enjoy!

*Flash fiction: Very short stories, in this case <700 words