Ficlets

As part of our occasional series in which which published authors post ficlets for you to play with, I’m pleased to present you three ficlets from Rachel Swirsky, an up-and-coming writer in the field of science fiction and fantasy. Here’s how Rachel describes herself:

Rachel Swirsky is a student at the Iowa Writers Workshop, where her California-raised bones are learning to weather the cold. She is a graduate of Clarion West 2005, and her short fiction has appeared or is scheduled to appear in markets including Subterranean Magazine, Fantasy Magazine, Escape Pod, and the upcoming pirate-themed anthology Fast Ships, Black Sails. In her spare time, she cares for (and occasionally vaccuums) her pet rats, Wentworth and Sullivan.

I have a special connection with Miss Swirsky, because as it happens, her professional sale was to me, when I was guest editing Subterranean Magazine. Her story, “Scenes from a Dystopia,” was dynamite, and you can read it at this link, which goes to a free, downloadable pdf version of the whole magazine (it also includes fiction from Allen Steele, Elizabeth Bear, Nick Sagan, Jo Walton and lots of others).

Here are her ficlets, for you to read and sequelize:

My Way Out: “I know he won’t want to meet me. But I need to find out who he is. Because I know my mother, and I’m not like her, so I have to be like him.”

DNA Designs: “The customer was a frazzled woman in a tan coat. The boy at her side wore a miniature navy suit with cuff links. His nose was running.”

Whistbone’s Chase: “The driver slackened the reigns. The dogs, frightenend into silence by the earlier displays of blood and sorcery, slunk through the snow, tails tucked.”

Enjoy!