Give Me Speculative Fiction, I'll Take Anything. Now Quiet While I Read My Good Free Fiction

  The free fiction week's off to a good start with fiction, flash fiction, audio fiction, and other genres from some fantastic sites. Huzzah!  I'll be back later with more, and be certain to check out the latest free fiction post from Regan Wolfrom at SF Signal for additional links.  [Art from "Turnip Girl" in fiction below]









 Fiction
 • At Black Gate: "Stand at Dubun-Geb" by Ryan Harvey. Fantasy.
       "Under a downpour of rain the slate faces of the Dubun-Geb Mountains were dreadful, and they stirred memories in the warriors clustered at their feet of campfire tales of the secrets lurking among the crags. In the days of the Hegemony, the Shapers had carved fortresses in the Dubun-Geb where they worked the magic of the Art on stone and metal. The Shapers had vanished, but no place stained with their sorceries forgot them."

 • At Mad Scientist Journal: "Diary of a Turnip Girl" by Finale Doshi-Velez. Science Fiction.
      "'You crossed me with a bunch of turnips.' Teens with glossy hair and perfect teeth smiled at me from the racks of fashion magazines. I blew at a few strands of my own wiry frizz. Stupid turnip hair. 'Radhika’s mom always buys her the silky pear shampoo.'"

• At Short-Story.me: "Tammy Lynn's Burden" by Rachel Villalobos. Horror.
     "She wished she didn't live way out in the outskirts of town. In the middle of a half dead corn field with the nearest neighbor two miles away. She continued on at the slow pace, taking her time. Even as the 100 degree weather baked her brain, she would not hurry to reach the dirty little trailer sooner than she had to, Tammy Lynn refused to call it home. It was a prison, a cage, a place she dreaded returning to. Inside the trailer was the burden that would be chained to her for the rest of her life."

Flash Fiction

• At Daily Science Fiction: "Uh... Guys?" by Luc Reid. Science Fiction.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Junkyard Funeral" by Aiza Mohd. Science Fiction.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Lucky" by Gabriel E. Zentner. Science Fiction.
• At 365 Tomorrows:  "Deafening Silence" by Adam Levey. Science Fiction.
• At Toasted Cake: "Extracts from the Parahistorical Literature Review, Volume 1 (Fall 2026") by Benjamin Blattberg. Science Fiction Audio.

Audio Fiction
• At Author's Site: "Bones are White #10: Passenger, Part 2" by Scott Sigler.
     "A recon team just crash-landed on Vee-Seven just before SAM fire tore into their troop carrier. Duck is dead. Chesque and Nguyen are MIA. Jennings has lost a leg and is screaming for help. Sgt. Marcus Crowley tries to keep the survivors together. Can Cheryl and Psycho stay alive long enough to help him complete the mission? "

• At Beam Me Up: "Episode #377" 
    Featuring Kevin Phyland’s "Long Shot" - "The line for betting on Melbourne Cup Day was ridiculously long. All hoping to bring home a long shot." and part one of Dean Giles "Dave"- "The room was dimly lit by a single window set high on the once white-tiled walls, now faded to a putrid yellow. The unwashed concrete floor bore no furniture apart from the plastic stool where Simon sat, and his Grandfather’s wooden rocking-chair opposite him."

• At Clarkesworld: "One Flesh" by Mark Bourne & Elizabeth Bourne, read by Kate Baker. Science Fiction,
        "Jupiter’s immense horizon appears flat as a flitter, stretching beyond the reach of vision. Cloud banks the size of continents drift in what might be sky. Organic molecules paint them in autumn colors: oranges and browns and peach and gold. Behind the clouds, the rising sun shines like a silver coin"

• At Radio Drama Revival: "Paradox" by Jack Feldstein. Fantasy.
    "Inspired by The Little Prince, Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz [. . . ] Paradox is a modern fairy tale that has fun and whimsy and absurdity but also adult and philosophical concepts."

• At SFFaudio: "The Red Room" by H. G. Wells, read by Simon Vance.  
     "I can assure you," said I, "that it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me." And I stood up before the fire with my glass in my hand.

Other Genres

• Audio at Crime City Central: "In the Name of the Father" by Alan Baxter
• Audio at Forgotten Classics: "A Daughter of Rameses" by Lord Dunsany.
• Fiction at WMG Publishing: "Stomping Mad" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Mystery.
• Fiction at Short-Story.me: "What's that noise?" by Carol Michaels. Mystery.
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Un-Conspiracy Theory" by Chloe Banks.

Celebrating the Births . . . Norman Spinrad, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Howard Waldrop, and Jane Lindskold.

Jane Lindskold (born Sept. 15, 1962)
     A Nebula Award Preliminary Nominee, Lindskold has written several noteworthy fantasy and science fiction stories, a few of which are freely available. Among her novels art those in The Firekeeper Saga. Her website is here.










Continues after jump break

Morning Free Fiction Snack

Just a few so far, but they are all good!






Fiction
• At Wily Writers: "The Mary-Jane Effect" by AJ Fitzwater. Science Fiction.
      "I know those words are meaningless. There’s nothing I can do about that now. It wasn’t your fault. It’s not mine. Blaming the assholes who blew the Sydney terminal is too easy a cop out. They were just doing what they thought they had to do."

Flash Fiction

• At Beware the Hairy Mango: "Straw Poll" by Matthew Sanborn Smith. Weird. Audio.
• At Chilling Tales for Dark Nights: "Black Coffee" by Christian Dives. Horror. Audio.
• At Every Day Fiction: "Becoming Sugar-Free" by Sierra July. Fantasy.
• At Silver Blade: "Believe" by C.R. Hodges. Fantasy.

Audio
• At Wily Writers: "The Mary-Jane Effect" by AJ Fitzwater. Science Fiction.
      "I know those words are meaningless. There’s nothing I can do about that now. It wasn’t your fault. It’s not mine. Blaming the assholes who blew the Sydney terminal is too easy a cop out. They were just doing what they thought they had to do."

Other Genres

• Audio at Decoder Ring Theater: "Black Jack Justice - Home Fires" Noir.

Free Fiction Potpourri.

Some cool free miscelanus free stufff this morning, including a great Lawrence Watt-Evans story, in both text and audio format, at Escape Pod. [Art from "To Mars and Back" in Comics]










Fiction
• At Escape Pod: "Why I Left Harry’s All-Night Hamburgers" by Lawrence Watt-Evans. Science Fiction.
       "Harry’s was a nice place — probably still is. I haven’t been back lately. It’s a couple of miles off I-79, a few exits north of Charleston, near a place called Sutton. Used to do a pretty fair amount of business until they finished building the Interstate out from Charleston and made it worthwhile for some fast-food joints to move in right next to the cloverleaf; nobody wanted to drive the extra miles to Harry’s after that."

