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Everyday Drabbles #988: Dream Machine

May 30, 2023

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When the creators announced their technology to record and playback dreams, it was called a hoax, but they proved it worked and went into business.
The recording machine itself was simple, although franchises had a tendency to dress it up with LED lights. It scanned your brain activity and generated a recording in high-definition video.
Hardly anyone noticed the clause at the end of the consent form granting the company commercial rights to all dreams. Most people assumed that it meant reusing the recordings for advertising.
Until they hit their install base target, and the company turned on the paywall.

The Mountain’s Shadow is now available from Amazon and Smashwords!

Everyday Drabbles #986: Red Rain

May 25, 2023

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When the red rain fell out of a clear sky, accompanied by a foul, burning stench, the village considered it to be the worst kind of omen.
The priest conducted an impromptu service in the church so that he might prepare our souls for what was coming next. He ranted before a packed house, speculating on the sins that had brought this punishment down upon us from Heaven.
I was the only one brave enough to stick out my tongue and taste the falling drops. It was worse than they thought.
The tomato juice factory two towns over had exploded.

Everyday Drabbles #984: Escape Attempt

May 21, 2023

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The Earth was dying. His solution was to escape: Find a new world and colonize it. He found a parallel Earth and jumped sideways, like changing the dial on a radio.
He found himself in a beautiful, lush forest. He smelled fresh, clean air for the first time in weeks. He heard birds singing for the first time in years. It felt like home, even if the leaves were pink instead of green.
He’d planned to steal this planet, but as he walked through the forest, he knew he couldn’t do it.
Instead, he went home and saved his world.

The Mountain’s Shadow is now available from Amazon and Smashwords!

Everyday Drabbles #983: Rainstorm

May 20, 2023

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She poured herself a cup of tea and listened to the rain pouring on the shelter roof. She’d heard that heavy drumming nowhere else in her travels.
She sat by the window and watched the storm outside rage across the rocky landscape, reshaping it before her eyes. She rarely took a break. Her duties kept her too busy to bask in the wonder of it all.
Later she would task a drone to collect samples. She would analyze them and send the data back to Earth. But for now, she just watched the rain: diamonds falling from an alien sky.

The Mountain’s Shadow is now available from Amazon and Smashwords!

Small Wonders

March 27, 2023

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Hello readers!
It probably wouldn’t surprise you to learn that I like flash fiction. I love the punch and immediacy of a good story that gets in and out in under a thousand words, leaving you thinking about it long after you’ve gotten up from your chair. If you’re a regular reader to my blog, I’m betting you dig flash fiction, too.
That’s why I’m backing the Small Wonders Kickstarter, and I hope you will, too!
Small Wonders is a new planned Flash Fiction magazine edited by Cislyn Smith and Stephen Granade. The project already has an issue zero out as a proof of concept, which looks outstanding with contributions by John Wiswell, Premee Mohamed, Beth Cato, and others. You can view free content from the issue one their website.
The kickstarter is reaching the end of its run, so you’ll have to act fast to get your copy and ensure that this excellent project reaches its goal. Rewards include subscriptions, physical or digital copies, bookmarks, pins and even hangouts with authors and editors.
Small Wonders is such a worthy project. I’m excited to be backing it, and I hope you will too. I am not affiliated with the project, but I plan to submit some pieces there if it gets funded. The Small Wonders kickstarter ends on March 30, so don’t wait to pledge your support. You can donate to the kickstarter HERE.

Everyday Drabbles #886: The Sisters of War

December 28, 2022

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The Sisters of War have haunted armies since the time of Alexander. Their rumor has persisted, amongst the superstitious, to this day.
A trio of monstrous women with pale faces and fierce, implacable expressions, they are said to decide victory and defeat. They hold the power of life and death over every soldier.
Recruits whisper their names in chow lines, and Marines tattoo their image on their backs. Officers laugh about them in the club, but not at night when they lay awake listening to the howling wind outside their tents.
The Sisters say nothing. They merely watch and wait.

Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!

Hugh Likes Comics: A.X.E. Judgement Day

August 1, 2022

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Written by Keiron Gillen
Drawn by Valerio Schiti
Colored by Marte Gracia
Lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles
Published by Marvel Comics

The Skinny: Marvel’s big crossover event for the summer dives deep into Superhero Politics

