#ShortStories
I got a whole stack of these in the mail today. 😁📚♥️
#selfpub
#indiepub
#writer
#author
#scifi
#fantasy
#specfic
#ShortStories
#books
#bookstadon
HAVE YOU SEEN MY NEW COVER
Power to Yield and Other Stories, coming very soon from Broken Eye Books. Cover art by the inimitable Galen Dara!
Preorders (paperback and hardcover!) - https://www.brokeneyebooks.com/store/c59/Power_to_Yield_and_Other_Stories.html#/
#Bookstodon #BookCovers #CoverArt @bookstodon #ScienceFiction #SpeculativeFiction #GalenDara #BogiTakács #ShortStories @shortsff @shortstory #Fantasy #Queer #TransLit #QueerBooks #LGBTQIA #Trans #Intersex #JewishBooks #Mazeldon
Only a few days left to get a free copy of "The Mystery of the Auburn-Haired Woman" from the Aoife O'Reilly series.
#freebooks #shortstories #freeshortstories #womensfiction #smalltownfiction #indieauthor #indiebooks
We had so much fun this Story Hour! Guan Un showed tremendous range with a pitch-perfect noir followed by a heartbreaking Weird piece and then a sweet fantasy. John Wiswell brought his signature mix of coziness and dry wit to kaiju and dinosaurs, closing the night down with laughs. Unmissable! #StoryHour2020 #ShortStories #AuthorReading #GuanUn #JohnWiswell #fantasy #kaiju #dinosaurs #humor https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=340552105191494
Our Strangers will be the first new release by a major American writer that is designed to never be purchased on Amazon. https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/lydia-davis-our-strangers-amazon-bookshop/ #bookstodon #amazon #shortStories
The YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE launch is today at 8pm EST/12pm NZST. Tickets are free, or grab a book. If you're a fan of smart horror, devastating literary fiction, & brilliantly curated short story collections don't miss this discussion with @laurajeanmckay https://www.stelliform.press/index.php/product/cade-mckay-tickets/
#booklaunch #bookevent #booktalk #bookdiscussion #bookstagram #books #shortstories #shortstorycollection #nzauthor #australianauthor
This mystery #author from our #Autumn issue is keeping things on the down low with laptop, cushions and a sofa. Extra points for the excellent colour matching between the natty throw and the spreadsheet…
#books #writing #reading #fiction #ShortStories #translation #comics @bookstodon
~ *choo choo* ~ Thank you, everyone! Let’s keep the story choo-choo going, delivering stories around the world. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds?ref=d9ycm3 #Ukraine #SFF #EmbroideredWorlds #ShortStories #bookstodon
A reminder that my short story, The Mystery of the Auburn-Haired Woman, is free this week! Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Auburn-Haired-Woman-Hilarious-OReilly-ebook/dp/B0BLT51HQ9
#freeshortstory #freeshortstories #freestories #freestory #shortstories #shortstory #freebooks #books #readers
Laptop, notebook, desk… standard kit for a #mystery #author. But why are all those #books hiding behind a curtain?
#reading #writing #fiction #ShortStories #translation #comics @bookstodon
Octavia Cade is in conversation with Laura Jean McKay tomorrow! Grab free tickets or a ticket plus discounted book and join us for a virtual discussion of two incredible short story collections: https://www.stelliform.press/index.php/product/cade-mckay-tickets/ @octaviacade @laurajeanmckay
#nzauthor #australianauthor #shortstories #shortstorycollection #speculativefiction #literaryfiction #animals #climatefiction #smallpress
Bookplates funded! Now - at $25,000, we'll send every backer, all levels, a fun, exclusive digital swag pack. Don't think book bundle - think...really fun party favors. Spread the word? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds?ref=d9ycm3 #Ukraine #SFF #Fantasy #SciFi #ShortStories #EmbroideredWorlds #bookstodon
~ *choo choo* ~ Thank you, everyone! Let’s keep the story choo-choo going, delivering stories around the world. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds?ref=d9ycm3 #Ukraine #SFF #EmbroideredWorlds #ShortStories #Bookst
~ *shoo shoo* ~ Thank you, everyone! Let’s keep the story shoo-shoo slide going, bringing readers into the pool of fantastic stories. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds?ref=d9ycm3 #Ukraine #SFF #EmbroideredWorlds #ShortStories #Book
This week, we finally get Guan Un to read on Story Hour! Seriously, we've been working on this for a long time. And he's reading with John Wiswell! Everybody wins! Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. PDT! #StoryHour2020 #ShortStories #AuthorReading #GuanUn #JohnWiswell https://www.storyhour2020.com/
Hrabal es siempre estupendo, y estos cuentos lo demuestran 🖤
#libros #books #vohumilhrabal #literatura #literature #shortstories #relatos
Free this week!