• At Silver Blade: "The Greatest Shade – Part 3" by Bryan Wein. Fantasy. 
       "The man who opened the door was tall, slender, and dark-skinned, with bloodshot eyes and a heap of greasy dreadlocks adorned with pink ribbons. 'Xiao Tian Lang,' he said, bowing low. He extended a small, almost dainty hand to Dressen. 'Mr. Dressen,' he said, his tone flavored with what might have been amusement or pity. 'My name is Adewale Akogonnaye. I’ve been observing your progress on the Flood case for some time now.'"

Audio Fiction
• At Escape Pod: "Why I Left Harry’s All-Night Hamburgers" by Lawrence Watt-Evans, read by Jonathon Hawkins. Science Fiction.
       "Harry’s was a nice place — probably still is. I haven’t been back lately. It’s a couple of miles off I-79, a few exits north of Charleston, near a place called Sutton. Used to do a pretty fair amount of business until they finished building the Interstate out from Charleston and made it worthwhile for some fast-food joints to move in right next to the cloverleaf; nobody wanted to drive the extra miles to Harry’s after that."

Old Time Radio
• At Boxcars 711: "Pebble In The Sky" Dimension X. Science Fiction. 1951
• At Journey Into: "Space Patrol: Brain Bank and Space Binoculars, plus Flash Gordon" Sci-fi.
At Relic Radio:

• "The Silver Flask" The Hall Of Fantasy. 1953.
•  "Beware Of Tomorrow" The Mysterious Traveler.Science Fiction. 1944.

Comics
At Atomic Kommie Comics:

• "To Mars and Back" Sci-fi. 1939.
• "King of the Ants" Sci-fi. 1958.
• "Secret of the Mountain" Sci-fi. 1963.

• At Digital Comics Museum: Space Busters #1 CBR. Sci-fi.
• At Diversions of the Groovy Kind: "The Feud" Fantasy. 1967.
At Four-Color Shadows:

• "Thunderbirds-Countdown" Sci-fi. 1972
• "Dragon Slayer" Fantasy. B&W 1967.

• At The Horrors of It All: "The Night of the Mummy!" Horror.
• At Pappy's Golden Age Comics: "The Other Side of the Macabre Mirror" and "In the Time Trolls' Sinister Clutches" Horror.1952.
• At Western Comics Adventures: "Monster from 1977 A.D." Time Travel. 1958.

Other Genres

• Audio at CrimeWAV: "Shopping Mall Survivor." by Mark L. Berry. 
• Fiction at Online Pulps!: "Your Honey or Your Life!" by Joe Archibald 1945, "Long Sam Vents a Brand" by Lee Bond 1949, "Murder is No Vacation" by Donald Bayne Hobart 1946. Pulp 
• Fiction at The Western Online: "Yellow" by T. C. Barlow.
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Dear Man" by William G. Davies Jr.

E-Books and Peppermints, the Color of Time

Just the usual afternoon roundup of cool e-book links.















E-Books
• At Amazon: Shadows by Jennifer L. Armentrout. YA Science Fiction Romance. [via Pixel-of-Ink]
At Free eBooks Daily:

• The Oval World by Mary Clare Evans. Science Fiction / Fantasy.
• Zoe Thanatos by Crystal Cierlak. Science Fiction.
• Maggie Again by John Husband. Science Fiction.
• Soul Catcher by E. L. Todd. Fantasy Romance. 
• Shadowplay by Jon Gerrard. Science Fiction.
• Evil In Mind by Shaun Adams. Horror. 
• Shotgun Rites by Stephany Simmons. Dark Fantasy.
• Mosquitoes by Marc R. Soto. Horror.
• The Gift of Flame by Erin McManaway. YA Fantasy.
• Trail of Bones by Chris Salisbury. YA Fantasy.

At Smashwords:

• "Kim Hyejin (Something Super)" by Brent Meske. Superhero.
• "Adventures In The Moonlight" by Stephen Walker. Historical Fantasy.
• Revelation by B. E. Van Loon. Contemporary Fantasy. 83k words.
• "Whither Must I Wander" by David Haywood Young. Science Fiction.
• "Velvet Manor" by J Niessen. Science Fiction.
• Songs of a Peach Tree by Michael Ciardi. Horror. Ghost. 84k words.
• "Aldedaros" by Mike Brandish. Horror.
• Forever Tomorrow: Book One of The Book of Tomorrows by Alexander Ulysses Thor. Science Fiction. 140k words.
• The Final Battle by Anna Wu. Hard SF. 109k words.

At Amazon: [via Freebook Sifter]

• Adrian's War (A Distant Eden) by Lloyd Tackitt. Post-Apocalyptic.
• Dragon Over Washington (The Third War Of The Bir Nibaru Gods) by Bruno Flexer.
• The Eldridge Conspiracy by Stephen Ames Berry. Science Fiction. Techno-thriller.
• Mind Trace by Holly McCaghren. Science Fiction.
• BlackBlade: The Forging of a Legend by Greg Baldwin. Fantasy.
• Psinapse by Andrew Ives. Cyberpunk.
• The NPC by Thomas A. Gilly. Cyberpunk.
• Copperback by Tarah R. Hamilton. Science Fiction. Romance.
• The Parasomniac by Derek Rasmussen. Paranormal.
• Yuen-mong's Revenge by Gian Bordin. Science Fiction.
• Runefool (The Rune Series) by Macaulay C. Hunter. YA Paranormal.
• The Hopfield Tales by Mike Evers. YA Fantasy.

The Call of the Free Fiction

It's a good start for the free fiction on this fabulous Friday morning.  There's a fantasy short by best-selling author Kevin J. Anderson, and audio story by Kristine Katherine Rusch, the conclusion of The Classic Tales Podcast's reading of The Call of the Wild, Tales of Terror and more!  More to come!











Fiction
• At Daily Science Fiction: "Dark Angel, Archangel" by Kevin J. Anderson. Fantasy.
     "The train thundered toward him, its sharp light pinning him like a spear. He stood in the center of the tracks facing it, not moving. Defiant. Impotent. The night seemed to laugh around him."


• At HiLobrow: "The Man with Six Senses -  Part 10" by Muriel Jaeger. Science Fiction. 1927.
      "I went away and began to write an article setting out a philosophical view of Michael Bristowe’s peculiarity, so far as I had been able to form one."

• At Mad Scientist Journal: "Dr. Derosa’s Resurrection: Part II" by R.G. Summers. Science Fiction.
     "Tt was almost as if my mother was still alive, but not quite. It was a soap opera twist gone horribly wrong. I had spent my whole life without a mother. It was only when Dad was apprehended by the Trongodian government police that I realized how much was missing from my life. By the time I turned thirteen, I was acutely aware of how badly my life sucked."

