"And All the Tribes of the Earth Shall Mourn" at Mythic Delirium

Mythic Delirium returns with, among many others, my story "And All the Tribes of the Earth Shall Mourn," in which a man fails to understand other people's religious ecstasy, and also McDonald's.

UFO 3 Out Now!

The grand and hopefully long-standing traditional annual UFO anthology is out early!  My story, "Why I Bought Satan Two Cokes on the Day I Graduated High School," can be read there, along with a lot of other very funny stories by people more famous and better at writing than I am.

You can buy it at Amazon or (eventually, I presume) from the UFO Publishing page.

"Roundabout" at IGMS

My borderline-sociopath-versus-evil-elder-god-of-the-U.S.-highway-system story is up at Intergalactic Medicine Show, right here.  And no more paywall over yonder, either!

"The Shallows" at Toasted Cake

So if you aren't listening to Tina Connolly's Toasted Cake podcast, first, you should do that, so go ahead.  I'll wait.  They're short, mostly.

You can then listen to the newest episode, which features "The Shallows," originally published at Flash Fiction Online.  :-)

Stonebones at BCS

Stonebones is currently available at Beneath Ceaseless Skies for Science Fantasy Month!  Hooray for dead dragons and guns that don't work!

"Silver and Copper, Iron and Ash" at Pseudopod

My contribution to the Coins of Chaos anthology, "Silver and Copper, Iron and Ash," is now a lovely podcast from the lovely crew at Pseudopod.  As ever, I hope you all enjoy it.

"Sticks and Stones" is at Crossed Genres!

I have a real fondness for this story, just because I personally love the high concept of it.  (Well, I mean, obviously I like the ideas in my stories or I wouldn't have written about them, but I particularly like this one.)  It's an older tale and is definitely on the highest number of "almost but not quite" responses I've gotten for any story.  (I haven't crunched the numbers, but I know it's up there, if not actual top dog.)  I'm not going to talk more about it so as to avoid thpoilerth.  ;-)

The link is here.  Go and enjoy, please! 

"Enginesong" at BCS and a belated "The Alchemist's Children" at Cast of Wonders

Enginesong is available for viewing at Beneath Ceaseless Skies.  Remember: Trains ain't got legs.

And if you need something a little more light-hearted after that, The Alchemist's Children is available at Cast of Wonders.  Featuring common-sense solutions for common problems such as werewolfism and draconic tendencies.  D3STROY ALL HUM4NS!

"Nemesis" at Escape Pod

I have been very bad this week, for which I apologize.  To make up for it, how do you feel about a full-length audio and text superhero story?  Featuring Atom Boy, high school, and the healing power of attention deficit disorder, it's Nemesis over at Escape Pod.


(Yes, I'm the Assistant Editor there now.  I wasn't when I submitted the story, I swear.)

"All at Once" at Journey Into...

Marshal Latham runs the very worthwhile "Journey Into..." podcast, featuring older pulp serial shows and new short fiction from a variety of authors. He recently ran All at Once, which was originally posted both here at Mirrorshards and at Loren Eaton's "Six Birds" writing event. I just realized that I forgot to tell you all.

So go check it out! It's a fun 'cast.

"Otto's Beard" at Liquid Imagination

So that old weird bit of flash fiction that ran here a couple of years ago has been published (for money, even) at Liquid Imagination, Issue 12.

I enjoyed writing that story far too much.

Beware of men with beards.

"Boll Weevil" Redux

My story from Parsec Ink's Triangulation: Last Contact anthology has been reprinted as part of Trifecta XX over at the Drabblecast. Go check it out! Let Norm Sherman's Jack-Nicholsonian purr lull you into a false sense of security...

Bet You Anything

Greetings and salutations, shardies!  I have returned from the depths of Influenza.  To make up for my absence this past week, I have written for you a 1000-word story - TEN drabbles for the price of one!  Hope you enjoy it!


There may be sporadic interruptions in service over the next several weeks, as my wife will be giving birth to our first child sometime around February 12.  I'll try to toss a note up on the site when that happens so you can distinguish it from the usual interruptions in service due to laziness and forgetfulness.


ttfn
Nathan

---

The argument had been going on for what felt like hours.  They'd been at it when I came in, and they were still going three and a half beers later.  I was trying out a new bar, since I knew Vicki would be at The Rooster with all of her (formerly our) friends.

"The hell it is!"  That was the one in the raincoat, with the voice like gravel.

