Words and Worlds by Carl Bystrom
Magical Thinking for Androids and Other Future Beings
Short fiction
Water: A 20-Minute Tale – Read It Now!
WaterWhen the Big One hits and everything changes, what will matter most?
A group of neighbors in a suburban cul-de-sac grapple with the aftermath of a major earthquake. Or so they think.
Available here – free in the Kindle Library and to Kindle Unlimited subscribers, and only $0.99 for anyone else.
Don’t have a Kindle? No worries! You can read on-line with the Kindle Cloud Reader or download the Kindle app to your favorite device.
I’ve got another short story out on Kindle today! What better way to spend 20-minutes and a buck!
When the lines are drawn and the walls go up, the edges will blur.
In a country torn apart at the seams, a family fractures in the shadow of the ever expanding Border War.
Find it here!
Available exclusively on Kindle, free in the Kindle Library and to Kindle Unlimited subscribers, and only $0.99 for anyone else.
Please leave a review when you’re done!
It’s a new year and a new decade. Time for a reboot!
2020! Can you believe it? The number still sounds so futuristic to me. 2020 ought to burst at the seams with science-fiction tropes, utopian hope, outrageous technologies, and dystopian menace. Hmm. Then again, perhaps we’re here after all.
In any case, I’m happy you’re here with me. I’ve been off-line for a while, but I haven’t stopped writing. I’m using the turn of the year as a catalyst to reboot my social media and website and, today, I’m releasing my first piece to Kindle. Continue reading “2020 Reboot!”
Reading Time: 4 minutes
“Can you believe it?” Elena’s eyes flashed with glee. “It’s happening! It’s really happening!”
I smiled, trying to jump on the coattails of her enthusiasm, but I lost my footing and landed squarely on my skeptical ass. I shook my head. “This is absurd.”
“It’s only absurd if you don’t believe.” Matthew chimed, as patronizing as ever.
Matthew was the DM, or he was supposed to be. Somehow he’d transformed his role from benign dungeon dictator to a kind of messiah figure. Just-this-side-of-crazy, up to now, but he’d just stepped over that line. Continue reading “The Road to Dthelwyndale”
“Why do I always look so squinty in these things?” I stared at my calling card. One side of my face was scrunched up. I looked like a scurvy scallywag.
“You’re always squinty.” Paolo, my go-to communications wizard, replied. Right there with support.
“Special request,” I leaned over the cluttered counter and lowered my voice, although, currently, I was the only patron in the dusty little shop. ”Can you hook me up with a sensate spell or two?”
“Those are only for the cops, Stag.” Continue reading “A Quiet Beat”
“You’d think I’d be used to this by now.” Davis absentmindedly addressed the plump little bird cradled in his hands. The creature squirmed. The vestigial wings, dwarfed by its nearly round body, wiggled uselessly while its legs pushed in a pulse against Davis’ cupped palms. The wide, nocturnal eyes appeared unfocused and the small, nearly round beak gasped open and closed. “I guess I’m just a softy at heart.”
Davis broke the bird’s neck with a practiced twist. Continue reading “Silhouette”
Reading Time: 4 minutes
“Hello girl,” Chisholm greeted the Arken’s transom. “I missed you.”
“Don’t get too flirty,” Meredith shot sideways, popping the ship’s hatch. “She’s my baby now.”
Chisholm gave her a black glare. “Perhaps a hand of cards later?”
Meredith’s eyebrows raised in mock surprise. “Do you have anything left to lose, Chisholm?”
He flashed a disgruntled smile, then sighed, surveying the area. “Looks like Davis took off with more than just my bedroll, but I’ll gladly wager the tug if we can track it down. He can’t have flown far.” Continue reading “World Views #BlogBattle”
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Davis surfaced slowly. The previous day’s trauma had knocked him deep into a dreamless slumber he felt reluctant to exit. His eyelids clung together, sticky with dust from the cave, and he levered himself onto one elbow before prying them open enough to survey the cavern. Light poured from the entrance, casting his shadow across Chisholm’s empty bag.
“Good morning!” Davis shouted, relaxing and reclining again. Silence. “Hey Chiz!” He tried louder. “What’s for breakfast?!” Continue reading “Ricocheted #writephoto”
Reading Time: 4 minutes
“Davis?” His voiced dropped to a whisper. Davis wasn’t in the cave. “Where the hell did you go?”
Chisholm turned in a slow circle. The cylinder tucked under his arm illuminated the empty floor around him. His sleeping sack and shoulder bag had vanished along with his companion. Continue reading “This is Not Okay #BlogBattle”
Reading Time: 5 minutes
“I’m stuck,” Davis groaned. “And I can’t see anything….”
“That’s ’cause your big ass is blocking the light.” Chisholm twisted the top of the cylinder he was holding and a glow illuminated the rocky floor in a dim circle around his feet. He let out a sigh. Continue reading “Gravity Well #writephoto”