Solar Flare, page 30
“What newspaper?” he finally asked. “What newspaper did you say you were from?”
“Oh, I print my column in a few places.”
“I remember you saying that, but your friend mentioned a newspaper when we talked. He didn’t specify.”
“The, uh…the Antelope Valley Enterprise.”
Albert nodded in a look that trended towards horror for a moment. Then he laughed suddenly. A hearty laugh that brought a tear to his eye. “I guess that fits. After all these years, me and the Enterprise finally see eye-to-eye. We’re both telling folks the sun’s out when the weather calls for rain.”
* * *
On the way out of town, I decided to backtrack to 17th Street to try and see what Albert saw on his morning walks. I saw the city thin out and disappear into the desert. At the end, I stood there, my shoes grinding impatient divots into the dust. As a reporter, I couldn’t say that I could see anything that Albert had been writing about for five years, but as a fellow member of the human race I could see what must have planted those images into his mind. Nearly empty desert for miles and miles, people living on the fringes of that expanse, people living according to chance.
But—as I turned to walk back to my car, I felt a cool breeze mercifully pass around me. In place of my car, there was a man fiddling with a control panel next to…well, what appeared to be a massive expanse of glistening solar panels. None of which were there a few minutes before. In the distance, I could see the glint of an ivory city.
The man, finally noticing my presence, looked up from his work and nodded amiably, seemingly unsurprised by my sudden appearance.
“You a friend of Albert’s?” the man asked.
Somewhere in the midst of my shock, I managed to nod.
“Figured,” the man said with a warm smile. “Did he get you to read his newsletter? That guy has a ton of issues.”
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
DEVAN BARLOW writes short fiction, poetry, and novels. When not writing she reads voraciously, drinks tea, and thinks about fairy tales and sea monsters. She can be found at her website devanbarlow.com.
CHAZ BRENCHLEY has been making a living as a writer since the age of eighteen. He is the author of thrillers, fantasies, ghost stories, science fiction and more. He has also published as Daniel Fox and Ben Macallan. 2021 saw the publication of his “Best Of” collection, Everything in All the Wrong Order. He is currently writing girls’ boarding-school stories set on Mars. His work has won multiple awards. Born and raised in Oxford, he spent his adulthood in Newcastle on Tyne, and is now experiencing his age in Silicon Valley, California. His website is , and he can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Substack, Patreon, Mastodon, and Ko-fi.
S.C. BUTLER lives in New Hampshire with his wife and son. He is the author of the Stoneways trilogy: Reiffen’s Choice, Queen Ferris, and The Magician’s Daughter, originally published by Tor Books; the novel The Risen; and a contributor of short stories to several anthologies and magazines. All of his novels are available as ebooks at his very primitive website, mutablebooks.com, and several of his stories are posted there for free. He also posts regularly on Facebook as S.C Butler.
ANTHONY W. EICHENLAUB’s stories appear in Daily Science Fiction, On-Spec Magazine, Little Blue Marble, and numerous anthologies including A Punk Rock Future and The Community of Magic Pens. His novels range from space operas about irresponsible scientists to Minnesota technothrillers featuring an elderly hacker and his dangerous grandchildren. In his spare time, Anthony enjoys landscaping, woodworking, and long walks with his lazy dog. More about his work can be found at https://oakleafbooks.com
LIAM HOGAN is an award-winning short story writer, with stories in Best of British Science Fiction and in Best of British Fantasy (NewCon Press). He’s been published by Analog, Daily Science Fiction, and Flame Tree Press, among others. He helps host Liars’ League London, volunteers at the creative writing charity Ministry of Stories, and lives and avoids work in London. More details at http://happyendingnotguaranteed.blogspot.co.uk
DAVID KEENER is an author, editor, anthologist, and podcaster who lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and three inordinately large dogs. He writes SF, Fantasy and Mystery but loves mashing up his favorite genres, as demonstrated in books such as Clash by Night (SF/Heist), Road Trip (Fantasy/Crime) and The Rooftop Game (Fantasy/Bodyguard). He is a founding member of the Hourlings Podcast Project, which covers writing-related topics. He frequently speaks at conventions, and often conducts writing workshops. Find out more about him at his web site: http://www.davidkeener.org
NICOLE GIVENS KURTZ has been named one of Book Riot’s 6 Black SFF Indie Writers You Should be Reading. She's a two-time Atomacon Palmetto Scribe Award Winner (2021 and 2022) for her short stories and her novella. She’s written for Apex, Fiyah, White Wolf, The Realm, Baen, Subsume, and more. Nicole has over 50 published short stories as well as several science fiction and fantasy novels. You can find her at www.nicolegivenskurtz.net.
