List of Long Stories

I write, mostly Science Fiction, Fantasy, and zombie fiction. The zombie stuff is (almost) all set within the same 'universe', which comprises my zombie apocalypse and which (I'm hoping, eventually) will form the setting for a 'fix-up' novel. All of my writing appears at my writing blog.

Most of the stories from 2009-2011 are drabbles (100-word stories), and are numbered and labeled by genre. Some, however, are longer-form and are linked individually below.


Long Stories

2017


2016

  • Forced Entry - capes - Fleet and Mandy find themselves in a sticky situation (Cracked Flash, 300w)
  • You Can Hold A Moment In Your Hand - horror - A couple on vacation realizes something is not quite right. (The Mag, 400w)
  • Artist's Model Needed - general fiction - A woman recounts an affair (The Mag, 300w)
  • Ruins - zombie - conscious decoupling, apocalypse-style. (Light And Shade Challenge, 500w)

2015

  • Underworld - humor - A writer works in a coffee shop
  • That One Crazy Night - general fiction - a couple discusses their plans for the evening, already in progress. (500w)
  • The Enemy Within - capes - The final battle against the melon-baller is nigh, and not everyone will survive it. (2100w)
  • Dissolusion - capes - Dreamland One has a plan to take down the melon-baller, and it doesn't go over well (1150w)
  • Tripwire - capes - The melon-baller makes his (its?) move, and so does Dreamland One. (1250w)
  • You Were Meant For Me - sf, standalone - a lonely man's blind date may not be what she appears to be (Light and Shade Challenge, 500w)
  • The New Amsterdam Vampire Touring Company - Fantasy/Horror - Coral makes a decision (600w)
  • Who Have Our Power But Lack Our Virtue - Capes - Project Dreamland's fight against the melon-baller takes a worrisome turn as a spy is discovered in their midst. (1300w)
  • Whom Heaven, Earth, And Sea Obey - urban fantasy, standalone - A young woman seeks a better, more satisfying life. (Terrible Minds, 1000w)
2014
  • BVR - Capes - It's the beginning of a new serialized story featuring Fleet and the rest of Project Dreamland, there's a new threat, and it's already drawn precious blood. (Terrible Minds, 1000w)
  • Epilogue (From 'Project Dreamland') -  Capes - Fleet has trouble sleeping (600w)
  • What Became Of Michael Scissors - fantasy, Fire Faction - A private detective comes face-to-face with a world he always suspected existed. (Geek & Sundry Wordplay 1000w)
  • Real-Time Tactical - sf, standalone - A soldier is dimly aware of the fact that he is inside a simulation (500w)
  • One Night At A Time -  ghost story, standalone - A suicidal insomniac shut-in discusses his options with a spectral roommate. (1000w)
  • Hohmann Transfer Orbit - sf, standalone - a couple says goodbye (Parking Lot Confessional 500w)
  • Princess Of Mars - sf, Eek; - set on the same Mars colony as Dome 8, Section 17, Level 8, Hatch 24, Knock 5 Times, a privileged young woman visits the seamy underbelly of Mars colonial society. (Geek & Sundry Wordplay 500w)
  • Glenlivet 18 - fantasy/horror - Coral, from The New Amsterdam Vampire Social Club and Bowling Team, has an encounter with a pick-up artist. (Parking Lot Confessional 500w)
  • The Battle Of Sanctuary Pen - Capes - the contest between Project Dreamland and the 'Romans' comes to a head. (2000w)
  • Rise - sf, Fri - A woman recovers from a traumatic experience. (1100w)
  • Flowers For Aldebaran - sf, standlaone - a colony scientist works to get things to grow on an alien world. (Write On Edge 500w prompt)
  • Portland And Junior And Me - Capes - Fleet has been captured by the 'Romans', and encounters a talented little girl who may figure into Dreamland One's plans (1000w)
  • The View Behind - sf, standalone - a time cop catches a fugitive but there are disturbing implications. (Write On Edge 500w prompt)
  • 29h, 41m, 12s - sf, standalone - two colonists have trouble adjusting their sleep cycles to their new home's longer day. (Parking Lot Confessional 500w prompt)
  • Last Of The Romans - Capes - Fleet meets with the organization attempting to penetrate Project Dreamland. (1100+w)
  • Piloerection - Capes - A disaffected Fleet is approached by a shadowy figure in a bar (1000w)
  • Colony Collapse Disorder - SF, standalone - A Sheriff of an interstellar colony tries to hold things together. (Terrible Minds 1000w prompt)
  • Fool's Point - fantasy - The sorcerer deals with a disembodied threat. (Write On Edge 500w prompt)
  • King John's Highway - SF, standalone - A hacker rebels against an FTL 'water monopoly'.  (Terrible Minds 1000w prompt)
  • Not Far From The Tree - Capes - Fleet and Mandy get some news. (Parking Lot Confessional 500w prompt)
  • It Lasts Longer - general, standalone - a husband and photographer mourns his wife. (Write On Edge 500w)
  • Zeno And His Arrow - SF, standalone - A couple tries to manage how they experience the end of the world. (Write On Edge 500w)
  • I've Got A Sweeter Song - Capes - Fleet deals with a threat against Mandy. (Parking Lot Confessional 500w)
  • The Past Is A Foreign Country - SF, standalone - A woman goes back in time to try to save the life of her grandfather (Write On Edge 500w)

