I decided to extend the life of some of my short stories that have been published in journals/magazines over the last few years, by publishing them digitally. It’s a bit of a (fairly safe) experiment in self-publishing and the world of ebooks. I’m loving reading on my Kobo eReader, and I’ve made these stories available in a large number of formats by publishing them through Smashwords and Amazon’s Kindle. You can read them on your computer, ereader, iPhone, iPad – pretty much any device – all you have to do is choose the right format. The most exciting thing about this project was getting some incredibly talented friends – artists and designers – to create some amazing covers for me. Aren’t they gorgeous?

I hope you enjoy reading the stories. I made them as cheap as Smashwords and Amazon would let me, without making them free (99c each). I’m going to put a permanent page in the sidebar of the blog here soon, linking my available (digital) stories, so that they’re easy to find. I would also be so grateful to you if you left a review of one or more of the stories, as it will help them be seen by more people.

The stories (which you can also find via my Smashwords and Amazon author pages) are:

You Will Notice That Hallways Are Painted

Ava is locked up in an institution. Her sentence is ‘overt overabundance’. Her new roommate Monty is ‘highly inadequate’. Ava is fond of everyone, but there’s something explosive about the bug-loving, show-tune-singing (and taken) Monty.

They’re not really crazy but they aren’t ‘functional’ members of society either: they drink, feel, touch and love too much. Is it possible to hold onto yourself, and still get out of the institution?

Originally published in Torpedo Greatest Hits (Hunter Publishers, 2010) edited by Chris Flynn.

Cover artwork and design by Kenneth Erickson.

NB. the novel manuscript I’m working on came out of this story.

For epub (ie. Stanza reader), PDF, online HTML reading, LRF (for Sony), RTF and more, click here. For Kindle and Kindle app, check it out on Amazon US, UK and Germany. (In Aus, go to Amazon US.)

Obsolescence

In the rainy city of Bergen, Norway, a tattooed, troll-like figure quietly disposes of ‘the guilty’. But Knut’s instinct-driven mission is becoming more and more complex…

Originally published in The Lifted Brow 6: Atlas, edited by Ronnie Scott.

Cover: artwork by Cecile Raposo-Knight, design by Sonja Meyer.

For epub (ie. Stanza reader), PDF, online HTML reading, LRF (for Sony), RTF and more, click here. For Kindle and Kindle app, check it out on Amazon US, UK and Germany. (In Aus, go to Amazon US.)

Birds

‘It’s just a job. It’s just a day. Everyone does it. People are worse off somewhere. There is nothing wrong. The walls are not closing in. You are fine.’

A near-future story about anxiety.

Originally published in Wet Ink: Issue 14 (2009).

Cover: artwork by Lily Mae Martin, type by Kenneth Erickson.

For epub (ie. Stanza reader), PDF, online HTML reading, LRF (for Sony), RTF and more, click here. For Kindle and Kindle app, check it out on Amazon US, UK and Germany. (In Aus, go to Amazon US.)