Blog Archives
Our Darkest Reflections
Finitude and Beyond is a collection of nine science fiction short stories that explore the edges of human existence—where time, identity, love, and mortality converge in strange and often heart-wrenching ways. What was the inspiration for this collection of short stories?
Growing up, I was always drawn to humanity’s greatest achievements. Space exploration represented one of our highest aspirations—our desire to reach beyond ourselves and touch the untouchable. In those same dreams, I found our darkest reflections: isolation, fear, and the weight of choices made in desperate moments. This collection sort of grew from that dichotomy.
What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?
We’re this remarkable species that can conceive of infinity, create art that moves us to tears, and love so fiercely we’d sacrifice everything for another person. Yet we’re also capable of breathtaking cruelty, willful ignorance, and destroying the very things we claim to cherish. What fascinates me is that these aren’t contradictions—they’re features of the same complex system. There is a line from this brilliant show Pantheon where this program sums it up best. “Humans are a low-entropy self-replicating phenomenon that generates a binding force called compassion.”
Do you have a favorite story in the collection, and if so, why does it hold special meaning for you?
That’s tough, I really enjoyed writing “The Captain and The Sower.” I was in such a good mental place when I was working on it but if I had to choose a favorite it would be “A Mere State.” It was the first story I started writing back in 2020. It’s different in two ways. It’s the only epistolary work I’ve ever written and the only sci-fi story set in the past.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
My debut novel, Local Gods, is currently in its last few rounds of copy edits. The expected release date is sometime in the middle of October. Without going too deep, Local Gods is a science fiction drama that explores the sinister threads of capitalism, faith, and power, asking what price we’re willing to pay for comfort—and whether anyone can truly escape Earth’s oldest sins, even among the stars.
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Finitude and Beyond is a provocative collection of existential science fiction short stories that plunges into the depths of human nature, where isolation breeds paranoia, guilt becomes a prison, and the relentless march of technology reshapes what it means to survive.
In nine gripping tales, C.K. Adams crafts intimate, philosophical science fiction narratives reminiscent of Ted Chiang’s psychological depth and Ray Bradbury’s mortal insight. These are stories of raw, flawed individuals confronting transformation, loss, and the often-chilling consequences of progress in worlds both familiar and foreign.
Prepare to explore futures where:
A hardened Pathfinder escorts a family through a world fractured by interdimensional beings. This journey is different, as her cargo begins to alter her understanding of reality itself (Unbeing).
Aboard a generation ship hurtling through space, a young woman’s quest to find meaning in a life predetermined by others becomes a battle to preserve humanity’s collective memory (The Bridge).
A rescue team investigates a frontier colony’s mysterious communications blackout (Colony).
A talented linguist’s obsession leads her to the star system of an ancient alien civilization, her curiosity aids her in challenging the very nature of communication (The Otrimi Archive).
A grieving physicist’s obsessive quest to scientifically prove the soul’s existence blurs the line between breakthrough and unforgivable sin (A Mere State).
…and four more journeys that will linger long after the final page.
Perfect for readers who crave thought-provoking sci-fi that isn’t afraid to explore the darker corners of human nature and the ethical quandaries of future technology.
The Narrative Arc of a Life
Universally Adored and Other One Dollar Stories is a sharp and emotionally rich collection of flash fiction that uses the humble dollar bill as a lens to explore love, loss, class, and quiet resilience in everyday lives. What was the inspiration for the setup of your stories?
I’ve been graced in life to be surrounded by hard-working people for whom money is a real thing. Something that determines fortune or misfortune, and all the complications that accompany them. And being an American, the “universally adored” American dollar perfectly captures the power money has over the narrative arc of a life.
I did not, however, set out to write a collection of “one dollar” stories. I wrote one—“Ricky Steiner Was Supposed To Die in Prison”—during a writing workshop series that I co-led for years, and it was well received. So, I riffed on the opening line again, then again, and soon it became like the “Pass the Object” theatre game in which each person in a circle must differently animate the same everyday object, like a bowl, without using words. The bowl becomes a hat, a knee brace, steering wheel, etc. The opening line, “One dollar,” became my “Pass the Object” game.
If you could expand just one of these flash pieces into a full-length novel, which would it be and why?