2013

  • Butterfly Kisses - Zombie - A father teaches his daughter an object lesson in scouting (Trifecta, 333w)
  • We Welcome Our New Robot Overlords - SF, Standalone - A letter from the leader of a successful robot uprising to his creator. (Parking Lot Confessional, 500w)
  • The Rake's Progress - Fantasy, standalone - A gladiator plays the system (Trifecta, 333w)
  • Charade - horror, standalone - a skeleton, animated once a year on Halloween, tries to escape into the living world. (Parking Lot Confessional 500w)
  • Restoration - Midz-Aset - The dragon once again awakes from a long sleep, this time to find the valley thinks he's mythical. (Sunday Scribblings 500w challenge)
  • How Many More Times - sf, standalone - two partygoers find themselves in a looping time event and attempt escape. (Parking Lot Confessional 500w challenge)
  • Drop - sf, Fri - A rescue mission on a planet of intelligent avians (Write On Edge 500w challenge)
  • Massive - capes - Fleet recruits a new member of Team B
  • He Kindly Stopped For Me - zombie - a man suffering from acute radiation poisoning attempts to make it to safety (G&S Wordplay 500w challenge)
  • Look Up - sf, Chuck and Frank - Chuck puts things in perspective for a depression-era boy (Write On Edge 500w challenge)
  • Meet Cute - sf, Mays Elle & Rebbo - first contact. (Trifecta 333w challenge)
  • Very Little Flesh - sf, standalone - a brain-in-a-jar tries to remember being something else (Sunday Scribblings prompt, 500w)
  • Best Judgment - zombie - Violet tries to share her wisdom with a more impulsive survivor. (Trifecta 333w challenge)
  • Signed, Amy - horror - Amy's confession. Follow-up to "Houseguest" and "The Fixer" (Parking Lot Confessional 500w challenge)
  • Secondhand - zombie - personality conflicts within a survivor group. What will happen? (Trifecta 333w challenge)
  • Gunakadeit - fantasy - the sorcerer has a run-in with some pirates, who then have a run-in with one of the sorcerer's seagoing friends. (G&S Wordplay Prompt)
  • 43 Minutes Each Way - sf, standalone - A man corresponds with his favorite working girl. (Write On Edge 500w prompt)
  • The Maiden - fantasy - A young woman captures a Unicorn. (Trifecta 333w prompt)
  • Deus Ex Radix - [hosted offsite] - Ringworld 'fanfic'. (G&S Wordplay Prompt)
  • The New Amsterdam Vampire Bowling Team - fantasy/horror - The vampires try out a new modus operandi, post-Gunnar. (Trifecta 333w challenge)
  • Sprint And Drift - sf, standalone - a blind man's spaceship encounters a disaster (Parking Lot Confessional 500w challenge)
  • Masked - sf, Association - A woman tries to pass an alien checkpoint (Trifecta 333w challenge)
