Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror Writer
“Amberblight.”
As his daughter Rebecca nodded, Thaddeus felt all his sixty years rest heavy on his shoulders, and set his tea-cup down on the table. The word lingered. His granddaughter, Eleanor, was only six — much too young. But Rebecca had showed him the tiny bumps in the back of her daughter’s left hand.Continue Reading
This was where the dead went.
Not up above, to the clouds and the bright, high skies. Their ancestors had believed that, long ago, but Kyen hated the idea—to be lost up there, blown hither and thither by the winds. Far better to return to the earth, to become part of it and be reborn, one day.Continue Reading
Welcome to your new Sovereign Home Surveillance and Defense System! I’m Sentinel, the SimpleSmart™ AI, and I’ll keep you up to date with status and activity reports. Remember, you are responsible for compliance with local law, appropriate property signage, and all mental health provisions. Defend responsibly!
Your selected installation includes FullSiege™ Battery Backup, guaranteed to last one month without external power, and your system is currently in Extended Perimeter security mode. AMANDA’S IDIOT BOYFRIEND BRIAN has been added as a non-lethal target.Continue Reading
We passed the last dandelion by late morning, and by noon, the grass had faded. Nothing grew in the gray, aether-swept deadlands beyond the city’s eastern wall.
“I should bring Martha,” said Ma, her voice cracked with age. “She’d love it.”
My younger sister patted Ma’s shoulder. “I’m here, Ma.”
“Oh, not you, dear. I meant my daughter, Martha.”
The spectre of a girl appeared, matching our slow pace with her skipping walk. This was the Martha that Ma remembered, aged six, not a thirty-year-old woman with children of her own.Continue Reading
Psychopomp’s Afterlives 2024 Anthology will include my short story, “Eyes of My Brother”, originally published by Kaleidotrope. A collection of death-themed fiction originally published in 2024, this collection is being curated by Sheree Renée Thomas, the multi-award-nominated editor of F&SF, and is scheduled for release in October of this year. Continue Reading
My lover lies near me, beautiful and still, as the first of five promised flowers sprouts from her dead left eye. I don’t know its name. It has a short, strong stem, with seven pointed yellow-orange petals and a sweet, unfamiliar smell.
I love the brightness of the flower, the warmth of it. Not cool, like the pale blue forget-me-nots she adored, which bloom in clusters now around the trees and shrubs that span the wilds between our small stone cottage and the river, the place she called her garden.Continue Reading
Tall, handsome, skilful Elim—of course it would be him. Not yet a month past fourteen, but talented, and with Aquilon and Timala lost he was now the Tribe’s best hunter. Atop that, he was one of very few blessed to endure the fog without malady. Unless a Growler took him, his life would be an uncommon long one. That, along with his skill, should have been a gift to the Tribe.
But always against it stood his temperament.Continue Reading
I’m six years old when my Dad sits me on his lap in his home office, and shows me the screen of his computer. It’s a Sharp MZ80B, with brightly-colored, extremely clicky function keys, and the earth is spinning on its built-in green-screen display. Push the space-bar, and the earth spins twice as fast.
My childhood mind is blown.Continue Reading
My wife’s uncle has been staying with us recently. He’s lived into his nineties, and is a boundless fountain of stories from a long life lived in energetic ways. It’s always fun to sit and listen to him share them, but more recently, he’s been wrestling with some of the more frustrating things that advanced years can bring.Continue Reading
We’ve had a few cats, and we’ll more than likely have more in time. But for now, take a step inside and meet our current Gang of Two.Continue Reading
It’s near dusk as I round the corner, heading away from the town’s paved streets. Mom told me not to go, but she knew I’d go anyway. Like mother, like daughter.
I make a left turn, then a right. Bright Freesia blossoms line the alley-ways between the houses and cottages, shifting in the gentle breeze, and the air’s thick with their scent. In daylight, these alleys are a maze we play in. But at dusk, you can get through.Continue Reading
This was where the dead went.
Not up above, to the clouds and the bright, high skies. Their ancestors had believed that, long ago, but Kyen hated the idea—to be lost up there, blown hither and thither by the winds. Far better to return to the earth, to become part of it and be reborn, one day.Continue Reading