I’m excited to report that my short story “Boomer Hunter” is in the current issue of Grimdark Magazine.
And yes, the story is about exactly what you think it is.
In addition to having grimdark themes, the story is what I would consider economic science fiction, if such a sub-genre even exists.
This particular piece posits what might happen to U.S. fiscal and entitlement policy if bondholders flooded the bond market with U.S. Treasury bonds and the cost of servicing future U.S. debt ballooned because of rising interest rates.
Every Memorial Day, I honor the sacrifice of my friend, Jay. As the world changes and the years fade, it is important that we never forget those who have selflessly sacrificed their lives in the service of our country. Jay exemplifies that long gray line of West Pointers who lived and died by the motto: Duty, Honor, Country.
Today is his day.
And it marks a decade of Memorial Days since his passing.
For the past four years, I have posted the following words about Jay. As always, the same sentiments still apply today.
I miss you, buddy.
The cross-currents of individual lives can be interesting things. Through time we each follow our own paths. On occasion, these paths intersect unexpectedly with those of greater men and women.
During my life, my path crossed several times with one of my generation’s finest.
I met Jay in high school. He was a serious, quiet, and determined person. He was also one heck of an athlete, leading my high school soccer team to the State Championship as its all-star goalie.
Opting for a more serious life dedicated to service, Jay applied for and received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point.
After we graduated from high school, I never considered that my path might cross with Jay again during my military career.
But alas, the military community is a small one.
When Jay arrived at the National Training Center, I was happy to see him again.
Life has a funny way of timing things. Coincidentally, our daughters were born a day and a room apart in the same hospital ward.
During my last year of military service in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, I was thrilled to learn that Jay would command Echo Troop, Alpha Troop’s sister company, where I had served as an executive officer.
I knew the soldiers of Echo Troop well. At the National Training Center Alpha and Echo Troop served together every month as a Soviet-style Motorized Rifle Battalion. We ate together and we trained together.
Before leaving the high Mojave desert forever, I came to see Jay one last time to make sure he knew what great soldiers he would command.
It was the last time I would ever speak to him.
Twenty months later, while sitting in the comfort of a business school classroom in Massachusetts, I learned that Jay would not be returning home to his family.
Exemplifying the principle of leadership by example, Jay was personally inspecting a vehicle at a traffic control point in Iraq when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated.
He died on April 29, 2005.
Jay was a quiet and serious officer who cared deeply about his soldiers and his country. His integrity, loyalty and selfless service were impeccable. He made the ultimate sacrifice so that others may live in freedom and for that we all owe him a great debt.
This week I released my first anthology on Amazon and Smashwords, and I am holding a giveaway until April 11th for a chance to win one of several copies here.
The anthology contains ten stories about cursed alien artifacts, interstellar investment banking, ancient alien astronauts, parallel timelines, alien experimentation, and space colonization gone horribly wrong. It includes new stories as well as previously published ones from venues like Fictionvale Magazine, NewMyths.com, Mad Scientist Journal, Plasma Frequency Magazine, Outposts of Beyond, and The Colored Lens. Four of these stories have also received Honorable Mentions in the Writers of the Future Contest.
I’m happy to announce that my story, “Chandler’s Hollow”, is now available at Perihelion Online Science Fiction.
This story is my take on a local Delaware-Pennsylvania legend about a cult house near the Brandywine River. Growing up, I heard several variations of this story. In most of them, the cult house had windows in the shape of inverted crosses and trees bowed away from the structure, presumably because it emanated evil. Onlookers who dared visit the site frequently reported being chased by a strange black Bronco with stadium lights.
To make this story my own, I took a kernel of the legend and melded it with multiverse brane theory, a mass extinction event occurring several thousand years ago, and some colonial history (some true, some invented).
Buy my first complete anthology at Amazon or Smashwords. It includes ten stories about cursed alien artifacts, interstellar investment banking, ancient alien astronauts, parallel timelines, alien experimentation, and space colonization gone horribly wrong.
First published in venues like Fictionvale Magazine, NewMyths.com, Mad Scientist Journal, Plasma Frequency Magazine, Outposts of Beyond, and The Colored Lens, several of these stories have received Honorable Mentions in the prestigious Writers of the Future Contest.
Buy my first complete anthology at Amazon or Smashwords. It includes ten stories about cursed alien artifacts, interstellar investment banking, ancient alien astronauts, parallel timelines, alien experimentation, and space colonization gone horribly wrong.
First published in venues like Fictionvale Magazine, NewMyths.com, Mad Scientist Journal, Plasma Frequency Magazine, Outposts of Beyond, and The Colored Lens, several of these stories have received Honorable Mentions in the prestigious Writers of the Future Contest.
If you’re not one of my regular readers, you’re probably wondering why The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction routed you to a website called “Reflections of a Rational Republican” for a review of its recent July/August 2014 issue.
Be not afraid.
Republicans like fantasy and science fiction, too. And I promise to keep politics out of it.
For this issue, guest editor C.C. Finlay selected thirteen solid stories out of a field of 751 submissions. It is also the first issue in the history of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction where prospective writers could submit stories electronically. Moreover, none of the thirteen authors in the issue has ever appeared in the magazine, which made for a refreshing change of pace. Overall, I think C.C. Finlay has an excellent eye for great stories and a rare talent for discovering new authors. I thoroughly enjoyed this issue and look forward to his next. Continue reading →
Every Memorial Day, I honor the sacrifice of my friend, Jay. As the world changes and the years fade, it is important that we never forget those who have selflessly sacrificed their lives in the service of our country. Jay exemplifies that long gray line of West Pointers who lived and died by the motto: Duty, Honor, Country.
Today is his day.
For the past three years, I have posted the following words about Jay. As always, the same words and sentiments still apply today.
I miss you, buddy.
The cross-currents of individual lives can be interesting things. Through time we each follow our own paths. On occasion, these paths intersect unexpectedly with those of greater men and women.
During my life, my path crossed several times with one of my generation’s finest.
I met Jay in high school. He was a serious, quiet, and determined person. He was also one heck of an athlete, leading my high school soccer team to the State Championship as its all-star goalie.
Opting for a more serious life dedicated to service, Jay applied for and received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point.
After we graduated from high school, I never considered that my path might cross with Jay again during my military career.
But alas, the military community is a small one.
When Jay arrived at the National Training Center, I was happy to see him again.
Life has a funny way of timing things. Coincidentally, our daughters were born a day and one room apart in the same hospital ward.
During my last year of military service in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, I was thrilled to learn that Jay would command Echo Troop, Alpha Troop’s sister company, where I had served as an executive officer.
I knew the soldiers of Echo Troop well. At the National Training Center Alpha and Echo Troop served together every month as a Soviet-style Motorized Rifle Battalion. We ate together and we trained together.
Before leaving the high Mojave desert forever, I came to see Jay one last time to make sure he knew what great soldiers he would command.
It was the last time I would ever speak to him.
Twenty months later, while sitting in the comfort of a business school classroom in Massachusetts, I learned that Jay would not be returning home to his family.
Exemplifying the principle of leadership by example, Jay was personally inspecting a vehicle at a traffic control point in Iraq when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated.
He died on April 29, 2005.
Jay was a quiet and serious officer who cared deeply about his soldiers and his country. His integrity, loyalty and selfless service were impeccable. He made the ultimate sacrifice so that others may live in freedom and for that we all owe him a great debt.
Reflections of a Rational Republican 