Well, interestingly enough, I’ve done just that! As you noted, a lot of my characters are pretty lonely, and I was worried about them, so I’ve taken 10 major characters (and a few minor characters) and plopped them down together in a fictitious diner in the Gulf Coast petrochemical town of Texas City in 1980 (which is next to my hometown). You’ll be glad to know that Paulina—the woman in the low-rent motel with the mechanical bed shaker who’s on the run from her abusive ex—is one of them!
The deep back story of this novel-in-progress (which is entitled I Will Read Ashes for You from the Carl Sandburg poem “Fire Pages”) is the 1947 Texas City Disaster, which is still the deadliest industrial accident in US history and, until 9/11, the deadliest loss of firefighter lives as well.
The most central character is Ballard, the older brother in “The Tuesday Theory” story who is the guardian of his younger, autistic brother Willis. The novel is set in the same diner as that story, and the brothers’ absentee “deadbeat” dad, Keller—who is a traumatized Pearl Harbor and industrial accident veteran haunted by the dead—is the unreliable narrator. At the age of 22, Ballard has shelved the pleasures and aspirations of his young man’s life and assumed the responsibility of caring for his neurodivergent younger brother. An everyday hero for sure.
Were there any stories in this collection that you struggled to finish or almost left out?
Great question! I struggled with “Boiling the Buggers”—the story about a recovering germaphobe bartender who is laid off and otherwise undone by the Covid pandemic—in trying to get the interiority of her unraveling right. Certainly, the most bizarre and profane of the stories is “Amygda-la-la-la,” set in a dystopian future time in which two ground-down women friends find meaning in their collection of worthless paper dollars. I debated whether to include that or not—as it is way out there—and I knew it would probably confuse or offend some readers. But I loved the premise that the dollar bill is so foundational to modern human existence that our amygdala—the “lizard brain”—has been hardwired to spot it even among the rubble. The “Mouse Socks” story, told in the POV of a young girl who’s lost her father, wasn’t in the original collection, but after it was published in the South Korean Samjoko Magazine, I gave it another look and decided it was worth including. I had worried its narrative voice was too gentle for contemporary readers.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
My novel-in-progress that I mentioned, I Will Read Ashes for You, is approaching a finished first draft, though I’m still working through a lot of structural edits. It’s a “polyphonic” (multiple POVs), “discontinuous narrative” (meaning there are multiple, interwoven plot lines) novel that has a lot of characters and key backstory about the lingering effects of the 1947 Texas City Disaster and the cancer that riddles that part of the world. However, it is not—emphatically not—historical fiction. While I’ve done a lot of research and indeed, several characters revisit the horror of the Texas City Disaster (plus, there’s a Prologue of the real post-disaster Procession for the Unrecognizable Dead), the narrative arcs of the novel are in 1980, not 1947. There are, though, thematic throughlines about the human cost of war and prosperity, and the work-a-day valor of moving forward.
For any of your readers who have read my recent collection, Universally Adored & Other -One Dollar Stories (published by Vine Leaves Press), the other recurring characters include the diner waitress Eileen, Manny the cook, and Officer Palacios from “The Tuesday Theory;” Theo, the extreme bibliophile from “All Knowledge;” and the alcoholic grandfather Fred, grandson Ben, and Ben’s mom Colleen from “Flounder” (Chester the Bait Man also makes a cameo appearance). Paulina, the domestic violence survivor in “Magic Fingers,” reappears as the waitress Eileen’s daughter, and Paulina’s abusive ex shows up as well. Willa Rae, the Depression-era migrant farmworker girl in “Evening in Paris,” is there as the owner of the used bookstore next to the diner.
Happily, an excerpt from I Will Read Ashes for You will be published in June 2025 in the bilingual (English/Hindi) literary/scholarly online journal Setu Bilingual. The finished book, however, is probably a year or two away from publication.
Currently, project-wise, I’m also collaborating with a longtime visual artist friend, Kevin Oehler, on a chapbook of short fictions that resonate with his artworks. And, with my husband and creative partner, Robert Michael Oliver, I co-produce a weekly podcast, Creativists in Dialogue: A Podcast Embracing the Creative Life, which is supported in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities. As a former character actor, I’m also keen to produce an author-read audiobook of Universally, much like I did for my debut novel, And Silent Left the Place.
