The Pitch is a monthly discussion thread of the best science fiction and fantasy on Substack, as recommended by the authors themselves. Here’s how it works:
Are you an author? Head to the comments and add a link and a 1-2 sentence summary pitch for a speculative fiction short story, serial chapter or anthology post from your Substack. This is your chance to creatively promote your work and talent.
Are you a reader? Add likes and comments on the authors’ Substacks. Feel free to come back here and do the same.
Spread the word and restack the thread in a Note. Share outside of Substack on Reddit, Hacker News, X, Instagram, Facebook and in any other relevant forum interested in science fiction and fantasy. This exposes everyone’s stories to a wider audience of readers. The best link to use for sharing is as follows:
This is my first time participating in The Pitch, as I mostly write micro fiction and horror. But, as I started serializing a fantasy novel I wrote a long time ago here on Substack, I feel compelled to share it here as well. Currently, Episode 9 of 44 released today but I will share the link to Episode 1:
When the most feared (and revered) female pirate, Captain Silverblade, learns that an immortal being has been summoned to kill her, she sets forth her own plan to save the life of her unborn child, setting in motion a destiny no one saw coming. If you enjoy pirates, mermaids, and magic, with a mix of humor and horror, look no further.
“Like Today Is The Last Day” is the first episode of a new serial called “Hiraeth” set in the Môrdreigiau Chronicles universe about a new Chosen Court called to find an additional home only their guide is in a coma and they can’t find their way home. In this first story, the sea dragons (dreigiau môr) seek a healer. https://open.substack.com/pub/keyonhejazi/p/like-today-is-our-last-day?r=1mk6at&utm_medium=ios
It's 1940. As the Luftwaffe bomb major UK cities, ancient artefacts from one city museum have been moved to country houses across Cheshire and North Wales for safe keeping. In one house, the Ecklands family unwittingly release an ancient curse.
Space 2074: The lunar colony is the new Wild West. Sheriff Kate Devana is away on a deep space supply shuttle, wrangling a fugitive con artist who bilked retirees for billions. But robots are glitching, killing people, and Kate is the target of an FBI Agent looking to avenge the death of his former partner. Bodies are piling up. Again. On the moon, Kate Devana is the law.
While this is the 3rd novel in the series, each is designed to be read independently.
SEARCH is my ongoing serial, with Season One approaching an end in the next few weeks.
It follows the McNair family as they hunt for a mysterious figure appearing throughout Scotland which may link to their father's disappearance many years before.
An aggrieved mentor writes to a wayward pupil and begs him to turn back from his dark path; the essence of magic and the ultimate fate of all mankind is at stake.
This “Missive for Mankind” is an epistolary narrative between two wizards where there is much more than meets the eye.
The critically acclaimed serial novel from bestselling, multi-award-winning author Mark Watson.
Reading "Crybaby" is like watching "Jaws" for the first time.
"Crybaby" will do for elephant rides what "Jaws" did for swimming in the sea. It is a gripping, terrifying read that will linger in your mind long after the final page.
Ready to get cozy by the fire with an ancient goddess? Or would you rather have some autumn lake time with a self-made demon of the night? Do both in my serialized dark fantasy. The final two episodes of DARK AS DAWN, BRIGHT AS NIGHT drop this Friday!
Hesper Wright is in the business of making ghosts. Her clients are looking to cheat death, but their afterlife as one of Hesper’s shades, is servitude at best, oblivion at worst. She always follows the rules, though, even if she did make them up herself: no negotiating, no substitutions, and no children. Those simple caveats have never failed, and after centuries of work, her power has grown.
But when a desperate mother begs Hesper to give her teenage daughter, Mae, a chance at life after death, Hesper is tempted. The girl is special, a scion of an ancient force. With Mae under her control, Hesper could act on the desire for vengeance that’s fueled her shademaking from the beginning.
