A Start.

Some good free fiction today, much more tomorrow (the rest of today's plus Tuesday's).






Fiction
• At Cast of Wonders: "The Long Cut" by Tom Howard. YA Speculative Fiction.
      "'Do you want me to drive for a while?' my mother asked from the front passenger seat.  It was the middle of the night but, unlike my older sister, I couldn’t sleep.  The desert streaked by just out of sight of the headlights."

• At Cosmos: "Gameplay" by Christos Callow Jr. Science Fiction.
     "I had only reloaded once when I saw the waiter bringing lamb chops to the nearby table. Lamb chops! I was so upset at the display of this mutilated CORPSE that my crystal eye popped and fell in my glass."

• At L5R: "There Will Be Blood, Part 1b" by Shawn Carman. Fantasy.
     "The idea of a Phoenix samurai stooping so low as to spy upon the Crab would have been completely laughable if it were not for the fact that it had actually occurred, and that it had denied a valued agent of the clan his freedom."

• At The WiFiles: "Van Helsing Escapes" by James Lewelling. Speculative Fiction.
     I couldn’t take it anymore—her “Harker this” and “Harker that.” I had to get out of that place. I didn’t even wait for her to start into it. As soon as she had stepped into the room, I rushed the door. It took her completely off guard. The last thing I saw was the “O” of her open mouth.

Flash Fiction

• At Daily Science Fiction: "Snippets" by K. B. Dalai. 
• At Flashes in the Dark: "Shoe In" by Cindy Rosmus. Horror.
• At Quantum Muse: "The Green Grass of Home" by Michele Dutcher.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon" by Clint Wilson. Science Fiction.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Machine Justice" by Paul Williams. Science Fiction.

Audio Fiction
• At Cast of Wonders: "The Long Cut" by Tom Howard. YA Speculative Fiction.
     Described above.

• At Fantastic Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs: "Episode 16 - The Beasts of Tarzan"
     "Chapter XVI – “In the Darkness of the Night”  Tarzan is hot on the trail of Jane and Rokoff. He has caught up with Rokoff’s canoe as it heads for the Kincaid. Rokoff strikes Tarzan with a heavy canoe paddle just as Tarzan is attempting to climb aboard."

• At Toasted Cake: "Make Believe" by Kenneth Kao.
      "In which we try to blow out the candles. The therapist's waiting room was plain--white sterile walls and carpet floors that smelled of chemicals."

Other Genres

• Audio at CraftLit: "Jane Eyre, chapter 33" by Charlotte Brontë.
• Audio at Crime City Central: "Watchful Unto Death" by Hilary Bonner.
• Audio at Selected Shorts: "A Tribute to David Rakoff"
• Flash at Every Day Fiction: "The Book Club" by Alison Burgin.
• Flash at Every Day Fiction: "Everything Is Beautiful" by Mike A. Scalzitti.

Monday Part One

A good eclectic mix of free genre fiction to begin the day.

 Today's QD Radio is Dimension X - "No Contact"
"A strange invisible barrier is frustrating Man's attempts to explore the depths of space. Six expeditions have been lost trying to cross it, their fate a mystery since no signal can pass through the barrier. This is the story of the seventh..." - OTR PlotSpot.

Fiction
• At Author's Site: "Thieves' Honor, ep 23: "Walking Through Walls" (pt 1)" by Keanan Brand.
      "Mars held out his hand. The sergeant returned his sidearm; Mars holstered it then shouldered his duffle and strode across the security bay, the clearing area for all the personnel and goods coming aboard the Orpheus. Being part of the captain’s security detail, Gaines shouldn’t have seemed so out of place down here, but he looked as nervous as a quenya bug stranded in sunlight."

• At Kat and Mouse: "Ties That Bind - Part Three" by Abner Senires.
      I turned back to Rachel. "I think you two better start talking," I said. "We're not taking your job until we know who he is"--I nodded at Isaac--"and what's going on."
• At L5R:  "Finding the Balance" by Seth Mason. Fantasy.
    "In Rokugan, a simple priest of the Dragon Clan finds himself embroiled in the battle against the Dark Naga, the sinister serpentine threat to the entire Emerald Empire."

• At The WiFiles: "Crimes Against Humanity" by Rhonda Parrish.
     "I don’t need your pity. There are the whiners who will go on and on about how we’re the unfortunate ones, like somehow surviving is worse than being turned into one of them. Bullshit, man, that’s just utter crap. Sure it’s tough, surviving, but it beats the crap out of the alternative. Dead is, well, dead and undead is worse."

Flash Fiction

• At Daily Science Fiction: "Unwanted" by Holly Jennings.  
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Priest Hole" by Morrow Brady. Science Fiction.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "The Needs of the Few" by Patricia Stewart. Science Fiction.
• At LibriVox: "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe. In Short Poetry Collection 115. Audio. Poem. Dark.

Audio Fiction
• At Author's Site: "The MVP Episode #13" by Scott Sigler. Science Fiction. Football.
      "A pre-season injury throws the Krakens future into question. John Tweedy demands new players for his defense, but the way he wants to do it rubs Quentin the wrong way. And once again, the rumors start up of Becca "The Wrecka" Montagne taking Quentin's spot at quarterback."

• At Beam Me Up: "Equalization" by David Scholes.Science Fiction.
       No description found.

• At Drama Pod: "A Visit to the Catacombs" by J  J. Weintrau.
        "And yes, to remove anything from the premises, from the smallest stone to an undiscovered fragment of a relic, is a criminal offense. The Altamontivecchi catacombs are a national treasure."

• At Fantastic Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs: "Episode 15 - The Return of Tarzan"
     "Tarzan has found himself thrown overboard into the Atlantic. Finding a derelict lifeboat, he successfully navigates to land – the very beach whereon lies the cabin of his father – the place where he was born and raised"

• At Selected Shorts: "Exchange" by Ray Bradbury.
     "Guest host John Lithgow introduces three stories about reading and writing. First, Walter R. Brooks’ talking horse Mr. Ed learns to read, with hilarious consequences, in “Ed Has His Mind Improved,” performed by Tony Roberts. In Ray Bradbury’s “Exchange,” read by Rochelle Oliver, an overworked librarian has her spirits lifted by a lonely soldier. Finally, late SHORTS host Isaiah Sheffer dreams of tigers in a Jorge Luis Borges short."

• At Toasted Cake:  "The Tides" by Ken Liu.
      ""When I was little," Dad says, softly chuckling, "the Moon was so small I thought I could put it in my pocket, like a coin."

Other Genres

• Audio at CraftLit:  Jane Eyre, Chapter 13 by Charlotte Brontë. Classic.
• Audio at Every Picture Tells: "Souls and Locks" by Katharina Maimer Bordet.
• Audio at LibriVox: The Passionate Friends by H. G. Wells. Literary. 
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Through the Fence" by Gavin McCall. Literary.
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Do You Know Who I Am?" by Susan Lanigan.
• Non-Fiction at Project Gutenberg: King Arthur in Cornwall by W. Howship Dickinson. 1900. Speculative History.