Friday Morning Free Fiction

Friday's finally here and so are this morning's free fiction links.  Some outstanding stuff this time.






Fiction
• At Daily Science Fiction: "Unicorns, and Other Birthday Hazards" by Jeffrey John Hemenway. Modern Fantasy.
     "Greta sat cross-legged on the attic floor, the pink balloon tugging upward at her wrist as she stared slit-eyed at the age-grayed wooden door. Per the regulations, it was barred from the outside by a beam no less than three inches thick, held in place with a shiny gray combination lock."

• At Escape Pod: "The Nightmare Lights of Mars" by Brian Trent. Science Fiction.
      "Before discovering the moths, Clarissa Lang stumbled blind in the Martian sandstorm and admitted she was about to die because of a painting."

• At HiLobrow: "The Man with Six Senses - Part 12" by Muriel Jaeger. Science Fiction. 1927.
      "I don’t know whether I ought to reproach myself for having made the revelation to her at all. I do not think so. It is true that I did not realise the probable effect. But I was governed by practical considerations. It was almost certain that something or someone would call her attention to the article sooner or later; or Michael might see it, and its effect upon him (which might well be disastrous) might take her unawares."

Flash Fiction

• At Flashes in the Dark: "Precious Cargo" by Michael A. Kechula. Horror.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Not As We Know It" by Carl Poffley. Science Fiction.
• At Weirdyear: "Last Chance" by E.S. Wynn. 

Audio Fiction

• At The Classic Tales Podcast: "Dagon" by H.P. Lovecraft, read by B. J. Harrison. Horror.
     "A shipwrecked mariner finds himself in the midst of a slimy, swampy wasteland. While seeking for some sort of refuge, he discovers a nightmare that will steal his sanity. H.P. Lovecraft, today, on The Classic Tales Podcast."

• At Escape Pod: "The Nightmare Lights of Mars" by Brian Trent, read by Veronica Giguere. Science Fiction.
      "Before discovering the moths, Clarissa Lang stumbled blind in the Martian sandstorm and admitted she was about to die because of a painting."

• At Tales to Terrify: "The Collective of Blaque Reach" by Matt Cowan, narrated by Drake Vaughn. Horror.
      No Description

Other Genres

• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Closing Time at the Museum" by Dennis Haen.
• Flash Fiction at Linguistic Erosion: "The Hell of Agent Orange" by E.S. Wynn.
• Poem at Leaves of Ink: "The Retrofit" by Douglas Campbell.

Savage Free Fiction

It's a good start to the weeks's free fiction with some great new text fiction, flash fiction, and audio fiction.  Today marks the conclusion of Theodore Savage (art to the left) at HiLobrow,  E-books and more to come.












Fiction
• At Daily Science Fiction: "Recognition" by Bill Glover. Superhero.
     "So here I sit, staring at a small portion of baked chicken with a side of carrots and potatoes in some sort of vinegary sauce. I have been coming to these things for ten years, and they always serve chicken, and always there is some odd flavored but nonetheless bland sauce on the vegetables."

• At HiLobrow: "Theodore Savage - Part 25 conclusion"  by Cicely Hamilton. Science Fiction.
     "When war breaks out in Europe — war which aims successfully to displace entire populations — British civilization collapses utterly and overnight. The ironically named Theodore Savage, an educated and dissatisfied idler, must learn to survive by his wits in the new England, where 20th-century science, technology, and culture are regarded with superstitious awe and terror." Includes links to all 25 chapters.

• At L5R: "Shadow of Disgrace" by Shawn Carman. Fantasy.
      "The Asahina family daimyo walked swiftly, his expression greatly troubled. A pair of advisers hurried in his wake, struggling to keep up. 'I am not yet convinced that this is at all an advisable thing to do,' he said, his voice tense and tight. 'We are as yet a very young family. My parents only recently retired. What we are undertaking here… this could be construed as disrespectful or even heretical.'"

Flash Fiction

• At Every Day Fiction: "Aurora’s Sky" by Kenton K. Yee. Animal Fable.
• At Planet Magazine: "Five Haiku" by Denny E. Marshall. 
• At Quantum Muse: "Family"  by Michele Dutcher.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Copy and Paste" by Bob Newbell.
• At Toasted Cake: "Shadow Falls, Echo Fades" by Jeff Stehman. Audio.

Audio Fiction
• At Author's Site: "Bones are White #7 - Eusocial Networking, Part 1" by Scott Sigler. Horror.
     "Welcome to a new novella. This time out, EUSOCIAL NETWORKING, a story set in the 7th SON universe of J.C. Hutchins. If you like bugs you'll love this (and if you hate them, it will scare your undergarments right off). "

• At Chilling Tales for Dark Knights: "The Wendigo" by Algernon Blackwood. Horror.
     "A considerable number of hunting parties were out that year without finding so much as a fresh trail; for the moose were uncommonly shy, and the various Nimrods returned to the bosoms of their respective families with the best excuses the facts of their imaginations could suggest. Dr. Cathcart, among others, came back without a trophy; but he brought instead the memory of an experience which he declares was worth all the bull moose that had ever been shot. But then Cathcart, of Aberdeen, was interested in other things besides moose—amongst them the vagaries of the human mind."

• At Fantastic Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs: "Episode 5 - Out of Time's Abyss"
      "Bradley has almost escaped from the Wieroos. Having killed Fosh-bal-soj, his captor, he has crept through the city of Oo-oh. He finds a captive Galu girl. His conversation with her is interrupted by the advent of several Wieroos"

• At SFFaudio: "The Dreams In The Witch House" by H.P. Lovecraft. Horror.
     "Whether the dreams brought on the fever or the fever brought on the dreams Walter Gilman did not know. Behind everything crouched the brooding, festering horror of the ancient town, and of the mouldy, unhallowed garret gable where he wrote and studied and wrestled with flgures and formulae when he was not tossing on the meagre iron bed. His ears were growing sensitive to a preternatural and intolerable degree, and he had long ago stopped the cheap mantel clock whose ticking had come to seem like a thunder of artillery. "

Other Genres
• Audio at Crime City Central: "Times Past" by Matthew C Funk.
• Audio at Internet Archive [LibriVox]: "The Aesop for Children" Fables.

Celebrating the Birth . . . Greg Bear and H. P. Lovecraft

Gregory Dale Bear (born August 20, 1951)
    Bear is an exceptional hard science fiction writer who has written at least 44 books.  He has been nominated for numerous awards, including Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards.  Fortunately a few short stories by this author are available for online reading. And his official site is here.











Fiction
At Baen:

"Blood Music"
      "There is a principle in nature I don't think anyone has pointed out before. Each hour, a myriad of trillions of little live things—bacteria, microbes, "animalcules"—are born and die, not counting for much except in the bulk of their existence and the accumulation of their tiny effects. They do not perceive deeply. They do not suffer much. A hundred billion, dying, would not begin to have the same importance as a single human death."

"Sisters"
     "But you're the only one, Letitia." Reena Cathcart lay a light, slender hand on her shoulder with a look of utmost sincerity. "You know none of the others can. I mean . . ." She stopped, the slightest hint of awareness of her faux pas dawning. "You're simply the only one who can play the old—the older—woman."

