A brand-new short story of mine, "Stand Up," is available now at the group blog This May Get Awkward:

"Stand Up"

The good folks at TMGA (in the person of the estimable JD Adamski, an MVP of the Tuesday Funk reading series I co-produce) asked me a while back to contribute a story, and I'm glad I finally had a chance to oblige them. I hope you like it. It's short.

"Yeah—mothers," said the comedian, running a hand through his sparse hair. "Don't you just hate 'em?"

Uncertain charges of laughter detonated here and there around the club. It was all in the delivery, and in the modest credit he'd accrued up to now with the audience.  [read more]

Batter up! My pulpy new short story, "The Visitors at Wriggly Field," is now online as part of the Pulps series at ChicagoIn2012.org. It's probably my first sports story, and may well be my last, so I hope you enjoy it. (The illustration is by Frank Wu!)

The Pulps series supports Chicago's bid for the 2012 Worldcon. Earlier stories in the series, both in print and online, have been contributed by Frederik Pohl, Gene Wolfe, Mike Resnick, Phyllis Eisenstein, Roland Green, Richard Garfinkle, Lois Tilton, and others. I'm glad I hadn't read any of the earlier stories before I wrote mine, or I might have been too intimidated to produce.

The stories are an homage to Chicago's past as a home to many classic publishers of pulp science fiction. The guidelines we all were given were that:

• the hero must be square-jawed and dim-witted, with B.S. for his initials;
  
• the heroine must be smart, capable and beautiful, with the name Elaine Ecdysiast;
  
• the evil-genius villain must be dastardly and scenery-chewing, with the name D. Vice;
  
• and the story must be set at least in part in Chicago.
  

My new short story "A Strong Premonition of Death Struck Me This Morning" is now live at the Electric Velocipede blog. I think it was the first piece of fiction I ever wrote that's set in Chicago (though I'm now deep into a novel that's also set here in Chi-town).

Stick around at EV, order more drinks, and remember to tip your servers. I'll be blogging there all week.

Three-time World Fantasy Award nominee John Klima has brought back the benefactor level subscription for his autumn Electric Velocipede subscription drive. For a mere $150, you get not just a lifetime subscription to the wonderful EV and everything else that Spilt Milk Press publishes, but you also get copies every issue of EV still in print, every Spilt Milk Press chapbook published so far (which includes my own Alternate History of the 21st Century), a copy of John's delightful anthology Logorrhea, and a T-shirt!

How the fuck can you go wrong? Become a damn benefactor today, already!

(BTW, I would tout EV even if my story "Timesink" were not scheduled to appear in the forthcoming double issue...)

If you haven't heard already, Paolo Bacigalupi was on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday yesterday discussing his excellent collection from Night Shade Books, Pump Six and Other Stories. Way to go, Paolo!

Our own bobhowe, if you didn't know, can now have the descriptor anthologist extraordinaire prepended to his name, as in anthologist extraordinaire Robert J. Howe.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, pop over to his place and get in line for some Coney Island Wonder Stories.