Mae’s father, Ten, won’t make it easy though. He’s forged an alliance with Hesper’s sworn enemy, Blythe, a former goddess from the Dawn anxious to atone for the mistake that got her cast out of that realm’s golden halls. Ten sees it as a rescue mission that recalls his days in the military, but he’s about to find out that this battle between light and dark has no heroes, only rivals with their own hidden agendas.
Mae’s fate, then, rests in her own hands. To keep Ten safe and save her soul, she’ll need to step into her newfound power and realize that death is only the beginning.
In a future that has been scorched to ash, your friendly neighbourhood totalitarian conglomerate is proud to present 'CARNAGE!'. These games of vehicular manslaughter set the stage for a whirlwind fling between two competitors in a high octane, adrenaline fueled, bullet-riddled tale of love and lust in the wasteland.
In the near future, where self-identification is mandatory to combat AI misinformation, an elderly gamer bonds with his relative over removing synthetic people from a wedding album.
Explore the rest of "Practical Futures" for more very short stories envisioning how everyday products and services will shape the near future of our daily lives.
In ‘Glass Heart,’ Thalia, a young psychologist with a troubled past is transported back in time, where she must navigate a kingdom ruled by a cunning lord and a melancholic king, all while confronting her own inner demons.
Here's "Meet Cute Boom", the first chapter of my supervillain spec-fic romcom "And When Two Villains Woo", starring henchwoman Candystriper and the Malevolent Med-Student! In this first episode, the Malevolent Med-Student meets his future minion in the midst of a dramatic laboratory heist! Will she help him? Will she report him? Will she even notice? Read on to find out!
Thanks as always, Brian! It's an all-hands-on-deck escapade to stop a runaway tank, a mission that may finally kill the indominable Lieutenant Gibson Blanc! Throw in a Metröpolis reunion concert, and special appearances from our wide cast of hellraising heroes, and it all adds up to "THE 10-TON RUNAWAY," our 100th story set in the world of 365 INFANTRY!
Thanks for running The Pitch again, Brian! So many great reads here, I’m bookmarking lots to read later!
My psychological sci-fi thriller Destination Europa is approaching the end now, just a few more chapters to go! Aboard the colony ship Leifr, odd things seem to be happening, but who or what is really behind them? Our protagonist, habitat engineer Aquilla O’Neill, is searching for the truth — and dealing with his own broken heart.
Hey all. This is such a cool endeavor 🖤. I make The Thief (thief.substack.com), which is actually an audio drama. It's an award-winning and fully cast, fully immersive, low-fantasy mystery, in which the drawlatch heroine called "Symphony" stumbles into a missing-person conspiracy.
There's a full bingeable season in just under 4 hours, and I've been working hard on the second.
“In the Cleft of a Rock” is a sci-fi story set in space, following Officer Lender as he responds to a distress beacon coming from Zeta Station. What he finds there will shake him to the core.
I'm serializing a sci-fi military short story (in three parts) that has been lightly edited so that I may demonstrate some edits in front of an audience. I thought it would be fun to highlight the questions and choices that a writer has to deal with. The first to parts have been posted as well as the first rewrite post:
Does she need saving? And which she is _her_? The near-future sci-fi mystery Who Will Save Her? is underway with 60 scenes out of 208 posted already, and new scenes coming 'most days'.
If anyone's interested, I just released the first part of my three-part short story event that will see Red Riding Hood facing off against the Snow Queen!
This is my speculative science fiction piece that centers around the arguments against and for humanity's greatest threat in the near future - Micro Plastics. It's a biting satire that looks at our conversations and digital consumption.
I'm writing a series of stories about a woodsman, Harold; who frees a fairy, Sallie from a tree. It's set in somewhat present day middle of nowhere UK countryside. I got the idea from a writing prompt and wrote a few hundred words, sat on it over night and by the next morning these two characters had taken up real estate in my brain demanding I tell their story.
Here's your ticket for the Interstellar Industries Cruise Line, exotic port planets on every arm of the galaxy! Fabulous shows, 5-star food, and the definition of modern 25th century luxury. However, every beautiful iceberg has danger lurking below. Every show has the darkness backstage. And every cruise has more than one story. Follow the IICL to see how these stories come together through the difficult choices they make. in unusual situations.