"Webster"
     "It lingered in the air, a dead and sterile word made for whispers. Vultures fanned her hair with feather-duster wings. Up the dictionary's page ran her lean finger, wrapped in skin like pink parchment, and she found Andrews, Roy Chapman, digging in the middle of the Gobi, lifting fossil dinosaur eggs cracked and unhatched from their graves."

"The White Horse Child"
     "When I was seven years old, I met an old man by the side of the dusty road between school and farm. The late afternoon sun had cooled, and he was sitting on a rock, hat off, hands held out to the gentle warmth, whistling a pretty song. He nodded at me as I walked past. I nodded back. I was curious, but I knew better than to get involved with strangers. Nameless evils seemed to attach themselves to strangers, as if they might turn into lions when no one but a little kid was around."

"Richie by the Sea"
     "The storm had spent its energy the night before. A wild, scattering squall had toppled the Thompson's shed and the last spurt of high water had dropped dark drift across the rocks and sand. In the last light of day the debris was beginning to stink and attract flies and gulls. There were knots of seaweed, floats made of glass and cork, odd bits of boat wood, foam plastic shards and a whale."

"Petra"
     "I'm an ugly son of stone and flesh, there's no denying it. I don't remember my mother. It's possible she abandoned me shortly after my birth. More than likely she is dead. My father—ugly beaked half-winged thing, if he resembles his son—I have never seen."

"The Man Who Would Be Kzin" with S. M. Stirling
      "I am become overlord of a fleet of transports, supply ships, and wrecks!" Kfraksha-Admiral said. "No wonder the First Fleet did not return; our Intelligence reports claimed these humans were leaf-eaters without a weapon to their name, and they have destroyed a fourth of our combat strength!"

Audio Fiction
At Internet Archive: "Webster" (Direct MP3 download) - Mindwebs

Lovecraft after fold

The Free Fiction Days of August

A ton of free e-books and a couple of very good audio stories round out today's free fiction.  And I'll be back long before you can read all these.













Audio Fiction
• At PodCastle: "Excision" by Scott H. Andrews. Fantasy.
     "We started immediately.  Scolast Giazla had a series of rabbits she’d infected by treating their grafts with offal.  I selected the most advanced sample, a brown spotted one with a cat’s striped forepaw, to perform the control."

• At SFFaudio: "The Dreams In The Witch House" by H. P. Lovecraft. Horror.
      "Whether the dreams brought on the fever or the fever brought on the dreams Walter Gilman did not know. Behind everything crouched the brooding, festering horror of the ancient town, and of the mouldy, unhallowed garret gable where he wrote and studied and wrestled with figures and formulae when he was not tossing on the meagre iron bed."

E-Books
At Free eBooks Daily:

• Bitten by Anna Wolfe. Fantasy.
• Desert Angels by George P. Saunders. Science Fiction.
• Kissing Zombies by Richard Denney. YA Zombie Romance.
• Destination Alpha Four by Dominic Green. YA Science Fiction.

At [via Freebook Sifter]

• Bare Innocence (Forbidden Sacrifice Saga) by Chloe Ashton. Paranormal.
• Called to Belong (Legoria Series) by AM Winters. YA Fantasy.
• Darkness In Between by Rebecca R. Cohen. Vampire Fiction.
• The Zoey Chronicles: The Complete Collection (Vol. 1-4) by Sophia Gray. Vampire Fiction.
• 13 Days - Part One (13 Days in Lochterra Trilogy) by Rose Tyler Parker. Fantasy.
• Pestilence - A Medical Thriller (The Plague Trilogy) by Victor Methos.
• The Island of the Dead by George Left. Contemporary Fantasy.
• Nameless - The Fires Night (Nameless Saga) by Simone Lari. Superhero.
• Mirrors and Magic (The Clockwork Republics) by Katina French. Steampunk.
• The Castleton Files (Will Castleton) by David Bain. Paranormal.
• Gray Lake: A Novel of Crime and Supernatural Horror by David Bain. Horror.
• Until the End (Quarantined) by Tracey Ward. Horror, Undead.
• Komori: Book One of the Utopia Trilogy by Sierra July.
• Three of a Kind: Tales of Luck, Chance & Misfortune by Kristen Middleton, LR Potter, and C.J. Pinard. Dark Fantasy. 

At Amazon Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn. Telepathy. [via Pixel-of-Ink]

Fantastic, Fun, Free Fiction for Friday's Foundation

Just another round of free fiction from some great sites.  More later.












Fiction
• At Author's Site: "A Vampire’s Family Values" by Sara Walker. Noir Urban Fantasy.
     "The setting autumn sun turned blood red behind the castle - like house . This was the lush area next to the Ottawa River, Lake Street in Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa's wealthiest district, home to ambassadors and politicians , and yet instead of feeling abundandant, the neighbourhood felt cold and lifeless . Fingerprints, like bread crumbs, had led us to the home of Army Colonel Gregor Renko, recently widowed."

• At Daily Science Fiction: "For Sale by Owner" by Kate Heartfield. Fantasy.
     "Ron allowed himself one shallow breath before gripping his cane and creaking to his feet. There was no need to rush. More than a century before, he had counted the steps that would take him from his watching-chair, across his living room, through his front door, off the porch, and across the expanse of rock to the cliff. Ron knew, likewise, the number of steps a jumper needed to hike to the top of the rock face they called The Ridge."

• At HiLobrow: "The Man with Six Senses - Part 5" by Muriel Jaeger. Science Fiction. 1927.
     "I said, 'You are giving this thing undue importance. What you have told me is very interesting — as a curiosity, that is. But, after all, what does this odd sensibility of Bristowe’s amount to? Can it actually do more for him than an ordinary man can do with his eyes? Even if it could penetrate underground with any reliability. …'"

Flash Fiction

• At Every Day Fiction: "Three Wishes" by Cat Rambo. Fantasy.
• At Planet Magazine: "Making Minds" by Sean Goedecke. Science Fiction.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Siren Song" by Duncan Shields. Science Fiction.

Audio Fiction
• At Clarkesworld: "Shepherds" by Greg Kurzawa.
     "The lioness ambushed Abel’s flock as he herded them down from the high pastures. Dropping soundlessly from a rocky ledge along the sheep path, she landed on a lamb not six months old. The flock scattered. Turning to confront Abel, the beast rose to her hind legs and opened her claws. Her ears lie flat, her tail thrashed. From her mouth hung the lamb, scrawny legs kicking."

• At Classic Tales Podcast: "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe. Dark Fantasy. 
      "The vainglorious Prince Prospero seeks to cheat a devilish plague ravaging the countryside. Can he procure a truly secret and separate hiding place from The Red Death?"

• At LibriVox: "The Hunting of the Snark" by Lewis Carroll. (direct MP3 download)  in LibriVox 8th Anniversary Collection
     "Just the place for a Snark!" the Bellman cried, / As he landed his crew with care; / Supporting each man on the top of the tide / By a finger entwined in his hair."

• At Tales to Terrify: "At the Mountains of Madness - Part 2" by H. P. Lovecraft. Horror.
     "I am forced into speech because men of science have refused to follow my advice without knowing why. It is altogether against my will that I tell my reasons for opposing this contemplated invasion of the antarctic - with its vast fossil hunt and its wholesale boring and melting of the ancient ice caps. And I am the more reluctant because my warning may be in vain."

