Writing

First Encounters. A Speculative Fiction Anthology. After numerous late nights laboring over word choice, endless debates regarding the Oxford comma, and scratching our heads raw as we navigated the self-publishing industry, my critique group has produced its first annual anthology. Read my story Jimmy’s Hat, then tell me who did a better job portraying Jimmy … Read more Order First Encounters Today

It’s been five months since my last blog. Instead of writing to you, my faithful half-dozen readers, I watched my dad desiccate like an autumn leaf. It’s easy for me to forget he’s gone. If I hear a good joke, I imagine sharing it with him in that brief moment before I realize I can’t. … Read more Prepare for First Encounters

The RMFW 2020 Anthology, Wild: Uncivilized Tales, is now available. I’m happier than a puppet husky in a snowstorm to have my story in print. The Re-creation of Sahmik Ghee is a science fiction retelling of the classic poem, The Cremation of Sam McGee. Two hunters set out on the frozen frontier of a distant … Read more Take a Walk on the Wild Side

I hope this update finds my half-dozen loyal readers healthy and free of COVID-19. In my previous update dated February 27, I thought COVID-19 was something distant and intangible. But for the past three months our lives have turned into a dystopian apocalypse. The Pandemic as Science Fiction For more than a century, stories like … Read more Writing Under Lockdown

I’ve been writing! In The Re-creation of Sahmik Ghee, a future arctic hunter on a distant planet meets an untimely death. His partner must find a way to bring him back and hold him to his contract. This short story is based on the classic poem The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert W. Service. … Read more A Summer of Space, Brains, and Writing