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Recent Publications
Ophelia the Commuter has been accepted by Flashshot to be published in a forthcoming edition.

New Story!

Why it was nice last Saturday morning (1600)
Three rain clouds sat in a café, huddled around cups of tea. Their collective bulk meant they had the room completely to themselves.
“I’m sick of all this bloating,” said the first rain cloud.

How lucky we are to live in an age of fame (2700)
Lord Sedge of Troy made the following observation to his companion Sir Drake Baldy as they sat together on a fine wooden veranda, enjoying a summer evening of thumping heat and crickets.

Will you come to meet me? Aye love, by and by... (2400)
Sophie wasn't in the mood to hear what the leaves had to say, even though by lashing through them in long angry strides she was in a sense asking for an opinion. They spoke volumes too, monotonous, patronising, as if the ghost of her mother was following two steps behind and disapproving of absolutely everything, even the way she planted her feet on the forest path. Sophie frowned and kicked harder. Leaves scattered like young flames.

Absinthe (5600) - Listen to it in a podcast!
I put the thought out of my mind. Simeon was gone. I'd sent her away, denounced her. All the absinthe in the world wouldn’t cure that. It was a ‘truth’, as Simeon would say.
You are not a liar, she had whispered once.
“Green Fairy,” I cried, “what have I done?”
But there was a time when I was not alone, wasn’t there?

Madorea! Madorea! We cried and you came (7000) - The lifeboat had been drifting for days when it entered a dense fog. Suddenly, the world shrank to a grey bubble no wider than a man’s outstretched hands. Even the length of the craft became draped in wet veils and turning aft from where he sat by the prow, Kelso watched the boat’s three other occupants turn filmy and sink into shadow as if they’d already passed into death.

What a life death is (4300) - Life was rather confusing for Henry Bilburn after he died. For one, there was the over-powering smell of sulphur, as if a mountain range of eggs had been left to rot. Second, he noticed he was still dressed in the suit and tie in which he’d been buried.

Purgit's Relationship brings Help (2500) - "You know what this means, right?” Bickman gushed to his partner as they hurried down the corridor. “We can publish!”
Garland shot him a look.
“Just think of it. Dr’s Ray Garland and Joel Bickman, winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for Mathematics…”

The Last Ant (1800) - The last ant on planet Earth waggled its thin antennae from the end of Sky Marshal Hill's finger. Hill interpreted it as a sign of defeat and smiled. He watched as a black leg was raised, stretched into empty space and then withdrawn.
There’s no escape that way either, the Sky Marshal grinned.

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My Life on Silicon (1000) - I had a friend over for dinner the other night. As usually happens when two guys get together, the conversation started rotating in narrower circles exhausting things like girl problems, good car deals and recent movies, eventually settling into the geeky realm of computer one-upmanship. No wonder we were single.

[I AM A BUTTERFLY] (1500) - I don’t feel well. It’s nothing physical, at least I don’t think it is. It’s more in my head. I can’t remember things…events, names even small stuff. For example, if I focus on the last meal I had, I can tell you what was on my plate: peas, ham, mashed potatoes, apple butter, some carrots done in brown sugar and over-boiled broccoli.

Antarctica Starts Here (6300) - The south ice wall rose in a chaotic wave of mud, boulders and wreckage like the front end of a ship that had ploughed full steam into a city block and carried everything forward in a tangled mess. Tannin couldn’t actually see the ice. It was worming its way behind the terminal moraine, lifeless and unstoppable, a vast dead weight settling across the planet like so much spilt paint. The ice would win. There was no doubt.

The death you read about in the paper (5343) - Marcello’s death was accidental. It’s what I told his mother, what I told the police and what I am telling you. I know you have your own opinions, and you’re welcome to them. Do you think it makes a difference to me what you think? Would you be surprised if I told you it does? Well then, be surprised: it does. Marcello’s death was accidental. Believe it.

Master's Voice (1300) - These days you have to be holistic about things. You have to take the right and left, the up and down into consideration. Everything has an opinion and that’s cool, it’s the way it should be. ‘Voice’, that’s what we’re all about, giving voice when it isn’t easy to speak. The way we see it, if Master’s Voice didn’t step up and shout, who would?