You Are About to Experience the Awe and Mystery Which Reaches from the Inner Mind to — The Free Fiction Limits.

Another collection of links to great free fiction.  There are new and classic stories with all-new audio readings, another cool eZine posted, and great text fiction.  And as the Governator once said, I'll be back with e-books and more.


 [Art from the Drabblecast reading of "The Lurking Fear"]

 


 Fiction
• At L5R: "Gates of Chaos, Part 3" by Seth Mason. Fantasy.
      "Two hundred trained Unicorn veterans stood in formation by their mounts as Akodo Dairuko walked slowly past the front line. The Champion of the Lion Clan inspected each soldier as she walked by, her eyes darting quickly and precisely to each detail on the armor, weapons, mount, and the soldier before moving on to the next."

• At Nightmare: "How Far to Englishman’s Bay" by Matthew Cheney. Horror.
     "Max had made the decision that April morning to close up the bookshop and go away for once and for all, but he hadn’t told anyone yet, and he needed somebody to take the cat, so it was a good thing Jeffrey showed up an hour before closing."

• At Planet Magazine: "Encounter at Midnight" by Irene Maschke. Science Fiction.
     "Mick stared open-mouthed into a long, green face with deep wrinkles and two spindly antennae on top. The alien was a little shorter than himself and looked rather plump in its silvery space suit."

• At Weird Fiction: "Buddha Nostril Bird" by John Kessel. Science Fiction. 1990.
      "After we killed the guard, Glaucon and I ran down the corridor away from the Well. Glaucon had been seriously aged in the fight. He limped and cursed, a piece of dying meat and he knew it. I brushed my hand along the wall looking for a door." 

• Now Posted: Cafe Irreal #47 Summer 2013. Weird. Surreal. Mostly Flash.

• "The Man with his Back Turned" by Agustín Cadena
• "Wanted & Dance of the Mad Flies" by Fredric Mitchem
• "It's Not What You Think It Is" by Brian Biswas
• "Where Are The Plans?" by Jean-Marc Agrati
• "The Magic Bucket" by Srinjay Chakravarti
• "THINGS" by Bird Marathe
• "Travel, A Life, & Investment" by Ian Seed
• "The Counter Has Begun To Move" by Peter Fagan

Flash Fiction

• At Daily Science Fiction: "The Dollmaker's Grief" by Michelle M. Denham.
• At Quantum Muse: "The Void" by Harris Tobias. Science Fiction.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "No Portraits" by Clint Wilson. Science Fiction.

Audio Fiction
• At Drabblecast: "The Lurking Fear" by H.P. Lovecraft. Horror.
      "There was thunder in the air on the night I went to the deserted mansion atop Tempest Mountain to find the lurking fear. I was not alone, for foolhardiness was not then mixed with that love of the grotesque and the terrible which has made my career a series of quests for strange horrors in literature and in life. With me were two faithful and muscular men for whom I had sent when the time came; men long associated with me in my ghastly explorations because of their peculiar fitness."

• At Nightmare: "How Far to Englishman’s Bay" by Matthew Cheney. Horror.
     "Max had made the decision that April morning to close up the bookshop and go away for once and for all, but he hadn’t told anyone yet, and he needed somebody to take the cat, so it was a good thing Jeffrey showed up an hour before closing."

• At 19 Nocturne Boulevard: "At the Sound of the Beep" by Julie Hoverson. Horror.
      "A woman's answering-machine tells a terrible tale of persecution."

• At PodCastle: "The Tree of Life" by C.L. Moore. Weird. Fantasy.
      "Over time-ruined Illar the searching planes swooped and circled. Northwest Smith, peering up at them with a steel-pale stare from the shelter of a half-collapsed temple, thought of vultures wheeling above carrion. All day long now they had been raking these ruins for him. Presently, he knew, thirst would begin to parch his throat and hunger to gnaw at him."

Other Free Fiction Linkers

• SF Signal
• Free SF Reader
• Free Speculative Fiction Online
• BestScienceFictionStories.com
• Variety SF
• SFFaudio

 Other Genres
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Real Charity" by Rhys Timson,

Free Fiction That Time Will Remember

Another day, another great batch of free fiction.  There's new fiction from Anotherealm, Daily Science Fiction, and Buzzy Mag.  There's horror from Chilling Tales for Dark Nights, Cthulhu, and Tales to Terrify.  The People That Time Forgot audiobook is now complete, so get it quick - they don't stay up long there. And More.  E-books and more free fiction to come later.









Fiction
• At Anotherealm: "Rockland" by Teresa Dovalpage.
     "Linda Mendez's mission was to get rid of an infestation of killer rocks, as the Board had called it. She felt excited about her first real job after college, but still found it strange to consider rocks (or anything coming from the earth) as an enemy."

• At Buzzy Mag: "Crypt Of The Abernathys" by Matthew Acheson. Horror. Dark Fantasy.
     "Sabryna watched the old traveler recline in an oak rocking chair by the fireplace, taking one final draw from his clay pipe before setting it down beside him. After a dramatic pause, he leaned forward, and with a wry smile, he put the finishing stroke on the latest of his many tales."

• At Chilling Tales for Dark Nights: "Plot Holes" by David Knoppel. Horror.
     "One of the boards or…something must’ve fallen at just the right angle that when Jake hit the ground, it speared up right through his stomach. I could see him shift and try to grab at it. Even hear him gurgle…and then he stopped."

• At Daily Science Fiction: "By the Hands of Juan Perón" by Eric James Stone. Science Fiction.
     "An average Argentine citizen would be almost paralyzed with fear upon opening the door at three in the morning to find two Imperial Police officers. But despite his wishes to the contrary, Tomás Alejandro Perón was not an average Argentine citizen."

Flash Fiction

• At Every Day Fiction: "Side Pocket" by Matthew Harrison. Science Fiction.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Sepulchre" by Bob Newbell. Science Fiction.

Audio Fiction

• At Chilling Tales for Dark Nights: "Plot Holes" by David Knoppel. Streaming. Horror.
     "One of the boards or…something must’ve fallen at just the right angle that when Jake hit the ground, it speared up right through his stomach. I could see him shift and try to grab at it. Even hear him gurgle…and then he stopped."

• At Cthulhu: "The Wrong side of the Tracks, Part 1" T.C. Mcqueen. Horror.
     "However, the Department of Homeland Security seemed to prefer 'What have you done for me lately?' Sure, I had prevented a long dead pagan witchdoctor from staging a bloody comeback tour and plunging the east coast into a new dark age, not to mention taking a severe ass kicking in the process. That, however, didn’t carry much weight with the payroll section at Homeland."

• At Fantastic Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs: The People That Time Forgot - Episode 11 (Final)
      "Tom Billings, accompanied by Nobs, is now searching through Galu country for Ajor. He has discovered a herd of horses running free, and he has determined to capture on of these magnificent beasts. He tells Nobs, 'Fetch.'" [Episodes One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten]

• At Norther Audio: "Alice in Wonderland - Chapter 6 – Pig and Pepper" by Lewis Carroll. Children's Fantasy.
     "In Chapter Six, Alice visits the house of the Duchess and has a talk with a Cheshire Cat."

