Short Stories and Novelettes

GENERAL SHORT STORIES AND NOVELETTES

¶ Al_Zorra: Dark Moon Murmuration. Short story. Also, a seven-part essay on vampires and ballet. Announced at sfwa.

Summary: "A Gothic Tale of Conjure & Family Love In the Upper South."

¶ Marie Brennan: Calling Into Silence. Short story. Announcement at sfwa.

"Someone had to have done something wrong. Ngwela had no way of knowing; only the women of the tribe could be present when spirits were called, and so her dance of opening was her first and only experience. But they had drawn spirals on her palms, white against the darkness of her skin, and they had stiffened her hair with paste, and they had put the beads of amber and coral and turquoise around her ankles and wrists and neck, and they had given her the drink that would help her open herself to the spirits. She could see nothing in that which seemed wrong, no point at which someone might have made a mistake."

¶ Tobias S. Buckell: Aerophilia. Science fiction short story. Originally published in All Star Zeppelin Adventure Stories. Announcement at sfwa.

"'You know, the thing about zeppelins is that they got a bad rap,' Vince says. He's actually twirling a virtual mustache. Nutjob. 'I mean, in the famous "Oh, the humanity" accident only thirty-five passengers died. Out of ninety seven!'"

¶ Andrew Burt: A Sailor on the Sea of Humanity. Short story. Announcement at ipstp.

Summary: "If you'd wiped out humanity, perhaps you'd find time dilation has it's uses . . ."

¶ Amy Sterling Casil: Perfect Stranger. Science fiction short story. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Announcement at sfwa. Announcement at ipstp.

"When at five months of pregnancy, Carolyn went for a high-level ultrasound that determined Denny had HLHS, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to try gene therapy."

¶ Linda J. Dunn: Scarecrows. Novelette. Announcement at sfwa.

"I was five years old when Mom turned into a scarecrow."

¶ Rhonda Eudaly: Leporidaphobia. Short story. Announcement at sfwa.

"Kendall jolted awake, a terrified scream locked in his throat, pajamas and bedding soaked with sweat. He tried to slow his racing pulse as he frantically scanned the room. There, that movement in the shadows – was it the twitch of long ears? That creak – was it the thump of large feet?"

¶ S. Evans: The Monkey King and the Dragon's Daughter. Short story. Also, a short short. Announced at ipstp.

"Slowly, Ha Bo uncurls her fingers and turns back to the bindings on Tsessia's right foot. 'I suppose you have a right to know. You're a woman now. But it's a long story, the tale of how the monkeys came to rule the sky.'"

¶ Sheila Finch: Sequioa Dreams. Short story. Originally published in Amazing Stories. Announcement at sfwa.

"I'd almost finished the research for my dissertation in Yosemite National Park when the Xt'la first – appeared. I was going to say arrived, but that implies we saw them coming. We didn't. One day, we looked up and there they were. No one ever found a trace of their ship orbiting Earth, though it must have been, the physicists said. I have no opinion on that; I'm a botanist. Awesome technology! the papers called it when the story finally got out. I think that's journalese for 'We dunno what happened.'"

¶ Sacchi Green: Home from the Sea. Lesbian erotic short story. Announcement at sfwa.

"'I'll wait there all afternoon,' Romy had written, 'and the next day too. Please come, Sage.' Romy had never said please to me."

¶ M. K. Hobson: Domovoi. Short story. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Also, more short fiction. Announced at sfwa/ipstp. See also: Wheatland Press.

"'You're a murderer and a rapist, and there may be no hope for you,' Winnie says to Ryan on a rainy afternoon at the end of the story. 'But if there is, I will find it. I will remake you.'"

¶ Michael M. Jones: The Spellweaver's Tale. Short story. Announcement at sfwa. See also: Tribute post to IPSTP Day.

"The river was high, and Gabriel knew there was going to be trouble. He could feel it in his tail. It was that eerie combination of stillness and anticipation that always put his fur on edge and made him want to yowl for his mother."

¶ Heidi Wessman Kneale: The Room. Short story. Announcement at the author's blog.

"She never noticed when the other junior secretary left. It's just that one day, she noticed that she had not seen her for several days or was it weeks? Fired, died, moved to another city . . . who knew?"

¶ Rosemary Lake: The Witch Princess. Fairy tale short story. Also, more fairy tales. Announcement at sfwa.

"'Wait, wait!' said the oldest doctor. 'There is one remedy. You will have to take a bath in . . . er, ah . . . in the blood of . . . er . . . some prince of nobler birth than your own!'"

