News

June 22, 2025 - I was one of six authors on the British Science Fiction Association's online panel promoting "Fission" #5 magazine. It's for sale here.

June 10, 2025 - The Windsor, VT public library adds "The Sum of Its Parts" to its shelf, alongside "Walden Planet and other stories." The Springfield, VT public library should have "Sum" up soon.

March 15, 2025 - "The Sum of Its Parts," my third book, is available for pre-order on Amazon. Release date: March 19.

March 6, 2025 - Almost exactly six years after it was first accepted, "Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine" publishes my story "Dance of the Maenads."

December 30, 2024 - "Dark Moments and Patreon - Year 6 2024" anthology is released by Black Hare Press. This thick collection includes my story "It Starts with Flies" as well as a story by Gustav Griff, my former student. The ebook is for sale here for only $2.99.

December 10, 2024 - My first try at micro-fiction wins "honorable mention" in the "Pete Wood Challenge," a part of "Stupefying Stories." The challenge was to write a story of up to 150 words in length, keying off two of the following words: turkey, parade, football, fir tree, stocking, or cranberry. However, the story could not be about a holiday, a meal, or a gathering of relatives. That made me only $5, but I like to think of it as 3.3 cents a word.

August 4, 2024 - "After Dinner Conversation" buys reprint rights for my short story "The Changed Man," originally published in "Mythic" in 2018.

May 15, 2024 - I was on an online panel discussion of the winter 2024 edition of the "Dragon Gems" speculative anthology series, put on by the London-based Chalk Scribblers writers group. I read from my short story, "Sandstorm in the Hourglass," which appeared in the issue and talked about short story writing. Also on the panel were Hugh McCormack, who also had a story in the issue, and Steven Radecki, the managing editor of "Water Dragon Publishing" and well as editor of "Dragon Gems." DJ Cockburn was the moderator. For a limited time, the "Dragon Gems Winter 2024" issue is available on sale for only 99 cents here.

April 4, 2024 - "Stupefying Stories: Showcase" accepts my flash story "The Slings and Arrows of Childhood. It takes place on a planet where offhand, childish remarks such as "Last one in is a rotten egg" all literally come true.

March 16, 2024 - "Black Hare Press" accepts my short story "It Starts with Flies." As he lay dying, Renfield traces his life's arc. I wrote this story in response to a themed prompt for another ezine. Themed prompts are a pet peeve of mine. I understand that sales are better for ezines with thematically linked stories, and prompts can be inspiring. But... it takes me a while to get a story saleable, often longer than the deadline set by the original ezine. All's well that ends well.

December 19, 2023 - "Water Dragon Publishing" accepts my book "The Sum of Its Parts," a collection of seven of my "Frankenstein, Detective" short stories (previously published in various ezines) and the title novelette. The monster of Frankenstein survives his fateful encounter with Victor in the Arctic. After wandering the world, he returns to Zurich and reinvents himself as a consulting detective, advertising his expertise in monsters ("No case too monstrous.") He encounters Dracula, the Werewolf, the Invisible Man, zombies and MORE! The book is due out in March 2025.

September 18, 2023 - "On the Premises" buys my short story "The Light and the Dark," about a detective who is a hologram. This is my third sold "Hal Boland" short story. In this one he chases the bad guy through a holographic recreation of Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker."

September 16, 2023 - "Stupefying Stories: Showcase" purchases the right to reprint my flash story "Riddle Me." It's my philosophical musing on why the chicken crossed the road. It earlier appeared in my second book, "The Reopened Cask and other stories." You can read it here.

September 12, 2023 - My short story "Sandstorm in the Hourglass" was accepted by "Dragon Gems" for its winter 2024 issue. It's the fifth story I've sold over the years in my "Christian Towne" series, about an inter-dimensional traveler and screwup. In this one he's been stuck for twenty years in a dimension where time goes backwards. It's forcing him to go through adolescence again, which he just can't face, so he repairs his Sideways Machine in an attempt to escape into another dimension, though he always ends up someplace worse. Incidentally, this story was bought by "Mythic" a year ago, which promptly folded. "Mythic" was only going to pay one cent a word while "Dragon Gems" pays two, so sometimes things work out.