Suburbia (1100) - That’s some hole.
Yeah, they weren’t lying. Anyone know how deep it is?
Nope. Can’t see the bottom though, so I’d guess pretty deep. Must be about ten feet across though, wouldn’t you say?

Meat! (1700) - He’d said it wouldn’t hurt.
He’d said she’d be the last, that when everything else was gone, he would come to her and she’d know it was her turn. The swimming pool, that’s where it would happen. But when she considered it, where it happened was a moot point. The kitchen, the shower, while she was asleep, it wasn't important. Only two things really mattered: he’d said she’d be the last, and most important, he’d said it wouldn’t hurt.

Grimalkin the Homewrecker (2264) - “Oh trust me. None of this was my idea,” said Grimalkin the cat as he returned to the refrigerator in search of a fresh can of tuna. Working the can opener with paws was clumsy, but eventually the top yielded to a well placed nail. A fishy ammonia smell drifted across the kitchen. Margaret wrinkled her nose from the far side of the counter, still holding her car keys and purse, her expression a mixture of fear and bafflement. Obviously, something quite extraordinary had happened while she was at work.

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All I Want for Christmas is a Friggin' Zing-poodle (4000) - Bill pushed his brows together. “A zing-poodle.”
“Yup. A zing-poodle.”
“That’s what she wants?”
Grace shook her head and pointed at the magazine. “More than wants. Needs. She’s been talking about it and nothing else for weeks now.”

What Price Solitude? (3400) - It was a graceless shape, more falling out of the sky than flying. Anyone standing on the ground watching would assume it was on a one way trip to oblivion, hurtling needle point down like a dart levelled at the planet’s surface.

Seasons After the Ball (2400) - "Once upon at time, Cinderella decided to get sick. Court life, after the initial excitement of her marriage to Prince Charming, had become dull and routine. She saw less of her friends than she would have liked and more of her relatives. Conversations were wearisome."

The Stylite is Broken (7074) - Jackie Wallace was one of those guys…how should I put it?
- The kind who wears novelty ties?
- Yeah. That just about sums it up really. A guy who wears novelty ties. You know, dead fish, Daffy Duck, stuff like that. A joker. The kind of guy that tells you to pull his finger…

A Simple Trick With Paper (2400) - Immediately upon entering, Miguel Goya knew he should leave. The smell of the café was no less oppressive than the rain outside. The atmosphere filled him, choking his lungs the same way the rain had tried to drown him on the streets. It was memories.

Conversation with M. Gaurmont (3900) - "Of course, we didn't realise at the time that it was strange to keep exotic birds," said M. Gaurmont by way of explanation. I smiled and followed his gaze over the iron terrace like one of the finches that darted from our table with stolen crumbs.

Long Stony Beach (3700) - 1959. A house by the sea. A long stony beach. Morgan clicked the lever clockwise to Play. Once again the scene moved in front of him through a pool of dust. 1959. A house by the sea. A long stony beach. And then a man...

Lonely Woman (294) - You've seen her picture. You can tell she has no friends. It's that look, that far away, needy impatience behind her eyes. She might be smiling, but her real feelings are sitting there like a ghost, barely visible, transparent, haunting.

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Hair (156) - The woman behind the counter does have extraordinarily bushy nostrils, doesn't she? Still, can't all be perfect.

Ducks (622) - "Heads up. Toads." The other ducks turned a quick eye up the path. Sure enough, a group of frogs was approaching in a jumbled heap. "Great timing," whined a tired mallard.

Tarkus Collection (3400) - On the opening day of the Tarkus Collection, Cable Simmons walked into the bank and withdrew his entire life savings.

Yoshimi Says No! (570 words) - Yoshimi said, "No!" And when Yoshimi said No! Yoshimi meant...No!

The Trainer (7200 words) - Stuffy rooms. I don't know about you, but I hate stuffy rooms. Every room I'm in is always stuffy. Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm stuffy. Yeah I like that. I'm the one that's stuffy.

Ricky's life is great only in Ricky's head. After meeting up with two truck drivers and a waitress, they go to visit the Diggers and wonder why things aren't more different.

