"The Bridge" / On Spec / Published June 2021

Wow, it has been a long time since I've gotten a story sale - of course it's been a long time since I'd written short stories. In the past decade I've focused pretty exclusively, fiction-wise, on the long form - novels. Lately, however especially as I've been moving into the science fiction genre, which is not an easy market to crack, short stories have proven to be a great way to reflex some muscles and try out side stories that keep nagging at me.

On Spec is a major science fiction market, based out of Canada. And my story "The Bridge" is a rather epic tale I'd written thirteen years earlier. Yes, thirteen. Now the story that On Spec has purchased is not the same one I'd typed "The End" to all those years ago. It has been refined quite a bit, and much of that refinement from editors who liked the piece over the years but in a "close but..." frame of mind. Still, I had considered retiring the piece more than once, but would read it again, and say no, this is a great story, it just needs to hit the desk of the right editor (and yes, after some edits and tweaks - you don't need to do every suggestion you're given, but you should always listen when it's offered). When this piece got moved from the slush to the final editorial board for a decision, the slush reader's comments were wonderful: they actually got what I was doing. Even if the story didn't get bought, that in itself was a nice feeling. But it was bought, and that's just icing on the cake.

"The Bridge" is now appearing in issue #116, released June 2021!

"A Life Unremembered" (G Daniel Gunn) / Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep anthology / July 2017

My new G Daniel Gunn short story, "A Life Unremembered" is now available in NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP, a charity anthology benefiting the Jimmy Fund / Dana Farber Cancer Institute from Necon E-Books, and edited by Laura Hickman and P.D. Cacek. The call had gone out at the end of last year to all past and present Necon attendees, and after mulling over the theme this story formed, written specifically for this collection (and at least if it hadn't been accepted, the theme wasn't so specific it couldn't have found a home somewhere, such is a risk of themed antho's). So I'm thrilled to be a part of this, and part of such an amazing line-up of writes. 

"Shattered" (as G Daniel Gunn), Co-Written with Paul G. Tremblay / Borderlands 6 Anthology / Summer 2016

At long last this hapless - though admittedly very cool - story has been bought. Good for us, bad for the publisher who bought it. Paul Tremblay and I went back and forth over the course of a few months working on a story we basically wrote stream of consciousness - whatever struck us next we wrote. Then we refined and formed it into the final story.

That was 13 years ago. After a couple of tries it was accepted for publication in a fairly big magazine, which then folded before it saw the light of day. We resubmitted to and was accepted by an upcoming and fairly big anthology - which then folded as well before seeing publication. Hmm, head scratching. But we then picked it up and sent it out again, eventually it was short-listed for another anthology - which was canceled.

Never to say die, we submitted it to Borderlands 6: this was the original incarnation of this extremely influential series, and after learning it had been short-listed here, nothing ever came of the anthology. It sort of fizzled out due to unrelated issues with the publisher, and after three years we just withdrew it (as it most of the other stories people submitted) because it was no longer on the road to publication.

Fast-forward ten years, and the story had been shelved. We we almost afraid to send it anywhere for fear it was cursed or something. Then editor Tom Monteleone resurrected Borderlands 6 with his daughter Olivia and put out a call for stories earlier this year. We decided, why not, let's dust off the story and send it here since it has originally been short-listed before. It was happily accepted, even improved with some editorial suggestions by Tom. We were paid well, signed all the sig sheets and all was good. Borderlands Press was going to do the limited editions, and Samhain Publishing the trade and ebook editions. This part caused me a little concern, because Samhain was currently my publisher for Nightmare in Greasepaint and we were getting rumblings of financial issues.

Nevertheless, "Shattered" did get published, very briefly, before Samhain went out of business completely and closed up shop. Just a few months after it came out, Borderlands 6 had no paperback or ebook, just the rather expensive collector's edition. So, basically, "Shattered" took out its final victim. If I ever publish another short story collection, unfortunately "Shattered" will not be in it. I'd never want to risk it. Too bad, because it's a very cool story. :(   At least it saw the light of day for a little while.

"Nightmare in Greasepaint" (by G Daniel Gunn and L.L. Soares)/ Childhood Fears Novella Series / Samhain Publishing / May & October 2015

This novella, written under my pseudonym G Daniel Gunn (who's been quite busy lately!), "Nightmare in Greasepaint", with my buddy and Bram Stoker-winning author L.L. Soares, has been published by Samhain Publishing's Horror line as part of their Childhood Fears novella anthology series edited by the legendary Don D'Auria. The novella was published as a standalone ebook in May 2015 as part of the Childhood Fears anthology of novellas in October. 

