The Marks in the Walls

 

Image: Karolina Grabowska

 Another microflash, The Marks in the Walls is out now at Stupefying Stories! Kind of an odd take on a ghost story. The prompt here was "happy trails", so I went for something incredibly depressing, naturally...

Visions in the Jar

 

Image: Toni Ferreira

More microflash! The prompt was 'out of gas', which initially suggests engines running out of fuel, but I went in a different direction -- so here is Visions in the Jar.

Dangerouser and Dangerouser

 

Image: Wendy Wei

What happens when you visit a very unusual holiday destination, and in the off season no less? Dangerouser and Dangerouser is now out at Stupefying Stories.

The Ghost of Moscow

 

Image: Ilya Melnikov

Inspired by creepy urban legends I heard whilst living in Russia over a decade ago, "The Ghost of Moscow" is now up to read at Stupefying Stories . . .

Angels

Image: Talha Dursun Marko

Here's a link to my second-prize-winning entry on the theme of "static", in under 85 words...

https://stupefyingstories.blogspot.com/p/angels-by-sophie-sparrow.html

PseudoPod reprint is up!

 "On the Getting of Husbands and the Spawning of Children" is now up to read or listen to for free at PseudoPod! Very happy to see this one out there again.

"On the Getting of Husbands and the Spawning of Children" to be reprinted by PseudoPod

 

Image: Felipe Hueb

I'm beyond excited to have my work reprinted in PseudoPod. This is my first sale to a pro market, and it's gonna be so great to hear it in audio. The story is still up at Arsenika if you feel like giving it an advance read!

"On the Getting of Husbands and the Spawning of Children" is out at Arsenika!

Arsenika Issue 8

 

I wrote a fucked-up fairytale that is now available to read for free at Arsenika! It's about a woman under a curse and is somewhat grisly. You have been warned . . .

MSJ Winter 2020 now out!

The monsters settle in for story time

Final issue of Mad Scientist Journal now available, hot off the presses, extra, extra, read all about it! ...or any other cliché you care to use. It's out and double sized and all end-of-an-era-y and the cover is beautiful and I love it.

Magickal Herbs and Plants for Sale

Image Daniel Spase

What do you do if your neighbour definitely hasn't cursed your garden, and you definitely don't want revenge?

The clue's in the title, but you can find out more in December 2019 when the Winter 2020 issue of Mad Scientist Journal hits the presses. This will be the final issue of MSJ and I'm honoured to have been a part of it.

Mad Scientist Journal Autumn 2018

I'm a few days late on this, but Mad Scientist Journal Autumn 2018 is now out! Inside it you will find lots of lovely stories and a short piece by me all about the troubles ghosts have with social media . . .(find it in the classifieds section). Happy reading!

(Dis)Ability Short Story Anthology now available

A short story of mine, A Rare Condition, is now available as part of a free anthology you can read here. The story is about someone with a fictional disability navigating her way through life; I was aiming to capture something of the disconnect and misunderstanding there can be surrounding issues of disability between people who experience it and people who don't.

The aims of the project, as described by editor Emily Dorffer:

"...to spread awareness of a variety of disabilities through accurate, heartfelt representations written by the people who live with them every day. I also hope to encourage more authors to write about disabled characters while avoiding stereotypes."

The project has gone ahead with the assistance and funding of staff from Johns Hopkins University.

I hope you enjoy reading the collection!

A Ghost's Guide to Getting Ahead in Modern Death

Image: AmberAvalona, modified by me.

If you are a ghost who likes Instagram then this is for you. Short piece to be published by the folks over at Mad Scientist Journal in September 2018.

Mad Scientist Journal: Winter 2018

Mad Scientist Journal Winter 2018 is now available to buy in ebook or paperback! (Warning: contains imaginary adverts, written by me.)

'A Rare Condition'

Loneliness and thwarted efforts at communication can make life difficult. The way you express emotion and the way your brain is wired can make it even more difficult.

'A Rare Condition', a very short story on these themes will be published in (Dis)Ability, an anthology released in March 2018.

Relics from the Battlefield, published by Helios Quarterly.

Image Alina Kuptsova

An ancient being roams another theatre of war. Read it over at Helios Quarterly Magazine.

Short fiction to appear in Mad Scientist Journal

Original images by Ryan McGuire, ruined by me

Excited to announce that some spoof classified ads I've written will be published in an anthology of Mad Scientist Journal this December. The anthology (Winter 2018) will be available to buy on Amazon in both ebook and print formats. Watch this space!