Short Stories and Awards

Depending on how you count them, I’ve written around about twenty short stories so far. All were fantasy or sci-fi. Some of them will never see the light of day; their sole purpose was in teaching me how to write fiction. Others have appeared in magazines, anthologies, and short story collections.

Published Works

The following stories have already been published:

	“Dirt Moon”, a military sci-fi pitched as Starship Troopers meets the movie Tremors. Genre: Military Sci-fi Length: 1,100 words Date: November 7, 2021 Publication: Reprinted in Spawn of War and Deathiness, a B-cubed Press anthology edited by Tom Easton
	“Infinity Drive”, a story about technology’s all-consuming draw. Genre: Sci-fi Length: 2,000 words Date: July 30, 2021 Publication: Uncanny Valley, an anthology by Distant Shore Publishing (see also: Foreword by Dan Koboldt)
	“Rooks”, a grimdark fantasy story about preserving heritage in the face of war. Genre: Fantasy Length: 4,000 words Date: May 11, 2021 Publication: Arcana
	“The watcher in the vale”, a story about the steward of a mysterious and powerful device. Genre: Sci-fi Length: 1,000 words Date: February 18, 2021 Publication: Nature Futures, edited by Colin Sullivan
	“One-way Dragon”, a story set in the near-future world of Domesticating Dragons. Genre: Sci-fi Length: 4,000 words Date: December 23, 2020 Publication: Baen Books website, edited by Tony Daniel
	“A Song for Persephone”, a story about the sacrifice Parthenope must make for her mistress. Genre: Sci-fi Length: 2,000 words Date: January 1, 2019 Publication: Galaxy’s Edge magazine issue 36, edited by Mike Resnick
	“The Coming of Darkness”, about a man with night blindness fighting to get his daughter to safety after the grid fails. Genre: Dystopian Length: 2,000 words Date: November 1, 2017 Publication: Galaxy’s Edge magazine issue 29, edited by Mike Resnick
	“Above the Silver Sky”, about a girl’s desperate journey to save her village from drought. Genre: Fantasy Length: 2,000 words Date: July 18, 2017 Publication: EQUUS, a horse-themed anthology edited by Rhonda Parrish
	“37”, a satire about a world where everyone is culled from the population when they reach 37 years of age. Genre: Science Fiction Length: 2,000 words Date: June 15, 2017 Publication: Cat’s Breakfast, a Vonnegut-inspired anthology from Third Flatiron Publishing.
	“Dirt Moon”, a military sci-fi pitched as Starship Troopers meets the movie Tremors. Genre: Military Sci-fi Length: 1,100 words Date: May 15, 2016 Publication: HYPERPOWERS, a sci-fi anthology edited by Bascomb James (Third Flatiron). Also available in audio (MP3)
	“Going Viral”, about scientists who find the ultimate cure, at the ultimate cost. Genre: Science fiction Length: 1,200 words Date: March 1, 2015 Publication: The Time It Happened, an anthology about world-changing events from Third Flatiron Publishing. Also available in audio (MP3).

Audio Stories

If you prefer audio, both “Going Viral” and “Dirt Moon” are available as free podcast stories from Third Flatiron Publishing.

Rights Inquiries

Most of my stories have translation, audio, adaptation, and reprint rights available. Please contact me if you’re interested.

Awards and Recognition

In September 2014, I won WRiTE CLUB 2014, a flash fiction contest in which participants submit 500-word pieces anonymously (under a pen name) and the audience votes for their favorites. There were 167 entries, narrowed by a panel of judges to 32. I ultimately wrote 3 different 500-word pieces in the course of five voting rounds. A panel of celebrity judges (agents, editors, and authors) chose the winner of the final round. They said some very nice things about my writing:

I love the dialogue… the voice really makes this piece stand out. -Tiana Smith, YA/MG author and the 2011 winner of WRiTE CLUB

A nice consistent voice; great world-building even within such a short piece of writing; great suspense, energy, and flow. -Lydia Kang, author of YA fiction, poetry, and narrative non-fiction.

Great command of both the macro-level story elements and the micro-level language skills needed to present them effectively… -Tex Thompson, rural fantasy author and the 2012 winner of WRiTE CLUB

The voice stood out, the character seemed quirky, jaunty, and clever, and I wanted to read more. -Margaret Bail, Inklings Literary

A natural understanding of flow and pacing. -Mark Hough, author and the 2012 winner of WRiTE CLUB

The tone and voice are light, fun, and in line with the character and the scene – it’s nice to get this consistency and synergy early on… -Katie Grimm, Don Congdon Associates

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