Short stories

These are the stories I’ve had published in other people’s magazines, anthologies and websites. Some of them are still available to buy in their original format, or to read for free on the internet – just follow the links. Many have now been collected together in my anthologies, which you can find on my books page.

2023:

On Both Sides – A shapeshifting politician stirs strife in the halls of power – British Fantasy Society bulletin, May 2023.

Beneath My Nails – A pioneer develops a closer connection to the land than he expected – British Fantasy Society bulletin, April 2023.

Silver Soul and Shining Wings – On the last train circling a dying planet, an ornithologist carries rare birds to safety – Factor Four Magazine 22.

2022:

Precious Burden – As disaster falls upon a city, a young girl tries to fulfil a difficult task from her mother – British Fantasy Society bulletin, November 2022.

The Machine Man – When the wiring in Garvey’s head goes wrong, his mind touches more than the machines he was made to control – Neo-opsis 34.

Shadows of Stones – As the year turns, walking magic summons ancient memories at Stonehenge – British Fantasy Society Monthly Bulletin, April 2022.

Ship’s Cat – As a storm threatens to wreck a ship, a sailor is haunted by his own dark decisions – Bards and Sages Quarterly, volume XIV, issue II.

2021:

Winter’s Shroud – A long-lost animal companion provides help in the deadly cold – British Fantasy Society Monthly Bulletin, December 2021.

It Will Have Its Way – In Cold War Berlin, a spy encounters something more sinister than Soviet agents – Aurealis #141.

2020:

City of the Dead – In an abandoned city, a man filled with regret tries to appease an ever-hungry god – Bards and Sages Quarterly January 2020.

2019:

Scrapheap Destiny – A journalist returns to her roots in a community living off other people’s scrap – Neo-opsis Issue 30.

Communication Breakdown – A diplomat is forced to share his brain with an alien parasite – Metaphorosis July 2019.

Zhai Chengda’s Wife – A spy story set in a steampunk version of Song China – Electric Spec Vol 14 Issue 2.

The Astrolabe – An avian admiral faces mutiny over a fabulous treasure – Bards and Sages Quarterly April 2019.

The Well of Vengeance – A young woman seeks justice in the desert in a historical fantasy story – Swords and Sorcery Magazine #86.

2018:

To Measure the Heavens – Academic study becomes an act of rebellion in a society torn between religion and technology – Steampunk Universe.

2017:

Words of Wisdom – Engineers strive to preserve the machines in a clockwork version of Baghdad – On Spec #105.

2016:

The Rat Catcher’s Dance – a Roman rat catcher finds strange powers at work in a starving city – British Fantasy Society Bulletin, November 2016.

Steel and Steam – a tale of steampunk horror set in colonial Africa – in Ghosts, Gears & Grimoires.

The Sound of Stones – Rhodri struggles with authority and traditions in a dark fantasy tale set in medieval Wales – in Alt Hist 9.

Respect for the Dead – a cabal of modern magicians struggle for dominance in the wake of their leader’s death – reprinted in 9 Tales from Elsewhere #8.

Racing the Headsman – Royalists and Loyalists, escapes and escapades in a high seas adventure – in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly Q29.

Habits – lawyer Gail Whitman faces an old addiction as she seeks justice in a near future sci-fi story – in Triptych Tales.

Moonlight is Third – a blacksmith struggles to unravel a magical sword – in Moonlight is Third.

2015:

A Sword – a peasant girl sees the realities of war in Medieval France – in Alt Hist issue 8.

Respect for the Dead – a cabal of modern magicians struggle for dominance in the wake of their leader’s death – Dark Lane Anthology Volume 2.

Riding a Runaway – steampunk adventurers Dirk Dynamo and Sir Timothy Blaze-Simms fight to control a runaway train full of mad science – SQ Mag 19.

A Wind Will Rise – Dirk Dynamo and Sir Timothy Blaze-Simms fight an airship pirate – Avast, Ye Airships!

Cold Flesh – Triumph turns to horror following a medieval execution – Alt Hist 7.

2014:

Goddess of the Barricades – romance emerges from the chaos of a rioting steampunk city – Plasma Frequency 14.

Feathers – plague, magic and longbows feature in a fantasy story – Heroic Fantasy Quarterly 22.

Ghosts in the Gaslight – love and the supernatural by the flickering of Victorian gaslamps – Desolation: 21 Tales for Tails.

Sand Dancer – a dancer’s quest for justice in an Arabian fantasy setting – The Ways Of Magic.

Surprise Me – flash romance in a magical coffee shop – Daily Science Fiction 11 March 2014.

A Sheriff in the Deep – an underwater science fiction western in the classic ‘small town sheriff fights evil bullies’ mould – Fictionvale episode 2.