• Flash Fiction at 365 Tomorrows: "Birds of a Feather" by Desmond Hussey. Science Fiction.

Audio Fiction
• At Tale to Terrify: "www.sellyersoul2satin.hel" by William Markley O’Neal, narrated by James Phillips and Veronica Giguere. Horror.
    No Description. Also poem, “Dr. Volmer” by Robert Payne Cabeen, narrated by Robert Neufeld

• At WMG Publishing: "Chameleon" by Kristine Katherine Rusch. YA Fantasy.
      "The other kids call Wilhelmina “Cry-Baby Witch.” They’re right about one thing even if they don’t know it: she’s a witch, but she doesn’t have control of her magic yet. If she did, she’d protect all the animals in Mrs. Anderson’s room, but Willi can’t even protect herself"

Other Genres

• Audio The Classic Tales Podcast: "The Call of the Wild, part 5 of 5" by Jack London, narrated  by B.J. Harrison. Parts One, Two, Three, and Four. 
• Fiction at HiLobrow: "The Zayat Kiss - Part 1" by Sax Rohmer. Pulp. Noir.
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Moving Up" by L.A. Fields.

Fresh Free Reads! Get 'em While They're Hot!

And so, despite obstacles on near biblical proportions, which threatened to end civilization as we know it, leaving us cold, scared, and hungry, huddling around trashcan fires (or I had a mouse that kept sticking) QuasarDragon finally has this afternoon's free fiction links. Once again thanks for some go out to that likable linker, Regan Wolfrom of SF Signal.  [Art from London Darkness: Infernal Inventions]








Fiction
At Dargonzine:

• "Shadows of Dargon" by James Neale. Fantasy.
     "Jem shifted slightly, moving his shoulders along the wall, so that his relaxed slouch allowed him to watch the man swagger down the street. He had felt the welling shock of hope, when he first glimpsed the man stalking through the crowd. He had thought it was Rauf, but it was not. Jem still hoped Rauf would walk back into his life, like he had that cold winter night five years ago."

• "Ol Tamboch Narhin - The Rigors of War" Part 5 of 5 by Dafydd Cyhoeddwr. Fantasy.
     "A country often has a characteristic for which it is known, such as Lederian wine, or Mandrakan marble. At times, opinions vary on the defining feature: Comarr is best known to some for it tobacco, to others for its cattle. Sometimes, though, the opinion is universal. Such it is with the Beinison Empire. The characteristic for which it is best known is war."

• At Fireside Fiction: "Form and Void" by Elizabeth Bear. Science Fiction.

     "But Comanche knew that if she didn’t say, “I’m emigrating to Io too,” that would be the biggest, shiniest ruby of all. So Comanche kissed her mother goodbye, and kissed her father, and packed up her few worldly things."

• At HiLobrow: "Herland - Part 9" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.Science Fiction. 1915.
     "To these women we came, filled with the ideas, convictions, traditions, of our culture, and undertook to rouse in them the emotions which — to us — seemed proper."

E-Books
At Free eBooks Daily:

• Lilith by Kaden Brown. Fantasy. 
• One Bite Leads To Another by Kelly Steel. Vampire Romance.
• Beloved Enemy by Janet Miller. Space Opera. 
• The Smallest Giant by G.J. Winters YA Science Fiction
• O Human Child by Walter Donway. 
• Dark Life, Bright Death by Judy Colella. Science Fiction.
• The Knightmare by Deborah Valentine. Time Travel Romance.
• Ariel's Dream by Tahlia Newland. YA Urban Fantasy.
• John William and the Bandits of Basswood by Elizabeth Parkinson Bellows. Children's Fantasy.
• Whom the Gods Love by M.M. Perry. Fantasy.
• The Witches of Merribay by B.J. Smash. YA Fantasy.  
• Caleb-Seven by James Andrew Wilson. Science Fiction.

At Amazon: [Via Freebook Sifter]

• Child of the Sword, Book 1 of The Gods Within by L. Doty. Fantasy.YA Fantasy.
• Easy Bake Coven by Liz Schulte. Paranormal Romance. 
• Ella Awakened by S.E. Duncan. Paranormal Romance.
  
• Black -- Canto I of The Nephilim Codex by Charles Colyott. Paranormal Romance.
  
• Wingling (Ellery Rider) by Megan McCabe. Fantasy.
• I Am A Demon by Rory Clark. Horror.
• The Wild Man (The Wild Lands) by Joe Darris. Science Fiction.
• The Dragon's Portal (Dragon Portal 1) by Sally Slayer. YA Paranormal.
• London Darkness: Infernal Inventions by Christopher Stocking. Steampunk.

Take the Last Train to E-Bookville, And I'll Meet You at the Station.

There's quite a few e-books (after the jump break) this time, even a few Nook e-books) and there's also part two of "The Fencing Master" by Dave Gross, being serialized at Paizo.  {Art for "The Fencing Master"]















Fiction:
• At Paizo: "The Fencing Master - Chapter Two: The First Trap" by Dave Gross. Fantasy. Pathfinder.
     "Restraining a smile at my knowledge of his mission, I turned to see Vencarlo Orisini fixing an inquisitive gaze upon me. He stood against the wall, where the other servants strove to make themselves invisible while awaiting a signal from their masters. Vencarlo had noticed my wordless exchange with the Sable Company captain."


E-Books after jump break

Free Fiction - No Waiting

There's some extremely good free fiction today, with audio fiction from four of the best sites and great text and flash fiction, with a link callously cadged from the benevolent blogger, Regan Wolfrom of SF Signal. And as you likely guessed, there's more to come today. -Dave T.



Fiction
• At Nightmare Magazine: "Alone, Together" by Robert Kirkman. Horror.
     "She was dressed like a private detective from a low-budget TV show—a pair of slacks, modest high heels, and the most ridiculous trench coat I’d ever seen, one of the shorter ones, that hung just above the knees. I couldn’t help but laugh, and it was obvious my reaction annoyed her, but she did her best to hide her feelings as she pressed a finger to my lips, quieting me, and gently nudged me back inside my apartment."

• At Omni Reboot: "They All Looked Like Nails" by David Hopper. Science Fiction.
      "If there were more room in the cockpit of the Low October, Dr. Jonas Hengist would be pacing. Instead, he must settle for shifting his weight in glitchy artificial gravity, watching, for the second time in his life, the pale curve of Europa rise in the main viewer, the clouds of Jupiter looming large beyond. He feels the crew’s eyes on him. Jonas runs his tongue over chapped lips; it has been months since his feet have touched soil."