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In “Universally Adored,” a color-obsessed artist draws a facsimile of a dollar—a masterpiece universally adored—to win her girlfriend back. While checking for spare change in the laundry, in “Bald Tires” a Tennessee housewife with a malcontent husband finds an unused condom in his Sunday trousers. In “The Forgiveness Man,” a runaway teen with a newborn follows a vagabond healer absolving the bedraggled godless through hugs of forgiveness. And in “Magic Fingers, a ladies’ room attendant tracked down by her abusive ex finds refuge in a cheap motel with a 1970s era bed massager.
Riffing on the intimate object of a dollar, Bruce’s humane short fictions—from a great mashed potato war to the grass Jesus walked on—ring with the exquisite voices of characters in analog worlds.
Less-Than-Perfect Lives
Under Brambles is a collection of short stories and poems centered around the raw beauty that exists in the forgotten, the broken, and the misunderstood. Why was this an important collection for you to write?
Many of these stories are quite personal, including the one about my mother, whilst others are a shadow of people I have known. I think that many people have less-than-perfect lives–imperfect love stories and life events that don’t get a neat resolution. I hope that readers can gain some reassurance in a world where everyone carefully curates their lives on social media.
Can you share a bit about your writing process? Do you have any rituals or routines when writing?
If I have an inspiration, be it a word, an idea, or a paragraph, I write it in Samsung Notes on my phone. Most of my books start off as short stories. My children’s book The Dragon Way Home was borne out of the short story “There Be Dragons” in Under Brambles.
Do you have a favorite selection in the book, and if so, why does it hold special meaning for you?
I feel that “Waiting for the Gate” resonates strongly because it captures all the joy, beauty, madness, and struggle that makes up modern China. I loved my decade living there and this is one of my favorite memories.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I am working on two novels at present–one for children, one for adults. My children’s novel is called Yowie Dreaming and it will be available in March. It has been inspired by the town of Kilcoy which has a Yowie statue. My adult novel is set in a south-east Queensland town and it will be available later in the year.
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Under Brambles: A Short Story Collection
Under Brambles is a tapestry of vignettes, poems, and narratives that unravel the raw beauty found in the broken, the forgotten, and the misunderstood. Margaretta James takes us through fragments of lives—of people on the margins, of unspoken pain, of longing, and fleeting moments of connection. The stories don’t follow a linear structure; instead, they pull the reader through waves of emotion, leaving behind echoes of regret, defiance, and tenderness.
James’s writing is poetic and immersive, painting scenes with words that feel almost cinematic. The opening piece, There Be Dragons, transports us to a bustling night market, where a sand-sculpted dragon silently witnesses human cruelty and kindness. The sensory details—jasmine, salt air, the flickering light of candles—make the setting almost tangible. But beyond the lush descriptions, the story carries an undercurrent of sorrow, of destruction, of the transient nature of beauty. The dragon, lovingly crafted and then desecrated, becomes a metaphor for the fragility of creation in the face of careless violence.
One of the most gut-wrenching entries, My Mother Who Danced, is written as a letter from a daughter to a mother she spent her whole life resisting, only to understand too late. The honesty in this piece is brutal. The resentment, the love, the guilt—it’s all there, tangled up in a raw confession that is both personal and relatable. The narrator’s realization that she has inherited some of her mother’s traits and that she has failed to appreciate her mother’s sacrifices hits hard. This isn’t just a story about a complicated mother-daughter relationship; it’s about the passage of time, about regret, about how we often only recognize love in hindsight.
Then there’s Hallelujah, a darkly satirical take on faith, miracles, and commercialism. A statue of the Madonna in a failing church begins bleeding, and the reaction is swift. What starts as a seemingly divine event is quickly swallowed by human greed, morphing into a spectacle that loses all meaning. James expertly balances humor and cynicism here, crafting a sharp critique of the way society exploits faith for gain.
The book doesn’t shy away from pain. In Story from a Quilt, James presents a heartbreaking tribute to a friend lost to illness and societal rejection. The imagery of a memorial quilt, each patch a piece of a life cut short, is devastatingly beautiful. The contrast between the vibrant, rebellious life of the protagonist and the cold indifference of the institutions that shunned him makes for an emotional gut-punch. The writing here is particularly poignant, moving between nostalgia and grief in a way that feels personal.