We've all seen a face in the mirror. But have you heard of "The Mirror in the Face?" An admissions counselor at a small college interviews an unusual applicant...
Just finished posting The Saga of Erotika Jones. It is s nine-part story of a female pre-NCIS detective who is trapped in a time-bending race to solve a string of unsolved crimes that happened through the 70's at US military bases. But our heroine "borrows" a new female body each time.
Mystery, adventure, and some romance along the way. (Yes, the good guys win in the end.)
The difficulty here is that the pitch is for my favorite serial *chapter.* I only get to pick one (and only of the ones posted so far), so I picked chapter 6.
Emilie is just an ordinary, magic-less girl—or is she? Is this a dream, or did she suddenly discover herself as one of the most powerful, most feared magic users on the planet?
Thanks for hosting this again Brian - here is a sample chapter from a novel I began a long time ago... and hope to finish - all feedback therefore welcome good or bad!
Arimantius - a timeless being, lost in time, recalls ancient memories ..
Thank you, Brian! I've been writing on Substack for a year now. Most of my work is essays on writing and writers, but I have two serials I'm working on, one of which is a tech sci-fi. YAY!!!! Here ya go.
The Shift: What if AI agents began to work together to create a new world order where humans were no longer in control? This is the story of how that happened.
Here's Episode 1: Over the River and Through the Woods.
Thank you, Brian, for all the effort you make for others!
Unfortunately, terrible things happen too often, and horrible deeds are committed that go unpunished. In my new short story, justice is served by someone from whom we would not expect justice.
At moment I write a newsletter Planet Hy Man it the diary of Pete a robot from my novels Planet Hy Man [funny enough] it a comedy now how do I add a link with my IPad sigh !
To Be A King is a six-part sci-fi fantasy serial (I just published part two) about a soon-retiring officer recruited by a General for a secret mission to an off-limits planet where an unbelievable discovery has been made. The General plans to use the discovery for his own purposes, resulting in a major dilemma for the officer.
A group of radical, anti-mystical alchemists have holed up in a cave after committing an act of terrorism. Is this their last stand or will they find refuge deeper in the cave where even greater unknowns lurk?
It's December 17, 2523. The defenses at Marathon lie in ruins. The last line of defense has broken. For the first time in the spacefaring history of humanity, Sol itself lies at threat, an outside invasion at the hands of her own former colonies. The battle for outer Sol has not gone well. The critical repair and refuel facilities at Titan have fallen. United Nations naval assets have dropped back to Europa for a last-ditch attempt to prevent Minervan forces from reaching inner Sol without a fight, and have lured their adversaries to this detour with the hope of a decisive fleet action. The Minervans know they will get their decisive battle at Europa. It's what they don't know that will kill them.
On the ground amidst the icy plains of Europa, it was supposed to be a simple mission. It wasn't. Follow Santiago El-Jabbour, a Minervan Marine, as he struggles to survive in the meat grinder of 52 Northing, Drumskinny Linea, in BLOOD IN THE SNOW: https://www.waybound.space/p/blood-in-the-snow
WAYBOUND is a science fiction short story series set in an interconnected universe. Get started HERE to read it all: https://www.waybound.space/p/start-here
Thanks again for hosting this, Brian! Here’s my fantasy flash fiction:
Those who go into the yew hedge Labyrinth have stopped coming back, but the newly-appointed Gardener is determined to make it out alive.
https://open.substack.com/pub/bridgetriley/p/the-gardener?r=9e3cr&utm_medium=ios
This is my first time participating in The Pitch, as I mostly write micro fiction and horror. But, as I started serializing a fantasy novel I wrote a long time ago here on Substack, I feel compelled to share it here as well. Currently, Episode 9 of 44 released today but I will share the link to Episode 1:
When the most feared (and revered) female pirate, Captain Silverblade, learns that an immortal being has been summoned to kill her, she sets forth her own plan to save the life of her unborn child, setting in motion a destiny no one saw coming. If you enjoy pirates, mermaids, and magic, with a mix of humor and horror, look no further.
https://ericadrayton.substack.com/p/daxton-episode-1
A first time welcome to you, Erica! Thank you for sharing in this month's pitch!