Flash Fiction

• At Daily Science Fiction: "The Vanishing Girl" by Michael T. Banker. Fantasy.
• At Yesteryear Fiction: "Sailing with Eardrop Fish" by Mark Slade. Fantasy.

Other Genres
• At Clarkesworld: "The Promise of Space" by James Patrick Kelly, read by Kate Baker and James Patrick Kelly.
     "A clarification, please? Are you referring to William Shatner, who died in 2023? Or is this Chris Pine, who was cast in the early remakes? It appears he has retired. Perhaps you mean the new one? Jools Bear?" 

• At Nightmare Magazine: "Alone, Together" by Robert Kirkman, read by Alex Hyde-White. Horror.
     "She was dressed like a private detective from a low-budget TV show—a pair of slacks, modest high heels, and the most ridiculous trench coat I’d ever seen, one of the shorter ones, that hung just above the knees. I couldn’t help but laugh, and it was obvious my reaction annoyed her, but she did her best to hide her feelings as she pressed a finger to my lips, quieting me, and gently nudged me back inside my apartment."

• At PodCastle: "A Hollow Play" by Amal El-Mohtar, read by Tina Connolly. Fantasy.
     "So, I’m here, but Anna’s not , and I awesomely left Memoirs of a Space Woman at home in spite of knowing I’d have two hours to kill, so I figure I’ll just keep writing to you."

• At StarShipSofa: "Outbound from Put-In Bay" and "Water Finds Its Level" by M Bennardo. Narrators Amy H Sturgis and Summer Brooks. Science Fiction.
      "The more people talked between the worlds, the more it seemed like things were mostly the same in both universes—not exactly, but pretty close. According to the news, scientists were working on figuring out when our two worlds had diverged and whether they would likely “bounce off” each other or end up merging."

Other Genres

• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "The Ring" by Saanchi Saxena,

Johannes Cabal Novelette and E-Books

A new Johannes Cabal novelette at Tor.com starts off this afternoon's links which contains the usual virtual armful of Good E-books.












Fiction
• At Tor.com: "The Death of Me" by Jonathan L. Howard.
      "Johannes Cabal, a necromancer of some little infamy, has this much in common with Emily Dickinson; because he could not stop for Death, she kindly stopped for him. Well, perhaps not that kindly."

E-Books
• At Amazon: The Secrets of Moonshine by Denise Daisy. Paranormal. [via Pixel-of-Ink]
At Free eBooks Daily:

• Z-2: A Tale of the Zombie Apocalypse by George Conrad. 
• Escape To Challenge by Don McQuinn. Science Fiction.
• Sleepy Hollow: Rise Headless and Ride by Richard Gleaves. YA Horror.
• Halls of Horror by Dale T. Phillips. Horror.
• The Hounds of Set by Troy A. Carrington. YA Fantasy.
• FreeK Camp by Steve Burt. YA Paranormal.

At Amazon: [via Freebook Sifter]

• Night of the Chupacabra (Chupacabra Series 1) by Michael Hebler. Horror.
• Khet Chronicles: Blood Ties by Marcus Twyman. Paranormal.
• The Priest (The Ginecean Chronicles 1) by Monica La Porta.
• The First Bird: Episode 1 by Greig Beck. Science Fiction.
• The Assassin Princess - A Legacy Novel by Blake Rivers.
• No Ordinary Hero by Joyce A. Scott. YA Fantasy.
• The Boar Knife (Rise of the Witch Guard) by Luke Sky Wachter. Fantasy.
• Ripped and Other Adventures by Angie Lofthouse. Science Fiction.
• Valley of God by James Cash. Post-Apocalyptic
• Goldmayne: A Fairy Tale by Kate Stradling. Fantasy.
• Professor C. Lock and The Time Traveler's Paradox by Joshua David Long.
• False Memory by Andrew Kirby. Horror 
• Paranormal Box Set: Three Novels by Robert Tucker 
• Echelon: Invisible Man by Matt Stephens. Speculative Fiction.
• Diary of a Teenage Zombie: (Book One) The Zombie Theory by Ashley Kelley.
• Blackthorn Knights by Stewart Felkel. Fantasy.

Read the Free Fiction, Luke

A wide variety of great free fiction today, including Lightspeed, Protecting Project Pulp, Goblin Fruit, and many other great sites. And more to come later. And thanks to Regan Wolfrom at SF Signal for a couple cool links this time!
[Art for ""The Opener of the Way" in audio fiction]










Fiction
• At Author's Site: "Safety Tests" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Science Fiction.
     "Devlin trudges through his job on the space station waiting for retirement and hoping he won’t die first. A test pilot with Licensing and Regulation, he makes sure only the most qualified pilots make it to the test flight, let alone pass it. But sometimes, even the most jaded tester misses something. And the difference between life and death on a space station? Missing nothing. Nothing at all."

• At The Colored Lens: "The Flower Garden – Part 2" by Michael Shone.
     "Greg knew his thinking was impaired. He was halfway back to his father’s house, with Annie in the passenger seat nursing two doggy bags. And it meant that he was also going to have to run her back into town later. She might have some vague plan about staying over, but if she did, this was the worst possible way to go about it."

• At Daily Science Fiction: "The Velveteen Rabbit Says Goodbye" by Melissa Mead. Fantasy. 
       "There once was a rabbit who had been made of velveteen. For many years now he'd been Real--not just Real in the eyes of the Boy who loved him, but real to the world of grown-ups and rabbits with twitching noses and springy hind legs."

• At Lightspeed: "Angelus" by Nina Allan. Science Fiction.
      "He was in the bathroom cleaning the taps. I could only see the back of him—an overlong measure of spine, the lean, narrow shoulders hunched forward slightly as he polished the chrome with the yellow duster—but there was no doubt in my mind that it was him. I hadn’t seen him for fifteen years and had received no news of him in all that time."

• At Lightspeed: "Homecoming" by Seanan McGuire. Fantasy.
      "The locker room is always tense before a game. Alisa is trying to get her uniform to stay in place, counting more on safety pins and prayer than she probably should, and Birdie—true to her name—keeps whistling, which is probably going to get her slapped if she doesn’t stop soon. Cram twenty girls from opposing squads into one small space and tensions are going to flare."

• At Weird Fiction Review: "Senbazuru" by V.H. Leslie.Horror.
      "After all these years he knows how I play, my preference for paper, stretching out my hand as if holding it above a flame. I watch his calculated response, knowing his reaction in advance; his index and middle finger stretched into a V if he is being particularly stubborn or folded into a ball to satisfy me, letting me win."

Flash Fiction and Poetry
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Breaking the Wedge" by Scott Summers. Science Fiction.
At Goblin Fruit: Fantasy poems.

