Writer & Translator
Some small-ish self-publication news: later this year (probably in December or thereabouts), I'll be self-publishing all my 2017 stories for the Word Count Podcast in Dark Flash 2. I did the same with the eight stories I published on the podcast in 2016 (available from Amazon and Smashwords), and I thought I might as well make… Continue reading A cover-reveal for ‘Dark Flash 2’
The brand new Halloween episode of R.B. Wood's Word Count Podcast has just gone live. It's episode #71, and this month, the theme was Halloween, October, and this photo of the abandoned Pilgrim State Psychiatric hospital: Listen to episode 71 It took me a few tries to come up with a story I liked for this… Continue reading Listen to my new story ‘Angel’s Heart’ on R.B. Wood’s Word Count Podcast
My story 'Hare's Breath' is now available to read online in issue #39 of Shimmer. It is set in Sweden, and blends a Swedish Midsummer's Eve, friendship, tragedy, and folklore with a dark chapter in Swedish history. Read 'Hare's Breath' for free I am so grateful to the wonderful team at Shimmer for giving this… Continue reading My story ‘Hare’s Breath’ is now available to read online in SHIMMER
You can hear me read this story on episode #69 of R.B. Wood’s Word Count Podcast. Listen to the episode. The prompts for this episode were “August”, and this photo: The tent in my story might be a bit different than the tent in the photo, but, you know, poetic licence and all that... I… Continue reading Read ‘Hidden’ – a story written for R.B. Wood’s Word Count Podcast
Issue #31 of Luna Station Quarterly is now live, and it includes a reprint of my short story 'Seven Kinds of Baked Goods', originally published in the anthology 'Just Desserts'. This is a bit of adventure fantasy, featuring a fancy tea shop, poisons, assassins, LOTS of baked goods, and very sharp blades... Read my story… Continue reading Read my story ‘Seven Kinds of Baked Goods’ in Luna Station Quarterly
Honestly, August passed in a bit of a blur. I was writing a story that had to be finished by August 31, and the kids were still out of school, so there was a lot of stuff going on. But, yes, there were still so, so many good stories to read. Right before I put… Continue reading 20 splendiferous short stories I read in August
Issue #39 of Shimmer just went live, and I can still barely believe it, but my name is on that cover. And what a cover! Gorgeous and haunting artwork by Sandro Castelli. The table of contents include some fabulous authors (as well as yours truly), and of course, I highly recommend you pick up this… Continue reading Read my story ‘Hare’s Breath’ in the brand new issue of SHIMMER
The new issue of Bracken has just been released with a TOC that includes my flash fiction story 'When Mama Calls'. I wrote this story as an entry in Bracken's flash fiction contest earlier this year, and while it was a challenge to write a maximum of 350 words, it was a fun challenge. Huge… Continue reading Read my story ‘When Mama Calls’ in the new issue of Bracken
I traveled a lot throughout July (but then I always travel a lot in July). The month included long flights to Sweden, and a lot of travel within Sweden as well, visiting family and friends. As a result, my reading was rather haphazard and scattered throughout the month, and so was my time at the… Continue reading 19 wondrous short stories I read in July
It's been a bit of a wait for this one, but now it is here and it looks absolutely wonderful: Phobos Issue Four: Deep Black Sea. My story 'Bioluminescence' is in this magazine, and I am just thrilled to share it with everyone. The TOC looks fantastic, and the cover is gorgeous: artwork by Abigail… Continue reading Phobos Issue Four: Deep Black Sea is available in print – with my story ‘Bioluminescence’
June turned out to be another great month for short fiction, and it was another month where I felt like I should be reading at least twice as much as I actually did. Even reading as much as I do, I feel I'm only scratching the surface of what's out there! A special than you… Continue reading 17 brilliantly awesome short stories I read in June
Three of my stories were published in May, and I thought I'd share some background for each of them. I've been thinking about these stories a lot this past month (no surprise!), partly because the writing process for each of them was so different. And oh, if you want to support excellent speculative fiction, consider… Continue reading Story notes for three stories
This has to be one of the coolest and most unexpected things that has happened to me as a writer: Australian guitarist Graham Greene has written an amazing new tune - and it was inspired by my short story 'The Gates of Balawat' from my short story collection 'Odin's Eye'! You can read more about… Continue reading A musical collaboration of sorts…
What the heck, May? I had three stories appear in three different publications this past month. Not that I'm complaining or anything... quite the opposite! The lovely threesome: The Machine of the Devil in Flash Fiction Online. (Read for free, subscribe, buy the issue.) Metal, Sex, Monsters in Gamut. (Subscribe, or buy the issue.) Firstborn… Continue reading April / May recap: stories, sales & reviews
Some months, I feel like I just cannot keep up with all the wonderful, beautiful, addictively terrifying stories coming out. Actually, that pretty much describes every month... Here are 16 of the many fabulous stories I read in May: Lares Familiares, 1981, by Rebecca Campbell in Liminal Stories. "Over the girl's shoulder lay the forest's… Continue reading 16 fabulously fantastic short stories I read in May
My story 'Metal, Sex, Monsters' is now available for online subscribers of Gamut (read it here). What's it about? Well, the title sort of sums it up, I guess... but you'll have to read it to know for sure. You can read the story right now if you're a subscriber. The single issue will be… Continue reading My story ‘Metal, Sex, Monsters’ is now available online in Gamut Magazine
One of the most personal stories I've ever written, and one that is very close to my heart, has just been released into the wild. The story is 'Firstborn', and it's available in the new issue of Capricious. There's also an interview with me in the magazine where I talk about the inspiration for the… Continue reading Read my story ‘Firstborn’ in the new issue of Capricious
In the last little while, I've read three new short story collections by three brilliant writers, and each one of these is well worth picking up. Neither Here Nor There, by Cat Rambo This is two collections in one, literally. In the physical copy of the book, you actually turn it over and start the… Continue reading Great reads: 3 excellent short story collections
The contract is signed, so now I can spill the beans: I just sold a story to the wonderful people at Cast of Wonders! It's a reprint sale, and the story is 'Tunguska, 1987', originally published last year in the anthology 'Tales From Alternate Earths' (Inklings Press). I am so happy and excited about this,… Continue reading Reprint story sale!
So many great writers and editors, so many fantastic stories and publications, so much awesomeness. The list of Hugo Awards finalists is pretty darn amazing this year. Some of my personal favourites are on this list, and some (a lot...) I have yet to read. Here is a TBR list with links to most of… Continue reading Reading the Hugo Awards finalists
Maria Haskins 