Compassion (1025 words) - The group of foreigners passed her on the street braying loudly. Silly old woman, she thought. You are the foreigner, not them.

Damn the Londoners (350 words) - Teddy looked down at his broken shoelace and fingered it sceptically. Frayed, he thought in disgust.

Koyaanisqatsi (900 words) - It was raining. These days it always seemed to be raining. They say the Inuit had eighty different words for snow. I have only one word for rain: shit.

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Up (1480 words) - Barry rode the up escalator, watching the ass of the person in front. It reminded him of his mother, which in turn, reminded him he had issues. Lately nothing seemed easy.

Mouldings Galore (700 words)- The phone rang three times before Gemma bothered to pick it up. A group of boys were sitting on their bikes learning to smoke outside the store. One of them resembled her brother. On the fourth ring her manager, Pete, yelled from the stockroom. “Answer the bloody phone Gemma! For Christ’s sake...

Terry Dimble Gets a Life (8350 words) - Terry Dimble watched himself from across the street. It was uncanny. 'Where did I get a girl like that?' he wondered out loud. Simple, he told himself. You didn't.

Someone else is living Terry Dimble's life. He knows. He's paid for this service. Now he wants his life back, but can he adapt to the "improvements" that have been made?

White Room: Part One (800 words) - The room was white. The walls, ceiling and floor were white. The man sitting at the white table was dressed in white. The door opened. A robot entered. 'Your Highness, Emperor Napoleon.' Read the full version at Alarmingly Strange Stories.

White Room: Part Two (833 words) - It wouldn't flush. Emperor Napoleon stood over the white toilet, worried. In the bowl, the brown island swam in porcelain luxury. It looked out of place, disturbing, its colour: unnatural.

Lewis' Bird (950 words) - The pigeon had one foot. Well, you could hardly count a stub with no toes a foot, Lewis thought. Unlike him the pigeon was hard at work, limping determinedly and pecking at things that Lewis considered hardly appetising.

The Baron of Newbury Street (330 words) - Alec Nagy always suspected he came from bad stock. Forty, single and standing alone in his empty four bedroom house, he saw his life stretch out into the distance like a long unbroken sigh.

Ophelia the Commuter (75 words) - 8am Monday. Underground. Sunday people transformed overnight into employees.

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Richard's Action (200 words) - Verity Tipsom was married to her mobile. A close second was her makeup mirror. Trailing miserably, her husband Richard watched from the train seat across from her.

Deep Breath (220 words) - "No, I'm not getting anything." "Still nothing? Here, let me see." Jenny moved her nail under the miniature plunger, looking for a seal. "There. Try that."

The Perfect Volunteer (10,500 words) - Geoffrey spread more shaving cream on his chest and rinsed the razor under hot water. Steam eddied up to the partially opened window, disappearing across the back garden...

Geoffrey's mind has conspired against him. What has it agreed to in his absence? And why is he shaving his chest?

Indulge Yourself (4700 words) - That's me, thought Les. In the mirror. See there? Did you see me? Here, try this next one. The convex shape makes me look a little shorter than I am. But that's me, oh boy, that's me.

One 5 On! (4800 words) - Roger held her tight. Sylvia was crying violently. "Hey, it's alright," he said reassuringly, stoking her hair. "Look I'm home. I made it. I took a cab. I always take a cab." In his head, Roger cursed himself for not calling. Guess I had this coming, he thought.

One in five people are part of a massive police force. Everyone should feel safe. The police are your friends.

L'object (4580 words) - Karen sat smoking. On the desk in front of her, an ashtray lay like an open sore overflowing with the accumulated dog-ends of the night.

What if you could be or do anything you wanted for one day? What would you choose? Could you live with the consequences of your wish?

My Soul Smells Funny (4400 words) - Early one Sunday morning, Jeffrey's soul collapsed. Curiously, he didn't notice. What eventually woke him up was the sound of his neighbour mowing the lawn.

So, you want to be a messiah? (3430 words) - Benny Nilson wove his way cautiously up the busy steps of the Licensing Department. Crowds of people on the stairs fished their way in both directions paying little attention to anything other than where they were stepping next. Benny felt invisible.

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