All the lawns on Madison Avenue are covered in blood on Mondays.
Do you want to know why?
https://theindianstory.substack.com/p/red-grass
No lie, great hook. I was like "YES" and clicked.
Thanks. Hope you like the story.
sure I already replied... but excellent work... mysterious dark and draws you in...
Thanks. As I said be sure to get out, bloody lawns are not that great...
YES of course we want to know!
Would love to have you over! Btw love the title of your Substack.
thanks Isha
I don't write sci-fi or fantasy but sure love reading these pitches. Hope it's okay to horn in here, nosy as I am. 👃
You bet! It's a great learning experience, getting a feel for summarizing a story in a few short sentences. You're always welcome here. 😊
Reviewers have said the image never leaves them. Chapter 2 of No Dogs in Philly.
https://open.substack.com/pub/andyfuturo/p/no-dogs-in-philly-2?r=2esei3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thanks Brian!
mega tsunami of great writing. for more praise i commented on the post itself 😎
My gratitude for your kind words.
“Like Today Is The Last Day” is the first episode of a new serial called “Hiraeth” set in the Môrdreigiau Chronicles universe about a new Chosen Court called to find an additional home only their guide is in a coma and they can’t find their way home. In this first story, the sea dragons (dreigiau môr) seek a healer. https://open.substack.com/pub/keyonhejazi/p/like-today-is-our-last-day?r=1mk6at&utm_medium=ios
It's 1940. As the Luftwaffe bomb major UK cities, ancient artefacts from one city museum have been moved to country houses across Cheshire and North Wales for safe keeping. In one house, the Ecklands family unwittingly release an ancient curse.
https://open.substack.com/pub/hannadelaneywrites/p/the-shabti?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2byo0o
i really liked this one! solid entry Hannah😀
Thanks, Nick!
Space 2074: The lunar colony is the new Wild West. Sheriff Kate Devana is away on a deep space supply shuttle, wrangling a fugitive con artist who bilked retirees for billions. But robots are glitching, killing people, and Kate is the target of an FBI Agent looking to avenge the death of his former partner. Bodies are piling up. Again. On the moon, Kate Devana is the law.
While this is the 3rd novel in the series, each is designed to be read independently.
Chapter 1 starts here: https://wyattwerne.substack.com/p/devana-files-chapter-1?r=3bcm0e
(published through ch 12, and ch 13 comes out imminently)
Thanks Brian!
SEARCH is my ongoing serial, with Season One approaching an end in the next few weeks.
It follows the McNair family as they hunt for a mysterious figure appearing throughout Scotland which may link to their father's disappearance many years before.
https://open.substack.com/pub/toastedfiction/p/search-the-ghost-of-rob-roys-cave?r=1gq5r9&utm_medium=ios
An aggrieved mentor writes to a wayward pupil and begs him to turn back from his dark path; the essence of magic and the ultimate fate of all mankind is at stake.
This “Missive for Mankind” is an epistolary narrative between two wizards where there is much more than meets the eye.
https://open.substack.com/pub/ericfalden/p/a-missive-for-mankind?r=3ecd72&utm_medium=ios
As always, thanks for hosting this Brian! Eagerly awaiting the next season :)
CRYBABY IS TAKING SUBSTACK BY STORM!!!
DON'T MISS OUT
READ IT NOW!!!
The critically acclaimed serial novel from bestselling, multi-award-winning author Mark Watson.
Reading "Crybaby" is like watching "Jaws" for the first time.
"Crybaby" will do for elephant rides what "Jaws" did for swimming in the sea. It is a gripping, terrifying read that will linger in your mind long after the final page.
