Posting this to track reviews for a former 512 which became a longer story, and was published last September! You might see some ETA's below as time goes on..."Zugzwang"Games with aliens. The sort of story that's not in the least bit groundbrea

Situation Normal, All Flacked Up

Mar 28th, 2016

As you know, Bob, I have a short story in the military horror anthology SNAFU, published by the nice folks at Cohesion Press.And, as you further know, I am not above a bit of shameless self-promotion. Here are some of the very nice things reade

Review Roundup: IT'S MACHINE CODE

Apr 3rd, 2015

Hello there, readers! It's been a while. Hope you've been well.I meant to do a "one year later" sales/stats post about Thursday's Children, but clearly that hasn't happened. I have good excuses, though, and I'll be able to talk about them soon.

Flash Fiction Panel at Story Con!

Oct 17th, 2014

Good news, everyone! I'll be moderating a panel on "Where to Find Great Flash Fiction Online" this Saturday, October 18th, at 12:30PM at the Fort Vancouver Community Library. This is part of the first-ever Story Con, a Portland-area event start

More Than 512 Words

Jul 11th, 2014

Hey look, another of my stories has been published! This one is in SNAFU, a military horror anthology:cohesionpress.com/snafuMy story is "Making Waves," and yes, it's based on the 512 of the same name. Among other things, you may notice that I

512 eBook now just TWO DOLLARS

Jun 20th, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z9Cg46NktwAs you may know, Bob, I'm going to Clarion West on Sunday. I'm hugely excited about this, and to celebrate, I've reduced the price of the Thursday's Children Kindle eBook to a paltry $1.99 (cheap!).I'v

Making Book: A Great Reason to Throw a Party

Feb 7th, 2014

(With apologies to Teresa Nielsen Hayden)Time for some numbers! Are you ready? As of today--Friday, February 7th, one week after Thursday's Children officially went on sale--here's how many copies have been sold:8 Kindle eBooks13 paperbacksOf

Making Book: Happy New Book!

Jan 31st, 2014

(With apologies to Teresa Nielsen Hayden)Today's the day! You can now buy Thursday's Children in paperback or Kindle editions:Attack of the stacks of paperbacksMy friend Kenna checks the eBookI know traditionally published authors may

Making Book: The Mythical One-Man Band

Jan 25th, 2014

(With apologies to Teresa Nielsen Hayden)Just in case it wasn't clear before: THURSDAY'S CHILDREN is self-published. Yes, I said self-published. I know some writers prefer the term "indie author," but I don't feel the need for that bit of dre

Making Book: Inspirations and Introductions

Jan 18th, 2014

(With apologies to Teresa Nielsen Hayden)Before I get into this week's behind-the-scenes stuff, a quick announcement:Thursday's Children, the 512 book, is officially launching on Friday, January 31, 2014 (less than two weeks from today), in eBo

Making Book: 1,024 Words or More

Jan 10th, 2014

(With apologies to Teresa Nielsen Hayden)Remember that surprise puzzle hunt my friends organized for my birthday last year? (Yeah, no, I'm never going to stop talking about it. Because awesome.) Well, that same weekend, our friend Natalie se

Making Book: By Any Other Name

Jan 3rd, 2014

(With apologies to Teresa Nielsen Hayden)I'm terrible at coming up with story titles. If you've read more than a couple of 512s, you already know this; my typical go-tos are song titles (e.g., "Don't Fence Me In") or the titles of SF/F novels

Making Book: Teaser

Dec 29th, 2013

(With apologies to Teresa Nielsen Hayden)I don't think I ever made a formal announcement about this, so here it is: a collection of stories from 512 Words or Fewer will be available next month, as a print-on-demand trade paperback or e-book edi

Making Book: Selection Criteria

Dec 27th, 2013

(With apologies to Teresa Nielsen Hayden)The 512 collection DeeAnn and I are publishing next month will include one hundred and seventeen stories out of the two hundred and fifty-six from my weekly blog. Why aren't we including all the stories

Free to Good Home

Sep 27th, 2013

Did you know that my short story "Don't Fence Me In" is featured in the Song Stories: Blaze of Glory anthology? And did you further know that said anthology is a FREE Kindle download this weekend (through Monday, September 30th, 2013)?And if y

I Wanna Be Your Sledgehammer

Sep 23rd, 2013

ETA (22 Sep 2013): The Readers' Choice Poll is now closed. Winners will be announced soon!ETA (22 Aug 2013): The Readers’ Choice Poll is now up at sledgehammercontest.com! Look in the left column for the ballot of eligible stories (including

Go West, Young 512

Sep 9th, 2013

Hey, remember "Don't Fence Me?" Well, it took a while, but I turned that 512 into a longer version (3,600 words) and submitted it to various markets. After fifteen rejections, it found a home in the anthology Song Stories: Blaze of Glory--whi

"The End"

Aug 23rd, 2013

THE ENDBy Curtis C. ChenGod woke up on Saturday morning, went downstairs to check on her animals, then stomped into the kitchen. Satan stood at the counter, fussing with the French press."What happened to my terrarium?" God asked."I didn't tou

Wait for it...

Aug 23rd, 2013

We spent all day driving from Portland to Palo Alto, so I'm a little behind on work. The final 512 will be up, oh, let's say mid-afternoon today.Thanks for your patience, and thanks for reading.Meanwhile, for no apparent reason, here's a pictu

"My Least Favorite Martian"

Aug 16th, 2013

MY LEAST FAVORITE MARTIANBy Curtis C. ChenThe trouble starts before I can say hello."You again, human oppressor?" John says by way of greeting. He opened the door a split second before I could knock. Stupid Martian senses. "What vile directi

"Money for Nothing"

Aug 9th, 2013

MONEY FOR NOTHINGBy Curtis C. Chen"Don't know why you're wasting your time with the lottery," Rutina says, watching me twirl the ticket between my fingers.It's because I know something you don't, Ruti. And I can't tell you my secret. It's too

"Meet Cute"

Aug 2nd, 2013

MEET CUTEBy Curtis C. Chen"We have faster-than-light interstellar travel," Anglana said. "We have medical technology that can regrow entire limbs. I have a chip inside my skull which allows me to access the sum of human knowledge in a fractio

"Sportsball"

Jul 26th, 2013

SPORTSBALLBy Curtis C. ChenWelcome back to everyone watching our live broadcast of the 127th Galactic Harmony Games! I'm Gropflixnum Square, and with me here in the booth is Braznart Morchey-Morchey-Pop. Whaddya say, Braz? Still having fun?M

"Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?"

Jul 19th, 2013

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS?By Curtis C. Chen"I'm not a terrorist," Ava said as soon as the man in the dark suit walked into the room. He ignored her, sat down across the bare metal table from her, and continued reading his display

"Photorps and Emotions"

Jul 19th, 2013

PHOTORPS AND EMOTIONSBy Curtis C. ChenShut the fuck up, son. I won't allow that kind of talk on my deck. Those officers have earned your respect. Sit down, you're going to get a lecture. Yes, that's an order!There's a Lieutenant JG up in Scienc