You know what summer typically means to me? A thumping dance anthem out of a small European nation that somehow tops the charts across the world with its approximate English and braggy bedroom lyrics. Mosquitoes. Beach sand scratching around in the washing machine until November. A big dumb slobbery blockbuster movie, probably starring The Rock as an undercover agent on a remote tropical island, with only his Saint Bernard dog to endear him to locals. (He falls in love with the daughter of the grim/possibly murderous tribal elder, obviously.)

Okay, you get it. Summer is not my favorite season. (That's the fall.)

This summer, though, I'm pleased to announce three new pieces of my fiction that have either published recently or will publish soon.

Here they are.

Short story 'Torata' published in The Los Angeles Review

'Torata' explores the initially reluctant attraction between two rescue workers in the aftermath of a Peruvian earthquake. This story is from my debut collection Hard Place Rock, and if you're seeking a way to enjoy the final few days of Pride month, this might well hit the spot. (It has been accused of being "lovely" and "tender" - by the editors, that is. On that note, thank you so much to K.K. Fox and Hananah Zaheer for sparking to the story and for working with me to get it into shape for publication.)

Read 'Torata' in The Los Angeles Review here.

Short story 'Boy Misses Girl When She Leaves This Little Town' published in short story machines across the world

This is the third story of mine to be published by Short Edition, whose short story machines grace public libraries, train stations, airports, and other public gathering spaces across North America. You'll also find them in Europe, and – incrementally, as the company continues to roll out their publishing network – around the world.

If you have not yet encountered a Short Edition story machine, imagine a svelte ATM-type contraption with a few simple buttons. This machine will print a short story or poem onto a receipt-like strip of paper, just for you. All you have to do is hit the button for your preferred length of story or poem (expressed in minutes of reading time). You're in sweatpants or you're a sultan, the story machine doesn't care: it will dispense stories and poems to you for free. (Nada! Bupkis!)

My story 'Boy Misses Girl When She Leaves This Little Town' is a high-school romance about the things that change in our teenage years - and the things that don't. For this story, I must thank my editor Jeanne Dewald, whose notes pushed the story to its best. Merci pour votre travail et votre inspiration, Jeanne !

You can read 'Boy Misses' one of two ways. First, and most simply, you can read it on Short Edition's website.

Alternately – and this is way more fun, but also a game of chance - you can visit a Short Edition story machine near you. You should know that it is not possible to request a specific story or author from the machine, which dispenses stories at random. So, yes, you'll be gambling. As the machines are free, at least you won't have to explain to your wife what VEGAS-SPIN-O-RAMA means on your credit card statement. And you can't really lose: if it's not 'Boy Misses' that you receive, it'll be another writer's story, and I bet it will surprise and elevate you just the same.

I list below some of the Short Edition story machines in which 'Boy Misses' is available at time of publishing this announcement. (It's a 5-minute story.)

United States:

• Los Angeles - Los Angeles Public Library, Library Entrance
• Orange - Chapman University, Leatherby Libraries*
• Ontario - Ontario International Airport, Terminal 2
• Rancho Mirage - Rancho Mirage Public Library, Eisenhower Hospital
• San Diego - San Diego State University 3*
• Oakland - Oakland Airport, T1-T2 Connector
• Eugene - Eugene Public Library, Airport
• Seattle - Seattle Public Library Northeast Branch - 6801 35th Ave. N.E. , Seattle, WA 98115
• Seattle - Seattle Public Library Wallingford Branch - 1501 N. 45th St. , Seattle, WA 98103
• Tempe - Tempe Public Library
• Santa Fe - City of Santa Fe, Southside Library
• Arvada - City of Arvada, Ziggi's Coffee Shop (Independence St)
• Boulder - Boulder Library Foundation, George Reynolds Branch
• Austin - Austin Public Library
• Roselle - Roselle Public Library, Main Library*
• Alexandria - Fairfax County Library, Burke Center Library
• Philadelphia - Temple University, Charles Library
• Philadelphia - American Heritage Credit Union, Carriage House Branch
• West Palm Beach - West Palm Beach, Johan's Coffee Shop
• Palm Harbor - Palm Harbor Library, Library Information Area*
• Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Central area between gates T17 - T21
• Atlanta - Emory University, Emory Business School*
• New York - Center For Fiction Bookstore
• Boston - Harvard Medical School
• East Lansing - Michigan State University, Broad Art Lab*

Europe:

• London - Canary Wharf, Canada Place*
• Lincoln - University Of Lincoln, Ross Library*
• Sheffield - Sheffield Hallam University, Dispenser 2*
• Northern Ireland - Monaghan Library
• Republic of Ireland - Cork County Council Library & Art Service
• Paris - Neuilly sur Seine - American Hospital of Paris, Permanence Médico Chirurgicale
• Paris - Monoprix Po/BD/Nv
• Clairac - Région Nouvelle Aquitaine, LDE DHCN FR/EN/ES
• Marseille - Région Sud - Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur
• Toulon - Région Sud - Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur
• Utrecht - ILFU International Literature Festival, Utrecht 1
• Zutphen - Strichting Zutphen Literair 1

This list is offered only as a loose guide. Don't on the basis of it book one-way tickets, or camp overnight outside the building, or any kind of Pottermania shit like that. There are absolutely no boy wizards in my story.

Bear in mind this list is selective – there are way too many machines for me to list them in full – and inevitably it will change and grow over time. And, again, please remember that even at the machines listed above, there is no guarantee I'll be the writer dispensed.

(I won't be updating the list above very often – because, life – so if you are desperate to at least try for printout of my story, contact me and tell me your city, and I'll let you know the latest location(s) of the nearest story machine(s) with 'Boy Misses' in it.)

Note that my other story published in Short Edition machines is 'Dallas Fireflies'. In the list above, I have marked with an asterisk those machines that also contain 'Dallas Fireflies' (which is again a 5-minute story). You can otherwise read 'Dallas Fireflies' on Short Edition's website.

Finally, if you'd like to find a Short Edition machine, regardless of whether it has my story in it, check out this handy story machines map.

Novella 'Valérie (or: Red Velvet Nothing)' to be published December 2024 by Scatterpunk Press

My novella 'Valérie (or: Red Velvet Nothing)' will be available to buy in bookstores around the world from December 1st 2024 (and to pre-order from October 1st 2024).

'Valérie' is a love story between two French women whose very different incomes and cultures make happiness together seem impossible. The story follows the courage and growth demanded from them both as they negotiate a combined future, and confront this question: can star-crossed lovers actually work in real-life?

This is a special standalone edition (an "author's edition") of a story from my debut collection Hard Place Rock. The storyworld is inspired by the three years I lived as a writer and artist in Paris, and captures some of the things I observed of that city: its sociopolitical currents, its creative idiosyncracies, and its lesser-known perches for romance.

The novella will be accompanied by photographs of Paris relevant to the story, as well as by an online essay about a mysterious series of feminist graffiti that I investigated during my residency there. This graffiti went on to inspire a plot point in the novella.

Follow the publication of 'Valérie (or: Red Velvet Nothing)' at Scatterpunk Press.