Fall is my favourite season and I'm celebrating the start of this season with a free short story for my readers.
https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Auburn-Haired-Woman-Hilarious-OReilly-ebook/dp/B0BLT51HQ9
#readers #indieauthor #indiewriter #womensfiction #books #shortstories #freeshortstories #freebooks
Good morning from a wonderfully rainy Detroit! Today is a big day - we think we can get to those bookplates - *plus* we've posted the cover *and* story list! Want to see it? Right here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds/posts/3918728?ref=d9ycm3
#Ukraine #SFF #Fantasy #SciFi #CoverReveal #ShortStories #SmallPress #Indie
Our next #Autumn author has gone walkabout and is working in a library. Note the cool shades propped behind the laptop, the studious workers on the next row of desks. But who and where could this possibly be?
#books #reading #writing #fiction #ShortStories #translation #comics @bookstodon
~ *choo choo* ~ Thank you, everyone! Let’s keep the story choo-choo going, delivering stories around the world. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds?ref=d9ycm3 #Ukraine #SFF #EmbroideredWorlds #ShortStories #bookstodon
~ *choo choo* ~ Thank you, everyone! Let’s keep the story choo-choo going, delivering stories around the world. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds?ref=d9ycm3 #Ukraine #SFF #EmbroideredWorlds #ShortStories #bookstodon
With #Autumn just around the corner, our first mystery #author is double screening it. There's an aquatic theme going on with that fish and that houseboat, and a jacket hanging on the door for a quick exit. But wait a minute… is that the roar of an engine?
#books #reading #writing #fiction #ShortStories #translation #comics @bookstodon
🎉Pre-order now from books2read.com/unsung
#qotd Tell me about a woman in a book who smashed the rules!
#somerset #book #indieAuthor #history #writersOfmastodon #histodon #shortStories #readingCommunity
Are you enjoying our #podcast? Check out interviews and readings from Joyce Carol Oates, José Falero, Sabba Khan, Etgar Keret, Diana Evans, Evie Wyld and more at https://fictionable.world #ApplePodcasts #Spotify #Acast and more…
Tell us your favourite bits, or record yourself on a smartphone explaining the moments that have made you think or made you laugh and email it to us on info@fictionable.world – you might just feature on a future edition…
#books #reading #writing #fiction #ShortStories #translation #comics @bookstodon
The "Tales of Light and Life" story featuring Ram Jomaram, "The Lonely Traveler is Home", is heartwarming and reminded me that I'd really like to have some little Bonbrak friends.
#TheHighRepublic #StarWars #Anthology #ShortFiction #ShortStories #Book #Books
Ah, this is an intimate one. :ablobcatheartsqueeze:
15 #LGBTQIA #IndieAuthors 🏳️🌈
18 #Free #Fantasy #Books 📚
We all have a #newsletter 😊 This is an easy way to #Discover new authors and learn more about us!
https://books.bookfunnel.com/queerswords/tbkg98q8o7
#SwordAndSorcery #Novella #Prequels #ShortStories #DarkFantasy #Dystopian #MMRomance #DnD #HighFantasy #FantasyAdventure #FantasyAcademy #Shifters #Dragon #Demon
@lgbtqbookstodon @lgbtqia @fantasy @bookstodon @bookstadon @sffshorts @sffbookclub @ttrpg
~ *shoo shoo* ~ Thank you, everyone! Let’s keep the story shoo-shoo slide going, bringing readers into the pool of fantastic stories.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds?ref=d9ycm3 #Ukraine #SFF #EmbroideredWorlds #ShortStories #bookstodon
Looking forward to the Ake Arts and Book Festival in Lagos, Nigeria…
#books #festivals #shortstories
https://www.instagram.com/p/CxkvHV-shSx/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==
Numbers forty-five and forty-six for the year: reviewed.
