Short Fiction

I've written quite a lot of short fiction over the years. I've released three collections, which you can find in the Books section. I've also posted more than thirty stories (and growing) on Mainlining Christmas. I'm collecting the others here. 

The Citadel of the Last Gathering: Supplemental

The Citadel of the Last Gathering is a series of novels I'm in the middle of self-publishing. You can find an FAQ about the series here. I'm also writing a handful of short stories that tie in loosely to the novels. You'll find links to a few below - I'll add more as soon as they're ready.

The Truthspeaker (Suggested after reading A Tide of Ice)

This contains ties to characters from book 2, A Tide of Ice. That said, this contains no major spoilers and will function as a stand-alone story - reading this out of order shouldn't negatively impact your experience.

A Meeting in the Desert (Suggested after reading A Tide of Ice)

This connects to setting and world elements discussed in book 2, A Tide of Ice, but reading this out of order won't spoil anything in the book (i.e.: no characters overlap).

The Guest (Suggested after reading A Count of Five)

This contains spoilers for the setting and requires context from the series. I strongly advise you read at least the first novel, A Count of Five, before this story.

The Fall (Suggested after reading A Sea of Sky)

Although this isn't directly connected to characters appearing in the novel, I recommend reading this after A Sea of Sky, which introduces setting and background details the story builds on.

Other Short Fiction Free Online

The Worst Assassin in Kalbrin (From Tending the Fire)

Also available in the collection Tending the Fire

This is a fantasy story I started writing, put down for a while, then completely forgot about. I came across it a few years later and had no idea where I was originally going to go with it. At the same time, I kind of loved the premise, which is precisely what the title implies. I have no idea if this was the story I originally intended to write or not, but I like how it ended up.

The Goblin Prince (From Tending the Fire)

Also available in the collection Tending the Fire
This one is sort of an alternate Grimm's fairy tale. I wrote a version of this back in 2003, forgot about it for four years, then stumbled across it a few years ago and completely rewrote it. This is one of my favorites, but it breaks just about every rule in modern fantasy.

Upgrade

Here's a little science fiction dealing with that ever blurring line between man and machine. In no way is this revolutionary, but I kind of like it regardless. This originally appeared in the Winter 05/06 issue of Canon Magazine.

Troll Killers (Hosted at The 22 Magazine)

Short, dark fantasy piece.

Beneath the Gate (Hosted at Threat Quality Press)

This is a short piece - less than two thousand words - which is hosted at Threat Quality Press, a blog you should check out regardless. "Beneath the Gate" is one of those stories that falls in the cracks between genres. I suppose it's more fantasy than anything else, but that's not saying much: "fantasy" is basically a synonym for "fiction." 

The Window (Hosted at Threat Quality Press)

Here's a short piece of irreverent science fiction that's being hosted by Threat Quality Press.