  • Smart - sf, standalone - a man takes a designer drug and experiences unforeseen effects. (Trifecta 333w challenge)
  • Bothros - capes - The beginning and end of a story in which Fleet and the rest of B Team fight a god. (Geek & Sundry Wordplay prompt)
  • Governance - Capes - Fleet familiarizes the reader with his nemesis, The Speaker. (Parking Lot Confessional 500w Challenge)
  • The Sentinel - fantasy, the sorcerer - The sorcerer meets a ghost. (G&S Wordplay Prompt)
  • Glass Half Empty - sf, Mays Rebbo & Elle - the boys are marooned. Occurs right after 'Tremble' (Parking Lot Confessional 500w Challenge)
  • They Call Me Fleet - capes - our caped superhero's name is explained (Trifecta 333w challenge)
  • Arcology - sf, Olympia - A young couple breaks the rules. (Write At The Merge 500w challenge)
  • Guess What's Coming To Dinner - sf, standalone - A girl's mother disapproves of her date. (Geek & Sundry Wordplay Prompt)
  • Metal Fatigue - sf, standalone - a robot Johnny Appleseed experiences planned obsolescence (Trifecta 333w challenge)
  • Rapture - Capes - our caped superhero gets a name and a partner (Terrible Minds 1000w challenge)
  • We Don't Do Magic - Urban Fantasy Noir - a private detective gets a touchy case (Geek & Sundry Wordplay prompt)
  • The New Amsterdam Vampire Social Club - Fantasy/Horror - A night out for a very old social circle.
  • Your Grandparents - Zombie - a woman tells her child about Z-Day.
  • Boy In The Bubble - SF, standalone - a man wakes up in a strange place (Parking Lot Confessional 500w challenge)
  • Event Zero - SF, standalone - a man is visited by a mad scientist friend with a pressing problem concerning a 'tesseract' (Write At The Merge 500w challenge)
  • Orthodoxy - SF, standalone - a man is rousted by the authorities for being insufficiently pious (Trifecta 333w challenge)
  • Dome 8, Section 17, Level 8, Hatch 124, Knock 5 Times - SF, standalone - a phildickian little story about a 'freak' (Trifecta 333w challenge)
  • Your Money's No Good Here - SF, standalone - a man walks into a bar... (Geek & Sundry Wordplay prompt)
  • White Lie - Fantasy, Eddur - a god walks among the folk (500w challenge)
  • Entrapment - SF, Woolies - a man is held for betraying humanity to their enemy (500w challenge) 
  • Penny - SF, Association - a woman's social status is not what it appears. (500w challenge)
  • Soul - Fantasy, standalone - payment comes due on someone else's debt. (500w challenge)
  • Couples Only - SF, standalone - a young man and woman realize they have something in common after a one-night-stand. (500w challenge)

