Upcoming
Novels:
UPDRAFT, a high-flying fantasy, out now from Tor / Macmillan
A city of living bone rises high above the clouds, its past is lost to legend. Danger hides in the wind. Laws have been broken. A great secret must be exposed. (read more | goodreads)
CLOUDBOUND, 2016 from Tor / Macmillan
[Title to come], 2017 from Tor / Macmillan
Short stories:
“The Jewel and Her Lapidary,” Tor.com (TBA)
“Bent the Wing, Dark the Cloud,” Beneath Ceaseless Skies (TBA)
Game worlds:
State Liminal – for Storium (coming this fall)
2015
“The Ghost Tide Chantey” Tor.com for National Poetry Month (April 8, 2015)
Once, our island sang four chanteys: storm, shoal, hearth, haul.
Seven tides graced our lee shore: ebb, low, slack, neap, high, perigee, spring.
Now the lee shore lies barren. Now I sing one chantey and
new tides sweep the sand: iron, smoke, and bone. …
“You are Two Point Three Meters from Your Destination,” Uncanny: A Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy (Issue Three, Spring 2015)
Commencing Route for Orpheus of Thrace.
Proceed from Ciconian Coast meadow south–southwest to mouth of Eurotas River in Laconia, approximately eight hundred kilometers. Travel time to waypoint: seven days at your current speed …
“With Regrets, the Official Report of the Ballot Incident at the Academy Scientific,” (another installment of The Naturalist Cycle) Lakeside Circus (Year Two, Issue One)
“The Topaz Marquis,” (reprint) Apex (February 2015)
“A Moment of Gravity, Circumscribed,” (reprint) THIRTEEN (March 20 2015)
“How to Walk through Historic Graveyards in the Digital Age,” Asimov’s Science Fiction (April/May 2015)
Officially, I don’t see anything I’m not supposed to. That’s in all the reports. That’s what I tell myself each night when I sneak into St. Paul’s cemetery like the local kids do. My eyes are still sensitive and weak from surgery, especially the right one. Even at night, light flickers at the edges of my vision, becoming open mouths, panicked hands, a fire-bright bird plummeting through a shattering roof. …
2014
“Welcome Briefing At The Obayashi-Ragan Youth Hostel” Abyss & Apex (October)
Listen carefully, kids: I’ll tell you things the other hostel folk won’t. Budget carefully. This ride isn’t forever. Don’t be afraid to go it alone.
Sure, you’ll meet someone out here. Most everyone does. Two someones, maybe. You’ll make plans. She’ll be headed for Peary Crater Moon Hostel or Eris YHA. He’ll want to see the ice-flowers on Europa. …
“Like a Wasp to the Tongue,” Asimov’s Science Fiction ~ April/May
Diana Rios swore she’d put the next stung brigger who entered her garrison med tent out of their misery with her bare hands.
“What possessed you to put a live wasp in your mouth, Jersey?” she asked, before tearing an antihistamine pen cap off with her teeth. …
“Nine Dishes on the Cusp of Love,” Daily Science Fiction (June 3)
Her: passing through to new horizons, slumming my station’s crowded bar. Me: just off a line-cook shift, eating my free meal. Her teeth flashed, her eyes gleamed, her dress sparkled. I smelled of fish and spice. Each desired other, she said later. The bar’s glass and mirrors wove a net of her and caught me, young and fresh. …
“Local Delicacies,” Drabblecast (June 15), narrated by Lauren Synger
My boss, Danny, liked to brag that El Corazon was the best Tex-Mex restaurant just off the Vegas Strip. “Because of you, Bescha,” he’d say to me. “You keep the customers happy. You keep me out of trouble.”
I won’t say which part of my job was harder. …
“The Naturalist Composes His Rebuttal,” Lakeside Circus (June 22) with bonus podcast from Don Pizarro.
Bearing in mind that on the eve of the unfortunate disaster, poor preparation may have contributed SOMEWHAT to the kinking of the ship’s main air canvas, and to our precipitous grounding, I must say –
“The Topaz Marquise,” Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 152
The man waiting outside my studio three days before the new year was dark with travel, his cloak ragged and mud-stained. The gray hollows around his eyes and beneath his cheekbones proclaimed his business. Even so, I feared I would be robbed before our exchange ended.
“What are you selling?” I held the heavy brass key in my hand like a weapon, refusing to unlock the studio door. Beyond the thin wooden barrier, a rough amethyst the size and texture of a shelled walnut waited on my cutting tray to be improved. The man before me could never enter that room. …
2013
“A Moment of Gravity, Circumscribed,” Impossible Futures Anthology ~ August 2013
Djonn’s father owned the last ticker in the city and made sure everyone knew it. Brass-bodied, the ticker looked fragile and cold, its clouded glass face obscuring the dark symbols beneath. Despite its age, it ticked loud and regular, breaking the arc of a day into increments. …
“How to Feed Your Pyrokinetic Toddler,” UFO 2 ~ October 2013
Department of New Health Services, Parenting Manual #415: With the recent epidemic of pyrokinesis-novus affecting children worldwide, parents who are eager to move from the newborn-feeding stage should consider the following guidelines and questions,…
2012
“Without,” Nature ~ September 2012
I filled a glass of water before bed and that’s when Tim finally shouted at me.
“Look at the calendar for Pete’s sake, how many times do I have to tell you?” he said from the kitchen doorway. …
2011
“Everyone Loves a Hero,” Daily Science Fiction ~ November 2011
The hero roars up on his Harley, and deploys a grin that could melt an ice cave. “Hey hon, what’s new?”
I can tell you firsthand that it’s impossible to hate a hero. It’s also difficult to date one,…
Morning finds the farmers’ market burst into flower and fruit below the expressway. Carts and tables elbow for space, showcasing chard, sunflowers, and bushels of crabs. The bridge above thumps its irregular heartbeat as cars rush forward over concrete slabs. …
Earlier
- “Hospitale Degli Innocenti,” The Marlboro Review, Vol. 3
- “Night Watch,” Poetry Baltimore, WordHouse Press. 1997
FRAN WILDE 