Latest News
15 September 2025
New dental work unveiled
Manawaker Studio’s 100 Word Project has published “God of the Gaps” in their online collection of ten drabbles addressing August’s theme of “tooth”. You’ll need to be a Patreon to read them, but the free level of membership is sufficient. There will also be an audio edition in due course.
One in a hundred vacancies have been filled
11 September 2025
I’m delighted to announce that I have sold a drabble to Manawaker Studio’s 100 Word Project. “God of the Gaps” was my response to editor/publisher CB Droege‘s theme for August, which was “tooth”. I will post a link here when I can.
Incidentally, this was my 200th acceptance. Most have been for reprints of one kind or another, but that total includes 60 original short stories and micro-fictions, plus 2 poems. If that sounds like a lot, please bear in mind that I started this lark in 1997!
Earlier News
By Jove, gravity won!
23 June 2025
I rarely write poetry, so it’s always a good feeling when one of my efforts finds a home. My thanks go to Sourav Sarkar for publishing “Gravity Game” in his Jupiter anthology (he’s published one volume of poetry for every planet in the solar system). They are available in paperback editions on Amazon, e.g. here.
Harvesting the wheat
18 May 2025
Here’s a photo of my contributor’s copy of The Growers, all 390+ pages of it. That’s a lot of excellent themed fiction and poetry in one volume, including my short story Wheat Futures.
My sincere thanks go to Scott T. Barnes and the whole New Myths team for making this possible.
The wheat is growing
22 April 2025
I’m delighted to announce that my SF short story Wheat Futures has been published in The Growers anthology from New Myths. In my view, farming and farmers is a fascinating and under-addressed theme for an anthology, so I can’t wait to dive into this book.
Wheat Futures is my 58th published story.
It’s alive!
Edited 24 July 2025
26 March 2025
The e-book edition of my new collection of short stories, Those We Leave Behind and other stories, is now available to purchase from Amazon (Kindle), also D2D, Smashwords and others (epub).
Leave the pixels behind
24 March 2025
The paperback and hardback editions of my new collection, Those We Leave Behind and other stories, are now available to purchase from Amazon.
I’m delighted to announce that my previously unpublished SF flash piece Safewords for Sexbots will appear in the Shacklebound Books newsletter, also in an anthology of their newsletter stories. That will be my second story to appear there.
More details as and when.
First there was third, second there is seventh
11 March 2025
As a tempter for my new collection, Those We Leave Behind and other stories, I’ve uploaded the first scene of Second and Seventh, a story which is original to this collection, here.
Second and Seventh is a direct sequel to First and Third, which is available to download for free from Smashwords if you enter coupon HD39N when making your purchase (offer lasts until 26 April).
Smashing options for collectors
10 March 2025
As well as the Kindle edition of my new collection, Those We Leave Behind and other stories, which is currently available to pre-order on Amazon, a paperback edition will be released for purchase there on 24 March. Also, an EPUB edition of the e-book will be available to purchase at Smashwords (and its resellers, e.g. Apple iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, etc.) on 26 March.
I collected what was left behind
26 February 2025
The Kindle edition of my new collection, Those We Leave Behind and other stories, is available to pre-order on Amazon NOW! The price is only £0.99/$0.99, but it will increase shortly after the e-book’s publication on 26 March.
Two stories are original to this collection: ‘Second and Seventh’, which is a sequel to ‘First and Third’, and ‘Skin Deep’.
Tony Hughes’ cover art was inspired by my story ‘Those We Leave Behind’, a story that was included in the Best of British SF 2022 anthology.
The Kindle edition is currently available to pre-order in all territories. Epub versions will be made available on Smashwords and its affiliates in due course (I will announce here when they are ready). I am planning to publish a print version as well.
A tale told too often?
3 February 2025
The photo below shows the printed version (in French) of my short story Those We Leave Behind in Galaxies Science Fiction #89.
In his acceptance email, the magazine’s editor (Pierre Gévart, who also translated my story) told me some interesting tales about Pavel Popovich, one of the pair of Soviet cosmonauts featured in my brief alternate history.
Pierre first met Popovich in Paris, at a book signing. As the event proved severely under-attended, he had the chance to speak to Popovich at length about his Vostok 4 space mission. Years later, Pierre encountered him again in the Soviet Union, while he was undertaking space-related business, I believe on behalf of the French Space Agency. Finally, some years after Popovich’s death, he was on business in Russia again. When he began recounting one his Popovich tales one of his hosts stood up and said, “Oh no, not Popovich again! … He was my wife’s uncle, and at every family meal, he would annoy us with his stories about being a cosmonaut!” (Incidentally, Pavel Popovich was the first cosmonaut from Ukraine.)
Is it any surprise that Pierre accepted my story?
Those beneath greatness
28 January 2025
I’m delighted to announce that my SF story Those We Leave Behind has been translated into French and reprinted in Galaxies Science-Fiction. This story originally appeared in Sci Phi Journal and was reprinted in the award-winning Best of British Science Fiction 2022 anthology (NewCon Press).
