RJGlynn

Aden Dekker easily slays on the dating front, but as one to go with the flow rather than dive into the dark uncertainties and mysteries clouding his life, he's avoided giving serious consideration to what qualities he's looking for in a girl beyond a pretty smile. But when a blood-starved vampire queen comes hunting him, he quickly figures out exactly what he wants in a girl when it comes to wicked, nighttime company -- arcane book smarts, steel nerves, and a loaded crossbow.This story was written for the Open Novella Competition, ONC 2025, prompt 11.Reader advisory: bad language, horror elements (bitey, vampiric violence and seduction), a pinch of sexy spice.…

RJGlynn

ONC 2022 shortlisted: The emergence of a more virulent lycanthrope virus decimated civilisation. As a street scavenger, Gulliver Chase risks his life in his home city's derelict streets hunting for resources for his fellow survivors. But it isn't food or fuel his colony needs him to find tonight; it's one of the Changed. If humanity is to have a future, they need to start salvaging their own.A story inspired by ONC 2022 prompt 28.Reader advisory: violence, horror, bad language…

RJGlynn

Wattys 2021 shortlist. Shipwrecked on a criminal-infested mining colony, military telepath Reid Kaplan needs answers about the attack on his ship and the unusual alien activity on the planet he's stranded on. Unfortunately, some of those answers might lie in a mind as unique as it is dangerously flawed.Customs inspector Jinsin Koel is used to having guns pointed at her head - but not ones attached to weapon-heavy cyborg insects who consider her lower on the food chain. The Xykeree, past enemies of humanity, should never have been allowed to dock at her home port. And they're just the start of her problems. Throw in a hereditary neurological illness and a secret society of soldiers genetically tailored for psionic combat and she has herself a whole new level of trouble ... the kind that could destroy her personal foundations and imperil billions of lives.Complete novel (word count approx. 115,600; no cliffhanger ending)Action adventure, space operaReader advisory: strong language, violence/horror, sexual contentUK spelling…

RJGlynn

Stories dedicated to those who'll never submit, quit, or obey in advance when faced with oppression, corrupt systems weighted against 'the little guy', and threats to those they love.Reader advisory: Coarse language, adult themes…

RJGlynn

Alien resurrections, rogue spies, prophetic brain worms -- a sample pack of snack-size sci-fi and speculative fiction. Included stories: Junkyard Doll, The Future of Goobishen Prime, Final Facet, Outer Prospects, Return to Eden, Alien Requiem, the RiST linked short story series (Big oops, The Saviour, Red Pill, Beyond Liberty, Any Other Tuesday, Chasing Dawn), Blackcoat (Buffy/Firefly fanfic), Cherry Celery (humor/romance), and Cluckular (humor/horror), along with some other 'odds and ends' mini tales.Reader advisory: Some stories have mature content and bad language.…

RJGlynn

Ren Asari doesn't believe in fate, but in an hour and thirty minutes, she's prophesized to die. Her skeptical quest for answers quickly becomes a race for survival -- but not necessarily her own.Short story written for the Ultimate SciFi Smack Down challenge (2021-2022).…

RJGlynn

At eighteen years old, Prime Shen sees possible futures. But will his own be the Order of Enlightenment, the girl, or an assassin's blade? Perhaps a combination of all three...Short story written for the 'December 2021: The Future of Goobishen Prime' challenge.…

RJGlynn

AN-E wakes to the sound of a drill against her shoulder strut. After eight months shut down, corroding in a junkyard, she has a choice to make: resume her deadly duties for the One Empire or resign herself to reality -- she's abandoned scrap.Reader advisory: bad language, mature themes…

RJGlynn

"Run, or you'll never remember." Her sister's parting words. As a cynical survivor with her feet firmly planted in reality, Lenni Koldeara doesn't have time for her sister's drug-addict ramblings -- nor for her newborn child. But a cool head and a callused soul don't guarantee survival in a universe full of unknowable hazards. Sometimes, when all else is lost in the swirl, listening to the deepest beats of one's heart is the only way to live.Standalone short story set in the same universe as the novel Aberrant. Written for the 'Forgotten Contact' 2023 March issue of the e-magazine Tevun-Krus, an issue featuring stories based around forgotten contact with aliens.Reader advisory: Impolite language, adult themes.…