¶ Jordan Lapp: Leaving the Grand Design. Short story. Announcement at sfwa.

"Hayden knocked on the metal door of the meeting room timidly, then stepped back. Normally he stayed well away from the Watchers of Exile, but tonight he had no other choice. If he didn't act now, his sister was going to die."

¶ Machineplay: The China Doll. Short story. Announcement at sfwa. Announcement at ipstp. Announcement at papersky.

"Ezri woke the moment the steeple bells started to chime, and was on her feet before the last note rang out. She looked at the glass of days on her dressing table and crouched down to see that the pearly white sand inside was, indeed, aligned with the gold-etched line that she'd been waiting for."

¶ Malin: Conduct Unbecoming. Short story. Originally published in Historimorphs. Announcement at Wyrdsmiths.

"With each day, he grew more confident and got to know the others in his all-morph regiment. They were a diverse lot, from raccoons and possums to a couple foxes – most canids were special attachments to other divisions for use as trackers. They bantered and joked when they were traveling or resting, but when they did their daily drills they were serious and intent, and Richard felt more and more proud of himself with each drill as he mastered various skills. He was becoming a useful part of his regiment, and began to look forward to the chance to prove himself in real combat."

¶ Laurie D. T. Mann: Muse of Fire. Horror short fiction. Originally published in Midnight Zoo. Announcement at sfwa. See also: Userpic.

"There I was, washed up at twenty-seven."

¶ Kelly Mccullough: The Uncola. Science fiction short story. Originally published in Cosmic SF. Plus, contemporary fantasy short fiction. Announced at sfwa. See also: Wyrdsmiths.

Summary: "A near future snarky science fiction piece about the ungoing cola wars between the big brands."

¶ Derryl Murphy: Last Call. Science fiction short story. Originally published in On Spec. Post to sfwa.

"Jackie laughed. 'Jesus, Allen. NASA must owe you some big if you can get patched through from building the station just to talk to a fetus.'"

¶ Paula Helm Murray: The Most Profane of the Sacred. Heroic fantasy horror short story. Originally published in Eldritch Tales. Announced at the author's blog.

"My service to the Queen was the last bitter effort of the evil creature I once was; wonder why she summoned me? I've a feeling she does not want a custom saddle."

¶ Jennifer Pelland: Immortal Sin. Originally published in Tales of the Unanticipated. Announcement at sfwa.

"It's easy to dispose of a dead body when you're a doctor."

¶ Robert Reed: Wellsprings of Genius. Short fiction. Originally published as a French translation ("Aux sources du génie") in the magazine Galaxies. Announcement by Scott Clark at sfwa.

"Nobody, not even Anwar, can see what's happening inside Anwar's skull."

¶ Connie Wilkins: One-Eyed Jack. Short fiction. Originally published in Strange Horizons. Announcement at sfwa.

"He might have been reduced to one eye, one arm, and scarcely more than one good leg, but Lightning Jack lacked nothing in between."

¶ Stephanie Zvan: The End of Eternity. Short story. Announcement at the author's blog. Announcement at Wyrdsmiths.

"Dr. Richardson knew he was spending too much time with the dead girl. On the rare occasions he made it home, Sandra gave him those corner-of-the-eye looks, the ones that said, 'I know I married you for better or for worse, but how much worse is it going to get?' He didn't know how to answer without admitting to them both that Meryaset held some fascination for him that Sandra just . . . didn't."

¶ See also:

Short Shorts. Many of the authors listed here also linked to short stories.
Graf, L..
Hammer, Larry.
Hogarth, M. C. A..
McDonald, Steven E..
Moyer, Jaime Lee.

TRIBUTES TO IPSTP DAY

¶ Don Hensley: The Right to Write. Satirical short story adapted with permission of Richard Stallman from his original work The Right to Read. Announcement at ipstp.

"Like everyone, he had been taught since elementary school that sharing writing tools was nasty and wrong – something that only webscabs would ever do. Helping anyone to write anything that might be read by anyone, without payment for the privilege of reading it, would give imprimatur to the downward spiral that is converting the noble calling of Writer into the life of a Pixel-stained Technopeasant Wretch."

[ HOME ] [ IPSTP Day ] [ E-mail ]

This text, or a variation on it, was originally published at duskpeterson.com. Quotations are copyrighted in the names of the authors; check the original sources for the copyright terms. All other text, copyright © 2007 Dusk Peterson. Some rights reserved. The text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0). You may freely print, post, e-mail, share, or otherwise distribute the text for noncommercial purposes, provided that you include this paragraph. The author's policies on derivative works and fan works are available online (duskpeterson.com/copyright.htm).