• "Self Portrait in Tempera" by Dan Campbell. Fantasy.
• "What Is Owed" by C.S.E. Cooney. Fantasy.
• "I Will Show You a Single Treasure from the Treasures of Shah Niyaz" by Rose Lemberg. Fantasy.
• "Deity of Heat" by Cheryl Wood Ruggiero. Fantasy.
• "Desire Lines" by Sara Saab. Fantasy.
• "Goddess" by Michelle Yost. Fantasy.
• "Singing the Plains" by Rachael Bundock. Fantasy.
• "Better Late Than Never" by L. C. Ricardo . Fantasy.

At Flash Fiction Online:

• "The Social Phobic’s Guide to Interior Design" by Sarah Grey. Speculative Fiction.
• "The Shallows" by Nathaniel Lee. Science Fiction. 
• "Egocentric Orbit" by John Cory. Science Fiction. 1960.

Audio Fiction
At Dark Fiction Magazine. Horror.

• "A Map of Mercury" by Alastair Reynolds.
     “When we can rebuild our bodies, what is it that makes us human? And when we can mould the universe, what are the limits of art? A look into the future with the legendary Alastair Reynolds.
 
• "We’ll Always Be Here" by S. L. Grey.
     "Homicidal robots, misfit children, apocalyptic asteroids and Next Top Model. A celestial horror story that could only come from the warped minds behind The Mall and The New Girl."

• "Wish for a Gun" by Sam Sykes.
     "A grieving widower in a small Western town wants only to ease his loneliness – but in the hands of dark powers, even the best of intentions can go horribly wrong. A finalist for the British Fantasy Award’s “Best Short Story” of 2012."
• "Death on Elsewhere Street" by Jaine Fenn.
     "The Angels’ work for the city, legalised assassins. But when one goes rogue, is an execution justified or murder?"

• At Drabblecast: "Twenty Ways the Desert Could Kill You" by Sarah Pinkster. Fantasy.
     "3. The cactus isn’t poisonous, and neither is the snake, but the snake’s venom is a powerful anti-coagulant. You could bleed to death from the place you were bitten and/or pricked." and "Improved Stars" by Chantal Beaulne.

• At The Drama Pod: "QD-Twelve" by Mike Murphy. Full cast dramatization.
      "A superstitious man is delivered a mysterious prophecy proclaiming  he will die at Twelve."

• At Lightspeed: "Homecoming" by Seanan McGuire. Narrated by Judy Young. Fantasy.
      "The locker room is always tense before a game. Alisa is trying to get her uniform to stay in place, counting more on safety pins and prayer than she probably should, and Birdie—true to her name—keeps whistling, which is probably going to get her slapped if she doesn’t stop soon. Cram twenty girls from opposing squads into one small space and tensions are going to flare."

• At 19 Nocturne Boulevard: "The Deadly City, part 3 of 3" by Ivar Jorgenson (Paul W. Fairman). Read by Julie Hoverson. Science Fiction.
      "Waking up to find themselves in a completely vacated city, several people try to cope."

• At Protecting Project Pulp: "The Opener of the Way" by Robert Bloch,  Narrator: Simon Hildebrandt.  Horror.
      "A tremendous tale about the dread doom that overtook an archeologist in that forgotten tomb beneath the desert sands of Egypt". first published in Weird Tales, October 1936.

Other Genres

• Fiction at Project Gutenberg: Whispers at Dawn by Roy J. Snell. YA. Mystery. 1934.
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "The Waiting Room" by Sarah Grill.

She's Got the Lowdown in her Free Fiction Files.

 There's a ton of ebooks, including a few for the Nook,  from several sources, there a new weekly episode of Strange Horizons, and audio SF at LibriVox.  Remember, most e-books are only available for free for a limited time.












Fiction
• At Strange Horizons: "Difference of Opinion" by Meda Kahn. Science Fiction.
     "Problem is Keiya's brain never told her to paste her lips upright if she wants people to be nice. It's the IQ machine. She's been told she'd make a very good robot, all things considered."

• At Strange Horizons: "Triptych" by Jane Crowley. Poem.

Audio Fiction
• At LibriVox: "Murder Maddness" by Murray Leinster, read by Richard Kilmer. Science Fiction
     "Murder Madness! Seven Secret Service men had completely disappeared. Another had been found a screaming, homicidal maniac, whose fingers writhed like snakes. So Bell, of the secret "Trade," plunges into South America after The Master--the mighty, unknown octopus of power whose diabolical poison threatens a continent!"

• At Strange Horizons: "Difference of Opinion" by Meda Kahn. Science Fiction.
     "Problem is Keiya's brain never told her to paste her lips upright if she wants people to be nice. It's the IQ machine. She's been told she'd make a very good robot, all things considered."

E-Books
At Amazon: [via Pixel-of-Ink]

• Where the Dead Talk by Ken Davis. Horror.
• The Mystic Travelogues (Volume 1) by J.C. Nusbaum. Children's Fantasy.

At Free eBooks Daily:

• Muerte Con Carne by Shane McKenzie. Horror. 
• Justice: The Choice by T.J. Tate. Fantasy.
• The Spoil of Zanuth-Karun by Jennifer Bresnick. Fantasy.
• Black Sam: Prince of Pirates by Mat McLeod. Historical Fiction. Pirates.
• The Binding Stone by Lisa Gail Green. YA Paranormal.
• Still Life by Michael Montoure. Vampires.
• Strange Phenomena by Caroline Sprightly. Paranormal.
• A Memory in the Black by Michael G. Munz. Science Fiction, TechnoThriller
• The Hounds of Set by Troy A. Carrington. YA Fantasy.
• Thy Kingdom Come: The Promise of the King by Rick Schworer. Christian Fantasy.
• 5Misery's Child by J. Belinda Yandell. Fantasy.
• The Prodigal Hour by Will Entrekin. Time Travel. 
• The Tower of Endless Worlds by Jonathan Moeller. Fantasy.

At Amazon: [Via Freebook Sifter]

• Deacon Leeds and the Pyramid of Symbols by Grant Morris. YA Morris. 
• The People's Treasure (The Jade Owl Legacy) by Edward C. Patterson. Fantasy.
• Elementary Magic: Relic Hunter Book 1 by R. Leonia Shea. Fantasy.
• The Firethief (The Unbinder Recursion) by Jason Knepper. Fantasy.
• Earth's Requiem by P. A Ellwood. Fantasy.
• Coming of Age (The Draca Wards Saga) by B Pine. Fantasy.
• Roman Digital by Sarah Baker. Steampunk.
• The Dragon and the Grail (The Grail Trilogy) by Christopher H Shelley. Arthurian Fantasy.
• Misadventures in the Art of Chivalry by Kirsten Zeller. Fantasy. Humor.