https://captainfez.com/2023/09/24/book-review-gibbons-and-dubliners/
#bookstodon #books #shortstories #reviews #2023books #jamesjoyce #jamesmorrison #gibbons #dubliners
2023: book forty-six. #dubliners #jamesjoyce #bookstodon #fiction #2023books #shortstories #paperback
After striking out with Clarkesworld (shocking, I know 😉) I've turned around and submitted to Uncharted Magazine. Only five piece out on sub right now, and fall is my time of the year when creative writing pauses, so the pickings are going to remain slim for the time being.
#writer #writing #submitting #publishing #shortstories #flashfiction #writerslife #writingcommunity
A flash story I submitted a while back to Cast of Wonders has made it through the first round of cuts. Got the email update today. One step closer to cracking this market. 🤞✍️
Meanwhile, the story I subbed to Clarkesworld, predictably, didn't make the cut. 🤷🏼♀️
Here's to try and having fun doing it.
#writer #writing #publishing #shortstories #flashfiction #writerslife #writingcommunity
Yes. Emily is still doing the graphic design. Her question to you is - why get good graphics, when you can do *this*?
Stretch goals are back in play. Let's go!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds?ref=d9ycm3 #Ukraine #SFF #EmbroideredWorlds #ShortStories #bookstodon
~ *choo choo* ~ Thank you, everyone! Let’s keep the story choo-choo going, delivering stories around the world. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds?ref=d9ycm3 #Ukraine #SFF #EmbroideredWorlds #ShortStories #bookstodon
Flash Fiction - My Grandmother's Quilt https://hughsviewsandnews.com/2023/09/23/flash-fiction-my-grandmothers-quilt/ #CarrotRanch, #Fiction, #FlashFiction, #GhostStories, #GhostStory, #Ghosts, #Horror, #HorrorStories, #ShortStories, #ShortStory, #TheCarrotRanch, #WritingChallenge <- This one, you want to read.
2023: book forty-five. #books #2023books #bookstodon #fiction #shortstories #jamesmorrison #gibbons
A #NewOrleans Short story
What happens when the storm makes you choose between escaping now and your child's beloved stuffed toy?
~ *choo choo* ~ Thank you, everyone! Let’s keep the story choo-choo going, delivering stories around the world. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds?ref=d9ycm3 #Ukraine #SFF #EmbroideredWorlds #ShortStories #bookstodon
Today, at the core of our project, messages from the translators themselves. We hope that you'll enjoy.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds/posts/3916413 #EmbroideredWorlds #SFF #SFFInTranslation #Translation #Ukraine #UkrainianTranslation #ShortStories #ShortFiction #bookstodon
I think this is the first review of Rosalind's Siblings I see! From Clara Ward.
"Suffice it to say this anthology offers twenty more unique points of view, each brimming with literary and societal insights, a surprising number sharing both tea and comfort." 5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5806507237
#Bookstodon #RosalindsSiblings #Anthology #Reviews @bookstodon @sffshorts @shortstory #Science #SciComm #ShortStories #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #WritingCommunity
New Fiction Friday answers the question "Is anybody out there?" in "Returnal" by Ben Lockwood (@benlockwood)
https://littlebluemarble.ca/2023/09/22/returnal/
#ClimateFiction #SFF #ShortStories
Explore the universe… with the 9th Volume of The Expanding Universe, a short-story collection to pique your interest and sharpen your mind with seventeen authors and nearly 130,000 words. CAL members Robert Williscroft and Alistair Mayer are contributors with "First Contact" and "Roadside Assistance."
#scifi #shortstories #books #promo
https://www.amazon.com/Expanding-Universe-Science-Fiction-Exploration-ebook/dp/B0BDXK7G1T
This collection is being marketed as horror, but it's not entirely accurate. Octavia Cade brilliantly pulls nightmarish themes into a flipped interpretation wherein those same ideas make a better world. The flip, I think, shows us how close we are to getting it, how close a better world is.
