When we die, invisible maggots nibble on our soul, eventually metamorphosing into ethereal moths. In the steampunk story Maggots from Heaven, we see Castor experiment on living subjects, trying to extract these divine grubs.
Look for the anthology, Phantasmical Contraptions & More Errors, on Amazon.
What would fairytales be like if Amazon delivered? This modern fairytale is the premise for the flash fiction “Beanstalk in a Box”. The story explores the disclaimers and legalease the company would use should it sell such items.
Look for the anthology Professor Feiff’s Compleat Pocket Guide to Xenobiology for the Galactic Traveller on the Move is available, ironically, at Amazon.
Everyone wants to lower our carbon footprint and stop climate change. So imagine when scientists come up with a novel solution — a fungus that gobbles up carbon from the air. It could be the savior of the planet. The only problem, this fungus likes to eat carbon wherever it exists. It’s particularly fond of the carbon locked in living cells.
This story tracks a teen girl who is left at home to care for her younger brother and baby. It plays off the tale of the Three Little Pigs with the carbon-gobbling fungus taking the role of the wolf. Can she keep her family safe with dwindling food and the fungus chewing up the house around her?
This story appears in the new anthology by Write Hive titled “Navigating Ruins.” You can find it on Amazon, both in Kindle and print.
Tim Kane
Long ago I read Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” and was captivated by the tale of a man’s struggle to survive in the frigid cold of the Yukon. A fire is all that would save him, yet could he build it before freezing?
This inspired me to write about the rigors of space travel. I wondered, could I put a person in a similar situation? In this case, Cate has been blown away from her ship and must travel back before a solar flare cooks her inside her suit. The only problem, which of those tiny specks represents her ship? With only a limited amount of fuel for her maneuvering jets, she must pick correctly or perish.
In this tale, I also wanted to explore just how far a person would go to save themselves. In movies you often see people sacrifice themselves for others. But would you really do that? Pressed up against the real concept of death, how many of use would risk our lives for someone else?
The story appears in the 45th issue of Dark Moon Digest. You can find it at Amazon, both kindle and paperback.
Tim Kane