Free Fiction Part 1: Electric Spec, Ideomancer, Mirror Dance, and More

Here's a ton of good free genre fiction, with more to come. There are two great e-zines up and two more free SF stories from other great sites, quite a bit of flash fiction and poetry, and a couple of classic, pulp era stories..


[Art from "Salvage in the Void"]










Fiction
At GigaNotosSaurus: "Deadman Switch" by by A.J. Barr. Science Fiction.
     “What I wouldn’t put past them,” George whispered, barely moving his lips, “is putting a camera right”–He glanced at the clock above the door–”there. They could be evaluating us right now.”

At Kasma: "Salvage in the Void" by Alan Baxter. Science Fiction.
       “I don’t know how long I can bear this,” Peevy said. Deep fear churned his stomach as he absently stroked the SimHound’s head. “I didn’t want to die back there on a doomed ship, but I don’t think I can take this.”

 Now Posted: Electric Spec Volume 7, Issue 4 Science Fiction. Fantasy. Macabre,

"Lest They Drink and Forget the Law" by Malon Edwards
     "I wouldn't know. I've been locked up in here the past six months." I refuse to sit up in bed and greet him like a good prisoner would do. I'm not looking to get time off for good behavior."
"Wolfshead" by L Young. 
      "The noose chafed around his neck. Where once they had backslapped him for tweaking the noses of the nobles, now the crowd jeered him. Jack kept his expression blank. He would not give them the satisfaction of reacting to their cries."
"Ximena" by D.L. Young.
      "Yes, indeed," she said happily. "And again, thank you so much for helping me test the new models. It looked to me like they performed to your full satisfaction, yes?"
"A Magician's Silver" by Jesse Knifley.
      "Adel Blackwood knelt and bowed to the ancient man reclining on the divan. It was best to appear humble, especially when Adel had to deliver ill tidings with gold still in the balance"
"The Last Car in Town" by Lesley L. Smith.
      "I made a severe mistake and opened the front door to two little girls. I'd looked through the peephole and saw them standing there in their green uniforms. Forgetting what the world was like now, I thought for a second they were girl scouts."

Now Posted: Ideomancer Vol. 11 Issue 4. Speculative Fiction.

"Sub" by Sara K. Ellis.
     "The whole class explodes. Sub, Mr. James or Jaynes, there’ve been so many you can’t keep track, drops his hands to his sides and lets out a big loose sigh like he’s covering a fart. Then he turns nervously to the boardskin where our objective blinks like a warning light on a self-destructing space ship."
"The Artist in the Tower" by Adam Mills.
     "We all remember how cruel and unrelenting the Campano regime was. Such a topic has been covered on a regular basis in our public schools and universities. Months of research and polish have been devoted to condensing the tragedy and fire of that time to the space of a textbook chapter."
"Alterations for Beginners" by Rachel Derksen.
      "So Venice tries. He closes his eyes and concentrates. He squints until his eyes hurt, he hums a little teacup song. He makes Please Be Mine motions with his hands. He silently pleads with the teacup."

Flash Fiction and Poetry
At Anotherealm: "Hello Dolly" by Ahmed A. Khan. Speculative Fiction.
At Ideomancer: Speculative Poems

• "Jörmungandr" by Vajra Chandrasekera
• "After Songs" by Lisa M. Cole
• "Haiku" by Yunsheng Jiang
• "Apple" by Holly R. Appling

At Mirror Dance: Fantasy Flash Fiction and Poems.

• "Snow, Blood, Silver" by Sara Cleto.
• "Goodnight, Sweet Lady" by A. L. Loveday.
• "The Twa Magicians" by Sandi Leibowitz.
• "The Absurdity of Dragonslayers" by Sterling Slechta.
• "The Siren Hears Orpheus" by Sandi Leibowitz.
• "In the Labyrinth" by Deborah Walker.
• "Once" by Jessica Bell.
• "Master Craftsman" by Shelly Braynt.
• "Green" by L. C. Ricardo.

Other Genres
At Online Pulps: "Serenade With Slugs" by Robert Leslie Bellem. Noir 1948. and "Back Again" by May Harris. [Pulp 1919]