When Jonas Knutsson left junior high in 8th grade to pursue a career as a gentleman of leisure, said institution made a note of a great general improvement in morale and academic performance and has yet to request his return. He failed to win "The Prize for Gentlemanly Conduct" upon graduation from Junior College, was booted out of film school in Germany before commencing his studies, threatened with expulsion from both New York University and the University of Iceland and is currently barred from The Palooka Bar. (Originally appeared 2009-10-05)
Was it that he took life too seriously? Or was he afraid that life wouldn't take him seriously at all? No matter -- sometimes you need another perspective, maybe even a sense of humor ... (Originally appeared 2009-10-26)
Teddy is a special boy and no one knows it better than Laiken St. James. When her parents try to keep them apart, Laiken leaves home to be with Teddy, but she never expected the consequences of Teddy's wrath. (Originally appeared 2009-10-19)
Peter is a speculative fiction writer, most notably the author of the award winning supernatural thriller, "The Grandmaster." He is also the Founder and Managing Editor of Ex Machina Press, a publishing company based in Los Angeles, which was named 2007 PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR by the DIY Book Festival in Los Angeles. (Originally appeared 2009-12-21)
When the educational system insists on putting their "ideas" into everyone's head, it may well be time for education to take place outside the school room ...
When Fate is so cruel for so long, you start to accept injustice as a matter of course. But there -- in the distance -- comes a new thought, an exotic thought, a life-changing thought ...
Jack Runner has a talent that the government wants hidden. The drugs he must take and the computer inside his head pretty much take care of that. But he has another talent, too ... but no government can stop him from finding trouble.
When you have someone willing to not only sell off the home planet, but also make family reunions into something even more than normally feared, you know hanging's too good for him ...
Phillip Donnelly grew up in Dublin and currently lives in Vietnam. He has also lived in Barcelona, China, Moscow, Bangkok, Paris and elsewhere. He hopes to move to another planet at the earliest opportunity.
Barry Kirwan works in air traffic and nuclear power safety, and found non-fiction a lot easier to get published than fiction, but finally has his science fiction novel (The Eden Paradox) coming out as an ebook in Feb 2011 with publisher Ampichellis. This short story summarises what he wishes he'd known when starting out in fiction...
Money is hard to come by when the recession comes home with you at the end of your job, but you better dole out the remaining pennies you have wisely ...
