Tonya R. Moore's Blog: Tonya R. Moore, page 38

Read Flash Fiction Online

You can now read a selection of my older flash fiction works online in the Flash Fiction category of my blog. New works will still be posted to Patreon monthly.

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You can now read a selection of my #flashfiction at https://t.co/rDbOevxNVk #scifi #horror #literary

— Tonya R. Moore (@tonya_writes) April 14, 2016

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Tribute

Rastaman gone somewhat astray, the devout artist had adopted flesh for his canvas.Click To Tweet

Everything about him was dark, from the curl of his brows to his countenance when he eased back and stood studying his handiwork.

The silent woman in the claw-toed tub sat leaning forward. The thick braid of her hair was twisted into a samurai’s knot. Like his hand, the bathwater was muddy with her blood and neat little slivers of her skin. The pattern three quarter ways carved into her back was Yggdrasil with gnarly roots coiling deep down into the core of the earth, knotty canopy cradling nine heavenly blossoms.

“What you crave,” he hummed along with the radio absently. “What makes a body move…?”

He twirled the scalpel between his sticky fingers. The floor boards creaked as he slowly left the center of the studio. He went to the far end. Something thin and metal clattered around inside a stainless steel sink. The tap spluttered and began to flow. He spent nearly a full minute there, carefully washing his hands.

From the counter by the sink he selected a shinier, sharper new blade.

“… electric marionette.”

He turned the volume all the way down. He went back to his subject, sank down onto his haunches before her.

“Miss Ingrid.” He studied her odd posture intently for a while before asking. “Feel any closer to your ancestors yet?”

The woman’s face turned upward. She frowned over at him, irises darkening to a sugary shade of brown. Cocoa, he thought. Hot and rich. No milk. Her voice was thick and scratchy from the effort of not crying. Her eyes were salty-rimmed, whites bloodshot from failing as well as the sting of incense and ganja smoke clouding the air.

“Didn’t your mama teach you not to mock your elders, Tobias?”

He shrugged, made a non-committal sound in the back of his throat. The spliff hanging from his lips tilted. “Hurts, yeah?”

“Like a mother–”

Tobias smiled, revealing a pearly row of teeth. “This is the part where I’m supposed to ask if you’re sure you want me to continue.”

She fidgeted restlessly, reached up to fuss with the silver widow’s peak stemming from the whites of her roots. A nervous habit, now a refuge for limbs that didn’t quite know what to do with themselves, when every inch of her was smarting from the wounds weeping in those tricky spots they couldn’t reach.

She could feel it on her back, the slowly clotting warmth that trickled out of her and slid down into the water.

“Yeah.” The bold glitter in her eyes wavered just a little but she nodded. “Absolutely. Finish it.”

He went back to work. Just as the blade was about to connect with her flesh again she twisted, craning her neck uselessly trying to see. “Wait. Can I see how it looks first?”

“Miss Ingrid!” He barely managed to draw the blade away in time to avoid sinking in at an odd angle. He let out a sharp breath. “This is turning into my best work yet. If you make me spoil it, I’ll stab you. Seriously.”

Unintimidated by the not-so-subtle threat, Ingrid faced forward. “Oh, so sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” she sighed. “Getting a little antsy now, you know?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled grudgingly then amended, “no, you can’t see it until I’m done. You’ll freak out. Probably never let me finish.”

“How long is it going to take to heal?”

Tobias looked up sharply. “Isn’t that something you should have asked before I started cutting into you?”

Ingrid shrugged. “Then you’d have asked why I didn’t read the pamphlet.”

“Yeah,” he agreed darkly. “Why didn’t you?”

She didn’t answer. She didn’t really need to. Ingrid stretched one arm backward, twitchy fingers silently demanding.

The dark one leaned forward, obediently let her filch the spliff from between his lips. Hell, who was he to quibble if this was what it would take to make her settle down? She took a long drag. He dipped his gaze and went back to cutting.

She broke the silence again a while later. “You know, Tobias. I never imagined that the introverted kid I remember from my sixth grade Literature class would turn out like this. Growing dreads and… all this.”