Launch tickets: https://www.stelliform.press/index.php/product/cade-mckay-tickets/
#nzauthor #shortstories #shortstorycollection #sciencefiction #fantasy #horror #climatefiction #ecohorror #solarpunk #booklaunch
Returning to the street where she grew up, a woman finds there’s someone missing in At the Door, a graphic story from Sabba Khan.
Catch it at https://fictionable.world
#books #reading #writing #ShortStories #translation #comics @bookstodon
Happy Birthday to me!
I'd like to share a short story with everyone on this Autumn Equinox. It was inspired by one of my favorite folksongs/folktales about the Scottish outlaw James Macpherson and is available to read for free for the first time on my website. CONTENT WARNING, there are suicide mentions and racial slurs, reader discretion is advised.
https://corbystories.wordpress.com/jamie-macphersons-fiddle/
#ShortStory #ShortStories #FolkTale #ScottishHistory #IndieAuthor #HistFic #ReadingCommunity #WritingCommunity
Happy Book Birthday to Octavia Cade for her new eco-horror collection You Are My Sunshine and Other Stories. This collection spans from dark and gruesome horror to mind-bending solarpunk and all the worlds between.
Pick up a copy anywhere you get books and don't forget to come to the launch with Laura Jean McKay next Thursday.
Launch Tickets:
🎟 https://www.stelliform.press/index.php/product/cade-mckay-tickets/
#bookstodon #shortstories #ecohorror #horror #climatefiction #sciencefiction #smallpress
A bit of carpet, a yoghurt and a spoon to eat it with. That’s all Liam takes when he sets off in Donal McLaughlin’s short story runaway.
Image: Lisa Williams
https://www.flickr.com/photos/32389209@N05/15305846894
Catch it at https://fictionable.world
#books #reading #writing #ShortStories #translation #comics @bookstodon
It’s hot in Vila Sapo and time for some distraction, so there’s no holding back in Maria Jacqueline Evans’s translation of José Falero's story Flash of Dignity.
Catch it at https://fictionable.world
Image: Mad House Photography
https://www.flickr.com/photos/46629136@N05/4407322090
#books #reading #writing #ShortStories #translation #comics @bookstodon
The first two chapters of Nephilym are available for #free on my blog at lilliswrites.blogspot.com
Consider picking up a copy at your preferred ebook retailer!
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be releasing a collection of my short stories next year! ‘The Heart of the Labyrinth and Other Stories’ celebrates fierce women, curious minds & unexpected kindness. It’ll feature six Aurealis Award-shortlisted stories & two new ones. More news to come!
#Books #Collection #ShortStories #Fantasy #SciFi #ScienceFiction #SFF
This went up yesterday but I'm gainfully employed now and ran out of time to do the promo rounds! Oof.
If you recall from last month, Author Avengers is doing prompts now! My response to this month's prompt is free to read on both Patreon and Ko-fi. As per usual, I'm making everything about fairytales.
https://vcaudley.blogspot.com/2023/09/author-avengers-dovrefjell.html
So - very honestly! I've been posting and posting and so today is a day for YOUR posts and for me to share them! Please, post away. Hashtag. Spread joy. Message me if I can help!
Release Day for Rosalind's Siblings
Embroidered Worlds on Kickstarter
Also! We're in the last days of Embroidered Worlds - we're thrilled it's going to happen but it deserves so many more eyes, real buzz! Can we make it happen today? Here's the link to share: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds?ref=d9ycm3 #ShortStories #TuesdayRally
You could say something like:
Hello! A small press is leading an international project to translate wonderful Ukrainian fantasy and sci-fi stories into English. This is so important, especially now! Could you help me spread the news?
Today is the release day for Rosalind's Siblings. The link to share is: https://www.atthisarts.com/product/rosalinds-siblings/ #ShortStories #TuesdayRally - you could say something like:
Hello! It's release day for Rosalind's Siblings, a book of fantasy and sci-fi celebrating scientists of marginalized genders. It's very cool and from a wonderful small press, could you help me spread the news?
