R.A. McCandless's Blog, page 34

Fantasy Bounty Hunters

“Who are those guys?”Butch Cassidy Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Whaddya mean "no disintegrations"?Bounty hunters rank right up there with pirates, ninjas and Vikings as one of the coolest jobs every romanticized into mythic proportions.  A recent question about bounty hunters in a Medieval fantasy setting prompted quite the conversation, and pointed out that there are precious few fantasy-genre bounty hunter stories.
There’s a very good, historical reason for this.
Independent individ...

Clear and Hold - Flash Fiction by R.A. McCandless

Here, there be . . . stories!Clear and HoldI loved search and destroy operations. That’s the standing order...

Happy Holidays - 2016

Don't Silence Me!

Silent, but not too silent.Silencers do not silence a firearm.  Silencers are better named “suppressors” as in “noise suppressor”.  Despite what we’ve been taught by movies and television—who rarely, if ever, get anything wrong—a suppressor will not change a gunshot to a sound like popcorn popping, or make that cool “fftt” noise.  Depending on the ammunition and the suppressor used, it will only reduce the sound by around 30dB.  Most guns crack off at around 160dB or bette...

Don't Forget to Cover It!

Goggles? Airship? Female protagonist?
TAKE MY MONEY NOW!The cover, for the reader, cou...

Flashiest of Flash Fiction

Flash, goes the lightning!The last two weeks, from a writing perspective, have flown past and not in a good way.  Deadlines are Eighth Circle of Hell.  Mix that with a science fiction theme and a flash-fiction maximum limit of 1,000 words and it’s like scrubbing with a cheese grater in a lemon-juice shower.
Until that brief, shining moment when all the random threads come together in a story that makes you salivate with wonder and hope.  Finalists will be announced November 28th...

Hunting Monsters by Allen Currier

In a sleepy, little town, a seasoned detective and a killer, the likes of which no one has ever seen, match wits.
Detective Steve Belcher has his work cut out for him. But how do you find a killer who leaves no clues? A killer who has the police lost at every turn?
How many bodies will stack up until Detective Belcher can find the monster committing these unspeakable crimes? How many monsters will he have to chase down to find the one behind the murders?
Can Steve find the monster before the...

Arguments, Arguments Everywhere

I have three off case positions, two Ts and a K.The Electoral College—bad or so evil that you must say it's eeeee-vil?Stop and Frisk in Schools—necessary or a good way to meet friends?Nuclear Power—safe resource or our best chance for mutant powers?Immunity for Police Officers—why or why?Civil Disobedience—morally justified in a democracy, or a great way to get...

What? Me? Worry!?

Jokes on us!I am of the sneaking and growing suspicion that what Trump actually meant when he said "We'll build a wall!" is "I want to be president and will say anything to do so regardless of how asinine it is, and once I'm in you'll look really foolish for electing me to do these implausible and impossible things!"

Veterans Day 2016

Out of respect.Veterans suffuse my life.  Granddad McCandless served, and so did my dad, Robert.  Uncles and cousins, countless friends and associates have taken an oath, shouldered a weapon and stood a watch.
I've thanked most of them throughout the years—or at least meant to.
Two of my closest friends served in three armed services.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Whatever their other faults, this is very much their day, when they are recognized for their actions, no matte...