2012

  • The Fixer - Horror - The friends from Housegest clean up the mess they made (TerribleMinds.com 1000w challenge)
  • Inheritance - Fantasy - a man visits the ghost in his boyhood home (500w challenge)
  • Invasion - SF - a young man with girl troubles meets a woman on a plane who gives him a whole new type of trouble. (TerribleMinds.com 1000w challenge)
  • The Replacement - SF - An alien engineer, new to a ship, proves his worth to the pilot.
  • The Ocean And The Sun - Fantasy, Fire Faction - Aulia and the water-sorcerer come to an arrangement (500w challenge)
  • Never On Sunday - SF - from a story idea given to Theodore Sturgeon by Robert Heinlein: A society where there are no criminal offenses, only civil ones.
  • Bright Stars Gone To Black - SF - A woman reaches the end of the universe (Terrible Minds 1000w challenge)
  • Elemental - Fantasy, Fire & Water - A murder is about to take place, fire against water. (500w challenge)
  • Muddy - Fantasy - Midz-Aset meets a sorcerer, who provides him with something valuable.
  • Transplanted - SF - A Woman doesn't want to accept what she's become. (500w challenge)
  • Looking For Miss July - SF - TerribleMinds.com challenge: Alien Invasion, A Quest For Someone, A Dirty Magazine.
  • Pueblo - SF - A village, considered as a population. (500-word challenge)
  • Like Binky's Ghost - SF - A man tries to find the 'ghost' of his robot. (1000-word challenge)
  • From A Stone - Fantasy - Yink, the magician, digs up a powerful talisman. (500-word challenge)
  • Hubris - Fantasy - TerribleMinds.com Challenge: A gladiator has offended the gods (1000-word challenge)
  • Demotion - SF (Association) - a man learns his position in the world is considerably changed. (500-word challenge)
  • Kroger's - Zombie - A man has an unexpected face-to-face meeting (450-word challenge)
  • Kyllaros - SF, 'Downward To The Waters' Universe - A sailing ship collides with a sea monster. (400-word challenge)
  • Detainee - Horror - A telepath has been imprisoned. (500-word challenge)
  • Deus Ex Machina - Horror - A telepath randomly runs across a serial killer.
  • Dalanzadgad - SF - A man gets ready to leave Earth (450-word challenge)
  • Wendell Millbern Has Two Secrets - SF - A boy and an alien share secrets (500-word challenge)
  • Remote Control - SF - A telepath is brought in to help with a distant situation.
  • After Kaschei - SF. The pilot of a crashed ship seeks to save his co-pilot. (450-word challenge)
  • The Tell-Tale Pulse - SF - An android faces the end. (500-word challenge)
  • Having Been Made - Fantasy - A Vampire goes home (500-word challenge)
  • On The Way Inside - General Fiction - An unspoken truth during lunch. (500-word challenge)
  • Abandon Ship - Zombie - A squad of Marines protects Merritt Island.
  • Tulia - SF, standalone - a 500-word story from a challenge prompt.
  • Chuck's Old Frank - SF - followup to Chuck's New Frank
  • The Dreamlanders - Superhero - The origin story of an unnamed Cape.
  • Shy - Fantasy, standalone - An abused woman hears voices.
  • The Shot - SF, standalone - An astronaut, having saved the world, has to live in it.
  • Last Requests - Zombie Horror - Will he do her one last favor?
  • The Monthall Five - Short standalone horror
  • A Boy And His God - Post-New-Wave story about the Garden of Eden. This is an older story, found it in hardcopy while cleaning up.
  • Patient Zero - Zombie Horror - It begins
  • Equilibrium - SF. A couple wake up to discover the world hasn't ended
  • And Eat It, Too - Zombie Horror - A woman bakes a cake.
  • Houseguest - Horror, standalone - A group of friends has summoned a demon and live to regret it.
  • Modus Vivendi - Fantasy, Midz-Aset - Our favorite dragon sleeps in.

2011

  • Not Being Michael Collins - SF, standalone. The third man on a Mars Mission gets to go for a walk. 
  • Separation - Zombie Horror. Life in an underground shelter wears thin for a young couple.
  • Search and Rescue - Forsythe goes to find an alien on a drug binge.
  • She - SF, standalone. A clone's life.
  • The Woods - Fantasy, standalone. A warrior escapes the clutches of a terrible beast.
  • Attraction - SF, standalone. There's an incident at a theme park with disturbing implications.
  • The Appointment - SF, standalone. Things are not as they seem for an astronaut.
  • There's An Arrow - Zombie Horror. A man discovers he's not the only survivor in his town
  • Parole - SF, 'Association' Universe. A man gets out of prison on an unfamiliar world.
  • Vacancy - Zombie Horror (but more a love story.) A more positive spin on the Girl in 4E situation.
  • The Order Of Things - Fantasy, standalone, another story featuring the sorcerer from Longaminus.

2010

  • The Girl in 4E - Zombie Horror - a bleak story about a survivor in desperate need of something his only human contact can't give him.
  • Chuck's New Frank - SF, standalone, a government agent meets the subject of his first assignment.
  • Baptism - a new start to the Forsythe series.
  • Longaminus - Fantasy, a story about change and how quickly and how slowly it comes.
  • Immersion - SF, a cutesy and not very original little story for which I make no apologies whatsoever. 

2009

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