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Highlights
Science Fiction and the Death of the Sun
Why was early science fiction so grim? Because they thought the sun was about to die. I chart a journey through 100 years of astronomical theories and literature from H.G. Wells to T.S. Eliot to show how the former influenced the latter.
This article appeared in Typebar Magazine #1 in 2024.
Portrait of Three Women with an Owl
This story has now been adapted into the game “Surradia: An Art Retrospective”.
Play the demo on Steam
Play the demo on Itch
A new retrospective of a little-known art movement highlights three remarkable female artists, their mysterious disappearance into the woods during the French Occupation, and the rumors and legends that followed in their wake.
This story appeared in the Locus and Ignyte Award-winning We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020.
Amazon
Neon Hemlock website
Goodreads
This story originally appeared in The Future Fire Issue 53: LIIIES in 2020.
Oil Bugs
The downfall of the oil industry, and maybe all of civilization, narrated by two PR flacks who are desperately trying to spin the situation. An extremely silly epistolary, and also the story that features the infamous “Disney: An ExxonMobil Company.”
This story appeared in Translunar Travelers Lounge in February 2022.
Rough Edges
In the age of Instagram, our games, hobbies, and experiences are meticulously packaged to be polished and professional. But when we add polish, are we losing the heart that made it all worthwhile in the first place?
This article appeared in Blood Knife in 2023.
All Stories
Glass Flies
These hyperintelligent insects live a full life in a single day. Keeping such a short-lived creature as a pet is a mistake–isn’t it? Have your heart broken in just five minutes.
This story appeared in Cast of Wonders 548: Mortality in September 2023.
Blue-Eyed Pearls
A Cambrian fossil dig yields a new species of Hallucigenia, a worm so bizarre that scientists couldn’t tell which end was the front. The connection between the prehistoric worm, a new TikTok jewelry trend, and a sudden surge of popularity for mountain climbing may be more sinister than it appears. An epistolary featuring Twitch streams, TED Talks, and David Attenborough.
This story appeared in This World Belongs to Us: An Anthology of Horror Stories about Bugs in May 2023.
Amazon
From Beyond Press website
Goodreads
Blakeney’s Coatl: A Zookeeper’s Guide
A 1950s adventurer-scientist discovers a species of pterosaur that isn’t extinct–but attempts to keep it in captivity turn out to be more complicated than expected. A rollicking flash-length epistolary told through annotations to an employee handbook.
This story appeared in A Compendium of Enigmatic Species in February 2023.
Xenoveterinarian
As an exotic-animal veterinarian living on a space station, Vivian thinks she can handle anything–except her daughter’s choice to marry an alien. But when her grandson’s beloved pet comes down with an unexplained illness, it will take cross-cultural understanding, not medical knowledge, to save it.
This story appeared in The Future’s So Bright in October 2022.
Amazon
Water Dragon Publishing website
Goodreads
The Fledging Heist
To steal a piece of sensitive data, mercenary Jeira must pass as an ambassador’s wife at an alien gala–but a housepet proves to be an unexpected obstacle. This story is set in the world of the visual novel Bitter Silver from Lookout Drive Games.
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Oil Bugs
The downfall of the oil industry, and maybe all of civilization, narrated by two PR flacks who are desperately trying to spin the situation. An extremely silly epistolary, and also the story that features the infamous “Disney: An ExxonMobil Company.”
This story appeared in Translunar Travelers Lounge in February 2022.
Palio
When her jockey brother is injured, 15-year-old Francesca has no choice but to take the reins and ride in Siena’s lawless Renaissance horse race herself. But ancient rivalries erupt during the Palio, and there are those who will do anything to keep her from winning.
This story appeared on The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast in January 2022.
Fold
The only things holding back Gerald Pendergast’s genius are his squirrely research assistants and his tedious wife. But a pair of goggles that can peer into a theoretical dimension stand to change all that. Horror with an extremely unreliable narrator.
This story appeared in Vastarien Volume 4 Issue 2 in December 2021.
Amazon
Grimscribe Press website
Goodreads
The Sound of Wolves
100,000 serfs died during the construction of St. Petersburg. Their bodies are still buried under its streets. This is their story.
This story appeared in A Cold Christmas and the Darkest of Winters in December 2021.
Amazon
Cinnabar Moth website
Goodreads
Los Angeles Is Sinking
The ground is liquefying beneath your feet, but don’t think that will get you a day off work. Capitalism marches on.
This story appeared in Field Notes from a Nightmare in November 2021.
Amazon
Dreadstone Press website
Goodreads
Unshackled
Convinced that “curing” her attraction to women is the only way to become right with God, a girl enrolls in a gay conversion camp—but she begins to suspect that her surroundings are more than they appear. A retelling of The Yellow Wallpaper.
This story appeared in Cinnabar Moth Literary Collections Volume 1 Issue 1 in October 2021.
Neofan
Marv goes to WorldCon to meet his hero, Harlan Ellison. But the friends he finds are not the ones he expects.
This story appeared in Voyage in September 2021.
The Curious Case of the Cave Salamander
When a cute salamander species becomes an internet celebrity, it’s threatened by the exotic pet trade—but when a giant cryptid appears in the Chicago River, endangered salamanders may be the least of humanity’s worries.