• At Tales to Terrify:  "At the Mountains of Madness - Part 1" by H. P. Lovecraft. Horror.
     "Doubt of the real facts, as I must reveal them, is inevitable; yet, if I suppressed what will seem extravagant and incredible, there would be nothing left. The hitherto withheld photographs, both ordinary and aerial, will count in my favor, for they are damnably vivid and graphic. Still, they will be doubted because of the great lengths to which clever fakery can be carried."

Other Genres

• Audio at The Classic Tales Podcast: "The Gardener" by Rudyard Kipling.
• Fiction at Project Gutenberg: The Story of Rolf and the Viking's Bow by Allen French. 1918. Vikings. Legend.

Saturday Free Fiction Part One

Let's start the day with some good free audio fiction as Lovecraft eZine has made all podcast episode free for a limited time. So download them ASAP.  Radio Drama Revival has posted the conclusion of "Not From Space" and there's some noteworthy "Other Genres."  More later.






Audio Fiction
• At Lovecraft eZine: Podcasts number 19 through 24. Horror.
       "beginning with issue #19 The Lovecraft eZine is now available as a podcast.  In the podcast, you can listen to every story in each issue!" Now, for a limited time, all episodes are available for free download,

• At Radio Drama Revival: "Not from Space - Part One and Part Two" Science Fiction. Satire.
     "This scathing satire of the advertising industry taunts you with a live radio broadcast complete with all-too-truthful commercials from a series of wacky sponsors you’ll grow to love"

Other Genres

• Audio at Selected Shorts: "Wishing and Wanting"
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Pilothouse" by Gregory Jeffers.
• Fiction at Online Pulps: "Homicide Domain" by Harris Clivesey, "Too Much Hate" by Norman A. Daniels, and "The Suicide Coterie" by Emile C. Tepperman. Noir.
• Fiction at The Western Online: "Baltimore Billy" by L. Upton Illig. Western.
• Fiction at WMG Publishing: "Patriotic Gestures" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Mystery.

Begin the Day with Friendly Free Fiction

Some great free speculative fiction links to start your week with!  There are some great selections in fiction, flash fiction, and audio fiction this morning. More later.  And be sure to check out our peers listed in "Free SF Sites" in the right hand column.






[Art from "The Highwater Harbor - Part One" linked below]



Fiction
• At Black Gate: "The Highwater Harbor - Part One" by Aaron Bradford Starr. Fantasy.
     "While not exactly fugitives from justice, Gloren, Yr Neh, and I have found ourselves fleeing from various legal entanglements better resolved in our absence from West Rotthe. Arising, as they will no doubt prove, from unfounded allegations of sundry flavors of negligence, we agreed last night that the best course would likely be to take some form of long journey, far from the misplaced grievances of the Viscount of Amberle and his vengeful wife."

• At HiLobrow: "Theodore Savage part 19" by Cicely Hamilton. Science Fiction. 1922.
      "When war breaks out in Europe — war which aims successfully to displace entire populations — British civilization collapses utterly and overnight. The ironically named Theodore Savage, an educated and dissatisfied idler, must learn to survive by his wits in the new England, where 20th-century science, technology, and culture are regarded with superstitious awe and terror." Prior chapter at same link.

• At Short-Story.me: "The Priory Sunday" by Daniel Ayiotis. Horror.
      "The Priory of St. Anthony had appeared unannounced and unnoticed at first in the old three story house on Dublin’s North Circular Road.  From the outside, the house looked like any other, but it was what went on inside that attracted the interest of the Gardaí, not to mention the concerned families and friends of those who counted themselves amongst the believers within."

• At Tor.com: "The Monsters of Heaven" by Nathan Ballingrud.
     "For a long time, Brian imagined reunions with his son. In the early days, these fantasies were defined by spectacular violence. He would find the man who stole him and open his head with a claw hammer. The more blood he spilled, the further removed he became from his own guilt."

• At Wily Writers: "Profiles in Survival" by Simon McCaffery. Alternate History.
      "An iconic president and band of survivors fight for survival after the USSR launches a biological weapon at the mainland during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis."

Flash Fiction

• At Beware the Hairy Mango: "Bravissimo" by Matthew Sanborn Smith. Audio. Weird.
• At Daily Science Fiction. "Of Ash and Old Dreams" by Sarah Grey. Fantasy.
• At Quantum Muse: "Welcome" by Harris Tobias. Science Fiction.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "The Lion" by J.D. Rice. Science Fiction.
• At Toasted Cake: "The Moon's Wife" by Cheryl A. Warner. Audio.

Audio
• At Author's Site: "Kissyman & The Last Song" by Scott Sigler. Horror.
      "Here it is, folks, the free serialization of our short story collection BONES ARE WHITE. The eBook is available for purchase, but you're getting the podcast even before the audiobook is in stores."

• At Beam Me Up: Episode #374. Science Fiction.
      "the last of Ed McKeown’s story, 'In the Mourning.'"

• At Cthulhu: "The Shadow over Innsmouth - conclusion" by H.P. Lovecraft.
     "During the winter of 1927-28 officials of the Federal government made a strange and secret investigation of certain conditions in the ancient Massachusetts seaport of Innsmouth. The public first learned of it in February, when a vast series of raids and arrests occurred, followed by the deliberate burning and dynamiting - under suitable precautions - of an enormous number of crumbling, worm-eaten, and supposedly empty houses along the abandoned waterfront." Parts one, two, three, and four.

• At Every Photo Tells: "The Voyage Home"  by Jeffrey Hite. Science Fiction.
     "In a distant future, the journey back to earth is not an easy one."

• At LibriVox: "Gladiator" by Philip Wylie. Science Fiction.
      "Gladiator by Philip Wylie is the story of a man who although normal in all other ways, through the genius of his Father a biologist attains the strength and impregnability of a superman. The problems he encounters in trying to fit into a society of normal human beings who show fear and hatred whenever they view his abnormal strength and physical ability pains him to the point of having to leave civilization."

• At LibriVox: "The Magic Skin" by Honoré de Balzac. Fantasy.
       "Set in early 19th-century Paris, it tells the story of a young man who finds a magic piece of shagreen that fulfills his every desire. For each wish granted, however, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of his physical energy." - Wikipedia.

• At Wily Writers: "Profiles in Survival" by Simon McCaffery. Alternate History.
      "An iconic president and band of survivors fight for survival after the USSR launches a biological weapon at the mainland during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis."

Other Genres

• Audio at Crime City Central: "Who Killed Skippy" by Paul D Brazill. Mystery.
• Audio at Decoder Ring Theatre: "Crogan Adventures 05 - Incomplete Sentences" Mystery.
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Queen for a Day: What She’ll Say Twelve Years from Now, on a Therapist's Couch in Winnipeg" by Bonnie Ditlevsen.

Mommy, There's a Cthulhu Under My Bed.

Lovecraftian style horror at its free best. The latest issue of this kick *ss horror mag is available for free online reading.  Read it! You really don't want to annoy the great old ones, but be ready to make several sanity checks [I failed all mine on issue one]














Now Posted: Lovecraft eZine #25: Horror.

• "Cthulhu Does Stuff, #4" a comic strip by Ronnie Tucker & Maxwell Patterson.