2013:

Earthbound – a detective investigates a murder on an asteroid – Plasma Frequency 9.

Mutiny – pirates are troubled by their ship’s animated figurehead – LocoThology 2013.

The Promise and the Reckoning – steampunk and science in a volcano-riddled Europe – Gears and Levers 3.

Live by the Sword – art and magic in a fantasy version of the Roman arena – Wily Writers warrior issue, June 2013.

Odin’s Mirror – Vikings face the image of the divine in an alternative Dark Ages – Sword and Sorcery, January 2013.

Justice Like Clockwork – a suffragette faces the hardships of a steampunk prison – eSteampunk 3.

2012:

Urban Drift – a reprint of my steampunk heist story – Steampunk III: Steampunk Revolution.

The Wizard’s Stairs – an Arabian nights fantasy of love and magic – EMG-zine June 2013.

The Midnight March – as urban fantasy as I’ve done so far, with things going bump in the night – Bards and Sages Quarterly, April 2012.

2011:

How We Fall – military scifi faces questions of faith – Redstone Science Fiction 17.

Shadows, Stones and Hungry Ghosts – interrogation in a magical Orient – OG’s Speculative Fiction 30.

Long Nights in Languedoc – monstrous goings on during the Hundred Years War – Alt Hist 2.

The Faces of the Fallen – the second outing for Inspector Shadowvalt, demon detective – Bards and Sages Quarterly July 2011.

Leprosaria – mysteries and sheep in a Medieval lepers’ hospital – Roll the Bones.

2010:

The Hunter in the Stacks – coming of age in a world where books fight back – Flash Me, December 2010.

Holy Water – a pair of medieval peasants try to execute a statue – Alt Hist 1.

The Essence of a Man – the magical power of art – Alienskin June/July 2010.

The Suspicions of Shadowvalt – the first adventure of Inspector Shadowvalt, demon detective – Alienskin June/July 2010.

Farewell to a Foreign Shore – a Viking goes out to sea – Carillon 26.

Day Labour – a scifi story about the dangers of farming exotic plants – Alienskin April/May 2010.

The Harvest – humanity faces alien agriculture – Alienskin April/May 2010.

Magic Words – dealing with the office witch – Bards and Sages Quarterly October 2010.

The Cast-Iron Kid – a reprint of my steampunk western – Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded.

On the Third Day – judgement day arrives in a medieval village – Alienskin February/March 2010.

Urban Drift – a steampunk heist story about art and addiction – Dark Horizons 56.

2009:

Distant Rain – submariners hunt a mutant whale – Murky Depths 9.

For a Strong, Healthy Body – Victorian adventurers fight mutated vermin beneath London – Dark Horizons 54.

Our Man in Herrje – a PR officer faces up to the truth on an alien planet – Jupiter 24.

Second Skin – scifi about symbiont tehcnology – Ballista 6.

2008:

Remember Remember – bonfire night dummies contemplate their fate – Carillon 22.

So Cold It Burns – reprint of a dystopian scifi piece – Neonbeam 7.

The Magpie Dance – a story of sinister morris dancers – Flash Me, October 2008.

One Minute of Beauty – summoning strange powers in revolutionary Paris – Alienskin August/September 2008.

Sir Cai, the Shining Knight – an Arthurian knight is more than he appears – Dark Horizons 53.

Bullets – a murder investigation in a city with technology both more and less advanced than our own – Aoife’s Kiss, December 2008.

One For Sorrow – the tale of a ghostly bird – Alienskin October/November 2008.

Digits – reprint of a story about a robot longing for something more – Flash Me April 2008.

The Horse Whose Hooves Cried Thunder – another steampunk western – Alienskin April/May 2008.

Walking the Plank – skullduggery on a fantastical pirate ship – Alienskin February/March 2008.

Runners Under Moonlight – a witch finds herself hunted by clockwork machines – Alienskin February/March 2008.

2007:

From the Sea – a messenger has strange visions on his run from Marathon – Carillon 18.

The Edge of the World – a quest through a fantasy world above the rooftops – Alienskin December 2007 / January 2008.

Striking Black Silence – a ninja uses the magic of shadows – EMG-Zine October 2007.

The Secret in the Sewers – Victorian adventurers find something surprising beneath Venice – Fiction 04.

The Bomb – what if you could attack your enemies with ideas? – Atomjack November 2007.

The Extra Mile – racing mind-controlled cars – Alienskin October/November 2007.

The Cast-Iron Kid – a steampunk western – Alienskin August/September 2007.

Digits – a robot longs for something more – Carillon 17.

So Cold It Burns – a dystopian scifi piece – Alienskin February/March 2007.