Under Brambles is not for readers looking for a conventional story with clear resolutions. It’s for those who appreciate writing that makes them feel something raw and unfiltered. This book is for lovers of poetic prose, for those who find beauty in imperfection, for anyone who has ever looked back and wished they had understood sooner.
Pages: 85 | ASIN : B0DSW98NXT
The People of the Mid-Ohio Valley
Town and Country: Voices from the Mid-Ohio Valley is a collection of short stories centered around life in a Midwestern small town. What inspired you to write this collection?
The ten stories in Town and Country were written and published in various journals over a number of years starting in 2019. So the collection developed gradually, but the stories were inspired by the locale and people where I grew up. I’ve turned the town of Parkersburg, WV, and the nearby rural communities of Lubeck, Washington, and New England Ridge into the fictional Parkeston and Locust Hill, respectively. Faulkner had his Yoknapatawpha County; Thomas Hardy had Wessex; I have Locust Hill.
Is there anything from your own life included in your stories?
Very much so. In addition to the locale, the character of Livia in “The Postmistress” is based on one of my aunts—my father’s sister. She did indeed operate the local post office from her parlor and was famous for her feisty personality. Also, the general store featured in the companion stories “Disorder” and “Penny Candy” was real, with cats in the front window and penny candy in jars. Along with my schoolmates, I waited there for the school bus to come and take us to the high school on the far side of Parkersburg.
Is there one story that stands out for you? One that was especially enjoyable to craft?
Oh yes, that would be “Penny Candy.” I intended it to contain a tribute to the people of the Mid-Ohio Valley—actually the entire collection is that. But I put the words of the tribute in the mouth of Pastor Beattie as he tries to comfort the distraught Lorna Crandall, who continues to be haunted by the ghost of her son killed in Vietnam. Pastor Beattie tells her, “There’s good people here in Locust Hill, as you yourself just said. So many angels, all in their own way. As good as any I’ve seen in this world. I can say that for certain.” And I hope the people who read Town and Country will see that too.
Can we look forward to more work from you soon? What are you currently working on?
You can, but I’m not so certain about the “soon” part. I’m working on a sci-fi-paranormal-inspirational story that requires quite a lot of research. The protagonist is a chemical engineer who replaces the deceased head of research in a chemical laboratory. The deceased chemist, famous for his invention of rejuvenating tires (i.e. regrown their treads), urges his successor from the Afterlife to turn his talents to medical discoveries rather than industrial ones. To complete the novel, I just need to come up with a plausible explanation of the Afterlife and a plausible cure for cancer. No problem! The working title is The Covalence of Love.
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In this collection of short stories, the reader encounters ordinary people struggling with a variety of extraordinary problems that threaten to change their lives: an elderly widower confronting a life of regrets, precocious children threatened with separation, a middle-aged couple facing the loss of their generations-old general store, and many others. Read Town and Country and meet the people of the Mid-Ohio Valley—people you may very well recognize from your own hometown.
Humans are Living Mysteries
Scars of The Heart is an influential collection of short stories that delve into the profound impacts of physical war and the psychological impact of violence on humanity. What made you write a story about this topic? Was anything pulled from your life experiences?
I have been a travel writer from 1990 to 2003 and wrote New Journalism texts about conflict zones in the world (contributions that report on events taking place, but in a literary, subjective way). I visited Somalia, Liberia, Bosnia, Sudan, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Mozambique, Kosovo, Lebanon, and Myanmar… to name a few. I got very close to the atrocities of war, its physical but also its mental consequences. I thought I could handle them, but these days I have PTSD symptoms. They have become more bearable with time, but I can’t forget people’s suffering in war circumstances. In my eyes, I was a “war tourist” who shared their life for a couple of weeks and disappeared again while they were doomed to stay in hellish places. My anger, my shame, remorse, sadness, and despair fuel my stories.
What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?