• "Echoes From Cthulhu’s Crypt, #3" a monthly column by Robert M. Price

• "And They Did Live by Watchfires" by Evan Dicken
     "The secondary hatches cycled shut, sealing the two astronauts into their tiny tomb. The low thrum of the reality furnace provided an unwavering bass accompaniment to the measured beep and whir of the machines that drained the fluid from Petra’s lungs. Grant checked the straps that bound his wife into bed one last time before engaging the jump sequence."

• "In Dark Corners" by Bradley H. Sinor.
      "From the moment I saw The Charon Company’s Number Six oil rig I knew something was definitely wrong with it, and that made it just perfect."

• "Missing Presumed Wiped" by Derek John
      "The presentation had already begun when I arrived at the public screening room of the Film Institute and so I slipped unobtrusively into the comfortable shadows of the back row. The ghostly black-and-white images flickered in and out of focus as the projectionist carefully adjusted his lenses and the accompanying soundtrack swelled in crescendo, filling the auditorium with the relentless two-tone electronic war-drums of the original theme from Doctor Who."

• "The Eye" by Justin Munro
     "I met Mike in a freshman computer science class in college. Our jockeying for the highest grade quickly developed into a fast, if competitive, friendship. We were always racing to be the first to solve some new mind bender, or find the flaw in some hot new encryption algorithm."

• "A Glimpse of the Future" by Stewart Horn
     "The Old Ones predate not just our world, but our universe. The big bang was the moment when our dimensions expanded and sapped the energy from all the others, leaving them as tiny snail-shells of memory. If the Old Ones exist still in some form in those infinite spirals of nothing, how sane can they be after ten billion years. What does time even mean in that place?"

Do Androids Dream of Electronic Free Fiction?

 There's quite a bit of good free fiction and audio fiction today, with a wide variety of stiles and genres to choose from.  And in  "other genres" Miette's Bedtime Story Podcast makes a very welcome return (even if this reading is not in our covered genres)

 In other news,  the winners of the 2012 Bram Stoker Awards have been announced, the full list is at SF Signal and an audio reading of the winning short story is at Tales to Terrify.

 
 [Art from  "The MVP Episode #36" linked in Audio Fiction below]



Fiction
• At Cast of Wonders: "The Dictionary’s Apprentice" by Sandra M. Odell.
      "The door opened wide enough to reveal a head crowned with tufts of pale hair. Shadows tangled in the wrinkles around the nose and mouth. 'Get inside, boy,' Friedrick Mullhouse said as he peered into the night. 'Quickly now.'"

• At The WiFiles: "The Body in Question" by Charles Bush. Speculative Fiction.
     "It was easy, finding the body; it only took me three days. It all happened at the dockyards. There was this old organ grinder there that saw everything, so he filled me in on what happened. According to him, a couple of toughs stabbed the guy, robbed him, and left him for dead."

• Now Posted: Perihelion June 2013. Science Fiction

• "19th in Love" by Gerard Mulligan.
     "He met the seven-year-old Rosanna Dagamac in his first body. He was just one of the new batch of men and women, all fresh faced from the ship’s casks, who crowded the port tunnel leading from the gestation ship to the Juventas transport hub hanging at a low elevation above the planet of the same name."
• "Nelay and the Blunt" by Clint Spivey.
     "A massive black column split the sky vertically. It reached high, vanishing beneath the clouds. The orbital lift. Gifted by the humans upon cessation of hostilities. Below, the line of those awaiting transport wended serpentine about itself. Those of her people intrepid enough to partake in humanity’s offer. The offer of travel to their system."
• "Fletcher’s Mountains" by Michael Hodges
     "The snow froze his feet. The boots he’d gotten from the local sporting goods outfit worked as well as a screen door on a submarine. He chuckled. His old man used to tell him that joke a long time ago—back before The Event. It took the old man just like it took most humans. What was left of them had scattered, most going to the cities. Foolish."
• "Robert and Sarah, Across the Multiverse" by Matthew S. Dent
     "Sarah had fallen out with one of her friends. A mouthy cow called Alexa, who wasn’t really her friend but had unaccountably tagged along with the group. A stupid argument had escalated until Sarah stormed off."
• "Boccaccio in Outer Space" by Chet Gottfried
     “What do you mean hibernating? Is that another one of your condescending human remarks? For your information, I don’t hibernate. I have a longer cycle than you do. Seventy-two hours on and then twenty-four for sleep. And I’ve been awake working on the cloning design for over ninety hours.”
• "Invoking Fire" by Guy Stewart
     "Payne screamed but stopped abruptly. Na’Rodney landed at the bottom of the stairs. Two women dressed in black suits, white shirts with black ties and sunglasses held Payne between them."
"• Seven Seconds" by Charles Payseur.
      "Jake was trending up fifteen percent from the time he woke and rolled off of the crowded mattress on the floor to the time he made it downstairs to the darkened street and started looking for a place open to feed him."
• "Malware" by Simon Kewin
     "Jay sat back from his screen, fingers paused over his keyboard. A window with the words Unknown Process Detected overlaid his screen. Details filled the window: memory usage, I/O, CPU load. The numbers blurred as they counted up."
• "Coming of AGE" by Bob Sojka
     "You the reporter? How’d you get here before the EMT? Really? In this building? I never knew that. C’mon in. Mrs. Hamilton told me you’d be coming, but I thought for sure the EMT would get here first. She told me to keep you here until she’s ready for them to talk to you. But you’re not allowed any pictures if you want an exclusive. "
• "A Journey Through the Wormhole" by Brian Biswas
     "The pillars performed two functions. First, they provided the propulsive force to circulate the silvery liquid through the tubules, a liquid which was used to keep the entire apparatus at a constant—and very cold—temperature. Second, when a switch was pressed, the electrical potential of two previously generated proton beams was increased to seven tera-electron volts."

• Flash Fiction at 365 Tomorrows: "Franny" by Bronwyn Seward. Science Fiction.

Audio Fiction
• At Author's Site: "The MVP Episode #36" by Scott Sigler. Science Fiction. Football.
     "Football/scifi fans, you have suffered through several cliff-hangery moments, but in this episode we finish the Galaxy Bowl XXVII. Either your Ionath Krakens or the Jupiter Jacks will walk away as champions."

• At Cast of Wonders: "The Dictionary’s Apprentice" by Sandra M. Odell.
     Described Above

• At Cthulhu: "The Shadow Over Innsmouth, part 3" by H. P. Lovecraft. Horror.
     No Description

• At Every Photo Tells: "Uncle Zapf" by Harris Tobias.
     "A visit to stay with Uncle Zapf is always a treat for his young nieces and nephews, but the question remains… just what IS in that old locker of his?"

• At The Fantastic Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs: "Episode 09 - The Land That Time Forgot"
      "their travels take them into contact with a tribe of apelike men more advanced than any they have met so far. This tribe – the Band-Lu – or hatchet men – grudgingly allow the humans to rest with them."

• At LibriVox: Tom Swift and His Wireless Message by Victor Appleton. YA Adventure.
       "Tom Swift & friends decide to trial an experimental airship near the New Jersey coast, and are unexpectedly swept out to sea by hurricane winds. Unable to steer or navigate without tearing the airship apart, the hapless crew must simply let the storm take them wherever it will. Unfortunately, the storm proves too much for the craft and Tom makes a crash landing on the uninhabited and crumbling Earthquake Island"

Other Genres

• Audio at Miette's Bedtime Story Podcast: "A Painful Case" by James Joyce. 
• Audio at Selected Shorts: "Complicated Relationships"
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Down Rail" by Christopher Owen.