Spinning out of The Eternals and Destiny of X, Guillen and Schiti deliver the opening salvo in a summer event comic that promises to be a bit more than your typical hero vs. hero slugfest. Because this isn’t just a book about superheroes. It’s a book about superhero international relations.
 The Mutant Nation of Krakoa continues to dominate the world stage by doing the impossible. After terraforming and colonizing Mars last year, the secret of their ability to resurrect dead mutants has become public knowledge. The fact that they are unable to bring back humans has led to a public backlash and mistrust.
 Meanwhile, the Eternals have been facing some societal shake-ups of their own. The tumult has left scheming Druig in charge as the Prime Eternal, and many of the other immortal heroes unsure of their purpose after being abandoned by their creators, the Celestials.
 Oh, also the Avengers are using the hollowed-out corpse of a dead celestial as their new base. For reasons.
 With Druig on shaky political footing, he comes up with a plan to unify his people and secure his power by convincing them that the Mutants are byproducts of their ancient enemies, the also Celestial-created Deviants, and thus they must be eradicated. Not unfamiliar with attempted genocide against them, the Mutants on Krakoa fend off the assault. The ones on Mars aren’t so lucky. As Druig moves through more and more of his fantastical arsenal of ancient Celestial technology to use against Mutantkind, sides are chosen. But who wins in a war where both sides are effectively immortal? And will anyone else still be standing when the dust settles?
 Obviously, the answer here is going to be ‘yes’ because this is a superhero comic, but I am enjoying the way this event is spinning out less from Action-movie cliches of previous events and the more cerebral moments from Eternals and Immortal X-Men. The first issue is mostly scene setting and getting the characters where they need to be, but it’s still a strong first issue, with great writing by Gillen. The scene between Druig and Moira X, and the whole thing with the protesters (no spoilers) is just chilling.
 Schiti and Gracia’s art is excellent. I love the opening pages, which juxtapose Iron Man and Sersi having brunch against the human protesters surrounding the X-Men’s treehouse headquarters. The colors are rich and the characters are all expressive and dynamic. This feels more like a political thriller than a superhero dustup, and the art sells it when the pages are mostly talking heads.
 A.X.E. Judgement Day #1 is now available in print from your local comics shop or digitally from the usual sources.  

Everyday Drabbles #793: Potmitzvah

July 15, 2022

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I looked out at the expectant crowd and wanted to hide. The head priest caught my eye and nodded. He’d ushered hundreds of youths through the coming of age ceremony. Maybe thousands. I could do this.
For hundreds of years, youths followed in the footsteps of The Hero. This was a ceremony to give them His courage. I adjusted my tunic and stepped up to the altar.
The clay pot sat on the stone, eyelessly accusing me of my cowardice. I picked it up. With a mighty shout, I raised it over my head and tossed it to the floor.

Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!

Everyday Drabbles #782: Magic Mirror

July 14, 2022

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The game is called ‘Magic Mirror,’ and there are installed booths all over the world. I scanned my phone at the prompt. The gray holoscreen flared to life with the image I had pre-loaded: A high-resolution image of myself, highly edited to remove all my flaws.
My partner was already on the other side of the booth, hidden behind an abstract collage.
I asked the first question. After considering his answer, I pressed a button, and a few of the pixels vanished. As we chatted, more of the barrier between us came down, and we revealed ourselves to each other.

Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!

Hugh Likes Fiction: Legends and Lattes

May 20, 2022

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Legends and Lattes
Written by Travis Baldree
Audiobook read by Travis Baldree

The Skinny: What if the Coffee shop A. U. was the story?

Viv is a barbarian warrior ready to get out of the mercenary’s life. But before she hangs up her greatsword for good, she needs a plan. Fortunately, she has two things going for her: A lucky, if gross charm in the Skalvert Stone, a sort of a magical bezoar she takes from the skull of a monstrous giant insect. Trophy in hand, she travels to the town of Thune, following the ley lines to the place where she’ll start her new life: Opening a coffee shop.
Unfortunately, there are a few hurdles for her to overcome, including the local organized crime boss, the fact that nobody in town has even heard of coffee before, and her prime location is in fact an abandoned livery. But with the help of some new friends, and the occasional assistance of her former adventuring party, she’ll give her new life a go.
Legends and Lattes is the coziest of cozy fantasy stories. Not so much a tale of adventure and blood, but of steam and baking. There is some tension as Viv attempts to break from her old life and settle into the new one, but most of this audiobook’s six-hour run time is more concerned with the day-to-day running of the shop than fighting monsters or fantasy politics. It’s clear that these things are all going on somewhere, but this story is all about the beans.
As a professional narrator, Baldree does an outstanding job reading, and the text feels right as an audiobook. His voices for the characters feel distinctive without becoming forced, which is no mean feat as a male actor reading a book with two female leads.
While the story was engaging and satisfying, It did feel a bit on the short side to me. We get an eclectic cast of characters, both from Viv’s old life and her new one, but they are mostly supporting Viv. It would have been nice to have spent more time with Cal, Thimble, Tandry and the rest of the supporting cast. Also, this is a romance, but a very fluffy one. It doesn’t go much farther than awkward stammering and acknowledged feelings. I would have liked it to have been more, well, steamier.
Legends and Lattes  is a +5 cozy little story that is sure to warm your heart like a warm cup of coffee on a cold winter’s morning. It is available as an audiobook, print or ebook from the usual locations.

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