When you think about it, humans are living mysteries: contradictory, unpredictable, chaotic. Great fiction tries to create a holistic image of our ambiguity. I believe no other art form is more proficient for this task. Great fiction asks the reader to feel what is hidden between the words so that the voyage into the depths of our being – the maze in our souls, if you like – is an honest, compelling exploration for the reader and the writer. Therefore, great care must be given to the choice of words, their ambiguity, and the rhythm of the sentences. This mixture is called style, and it is necessary to pick up glimpses of the hermetic, sometimes angelic, sometimes demonical, poetry that drives our lives. Great literature is a mixture of empathy, relentless challenges, and mighty victories, yet already tainted with the treason of our egos.
What themes were important for you to explore in this book?
Although they take place in different eras and countries, the background of the stories deals with violence, greed, sexual conquest, and our amazing capability to lie to others and ourselves. Probably you’re thinking now: “And love? Where is love?” Oh, it’s there, sometimes at the brink of obsession or tragedy, sometimes fueling our inner loneliness and addiction to happy dreams and delusions. It is said that readers like happy endings. So sorry to disappoint: when I wrote this collection, the tragic and sad endings even took their toll on me, so I want to advise the reader to read each story at intervals and not right after each other.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
“The Firehand File,” my next book, is set in Berlin in 1921. Let me give you the blurb of the Dutch mother version of the novel so you have the broad outline.
1921. Berlin is a city of extremes. Political violence plagues the streets during the day. A serial killer whom the media call “The Skinner” roams the streets at night. It is suspected that he is a rabid World War I veteran, but he remains untraceable. In this human pressure cooker, the relationship between the famous Flemish DADA poet Paul Van Ostaijen and his impetuous girlfriend Emma Clément is on edge. Like hundreds of thousands of others in Berlin, they live in poverty and are addicted to cocaine and other drugs.
When Van Ostaijen, on a high whim, steals the Feuerhand Obsession file in the apartment of the spy Elise Kraiser, the poet sets in motion a series of dramatic events that shed surprising light on a politician who is rapidly gaining influence: Herr Adolf Hitler.
Carly Rheilan, my translator, scores a fantastic – and poetic! – job. However, the novel’s second part is hard to translate because I tried to use the same manner of Van Ostaijen’s spoken language, a mixture of Antwerp dialect from the twenties with French and German words. “The Firehand File” is a literary suspense novel but also a homage to Paul Van Ostaijen, who revolutionized poetry in the Roaring Twenties. We hope to have the translation finished at the end of this year so that the novel can come out in 2025.
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Through ten stories set in different countries and eras, Van Laerhoven takes us through the destructive consequences of our passions as a common thread, from contemporary Syria to Algeria in the 1950s, and the civil war in Liberia to the uprising in Belgian Congo in the 1960s.
The ten stories in SCARS OF THE HEART highlight the dark side of love, which fuels our violence, inner loneliness, and greedy egos.
Scars 0f The Heart
Scars of The Heart by Bob Van Laerhoven is a compelling collection of short stories that delve into the profound impacts of war. The initial stories, set in various war eras, are particularly devastating, highlighting the unquantifiable effects of war on the human psyche. Through these narratives, Van Laerhoven transports readers to the shattered worlds of war-torn individuals, offering poignant glimpses into their lives and struggles.
The author takes a unique approach to representing human nature, weaving tales that feature a diverse cast of characters, including aliens, painters, friends, enemies, and exploring themes of betrayal, loyalty, greed, love, and revenge. This eclectic mix adds depth and variety to the collection, ensuring that each story is distinct and memorable. Van Laerhoven’s writing style is reminiscent of the macabre and powerful prose of Roald Dahl. His stories shock and captivate, blending mysticism with stark reality. Although fictional, these tales resonate with truths about the human condition. Not all stories are set on battlefields, but the sense of war—whether physical or psychological—permeates the collection. The settings range from the war-torn Middle East to World War II and Nazi Germany, bridging past and present to create relevant and relatable narratives. I finished the book with immense respect for the author’s raw and heartbreaking portrayals of reality. The non-war stories are equally compelling, showcasing Van Laerhoven’s versatility and skill in crafting riveting tales.
Fans of Roald Dahl or Edgar Allan Poe will appreciate the beautifully crafted stories in Scars of The Heart. For those who enjoy well-constructed plots and complex characters, this collection is a must-read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who can endure the psychological turmoil and pain depicted, as it offers profound insights into the atrocities and resilience of life.
