Alison McBain

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About Alison McBain
Alison McBain (1979-not dead yet) was born in Canada, raised in California, and arrived in Connecticut with a few detours along the way. She has over one hundred fifty poems and short stories published in magazines and anthologies such as Flash Fiction Online, On Spec, and Litro. Her debut and award-winning novel is The Rose Queen: Book 1 of the Rose Trilogy, and was shortly followed by a collection of her short fantasy fiction called Enchantress of Books. When not obsessing over her plan of survival for a zombie apocalypse, she practices origami meditation and draws all over the walls of her house with the enthusiastic help of her kids. In her spare time, she is one of the editors at Scribes*MICRO*Fiction (which publishes flash stories & poems and is always open for submissions). You can chat with her at @AlisonMcBain or read her blog at www.alisonmcbain.com.
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Titles By Alison McBain
*An itinerant monk and his animal companion follow an evil wind to a desolate village.
*An onmyōji astrologer investigates the murder of a man who held secrets of the Imperial family.
*The gods' gift of good luck is accompanied by an invisible cat.
*The daughter of a fallen samurai is drawn back into her violent past to defend a village from attacking rōnin.
*A little girl is caught between a mischievous fox and a talking fish.
18 stories of magical Japan, by: Mike Adamson, Stewart C Baker, Laura VanArendonk Baugh, Jaap Boekestein, Evan Dicken, Alice Dryden, Steven Grassie, Alison Akkiko McBain, Harry Elliot, Marta Murvosh, Kirstie Olley, Richard Parks, Frances Pauli, TS Rhodes, Douglas Smith, Lyn Thorne-Adler, Josh Wagner, Will Weisser.
Ash, fear, moments of reconciliation; darkness, hope, moments of regret. What will the Apocalypse bring for you?
Apocalypse Chronicles brings together stories, memories, and endings. Woven together by their collective experience, each tale offers a unique and harrowing understanding of what the Apocalypse will mean for their world. Families, worlds, futures and pasts are explored in this unique anthology that brings together fiction from authors from across the globe.
Bear witness to the end of the world as you know it; but will you know how it will end?
Apocalypse Chronicles features the following stories:
The Rosebud by Paul Dawson
In the absence of light and electricity, the world has suddenly fallen to darkness. Not even the stars or the moon can be seen in the sky from the top of an office building. Harry has to decide whether to stay put with his fellow colleagues, or to follow Jacob into the unknown.
The Library by Adam Kirton
An ancient relic living in a bleak future, the Librarian, a grizzled suvivalist, must tend to his dying brother and his precious collection, fending off the horrors of the Wilds and the Old City.
Hope by Lydia Sherrer
A dark fantasy slant on a post-apocalyptic future where the rules of the jungle are truly “eat or be eaten”.
What Remains by Joanne Marjoribanks
Hours before the world is consumed by nuclear warfare, a young woman returns to a cherished place of her childhood and finds an unlikely companion.
Evlyn by Kevin Horsley
Twenty five years after a war that has devastated the human population, one young woman, having grown up in its wake fighting for survival, needs to find hope of a future or at least something to live for.
Crossing by Benjamin Abbott
A veteran survivor of the evacuation of Europe recounts one of his toughest days to a young interviewer.
Bring-your-kid-to-work Day by David J. Wing
When you choose to take your kid to work, it's best if he's not a little pain in the neck and you don't work at a nuclear missile silo.
Unearthed by Ben Wilmshurst
The final recorded messages from the International Space Station as Commander Michael King witnesses the destruction of humanity.
Pillar of Salt by Alison McBain
Scientists discover that the Earth has undergone a nuclear apocalypse in the future - or was it in the past?
...and may more, including:
Broken by Kasim
Human Denature by Daniel Takyi
Everything Old by Andrew Wilmot
The Blue Death by Steven Green
Enjoy the Pock-o-lips by Andrew Murray Aikman
To Elpis by David Kerr
Something to tell Jessie by John Lilley
The Dr
"Ruby's Paradox" by Cynthia C. Scott: A young girl's life changes when a stranger appears and offers her knowledge of the future.
"The Service Call" by Edward Ahern: Bryce kills his wife, but he is subscribed to a "Do Over" service that lets him take it back—if only technical support can help him figure out how to make it work!
"Ten Minutes Past Teatime" by Elizabeth Chatsworth: A Victorian spinster-scientist and a Viking shield-maiden find passion and danger in Dark-Age Ireland.
"Misconception" by Gabi Coatsworth: Marcia wonders about the son she gave up for adoption many years ago . . . until a stranger shows up on her doorstep and causes her to revisit her past choices.
"Dinosaurs and Oats" by B.T. Lowry: Cynthia dreams about the past and doesn't realize that others can, too.
"Disjointed" by Alison McBain: Carson finds a strange machine in a junk shop and soon discovers there might be good reason why time travel is illegal.
"Turns of Fate" by Teresa Richards: Cressida is a teenager down on her luck. But that doesn't mean she wants to break the rules about time traveling. Sometimes, things just happen.
