Relics from the Battlefield, published by Helios Quarterly.

Image: Grey Mayfair

Milky eyes stare out over the place where a battle has been, from above an ancient nose that seems twisted out of joint. Their owner registers the wails and moans and whimpers of the dying, but barely, as if they were birdsong, or the sound of rain heard from inside shelter. She does not take an interest in games of politics, not anymore, she hasn’t got the energy. But this, the aftermath, still draws her in, because old habits die hard . . .

Read the rest at Helios Quarterly Magazine.
I hope you enjoy it :D
Print edition available in September 2017.

Relics from the Battlefield

Image Alina Kuptsova

I have an exciting announcement to appear very soon, about my short story "Relics from the Battlefield" . . . so I guess this is an announcement of an announcement? You heard about hearing it here first! 😆

EDIT: pssst, it's appearing in vol 2., issue 3 of Helios Quarterly Magazine! 

Short fiction (not by me) that you should totally go read

So I thought I'd do a little mini round-up of short stories I've read recently that I really enjoyed, because they all deserve more readers:

Once I, Rose by A. Merc Rustad
Fenrir, by Christina Sng
The Wizard of 63rd Street, by Shane Halbach (this one also has an audio version)

Calvante's Maiden, by Bobby O'Rourke (takes a little while to get going, but totally worth it)

The Ferryman, by Siarhey Bulyha/Alex Schvartsman
On the Acquisition of a Very Fine Steed, by Virginia Mohlere

Enjoy :D

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!

Records and Remembering

My grandparents' wedding day

I was very sentimental as a teenager. There were a couple of days of my life that were so important to me at one point, that on occasions when I had nothing better to do or when I was drifting off to sleep, I’d run through the order of events in my head exactly. I’d relive the smells, sights, sensations, feelings, trying to cling on to these few perfect days so I’d remember them forever, exactly as they were.

I did this mental regurgitation perhaps every few days for about a year. I can’t say it worked in terms of cementing those specific memories in my brain – all I have now are some hazy mental snapshots, but it was fun, and felt necessary at the time.

After a while my life changed, I grew up a little, I didn’t need those extensive experiential mental records to live in any more – I had a life instead. It appears that without my say-so, my brain chucked them out as so much rubbish, along with the memory of whatever I had for breakfast on April 16^th 2005, or the name of my Year 8 History teacher. Just irrelevant clutter. Thanks, brain.

With a paper or digital record, barring any accidents, we can choose what to retain or throw away, save or delete. When it comes to memories, it’s easy to forget that there’s ever a danger of completely losing important details of our own lives, because we’re busy living them. And if you can’t remember your own story, how do you know who you are? Are we all several selves, depending on those parts of our lives we can easily access at any given time?