my shorter stories
Shorter, tighter, lighter. Not easier than a longer form, but different and not as constrained. When I started writing full time I set myself the challenge to write three short stories: character-driven, dialogue-driven, plot-driven. These became my first three shorts. I love all of these, particularly because they are so accessible and tend not to be caught up in their own plot arcs or world building. A Light Beyond the Stars is my attempt to tell a time travel story but with a twist. And, The Observer Effect explores the idea of being observed and what that might do to a person, a society. I love these for their story-in-a-bottle charm.
Dervish 458
Written in 2019 and at just under 13,000 words (46 pages, approx), this is pure sci-fi with just a dash of horror (but no gore).
I wrote this: first, to get back into writing after being too busy being that other guy; and second, as a challenge to write a purely character-driven story with no dialogue.
There Is No God
I know because He told me
Written in 2019 and at just over 13,000 words (48 pages, approx), this is a speculative sci-fi, Fermi paradox stuff with a Creator angle.
This I wrote - in juxtaposition to Dervish - to explore the use of realistic dialogue. I also wanted to try a contrasting character and I was challenging myself to come up with a story to go with the title (which came to me first).
Ascent into Madness
Written in 2020 and at 9,000 words (38 pages, approx), this is a speculative scf-fi about ascension and the idea that knowledge too can chain us.
I've been wanting to explore the idea of madness for a while and thus to attempt to write a character experiencing it. I set it in Venus because it's just such an interesting place. And what I learned during my research of the planet, I applied to Love is a Red Balloon.
An Original Thought
Written in 2021 and at a little over 13,000 words (54 pages, approx), this is a speculative story regarding social media, race, the power of an idea and the human condition.
I've been trying to get this story out of my head for some time. My first attempt ended up as After the Rise. The problem was that I didn't have an angle, a premise, to root the story in. But finally my brain figured it out: an interview. They say you shouldn't have favourites, but...
A Light Beyond the Stars
Written in 2021 and at over 14,000 words (64 pages, approx), this is a science fiction story (with just a pinch of the speculative) and deals - from a unique viewpoint - with the environment (the love of the natural world), the intimacy and intensity of a close relationship, and the ease of cultural misunderstandings. It also tries to wrap its tiny mind around the all-bending issue of... time.
Like No God, I came up with the title before I had any idea as to the story, except that it was to involve a cause-effect time travel paradox, and be told from a non-human perspective. See a light, travel to its origin point to stop said light, and...
The Observer Effect
Written in 2023 and at over 12,000 words (58 pages, approx), this is a philosophical science fiction story exploring the idea of what would happen if we all woke up one day to find that we were being (we thought) watched. How would that affect us, individually and societally? So, an observer effect story from the perspective of the observed. There's a little AI in there too, as it's hot right now.
It's in four bits: a child's diary in the days after, a woman's letter to her husband postulating how to define and understand it, interviews with some key people, and finally a conversation about the who and therefore the why. The last tying back into the first three.
What's the plan to publish these shorter stories?
I am going the indie author route and will publish them through a bespoke publishing company. This will make them widely available as ebooks and in paperback. Once the preparatory work is done, then I will go through the technical process of publication for all these titles.