RJGlynn

Enforcement Officer Church Tyrell wants nothing more than to put her lethal talents to use, but instead she's deployed to collect taxes at a low-rent spaceport. But one person's trash heap can be another's prize. One big bust is all she needs to change her life and bring it meaning.Short story written for Ooorah's 'Return to the M'Verse' Jan 2023 issue.…

RJGlynn

As a Death Warden, Ava Longbane is well acquainted with corpses. She collects the dead, checking for the sinister and untoward before adding them to the body cart. But she deals with the human dead, not the Whym. Never them. As creatures of innate magic, they're best avoided. Especially by someone like her, exiled, condemned -- as good as dead herself. But when one of them, a highborn elf turns up gutted, butchered by human hands, the elegant and unnerving local Whym inquisitor demands her assistance. She's dragged into a world of blood and magic, a world she'd do anything to escape, because 'as good as dead' just isn't close enough for some.This novella was inspired by the 2021 Open Novella Contest (ONC) story prompt"From dusk until dawn you're human. During daylight hours, you are a creature straight out of even the most hardened individual's worst nightmares."…

RJGlynn

RiST #1: Atomic scientist, Enoch learns what happens when his life's work and his greatest love collide. ≤500-word flash fiction written for the 2021 Ultimate SciFi Smack Down challenge-i.e., just for the fun of it.Part 1 of the Ripples in Space-Time (RiST) linked short fiction series.…

RJGlynn

RiST #2: Pandora believes she's left a childhood disaster behind, but the universe thinks otherwise. One mistake can ripple through space and time.Short story written for the 2021 Ultimate SciFi Smack Down challenge.Part 2 of the Ripples in Space-Time (RiST) linked short fiction series. For Pandora's flash-fiction origin story, see Big Oops at @RJGlynn.…

RJGlynn

RiST #3: Kiran believes he's dead, a corpse reanimated by aliens. But that could just be the meds talking. Maybe... Short story written for the 2021 Ultimate SciFi Smack Down challenge.Part 3 of the Ripples in Space-Time (RiST) linked short fiction series. For Kiran's origin story, see The Saviour at @RJGlynn.…

RJGlynn

RiST #4: Liberty wants a new life for herself and her brother, but career changes aren't straightforward when you've just stolen your ex-employer's classified research. Risks have to be taken, sacrifices made.Short story written for the 2021 Ultimate SciFi Smack Down.Part 4 of the Ripples in Space-Time (RiST) linked short fiction series. For Liberty's origin story, see Red Pill at @RJGlynn.…

RJGlynn

RiST #5: As an outerworld finder, Janus makes a living going places others can't, won't, or shouldn't. He's seen plenty of 'weird and disturbing.' But there are degrees of weird. Some of them will get him killed -- or worse. Short story written for the Ultimate SciFi Smack Down 2021-2022.Part 5 of the Ripples in Space-Time (RiST) linked short fiction series. For Janus' origin story, see Beyond Liberty at @RJGlynn.Reader advisory: This story has some horror elements…

RJGlynn

RiST #6: Pandora Sahar always followed the rules, anxious to avoid accidents and disaster. But the worst happened anyway: the death of her crewmates; an alien abduction. Alone, dealing with the aftermath and her father's passing, she is broken. But in the vast, wild universe, where change is a constant, what does 'broken' really mean? This is the sixth story in the linked short story series Ripples in Space-Time, written for the Ultimate SciFi Smack Down (2021-2022).…

RJGlynn

Disowned and disinherited, Saba Aku is determined to carve a new life for herself out in the main asteroid belt, but cynical local attitudes, limited cash, and an ill-considered one-night stand threaten to rob her of the small, rocky foothold she's just found.One-chapter story written for the @ScienceFiction October 2021: Asteroid challenge.…

RJGlynn

After working her butt off to complete her PhD, Thea is not about to risk her fledgling career -- no matter the appeal of Rhys Navin's smile. It might be New Year's Eve over a new colony planet, but the only beginning Thea is interested in is her next job's. But should a woman smart enough and fun enough to have once created a fruit-mutant vegetable really settle for what's sensible?Short story written for the New Year's Fiesta 2022.…

RJGlynn

Captain Malcolm Reynolds and the Serenity crew answer a distress call, only to find the ship adrift and the crew slaughtered, drained of their blood. One-chapter 'snack fiction' written for a 'Whedonverse' crossover challenge.…