PUMPKINS!
Brought to you by your friendly neighborhood pumpkin patch.
September: A Month in Words
Also known as “I’m 23 books behind my goal, but something’s better than nothing,” or, “The year of DSF.”
“The Vanishing Girl” by Michael T. Banker
“Ebb and Flow” by LaShawn M. Wanak
“When the Selkie Comes” by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley
“Artist’s Retrospective” by David D. Levine
“Tunnel Vision” by Zach Shephard
“The Witch’s Cat” by Kalisa Ann Lessnau
“The Velveteen Rabbit Says Goodbye” by Melissa Mead
“Worldbuilding” by Alex Shvartsman
“Finally Free” by Frances Silversmith
“The Gifts: Part One” by Mari Ness
“The Gifts: Part Two” by Mari Ness
“The Gifts: Part Three” by Mari Ness
Oh, Deer
For the past several weeks, we’ve had a pair of deer traipsing up our driveway, sleeping under the mimosa, and picking crabapples from our neighbors’ trees. We think it’s a doe and her baby. This evening, we spotted the larger one in the backyard so I snuck outside to get a few shots. She crossed the pasture next door and vanished into the brush.
In the five years we’ve lived here, we have only seen the occasional deer and they would always sprint off. These two have been hanging around all summer, watching us, easing closer to us. I’m thrilled I was able to catch one before they decide to move on.
“Duval Street” Now Available on Smashwords and Amazon
A widower goes for a stroll through Old Town and stumbles across something more bizarre than himself.
This story first appeared in Shock Totem, issue #3 (January 2011) and was on the long list of honorable mentions for editor Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year.
My short story, “Duval Street,” is now available for free at Smashwords in a variety of formats. If you’re feeling generous, you can also get a copy from Amazon for 99 cents. (Is that too high for something less than a couple thousand words? Will anyone bother when it’s free elsewhere? Will Amazon eventually match the price? Let’s find out!) If you do splurge on it, consider leaving a review — be honest! — and I’ll send you cookies and happy cat pictures.
Don’t forget, you can always find it in the third issue of Shock Totem alongside stories by Amanda C. Davis, Aaron Polson, John Skipp, and more. Support them. They’re good people.
August: A Month in Words
I swear I’ll post something besides these lists soon. In the meantime …
“In Dreams” by Jeremy Erman
“Seaweed” by Mari Ness
“Nova Verba, Mundus Novus” by Ken Liu
“Hiking in My Head” by Gareth D Jones
“Memories of Forgetting” by Kenneth S Kao
“Recognition” by Bill Glover
“An Impossible Matter” by Sylvia Anna Hiven
“Tomorrow Is Winter” by Callie Snow
“The Traveling Raven Problem” by Ian Watson
“For Long Days to Come” by K. Allen Wood
“And It’ll Haunt Me (For Long Days to Come)” by K. Allen Wood
“Love Is Orange, Love Is Red” by Eric James Stone
“A Crown of Woven Nails” by Caroline M. Yoachim
“Flip Side” by Chip Houser
“Join Our Team of Time Travel Professionals” by Sarah Pinsker
July: A Month in Words
July was not a good month, for reading or for life. *slinks back into her hole*
Pacific Rim: The Official Movie Novelization by Alex Irvine
“Super-Parents Last All Childhood Long” by Erica L. Satifka
“Squeak” by Emma Osborne
“Theories of Pain” by Rose Lemberg
“The Flight Stone” by KJ Kabza
“Of Ash and Old Dreams” by Sarah Grey
“Scramble!” by Melissa Mead
“Bedtime Stories” by Jayson Sanders
“Portal Worlds and Your Child: A Parent’s Guide (With Examples)” by Matt Mikalatos
“Remembrance” by David G. Uffelman
June: A Month in Words
“Three Wishes” by Melissa Mead
“Pictures in Crayon” by Elizabeth Shack
“True Love” by Alex Shvartsman
“Airship Hope” by Laurel Amberdine
“Chasing Unicorns” by Terra LeMay
“How to Talk to Girls at Parties” by Neil Gaiman
“Jumping into the Sky” by Samantha Murray
“Curing Day” by Dustin Adams
“City of Chrysanthemum” by Ken Liu
“The Silver Witch” by Tara Calaby
“Big Bad’s Hot Date” by Melissa Mead
“Holy Diver” by Grá Linnaea
Unicorn Western by Johnny B. Truant and Sean Platt
“All Kinds to Make a World” by Georgina Bruce
“Dark, Beautiful Force” by Jessica May Lin
“Pinned and Wriggling on the Wall” by Usman T Malik
“Such Days Deserved” by Lee Hallison