Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, free fiction, genre fiction, humor, reading, sff, Thoughts on May 30, 2024| Leave a Comment »
The news, man, it can be heavy. If you’re in the market for lighter reads, put these short stories from Reactor (f.k.a. Tor.com, why are so many sites changing their names these days? like we don’t all have enough to keep track of) on your list.
Six Seriously Funny Speculative Short Stories – Reactor
Haven’t read them all yet but I’m looking forward to it. For even more recommendations, scroll down to the page’s comment section. Readers have thoughts.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #wotf39, Arthur H. Manners, Dreamforge, free fiction, genre fiction, Writers, Writers of the Future on March 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »
More excellent free science fiction, this time by my friend Arthur H. Manners in Dreamforge.
I was feeding the cuttlefish when a newsreader announced that the Children had crossed the heliopause. My stomach sank as I turned up the TV and watched the newsreader refer to a grainy image in the corner of the screen. All our best telescopes could see of the Children’s starship was a fuzzy white dot sailing into the abyss beyond the edge of the solar system.
“They were serious. They’re actually leaving,” I said.
The cuttlefish could see me talking. A few of them used their chameleon-like skin to conjure yellow haloes on top of their heads.
:: ? ::
I switched on the translator pad strapped to my chest. “Ah guys, where do I even start?”
Filled with science and humanity, a little heartbreak and a lot of hope, this is a great short story by a terrific writer and all-around good human.
I know I’m a little biased, but seriously, my Writers of the Future cohort is the best.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, free fiction, genre fiction, science fiction, sff, Writers, writing on March 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Today only (well, yesterday and today, for any time travelers out there)!
Free free free book giveaway from a wide array of science fiction authors. I heard about it through Krista D. Ball, another SFCanada member who is part of the event.
Here’s the main link: Sci-fi Book Blast March 15 – 16, 2024
Books available in the following categories: Adventure, Alien Invasion, Colonization, Crime & Mystery, Cyberpunk, Dystopian, First Contact, Galactic Empire, Humor, Military, Post-Apocalyptic, Short Story Anthologies, Space Opera, Time Travel
Note: it does say to be sure to check that the link is free because database updates don’t always work like they should, and I did run across a few that were either not free or not available. That said, there are over a hundred books in the list so lots to choose from.
I ended last night in a bit of a funk because I 1) finished my book, and 2) the ending was disappointing as hell. Was it supposed to be a dramatic climax and just fizzled, or was the author so committed to his (also annoying) cliffhanger that he decided to just bypass the climax altogether? Ugh.
Either way, I am very much in the market for a new book and new authors, so this giveaway is excellent timing. Hope you find something you like!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, free fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Writers, writing on March 4, 2024| Leave a Comment »
The award-winning SFF magazine Clarkesworld recently released their Best Of 2023 list based on reader votes. While I don’t always love every Best Of story out there, I do like using those lists as starting points to explore new and interesting writers.
If you do too, check out the top 3 short stories and longer-form works.
Editor’s Desk: The Best from 2023
Best Novelette/Novella
3rd Place: “Imagine: Purple-Haired Girl Shooting Down the Moon” by Angela Liu (novelette)
2nd Place: “Light Speed Is Not a Speed” by Andy Dudak (novelette)
2023 Winner: “To Sail Beyond the Botnet” by Suzanne Palmer (novella)
Best Short Story
3rd Place: “Window Boy” by Thomas Ha
2nd Place: “Day Ten Thousand” by Isabel J. Kim
2023 Winner: “Better Living Through Algorithms” by Naomi Kritzer
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Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, books, free fiction, genre fiction, Mars, movies, Writers on February 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »
In a recent chat with my mother, I mentioned that I thought she would enjoy the movie version of The Martian. I don’t know if she was convinced by my sales pitch: “An astronaut is stranded alone on Mars and has to find a way home before he dies a horrible death. It’s hilarious!” but I hope she’ll watch it.
Andy Weir’s book is also a lot of fun. It was published ten years ago this month, and to celebrate he wrote a new chapter and shared it with us all.
Enjoy!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, Escape Pod, evil ice cream carts, free fiction, genre fiction, more weaponized food, scifi, sff, short stories, speculative fiction, Writers, writing on February 1, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I have mentioned a story called “The T-4200” on this site in posts before. Originally published at Andromeda Spaceways Magazine in 2017 (yay), it was not available online (so sad!).
Until now.
That’s right, the good folks at Escape Pod looked at this goofy sci-fi adventure featuring a beleaguered civil servant just trying to do the right thing, dimension-hopping animals, and murderous ice cream carts and said, “Yes, please.”
(Fine, I may have added the “please.”)
The thing about Escape Pod is that they are an audio magazine. Because they also publish the transcript, this story (all 9,000 or so words of it), is now available in both audio and text formats.
Which means that you, fair reader (or listener!) are now able to sample the delights of this story for yourself.
Enjoy the audio performance or read the transcript at Escape Pod.
Escape Pod 923: The T-4200 (Part 1 of 2)
Escape Pod 924: The T-4200 (Part 2 of 2)
I had a great time with this story. Hope you do too!
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #wotf39, free fiction, genre fiction, short stories, Writers, Writers of the Future, writing on January 31, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Today, I’m happy to share a lovely short story from friend and fellow Writers of the Future alum Elaine Midcoh.
Papa’s (Not) Gone – MetaStellar
Later, people wondered why I didn’t cry.
It cheered me up. I hope it does you, too.
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, creativity, free fiction, future, genre fiction, hope, inspiration, short stories, Writers on January 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Released today, Grist’s Imagine 2200 contest brings new, more hopeful, visions of the future.
Imagine 2200: The 2024 climate fiction contest collection | Grist
Grist’s Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors short story contest celebrates stories that offer vivid, hope-filled, diverse visions of climate progress. From 1,000 submissions, our reviewers and judges selected the three winners and nine finalists you will discover in this collection. These stories are not afraid to explore the challenges ahead, but offer hope that we can work together to build a more sustainable and just world. Through rich characters, lovingly sketched settings, and gripping plots, they welcome you into futures that celebrate who we are and what we can become — and, we hope, inspire you to work toward them.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, free fiction, genre fiction, Thoughts, Writers on January 12, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Bright sun, blue skies, and the sense of a storm looming just below the horizon. I’m working, watching and waiting, and maybe this latest unpredictable system will blow past us without much fuss. Or maybe, like many of you, we’ll find ourselves in the middle of an Arctic blast buried beneath many centimeters of snow.
While we wait to see how this latest example of Nature’s power manifests, here’s another dose of free fiction.
Download the Tor.com November/December 2023 Short Fiction Bundle
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Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #wotf39, free fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Writers, Writers of the Future, writing on January 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Good news, fellow seekers of good fiction, my fellow Writer of the Future David Hankins has made his award-winning story “Death and the Taxman” available free for this week only! If you haven’t already read it in Writers of the Future Volume 39, I highly recommend it.
The story is funny, well-written, and the springboard for his upcoming novel (I supported the highly-successful Kickstarter; the book will be widely released on Tax Day because David’s sense of timing is as on point as his humor!).
Enjoy!
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J.R. Johnson 
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