At Smashwords:

• "Death's Eyes" by Cedrix E. Clarke. Horror.

At Barnes & Noble: [via Penny Pinchin' Mom]

• Midnight Fire – Rise of the Dark Angel by Melody Anne. Paranormal. Nook.
  The Time Machine by H. G. Wells. Science Fiction. Nook.
  Haunted on Bourbon Street by  Deanna Chase. Paranormal. Nook.

The Silicon Chip Inside Her Head Gets Switched to Read Free Fiction.

 There's fiction from Black Gate and Mad Scientist Journal, flash fiction, audio fiction from Scott Sigler and Beam Me Up, and other genres (including Crime City Central). Not bad for a Monday morning.











 
Fiction
• At Black Gate: "The Dowry" by Peadar Ó Guilín. Fantasy.
     "Fiachra led her through the wizard’s garden and laid her down where the moonlight illuminated the perfection of her skin. She had made eyes at him all day as he stood at his canvass. He had despaired at ever finding a pigment to match her glory."

• At Mad Scientist Journal: "Electricity (And How To Survive It)" by Adam Millard. Science Fiction.
     "My name, if you are not from the scientific community or a member of The Society of Mad Professors, is Professor Swick, and I am one of the greatest minds ever to grace the earth. I am the brains behind such intricate inventions as the clockwork bumblebee, and that thing that you use to separate toes for pedicures, that was one of mine, too. I am also responsible for the cyborg known as Justin Bieber, but that is one that I am not particularly proud of, and the less said about it the better."

Flash Fiction

• At Daily Science Fiction: "When the Selkie Comes" by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley. Fantasy.
• At Quantum Muse: "108"  by Harris Tobias.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Children of the Sun" by Desmond Hussey. Science Fiction.

Audio Fiction
• At Author's Site: "Bones are White #9 - Passenger, Part 1" by Scott Sigler. Horror.
    No Description

• At Beam Me Up: "Against the Empire" by David Scholes. Science Fiction.
     "a new chapter in the Trathh series"

Other Genres

• Audio at Crime City Central: "Revenge of the Snake Woman" by Beverle Graves Myers.
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Three of Troll" by The Sisters Hipstergrimm.
• Non-Fiction at Project Gutenberg: Extracts Relating to Mediaeval Markets and Fairs in 4England by Helen Douglas-Irvine. 1912.

E-Books and Escape

Another free fantasy story and several free e-books this time.  Among the e-books is Ephemera (art to the left), a short story collection by Paul S. Kemp, a Forgotten Realms and Star Wars novelist.











Fiction
• At Silver Blade: "Escape of the Fire Demon" by Mike Phillips. Fantasy.
     "Fire burned in stabs of light, quickly spreading over the wizard’s hands, growing in heat and radiance until he understood the demon had escaped. Capistron withdrew his mind from the enchantment, breaking the summoning spell he had placed on the fires of the blacksmith’s forge, severing all ties with the thing he sought to release."

E-Books
At Free eBooks Daily:

• Silence In Numbers: File One by Jake Taylor. Science Fiction.
• The Night Girl by Amy Cross. Horror.
• Wonderstruck by Jon Messenger. YA Fantasy.
• Death Trap: 1 (Robot Wars) by Sigmund Brouwer. YA Science Fiction.
• Chausiku: The Gathering Storm Book One by Pamela E. Cash. YA Science Fiction.
• Dividing Earth by Troy Stoops. Dark Fantasy.
• Wings by A.K. Hartline. YA Paranormal.
• Fall of Venus by Daelynn Quinn. Dystopian Romance.
• Caste by RaeLynn Fry. YA.
• Winter's Awakening: The Metahumans Emerge by Karen Luellen. YA Superhero.

At Amazon: [via Freebook Sifter]

• Ephemera: Dark Stories from the mind of Paul S. Kemp. Horror.
• The Island of Whispers by Brendan Gisby. Animal Fantasy.
• The Blood Witch (The Blood Reign Chronicles 1) by D. S. Nielsen. Urban Fantasy.
• Fortuna's Bastard (A Great and Continuous Malignity 1) by David S. Wellhauser. Paranormal.
• Pigeonwings (Clovenhoof) by Heide Goody. Paranormal.
• Apex by Aer-ki Jyr. Science Fiction.
• Einstein's Cosmic Journey by Walter E. Jacobson MD. Time Travel.
• Gnome Harvest (Gnome Stories Series 1) by Ashley Owens. Fantasy.
• The Undeniable Labyrinth (Paths To Elysium)  by Alan Alaric Roi. Science Fiction.
• The Garden of Good and Eden (An Eden Daire Novel 1) by Paulette Oakes. Paranormal.
• Leviathan by Albert Michaels. Christian Fantasy.

A Trio of Twisted Terrors from the Pre-Code Era

A trio of shorts from Weird Terrors, more notable for their very twisted humor than for any genuine fights.  The first "Needle Work" is the longest and least fantastic, the other two are flash fiction science fiction / horror and flash fiction horror.

Needle Work

by Ed Green

One day at the club we were discussing narcotics and their terrifying effects on the human mind.

Everyone had something to say about it, and the talk had been going on for about twenty minutes when I said that I supposed most criminals took dope and eventually killed themselves by taking too much of the stuff.

The others nodded or said, "yes, I suppose so," except for old Thompson, who is about fifteen years my senior and an ex-detective of the city police force. He shook his head and then said "No" in a voice loud enough to catch everyone's attention.

Celebrating the Births . . . Linda Addison, W. W. Jacobs, and Ariosto

 Linda D. Addison (born 8 September 1952)
     Addison is an American poet and writer of horror, fantasy, and science fiction.  She has one two Bram Stoker Awards for her poetry collections. Some of her fiction and poetry is available online.










Fiction
 At Author's Site:

• "One Night At Sheri-Too-Long's Popcorn Bar"
      "Why does this always happen to me? I could go to the loneliest, faraway bar--a place on a planet outside the known universe and some unnamed genetic hybrid will find me. They always treat me like a long lost brother. They talk and talk and talk until I'm all sticky and wet with their words."

• "Excerpts from The Unabridged Traveler's Guide as UFOs in Galaxy A.G.2"
      "Maintain an acceptable holo image at all times when visiting the most interesting planet, native-named Earth, in the 'Milky Way' galaxy. Neatness and a good fitting image will gain high marks on the believability scale if inadvertently seen by Earth's sentient beings. Several varieties of images have been tested and rated in this galaxy. Certain highly stylized images have been found to invoke agitated states in members of the species."

• "After The Fire" Poem.
• "The Barn" Poem.
• "Inevitable Singularity" Poem.
• "Storm of Souls" Poem.
• "Dragon Love" Poem.

