Flash in the Can: Speculative Microfiction

By Danielle Ackley-McPhail

A collection of speculative microfiction by award-winning author Danielle Ackley-McPhail, featuring works of fantasy, science fiction and steampunk. With an economy of words, yet decadently lyrical, each story looks deep into the heart...of the matter... of a star... of darkness...and finds the strength and beauty of humanity shining t

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paper Phoenix Press
• Release date: Sep 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781942990185

Danielle Ackley-McPhail

Award-winning author, editor, and publisher Danielle Ackley-McPhail has worked both sides of the publishing industry for longer than she cares to admit. In 2014 she joined forces with Mike McPhail and Greg Schauer to form eSpec Books. Her published works include eight novels, Yesterday's Dreams, Tomorrow's Memories, Today's Promise, The Halfling's Court, The Redcaps' Queen, Daire's Devils, The Play of Light, and Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn, written with Day Al-Mohamed. She is also the author of the solo collections Eternal Wanderings, A Legacy of Stars, Consigned to the Sea, Flash in the Can, Transcendence, The Kindly Ones, Dawns a New Day, The Fox's Fire, Between Darkness and Light, Echoes of the Divine, and the non-fiction writers' guides The Literary Handyman, More Tips from the Handyman, and LH: Build-A-Book Workshop. She is the senior editor of the Bad-Ass Faeries anthology series, No Longer Dreams, Heroes of the Realm, Clockwork Chaos, Gaslight & Grimm, Grimm Machinations, A Cast of Crows, A Cry of Hounds, Other Aether, The Chaos Clock, Grease Monkeys, Side of Good/Side of Evil, After Punk, and Footprints in the Stars. Her short stories are included in numerous other anthologies and collections. She is a full member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association.In addition to her literary acclaim, she crafts and sells original costume horns under the moniker The Hornie Lady Custom Costume Horns, and homemade flavor-infused candied ginger under the brand of Ginger KICK! at literary conventions, on commission, and wholesale.Danielle lives in New Jersey with husband and fellow writer, Mike McPhail and four extremely spoiled cats.

Book preview

FLASH IN THE CAN

Speculative Microfiction by

Danielle Ackley-McPhail

eSpec Books LLC

Pennsville, NJ

PUBLISHED BY

eSpec Books LLC

Danielle McPhail, Publisher

PO Box 242,

Pennsville, New Jersey 08070

www.especbooks.com

Copyright ©2015 Danielle Ackley-McPhail

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-942990-18-5

All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

All persons, places, and events in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, places, or events is purely coincidental.

Ebook Conversion and Interior Design:

Sidhe na Daire Multimedia

www.sidhenadaire.com

Contents

The Silvers

A poem from my days in New York. It was inspired by my daily commute on the subway, but by no means autobiographical.

A Legacy of Stars

This story was originally titled Transcendence. I wrote it as a Writers of the Future entry. Though it did not even receive a mention, it has always been one of my favorite pieces, particularly for public readings. Though some might not recognize it as a traditional story, there is a life to it that defies that opinion. Ultimately it ended up with a name change in my solo science fiction collection A Legacy of Stars.

Ruby Red

By far, the most bizarre piece of writing I’ve ever done. I call it a microfiction not because of the length, but because it captures an emotionally charged instant. It’s about feeling and sensation, not a progression of events. Not surprisingly, it’s another performance piece best appreciated aloud and with inflection.

On the Wings of an Angel

This story is the first steampunk that I ever wrote. It appeared in In An Iron Cage: The Magic of Steampunk, an anthology I produce for Dark Quest Books, also in 2012.

The Heart of the Sun

A challenge piece inspired by the song Little Bird by SJ Tucker, it was written in an hour, with a little overtime for polishing.

Sweet Liam Roanes

Another poem, this one is based on the Celtic selkie myths and eventually became a lead-in to Consigned to the Sea, a story of pirates on the North Sea.

Moon Dance

This story is an early work of mine. Originally it was meant to be part of a larger literary universe, but nothing ever came of it. I’m glad to be able to share it with you now.

Forever and a Day

This piece is a seed story that will eventually transition into a science fiction novel by the same name. Ironically it is meant to be a follow-on to my urban fantasy trilogy, the Eternal Cycle series, and even makes use of some of the same characters. This story was written for Padwolf Publishing’s anthology Fantastic Futures 13.

Turtles All the Way Down

This story came to be when a friend of a friend asked me to champion them for a round of LJ Idol. That week’s prompt was turtles. In the end, they used someone else’s story, but at least I got a nice little piece out of it. This one features my Daire’s Devils heroine, Kat Alexander, and is written in the Alliance Archives universe.

To Reach for Distant Shores

A visceral piece with a heroine not quite like any other I’ve ever written, it appeared in Padwolf Publishing’s Mermaids 13. I am sure we will see more of her, eventually.

The Silvers

I saw Silvers down below today.

Posing as art.

Frozen in tableau.

Motionless, looking past the crowd at nothing.

Nothing is all they miss.