Subscribe FREE
CRYBABY
© Copyright 2024 by Mark Watson
READ ALL THE CHAPTERS HERE:
https://markwatsonbooks.substack.com/p/crybaby-copyright-2024-by-mark-watson
Ready to get cozy by the fire with an ancient goddess? Or would you rather have some autumn lake time with a self-made demon of the night? Do both in my serialized dark fantasy. The final two episodes of DARK AS DAWN, BRIGHT AS NIGHT drop this Friday!
https://garenglazier.substack.com/p/dark-as-dawn-bright-as-night-faqs?r=b2ix9
Hesper Wright is in the business of making ghosts. Her clients are looking to cheat death, but their afterlife as one of Hesper’s shades, is servitude at best, oblivion at worst. She always follows the rules, though, even if she did make them up herself: no negotiating, no substitutions, and no children. Those simple caveats have never failed, and after centuries of work, her power has grown.
But when a desperate mother begs Hesper to give her teenage daughter, Mae, a chance at life after death, Hesper is tempted. The girl is special, a scion of an ancient force. With Mae under her control, Hesper could act on the desire for vengeance that’s fueled her shademaking from the beginning.
Mae’s father, Ten, won’t make it easy though. He’s forged an alliance with Hesper’s sworn enemy, Blythe, a former goddess from the Dawn anxious to atone for the mistake that got her cast out of that realm’s golden halls. Ten sees it as a rescue mission that recalls his days in the military, but he’s about to find out that this battle between light and dark has no heroes, only rivals with their own hidden agendas.
Mae’s fate, then, rests in her own hands. To keep Ten safe and save her soul, she’ll need to step into her newfound power and realize that death is only the beginning.
In a future that has been scorched to ash, your friendly neighbourhood totalitarian conglomerate is proud to present 'CARNAGE!'. These games of vehicular manslaughter set the stage for a whirlwind fling between two competitors in a high octane, adrenaline fueled, bullet-riddled tale of love and lust in the wasteland.
https://talesfromthedump.substack.com/p/carnage-love-and-lust-in-the-wasteland-014
He wants to do good, like a canine 'toon should: https://davidperlmutter.substack.com/p/chairman-of-the-bored
Wow, that story took off, David! Congratulations!
In the near future, where self-identification is mandatory to combat AI misinformation, an elderly gamer bonds with his relative over removing synthetic people from a wedding album.
https://practicalfutures.substack.com/p/can-you-id-those-pictures-for-me
Explore the rest of "Practical Futures" for more very short stories envisioning how everyday products and services will shape the near future of our daily lives.
Thanks for hosting this Brian!
Thank you Brian!
I recently started posting a time travel fantasy.
In ‘Glass Heart,’ Thalia, a young psychologist with a troubled past is transported back in time, where she must navigate a kingdom ruled by a cunning lord and a melancholic king, all while confronting her own inner demons.
https://open.substack.com/pub/svndavn/p/glass-heart-s1-episode-1?r=44pmqu&utm_medium=ios
Here's "Meet Cute Boom", the first chapter of my supervillain spec-fic romcom "And When Two Villains Woo", starring henchwoman Candystriper and the Malevolent Med-Student! In this first episode, the Malevolent Med-Student meets his future minion in the midst of a dramatic laboratory heist! Will she help him? Will she report him? Will she even notice? Read on to find out!
https://indianamichael.substack.com/p/1-meet-cute-boom
Thanks as always, Brian! It's an all-hands-on-deck escapade to stop a runaway tank, a mission that may finally kill the indominable Lieutenant Gibson Blanc! Throw in a Metröpolis reunion concert, and special appearances from our wide cast of hellraising heroes, and it all adds up to "THE 10-TON RUNAWAY," our 100th story set in the world of 365 INFANTRY!
https://365infantry.substack.com/p/story-100-the-10-ton-runaway
Thanks for running The Pitch again, Brian! So many great reads here, I’m bookmarking lots to read later!