Or - however you'd let people know about this book! Release day joy!
Bloodalcohol Ten Tales - Horror Short Stories - and a Giveaway https://tinadonahuebooks.blogspot.com/2023/09/bloodalcohol-ten-tales-horror-short.html #Fiction #Horror #ShortStories #HorrorShortStories #Giveaway #MFRWAuthors @bookstodon
In Cadair Idris, Fiona Mozley takes a mountain walk and reveals an unsettling new perspective.
Catch it exclusively at https://fictionable.world
Image: Martyn Wright
https://www.flickr.com/photos/35521221@N05/7859454526
#books #reading #writing #ShortStories #translation #comics @bookstodon
In the "Tales of Light and Life" story "The Queen's Bloom", the phrase "liberate some excess" is used as a euphemism for "stealing". I think it would be a good term for taking back some of the obscene wealth hoarded by the rich.
#TheHighRepublic #StarWars #Anthology #ShortFiction #ShortStories #Book #Books #Capitalism #EatTheRich
Although a work trip had me away from all screens for a week (bliss!), I did read Amber Caron's excellent collection of #ShortStories, Call Up the Waters. AND I even wrote up an odd little #review right here:
https://walkingthewire.substack.com/p/call-up-the-waters-a-brief-book-review
(Thanks to the good folks at Milkweed Editions for recommending this one to me!)
@bookstodon #bookstodon #books #reading #fiction #literature
A trip to Oncology prompts an unexpected confidence in Joyce Carol Oates's story Small Veins.
Catch it exclusively at https://fictionable.world
#books #reading #writing #ShortStories #translation #comics @bookstodon
Periodic reminder that you can #read
my medically-oriented #shortstories at Physician's Weekly for free, and with no registration required
The latest #story is about Nikka and Jeremy. Nikka is a vascular surgeon who loves metalwork and knitting. Her hobbies come in handy during a run-in with Jeremy, whose privileged life unraveled after his dad died.
Some #death is involved
https://www.physiciansweekly.com/category/doctors-voice/medical-fiction/
I've read 276 short stories so far in 2023, aiming for 365 by year end. The best of the most recent bunch is below.
End of this month we will know if we won the Prize for the Best Book of the Isle of Wight. #book #prize #shortstories
IT'S RELEASE DAY!
The perfect book for #halloween!
Come see what lies “Beyond the Stones”! Bwahaha!
Beyond the Stones is an Anthology of horror and fantasy with each author spinning his or her own tale all inspired by one photo.
amazon.com/dp/B0CBNZLZX2
Hardcover
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHL9PQ8Y
Paperback
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHL16DXN
Not an Amazon fan?
https://books2read.com/u/bPLEDA
#AppleBooks #kobo #Scribd #BNTrends #BNBuzz #anthology #shortstories #scarystories #fantasy #horror
Todays postal arrival, bought with some birthday money: Literary Hauntings, A Gazetter of Literary Ghost Stories from Britain and Ireland. From #TartarusPress. #Books #GhostStories #Gazetteer #Literature #Fiction #Geography #Psychogeography #Bookstodon #Reading #ShortStories #Ghosts #Hauntings #Britain #BritishFiction #Ireland #IrishFiction #Horror #BritishBooks #IrishBooks
Dive into the Fictionable archive, with exclusive #ShortStories from Joyce Carol Oates, Ali Smith, Sarah Hall, Diana Evans, Etgar Keret, Evie Wyld, Alain Mabanckou, Isabel Greenberg, Lizzy Stewart and more …
Get all these stories and a year of the most exciting new short #fiction and #comics for £20 at https://fictionable.world
Image: Ellen Forsyth
https://www.flickr.com/photos/30668772@N02/3910635234
Launch Day!
Letters From Elsewhere is a collection of speculative short stories, ranging from SciFi to Fantasy to Horror, with sprinkles of spice.
Ebooks: https://books2read.com/LettersFromElsewhere
For print version, check out your local Amazon or Barnes & Noble site.