SF convention favorites SHARON LEE and STEVE MILLER have been collaborating since the 1980s, with nearly one hundred works of fantastic fiction to their joint credit. Sharon is the only person to consecutively hold office as the Executive Director, Vice President, and President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America while Steve was Founding Curator of Science Fiction at the University of Maryland’s SF Research Collection. Their newest Liaden Universe® novel, Trader’s Leap, is their twenty-seventh collaborative novel. Their awards include the Skylark, the Prism, & the Hal Clement Award. More at https://www.korval.com & https://www.facebook.com/groups/16280839259/
ANTHONY LOWE is originally from Turlock, California. He's worked as a bartender, bookseller, copy editor, and an ALT in Funabashi, Japan. He obtained his BA in English Literature from California State University, East Bay and is currently working on his MA in Applied English at Cal Poly Humboldt. He's published several stories in anthologies such as BRIGANDS, ALIEN ARTIFACTS, and MY BATTERY IS LOW AND IT IS GETTING DARK, and has self-published several more—including a fantasy western series called THE SHATTERED FRONTIER. When not writing, he is given to gaming, researching local histories, and accumulating way too many used books.
GAIL Z. MARTIN writes urban fantasy, epic fantasy, steampunk and more for Orbit Books, Falstaff Books, SOL Publishing and Darkwind Press. Urban fantasy series include Deadly Curiosities and the Night Vigil. Epic fantasy series include Darkhurst, the Chronicles Of The Necromancer, the Fallen Kings Cycle, the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, and the Assassins of Landria. Together with Larry N. Martin, she is the co-author of Iron & Blood, Storm & Fury, the Spells Salt and Steel series, the Joe Mack Shadow Council series, and the Wasteland Marshals series. As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance. www.GailZMartin.com
LARRY N. MARTIN writes science fiction, steampunk, and urban fantasy. He is the author of the portal gaming fantasy: The Splintered Crown, and Salvage Rat, the first in his space opera series. Together with Gail Z. Martin, Larry co-authors the snarky monster hunter series Spells, Salt, & Steel, the post-apocalyptic series Wasteland Marshals, the Joe Mack Shadow Council Files series, and the steampunk series The Jake Desmet Adventures and The Storm & Fury Adventures. You can learn more about Larry at LarryNMartin.com, join Gail and Larry’s Facebook street team The Shadow Alliance, or sign up for their newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dd5XLj.
CHRISTOPHER R. MUSCATO is a writer from Colorado, USA. He is the former writer-in-residence of the High Plains Library District and a winner of the XR Wordsmith Solarpunk Storytelling Showcase. His fiction has appeared in Solarpunk Magazine, Shoreline of Infinity, and House of Zolo.
JASON PALMATIER is a stay-at-home dad and Writers of the Future winner who lives in central Pennsylvania with his wife and three sons. A former software developer, he now pens speculative fiction and has been fortunate enough to work on screenplays (the short film “Hunter”), independent comics (Lords of the Cosmos, Ugli Studios), graphic novels (Plague, Markosia Enterprises Ltd.), short story anthologies (from Zombies Need Brains, LLC.) and full-length books. His winning story “Under My Cypresses” appears in Writers of the Future Volume 39. More information about his works can be found at jasonpalmatier.com.
