Flash Fiction Online Issue #46 July 2017
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedThe July 2017 issue of Flash Fiction Online. Fantasy, science fiction, horror, and literary short fiction for the modern reader. First, in “Elsewhere” by Meera Jhala, a woman struggles to maintain internal strength as her family is flung across the galaxy. Next, Aimee Picchi returns to FFO with a haunting love story told in musical time, “Errata to the Fugue of the Undreamable Abyss.”
Shara Concepción ties the otherworldly magic of the bruja into a coming of age story in her enchanting short story, “Brujitas.”
And in a return to FFO, Rachael K. Jones’s “The Law of the Conservation of Hair” is another painful yet beautifully told story about love won and lost. Yet this story is measured in – hair.
Jason S. Ridler’s latest installment of FXXK WRITING: Commercial Installment is not to be missed.
Cover by Dario Bijelac
First, in “Touching Strangers” by C E Aylett, a woman and her husband choose to take a risk-filled journey to a new life.
Next, Frances Pauli’s hero faces some dire consequences for past choices at the hands of a dragon in her poignant tale, “Owning the Dragon.”
Then, from returning FFO author, Lora Gray, a hauntingly beautiful story about the struggle between choosing what is right over the very essence of self, “Water like Air.”
Last up, our reprint of the month, “Spring Thaw,” by G L Dearman. Originally published in the Iron Writer Challenge 2016, “Spring Thaw” tells the story of a man who finally chooses not to be broken.
Clarkesworld Magazine – Issue 130
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedClarkesworld is a Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. Each month we bring you a mix of fiction (new and classic works), articles, interviews and art.
Our July 2017 issue (#130) contains:
* Zhang Ran (“An Age of Ice”), Rich Larson (“Travelers”), Robert Reed (“The Significance of Significance”), Bo Balder (“The Bridgegroom”), and Nicole Korner-Stace (“Last Chance”).
* Reprints by Joe Haldeman (“Forever Bound”) and Lavie Tidhar (“Oracle”).
* Non-fiction by Matt Jones, an interview with Carrie Vaughn, an Another Word column by Fran Wilde, and an editorial by Neil Clarke.
Luna Station Quarterly – Issue 30
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedLeave it to Luna Station Quarterly to continually subvert your expectations, while still bringing you the best in female-fronted storytelling. Here we are in the heart of the growing year, green and lush and voluptuous, human and animal alike in their prime and enjoying the sun at the height of its powers. And what do we do?
We present you with an issue of mostly meditative stories, mostly about death. ‘Cause we’re funny that way.
Like a rom-com or a period flick counter programmed against a blow ’em up summer blockbuster, we invite you to our alternative to the flow. Yes, there are still immortal clockwork people, and a space station, and a woman in love with the moon and all that. But there is also quiet, and questioning, and other things that may or may not begin with a Q, and which are usually better left for the dark half of the year.
But you know better, don’t you? Slowing down and looking inward are valuable year-round, and with this issue of LSQ, we provide a window to that state of mind, if you’re willing. We hope, of course, that you are.
This issue features stories by:
Hilary Biehl — Rose Strickman — J.B. Rockwell — Holly Lyn Walrath
Clio Yun-su Davis — Julia K. Patt — Kellee Kranendonk
Carrie Vaccaro Nelkin — Jocelyn Koehler — Jude-Marie Green — A.M. Matte
Our gorgeous cover was created by:
Kmye Chan
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #230
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedIssue #230 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies online magazine, featuring Pt. II of a novella by R.B. Lemberg and a story by Charles Payseur.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #229
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedIssue #229 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies online magazine, featuring Pt. I of a novella by R.B. Lemberg and a story by Theodore McCombs.
New York Review of Science Fiction #341
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedSpecial Atomic Love Issue: Steve Carper: Fiction, The Atom Bomb, and the FBI; Brian Stableford: Maurice Magre & Claire d’Amour; Ron Drummond: Artistic Choices and Kim Stanley Robinson; Mike Barrett: T.G. Jackson’s Haunted Ouvre; David Drake: On Stranger (Tim) Powers; Anne Leonard on Louise Marley’s Terrorists of Irustan. Plus: Read Thises and Robert Chambers’s Prophets.
Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 85 (June 2017)
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedLIGHTSPEED is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine. In its pages, you will find science fiction: from near-future, sociological soft SF, to far-future, star-spanning hard SF–and fantasy: from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, and contemporary urban tales, to magical realism, science-fantasy, and folktales.
