My newest short story is out today!

It’s called “Devil in the Dust” and can be found in editor Jonathan Strahan’s newest short fiction anthology Mission Critical.

The story takes place on Mars at the end of a bitter war.

There is action.

Action was a requirement for this anthology. Mission Critical is about things that go wrong. Here’s the back-cover description:

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM…

Life is fragile. The difference between success and failure can come down to nothing – the thread of a screw, the flick of a switch – and when it goes wrong, you fix it. Or someone dies.

Mission Critical takes us from our world, across the Solar System, and out into deep space to tell the stories of people who had to do the impossible.

And do it fast.

Featuring stories by Peter F. Hamilton, Yoon Ha Lee, Aliette de Bodard, Greg Egan, Linda Nagata, Gregory Feely, John Barnes, Tobias S. Buckell, Jason Fischer & Sean Williams, Carolyn Ives Gilman, John Meaney, Dominica Phetteplace, Allen M. Steele, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Peter Watts.

“Devil in the Dust” is, for now, my last short story. I don’t have anymore in the publishing pipeline, and none under submission or in the files, and I don’t plan to write another one anytime soon. I talked about the reasons why in a post from last fall. You can read it here.

In the meantime, I hope you’ll look for Mission Critical. Jonathan Strahan is a terrific editor, and I’m looking forward to reading all the other stories in this volume myself.

Click here to purchase Mission Critical at Amazon.

All other vendors, click here.

My story, “Longing For Earth,” is part of this anthology of far-future stories, edited by Jonathan Strahan.

A new review of Infinity’s End just posted today over at Nerds Of A Feather. Joe Sherry praised the anthology while calling out “Longing for Earth” as “a true standout and the highlight of an already strong anthology.” Wow! Read Joe’s full review here.

And by coincidence(?), the ebook edition of Infinity’s End is on sale today for just 99¢. I encourage you to support short fiction and buy it. And if you like it, give it a review at your favorite ebook vendor.

I don’t know how long the sale will last, so go for it now. Here are some links:

Amazon
Kobo
Barnes & Noble
iBooks

Not all things are possible, even in the far future…

“Longing For Earth” is my newest short story. It’s out today, part of Infinity’s End, the final volume of the critically-acclaimed science fiction anthology series edited by Jonathan Strahan. It’s an honor to be included in the last edition of this long-running series!

Find the Infinity’s End print edition here.

You can find the Infinity’s End ebook edition at your favorite vendor:
Amazon
Kobo
Barnes & Noble
iBooks

I hope you’ll check it out!

Reach For Infinity is a just-released anthology of hard science fiction edited by Jonathan Strahan, that includes my original short story** “Attitude.”

Reach is the third volume of the “Infinity Project,” following on the first two books, Engineering Infinity and Edge of Infinity. The subject is “that period when we’re trying to get off Earth and into space.”

I am honored to be part of a contributor list that includes Pat Cadigan, Aliette de Bodard, Greg Egan, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Ellen Klages, Karen Lord, Ken Macleod, Ian McDonald, Hannu Rajaniemi, Alastair Reynolds, Adam Roberts, Karl Schroeder, and Peter Watts.

You can find Reach For Infinity in both print and ebook editions at all the usual book-selling locations and websites. If you get a chance to read “Attitude,” please let me know what you think.

** “Attitude” is 7,900 words. By the standards of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, that makes it 400 words too long to be a short story. Technically, it’s a novelette … if anyone happens to be keeping track.

Way back in January of this year, editor Jonathan Strahan invited me to submit a short story to an anthology he was developing, to be called Reach For Infinity. The anthology will be the third volume of the “Infinity Project,” following on the first two books Engineering Infinity and Edge of Infinity. The subject for the new book is “that period when we’re trying to get off Earth and into space.” Sounds simple, right? Well, it wasn’t simple for me.

I spent a lot of time brainstorming, developing and discarding ideas, either because they didn’t inspire me, or they seemed too involved to handle at short story length. It took me nine months to come up with an idea that intrigued me enough to build a story around it. I put together an outline first, and then set to writing. The result is a story called “Attitude.” After a brief misdirection to a spam folder, it reached Jonathan safely, and was soon accepted.

Look for “Attitude” in Reach For Infinity, due out from Solaris books in June 2014. Read more about the anthology here.

I haven’t actually seen a copy yet, but Jonathan Strahan’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Vol. 7 is now available for purchase. It includes my novelette “Nahiku West” originally published in Analog.

This is the first time one of my stories has been selected for a best-of-the-year anthology, so it marks a milestone for me.

Visit Nightshade Books to read about the volume, and for links to vendors.