EMBER RANDALL is a software engineer who specializes in user-centered design and accessibility. They got into tech to make the world a better place, which is the same reason they write – if their stories or the products they work on make at least one person happy, they count it as a success. In their free time, they enjoy reading, running, hiking, and generally exploring the outdoors, as well as creating new tales via larping. Their stories have been published by Cast of Wonders, Zombies Need Brains, and other venues. Find them at www.emberrandall.com.
RHONDI SALSITZ is a hybrid writer (trad and self), a sometimes editor for ZNB, and a voracious reader. She lives in So California which had a record-breaking year for rain, but the drought may only be temporarily gone. When not writing, she’s am a dog and cat butler. Under numerous pen names for Middle Grade, New Adult and Adult audiences, she’s published epic fantasy, space opera, thrillers, romance, urban fantasy, and plan more. Her writing has earned paperback Bestseller status and some great reviews from PW. Take a look at www.rhondiann.com .
KRISTINE SMITH is the author of the Jani Kilian series and other science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories under her own name. As Alex Gordon, she has written the supernatural thrillers Gideon and Jericho. Her fiction has been nominated for the Locus Award for First Novel, Philip K. Dick Memorial Award and the IAFA William L. Crawford Fantasy Award, and she was the 2001 winner of the Astounding Award (formerly known as the John W. Campbell Award) for Best New Writer. Learn more at https://www.kristine-smith.com
LAUREN C. TEFFEAU is a speculative fiction writer based in New Mexico. Her novel Implanted (Angry Robot) mashing up cyberpunk, solarpunk, adventure, and romance was a finalist for the 2019 Compton Crook award for best first SF/F/H novel and named a definitive work of climate fiction by Grist. Recent short stories are in Worlds of Light and Darkness: The Best of DreamForge and Space & Time Magazines (Uproar Books), the Stoker-nominated Chromophobia: A Strangehouse Anthology by Women in Horror (Rooster Republic Press) and forthcoming solarpunk anthologies from Android Press and World Weaver Press. Please visit www.laurencteffeau.com for more information.
SARENA ULIBARRI lives, writes, and plants trees in the American Southwest. Her solarpunk novella set in Death Valley, Another Life, is available from Stelliform Press, and her science fiction retelling of The Nutcracker, Steel Tree, will be published by Android Press. As an anthologist, she curated the anthologies Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers and Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Winters, and co-edited Multispecies Cities and Solarpunk Creatures. Find more at www.SarenaUlibarri.com, or follow her on Mastodon @sarenaulibarri@wandering.shop or Instagram @sarenaulibarriauthor
ABOUT THE EDITORS
PATRICIA BRAY was there when Zombies Needs Brains was born, and has the t-shirt to prove it. The author of a dozen novels, her storytelling skills also come in handy in her day job as a business intelligence analyst. She lives in New Hampshire, where she balances her time at a keyboard with cycling, hiking and curling. Find her on the web at www.patriciabray.com.
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JOSHUA PALMATIER is a fantasy author with a PhD in mathematics. He currently teaches at SUNY Oneonta in upstate New York while writing in his “spare” time, editing anthologies, and running the anthology-producing small press Zombies Need Brains LLC. His most recent fantasy novel, Reaping the Aurora, concludes the fantasy series begun in Shattering the Ley and Threading the Needle, although you can also find his “Throne of Amenkor” series and the “Well of Sorrows” series still on the shelves. He is currently hard at work writing his next series and designing the Kickstarter for the next Zombies Need Brains anthology projects. You can find out more at www.joshuapalmatier.com or at the small press’ site www.zombiesneedbrains.com. Or follow him on Twitter as @bentateauthor or @ZNBLLC.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This anthology would not have been possible without the tremendous support of those who pledged during the Kickstarter. Everyone who contributed not only helped create this anthology, they also helped support the small press Zombies Need Brains LLC, which I hope will be bringing SF&F themed anthologies to the reading public for years to come. I want to thank each and every one of them for helping to bring this small dream into reality. Thank you, my zombie horde.