#bookstodon #LettersFromElsewhere #Book #ShortStories #SpeculativeFiction
I always wanted to write a #shortstory, and here it finally is! I'm quite proud of how it turned out.
It's inspired by Lovecraftian #horror stories, mixed with some personal beliefs about digital media.
https://garrit.xyz/posts/2023-09-10-short-story-haunted-memories
Yes, I used #AI to help with the storytelling. I hope that doesn't spoil the fun of reading it. 😉
This is post 076 of #100DaysToOffload.
Also: #writing #shortstories
Just finished "This is How You Lose the Time War" and enjoyed how it approached #SciFi with a very loose and poetic touch.
Any other recommendations for #books or #shortstories that take similarly abstract / artsy approaches to science fiction?
If you would like to read a couple of free #shortstories I wrote, I would love your feedback on what the user interface was like for you. I released these on Kindle Vela, which is a platform for episodic stories, and as the author I don't really know what it is like to access the stories through Vela
- "Sheo and The Doxer" https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/episode/B0BLHZJNCW
- "The Twelve Dogs of Yore" https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/episode/B0BLHZZJWV
Need a mind-bending, magic-meets-Mad Max story to spice up your weekend? With queer characters I am now ready to die for? You must read AR Capetta's "Resurrection Highway," out today in Sunday Morning Transport. It is so good and weird and unexpected. https://open.substack.com/pub/thetransport/p/resurrection-highway #scifi #magic #shortstories
Super happy to announce that I will be translating two stories by Hungarian Ukrainian authors for this awesome Ukrainian SFF anthology!!
Go back the project -
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds
#Ukraine #EmbroideredWorlds #Anthology #SFF #SpeculativeFiction #ScienceFiction #Fantasy #Hungarian #Translation #ShortStories @shortsff @shortstory @bookstodon #Kickstarter #Preorders
I’ve just posted a new witchy short story on my blog!
I'm Chris. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, work with animals, play with tarot cards, and I absolutely love books! Posting about tarot and TTRPG games mostly, but expect dog pictures.
Artistic and creative aspirations include creating tarot cards, collecting magpie #tarotdecks, and writing small RPG games with friends.
Reading: #scifi #fantasy #AppendixN #science #psychology #compassion #tarot #occult #shortstories #history #feminism
As a #Disabled #Author, I don't know how much longer I will be alive.
I am eager to share #ShortStories.
That is all I can write anymore.
I would hope a publisher can respect my time, as much as I respect theirs.
It takes me over an hour to log the information for each publisher I may send a short story. And I may never use it. It generally takes me 30 minutes to write the cover letter. And another 30 minutes to verify I have everything before clicking submit.
Hi, I am a #writer of #shortstories and always interested in meeting new people and hear their stories.
Currently I live periods in the #Netherlands and #Finland. To find out why go to: https://annitje.substack.com/
This week's Story Hour was fantastic—and was also all fantasy! Amanda Cook read us two gentle stories, and Marie Brennan read us an M.A. Carrick story to go with the recently concluded Rook and Rose trilogy. You can still watch! #StoryHour2020 #AuthorReading #ShortStories #MACarrick #MarieBrennan #AmandaCook https://www.facebook.com/100039975042631/videos/1495556031188256
#Education #1960-1970 #SRA #ShortStories #Connecticut #Curriculum
Does anyone remember this? A few of those short stories have stuck with me for over 50 years. This was self-guided reading, and you read, took a small test for comprehension, and moved up to the next level. One of my fondest memories of elementary school.
(From a blog--all about the '70's)
"It was called a Reading Laboratory Kit that a company called Science Research Associates (SRA) began in 1957 and teachers used in the classrooms as a reading comprehension tool geared towards individual students. The reading materials were color coded, and as you read, completed and successfully tested all of the lessons in one level, you got to move to the next level, which was another color. And the really cool thing was the Progress Board that was set up in the classroom. For each lesson you completed, a big gold star was put in that space and it was out there for all to see."
I always feel like I'm screaming into the void when I post that I make things, but y'never know when someone might finally be interested. So again, hi! I'm Avaris and I make things! I've made #ttrpg stuff, #videogames / #indiegames, written #music and #shortstories, and even work on #boardgames If you are interested in any of that, please give it a look!