"My Dearest Gwendolyn" (by G Daniel Gunn), MADHOUSE Anthology/ May 2016

So a couple years back I was asked to write a story for a shared-world anthology - basically a collection of stories from different authors based on a common theme or over-arching storyline. In this case, a madness that spreads through a remote asylum, person to person, trapping people inside while a monstrous sandstorm rages towards them.

Click Here for a Full Description
and Pre-Order Information

"My Dearest Gwendolyn" is a fun addition to the storyline, I think, and will be included closer to the end of the ahtology because that's roughly where I set the piece. It's also under my pseudonym, G. Daniel Gunn, the name I've been using for my more darker pieces.

There's a great line-up of authors, some quite well known alongside some newer names. It's going to be published through Dark Regions Press.

MADHOUSE is going up for Preorder at the above link, with some amazing special deals for those wanting to grab a copy ahead of time.

Update December 2015: Signature sheets have been making the rounds to all contributors for most of 2015 and should be done and ready by end of year. Hopefully MADHOUSE will finally be published sometime early 2016.

"The Linguist" Flash Fiction / Queen Anne's Resurrection / October 2011

Italian magazine/anthology Queen Anne's Resurrection, edited by Alessandro Manzeti, has released its newest: Journey IV with my flash fiction (very short fiction... I mean 500 words, short) story, "The Lingust," along with stories by Michael Laimo and Benjamin Kane Ethridge. The Italian version is now online at:

http://postonero.blogspot.com/2011/10/queen-annes-resurrection-viaggio-iv-il_17.html.

The english version is available at:

http://postonero.blogspot.com/2011/08/queen-annes-resurrection-journey-iv-sea.html.

"Two Fish to Feed the Masses" / Rage Against the Night / December 2011

My zombie story "Two Fish To Feed The Masses" is now appearing in an amazing charity anthology called RAGE AGAINST THE NIGHT, edited by Shane Jiyaiya Cummings, and featuring not only my story, but stories from Stephen King, Peter Straub, Jonathan Maberry and dozens of others. All to raise money for writer Rocky Wood. See the blurb below for more info and click here for your copy: http://www.amazon.com/Rage-Against-the-Night-ebook/dp/B006P18LM2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325021066&sr=8-1:

"Under the onslaught of supernatural evil, the acts of good people can seem insignificant, but a courageous few stand apart. These brave men and women stand up to the darkness, stare it right in the eye, and give it the finger. These are the stories of those who rage against the night, stories of triumph, sacrifice, and bravery in the face of overwhelming evil.

"All proceeds will be donated to Rocky Wood, author and President of the Horror Writers Association, who is battling motor neurone disease."

The full table of contents (in order of appearance) is:
· The Gunner's Love Song—Joe McKinney
· Keeping Watch—Nate Kenyon
· Like Part of the Family—Jonathan Maberry
· The Edge of Seventeen—Alexandra Sokoloff
· The View from the Top—Bev Vincent
· Afterward, There Will Be a Hallway—Gary A. Braunbeck
· Following Marla—John R. Little
· Magic Numbers—Gene O'Neill
· Tail the Barney—Stephen M. Irwin
· The Nightmare Dimension—David Conyers
· Roadside Memorials—Joseph Nassise
· Dat Tay Vao—F. Paul Wilson
· Constitution—Scott Nicholson
· Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle—Peter Straub
· Agatha's Ghost—Ramsey Campbell
· Blue Heeler—Weston Ochse
· Sarah's Visions—Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
· More Than Words—David Niall Wilson
· Chillers—Lisa Morton
· Changed—Nancy Holder
· Dead Air—Gary Kemble
· Two Fish to Feed the Masses—Daniel G. Keohane
· Fenstad's End—Sarah Langan
· Fair Extension—Stephen King
· Rocky Wood, Skeleton Killer—Jeff Strand

"Last Halloween" / Shroud Magazine / Fall 2010

Kevin Lucia is guest editor for the upcoming Halloween special issue of Shroud Magazine released on Halloween 2010, and had sent out an open call. You can order this issue here.

After a long dry spell, I finally kicked my writing back into gear and wrote "Last Halloween" for the issue. I used to carry a small notebook with me as story ideas came to me, and more recently a Palm Pilot. I had two ideas jotted down, the first noted a few years back during trick or treating - what if a mother and her kids went trick or treating, but no one else did, for some reason everyone was afraid to go out at night but she insisted on bringing her kids - how would the neighbors deal with the situation, and what, exactly was the situation? Another note I'd taken was the concept of ghosts being drifters, like mist, wandering, wandering. There was more to that idea, but I simply used the drifting ghosts, coupled with the woman taking her kids out on Halloween when she should no longer be doing that, and the result, I hope, is a pretty cool story of loss, yearning and addictions - and withdrawals - people have for one another, and the past.