The blade wobbled, slid in quite a bit deeper than he intended.

“Sorry,” he muttered when she sucked in a pained breath. “You can scream if you want to.”

His cheeky grin fell at her sharp look. It was that look, the disapproving glare that still struck terror in the hearts of even the most stalwart of thirteen year-olds.

“Sorry,” he mumbled again.

She casually flicked ash away from the tip of the joint before putting it out in the water. She let the soggy butt fall to the ground beside them.

“It will be beautiful, won’t it?”

“Yes ma’am.” Tobias assured meekly, hiding his tiny grin.

“Very good then,” she sighed. “Carry on.” She tilted forward and waited for him to begin cutting again.

 

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Mermaid

Say the only dream you ever had was blue, a cool brilliance that engulfs everything in the universe. All you know of your place in the monochromatic Everything is webbed feet, jewel fingers and a certain unnameable longing.

You reach upward and out, straining to grasp the hazy glow of a distant light in your palms. You begin to swim faster and farther from the deep and dark. It’s warm near the surface but you don’t know what warmth is. There had never been anyone to teach you that word.

It’s a different kind of feeling. It tickles your skin. It makes your blood blaze and your heart leap.

You soar, soar, and soar toward the brilliance above and beyond until one night; the ghostly light looms directly overhead. You’re amazed because before you had only your heart to see with but now you have eyes, ears and everything everywhere is amplified.

Suddenly, you’re no longer floating in that vast and lonely silence. The world you know has been set on its ear. It tilts over like a clumsy crab, unsettling you. You breathe in the air but you don’t know what air is. It whips around you and it roars.

It makes your bones sing, sing, sing.Click To Tweet

The light you were chasing is still way up above and out of reach. The darkness overhead is blanketed by jittery dots of light. You remember, with stark clarity that you’ve seen it all before; that you once stood on two feet on this shore and lamented over the alien yet strangely familiar jewels that you could neither grasp with your own two hands nor wish upon fast enough when they fell from the heavens like tears.

You remember being human, what the poet said about death and the narwhal’s horn. You look to the stars. You look to the sea. You remember why you once cast the earth and the heavens away.

Is this the first time it occurs to you, that the glitter-spotted darkness you’d left behind in the wet was the same as the seething mass in that place where you cannot fly?

Your body bends. You sink back down into the sea. Burying your heart and your longing once again, you dive all the way back down into the dark, into the deep.

 

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Reckoning

Tirol’s skin is white, porcelain white or maybe more like those milky treasures that mysteriously vanished from under your pillow while you slept when you were six. Yes, you still remember because you’re still holding onto that grudge with the relentless tenacity of a rabid dog in search of his favorite bone. Of course, by now you know that there’s really no such thing as the tooth fairy but what can you do about that figment of your imagination for which your resentment still festers like pus-filled sore?

Now, Tirol, he’s problematic. This monster at your door is very real and he’s come here just for you. Unlike some thieving deity from your childhood long past, Tirol doesn’t care who knows he’s coming. He’s big, bigger than you could ever grow. He fills the doorway, all fifteen feet, four hundred and seventy-five pounds of him. His spiky head is bowed low but still scrapes at your ceiling. He’s hairy, blue, and his teeth are made for chomping metal and stone.

There’s no negotiating. There’s no pleading with this particular creature to delay punishment for your crime. Your eyes dart about in search of another exit, an escape route you already know isn’t there. Dead ahead was the only exit, yet every cell in your body is still screaming at you to flee.

The massive brute’s angry breaths fill the room. All you can hear are the ragged huffs and wheezes from something just as mighty and merciless as a bear. Your eyes lock. Tirol’s eyes burn with unmitigated rage. Adrenaline pools in your gut. You are paralyzed, filled to the brim with fright. You start feeling sick. Bile fills you up. It bubbles up into the back of your throat. Next, you hear a low rumble. It grates on your nerve endings and makes the ground shudder. Tirol’s ground-shaking growls balloon into a bellow. A lame little whimper creaks out of your throat.

