What does volunteering for the greater good look like in a tech-mech world? In the near future, X-O could be a possibility. The question is: how near is near?
Published in the October issue of Altered Reality Magazine.
X-O
Author: DL Shirey
DL Shirey writes from Portland, Oregon, where it's probably raining. His short stories and non-fiction appear in over 60 publications, including including Confingo, Page & Spine, Zetetic and Wild Musette. You can find more of his writing at www.dlshirey.com and @dlshirey on Twitter.
Jacob’s Hole
If you like writing 50-word stories, one of the best potential publishing venues is Blink-Ink. Over the years they’ve accepted a few of my stories. This one was submitted for their Country Roads issue, but did not make the cut.
Jacob’s Hole
The three-mile walk to Jacob’s Hole was like a hotplate, but a swim was my reward.
The trip back would be miserable except when Mom and her pickup truck ambled up the parallel ruts of the dusty road.
“It’s fried boy for dinner,” Mom said when she saw my sunburn.
Eidetic
The narrator in this dark piece of flash fiction introduces us to 13 people in just over 600 words. I even manage to slip in a reference to Moby Dick amid this parade of characters. Published by Theme of Absence, a fine purveyor of speculative fiction.
Dear Contributor…
A Slice on Secaucus Street
The hero in this story has the gift of total recall, what he calls Backvision. And he needs it in order to help a detective solve a murder. The only catch is that his Backvision is revealed in bits and pieces, or as he says, “It’s like a picture developing in a grindingly slow photo lab, where my memory needs to soak in different trays of chemicals before the portrait ghosts into existence.”
Oh, and there’s pizza.
The story has a gritty, noir feel and speculative elements, and fits nicely along side other great stories in this Crimeucopia anthology. You’re probably going to shop on Amazon today anyway, so go ahead and order a copy. It will be a fun read.
DL Shirey 