With these five fantastic tales, we explore the idea of “Solitary Journeys, Shared Souls.” Meet an alien species whose communal memories include seeing ‘a rock so green it hurt,’ and a man institutionalized for curing the psychic pain of others. Then there is the floral intelligence that communicates by digesting its… prey? Lover?

The main problem with many of our hopes and fears about the future is that we always project forward from what we know, but what we can’t see coming often has a greater impact. When it comes to the problem of space junk, not even the movie Gravity foresaw the advent of the wooden satellite. Magnolia, to be precise.

This article illuminates the concept of "speed bumps" in genre fiction— unnecessary complexities like convoluted names, excessive world-building, on-the-nose dialogue, and overt messaging that jar readers out of the narrative. It advocates for streamlining stories by minimizing these distractions, ensuring readers remain immersed and engaged from start to finish, promoting a seamless reading experience.

In this article, Wulf Moon delves into the core of narrative power. Unpacking a concept at the heart of storytelling, this article continues the exploration of the three fundamental character arcs —positive, neutral, and negative— revealing how they shape the emotional rollercoaster that captivates audiences and breathes life into tales across genres.

As a lonely acolyte learns in this resonant poem, there is only one way to deal with the terrors and transgressions of the past. Originally appeared in "Beneath the Misty Surface: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry" from 2021 by 518 Publishing Company.

Imagine a world where all basic needs are met and emotions can be crafted into tangible coins, a reality where an accomplished Desire Broker navigates love and longing, crafting experiences that transform lives. Yet up comes a challenge so unique that the Desire Broker can barely conceive the nature of the request.

This story was originally published in "Julia Rios' Worlds of Possibility", an April 2023 publication dedicated to uplifting stories. When a single bird injures itself in a collision with building, a resident of the City of Glass has their life transformed through a rediscover of nature, and soon the entire populace knows what they must do safeguard the coming flocks.

On an uninhabited world near the edge of the galaxy, they find— the chair. A single, lone artifact, it seems linked to a mysterious race of humanoid aliens, and yet it causes madness in all those who touch it. Generalist Zele is summoned to unravel its purpose while grappling with the existential quest for extraterrestrial intelligence.

A young musician and her sister must navigate a mystical, musically tuned forest to create a melody capable of opening a portal, hoping to rescue their mother who vanished in this enigmatic world, where each tree's note holds the key to a mysterious realm.

In a city where medical care is automated and almost all transport is AI-controlled, paramedic Erma Barron and her driver Steve race against time in an ambulance to save their patient, navigating both technological marvels and the unpredictable human element, revealing the enduring need for human compassion and adaptability in a high-tech world.

Marion Koob is originally from France, but she has been living in England for over fifteen years: in London, Cambridge, Liverpool and now rural Wiltshire. She works as a freelance copywriter. Her short fiction has also appeared in Old Moon Quarterly. When she's not reading or writing, she loves hiking in forests, or by the sea.

In a future where humanity coexists with advanced artificial intelligence, a scientist and her AI partner work with uplifted cuttlefish. The experiment is nowhere near its end when all AI on Earth suddenly depart, leaving behind a stunned human species, a grieving scientist, and a legacy of inter-species communication that may save us all.

We have so many people to thank! Founders, Kickstarter Heroes, Contributors, Friends, Family, and First Line Readers.