Was This the Free Fiction That Launch'd a Thousand Ships?

Another small batch of cool, free genre items in a variety of formats.

[Art from "Space Ace" in comics below]






Fiction
• At The WiFiles: "Deep Sleeping" by Amy Cornelius. Speculative Fiction.
      "The screen of thorns before him gave Jude pause. It was the first time he had considered turning around and going home without completing his quest. It was fear that made him stop. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the stories that had haunted him since he was a child. Fear of dying without really living. But fear was also what had brought him here in the first place. The fear of failing. How could he be expected to rule an entire country if he couldn’t overcome one simple obstacle such as this?"

• Flash Fiction at 365 Tomorrows: "Full Circle" by John Kinney. Science Fiction.

E-Books

• Good Sister, Bad Sister by Carol Marrs Phipps. Fantasy.
• Faelorehn by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson.YA Paranormal Romance.
• Promise by Kristie Cook. Paranormal Romance.  
• The Demon Mages by Sabine A.Reed. Epic Fantasy.
• The Journey by John A. Heldt. Time Travel.
• Silver Cord by Dr. Paul. Paranormal.
• Kamori: Mystery of the Pau'i by P.A. Mundi. Children's SF.

Audio Fiction
 • At Clarkesworld: "This is Why We Jump" by Jacob Clifton. Science Fiction.
      "I can curl myself around him like an ammonite, and call him little names, and he will smile. Arms and legs getting bigger every day. A little starfish, crowding me out. It is my name for him, but only when he will be gentled can I say. It happens less and less".


 • At LibriVox: "Herbert West: Re-animator" by H. P. Lovecraft. Horror.
     " The first horrible incident of our acquaintance was the greatest shock I ever experienced, and it is only with reluctance that I repeat it. As I have said, it happened when we were in the medical school where West had already made himself notorious through his wild theories on the nature of death and the possibility of overcoming it artificially."

 • At Wily Writers: "Live by the Sword" by Andrew Knighton.
     "For Ubu, the gladiator life is short and brutal, but in the shadow of the arena there is a chance for something more"

Comics

• At Atomic Kommie Comics: "Boy Who Saved the World" Sci-Fi. 1952.
• At Atomic Kommie Comics: "Battle Beneath the Earth" Sci-Fi. 1954.
• At The Comic Book Catacombs: "The Talaki War Drums" Adventure. 1948.
• At Four-Color Shadows: "White on Black" Horror. 1953.
• At The Horrors of It All: "Skin 'em Alive!" Horror. 1954
• At The Horrors of It All: "Creature of Evil / The Moon Was Red" Horror. 1971/1953.
• At Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine: "Ace of Space/ Space Ace" Sci-Fi. 1940/1948.

Other Genres

• Audio at Selected Shorts: "Rites of Passage"
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Life Running By" by Karoline Barrett

Free is Very Good

Just another list of great free professional, and professional quality, science fiction, fantasy, superhero, and horror.  It's a good time to be a speculative fiction fan. [It's a bad time for me to be a hockey fan, since the team I wanted to win the cup just lost to the team I've predicted to win it.]

[Art for "The Elephant in the Room" linked below]




Fiction
• At Pathfinder: "Stargazer - Chapter Four: A Matter of Commerce" by Chris A. Jackson. Fantasy.
        "A nondescript wagon creaked down a dark street of the Inner City, the back piled high with canvas-covered wares and the caravaneers perched on the seat and rails. A single horseman rode beside the wagon, looking ill at ease in the saddle. The wagon stopped just before entering a wide, curved avenue, across which loomed an impressive stone mansion. To the casual eye, it looked just like one of the dozens or hundreds of wagons that passed through Katapesh each day."

• At Tor.com: "The Elephant in the Room" by Paul Cornell. Superhero.
       "a young woman who can temporarily take on the superpowers of people she’s near...and of the crisis this leads her into as she struggles to deal with an overcontrolling mother, a very strange boyfriend, and the beginning of a career."

• Now Posted: Beneath Ceaseless Skies #122. Fantasy. 

"The Penitent" by  M. Bennardo
     "No. 17596 let the book fall out of his hands. It would tell him what? It would tell him that the world went on—that somewhere, out there, men and women were carrying on their affairs while he sat alone in his cell, sentenced to ruminate in silence and isolation."
"Dreams of Peace" by Dana Beehr.
       "Suddenly a horrible sense of disjunction came over her—looking around the sunny dining room, she seemed to see with a strange doubled sight the wreckage beneath: a thick layer of dust, shattered tables lying on their sides, broken windows, gaping holes in the walls, the beautiful rosewood sideboard wrecked, with its doors hanging off and its mirror cracked—"

Flash Fiction

• At Beware the Hairy Mango: "All You Need is Lava" by Matthew Sanborn Smith.
• At Daily Science Fiction: "Nitpick" by K. S. O'Neill. 
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Embargo" by W Hunter. Science Fiction.

Audio Fiction
• At Beneath Ceaseless Skies: "Our Dead Selves Lie Like Footsteps in Our Wake" by Jeff Isacksen. Fantasy.
     " I close my eyes and listen to the gentle beating of her heart, the rhythm of her life. I can almost feel the warmth of her blood. Intensely intimate—more even than the earlier tangle of limbs and lips—the fabric of her physicality is laid bare in her heartbeat. Like I’m part of her, I press so close that I am among the tiny, fleshy machines that move her parts and breathe her air and do all the other miraculous, incredible, completely mundane things that came together to be Adalia."

• At Escape Pod: "Subversion" by Elisabeth R. Adams. Science Fiction.
     "I scanned his chip. Eduardo Martin, 34, programmer. No spouse or kids, but adoption records from the county shelter for two cats. Sealed tax records, a social security number, mortgage history. Subversion Inc. member for five years, currently version 4.1. Definitely the primary."

• At 19 Nocturne Boulevard: - 19 Nocturne LIVE! "The Dreams in the Witch House" by H. P. Lovecraft.
       "Whether the dreams brought on the fever or the fever brought on the dreams Walter Gilman did not know. Behind everything crouched the brooding, festering horror of the ancient town, and of the mouldy, unhallowed garret gable where he wrote and studied and wrestled with figures and formulae when he was not tossing on the meagre iron bed. "

• At 19 Nocturne Boulevard: "The Flying Cuspidors" by V.R. Francis from Fantastic Universe, August 1958.
      "Hotlips Grogan may not be as handsome and good-looking like me or as brainy and intellectual, but in this fiscal year of 2056 he is the gonest trumpet-tooter this side of Alpha Centauri. You would know what I mean right off if you ever hear him give out with "Stars Fell on Venus," or "Martian Love Song," or "Shine On, Harvest Luna." Believe me, it is out of this world. He is not only hot, he is radioactive. On a clear day he is playing notes you cannot hear without you are wearing special equipment."

• At PodCastle: "The Dragonslayer of Merebarton" by K.J. Parker. Fantasy.
      "On reflection, if I hadn’t seen those wretched White Drakes in Outremer, there’s a reasonable chance I’d have refused to believe in a dragon trashing Merebarton, and then, who knows, it might’ve flown away and bothered someone else."

