My story, "Foolish Promises" appears in Behind the Revolving Door Volume II.

The subtitle is An Anthology of Choices, and my main character certainly has an interesting one to make in "Foolish Promises," a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin.

Check it out here:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/behind-the-revolving-door-an-anthology-of-choices-volume-ii-ann-stolinsky/1148810351?ean=9781951967086

or here:

https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Revolving-Door-Anthology-Choices-ebook/dp/B0G4HSGHJ7

A review of my story, "The Lighthouse Keeper," in Reactor Magazine

I just stumbled on a review of "Must Read" short stories from November last year.  And my story's there on the list!  

Read it here:  https://reactormag.com/must-read-short-speculative-fiction-november-2024/

My story long-listed for the Welkin Mini prize

My story got long-listed for the Welkin Mini prize--but I can't tell you yet which one is mine.  This is a competition for micro fiction, and out of 819 entries, mine was in the top 50.  

A lot of the titles are really long.  I think that's because the story itself could only be 100 words, so the titles have to do some of the work.   

Check out the list here: https://www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-prize/news

My story, "The Lighthouse Keeper," appeared today in Diabolical Plots

This is a rather dark, atmospheric story that I really enjoyed writing.  Read it for free here:

https://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fiction-117b-the-lighthouse-keeper-by-melinda-brasher/

My story, "The Trouble with Vegan Spiders" appears in On the Premises

 I won second place in On the Premises' "Expertise" theme.  You can read the story free here:

"The Trouble with Vegan Spiders," by Melinda Brasher

If you're interested in other stories set in the same tiny space settlement, check these out.

Free to read online:

"Stalked," also in On the Premises: https://onthepremises.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/On-The-Premises-Issue-22.pdf

"Foreign Bodies" in Intergalactic Medicine Show: http://www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com/cgi-bin/mag.cgi?do=issue&vol=i39&article=_001

"Passcodes" in The Future Fire: https://futurefire.net/2014.30/fiction/passcodes.html

In anthologies:

"Stashed Away" in The Martian Wave: https://www.amazon.com/Martian-Wave-September-2020/dp/1087902622

"Radish Hunting" in Animal Uprising: https://www.amazon.com/Animal-Uprising-Michelle-Mellon/dp/173354822X

"Salvage Operations" in Leading Edge: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1791953603

"The Twenty Percent Club" in Double Feature Magazine: https://www.amazon.com/Double-Feature-Magazine-Science-Fiction/dp/1540684997

"Sand and Fire" in Spark: A Creative Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Spark-Creative-Anthology-Volume-IV/dp/0988807297

My story, "Vodnik," in audio at Tales to Terrify

My short story about a Czech water goblin and a man determined to settle a decades-old score appears in this week's edition of Tales to Terrify.  It's an audio venue, so if you don't have time to read, just listen!

Look wherever you get your podcasts or click here: https://talestoterrify.com/episodes/661-melinda-brasher/

This story first appeared in Uncharted and then in Shadows on the Water.

My story, "Midnight Muster," in Dragon Gems

Today is the release of Dragon Gems Summer 2024 issue.  My story about a resourceful passenger facing off against polite space pirates appears in its pages.  Check it out here:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJ4BL496

My story, "A Learned Man," on the Just Chills podcast

One of my creepier tales, "A Learned Man," appears on a cool podcast today:  Just Chills.

You can listen to "A Learned Man" here or find it on Spotify, Apple podcasts, etc.  

This story was first published in Electric Spec and then Pseudopod.  It's based loosely on an El Salvadorian folktale I found in a book in a small-town library in El Salvador.  When they kicked me out for siesta, I sat in the square writing, and finished almost the entire first draft in one sitting, which is rare for me.  

Enjoy! 

My story, "Bones and Blooms," in Sonoran Horror

Check out my weird little story, "Bones and Blooms," in this anthology of horror set in our beautiful part of the desert:  Sonoran Horror.

 Check it out on Amazon here.  

   

My story, "Palatable Potions," to appear in Zombies Need Brains Presents

 

My light-hearted fantasy story, "Palatable Potions," was recently accepted by Zombies Need Brains Presents.  It should appear in March of next year.  I'll post again when it's live.

I enjoyed writing it a lot, and I'm very excited to see it published.  

If you want to check out Zombies Need Brains--who also publish themed anthologies--visit them at http://www.zombiesneedbrains.com/index.html of find them on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/zombiesneedbrainsllc

My story to be published in Shadows on the Water

My story, "Vodník," is to be published in Flame Tree's Anthology, Shadows on the Water, early next year.  It's set in the Czech Republic, where tales of the vodník, a sort of water goblin, fascinated me.

See Flame Tree's post (and the book cover) here:  https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/gothic-fantasy-successful-submissions-shadows-on-the-water

My Story, "Vodník," published in Uncharted Magazine

This story takes place in the Czech Republic.  When I lived there, the stories and imagery of the Vodník (often translated as "water goblin") fascinated me.  So here's my own take on the famous creature:

Vodník, by Melinda Brasher

https://www.unchartedmag.com/stories/vodnik/

A vodník statue in České Třebová.  Image courtesy of ŠJů, Wikimedia Commons, creative commons license 3.0.  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Park_Javorka,_vodn%C3%ADk_%2801%29.jpg

All over the Czech republic you can find vodník statues around ponds and mills.  The creature is also popular in folk art, like that of Josef Lada (google "vodnik lada").

