My story “Kaiju Outside Hope” is now at Escape Pod, the science fiction podcast. This story was part of Escape Pod‘s flash fiction contest, and ended up in a three-way tie for second place (now that’s a close race!). It’s narrated by the awesome Tina Connolly, and her narration is absolutely perfect.
I’ve participated in several of the flash fiction contests at the various Escape Artists’ podcasts, but this is the first time I’m in the winners circle. Thanks to everyone who read and voted, and thanks to Escape Pod for being such an awesome audio zine!
It feels a bit silly to do story notes for a 500 word flash story, but I’ll do it anyway.
This story came to me in a flash (ha!) of inspiration a couple of months before Escape Pod’s flash fiction contest. It was one of those happy writer-times when I had an idea and was able to write it down the way it “felt” in my head almost right away.
I chose the word “kaiju” for the title because it conjures up monsters, and I set it in and around Vancouver because, hey, why not? That title came to me pretty much right off the bat as well, which rarely happens for me. I imagined a mom, and aliens, and monsters, and fighting, and in my head, these characters and this story feel a lot bigger than this flash piece. Novella-sized? Maybe. We shall see.
Maria Haskins 