The Zombie Horde: Raymond Lowell, Michael Feir, Michelle Johnson, Brandon Babcock, Michael Seth, Rick Smathers, Michael Steinberg, Paul & Laura Trinies, Eva Holmquist, Elektra Hammond, Christine Hanolsy, Mustela, Vicki Greer, Lula Laney, Leah Smith, Joe Hauser, Anna Fultz, Ari Officer, Beth Morris Tanner, Bruce G, Erin S, Angie Hogencamp, Reed Mingault, Ruth Ann Orlansky, Ruthenia, Robin Hill, Nicole Wooden, SusanB, Bethany Tomerlin Prince, Miranda Floyd, Richard O'Shea, Lizz Gable, Patricia Bray, Alan Mark Tong, George Mitchell, Frank Nissen, Sheryl Ehrlich, Carla B, Richard Leis, Bonnie Warford, Brendan Lonehawk, Mandy Stein, Katrina Knight, Helen Ellison, Jennifer Shelby, Jeff G, Brendan Burke, Lynn P, Jessica Enfante, Rachelle Wright, The other Yvonne, Tim Lewis, Lauren C. Teffeau, Stephanie Lucas, justloux2, Karen Fonville, Jo Miles, Juanita J Nesbitt, maileguy, Neil Clarke, Jim Anderson, jjmcgaffey, Dennis Smitt, Christopher Wheeling, Simone Pietro Spinozzi, Aramanth Dawe, Brynn, Mireille Theriault, Sheryl R, Hayes, A. Giddings, Andy F, Eric, Cara Mast, Mary Jo Rabe, Frank M Greco, Jan M Schroeder, Lawrence M. Schoen, Amanda Saville, Simon Dick, Ian Chung, Misty Massey, Dave Hermann, krinsky, Sean Collins, Patti Short, Michael Ball, Michael Feldhusen, Céline Malgen, Jessica K. Meade, Aurora Nelson, Cassie A Stearns, Paula, Rowan Stone, Jim Gotaas, Robert Parks, Allan Kaster, Claire Sims, Clarissa C. S. Ryan, Kai Delmas, Morrigen Stoumbos, Accelerator Ray, Jörg Tremmel, Nathalie Debonville, Gary Phillips, Karen M, Duncan Shields, Kevin, Brad L. Kicklighter, Anonymous Reader, Kerry aka Trouble, Mike Rimar, Keith West, Future Potentate of the Solar System, Sarah Cornell, Ronnie Darling, Jeff Eppenbach, Kenneth Givens, Terry Williams, Piet Wenings, Nancy Blue Spider Tice, Julie Pitzel, Heidi Lambert, Jonathan Brown, Tania Clucas, Cathy Green, Bess Turner, Jaq Greenspon, Stephanie Cranford, Susanne Driessen, Deanna Zinn, Niall Gordon, Dr. Charles E. Norton III, Alicia Henness, Lee Dalzell, Jakub Narębski, Curtis Frye, Jason Swensen, Brian Burgoyne, Daniel Braunstein, Kimm Antell, Kent Pollard, Lark Cunningham, Beth LaClair, Alfred J. Bohne IV, Random Yarning, Dascha Paylor, L.C. Parfomak, Katherine S, Anne Burner, Sarah Brand, Lori Gildersleeve, David Lahner, Lavender, Michael Fedrowitz, David Futterrer, Carol J. Guess, Lace, Fred and Mimi Bailey, Caryn Cameron, Sarah Liberman, Shel Kennon, C.L. McCollum, Ronald H. Miller, E.M. 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