‘It’s better when they have something to keep them occupied.’
My latest short story, ‘Patients’, can be read here. All my older stories can still be found here, too. Please read, and let me know what you think.
Short Stories
‘The Offering’ – new short story
They found the offering after a night of heavy rain.
The holiday season of goodwill’s well behind us now, so it’s time to return to something darker. I have a new short story, called ‘The Offering‘, free to read here. Hope you enjoy it.
If you want to read more, I have twelve other short stories on the site. Check them out here.
‘Release’ – new short story
Just A Bit Of Harmless Fun – new short story
Another short story this week – Just A Bit Of Harmless Fun. Read it here.
For the full list of short stories, all under 1000 words, click here. If you like what you read (or even if you don’t), I’d be interested to hear your thoughts. You can leave a comment after the story, or contact me.
New short story – ‘The Greatest Fraud’
Another new story this week. It’s called ‘The Greatest Fraud‘. It’s a bit of an oddity—nobody dies this time. But that doesn’t mean it’s happy.
Read it here.
Halloween Short Story – ‘Escape’
Another short story, this one written with Halloween in mind. It’s called Escape, and can be read here.
The ending is a bit of a horror story trope, with a ‘surprise’ that has been used countless times before. Even Terry Pratchett’s used it (although he was an expert at using and twisting storytelling tropes in fresh ways). But, even if you see this ending coming from afar, I hope you enjoy (if that is the right word) the short journey to that destination.
Something I’m enjoying with these short stories is the chance to experiment. Most of what I write is in third-person past tense, but to make things more involved in Escape, I’ve gone for first-person present tense. I wouldn’t be able to pull this off for anything longer, but for a short story I think it works. And if not, it’s only a thousand words. If you don’t like this one, there will be another story along in a couple of weeks.
But I might try something different with that one, too.
Anyway, you can check out Escape here, or through the short stories page.
Next short story – ‘Influential Friends’
Another short story for you—Influential Friends. You can read it here.
With these short stories, I’m exploring some of the characters that appear in the Dominions books. A Lesson In Death was about the main character, Rodin, and now it’s the turn of another characters, Genna.
She’s one of my favourite characters so far, even though she only plays a small part in the first book. She’s tough and smart, and she’s had to fight for everything she’s got. She’s the kind of person you’d definitely want on your side—you wouldn’t want to go up against her unless you had to.
From the first moment she appeared in Dark Glass, I knew there was far more to her, and as I work on Dominions IV, I’m delving into the vulnerabilities behind that rock-hard exterior. Her strengths, weaknesses, and her past are all being revealed, and it’s interesting watching her develop into one of the pivotal roles in the ongoing Dominions series.
But that book is not yet finished. For now, here’s a short story about one of my favourite characters. I hope you enjoy Influential Friends.
New short story – The Weather Report
I’ve just posted a new short story – The Weather Report.
If the weather could be controlled … should it?
Read the story here.
New short story – The Gardener
I’ve just put up a new short story, something that’s not as dark as the others on this site. It’s called The Gardener, and you can read it here.
Work Units (new short story)
I’ve got another short story this week; Work Units. I’m not going to say anything about it, because I don’t want to spoil the surprise at the end. Enjoy!
You can read it here.
TW Iain 