Next, you remember–for some ungodly reason–the last thing you remember is that night-crawling thief who’d once left you a measly dollar and some foreign country’s fifty-cent coin in exchange for your precious white jewels.

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Descent

You know it, that sinking feeling.

See, there’s this deep pit filled with sludge. The sludge possesses a malicious sort of magnetism. It’ll reach slimy fingers out and drag you into the muck by your toenails. It’ll suck you down into the mire. You’ll sink so deep that you’ll forget that the sensation clawing away at your insides is fear. You’ll forget that the delicious pain in your head, that deep and jerky strumming and the red roar in your head is just you—slowly, steadily suffocating. You’ll forget. You’ll get sucked deeper and deeper down into the crushing dark. You’ll flail and grab uselessly at bits of straw, dead leaves, pieces of corpses… anything.

It’s hell, you know.

It’s hell but soon enough, you won’t be able to see, hear or feel enough to care. You start thinking that getting swallowed up by rot and wet dirt isn’t so scary. That awful abyss isn’t where you’ve descended. You’re actually floating out there somewhere, lost in the deep dark of the universe. You’re an orphan planetoid, a burdensome chunk of flesh that was cast away by some haggard star. You drift in the empty spaces between the stars with no anchor, no light.  There’s no lucky current to sweep you onto some strange and distant shore, therefore, no winding road beyond waiting to lead you to some secret sanctuary you can call home.

Of course, there isn’t.

Wishing for such a thing never made any real sense. The place you’ve been trying to find doesn’t even exist.

It never existed at all.

 

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Book Review: Sci-Fi Women Interview: The 2015 Collection by Natacha Guyot

Sci-Fi Women Interview: The 2015 Collection is an ebook that includes all 2015 monthly features from Natacha Guyot’s blog series “Sci-Fi Women Interviews”, which celebrates women who create, write, enjoy Science Fiction.

I am remiss and must admit that I missed out on this awesome blog series, so I was happy that Natacha compiled these skillfully orchestrated interviews into an ebook.

Natacha Guyot offers up a rich compilation of feminine perspectives on science fiction creativity and fandom.Click To Tweet

The interviewees are all women of note from various realms of the SciFi ‘verse. Each individual is quite intriguing and after reading each introduction, I found myself looking forward to learning more about each of these amazing women.

One unexpected thing that reading this collection of interviews did for me is lead me to contemplate my history with the genre and ponder my place within the fandom. While I can’t claim to be even a fraction of the fanGIRL that these women clearly are, I most certainly also carry that torch.

I enthusiastically recommend Sci-Fi Women Interview: The 2015 Collection to anyone wanting the know what female fans and creators think of the genre, about our collective hopes and dreams, and about the determination and spirit that keeps us doing what we do.

Natacha Guyot is a French researcher, author and public speaker. She holds two Master’s degrees: Film and Media Studies (Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle) and Digital Culture and Technology (King’s College London).

Her main fields of interest are Science fiction, Gender Studies, Children Media and Fan Studies. Besides her nonfiction work, she also writes Science Fiction and Fantasy stories.

Natacha’s Blog | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

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Spring 2016 SF Anime to Watch

I thought I’d make a list of all the intriguing SF animes that will be airing in the 2016 spring season. The list is so long! I’m going to start this post by sharing the ones I’m especially looking forward to watching and following up with the other titles that have piqued my interest.

Great Expectations
Bungou Stray Dogs

Nakajima Atsushi rescues Dazai Osamu, who is attempting suicide. Osamu and his partner Kunikida are members of the “Arms Detective Company,” which is comprised of members possessing supernatural powers. Atsushi and his friends join this detective agency.

Osamu and his partner Kunikida are members of the “Arms Detective Company,” which is comprised of members possessing supernatural powers.

Atsushi and his friends join this detective agency.