@MaJ1 @dgar @book , you like stories so come & join us .
(This became, a longer short story than I expected, I hope you enjoy it.)
Ok , so picture the scene….
Me in my early 20s living out in the old outhouse my Dad basically rebuilt & converted into a bachelor pad for me !
It’s rectangular & the size of a small bedsit, maybe 10’ x 40’ ish, single story.
The bed is at the far end of the room from the door, which leads via a small workshop to the main house.
Behind the bed , which is parallel to the short end wall is a small window, & the end wall itself is mostly a huge picture window looking out onto the garden.
Above the bed is a long shelf that runs the length of the room & has books on it. Lots & lots of books!
The rest of the room is much as you would expect of a young single nerd who is deeply into gadgets & pop music.
(I wonder what happened to my old (reclaimed) sub? )
So the scene is set…..
Our young hero rocks in around 9am , having been on night shift as a junior Mainframe Ops bod . It was a busy shift & now pleasantly stuffed with Mum’s cooking he closes the blackout curtains & gets into bed .
It’s important to note that the bed is a slightly old fashioned steel framed affair, with plenty of room under it for an assortment of junk & possibly a human.
Having read a chapter of a bedtime story (I suspect Raymond E. Fiests’ Magician or some such) he settles down to sleep. All things being equal, at this point in his youth insomnia is not a problem.
Time …..
Passes ….
About 11am on that late spring, early summer day (can’t remember the month or indeed the exact year, but time & my memory have never been close friends) our hero is rudely awakened from a deep sleep by a book falling a not inconsiderable height onto his unsuspecting noggin!
Simultaneously the bed starts shaking!
A barely conscious, even less coherent Scouser, in a feat of post slumber athletics, never witnessed before or since, achieves a vertical stance beside the bed without seeming to have passed through the intervening space!
Bear in mind dear reader that our dozy little friend has been reading fantasy & is not entirely sure which world he is currently inhabiting.
Frantically searching for his attacker, his bleary, un bespectacled & myopic gaze covers the interior of the room.
Nothing, not a dickie bird !
Suddenly the room shakes & our tired, semi-conscious, befuddled idiot has had enough.
He does what any self respecting fantasy/ sci-fi fan would do under such a mysterious attack & hides under the bed !
Now you, from a position of full consciousness & clarity, will have realised that yon pillock is in fact the victim of one of the UKs’ rare earth tremors.
Our hero is about to discover this!
After what seems like hours, but was in reality a minute or so a soft knocking on the door heralds the arrival of our brave (?) little soldiers Mum.
Who looks at her son somewhat askance!
Time has eroded the exact conversation that followed, but suffice to say Mummys’ little computer nerd is coaxed out from under the bed & topped up with a hug & a cuppa & an explanation.
About ½ an hour later a very sheepish looking fool makes his way back to bed, & following a quick check to make sure the assurances of his Mother were in fact correct climbs back into bed & sleeps the sleep of the dead.
Thus our story ends , well almost….
At about 6pm the same day, refreshed & recovered our hero wanderers into the house for his breakfast.
His Dad is sat at the kitchen table reading the paper. Unbeknownst to his son , Dad has been fully briefed by Mum!
Dearest reader you should know that the future Storage Manager cum Squirrel got all his humour genes from his Father , so without going into detail l will leave you to imagine the tsunami of piss taking that followed.
Needless to say this is still a family anecdote 🤦♂️😂
Fin.
#EarlyMemories #writing #shortStories #today I wrote this.
🎉OUT TODAY🥳
NOTHING BUT A SET OF EYES FOR STARS
New Writing Scotland 41
Ed. by Kirstin Innes, Marjorie Lotfi, & Niall O’Gallagher
The best new #poetry & #ShortStories in English, #Gaelic, & #Scots – available now from all good bookshops (& the evil one)
Submissions invited to NEW WRITING SCOTLAND 42!
We want #poetry & #ShortStories in English, #Gaelic, & #Scots from writers who are #Scottish by residence, birth, or inclination. All successful contributors are paid – deadline 31 Oct!
