Full List of Essays & Fiction
Fiction
You Blink
How would you spend the long years in prison, inching toward Exile Day, in a future where execution has been replaced by a procedure to induce complete and permanent amnesia?
Love Is a Verb
Life is what happens… love is what we do when it does.
The Gifted Sommelier
An undead sommelier’s job never ends, finding and serving the vintages that help the dead pass on to the other side. But one mystery eludes him: the identity of the proprietor of the hotel of the dead. Can he help her find peace after centuries in purgatory?
Girl, Woman, Gull, Sea
In her dream she stands halfway across a concrete dam… Nothing can make her go back.
Brightcheeks and Brokenhand
Conscripted into preparing sacrificial virgins for the town’s local dragon, Din the alchemist has never been much of a hero. But when Cal the aspiring dragonslayer shows up with a harebrained scheme to infiltrate the dragon’s lair, he may not have a choice.
A Whole Leaf, Dark and Red
A story of loss seen from the five-year-old mind, when the wall between magic and mundane is still porous.
In Which Archibald Wiggers Deeply Regrets His Second Trip to Manfred Mussholm’s Curio Shop in the Woods
Archie gets more than he bargained for when he and his little pet Lola go to stock up on her favorite treats.
In Which Liz Builds a Robot with Unexpected Results
Liz loves to tinker with mechanical things—but her latest creation seems to have a mind of its own.
Pathapathy
A fleeting encounter sends a laid-back guitarist on an obsessive quest for more.
To Save Fragile Things from the Pounding of Heavy Ages
Beth hosts a niche science show with a modest audience. When a representative from the National Office of Truth in Media (part of the president’s War on Misinformation) comes on board to help edit scripts, ratings soar. But she soon realizes this help isn’t what it seems, and might just have devastating consequences for her own family and the country.
Death Comes for Maggie McDaniel
Love can be a hard thing when you have to hide it from the world.
The Message Between the Words
After a lifetime of self-imposed loneliness, a reclusive cargo pilot gets a second chance when her ship picks up a mysterious droplet.
Time Travel Is a Voodoo Rite
It seems all gears and gadgets and the innards of physics, but the truth is surprising.
Putting Down Roots
Laru’s grown up on a space station, dreaming of sunsets and unexpected rains. At last she’s been tapped for her first planetside mission.
More Real Than Flesh
In an augmented world where perfect beauty is the new normal, real bodies attract a certain kind of client—and Petch has paid the price long enough.
A Puddle of Dead
Fifteen years ago, Mia’s great love left her to chase a different high. She moved on with her life… until Henry shows up one night at her door.
Essays
#TheStoryBehind: Love Is a Verb
In this series, I describe the inspiration behind my stories. I recommend you read the story before reading this post.
Capitalism Is How Assholes Say Playground and Democracy Is Clueless Straight Dudes Choosing Your Footwear
There will always be assholes: people who think they’re inherently more entitled than others, people who view the world as their personal playgrounds, people who maximize their own pleasure with no thought for collateral damage. I’m pretty sure that unbridled capitalism enables these people to do maximum harm.
#TheStoryBehind: Time Travel Is a Voodoo Rite
In this series, I describe the inspiration behind my stories. I recommend you read the story before reading this post.
The Water We Swim In: Ambient Culture as a Shaper of Belief
I’ve lived in Europe for almost fifteen years. One thing it’s taught me firsthand is the crucial role the ambient culture plays in people’s beliefs and actions.
Stop Saying That
This is part of what fucked up the 2016 election, people.
Review: The Red Turtle (Film)
Either my google-fu has abandoned me, or I am, in fact, the only person who was disappointed by The Red Turtle.
Baby Got Bonus: Beeminding Your Way to Awesome
In 2014 I found a productivity tool that would change the way I view progress on my goals.
Anatomy of a Fantasy Magazine Submission
A riveting tale of obsessive rejectomancy.
Translations
A sample of my past work is accessible here.