Other Genres
Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "That Look in His Eyes" by Rohini Gupta.

Wednesday

Some great free fiction today, including Lightspeed, StarShipSofa, Cosmos, SFFaudio, and many more.  Be sure to check out all the sound good and visit SF Signal for more free fiction links. And be sure to check out Regan Wolfrom's (SF Signal's free fiction linker extraordinaire) new round up of writing articles.  

[Art from "Goblin Market" in audio fiction]




Fiction
• At Black Gate: "The Turtle in the Sea of Sand" by Mary Catelli. Fantasy.
     "The sea of sand touched many shores — the meanest beggar’s brat knew that — and many sands drifted up from them, but Persinette always maintained that black sand meant death, and mingled with red, a bloody death. Kyre jeered at that: as if someone wasn’t always dying in the city, and most of the time, dying violently."

• At Cosmos: "Behind the First Years" by Stewart C Baker. Science Fiction.
     "In his darker moments, Pete felt the first people were mocking him, conspiring to erase all knowledge of why they had been sent away, what calamity had befallen Earth."
 
• At Daily Science Fiction: "The Left Side of Your Lover's Broken Face" by Brynn MacNab. Magic Realism.
      "A story is a little tiny piece. A brick, a section of straight pipe, half a radiator. It should be an important piece; if it's not important, pick a different bit"

• At Lightspeed: "Interview: On Any Given Day" by Maureen F. McHugh. Science Fiction.
     "I had this virus, and it was inside me, and it could have been causing all these weird kinds of cancers…. All sorts of weird stuff I’d never heard of, like hairy cell leukemia, and cancerous lesions in parts of your bones, and cancer in your pancreas." 

• At Lightspeed: "Leaving the Dead"  by Dennis Danvers. Fantasy.
     "Darwin thought he might be more alive than other people. Not a whole lot, but ever increasingly, until finally, in a checkout line at Target, he was the last person left alive but his checker"

• At Wily Writers: "Where the Dacouvri Died" by Brian Dolton.
      "Caught between two enemies, the Dacouvri turned to the goddess of the mountains for protection. But what does that protection really mean – and what does it cost?"

• At The World SF Blog: "Sanditon" by Helen Marshall.
"They were in the elevator, Gavin’s voice surprisingly deep and gruff, but his smile was so charming, it lit up his entire face. He touched her lightly on the arm, and she was happy for the warmth of him, but wryly wary. He was married. She knew that. He pressed the button for his floor, and Hanna felt the ground dropping away beneath her, again when he slipped his arm around her waist, not too firmly, gently really, and it was the warmth of it she loved."

Flash Fiction

• At Beware the Hairy Mango: "Bone Wet"  by Matthew Sanborn Smith.
• At Beware the Hairy Mango: "A Case of the Lumps"  by Matthew Sanborn Smith
• Ay Daily Science Fiction: "A Little Sleep" by Melissa Mead. 
• At Enchanted Conversations: "Love Like Salt" by Jennifer A. McGowan. Fairy Tail Poem. 
• At Every Day Fiction: "Resetting Alexandria" by Cory Cone. Science Fiction
• At Quantum Muse: "The Trees of Tismont" by Michele Dutcher.
• At Strange Horizons: "And the War is Never Over" by Shira Lipkin. Speculative Poem/Audio
• At 365 Tomorrows: "The Man With No Name" by Desmond Hussey. Science Fiction
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Salary Man" by Ray Daley. Science Fiction

Audio Fiction
• At Lightspeed: "Leaving the Dead"  by Dennis Danvers. Fantasy.
      Described Above

• At StarShipSofa: “The Night Whiskey” by Jeffrey Ford.
     No Description

• At SFFaudio: "Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti. Fantasy Poem.
     "Morning and evening / Maids heard the goblins cry: / 'Come buy our orchard fruits, / Come buy, come buy:"

• At SFFaudio: "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" by H.P. Lovecraft. Horror.
     "During the winter of 1927–28 officials of the Federal government made a strange and secret investigation of certain conditions in the ancient Massachusetts seaport of Innsmouth. The public first learned of it in February, when a vast series of raids and arrests occurred, followed by the deliberate burning and dynamiting—under suitable precautions—of an enormous number of crumbling, worm-eaten, and supposedly empty houses along the abandoned waterfront. Uninquiring souls let this occurrence pass as one of the major clashes in a spasmodic war on liquor."

• At Wily Writers: "Where the Dacouvri Died" by Brian Dolton.
     Described  Above

Other Genres

• Audio at Protecting Project Pulp: "Arson Plus" by Dashiell Hammett. Noir.
• Fiction at Author's Site: "Heroics" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Simply Lila" by Wendy White Lees.

Freebies Part 1

 Part one of today's free fiction.  Another big catch up day (and never a big mustard day! *insert drum roll, groans, and boos here*). Some great stuff this post. Back later with more freebies links and some gratuitous insults aimed at my evil, but hard working, arch-enemy.

[art from "Europa Spring" linked below]




Fiction
• At Cosmos: "Europa Spring" by Elinor Caiman Sands. Science Fiction.
     "The Margarita Sushi Bar is expensive. I hook my prosthetic fins over the mooring bar as I wait and order beer; the green stuff is delivered in a sachet."

• At Electric Velocipede: "The Irish Astronaut" by Val Nolan.
    "By his second week in the village with the unpronounceable name, Dale had taken up with the old men fishing out beyond the rocks. The place was called the Blue Pool and people died there, he was told, freak waves being known to carry them away. Fierce tragic, as his new friends had it."

• At Lightspeed: "Water Finds Its Level"  by M. Bennardo. Science Fiction:
     "When people asked where I met Roger, I always told the truth. “We met in the Collision,” I’d say. Then they’d give me that look that people used to give you when you told them you met somebody online. The look that said you must be reckless or naive or desperate, and that no good would come of it."

• At Lightspeed: "The Aarne-Thompson Classification Revue" by Holly Black. Fantasy.
     "There is a werewolf girl in the city. She sits by the phone on a Saturday night, waiting for it to ring. She paints her nails purple."

Flash Fiction

• At Beware the Hairy Mango: "Electric Spoon" by Matthew Sanborn Smith.  Audio.
• At Beware the Hairy Mango: "110 Degrees in the Shade" by Matthew Sanborn Smith.  Audio.
• At Beware the Hairy Mango: "Butterfly Lass" by Matthew Sanborn Smith.  Audio.
• At Beware the Hairy Mango: "It’s All Just Hearsmell" by Matthew Sanborn Smith.  Audio.
• At The Colored Lens: "Grandma’s Shoes" by Jamie Lackey.  Fantasy. Slipstream.
• At Daily Science Fiction: "Forgiving Dead" by Jeff Stehman.
• At Flashes in the Dark: "Crystal Balls" by Marian Brooks. Horror,.
• AT 365 Tomorrows: "Junk Planet" by Clint Wilson. Science Fiction.
• AT 365 Tomorrows: "A ‘Simon-Pure’ Tale" by Desmond Hussey. Science Fiction.
• AT 365 Tomorrows: "Trash Man" by Mark Tremble. Science Fiction.
• AT 365 Tomorrows: "Big Bang Theory" by Dawn Napier. Science Fiction.
• At Toasted Cake: "After the Earthquake" by Caroline M. Yoachim.