"Living by the Highway" / Cemetery Dance #60 / June 2009

Moving this from from the original posting from 2007, when the story was sold since the issue has just been released! In 2007, Robert Morrish bought that my third short story for Cemetery Dance Magazine. To say I'm thrilled is, well, true. :-)

I wrote this piece in early '06 actually, during what I'll refer to as my "blue period." I wrote it on and off over the course of a couple of months, late at night. I started with the title. Years and years ago, about nine to be exact, I wrote another story with the same title. It was OK, not great, but I was a newbie writer and earning my chops. After I retired the story and tucked it in mothballs, the title kept itching my brain. I knew one day I'd write a completely new story with this same title. As it is, a few others pop into my head now and then that would go well with it, but this one is what I wrote. Inspired by the homes I see as I roll onto Interstate 290 in my home city, it's a moody piece, and has gone through a few iterations over the last year and a half. It garnered an Honorable Mention in the Chi-zine 2006 short story contest (was not published, however, only the winners got that honor, which in the end worked otu well). I revised it pretty extensively. And, well, the rest is history... at last.

"Deux Poissons pour Nourrir les Foules" (French translation of "Two Fish to Feed the Masses") / Borderline #11 (France) / October 2008

My short story, "Two Fish To Feed The Masses" has been reprinted in the French horror magazine Borderline. The theme of the issue is zombies and this story fit right in. Funny, because the editor, Lionel Bernard, solicited the story from me (which originally appeared as an original piece in my old collection Christmas Trees and Monkeys) over a year and a half ago. Never heard back, so I assumed nothing happened with it. The other day, a slick magazine appeared in my mailbox from France, issue 11, with my story as the headline. Pretty nice! Anyway, if you can read French, check it out.

"Family at Dinner" / Shroud Magazine / Issue 6 (Summer 2009)

After spending years, literally, on the maybe list of two major magazines (one ended up folding, I finally pulled it from the other), my surreal story "Family at Dinner" has been accepted for publication in the new horror magazine Shroud (http://www.shroudmagazine.com/). This is a slick horror print magazine which has been gaining quite a reputation. The story is slated to appear in the upcoming issue 6 this Spring. This will be the first issue for Shroud's new major distribution program, so the magazine should be available at most every Barnes & Noble and more!

Check out the line up of this issue, L.L.Soares, Rick Hautala, Bev Vincent, and a ton of other incredible writers. This one's going to be quite cool.

"True Fashion" (flash fiction) / Jack Haringa Must Die! / June 2008

Jack Haringa Must Die!

This short-short, in which I kill fellow scribe Jack Haringa in a men's clothes store, was first debuted in my blog as part of Kill Jack haringa In Your Blog Day (a joke birthday gift orchestrated by fellow writers Nick Kaufmann and Paul Tremblay), has now been collected into an anothology of 22 other entries, all originally published in the author's respective blogs on that fateful day. For fun, but also as a fund-raiser for the new Shirley Jackson Awards. Check it out, it's only ten bucks. Order directly from the publisher and they'll earn more towards the award

"Box" / Coach's Midnight Diner 2 (Spring 2009) & Relief Journal (Summer 2008)

Honorable Mention in Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year, Volume 1!

Fellow writer Michelle Pendergrass, who is co-editing this anthology, a follow-up to the successful Coach's Midnight Diner, invited me to write a story. CMD is an interesting mix of Christian themes with horror, not soft or sanitized, no rules, hard horror but which deals in some way with faith. I did some free writing, word association, came up with the image of someone living in a box, and went from there. Personally, though the subject of the story is rather grim and serious, I have to admit it was one of the most enjoyable writing sessions I had with a piece. Also, all humility aside, I think it's one of my best stories in a long, long time. Special thanks to Holly Wang, who works with my wife Janet, who got hold for me phonetic translations of selected lines of dialogue from English to Mandarin Chinese. This dialogue adds a lot to the story, on many levels.

The stories in this anthology are tremendous! "Box" was also featured in Relief Journal 2.2, as a way of promoting the anthology (it was this appearance that garnered the Honorable Mention above). Relief is a tremendous (and refreshingly-liberal) Christian literary magazine.