#08.30 ~ Square Peg by Stoney M. Setzer (3250 words)+ For as long as he could remember Ben Billings had felt out of place. And he could never understand why. Until Denise moved into a nearby apartment. In fact, she has some startling news for Ben - even though he thinks they've never met. Will he be able to accept the truth?
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#08.29 ~ The Sorcerer's Wife by Erin M. Kinch (1400 words)+ Can love be a strong enough magic to keep an old sorcerer from falling victim to an old flame's powerful seduction? Tempted with youth, power, position - would you leave this mortal world behind? This short fantasy piece takes you to a place where love is tested and a battle is won. But what is the result?
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The Diary of Hillary Sorensen-French by SC Bryce (2650 words)#08.28a ~ Ode to Bacon and Eggs
#08.28b ~ The Universal Need for Seatbelts
#08.28c ~ The Effects of Traitorous Neighbors
#08.28d ~ Thanks for the Little Things
#08.28e ~ The Purple Light District & Space Cadet
+ Hillary Sorensen-French has made first contact. Which is quite inconvenient given that the aliens' arrival interrupts a sumptuous breakfast of bacon and eggs! But no fear, Hillary will make the best of a difficult situation. These fun and humorous journal entries - one posted each day this week - will provide the reader with some light-hearted chuckles to brighten the day. Enjoy!
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#08.27 ~ The Matter of Dalgatto: A Tale of Ezekiel Tanner by David M. Pitchford (3650 words)+ This is the first of a series of stories featuring Zeke Tanner, a former Jesuit priest who is now on a mission to apprehend the notorious slaver, Captain Arsenio Dalgatto. This story is an excerpt from an upcoming historical fiction novel set in the Caribbean and Southern Coasts. ResAliens is excited to provide a venue for the beginning of this exciting new adventure.
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#08.26 ~ The Extraneous by Joe Hoskins (7600 words)+ UPS driver Morgan Haile is in for the delivery of his life as he stumbles into the middle of what he thinks is a Renaissance Fair. But is he the main character in this adventure or just an extraneous bit player with a destiny to fulfill? You'll chuckle your way through this humorous fantasy quest.
If you like silly fantasy, you'll also want to read Joe Hoskins' The Bukler of Big Swaash (Issue 8 of ResAliens). And, of course, you'll want to buy the anthology Strange Worlds of Lunacy for only $11.97!
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#08.25 ~ Harry in the Underworld by Patrick G. Cox (4600 words)+ Another maritime adventure in space featuring our hero, Harry Nelson-Heron, a young lad snatched from 1804 and thrust 400 years into the future. This story is based on the characters from the novel Out of Time by Patrick G. Cox.
Be sure to look for Patrick's sequel, The Enemy is Within published by Hallmark Press International.Other short stories featuring Harry Nelson-Heron:
+ A Ship of Heaven?
+ In the Absence of Gravity
+ Harry and the Thinking Machine (only in ResAliens Anthology, Vol 1)
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All Stories Copyrighted by Their Authors
Discuss these stories now at the ResAliens Forum at SFReader.com.
Discuss these stories now at the ResAliens Forum at SFReader.com.
Issue 9 ~ Table of Contents for October 2008
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#08.24 ~ Learning the Ropes by Dan Devine (1475 words)+ A new alien race runs out of gas in known space but noone in charge knows how to refuel. Modern day management runs amok in this humorous flash fiction.
It wasn't their language that was causing the hold up. No, the real obstacle was much simpler to diagnose. The whole lot of them were complete morons. At least, all of the officers were. I'd spoken to all of them multiple times and either they were really good at playing dumb or they just weren't playing.
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#08.23 ~ Dark and Stormy by Crystalwizard (630 words)+ A pitch-black storm is unnerving enough, especially with a menacing tornado approaching. Now, suddenly, with lights flashing and sirens blaring, would your reaction be any different than the narrator of this story?
The night was dark, but the thick column of pitch black that rocketed toward my house stood out like a spotlight.
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#08.22 ~ Blood and Brothers by Alice M. Roelke (2950 words)+ Young Trell yearned for his brother Axon's love - or at least acknowledgment. Would the dragon hunt bring them together...or tear them apart?
Trell eyed the weapons the men shared out. Some were tranquilizer guns, the rest, old-fashioned, one-shot harpoons. Axon saw him looking, and nodded to the men. They gave him a harpoon gun half his height. "Don't use that unless you have to. We want to leave it alive," instructed Axon.
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#08.21 ~ One's Duty by James C. Clar (1200 words)+ As the Hierarch’s chief executioner, Radegar has one last obligation - to sever the neck of his father. What is one's duty then?
