Short Fiction

Just one trip and he'll be able to retire planetside forever, never to set foot in a ship or be forced to endure his crewmates again. But, as one young traveler learns, spacer is a state of mind. (Originally appeared 2005-01-23)

The clarity of the water is incredible, mezmerizing -- but within it, what can be seen of one's soul..?

It hurt, the sunrise. It burned neither his skin, nor his eyes. But it did hurt, the sunrise...

Suddenly he's got it made ... and has the chance to crawl out of the grave he's dug for himself all those drunken years ...

Pale is the city with no hope, but is it possible to listen to your muse and try to create a haven in such a place?

The Man with a Problem has a solution ...

Who is this woman, and why has she suddenly taken my house by storm?

Suddenly the pieces of an relationship all fall into place ...

When all that is left is what needs to be, a kind of action may be ready to take place ...

When you're on the run, there's one sure place to get as safe as you can, and that would be Uncle Harry's place ...

Ah, Jannie Bez! That bulwark of helpfulness, that model soul of hospitality ...!

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 ...

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 ...

Everyone wants a ticket for the journey... Tyler Garant is from Philadelphia, with plans to leave ASAP.

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 ...

The dinner was heavenly, the location full of meaning, and the time was just right for that special gesture, those long-awaited words ...

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.

It started out as a simple camping trip ...

Now what do you have to live with, and what do you have to live without?

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...

Madeleine has spurned Warren, but will she find someone her intellectual equal?

The lads are getting impatient, but Warren's story about misuse of medication is only getting to the good part ...

If you've listened to Warren Borman tell a story before, you know what to expect ... well, at least you think you do ...

It was a battle, and it was love ...

He was a "go get it" kind of guy, and nothing would stand in his way to get what he wanted ...

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 ...

What keeps the bricks and stones in place isn't just mortar; what makes the lights shine and the machinery hum isn't just electricity. What will you see if you choose to look more closely?

Science and reason can explain much, but which perceives clearly, the mind or the heart, when something has no reason at all?