My next published short story--Trapped on Tragodia

For some reason, I thought I had already shared that one of my short stories was published this year! It's called Trapped on Tragodia and it's an exciting tale of friendship, adventure and journey into the unknown!

Odie is just a regular space trucker until a forced landing changes everything. I don't know how much to reveal about the story without spoiling it, LOL! I spotted the submission call from < a href="https://www.perennial-press.com/">Perennial Press in fall 2021, which seems forever ago. The anthology would contain stories and poems about arthropods--kind of a unique subject, IMHO. Now, this is why you always hang onto rejected ideas, because there could be a day when they fit perfectly. The idea I had hanging around was from a horror anthology submission call. I enjoy mild horror and tried my hardest, but liking something and creating something are two different things. I cannot write a horror story to save my life. However, I have a strong belief in the power of friendship and just let my authentic voice speak.

Inspired by childhood memories of movies like Mysterious Island, I changed the setting to a wild place where giant insects rule. If you know me, you'd be seriously surprised I wrote a story that doesn't contain birds or horses, but I was up for the creative challenge. Arthropoda was edited by JW Stebner, who also edits Hexagon, a speculative fiction magazine.

It was a long wait until I had a physical copy in my hands, but it was such a great moment to open the box and see my ideas made real, especially the gorgeous cover by Stephanie Lane Gage of Martian Press. Order your copy today--you won't be disappointed.

Cover Reveal--Arthropoda!

My adventures in publishing so far have been quite interesting! I saw the call for entries for Arthropoda by Perennial Press in summer 2021.

I was thrilled when it was accepted and it was a pleasure working with JW Stebner of Hexagon to edit the story and add the extra bit of polish.

Then came the waiting...the waiting...and wait no more! Pre-orders for this speculative fiction anthology are open right now!!.

Being a horse and bird lover, well, I just never imagined I would be writing about insects, but here we are! :-)

A Great Way to End 2022!

I'm thrilled to share my short story, "A Foot in Two Worlds", was accepted into this anthology :-) My dad came to Canada in 1960 and navigating two cultures has always been a part of my life.

Immigrant Sci-Fi | Successful Submissions & Selected Stories - We’re pleased to announce the authors included in our upcoming anthology which combines the new & contemporary, set in future, interstellar, fantastical and alternative realities.https://t.co/kOMCbRjkWc

— Flame Tree Press Team (@flametreepress) December 14, 2022

The Ringed Giant Sci-Fi Anthology

Hi friends, it's been a while! It's been almost two months since the last semester ended, but, when you defer life for eight months, there's a lot of catching up to do!

About this time last year I was so hyped to participate in the 2nd Annual Zombie Pirate Publishing Writing Week. 168 hours, 101 participants, 15k words! It was an absolute creative marathon that I would love to do again!

Although my story made the long list and the short list, it didn't make the final list. Aw! However, you can buy the anthology, The Ringed Giant as an eBook or paperback through Amazon. Enjoy eight novelette length science fiction stories for one great price!

Arrrr! Another story submission

I submitted a short story for Zombie Pirate Publishing's next anthology, Pirates of the Empyrean. I had five ideas and only one panned out. Well, another idea also panned out, but then, horror of horrors, Evernote ate everything I wrote. I contacted tech support and they could not retrieve it for me because of a syncing issue between devices. It was a serious bummer! I tried to rewrite what was lost, but it just wasn't the same. I would like to develop the other ideas some day.

Basically my story is about two space pirates that have a business problem and a friendship problem. Things get resolved a little too quickly near the end, but perhaps the gentle optimism of the story will make it stand out. 7000 words is not a lot to work with sometimes. ZPP won't have another anthology until next year, so at least there's lots of time to plan for that.

Still waiting to hear about my story for The Ringed Giant. It's so hard to wait!

Yet more waiting...

It's been a long wait since Zombie Pirate Publishing's writing week back in May and a longer wait since I found out that my story, SATURN RETURNS, made it to the long list of submissions for their anthology, THE RINGED GIANT. Well, holy cow, I found out yesterday evening that it made the short list. This isn't the final list, but to be in the top nine is quite an accomplishment in itself. There were 101 participants and 57 entries.

Wish my story luck! I was so excited when I saw the email that I jumped and screamed. Then, later, I threw up dinner.

If horror is more your style, you can check out their new anthology, Full Metal Horror 3 which launched this week!