Macross Delta

Macross Delta is set in the year 2067, 8 years after the events of the latest Macross TV series, Macross Frontier. The story focuses on Walküre, a team of talented idols and the Delta Squadron, a team of experienced Valkyrie pilots as they battle against the Var Syndrome, a mysterious phenomenon that is consuming the galaxy. There is also the mysterious Aerial Knights Valkyrie fighters team of the Kingdom of Wind.

(Source: Anime News Network)

I’m especially looking forward to this since I really loved Macross Frontier.

Magi: Sinbad no Bouken

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic and Magi: The Kingdom of Magic are the stories of the dungeon capturing duo, Alibaba and Aladdin, who encounter Sinbad, the king, during their adventures.

Magi: Sinbad no Bouken tells the story of Sinbad’s early life when he captured two dungeons.

I really enjoyed Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic and Magi: The Kingdom of Magic, so I’m really hoping that Magi: Sinbad no Bouken has been produced in the same spirit.

Other Promising Titles
Terraformars: Revenge

The sequel to the anime “Terraformars” which adapts the manga by the same name.

With Earth becoming increasingly overpopulated, an ambitious plan has been put into place to terraform Mars using mold and cockroaches.

Nearly 500 years after the plan, a mission to Mars, Annex 1, is under way to accomplish crucial research into the Virus currently plaguing mankind with the crew members who’ve been injected with various DNA of life on Earth in order to combat the Terraformars, giant humanoid cockroaches.

(Source: Crunchyroll)

Kiznaiver

The fictional Japanese city named Sugomori City is built on reclaimed land. But as the years go by, the city’s population is decreasing. One day, Sonosaki tells her classmate Katsuhira: “You have been selected to be a Kiznaiver.” The Kizuna System, which allows Katsuhira to share his wounds, connects him to the classmates whose lives and personalities completely differ from his.

The Kizuna System is an incomplete system for the implementation of world peace that connects people through wounds. All those who are connected to this system are called Kiznaivers. When one Kiznaiver is wounded, the system divides and transmits the wound among the other Kiznaivers.

(Source: Anime News Network)

Endride

The story is set on Endra, an unknown world beneath the surface of Earth itself. It is another world, where the giant Adamas shines above and seven-colored bands drift across the skies.

One day, Shun Asanaga is transported to Endra. He meets Prince Emirio, who strongly despises the current King Deruzain and had just turned 16 at Endra’s castle. He became of age to ascend to the throne, and he wields a weapon to seek his vengeance at last, but the difference in strength proves to be insurmountable.

Captured and imprisoned by Deruzain, Emirio is heartbroken. But then, the walls of the prison suddenly become distorted, and Shun appears within them.

(Source: Anime News Network)

Kuromukuro

During the construction of the Kurobe Dam, an ancient artifact was discovered, and so the United Nations Kurobe Research Institute was established.

Intellectuals from all over the world gathered to study the object, and the children of those researchers attend Mt. Tate International Senior High School, including the institute head’s daughter, Yukina Shirahane. In the summer of 2016, a lone samurai once again awakens.

(Source: Anime News Network)

Big Order

Eiji Hoshimiya is an introverted high school student with a huge secret — he wished for the destruction of the world when he was younger.

Fairies give certain people special powers called Orders.

What Order Users can do with their power depends on their wishes. 10 years after the Great Destruction, Eiji struggles to come to terms with his immense power.

(Source: Anime News Network)

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Best of the Genre Love Series

The Genre Love Series features genre commentaries, reviews and posts by guest authors from all hues of the speculative fiction spectrum. Best of the Genre Love Series is a collection of the best posts contributed to this blog by guest authors and me.