Mine's a darker take on the sometime-playful water goblin.  For a really dark take, read about the poem by Karel Jaromír Erben:  http://from-my-pov.blogspot.com/2012/02/water-goblin.html

Dvořák also wrote music to accompany the tale.  You can find it on Youtube ("Dvorak Water Goblin")  

My story, "Silence," in The Dread Machine

Looking for something creepy to read?  Look no further.  The Dread Machine just published one of my stories.  

"Silence" takes place on a space ship where you're completely alone.  But that's okay with you.  Until things start going thump in the night.

And yes, it's written in second person.  I kept thinking, "This will never sell. Second person is weird."  But the story kept reverting to second person, as if on its own, even when I tried to turn it to first person.  That's simply what the story wanted to be.  

I'm happy that I found it a home at the Dread Machine, where you can read all sorts of other interesting stories too. 

Click here to read "Silence."

     

The Tertiary Lodgers from Alternating Current

Alternating Current has announced its partial lineup for its newest anthology:  The Tertiary Lodgers.  The collection tells classic stories from the point of view of secondary (and tertiary) characters.

And guess who's in it?  

Yours truly.  

My story, Foolish Promises, is the story of Rumpelstiltskin from the point of view of the miller's daughter's brother.  

I'll let you know when it's published.

Check out the other story titles (or submit your own in the next couple of days while the submission window is still open):

http://www.press.alternatingcurrentarts.com/2020/08/the-tertiary-lodgers.html

NaNoWriMo 2020

I haven't posted much this month (okay, not at all), but I'll blame it on NaNoWriMo.  This year I'm a rebel.  Instead of writing a 50,000-word rough draft of a novel, the original goal of NaNoWriMo, I'm revising my 2018 novel, which got pushed to the back burner.  

It's a fun middle grade story set in a world where you don't really want all your dreams to come true.  Especially if they're feisty saber-toothed swamp pigs who get you in a lot of trouble.  

For more on NaNoWriMo, check out their website:  nanowrimo.org

   

Hiraeth Publishing and my Short Story

Hiraeth Books is going to publish my short story, "Stashed Away," in their September 2020 sci-fi anthology. The working title is "Martian Wave." I'm excited to read it.

If your quarantine reading stack is getting low, check out their other offerings: https://www.hiraethsffh.com/

My Writing Published in 2019

Here's a roundup of my fiction and non-fiction published in 2019:

"Salvage Operations" in Leading Edge Issue 13 

The leader of an unsustainably small space colony must weigh the value of peace vs population.  

And that cover art?  Done for my story!

"Foreign Bodies" reprinted in Deep Magic Spring 2019

A medical mystery set on the same ill-fated space colony as "Salvage Operations."

"Night Watchman" in Hippocampus May 2019

An essay about the night watchman in town where I lived in Mexico.

"The Hot Dog Strand" in THEMA Summer 2019

A short story about a strained friendship, plots of revenge...and a hot dog stand.

Hiking Alaska from Cruise Ports; Hikes, Walks, & Strolls

A guidebook for anyone who wants to lose themselves--very temporarily--in the extreme beauty of Alaska.  

Purposely Bad Worldbuilding:  Mini Contest #43 winner at On the Premises

This is a fun bit of microfiction I wrote with the express purpose of being the worst 75 words they read.  And don't worry, winning this sort of contest for terrible writing is a compliment.  You have to know what you're doing to write this bad.

"Radish Hunting" in Animal Uprising
Another tale set on the distant colony of New Eden, where a pregnant woman longing for beef turns her eyes on the resident "unicorns."   

"The People Upstairs" at Twenty-Two Twenty-Eight, November 2019

A nice bit of flash fiction I don't want to spoil for you.  Read it free.  

    

NaNoWriMo Rebel

This year for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), I'm being a rebel.  Instead of writing a new novel, I'm revising one of my previous novels that I really like but haven't been able to finish because of the difficulty of weaving the two timelines together. 

I really like the novel.  It's probably my favorite so far.  By the end of November, I hope to have a finished product (or at least a penultimate draft that just needs a bit of line editing and polishing).

Good luck to all you NaNoWriMo writers--and rebels--out there!



 

A review of my story, "Foreign Bodies."

I just got a mention in an article by Karen Burnham in Locus Magazine.  She reviewed recent science fiction and fantasy in Deep Magic, Constellary Tales, Samovar, and Strange Horizons.  That included my sci-fi story, "Foreign Bodies," published in Deep Magic.  It's one of my favorite tales from my Colony series. 

Read here to see what she said about my work:  Focus Magazine:  Karen Burnham Reviews Short Fiction

My story in Leading Edge

My short story, "Salvage Operations," appears in the latest issue of Leading Edge. 

While stranded on a strange planet, Peter has to decide whether letting one man live is worth risking the safety of the whole colony.

They created some lovely art for my story, which involves colonists salvaging the wreckage of a probe ship crash.  Now take a look at the cover.  Yes, the cover image is from my story. 

If you want to read more, buy Leading Edge Issue 73 on Amazon.