The blade sang as it flashed through the air. Suddenly, just as he was to deliver the severing stroke, his sword mere inches from the base of his father’s neck...
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#08.20 ~ A Taste of Honey by Fred Warren (3750 words)+ A queen doesn't necessarily sit on a throne. She could be selling honey at a carnival. And poor Bob just can't resist.
"So, you want to buy a jar? I guarantee it will change your life." I hesitated. The woman suddenly seemed odd, and threatening. She leaned closer to me, and something unidentifiable, a scent just outside perception, insistent and intoxicating, swirled into my mind. I bought ten jars.
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#08.19 ~ Servant of Fate by Megan Arkenberg (1750 words)+ Mordred. A medieval Judas. But was he really? Was he simply the fulfiller of Merlin's prophecy, just a servant of fate? Or does he have a story to tell...
When our turn came, we knelt side-by-side on the soft purple tapestry someone had spread across the sand. Agravaine kept his eyes lowered, fixed on the clawed feet of Arthur’s throne. I met the King’s gaze unflinchingly. I smiled, my slow, sharp-toothed smile...
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#08.18 ~ Venus Theotókos by John Farrell (5000 words)+ "Twenty-two weeks out of Earth orbit, The Prophet was haunted by a ghost." So begins this space tale of love, loyalty and devotion - in the most unlikely of places - just over the horizon of Venus.
Nicholas knew it was no figment of his imagination...he saw the child standing four meters away, shimmering in a light of her own. Her hair was black with a silver circlet over her brow. Her violet eyes never met his—just missed, as though there was something over his shoulder that was far more interesting to look at than his face.
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#08.17 ~ Faded Embers by Mel Bosworth (850 words)
+ Already living in her own twilight zone, Beverly was only slightly taken aback when her long dead husband returned for a final visit.
It had been thirty-three years since Richie’s disappearance. Beverly never remarried and each October she faithfully drove out to the old lake house and cooked a big meal to celebrate their anniversary. It was the same meal each year and it was Richie’s favorite: Jambalaya.(Note: Photograph by Connetta VanMatre, used by permission.)
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#08.16 ~ Dust Country by Daniel W. Powell (2900 words)+ On a dusty road to a new life, James Diamond is taken with a particular notion so palpable he could almost see it - possibility! Circumstances are starting to break his way, that is, until he picks up a strange hitchhiker with stranger notions about what's possible.
"Things have been dying out here the last couple of years," the hitchhiker said. "Things are getting...used up. Whatever landed up there on Saddle Butte is now using up the resources of the area. And it's making the animals go," he screwed up his face, searching for the word, "off."
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#08.15 ~ The Battle by R. L. Copple (300 words)+ In this battlefield soliloquy our hero has but a few moments to contemplate his life, his enemy, his purpose.
They say when you're about to die, your entire life flies past your mind's eye. That's not what I'm experiencing...
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#08.14 ~ ReBirth by T.J. McIntyre (400 words)+ If there is a time to be born and a time to die, then why do we seek to avoid the final journey?
Naked and cold I emerged from the fluid. I shook and shivered while purging my lungs of embryonic gel.
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All Stories Copyrighted by Their Authors
Discuss these stories now at the ResAliens Forum at SFReader.com.
Discuss these stories now at the ResAliens Forum at SFReader.com.
Strange Worlds of Lunacy is a compilation of the funniest fantasy and sci-fi humor in the galaxy, the known universe, and all nine-million planes of existence! (Okay, well, maybe just the surrounding 5 blocks.) More than 50 short stories, limericks, poems, and illos by break out authors, artists, and seasoned veterans alike. This antho will have you laughing so hard you'll wet your..."...a squeaky-clean bathroom buddy."
~ Colin P. Davies, author of Tales from the Iron Horse
Own Your Copy Today! Available at Lyn's Storefront.
Residential Aliens, Volume 1 - Showcasing 17 short stories from featured ResAliens authors Andy Bowers, James K Bowers, Rob Carr, Patrick G Cox, D S Crankshaw, Merrie Destefano, Dan Devine, George L Duncan, Dave Gudeman, Rick McQuiston, Alex Moisi, Lyndon Perry, Curtis Schweitzer, Stoney M Setzer, G Glyn Shull Jr, and Gerry Sonnenschein. Plus 7 never-before-published spec fiction found only in this volume.Now Only $12.00! (plus shipping) or $3.00 e-book
232 pages, 6x9 Perfect Bound, Trade Paperback
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