Typosphere » Short Stories

Freebie Week

Ron Collins — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:19:52 +0000

In celebration of finishing my latest story, I thought I might give something away. So here it is–a free story from my past. In this case it’s “A Matter of Pride,” which appeared some time back in Analog. It will be here for free for the next week.

If you like that one, you can find more stuff here or here.

While I’m on a linky role, I suppose I should remind all that my one Amazon reviewer (what a lonely guy, eh?) had these wonderful things to say about Picasso’s Cat & Other Stories.

Deca-Dad is Recommended

Ron Collins — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 11:57:16 +0000

I’m so pleased to report that my short story, “Deca-Dad” made Tangent Online’s 2010 Recommended Reading List.

So, today I’m moving onward with a new short story tentatively titled “Walking the Line.” It’s almost fully formed now. Just looking for that last little thing that moves it from being interesting to really good. You know what I mean, right? That thing you can’t describe, but is certainly real, and that thing you know as soon as you feel it.

Yeah. That thing.

“Ellipses…” Appears in Analog

Ron Collins — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 20:57:48 +0000

I’m excited to report that Analog has published my novelette “Ellipses…” in their May issue. Yes, I know it’s only February. Such is the strangeness of their publishing cycle. It’s a fun story for me to see make print. Hope you chase down a copy.

If you do, feel free to let me know what you think.

Review of an Old Story

Ron Collins — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 03:38:51 +0000

Google Alerts brings me the following link, which includes a nice and very well considered review of one of my older stories.

Turns out this guy is going back and reading every issue of Dragon Magazine ever printed. At least that’s the plan. There’s a guy after my own heart. [grin]

And Again…

Ron Collins — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 18:36:27 +0000

More kind words about “Deca-Dad” in the December Analog, this time from Sarah Joynt-Borger at Tangent Online.

It’s always fun to see how others look at my work. [grin]

Midnight

Ron Collins — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:50:19 +0000

I’ve titled this last one “Midnight at River’s Edge.” It’s quite short, but seems to work for me.

Now we get to see if it works for anyone else. [grin]

Deca-Dad is Published

Ron Collins — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 01:19:49 +0000

I’m pleased to note that my short story “Deca-Dad” has now been published in the December issue of Analog (yea, I know it’s not yet December…I don’t make the rules).

Analog Picks Up “Ellipses…”

Ron Collins — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 03:38:18 +0000

Still need to deal with all the contractual stuff, so nothing is certain. But news from New York is that Analog wants to publish my novelette “Ellipses…”

This is, as always, pretty good news.

Four Stories Available on Smashwords

Ron Collins — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:26:23 +0000

Lots of things happening lately…you can find four of my stories available on Smashwords.

Making New From Old

Ron Collins — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:28:41 +0000

I was listening to a Scientific American podcast the other day while at the health club, and they ran a story about Alaskan dogs that were part of the Iditarod. Among the facts that the story gave was that these dogs burn an incredible number of calories while participating in this race, some ridiculous number like 12,000 calories a day. I mean, yikes. Totally awesome when you think about it, especially given the relative size of these animals.

Humans should get along on a couple thousand a day, for example.

These dogs, it seems, can also modify their systems to begin to dram energy from those calories directly from the bloodstream rather than letting it go through the liver first. Pretty danged fascinating, eh?

Anyway, the story got me to thinking about what would happen if humans used genetic material from a dog, which then got me to remembering a story I had written some time back. It was sitting firmly in my trunk, but I dug it out and looked it over. It is a story that uses the idea of building humans with genetic code from a specific animal in order to make use of its genetic processes.

I’m not in the habit of doing this because most, if not all, stories I put in my trunk are put in there for some very good reasons. This one, though, I decided I liked. And quite honestly, I’m a better writer now than I was when I first wrote it. I could see lots of big issues. But I’ve spent the last two days cutting it up and doing it over again.

And, of course I’m pretty happy with it. It’s always good to have a new story to put in the post.

Still, I don’t think I’ll be trunk diving anytime in the near future. Too scary as a rule. [grin]