Ancient Logic

My short story "Emissary" is now available over at Selene Quarterly Magazine. This is set in a post-apocalyptic Upstate New York beset by invaders from the West bent on conquering and enslaving whatever remains of civilization. In the face of this nightmare, a woman with very little faith in anyone around her tries to find someway of saving her town. Standing in her way is her husband, Jon Alban, a man she has every reason to doubt but that nevertheless might offer a way out of the crisis despite himself. Winter Burdens by Morgan Crooks (2018) This story was written at the intersection of two ideas. The first was the sense of the main character, Darra, as a someone focused on saving a town she has very little faith in. The second idea was a retelling of a portion of Russian history. Darra as a character was tricky to write and while I'm not sure I quite got her right, I do hope that her struggle to the right thing despite a Cassandra-like awareness of the we...

I am thrilled to announce that my short story, "Emissary," a weird-apocalypse take on love and betrayal, will appear in the first issue of the Selene Quarterly Magazine in their "Brides, Grooms, and Honeymoons," issue.  Darra knows her husband is no hero. He rose to power in Shepherd Falls as a bandit and a thief. They married as a convenience, a way to legitimize his assumption of power while maintaining the influence of a decrepit gentry. There is little love lost between them. And yet, in order for her home to survive, she must find a way to convince this coward and tyrant to fight for her home. To stand against an unspeakable threat even though it will almost certainly mean his death.  "Emissary" is a story about resistance and surrender in the face of the end of the world. It's also about a certain type of marriage that only exists because the people in it can't survive without each other. I don't yet have information about wh...