William Wymark Jacobs (8 September 1863 – 1 September 1943)
      Best known for his wonderful short story "The Monkey's Paw," Jacobs wrote several other short horror stories, including "The Toll House." His horror stories are definitely worth reading.








Fiction
At Project Gutenberg:

• "The Monkey's Paw" Horror. 1902
      "It had a spell put on it by an old fakir," said the sergeant-major, "a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow. He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it."

• "The Toll House" in Sailor's Knots. 1909.
     "It's all nonsense," said Jack Barnes. "Of course people have died in the house; people die in every house. As for the noises—wind in the chimney and rats in the wainscot are very convincing to a nervous man. Give me another cup of tea, Meagle."

• Other stories indexed here.

Audio Fiction
"The Monkey's Paw:

• At LibriVox.
• At Need Coffee:
• At Internet Archive: (MP3 direct download) OTR Nightfall.

Ludovico Ariosto (8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533)
      An Italian poet, Ariosto is best known for rhe fantastic epic Orlando Furioso (1516).  The poem takes "place against the background of the war between Charlemagne's Christian paladins and the Saracen army that is attempting to invade Europe. Ariosto has little concern for historical or geographical accuracy, and the poem wanders at will from Japan to the Hebrides, as well as including many fantastical and magical elements (such as a trip to the moon, and an array of fantastical creatures including a gigantic sea monster called the orc, and the hippogriff)" - wikipedia.  The poem, while long and sometimes difficult, was extremely important in the development of fantastic literature.

Fiction
At Project Gutenberg:
• Orlando Furioso translated by William Stewart Rose (1831)
      "No empty fiction wrought by magic lore,
  But natural was the steed the wizard pressed;
  For him a filly to griffin bore;
  Hight hippogryph. In wings and beak and crest"

Audio Fiction
At LibriVox:
• Orlando Furioso translated by John Harington (1561 - 1612)

Wake Up and Read the Free Fiction

Just a few good free fiction links this morning.  Back later. [Art from 365 Tomorrows in Flash Fiction]





Fiction
• At The WiFiles: "My Name is Dave and I am Dead" by Matt Demers
      "My name is Dave and I am dead. The doctors said it was a brain aneurysm no one could’ve predicted. I was only 38. Despite the circumstances, I convinced my boss Andrew to let me keep my job; minus health coverage."

Flash Fiction
• At 365 Tomorrows: "They Don’t Play LCROSS" by Connor Yeck. Science Fiction.
At AntipodeanSF: Speculative Fiction.

• "The Price" by Steve Duffy
• "Long Shot" by Kevin J. Phyland.
• "I Am Clone" by Theron Fairchild.
• "The Power of Caffeine" by Tony Owens.
• "Twas the Evening After Christmas in Invercargill: A Mystery" by Wes Parish.
• 50 Worders by Ed Errington and Grant Terry.

Audio Fiction
• At Cthulhu: "The Worng Side of the Tracks, part 4" by T.C. Mcqueen. Horror.
    No Description

• At Clarkesworld: "Mar Pacifico" by Greg Mellor.
     "A pale dawn spread across the Pacific as my dead mother emerged from the waves"

Other Genres

• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Coffee Date" by Wilma Bernard.
• Non-Fiction at Project Gutenberg: Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt by Lewis Spence. 1915. Mythology.

Other

Happy 47th anniversary to Star Trek!  47 years ago, Sept 8th 1966,  the  first Star Trek Episode ("The Man Trap" aired on NBC.

You Might Think I'm Crazy, to Bring Free Fiction to You.

Some more great free fiction in a variety of formats and more.  Fore more free fiction pointers check out

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

 [art from Sacred Knights in E-Books below]





Fiction
• At Author's Site: "What Fluffy Knew" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. YA Science Fiction.
     "Fluffy has the perfect life.  Her cat bed, her kibble, a human to wait on her.  Until they came."

• At Short-Story.me: "Consumed" by Laura Ellison. Fantasy.
     "She recited the words from the tome; an ancient, difficult language that provoked a response from the natural elements of the world. Her outstretched arms grew heavy with empowered blood. Her fingertips tingled. Then her palms grew hot." 

Flash Fiction

• At SFFaudio: "The Canal" by H.P. Lovecraft. Poem. Audio.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Welcome Home" by Nils Holst. Science Fiction.

E-Books
At Amazon: [via Pixel-of-Ink]

• Winter's Awakening: The Metahumans Emerge (Winter's Saga #1) by  Karen Luellen. YA Dystopian.

At Smashwords:

• Phantom: The Last Nephilim by Gabriel Common. Fantasy. 55k words.
• Wyrd Worlds by Various Authors. Fantasy. 91k words.
• "Tattoos, Blood, and Tony Lamas" by John Burks. Horror, Undead.
• "Sibyl of Doom" by Shawn Thompson. Science Fiction.
• "Clockwork Nessie" by Claire Gillian. Steampunk.

At Amazon: [via Freebook Sifter]

• Sacred Knights (The Rostical Users) by Michael Rogers. Fantasy.
• Madora's Prophecy (The Rostical Users) by Michael Rogers. Fantasy.
• Secrets of the Horizon (The Union Stories) by Lesa Corryn. Science Fiction.
• Bentwhistle the Dragon in a Threat from the Past by Paul Cude. Children's Fantasy.

Comics

• At Atomic Kommie Comics: "This Time Tomorrow" Sci-fi. 1953.
• At Grantbridge Street : "City of Doom!" Swords & Sorcery. 196x. [Mature readers site]
• At Hero Histories: Wolff  "Night of the WereWolf" Swords & Sorcery. 1971.
• At The Horrors of It All: "The Improved Kiss" Horror. 1953.
• At Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine: "Savage World!" Sci-fi. 1966.

Other Genres

• Fiction at Short-Story.me: "Ebb Tide" by April Winters. Romance.
• Fiction at Short-Story.me: "Super Soul Sister" by Tim Weldon. Crime.
• Fiction at Short-Story.me: "Two Blanks" by George Sparling.

