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Posts Tagged ‘free’

You’ve Gotta Go On Living

Posted in Entertainment, Funny, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

So there I was, submitting a story to Daily Science Fiction, when I stumbled upon “Shark’s Teeth” by T.A. Pratt. Now, I wasn’t planning to post this or any other DSF story because I didn’t want anyone (hello DSF editors!) to think I was sucking up, but hey, it’s a fun story. It also put me onto Pratt’s Marla Mason series, and I love finding new worlds to explore.

Marla Mason, sorcerer in exile, looked over the railing of the balcony, down at the lavish resort hotel’s pool with its swim-up bar and tanned, happy people lounging on chairs, and thought, I can’t take another day of this.

“I can’t take another day of this,” she said aloud…

Time to stock up on lembas a.k.a. chocolate chip cookies (my exploring food of choice, feel free to substitute as necessary!) and find a copy of Marla’s introductory novel, the 2007 Blood Engines🙂

Enjoy!

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Welcome to My Day Off… With Fiction

Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 25, 2016| Leave a Comment »

I don’t know about you but (for fairly uncomplicated reasons involving a working weekend) I’m taking at least part of today off. I plan to read. A lot. I plan to read stories like Caroline Yoachim’s recent piece “Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station | Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0“, available free to all at Lightspeed Magazine.

Enjoy!

🍁

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Lovely Libraries

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 20, 2016| 1 Comment »

Last week was National Library Week in the U.S. I’m coming to it late* but as far as I’m concerned, most weeks should involve a library:) Why, you may ask? So many reasons! And for those of us North of the Border, stay tuned because October is Canadian Library Month!

Without libraries what have we? We have no past and no future.
— Ray Bradbury

NLW-banner_0

 

* I blame a hectic work schedule but mostly the glorious backlog of library books on my shelves, just waiting to be read:)

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The Balance in Blood

Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Today’s free fiction selection is Elizabeth Bear’s “And the Balance in Blood,” from the November/December 2015 issue of Uncanny.

Bear writes both novels and terrific, frequently magical shorts.* (“Tideline,” a 2008 Hugo award-winner from Asimov’s Science Fiction, holds a special place in my heart, but the text version isn’t freely available [audio link at Escape Pod].)

If you’re curious about Bear’s other works or where to start with her (many) series, check out Tor.com’s helpful article Where To Start with the Work of Elizabeth Bear.

Enjoy!

* Also, what a great pen name. Makes me want to write as Jennifer Okapi or Swan or Fossa:)

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Haldeman’s “None So Blind”

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 11, 2016| Leave a Comment »

For today’s dose of free fiction we have a short story by Joe Haldeman. Haldeman is a Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inductee (2012), author of The Forever War and many, many other works, and retired MIT writing professor.

“None So Blind” won the Locus and Hugo Awards for 1995’s best short story, and first appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.

Enjoy!

 

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Free Fiction Monday

Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

For today’s sampling of free fiction we have a novelette by the great Connie Willis.

“Fire Watch” is anchored in a future where time travel is a research tool, and features the same group of historians as in Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog. (This novelette is #0.5 in the Oxford Time Travel series.)

Welcome to a world where your academic practicum might include saving a beloved church during the London Blitz. Heck, I wish my History degree had come with a side of time travel:)

Enjoy!

 

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Non-Zero Fiction

Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on March 21, 2016| Leave a Comment »

 

Ever feel like things just aren’t going your way? My free fiction selection for the day is “Non-Zero Probabilities” by N. K. Jemisin (Clarkesworld, September 2009) ~3400 words.

This 2009 Nebula Award Nominee and 2010 Hugo Award Nominee introduces us to a new New York City, one in which the rules of probability have dramatically changed, and only sometimes for the better:

In the mornings, Adele girds herself for the trip to work as a warrior for battle. First she prays, both to the Christian god of her Irish ancestors and to the orishas of her African ancestors — the latter she is less familiar with, but getting to know. Then she takes a bath with herbs, including dried chickory and allspice, from a mixture given to her by the woman at the local botanica. (She doesn’t know Spanish well, but she’s getting to know that too. Today’s word is suerte.)

…

Enjoy!

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Anthologies – The Tomorrow Project

Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 14, 2016| Leave a Comment »

The goal of the Tomorrow Project is to use science fiction to “spark conversations about the future.” This international project taps ideas from today’s emerging technologies, including synthetic biology, nanotechnology, and 3D printing, and spins out possible impacts on future society.

The good news is that it’s not all killer AIs and artificial plagues:) As they so succinctly put it,

Science fiction is a way to think about how we want the future to be.

Anthology Titles:

Enjoy, fellow futurists!

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Damage & Up and Coming

Posted in Entertainment, Likes, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 7, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Today we have a double dose of free fiction! The first comes from David D. Levine at Tor.com:

“Damage” is a tale of desperate times, desperate measures, and the inner life of a fighter spacecraft.

This thoughtful short story of a ship and its master has been nominated for the 2015 Nebula Awards. (If you liked Ann Leckie’s Ancillary trilogy I imagine this could appeal to you as well.) For more on the stories selected for this year’s Nebulas, including select links to full-text versions, check out the complete list of nominees.

The second dose is more like a raging river. Up and Coming is a collection of works by authors eligible for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2016, and is now available for free download. That’s over a million words of fiction!

The anthology is free free free but only until March 31. Get it while it’s available and enjoy:)

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Free Fiction, Also Leap Day

Posted in Entertainment, Likes, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 29, 2016| Leave a Comment »

26 Monkeys, Also The Abyss, by Kij Johnson (no relation:)

Winner of the 2009 World Fantasy Award.
Winner of the 2008 Asimov’s magazine Readers Award for best short story.
Final ballot, 2008 Hugo Award.
Final ballot, 2008 Nebula Award.
Mentioned on Locus Magazine’s 2008 Recommended Reading list.
Read by Diane Severson as a charming audio reading at StarShipSofa.com.

This lovely story is subtle but with great atmosphere, and the ending packs a punch. Find more of Kij’s fiction and poetry on her website.

Happy Leap Day, and enjoy!

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