Featured Posts by Tonya R. Moore
Fix the Gender Disparity in Superhero Movies

There is a gender disparity in the superhero movie genre. Males seem to get all the glory and rarely is the central lead role in a superhero film granted to a female. Women in superhero movies are more likely to be relegated to the roles of misguided villains, sidekicks, or damsels in distress who must wait for their male counterparts to swoop in and save the day on their behalf…

Space Opera Courts the Mainstream

Science fiction author and fan, Bob Tucker, coined the term Space Opera in back in 1941, perhaps as a deprecating term in the spirit of the horse operas and soap operas of the time. Eventually, it became the buzzword for pulp science fiction novels from the 1930’s, 1940’s, and the science fiction movies from the 1950’s. Today, the term Space Opera brings to mind sweeping, character-driven tales of action and adventure on an epic scale…

Popular Spec-Fic Subgenres I’ll Never Write

As a speculative fiction writer, you’d think I’d try just about anything when it comes to writing a story. Maybe it’s a tad narrow-minded of me but there are subgenres that I just will not write. I share a list of popular Spec-Fic subgenres I’ll never write and the reasons why…

The Trouble with Time Travel

Time travel is what we call the notion of moving from one point in time to another, by means other than simply existing throughout the passage of time. If my present self were to somehow physically visit the past or the future, I would have achieved time travel…

Featured Posts by Guest Authors
The Allure of Space Opera—and yet the taboo of using that term

Christa Yelich-Koth, author of the science fantasy novel, ILLUSION. Christa shares her views on my personal favorite SpecFic topic, Space Opera and why it endures, despite efforts to sidestep or snub the genre…

Limits of the Imagination

R.S.A Garcia, author of the specualtive fiction novel, Lex Talionis, contemplates the human capacity for suspension of disbelief and urges us to allow the imagination to sweep us away to new worlds and beyond…

Disability in Speculative Fiction by Rose B. Fischer

Rose B. Fisher examines disability in speculative fiction…

Sally Ember, Ed.D: Utopian Sci-fi/Speculative Fiction: Why it’s Intriguing & Necessary

Sally Ember, Ed.D touches on the a long history of utopian sci-fi that spawned speculative fiction and inspired technological and biological/medical breakthroughs/inventions and social and political change over many centuries.

That’s it for today’s roundup. Keep watching this blog for more riveting posts from the Genre Love Series.

 

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Space Age Mermaid

Space Age Mermaid is a science fiction flashfic about an astronaut in hypersleep.

Lois van Baarle
Inspiration

Space Age Mermaid was inspired by the achingly lovely artwork of Lois van Baarle, a Dutch artist known for her dreamy illustrations. The piece in particular that inspired this work of fiction is “Silence”.

I do suggest that you visit her website and look at her gallery. If you do, I think you will understand why I am so enamored with her artwork.

Visit the artist’s website: loish.net  and follow @loishh on Twitter.

Patreon Fiction

Space Age Mermaid has been posted on Patreon for everyone to enjoy.

I will be posting the best of my science fiction, fantasy, and horror flash fiction. A brand new flashfic will be posted each month. Additionally, I will be posting other creative material such as poetry and my older flash fiction for readers and listeners to enjoy.

Additionally, I will be posting other creative material such as poetry and my older flash fiction for readers and listeners to enjoy.

Readers who like my short works of fiction can become Patrons. Patrons can pledge any amount, starting at $1 per month.

CLICK TO READ “SPACE AGE MERMAID”

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Warring with the Muses

Here���s a question for my fellow writers out there:

Have you ever had a story in your head that just won���t come out, no matter what you do?

That���s the kind of pickle I���m in right now.

I���ve done the planning, plotting and research. I���ve got my character profiles, setting profiles, chapters and scenes all set up in Scrivener. I���ve got my handwritten notes and story bits and pieces together and ready to go. Even then, it seems that this story isn���t ready to be written.

Can you even call this Writer���s Block?

It���s not like I���m not writing anything. It���s just that I can���t seem to get started on this one thing right now. Something���s holding me back. I don���t quite know what, though. I sit and stare at my blinking cursor for a while, and then end up writing something completely unrelated.

Ever had that happen?

What do you do when the story that you want to write just isn���t ready to be written? Do you simply keep at it, thinking you���ll eventually force your brain to cooperate or do you just give in, go with the flow, and work on other things?

As a writer, should I be able to beat those muses into submission or do I just need to learn to be patient and take inspiration as it comes?

 

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