A little over a month from now, thousands of writers will once again attempt the NaNoWriMo challenge. Once again, many will fall. NaNoWriMo is simple: write fifty thousand words in thirty days. An admirable goal, and a challenging one. For the past ten years, the success rate hovered between a high of 19% in 2009 […]
Publishing Announcement: INVINCIBLE by Kit Sun Cheah
In an Empire beset by internal rebellion and ferocious yaomo, the elite Shenwujun stand ready to defend human civilization. Among the Shenwujun there is none finer than Ensign Zhang Tianyou, who earned the nickname Zhang the Invincible. During a mission to quash a nascent rebellion, a Shenwujun detachment discovers evidence that the Grand Union is […]
Signal Boost: WAR DEMONS by Russell Newquist
After five years of war in Afghanistan, Michael Alexander returns home a broken man, haunted by the ghosts of war. Returning to Georgia, he tries to start a new life. But something evil followed him from the mountains of Afghanistan, it’s tearing up everything in its path, and Michael is squarely in its sights. To […]
The Current State of Alt-Tech
The oligarchs of Silicon Valley — Facebook, Twitter and Google — have pursued and continue to pursue policies of censorship and demonetisation of controversial personalities who use their platforms. They don’t have your interests at heart, only their vision of a world under their thumb. Last year, the Alt-Tech promised a revolution. These platforms aimed […]
Can Steemit Revitalise Short Fiction?
A century ago, pulp magazines were the popular entertainment of the working class. Cheap and ubiquitous, the pulps brought exciting tales of action and adventure to the everyman. Fiction was no longer the pursuit of the leisure class; it was now within the reach of regular people. And the secret was length. Back, popular fiction […]
I Remember
I remember a dream of an airplane, falling sharply through the sky. I remember carts barrelling down the aisles and the floor falling sharply beneath me. I remember the screaming. It was the night of 10 September 2001. The following night, I understood what the dream meant. I remember the phone call from a friend […]
TWO LIVES: Part 5 of 5
Two scenes in a row. That was intense. I wiped the sweat from my brow—and then I realized I was mimicking the upwards parry Akira had used. My heart thumped in my chest. Blood pumped to my fists and feet. I had to get a grip. That battle was long in the past. I had […]
TWO LIVES: Part 4 of 5
My heart thudded sharply in my chest. I hadn’t seen that coming. Cold crept through my chest. I breathed through it, focusing blanking out everything but the cycling of air through my lungs. A shard of grief embedded in my heart. Centuries removed from the event, I still felt the echo of the trauma; I […]
TWO LIVES: Part 3 of 5
I escorted the merchant home, glaring at everyone who dared to stand in my way. The commoners took one glance at my daisho and the blood on my clothes, and hurried to make way. No one wanted to be the next to die. The moment the client opened the door, I practically shoved him through. […]
TWO LIVES: Part 2 of 5
I sat by the river and stared at the water. It seemed still, but the leaves drifting across the surface betrayed a hidden current, illuminated in the amber hue of the setting sun. No luck finding work. My funds were running low, and I couldn’t remember the last time I ate anything more substantial than […]