Audio Fiction
• At Clarkesworld: "(R + D) /I = M" by E. Catherine Tobler. Science Fiction.
     "Grapes grew differently on Mars and no one minded. This trespass was for science, ask anyone."

• At Classics on the Go: "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Chapter 2" by Lewis Carroll. Children's Fantasy.
     "Alice is trapped in a little room and can't figure out how to get into the garden. What will she do?"

• At Cthulhu: "The Shadow over Innsmouth, part 1" by H. P. Lovecraft. Horror.
      "During the winter of 1927-28 officials of the Federal government made a strange and secret investigation of certain conditions in the ancient Massachusetts seaport of Innsmouth. The public first learned of it in February, when a vast series of raids and arrests occurred, followed by the deliberate burning and dynamiting - under suitable precautions - of an enormous number of crumbling, worm-eaten, and supposedly empty houses along the abandoned waterfront. Uninquiring souls let this occurrence pass as one of the major clashes in a spasmodic war on liquor. "

• At The Fantastic Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs: "The Land That Time Forgot - Episode 1" Adventure. Dinosaurs.
     "It must have been a little after three o'clock in the afternoon that it happened—the afternoon of June 3rd, 1916. It seems incredible that all that I have passed through—all those weird and terrifying experiences—should have been encompassed within so short a span as three brief months. Rather might I have experienced a cosmic cycle, with all its changes and evolutions for that which I have seen with my own eyes in this brief interval of time—things that no other mortal eye had seen before, glimpses of a world past"

• At Lightspeed: "The Aarne-Thompson Classification Revue" by Holly Black. Fantasy.
     Described Above

• At LibriVox: "Seven H. P. Lovecraft Stories" Horror.
     "Each story is unique and strange in it's own way but all of them come from the same mind that gave us the Cult of Cthulhu and other wonderful tales that generations now have enjoyed for their strangeness that resonates with our own inner fears. Some of these stories explore the depths of the human mind others the depths of human degradation and creepiness"

• At LibriVox: "The Ghost Pirates" by William Hope Hodgson. Horror.
     "The Ghost Pirates is a powerful account of a doomed and haunted ship on its last voyage, and of the terrible sea-devils (of quasi-human aspect, and perhaps the spirits of bygone buccaneers) that besiege it"

• At LibriVox: "Futuria Fantasia, Spring 1940" Ed. by Ray Bradbury. Science Fiction.
     "A collection of short science fiction stories, edited by Ray Bradbury. Authors include Lyle Monroe, J. E. Kelleam, Hank Kuttner, J. H. Haggard, Ron Reynolds, Damon Knight, and Hannes V. Bok."  

Other Genres

• Audio at Crime City Central: "Thorolf and the Peacock" by Ellen Kuhfeld.
• Audio at Every Photo Tells: "Obscurities – Part 01" by Mick Bordet.
• Audio at Selected Shorts: "Family Values"

Monday Freebies

 Lots of good freebies today, including fiction, flash fiction,e-books, audio fiction, and other genres.

 [no new QD Radio today since today's post is late and tomorrow's post should be early]


 [Art from Alien Hunter, Star Trooper in the e-book section]




 



Fiction
• At Author's Site: "Unnatural Disaster" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Fantasy.
      "Tadero thinks Denne sent her on a fool’s errand—until she stumbles across something on the beach. Something that poses a far greater threat than the tsunami, the storm, or anything else the former Chicago cop has ever faced"

• At Kat & Mouse: "Ties That Bind" - Part Four" by Abner Senires.
       "Then we hogtied Isaac with zipties and a length of rope, gagged him with an old bandana, then deposited him in the trunk of the sedan. Joshua parked it back on the street then joined us in the Shelby."

• At L5R: "Notice Me" by Robert Denton. Fantasy.
     "Moshi Yokohime awakened with a scream, darting up from her bed. Her hand went immediately to her neck. She held it there for long moments before breathing a quiet, relieved sigh. It was only a dream. A nightmare. Nothing more."

• At Strange Horizons: "Inventory" by Carmen Maria Machado.
       "I'm the dad, and you're the mom," she said. I pulled up my shirt, she pulled up hers, and we just stared at each other. My heart fluttered between my legs, but I worried about daddy longlegs and her parents finding us. I still have never seen Jurassic Park. I suppose I never will.

Flash Fiction

• At Daily Science Fiction: "Downsizing Pluto" by Shane Halbach. Science Fiction.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Colonists" by Duncan Shields. Science Fiction.
• At Strange Horizons: "Watching for Aliens over the Allegheny" by Karen Weyant. Poem. Speculative.

E-Books
• At Amazon: Fire Mage by John Forrester. Fantasy. [via Pixel of Ink]
• At Amazon: Alien Hunter, Star Trooper by David Scholes. Science Fiction.
• At Free eBooks Daily:

• Haven by Lucian Barnes. Fantasy.
• The Haunting at Blackwood Hall by Barrymore Tebbs. Gothic.
• Return of the Thunder Gods by Mathias Jensen. Fantasy.
• Eon's Door by J.G. McKenney. Epic Fantasy.
• Summer of the Moon Flower by Annie Seaton. Fantasy. 
• Mark of the Princess by B.C. Morin. YA Fantasy.
• Teleport This by Christopher M. Daniels.
• Valley of the Dead by Kim Paffenroth. Fantasy.
• Cora: The Unwilling Queen by Amy Hutchinson. Paranormal Romance.
• Fair Maiden by Cheri Schmidt. YA Fantasy.
• The Legacy of Sadie Mae Stevens by Max W. Miller. YA Paranormal.
• Blood Melt by Max W. Miller. YA Paranormal. 
• The Griffin Cryer by Julia Hughes. YA Fantasy.
• The Princess of Dhagabad by Anna Kashina. Fantasy. 
• Farewell Horizontal by K.W. Jeter. Science Fiction.

Audio Fiction
• At Author's Site: "The MVP Episode #14" by Scott Sigler. Science Fiction. Football.
      "Game on! The first game of the regular season pits Ionath against the Isis Ice Storm. Is this the Krakens' year? Quentin and his teammates say goodbye to career-long Krakens players, giving him another insight into the many facets of Gredok the Splithead."

• At Beam Me Up: "Healthy Eating" by K.S.Dearsley.
     "That's your job." Dr Vinkriss shredded a strip of goat-silk bandage. “You people have been warned about buying unauthorized food, but you never listen. I'll have to report it, you know. You're breeding rights will probably be revoked."
• At Cthulhu: The House on the Borderland, parts 13 & 14 by William Hope Hodgson. Horror.
      No description

• At SFFaudio: "Polaris" by H.P. Lovecraft. Horror.
      "Into the North Window of my chamber glows the Pole Star with uncanny light. All through the long hellish hours of blackness it shines there. And in the autumn of the year, when the winds from the north curse and whine, and the red-leaved trees of the swamp mutter things to one another in the small hours of the morning under the horned waning moon, I sit by the casement and watch that star."

• At Strange Horizons: "Inventory" by Carmen Maria Machado.
      Described above.

Other Genres

• Audio at Crime City Central: "Call Me, I’m Dying" by Allan Guthrie.
• Audio at Tales of Old: "Other Wishes" by Richard Zwicker. Detective.
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Red  Handed" by Patricia C. Anderson. Humor.