All of the short stories listed below are fiction pieces that I have previously published in other venues. Now that first rights have expired, I’ve reprinted them here for anyone to read for free, if they wish, with full credit given to the original publications.
Deserted Lies the City
That night, as they watched New Nazareth burn from their little ridge up in the mountains, Elon asked, “Did I do that?”
“—Good.”
He says, “But I’m dying,” like it’s the answer to everything, like he thinks I’ll disagree.
John Kills Jenny
John sweats beneath the wires that entangle his head and transmit images and words directly to his brain. Soft restraints encase each limb, band his torso. Another thick bar around the neck. Only his right hand can move—to touch the adjacent console panel. Four buttons nestle into its metal surface, a series of differently-coloured squares labelled A, B, C, D.
Ice Cream and English Summers
Six months pregnant, and I should have been happy. Six words to fire me, and I should have been angry. Instead, I drifted in a fugue. Spring faded, summer swelled, and our lives were falling apart.
This Song Is Dedicated to the End of the World
The End The city sprawls like a dropped jigsaw, fractured lines running through broken architecture. Sewers overflow and drown the streets in filthy water. The world is only ending, as it sometimes does. In the midst of this nauseating collapse sits the remains of the Bright Lights Arts Centre, which used to be named the Bright Lights…
English