This month, we have original science fiction by Scott Dalrymple (“Marcel Proust, Incorporated”) and Matthew Kressel (“Love Engine Optimization”), along with SF reprints by Vandana Singh (“Yakshantariksh”) and Elizabeth Bear (“The Heart’s Filthy Lesson”). Plus, we have original fantasy by Shweta Narayan (“World of the Three”) and Pat Murphy (“Crossing the Threshold”), and fantasy reprints by Carlos Hernandez (“The Magical Properties of Unicorn Ivory”) and Ben Hoffman (“Substitutes”). All that, and we also have our usual assortment of author spotlights, along with our book and media review columns. Our cover art is by Randy Gallegos, illustrating Shweta Narayan’s “World of the Three.” For our ebook readers, we also have an ebook-exclusive reprint of Yoon Ha Lee’s “Iseul’s Lexicon” and an excerpt from the latest novel by Seanan McGuire, DOWN AMONG THE STICKS AND BONES, as well as a bonus excerpt from NEVER NOW ALWAYS by Desirina Boskovich.
Nightmare Magazine, Issue 57 (June 2017)
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedNIGHTMARE is an online horror and dark fantasy magazine. In NIGHTMARE’s pages, you will find all kinds of horror fiction, from zombie stories and haunted house tales, to visceral psychological horror.
This month, we’ve got original fiction from Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (“Secret Keeper”) and Adam-Troy Castro (“The Narrow Escape of Zipper-Girl”), along with reprints by Micaela Morrissette (“Wendigo”) and writing duo Robert Jackson Bennett and David Liss (“Hollow Choices”). Over at “The H Word,” we’ve brought in Lee Thomas to discuss the unique role of Peter Straub’s novel KOKO in horror literature. We’re also pleased to offer the first installment of a new quarterly media and book review column from long-time fiction contributor Adam-Troy Castro. Of course we’ll have author spotlights with some of our authors, too!
The Dark – Issue 25
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedEach month The Dark brings you the best in dark fantasy and horror!
Edited by award winning editors Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Sean Wallace
and brought to you by Prime Books, this issue includes two all-new
stories and two reprints:
“In Your Wake We Sin” by Hadeer Elsbai
“The Beautiful Thing We Will Become” by Kristi DeMeester (reprint)
“Seams” by Karolina Fedyk
“Hans” by Ray Cluley (reprint)
Flash Fiction Online Issue #45 June 2017
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedThe June 2017 issue of Flash Fiction Online.Fantasy, science fiction, horror, and literary short fiction for the modern reader. The short stories in this issue are all about choices and their consequences. Some lead to family, some to love, and some to loss.
First, in “Touching Strangers” by C E Aylett, a woman and her husband choose to take a risk-filled journey to a new life.
Next, Frances Pauli’s hero faces some dire consequences for past choices at the hands of a dragon in her poignant tale, “Owning the Dragon.”
Then, from returning FFO author, Lora Gray, a hauntingly beautiful story about the struggle between choosing what is right over the very essence of self, “Water like Air.”
Last up, our reprint of the month, “Spring Thaw,” by G L Dearman. Originally published in the Iron Writer Challenge 2016, “Spring Thaw” tells the story of a man who finally chooses not to be broken.
Locus June 2017 (#677)
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedThe June 2017 issue of Locus magazine has interviews with John Kessel and Cat Sparks and spotlights on Scott H. Andrews of Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Heather Shaw of Persistent Visions.
The issue lists US and UK forthcoming books titles through March 2018. Awards news covers the Nebulas, Bram Stoker, Asimov’s Readers’, Analog AnLab, and Spectrum winners, as well as the Clarke Award shortlist, Sturgeon Award finalists, and Shirley Jackson Awards nominees. StokerCon, held on the Queen Mary in Long Beach CA this year, is covered with a report and photos. Grania Davis, Marie Jakober, Anne R. Dick, and Roy Millenson are remembered with obituaries.
Features include Kameron Hurley’s column, entitled “Story Isn’t Just ‘Stuff Happens'”, and international reports from Hong Kong, India, and Japan. Reviews cover new titles by Daryl Gregory, Theodora Goss, Karin Tidbeck, James Morrow, K.J. Parker, Dave Duncan, Anna Tambour, Daryl Gregory, Sara Flannery Murphy, C.J. Cherryh, Neal Asher, Philip Fracassi, Catherynne M. Valente, Seanan McGuire, Yoon Ha Lee, and many others.
Clarkesworld Magazine – Issue 129
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedClarkesworld is a Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. Each month we bring you a mix of fiction (new and classic works), articles, interviews and art.