This story appeared in Among Animals 3: The Lives of Animals and Humans in Contemporary Fiction in April 2022.
Amazon
Goodreads
Ashland Creek website
This story originally appeared in Utopia Science Fiction Volume 2 Issue 4 in February 2021.
The Empress and the Marauder
Wherein I try to write a princess story and somehow it turns into tentacle horror. Consider yourself forewarned.
This story appeared in Cosmic Horror Monthly #5 in 2020.
Blacktooth 500
To win an Iditarod-style race where dragons pull carts, a mother-daughter team must face deadly monsters, lava flows, and grueling mountains—and the divisions between them.
This story appeared in Crunchy with Chocolate in 2021.
Amazon
Wolfsinger website
Goodreads
This story appeared in Hear Me Roar in 2020.
The Song of the Machines
Four mechanical animals, discarded by their owners, band together to find a new lease on life. A dieselpunk retelling of “The Bremen Town Musicians.”
This story appeared in Truancy 8 in 2020.
Seven Cups of Tea
Exiled as a little girl, her brothers forced to fight as biomechanical constructs, Eliza must find a way to save her family and get revenge—even if that means getting close to the man who betrayed them. A steampunk retelling of “The Wild Swans.”
This story appeared on The Overcast in 2022.
This story originally appeared in Curiosities Quarantine 2020.
All the Daughters of my Father’s House
Shipwrecked in a foreign land, Viola quickly finds herself falling for both the duke who took her in and the countess he’s trying to court. But Viola has a secret—and it’s not just that she’s a spellcrafter. A magic-tinged, genderfluid retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
This story appeared in Glittership Spring 2020.
Portrait of Three Women with an Owl
A new retrospective of a little-known art movement highlights three remarkable female artists, their mysterious disappearance into the woods during the French Occupation, and the rumors and legends that followed in their wake.
This story appeared in the Locus and Ignyte Award-winning We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020.
Amazon
Neon Hemlock website
Goodreads
This story originally appeared in The Future Fire Issue 53: LIIIES in 2020.
The Black Handkerchief
In Tsarist Russia, the early Marxists and their teachings have lit a powder keg among the people. Amid the turmoil, Lera, the daughter of peasants, and Natalya, the child of her wealthy benefactor, must navigate a world on the brink of revolution—and their feelings for each other.
This story appeared on the Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast in 2019.
The Beast that Ate the Stars
Nat’s explorer father was killed when his experimental vehicle fell from the sky. But when the stars begin to disappear, devoured by a mysterious creature, Nat must follow in her father’s footsteps and risk the same fate.
This story appeared in the anthology Pioneers & Pathfinders in 2019.
The Difference Engine
A wholesome tale of cheating and lying to fascists set on a spaceship crewed by a curious assortment of aliens.
This story appeared in Fireweed: Stories from the Revolution in 2020.
This story originally appeared in the anthology Well Said, O Toothless One in 2018.
The Ibex Tattoo
Arimas has always lived in the shadow of her warrior girlfriend Hurias. While Hurias can wield a sword and fire a bow from horseback, Arimas is only good at making up stories. But when their trade caravan is caught in a snowstorm, Hurias’ swords can’t protect them. It’s up to Arimas, armed only with stories, to help them survive the winter. A tale of female warriors, chronic illness, and the power of storytelling set in ancient Scythia.
This story appeared on A Story Most Queer in 2019.
This story originally appeared in the PRISM Award-winning Dates 2 in 2017.
All’s Fair
A teen girl in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands must decide what she believes in and whether it’s worth the cost.
This story appeared in Likely Red literary magazine in 2017.
All Articles
Science Fiction and the Death of the Sun
Why was early science fiction so grim? Because they thought the sun was about to die. I chart a journey through 100 years of astronomical theories and literature from H.G. Wells to T.S. Eliot to show how the former influenced the latter.
This article appeared in Typebar Magazine #1 in 2024.
Rough Edges
In the age of Instagram, our games, hobbies, and experiences are meticulously packaged to be polished and professional. But when we add polish, are we losing the heart that made it all worthwhile in the first place?
This article appeared in Blood Knife in 2023.
Banning ‘Maus’ Is Just the Latest Case of Sanitizing History for Kids’ Comfort
Coauthored with A.R. Vishny. This article appeared in The Washington Post in 2022.
Banning Books Like ‘Maus’ Is Part of Sanitizing History
Coauthored with A.R. Vishny. This article appeared in Teen Vogue in 2022.
Gideon, Harrow, and the Value of Problematic Relationships in Fiction
This article appeared on Tor.com in 2020.
Putting the Science in Fiction
Putting the Science in Fiction collects articles from “Science in Sci-fi, Fact in Fantasy,” Dan Koboldt’s popular blog series for authors and fans of speculative fiction (dankoboldt.com/science-in-scifi). Each article discusses an element of sci-fi or fantasy with an expert in that field. Scientists, engineers, medical professionals, and others share their insights in order to debunk the myths, correct the misconceptions, and offer advice on getting the details right. It includes my article on aging properties.