I don’t think any of us had a clue what 2021 was going to be like. I expected to keep my publishing streak from 2020 going and get a couple of novels out. That’s not what happened. Pandemic year #2 happened and I became rather deadline phobic and just had to have more flexibility.
I kept writing, did pretty good there, but didn’t publish much myself. That said, this was a fantastic year for short stories. I had 14 come out from other publishers plus published 4 of my own. Not too shabby. Here’s 2021 in stories one month at a time.
January
The Case of the Purple Unicorn: A Conner Bright Mystery
It seemed like it was time for this first Conner Bright story to get a stand-alone edition and a proper series page. Read more.
February
The Rescue of Jules Verne: A Hollow Earth Short Story
The start to another fun short story series got a stand-alone edition and a series page. Read more.
The Artist, the Engineer, and the Sleeping Dog
My first appearance of the year is “The Artist, the Engineer, and the Sleeping Dog” in Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, Issue #10. Read more.
April
“Death by Cookies” is another story set in my ghost world and my first “Death By” story to come out. It appeared in Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, Issue #11. Read more.
May
Cave Creek is this fun shared world idea (where a bunch of writers tell stories in the same world) and “My Moment of Weird” appears in Open Ended Threat. Read more.
“The Room of Possibilities” appears in Bitter Mountain Moonlight and is my take on writing a Twilight Zone style story. Cave Creek is a great place for such stories and this one is pretty cool (if I do say so myself). Read more.
June
“Death by Vodka” appeared in Pulphouse Fiction Magazine: Issue #12, another story in my “Death By” series. Read more.
July
This huge 500+ page short story collection is available to my newsletter subscribers only and contains four stories you can’t find anywhere else! Read more.
September
I’m particularly proud of this sci-fi/wester/time travel story with a heart and was so happy to see it in Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, Issue #13. Read more,
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Seeing Forever, Hardcover edition
For my first foray into the world of hard cover editions, I created a hardcover edition of my 2018 novel, Seeing Forever. Read more.
October
My second Hollow Earth story came out in Explorers. Read more.
“Daisy’s Heart” was reprinted in in Twisted Robots, Oh, My!
“Death by Vodka” was reprinted in Ghosts Among Us
“Dog People” was reprinted in Run!! Creatures, Critters, and Pulphousers.
“The Pearce Shootout” was reprinted in There’ll Be Blue Popcorn Without You!
“Harry the Ghost Pirate” was reprinted in in Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, Issue #14. Read more.
December
My third Hollow Earth story, “A Hollow Earth Thanksgiving” kicked off the The WMG Holiday Spectacular 2021 on Thanksgiving Day. Read more.
Emily Loves Christmas, Emily Loves Murder
And, finally, another story in my ghost world, “Emily Loves Christmas, Emily Loves Murder” appeared in Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, Issue #15. Read more,
Wow! That was a lot. This really was a year for short stories. And there’s more coming soon in 2022!