#writing #writingcommunity #writers
Submit free online via Submittable 👇
https://nws.submittable.com/submit
I'm looking for a new home base. Does any have suggestions for mastodon server where a misfit queer biker can post about #art, #roses, #photography, #nature, #lichen, #shortstories, #motorcycles, #programming, #cats and #dailylife?
Plus, I _really_ want the character limit to be higher than 500.
Peruse my profile here on mastodon.art and tell me where you think I'd do well.
Thank you for your assistance in finding a new home.
Check out the ToC for Rosalind's Siblings: Fiction and Poetry Celebrating Scientists of Marginalized Genders! Super happy to see this anthology coming soon!
Featuring @stefanicox @celianeri @premeesaurus @phoebebarton @JenLRossman @ljswansonwrites @osahon4545 @vajra & more!!
https://www.atthisarts.com/product/rosalinds-siblings/
#Anthologies #ToC #RosalindsSiblings #RosalindFranklin #ScienceFiction #SpeculativeFiction #Bookstodon @bookstodon @shortsff #ShortStories #Poetry #PoetryCommunity
Today is Rosalind Franklin's birthday, and our memorial anthology Rosalind's Siblings with @atthisarts is coming soon! This project was a delight to edit & I am so glad one of the Franklins reached out to me.
Preorders available here:
https://www.atthisarts.com/product/rosalinds-siblings/
#SFF #ScienceFiction #SpeculativeFiction #RosalindFranklin #RosalindsSiblings #Anthologies #ShortStories #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #Bookstodon @bookstodon @sffshorts @shortstory #SciComm
In addition to maze drawing and creative coding, I sometimes write #shortstories and #essays. Today I present a long overdue story from the 1990s.
I was working as an independent software contractor for the Wall Street investment banks. I provided C++ code to the "Quants". In my final trip to NYC, an entirely unexpected new road opened up in front of me, but I my inability to trust led me to turn away from it.
I offer the story, A Road Not Ridden:
https://www.twobraids.com/2023/07/road-not-ridden.html
The final part to my first short story series. I hope, if you read it, you enjoyed it, I certainly enjoyed writing it. I always like the feeling of writing in the present tense.
Here is the last instalment of The Shouter!
"Dermot, who saw this coming, says "Ah I fuckin knew it, no strings me hole".
https://blog.nalavo.com/2023/07/25/the-shouter-7/
If you want to read the story from the beginning, part 1 is here:
Here’s an excellent thing. Tor.com are celebrating their 15th anniversary with a big book of short stories. It’s available as a free download through to the end of July. Thanks Tor!
#scifi #fantasy #fiction #ShortStories #book #free #TorDotCom
Until the end of the month, you can download the Tor.com 15th anniversary short fiction bundle for free. https://www.tor.com/2023/07/17/download-the-tor-com-15th-anniversary-short-fiction-bundle/ #ShortStories #Anthology #Bookstodon #SpeculativeFiction
🚨COMING THIS AUGUST🚨
nothing but a set of eyes for stars
New Writing Scotland 41
Ed. by Kirstin Innes & Marjorie Lotfi
#Gaelic ed.: Niall O’Gallagher
Cover: Mark Mechan Red Axe Design
New Writing Scotland publishes the best new #ShortStories & #poetry in English, #Gaelic, & #Scots – available to preorder from all good booksellers (& the evil one too…)
#writingcommunity I am looking for some people to be on my modest podcast about random topics and to just get more into writer circles online.
I write mostly #shortstories right now and working on an #anthology and a few other things.
Holla at your cat!
#fiction #sciencefiction #fantasy #blog #podcast #community #writers #writersofmastodon
Extremely excited that Spouseperson @rblemberg is a Le Guin prize finalist!!
Doubly so that it is the Birdverse short story collection from Fairwood, I feel like this book has gone a bit underappreciated with RB's other books being out this year, BUT IT IS SO GOOD and I am so happy.
#Fantasy #SFF #SpeculativeFiction #LeGuin #LeGuinPrize #RBLemberg #Birdverse #ShortStories #Bookstodon @bookstodon @shortsff #ShortSFF #Fairwood #Mazeldon #JewishAuthors #TransLit