Atomic number fourteen

“Welcome to Equinox DC, the oldest financial software in the market,” said the old one with his big head, a rotund middle and long white beard. He looked wise and fragile. “I am Chief Endless Forloop. And you are?”

“Decimalus, your lowly servant.”

“Pleased to meet you, Decimalus. I expect you know that the software is for debit and credit and balancing sales ledgers and all that sort of thing? A right haven for us software program bugs, it is. We bugs are what keep this entire software from perfectly balancing its accounts. Heaven forbid if the software starts working correctly, it'll be a catastrophe...

Read the full story in the July 2011 issue of Lightning Flash Magazine

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Request to read the original story via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

3000 words Humour/Fantasy/Science Fiction
UK publication

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Words from the Wise

"I very much like your imaginative tale of software bugs. The character names are pretty awesome too, I think."

Dan

Editor

Lightning Flash

"I like the plot"

Julie Ann Dawson

Editor

Bards and Sages

"It's an amusing idea"

Christopher East

Fiction Editor

Futurismic

"The subject matter is of interest to our readers and the story is well written"

Anonymous

Editors

Alternative Coordinates

"There's a good idea here"

Michael Colangelo

Editor

Ideomancer

"Thanks for an interesting story such as this. As a software engineer by day, I enjoyed the comparisons with Newton's laws."

Samuel Montgomery-Blinn

Editor/Publisher

Bull Spec

"We enjoyed reading it"

Sue Babcock

Editor

Silver Blade

"It's a good story overall, I certainly liked the personification of bugs, especially with a background in systems"

J. E. Taylor

Assistant Editor

Allegory

"The story caught our attention"

Adrian Simmons

Editor

Heroic Fantasy Quarterly

"You have a well written and original story"

Michael C. Pennington

Editor

Aurora Wolf Journal

"It is a cute story"

Stephanie Ann Johanson

Assistant Editor

Neo-opsis Science Fiction Magazine

"It is a nice idea and there is a nice level of humour to the piece"

John Kenny

Editor

Albedo One

"This was a fun and light-hearted fantasy piece about personified computer bugs"

Djibril Alayad

Editor

Future Fire

The bugs shall inherit the earth

We are discussing the company’s new security policy. It looks like everyone from the Window Cleaner to the Project Manager has an opinion to give. And everyone agrees that the ground-breaking new security measures are a faith-shaking employee-unfriendly move. (What is debatable is whether the Project Manager manages to get as much work done as the Window Cleaner.)

“Those turnstiles are the limit”, says one. “I’d like to see them have a fire drill now, with the fire escapes under construction and an access card required just to leave the building!”

Nodding of heads all around and general...

Read the full article in the Summer 2011 issue of Strange, Weird And Wonderful

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Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

800 words
Nonfiction
US publication

A ride into the clouds

Gabroo and I don’t see eye to eye. Chiefly because he stands a stately seven feet tall in his socks, while I barely make a meagre five and an inch on a good day. Yet, when his black eyes look deep into my brown ones, I feel a frisson of thrill run down my spine.

‘You and I will be just fine,’ I whisper, stroking his long mane. He snorts in return.

The guide grins wide, displaying shocking stained teeth. ‘Gabroo best horse. He really tame. He like you.’

I wonder with a stab of suspicion whether, by the word “like”, the man is indicating comparison or appreciation. Then in a rare fit of generosity I decide to...

Read the full article in the July 2011 issue of Equus

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

850 words
Nonfiction/Real fiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"My editor and I both liked your story very much, so much so that we'd like to put it in a more prominent position in our magazine. The beginning of your piece was perfect. The middle, about the journey itself, was excellent. The part about the temple is terrific. Love the ending. Thank you for bringing this to us. I just read some of your other stories online, which I enjoyed very much. Although we realize you don't have a lot of experience with horses, we would appreciate working with you again, should you have something in this vein."

Laurie Bonner

Senior Editor

Equus

"You have a nice fresh touch to your writing."

Sean O'Reilly

President and Founder

Travelers' Tales

"It's a nice little story."

Diane Redfern

Founder

Connecting: Solo Travel Network