"Miss Princott's Time Travel Agency" by Barbara Russell: Priscilla's time travel business lets scholars study the past, but one client's good intentions might cause a terrible snafu with the timeline.
"The Swing" by Abhishek Sengupta: A poetic and surrealist story where a girl uses death to live.
"Reality Zero" by Nikki Trionfo: Chloe is part of a government organization that protects the timeline from terrorist attack. But what happens if the timeline itself becomes a threat?
And there are many, many more amazing stories! If you enjoy well-written genre fiction ranging from literary to speculative, adventure to horror, then it’s about time for you to pick up a copy of WHEN TO NOW.
In the bleak midwinter, heed the irresistible call of fairy tales. Just open these pages, snuggle down, and wait for an icy blast of fantasy to carry you away. With all new stories of love, adventure, sorrow, and triumph by Tina Anton, Amanda Bergloff, Gavin Bradley, L.A. Christensen, Steven Grimm, Christina Ruth Johnson, Rowan Lindstrom, Alison McBain, Aimee Ogden, J. Patrick Pazdziora, Lissa Marie Redmond, Anna Salonen, Lissa Sloan, Charity Tahmaseb, and David Turnbull to help you dream through the cold days and nights of this most dreaded season.
Published by World Weaver Press in association with Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine.
When the palace guards stage a coup against the royal family, will the young daughter of the family escape to a new world or stay where her home and heart are?
What happens when a small town calls out to the evil that dwells in dark places, and the evil answers?
Can a small contingent of warriors hold back the villainous forces of Kagan Kadir, whose lieutenants are each more horrific than the last?
Stranded on a planet, can a frontier space man escape? If he leaves, what will he be forced to leave behind?
A man can’t remember how he got on the train. He doesn’t know the other passengers, but each has a story to tell. What kind of destination is Oblivion anyway?
And finally, our cover story—to what ends will an emperor go to become a god, and what might it cost a man to oppose him?
you're a heroine? "Abbreviated Epics" from Third Flatiron Anthologies
is a double issue containing 19 very short fantasy adventures
featuring samurai and shield maidens, alternate history and steampunk,
and myths old and new. The issue also contains a reprint of Jo
Walton's epic poem, "Odin on the Tree."
"Abbreviated Epics" proudly showcases an international group of new and
established speculative fiction authors, who share with us just a
smidgen of the heroic and grand. Contributors include: Siobhan
Gallager, Iain Ishbel, Deborah Walker, Manuel Royal, Jordan Ashley
Moore, Martin Clark, Ben Solomon, Margarita Tenser, Gustavo Bondoni,
Adria Laycraft, Daniel Coble, Steve Coate, Jo Walton, Elliotte Rusty
Harold, Marissa James, Jake Teeny, Alison McBain, Patricia S. Bowne,
Stephen D. Rogers, and Robin Wyatt Dunn.
A great collection of short speculative fiction.
Twenty-three authors selected by co-editors Rhonda Parrish and Greg Bechtel
Nevertheless (Tesseracts Twenty-one) is a collection of optimistic speculative fiction stories, each optimistic in a slightly different way. These stories explore the optimism that drives us to seek out new worlds, that inspires us to sacrifice for others or fuels us to just keep going when everything seems lost.
Edited by Rhonda Parrish and Greg Bechtel
Rhonda Parrish is driven by a desire to do All The Things. She founded and ran Niteblade Magazine, is an Assistant Editor at World Weaver Press and is the editor of several anthologies including, most recently, Mrs. Claus and Equus. In addition, Rhonda is a writer whose work has been in publications such as Tesseracts 17: Speculating Canada from Coast to Coast and Imaginarium: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing (2012 & 2015). Her most recent book is Haunted Hospitals, which she co-wrote with Mark Leslie.Greg Bechtel's occasionally prize-winning stories and essays have appeared in a variety of magazines and anthologies, including Avenue Edmonton, The Fiddlehead, Prairie Fire, two previous Tesseracts anthologies, and Imaginarium 4: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing. His first story collection, Boundary Problems, won the Alberta Book of the Year Award for trade fiction and was a finalist for the ReLit Award, the William L. Crawford Fantasy Award, and the City of Edmonton Robert Kroetsch Book Prize.
Greg currently lives in Edmonton, Alberta where, as of this writing, he is serving for his second year as Writer in Residence for the Alberta Branch of the Canadian Authors Association. He also teaches English Literature, Writing Studies, and Creative Writing at the University of Alberta, where he completed his PhD on Canadian syncretic fantasy.
Add this anthology to your Tesseracts collection now.
The stories included in this issue: "A Moth" by Patrick Doerksen, "The Race" by Alison McBain, "Missing: Friendly Spook" by Mary E. Lowd, "Alchemy" by Cindar Harrell, "Dragon's Tongue" by J.M. Williams, "Snow Serenade" by Claerie Kavanaugh, and "Together We Are Complete" by M.A. Kastle.
or something-without regard for the consequences. Be careful of what you wish for, you just might get it.
From wish-granting trolls, to plague curses, and evil enchantresses, these tales will have you hiding under the covers in hopes they don't find you. So lock your doors, shutter your windows, and get ready to SCREAM.