I write short stories to try out new things; different POVs, different techniques or styles or genres, wild ideas I'd never risk on a novel. My short stories are fundamentally lab rats.

Usually my lab rats turn out to be poor, misshapen things, that drag themselves painfully about the laboratory until I put them out of their misery.

Oh well, that's how you learn.

Sometimes the DNA comes together in a glorious fluke, and my shining golden lab rat spreads its genetically engineered wings and zooms out the window.

I watched one of my rats fly off into the distance a few weeks ago. It landed on the pages of Forever Nocturne, an e-Zine that publishes Modern Gothic Horror Romance.

That's right. I, Gary, have written an urban fantasy, and it's actually okay. They even gave me the cover! No one's ever given me a cover spot before! You can find it in the (free) download of Forever Nocturne, Volume I, Issue 3. That last link goes straight to the zine's pdf. If it doesn't work for you, try this page with links to the first three issues.

I draw your attention to the story by CARRIE CLEVENGER in the same issue. I'll never look at restaurant cutlery in the same way again.