Out now! "I Am Tasting the Stars" in Translunar Travelers' Lounge

New story day!

My latest, "I Am Tasting the Stars" is out now in Translunar Travelers' Lounge! 

This has been an interesting market to try and crack (as we in the business say), as part of their stipulation is that they want fun stories. And in many ways, fun is subjective and arguable, and in other ways, it really very much is not. If you're familiar with my stories, 'fun' isn't really one of the main themes you might consider me to typically cover.

It is both a climate change story, and a 'the bombs dropped' story, told by a narrator who was nine years old when the word that was ended. And back then, when the world ended, she made a list of the things that should be gathered and saved and experienced, so that people would remember. The last item on the list is the one this story concerns itself with, a bottle of champagne.

Please go read it, and I hope you enjoy! Maybe fun isn't what I normally write, but even so, it is a very 'me' story!

Bruce Springsteen

Well, I was going to wait. But why not talk about Bruce Springsteen?

In my previous post, "The Order of Things", I discussed having a novel that was inspired and influenced by Bruce Springsteen's "Jungleland".  Off of the Born to Run album, which is hands-down my favorite, it's also, I think, the longest song. It's about love and betrayal and being desperate, and all the things that go on at night.

City in Ruins

This might be a morbid or macabre thing to consider, but what's your favorite ruined city?

I don't mean "favorite" in a sunshine-happy Disney sort of way; I mean in a really truly fascinates you sort of way. I mean in a way that draws you in and makes you want to know about it, that you wonder about occasionally.

I had this discussion with a friend the other day, because his favorite ruined city, Krakatoa, was on the cover of Archaeology magazine. My favorite is Pripyat, in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. It's occurred to me that it's a special sort of group of friends that you can have this sort of conversation with.

(photo from Wikitravel)