October 1, 2021
The Haunting of Asteroid H111
My latest story, “The Haunting of Asteroid H111,” is just out in the anthology In Darkness, Delight: Fear the Future from Corpus Press.
This is my tribute to Shirley Jackson, and my first story that is legitimate horror, i.e., a horror story that is genuinely meant to be frightening or at least creepy — my previous attempts at horror have gravitated to tongue-in-cheek, played more for laughs than scares.
Fear the Future is the third volume in the In Darkness, Delight series of horror anthologies, this one featuring science fiction horror. I’m sharing the table of contents with some heavy hitters, including Eric J. Guignard, Michael Laimo, William Meikle, Lisa Morton, Michelle Muenzler, and many others. Perhaps coolest of all, one of my fellow authors in the book is Penn Jillette from the Penn & Teller magic duo.
In Darkness, Delight: Fear the Future is available in hardcover, trade paperback, and ebook. If you get a chance to check it out, I hope you enjoy!
January 6, 2021
Hard!
The January/February 2021 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is just out. This issue contains my story “Hard!”, my third appearance in F&SF. The issue is currently available electronically, and should be appearing in bookstores and subscriber mailboxes in the next few days.
The issue is filled with outstanding writers, many of whom are identified on the cover. In fact, the three pieces that appear right after mine were written by three of my all-time favorite authors: Susan Palwick, Lavie Tidhar, and James Morrow.
I almost feel embarrassed to have snuck into this issue with a silly little story about curling . . .
September 15, 2020
Conquest of the Desert
My latest story, Conquest of the Desert, is just out in NewMyths magazine!
This story incorporates mythology of the Tehuelche people of Patagonia, who were nearly wiped out in the 19th Century by the government of Argentina, in a military campaign referred to as the Conquest of the Desert.
This is my second appearance in NewMyths, to my tastes one of the best semiprozines in the market, as illustrated by the table of contents of the current issue, which features outstanding writers like James Van Pelt and Bruce Boston, among many others.
Next in the queue: a new story in F&SF . . .
July 18, 2020
Story Sale!
I’m very pleased to announce The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction has purchased my short story “Hard!”
Setting aside all false modesty, I believe this will be the best science fiction story about curling ever published. It should appear some time next year — unless C.C. Finlay decides to hold it for the next Winter Olympics.
April 10, 2020
Quote of the Week
You are not alone in the city
Cuz
We are all alone in the city.
– Tandemoro, “Pinball”
March 17, 2020
Story Sale
My short story “Conquest of the Desert” has sold to NewMyths magazine!
This will be my second appearance in NewMyths, which is to my tastes one of the best semiprozines out there.
“Conquest of the Desert” incorporates the mythology of the Tehuelche indigenous people of Patagonia, one of the groups nearly wiped out in a 19th century military campaign by the government of Argentina, euphemistically referred to as the Conquest of the Desert. The story is scheduled to appear in the September issue of NewMyths.
May 24, 2019
Still Alive
It has been well over two years since I updated here. I confess I allowed myself to get out of the writer mindset, during a rough patch lowlighted by divorce and neurosurgery.
But by golly, after a period of many changes, with much help from my dear friends and family, a return to form is in the works! I have an argument coming up in front of the Colorado Supreme Court for the day job. With two amazing new leading ladies (one is shy, the other is pictured above), I have moved into a new home/library, with all my favorite books displayed in one place for the first time in many years.
Most importantly for present purposes, I have a new story recently published in On Spec magazine, with more pieces in the works. Here’s looking forward to many years of writing to come!
October 13, 2016
Quote of the Week
How many years can a mountain exist
Before it’s washed to the sea?
How many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
How many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn’t see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
“Blowin’ in the Wind,”
Bob Dylan, winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature
April 28, 2016
Story Sale
I’m very happy to report that my story “What You Need” has sold to NewMyths magazine.
“What You Need” is flash fiction, just under 1000 words. I don’t feel I’m especially adept at writing flash, but I was quite happy with how this one turned out. It’s certainly the best flash piece I’ve written to date, so I’m awfully glad it has found such a nice home. NewMyths is one of the top semipro magazines around, and its list of past contributors includes nearly every new author worth reading, along with some outstanding veterans of the field.
NewMyths is planning to include “What You Need” in its June 2016 issue. I’ll provide a link here once it’s published.
September 9, 2015
The Body Pirate
Apologies for being remiss in updating this site lately.
The big news on the writing front is my novelette “The Body Pirate” appeared in the July/August 2015 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Here’s an interview I did with F&SF about the story.
This is certainly my weirdest piece yet, so I knew it wouldn’t work for everyone. But the people who like it seem to really like it. “The Body Pirate” was my first story ever to get a coveted “Recommended” rating from Lois Tilton at Locus Online. Dreaming About Other Worlds declared it the best story in the issue, out of an amazing array of authors that includes James Patrick Kelly, Richard Chwedyk, Rachel Pollack, Matthew Hughes, Oliver Buckram, Naomi Kritzer, and others. And readers have been kind enough to recommend it for next year’s Hugo Award at CiaraCat’s list of recommendations and at the Hugo Nominations Wikia. I even got fan mail for the piece from Hugo- and Nebula-winning author James Patrick Kelly himself!
A huge thank you to everyone who had the patience to work their way through this peculiar story!
Van Aaron Hughes 