Other Weirdness

From the cover of Black Cat Mystic #58 (1956) it's the ghost of George R. R. Martin reading to a pair of children.  I can only imagine that it's the start of A Game of Thrones and the little boy is saying "Bran and Rob Stark are my favorite characters. I hope nothing bad happens to them"

Let the Free Fiction Roll - If the Illusion is Real

Saturdays are always good, but add good free free fiction and they're awesome!  We have fiction from a couple of cool sties/'zines that I haven't linked to before Goldfish Grimm's: Spicy Fiction Sushi and Hello Horror and two issues of the outstanding Waylines (I missed one so there's fiction from two issues at once.  Mea Culpa!).  There's also great audio fiction, flash fiction, and pulps.  Huzzah! [Art from "Samsara" linked below]


Fiction
• At Goldfish Grimm's: Spicy Fiction Sushi:  "Arcana of all Ages" by M. Bennardo. Fantasy.
      "Night had fallen during the wagon ride from Constantinople, and darkness had not added to the charms of the journey…"

• At Mad Scientist Journal: "Dr. Derosa’s Resurrection: Part I" by R.G. Summers. Science Fiction.
       "I knew that my family wasn’t going to make a big deal out of my eighteenth birthday. It would have been nice if they’d at least been there, but with Dad incarcerated in a Trongodian prison and Uncle Bruce doing business in Egypt, it just wasn’t going to happen."

Now Posted:  Waylines #4 and #5:

• "Chip's Six Attempts at Popularity" by Jake Kerr
     "Beside his Xbox and under his Star Trek poster stood his patched together temporal displacement device. It had taken Chip six months of painstaking and secretive work to finish it, and the theoretical models all looked dubious at best. But it was a chance, and a chance was all he wanted."

• "Samsara" by Rachel Acks.
     "But a year and a half from now, I'll get to hear your own complaints in something close to real time instead of a recorded vid. And I'll be oh-so-sympathetic, I promise, down on the surface of HD 108874. Or what did you say the Chinese techs were calling it - Dragon's Horn? Less of a mouthful at least. Maybe I'll take the vid feed on a little stroll through a grassy meadow, so you know what you're waiting for."

• "Cadence" by Samantha Kymmell-Harvey.
     "Laszlo selected a glass test tube from the rack on his bookshelf. Inside was a minute section of sea sponge wrapped in copper mesh. It was his newest model of vocal filter, designed to remove the poison from a rusalka’s voice."

• "The Elevator Man" by David Halpert.
     "For the mayor, however, it was the election that weighed heavy on his mind. He poured himself a fifth of scotch and rested his weary head. The stuff tasted like battery acid on his tongue but did the trick well enough. Like most people he longed to see the surface, not the made-up facsimiles that adorned the plasma windows but the real thing miles above."

Now Posted: Hello Horror Issue Four.

• "Canticle of Tongues" by Gabrielle Friesen. Horror.
      "I am entombed in a place of stone and walls. When the soldiers arrived, I ran and hid in shadows, hoping they would pass me by. They followed me into the caves. For days I stayed hidden, until exhaustion and thirst caused me to faint. I awoke in an enclosed room, damp as the rest of the caves."

• "Doug Looks" by Benjamin Revermann. Horror.
     "The halfway house is called “The Nuthatch”.  On his first day, Doug is sent two blocks from the Nuthatch to “Connie’s Kitchen” to work.  Given the choice between dishwasher and cook, he chooses dishwasher."

• "Mothers Nature" by Gary Clifton. Horror.
     ""Casper?" Margot smiled, her dark eyes reflecting the serene, beautiful bottomless depth of an isolated well.  "I take that as a high compliment from a man of your experience."  Detective Margot Platt had just apprehended Casper after a fourteen block foot chase through east Dallas.  A thousand hours of surveillance had finally paid off."

• "Stealing Three" by Chris Castle. Horror.
      "So what are we talking about here?” I ask, as he paces around the room.  It’s the same routine each time; twenty two steps to one end of the room and twenty one back, as if the room somehow shrinks every time he sets out on one of his mini pilgrimages."

• "Inside The Square" by Eric Huxley. Horror.
     "“What?” I mumbled to myself.  Who was calling me?  It was a crank call.  It happened all of the time.  No one really liked me.  I talked with a slight lisp.  Though it was barely noticeable, it turned out that it was a major, people repelling personality flaw.  They called me “lispy” most often.  I’d come to accept that as it was the kindest of the insults.  I’d gotten much worse, along with some bloody noses."

• "Old Tom" by Steven Finkelstein. Horror.
     "Tonight he wasn’t happy about being there. Even with the holiday pay, he didn’t feel like king of anything. Or maybe he felt his actual self, a menial wage slave, stuck guarding an empty building. Unskilled labor, because he couldn’t find anything better. It was good to have time alone with one’s thoughts, except when those thoughts kept going back to a sour and resentful place."

• "Pantechnicon" by Rob Boffard. Horror.
     "It wouldn’t stop pulling to the left. Every time Langa thought he’d got it under control, in the lane, with the steering wheel humming in his grip, he’d find it drifting over. On the edge of his vision, the white line would slip under the bonnet and then the clunk-ka-clunk of the cats’ eyes would come rumbling up through the car."

• "Oskalopl" by Graham Tugwell. Horror.
     "He’d found a book. He’d followed the instructions he found inside and he did something wrong, or did something right, and his little brother had died."

• "Motherhood" by Cristina Vega. Horror.
     "The baby’s formless, squashed face began to contort.  It had been making strained, breathless puffs that would break into shrill screams rivaling a mindless dog, deaf to pleas to stay quiet.  Her father would kick the family dog if it got too loud and she couldn’t do that with the baby.  Maybe if she stared ahead and kept pushing the cart down the aisle it would find respite in being moved."

Flash Fiction and Poetry
• At Goldfish Grimm's: Spicy Fiction Sushi: "The Mirror" by Arwen Kuttner. Fantasy.
• At Silver Blade: "Stardust" by Lindsey Duncan. 
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Backup" by Amanda Schoen. Science Fiction.
At Hello Horror:

• "Homecoming" by Kerry Hartjen. Horror. Poem. 
• "Cannibal School Picking Up Johnny" by Roo Bardookie. Horror.
• "The Landscape" by Richard Crawford. Horror. Poem. 
• "Still" by DW Gillespie. Horror.

Audio  Fiction
• At Every Photo Tells: "The Lonely Bones" by Harris Tobias. Science Fiction.
      "When a psychologist turns private investigator, he has to use skills he didn’t know he had." 

• At PodCastle: "Juan Caceres in the Zapetero’s Workshop" by Derek Künsken.
      "Begging for food would not work, dressed as he was in all his goblin finery.  He traded his white school shirt for a stained t-shirt to a kid whose goblin sickness had wrapped his fingers in fine scales.  Another kid, huffing into a bag of ground pixie, traded Juan Caceres his old shorts for the school slacks.  Only the kid’s fingers had gone green.  There was still time for him."

Other Genres

• Fiction at Online Pulps!: "Puzzle in Peril" by Robert Leslie Bellem, 1949, "No Cause for Alarm" by John L. Benton . 1938, "The Fatal Test" by Raymond Lester. 1919.
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Chaarging the Silver Slope" by Alexis A. Hunter.