Our June 2017 issue (#129) contains:
* Original stories by Andy Dudak (“Fool’s Cap”), Julia K. Patt (“My Dear, Like the Sky and Stars and Sun”), Nina Allan (“Neptune’s Trident”), Sam J. Miller (“The Ways Out”), and A Que (“An Account of the Sky Whales”).
* Reprints by Jay Lake (“Human Error”) and Aliette de Bodard (“The Waiting Stars”).
* Non-fiction by S. E. Jones, an interview with Greg Benford, an Another Word column by Jason Heller, and an editorial by Neil Clarke.
Forever Magazine Issue 29
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedForever is a monthly science fiction magazine that features previously published stories you might have missed. Each issue will feature a novella, two short stories, and cover art by Ron Guyatt. Edited by the Hugo and World Fantasy Award winning editor of Clarkesworld Magazine, Neil Clarke.
Our May 2017 issue features a novella by Paul J. McAuley (“Sea Change, with Monsters”), a short story by Jack Skillingstead (“Life on the Preservation”), and a novelette by Nancy Kress (“Laws of Survival”).
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #227
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedIssue #227 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies online magazine, featuring stories by Wren Wallis and A.J. Lucy.
Black Static #58
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedIssue 58 contains new stories and novelettes by Mark Morris, Helen Marshall, Joe Pitkin, Gwendolyn Kiste, and Tim Casson. Cover art is by Joachim Luetke and interior illustrations are by Warwick Fraser-Coombe, Joachim Luetke, and Vince Haig. Features and reviews are supplied by Ralph Robert Moore, Lynda E. Rucker, Gary Couzens (films) and Peter Tennant (books, including an in-depth interview with Richard Chizmar).
Interzone #270
Tags: No Author Royalties CollectedRushford Recapitulation by Christopher Mark Rose
illustrated by Richard Wagner
An eggbeater. An autopipette. A Texas Instruments TI-30 calculator.
When Connie Romanski’s water broke, Zack was working on his car, out under a sticky old hickory tree. He knew he had already made one mistake, and now he wasn’t going to get his Chevy Nova back together fast enough. He had bought the wrong gasket. After disconnecting the spark plug cables and half a dozen other connections, and slathering up that gasket with a drippy black sealant that smelled foul when it hit the hot engine, he saw it was never going to fit. Then he heard Connie’s shriek.
Like You, I Am A System by Nathan Hillstrom
I did it because I love you.
Dirty Code by Wayne Simmons
illustrated by Dave Senecal
He wakes in his own time. No alarm buzzing in his ear, no sun cutting through the glass. Just his eyes opening, adjusting to the half-light of the room and the woman beside him.
He rolls the covers back, sits up. There’s an old electric lamp by his bed and he flicks it on then walks across the room. Checks the mirror, turns his face this way and that. Everything’s there that needs to be there.
Encyphered by Jonathan L. Howard
“We all have our secrets.” How could his mother smile as she said such a thing? How could she smile as she roped his whole life around with steel cable and drew it tight?
The New Man by Malcolm Devlin
illustrated by Richard Wagner
I used to write you poetry. I found pages of it in our bedroom, folded four times and tucked snug behind the bedpost on your side of the bed. I sat and unfolded the paper, spotted with grey circles which smeared and spiked the blue ink. The handwriting was mine, but the words were written by the person I used to be.
I set to reading them, but soon struggled. The individual words were clear, but they became lost in sentences which were difficult, lines that I couldn’t decode at all.
Evangeline and the Forbidden Lighthouse by Emily B. Cataneo
illustrated by Richard Wagner
I read once that all over the world, people who live oceanside tell stories about how their stretch of coast is haunted. Of course, I’ve never left the country, so I can only speak for the inlet where I once lived, Fox Sands. The local legend there concerns a lighthouse, a thin gray spindle on a handful of gray rocks, perched just on the edge of the geographical horizon. No one knows who built it, but its beam always sweeps the roiling ocean when storms march up the Atlantic, and the story runs that its keeper has lived there for centuries with a certain gift from the lighthouse: no crow’s feet, no ticking clocks, only climbing spiral stairs to the lantern room with knees and ankles that never ache, on endless day after endless day.
Memories of Fish by Shauna O’Meara
The drone hangs, unmoving, above a wet, cement thoroughfare. The three-hundred-and-sixty degree image it feeds to The Tourist’s surround-screen is of a mountain marketplace near Bandarawela. Ground tarps bearing all manner of Sri Lankan fruits, vegetables and spices flank the rain-puddled path and, in turn, both hemispheres of his living room, the calls of the vendors in their sarongs, reddas and saris piercing through The Tourist’s audio alongside the scents of curry, cow-dung and damp vegetation called forth by the olfactory interpreter.