"I swear.  You think I don't know?"  His friends voice was almost squeaky, like a cartoon character.  It set my teeth on edge just to hear it.

"I'll bet you anything it isn't."

"Anything?"

"You name it, I'll bring it."

"You're on."

"Because you're totally wrong!"

"Bet me I am.  I dare you."

"Well..."

"You don't have the guts."

I couldn't take it one second longer. 

Terrible Lizard King at Allegory

"Terrible Lizard King," originally featured as an audio podcast at Pseudopod, is now available in text at Allegory E-zine.

I would just like to note, apropos of nothing, that the unsolicited reprint market for stuff that's already been in audio is really, really rough. I regard Allegory as being something akin to conservationists working to protect an endangered species. At least give them a few extra eyeballs this month!

"In Spite of Himself" at Journey Into...

So a while back, Marshal Latham (who does a lot of volunteer work around the Escape Artists podcasts and the Drabblecast, and whom I thus encounter on a daily basis) decided to start up his own podcast, featuring a mix of old radio serials and new flash fiction. He asked me for what I had lying around, and I sent him some flash bits. He decided to run "In Spite of Himself," which was a humorous superhero bit I originally tossed up here on Mirrorshards.

If you remember it fondly, go hear it reimagined in full sensory surround sound! (Not really.) If you don't remember it, I don't blame you. Go listen to Marshal's podcast! He's got the Shadow, he's got Ray Bradbury, he's got Dave Thompson, inimitable editor of Podcastle with the friendliest NPR-esque voice I know. It's good times.

"The Cowboy, the Horse, and the Scorpion" at the Journal of Unlikely Entomology

My story The Cowboy, the Horse, and the Scorpion is now available at the Journal of Unlikely Entomology.

Thus far, it is the only story featuring Vincent and Horse that I have written, but I was seriously toying with the idea of doing more standalone pieces, set at various points in Vincent's personal timeline. (Vincent is an updated version of the protagonist of my unbelievably crappy and hopefully eternally unpublished novella, but I might raid that story for a plot to write a shorter, tighter piece, for instance.)

What do you nice folks think? More Vincent, or leave it be?

"Concrete" at Abyss & Apex

My short story Concrete is now available from Abyss & Apex, of whom you may heard. I'm quite proud of getting in there, actually; it's definitely a feather in my cover letter cap, as far as I'm concerned.

Huzzah!

The Gaze of the Crowd

A 200-worder today, but I couldn't resist the challenge laid out by the fine ladies at Pendragon Variety. Here it is: a story about a healer named Fabio. Enjoy!

---

Elsie gasped on the pavement. She saw the car speed around the corner and disappear, a hit and run.

"Rest easy," said a soft voice by her ear. Warm hands cradled her and wiped away the pain. She opened her eyes. She'd know that face anywhere, familiar from hundreds of romance covers.

"Fabio!?"

"Shh." His hands were glowing blue and, where they touched, her cuts healed before her eyes.

"I don't understand..." she said.

"It is my duty as a sacred Healer. Shush now. I must work quickly, before anyone else arrives."

"But how can you do... that? Do magic?" Elsie found it hard to do anything other than relax into his touch. It was so soothing.

"There are not many of us," said Fabio. "Myself, Paris, Jamie Lynn, for a while. The adoration of the masses brings power, but most dilute it and divert it into other skills and talents. Only those of us who have pure fame can truly channel this energy."

Abruptly, Fabio's head snapped up.

"I must go. They have found me again."

"Who?" cried Elsie, almost weeping as his touch left her.

"Paparazzi."

Elsie heard a sound like the howling of wolves in the distance.

"Metastasis" at Cast Macabre

Metastasis is available for your listening pleasure at Cast Macabre, operated by the indomitable Barry J. Northern, whose own fiction has appeared at Pseudopod and Flashes in the Dark.

Take a gander and, if you like it there, stick around. I listened to their whole backlog while cleaning house last month and found several definite gems in the stories. (My personal favorite remains "The Tiger Machine," even with my own story up.) Their Blogspot site has like ten more followers than me, so we can totally gang up on them. Get 'em, guys!

Free Flash Fiction!

My ill-fated flash fiction story "The Lights In-Between" is currently at 365 Tomorrows, where they pay nothing and charge nothing. Since I wrote it for free anyway and I give away more words than that in a week, I don't much mind. Check 'em out, y'all!