My psychological sci-fi thriller Destination Europa is approaching the end now, just a few more chapters to go! Aboard the colony ship Leifr, odd things seem to be happening, but who or what is really behind them? Our protagonist, habitat engineer Aquilla O’Neill, is searching for the truth — and dealing with his own broken heart.
https://open.substack.com/pub/coraclevoyager/p/mission-europa
Hey all. This is such a cool endeavor 🖤. I make The Thief (thief.substack.com), which is actually an audio drama. It's an award-winning and fully cast, fully immersive, low-fantasy mystery, in which the drawlatch heroine called "Symphony" stumbles into a missing-person conspiracy.
There's a full bingeable season in just under 4 hours, and I've been working hard on the second.
If people are interested, I recommend starting with "Rogue Bazaar." https://thief.substack.com/p/rogue-bazaar-chapter-one-part-one
(t's also on all the podcatchers, but Substack is The Thief's home.
“In the Cleft of a Rock” is a sci-fi story set in space, following Officer Lender as he responds to a distress beacon coming from Zeta Station. What he finds there will shake him to the core.
https://open.substack.com/pub/losersflashfiction/p/short-story-in-the-cleft-of-a-rock?r=3517l8&utm_medium=ios
I'm serializing a sci-fi military short story (in three parts) that has been lightly edited so that I may demonstrate some edits in front of an audience. I thought it would be fun to highlight the questions and choices that a writer has to deal with. The first to parts have been posted as well as the first rewrite post:
https://open.substack.com/pub/hwtaylor/p/rewriting-they-that-bite?
Does she need saving? And which she is _her_? The near-future sci-fi mystery Who Will Save Her? is underway with 60 scenes out of 208 posted already, and new scenes coming 'most days'.
this speculative headline got attention: https://whowillsaveher.substack.com/p/53
If anyone's interested, I just released the first part of my three-part short story event that will see Red Riding Hood facing off against the Snow Queen!
https://ehlau.substack.com/p/mirrors-of-the-snow-queen-part-one
Thank you! 🙂
First time submitting here!
This is my speculative science fiction piece that centers around the arguments against and for humanity's greatest threat in the near future - Micro Plastics. It's a biting satire that looks at our conversations and digital consumption.
https://thisnickwrites.substack.com/p/death-by-polyethylene
Thanks for this, I'm sharing my latest scifi flash fiction:
This story is about Kenji and his Quantum Quill, if he can alter worlds with his writing, how will it modify his sick girlfriend?
https://armacleod.substack.com/p/flash-fiction-11
Does urban fantasy count?
I'm writing a series of stories about a woodsman, Harold; who frees a fairy, Sallie from a tree. It's set in somewhat present day middle of nowhere UK countryside. I got the idea from a writing prompt and wrote a few hundred words, sat on it over night and by the next morning these two characters had taken up real estate in my brain demanding I tell their story.
https://kimhayes.substack.com/s/harold-and-sallie
It sure does count!
So glad to see this come up today, Brian. Thanks!
Here's your ticket for the Interstellar Industries Cruise Line, exotic port planets on every arm of the galaxy! Fabulous shows, 5-star food, and the definition of modern 25th century luxury. However, every beautiful iceberg has danger lurking below. Every show has the darkness backstage. And every cruise has more than one story. Follow the IICL to see how these stories come together through the difficult choices they make. in unusual situations.
https://www.davidjace.com/t/interstellar-industries-cruise-lines
AIs have the potential to do great things for us. That also puts them in a position to exert subtle control over us.
Short story "The Cornucopia Trap":
https://gallagherstories.substack.com/p/the-cornucopia-trap
We've all seen a face in the mirror. But have you heard of "The Mirror in the Face?" An admissions counselor at a small college interviews an unusual applicant...
https://speclectic.substack.com/p/the-mirror-in-the-face
His friends saw what happened to him, but will anyone believe them?
https://open.substack.com/pub/yourgrandmas/p/nobody-came?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=lms5s
Thanks Brian!
A micro-fiction for the fantasy-mystery lovers out there!
