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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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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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

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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

Kalia

The stone dropped with a soft plop into the murky water and the ripples began... smaller, then in ever-widening circles, until the outermost lapped his ankle ambitiously. The sound reminded him of the limp slap of a heavy curtain’s resisting hem flapping in the wind against a window sill. A hardened donkey nearby drank deeply from the edge of the water with noisy slurps. Its thick lips caressed the water’s surface and caused more tangential ripples to form. Further downstream a woman was washing clothes. She dipped a shirt into the water, rubbed it vigorously with soap that was rapidly...

Read the full story in the Spring/Summer 2011 issue of Existere

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3260 words
Fiction/Drama
Canada publication

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Words from the Wise

"The detail is good and the images are strong"

Melinda Selmys

Editor

Vulgata

"It’s a well-written story, and we were impressed with your craft. Clearly it came from a capable hand."

Luc Saunders

Editorial Associate

The Sun

"It is a pleasure to accept your manuscript... fine contribution."

Nathan Grant

Editor-in-Chief

African American Review

Becoming a boss

Recently, something significant happened to me at work. I was promoted. I had been performing exceedingly well in my job over the last couple of years, so it came as no surprise when the decision was announced. I knew that my life would change in many ways: An advancement up the corporate ladder meant bigger challenges, bigger responsibilities and a bigger paycheck. What I hadn’t expected was the subtle, yet significant change in the office environment around me.

Advice abounds on how to deal with rejection – rejection at a job interview, rejection from a love interest, rejection at a competition...

Read the full article in the May 2011 issue of Toastmaster

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1200 words
Nonfiction/Corporate
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"Good article. We like it. I enjoy your writing style."

Paul Sterman

Associate Editor

Toastmaster Magazine

A rose by any other name... means you weren't paying enough attention in Science class

Like Stephenie Meyer, who woke up one morning with the entire Twilight saga all mapped out and neatly compartmentalised into a trilogy in a dream, you too find yourself struck by inspiration on the evening walk to the corner curry shop. While the man at the till is taking his time totting up the bill, you fret and agonise about being five hundred yards away from your trusty laptop. The minute the curry is in the microwave, you are furiously scribbling the main outline of the plot that promises to shake up the world… you are only about twelve months and one willing publisher away from your destiny...

Read the full article in the April 2011 issue of Writing World

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1645 words
Humour/Science Fiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"I definitely enjoyed it! I like it very much. I like the idea of asking authors how they choose names. Perfect! This is a very nice examination of the whole question... a good round-up of how different authors picked names."

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

"Great title."

Suzanne Ruthven

Editor

The New Writer

My trip to Mars

I own a spacecraft. It’s called, um, ASpacecraft. I use it for (what else?) space travel. I keep it in the paper-clip box at the bottom of my desk drawer. The paper-clip box is nearly empty, just a couple of paper-clips left in it, so ASpacecraft fits in pretty snugly. I store it at the bottom of the desk drawer to keep it away from the prying eyes of my younger brother. (Actually, I don’t really have a younger brother, but if I did, I’m sure he would have prying eyes.)

ASpacecraft has taken me on many an interesting journey through space. It’s a pretty little thing, red in colour, with cute little antennae...

Read the full story in the March 2011 issue of Lightning Flash

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1645 words
Humour/Science Fiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"I really liked your little story. I'd love to publish it."

Dan

Editor

Lightning Flash Magazine

"Very, Very, Very amusing. Seriously, it's quite funny."

Geoffrey C. Porter

Editor

Untied Shoelaces Of The Mind

"I absolutely love the cute images, great wit, and casual voice this piece displays... taking us on a tour of a bizarre place... Definitely a world worthy of an adventure!"

Ty Drago

Editor

Allegory

"I really enjoyed the story... You latch onto a voice that not many could make work and run with it flawlessly... a certain winner."

D.F. McCourt

Editor

AE - The Canadian Science Fiction Review

"This piece was charming, a lot of fun, and a delight to read. We enjoyed it."

Djibril Alayad

Editor

Future Fire

"An interesting short story. I do like Calvin and Hobbes, and the "younger girl's voice" really comes out. Some of the details, such as the feet tapping of their own accord on account of the low Mars gravity, were quite memorable."

Samuel Montgomery-Blinn

Editor

Bull Spec

"It would make a good children's book"

Sue Babcock

Editor

Silver Blade

"Your story has some lovely ideas and images in it"

Ellen J. Allen

Editor

Hub

"It is an interesting story. I like the concept of a portable spacecraft that can transport you anywhere."

Anonymous

Editor (1 of 4)

Winged Halo

"I really love the voice"

Anonymous

Editor (2 of 4)

Winged Halo

"It's a cute idea"

Anonymous

Editor (3 of 4)

Winged Halo

"Amusing... and sustains the voice well"

Zara Baxter

Editor

Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine

"The story is well written"

Anonymous

Editor

Alternative Coordinates

"'Cosmic Cacoethes' is a very charming story. It's a really good story."

Alex Korovessis

Editor

Kasma

"This was inventive"

Elizabeth Bear

Associate Editor

Ideomancer