Pages: 245 | ASIN : B0CX5S8NJZ
Inspiration Comes From All Over
Replacement Parts is a collection of short stories featuring a cast of characters struggling with personal demons and societal expectations in small-town America. What was the inspiration for your collection?
This book was so many years in the making, it’s difficult to say the direct inspiration. Part of it is pulled from stories I hear from people around me. Veterans told me their war stories, inspiring a piece in the collection. My neighbor is a police officer and told me details about his night shifts. Friends and students who worked in group homes for troubled kids told me some horrific, as well as funny, tales. Each turned into a story in the book.
Also, part of it was from when I taught in a small town where the main source of employment, a factory, was shut down, affecting the community, which became the inspiration for the town of Dexton in the book.
Another was the fact that I published each story independently, threw them into a manuscript, and a writer friend noticed the stories had similar characters and plot points. So, instead of feeling like a one-trick pony, there was potential for a linked collection following a novelistic arc between the characters over several years/generations.
Then there’s just living in Iowa, with its turbulent weather—floods and droughts, blizzards and tornados—and endless landscape, as well as it’s working class roots, that informed the backdrop of every sentence.
Do you have a favorite story in Replacement Parts? One whose characters especially resonate with you
That’s a tough one—but I’d have to say my favorite story is Birmingham House, the third story in the collection. It takes place in a teenage group home and is told in 10 scenes, each narrated by a different character—each with a distraught past so that every vignette moves to a quick climax. Some characters established earlier in the book reappear in the home. Others are introduced for the first time, only to arrive again later in the collection. The setting really spoke to me: these stories of kids with traumatic backgrounds, all struggling and acting out, which on the surface makes them look like ‘bad’ kids. So finding the heart and humanity behind these facades was an inspiring experience.
As for characters, I love Geoff, a young boy who appears late in the collection and befriends a new girl suffering from cancer. I admire his innocence and big heart. But my favorite character is probably Hannah—she was the first character I framed the collection around—she’s tough and funny and vulnerable, so I let her guide the book by kicking it off in the first story, reappearing several times throughout, and finally ending the book.
I find that authors sometimes ask themselves questions and let their characters answer them. Do you think this is true for your characters?
It’s true, as I write I have no answers, just questions as I discover things—but I don’t know if there’s ever any answers either. In fact, when I feel a story is close to offering a moral, advice, an answer to a big question, I often veer away from this impulse in order to open up more questions by the end—so hopefully the reader will walk away pondering the story, wrestling with it, as opposed to feeling one way about it.
Also, by doing this, you can explore the complexity behind people. For instance, Carl is a character who appears several times throughout the book—and may be the most unlikable character. So, he was fun to write, and it gave me the responsibility to find his humanity—try to understand why he does certain things most would find ugly.
Same with Geoff, who is maybe the most likeable character—how can his innocence be a problem? He’s a ‘good kid’, but he makes mistakes, refuses to stand up for a friend—and how often do we all fall into that fear?
So some easy answers I want to complicate. And some questionable characters will hopefully become easier to identify with by the end.
Can fans look forward to more fiction works from you soon? What are you currently working on?
Short stories are my passion. But I’m trying some new things—at least for me—when it comes to style, structure, and adding more humor my writing.
And I’m working on a novel based on three points of view, based on a family suffering loss. Plus, there’s comic book museums, and conservative Christian high schools, and new-age retreats, and road trips, and Ouija board séances, and….in other words, it’s a bit of a crazy mess right now—but also a fun work in progress.
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The local sheriff searches for a missing girl while trying to reconcile with his estranged daughter. A returning soldier, haunted by violent visions, finds his hometown no longer feels like home. When a girl loses her mother, she forges an unlikely family with a mysterious drifter and a man claiming to be her father. Within a center for troubled teens, intersecting narrators get caught in purgatory between the past and future. And in the title story, a child befriends a sick classmate, forcing the boy to pick sides in a school that shuns weakness.
In Replacement Parts, a debut collection by Marc Dickinson, we witness a recurring cast of characters as they navigate their way from adolescence to adulthood. Intimate in nature but novelistic in scope, these twelve linked stories span the generations, each replacing the next until everyone is finally forced to face their own dark history.