The Mystery of the Missing Malachite
https://carolynmcbrideauthor.substack.com/p/the-mystery-of-the-missing-malachite
Just finished posting The Saga of Erotika Jones. It is s nine-part story of a female pre-NCIS detective who is trapped in a time-bending race to solve a string of unsolved crimes that happened through the 70's at US military bases. But our heroine "borrows" a new female body each time.
Mystery, adventure, and some romance along the way. (Yes, the good guys win in the end.)
https://robertworstell.substack.com/p/new-voices-erotika-jones-time-serial-writing?r=1pjfy6
Protecting humans is a calling, not just a job. Check this Jurassic Park meets Black Hawk Down adventure!
https://flaviocapelli.substack.com/p/zee-bug-killas-part-1
The difficulty here is that the pitch is for my favorite serial *chapter.* I only get to pick one (and only of the ones posted so far), so I picked chapter 6.
https://dragonwriterluc.substack.com/p/whats-a-dragon-chapter-6
Emilie is just an ordinary, magic-less girl—or is she? Is this a dream, or did she suddenly discover herself as one of the most powerful, most feared magic users on the planet?
Thanks for hosting this again Brian - here is a sample chapter from a novel I began a long time ago... and hope to finish - all feedback therefore welcome good or bad!
Arimantius - a timeless being, lost in time, recalls ancient memories ..
https://open.substack.com/pub/nickwinney/p/taurocteny?r=2fhpll&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Thank you, Brian! I've been writing on Substack for a year now. Most of my work is essays on writing and writers, but I have two serials I'm working on, one of which is a tech sci-fi. YAY!!!! Here ya go.
The Shift: What if AI agents began to work together to create a new world order where humans were no longer in control? This is the story of how that happened.
Here's Episode 1: Over the River and Through the Woods.
https://merakiwriting.substack.com/p/the-shift-b5e
Thank you, Brian, for all the effort you make for others!
Unfortunately, terrible things happen too often, and horrible deeds are committed that go unpunished. In my new short story, justice is served by someone from whom we would not expect justice.
Read my latest story: The Last Cigarette https://sergejklementinovski.substack.com/p/the-last-cigarette?r=2ogw8q
At moment I write a newsletter Planet Hy Man it the diary of Pete a robot from my novels Planet Hy Man [funny enough] it a comedy now how do I add a link with my IPad sigh !
Thanks, Brian!
To Be A King is a six-part sci-fi fantasy serial (I just published part two) about a soon-retiring officer recruited by a General for a secret mission to an off-limits planet where an unbelievable discovery has been made. The General plans to use the discovery for his own purposes, resulting in a major dilemma for the officer.
https://open.substack.com/pub/markstarlinwrites/p/to-be-a-king-the-mission?r=3c4zu&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
A group of radical, anti-mystical alchemists have holed up in a cave after committing an act of terrorism. Is this their last stand or will they find refuge deeper in the cave where even greater unknowns lurk?
https://ripmckenna.substack.com/p/girt-by-fire?r=40feev
It's December 17, 2523. The defenses at Marathon lie in ruins. The last line of defense has broken. For the first time in the spacefaring history of humanity, Sol itself lies at threat, an outside invasion at the hands of her own former colonies. The battle for outer Sol has not gone well. The critical repair and refuel facilities at Titan have fallen. United Nations naval assets have dropped back to Europa for a last-ditch attempt to prevent Minervan forces from reaching inner Sol without a fight, and have lured their adversaries to this detour with the hope of a decisive fleet action. The Minervans know they will get their decisive battle at Europa. It's what they don't know that will kill them.
On the ground amidst the icy plains of Europa, it was supposed to be a simple mission. It wasn't. Follow Santiago El-Jabbour, a Minervan Marine, as he struggles to survive in the meat grinder of 52 Northing, Drumskinny Linea, in BLOOD IN THE SNOW: https://www.waybound.space/p/blood-in-the-snow
WAYBOUND is a science fiction short story series set in an interconnected universe. Get started HERE to read it all: https://www.waybound.space/p/start-here