TALES FROM THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE

Congratulations to the 12 authors who won our short story contest published in our short story anthology Tales from the Goldilocks Zone, illustrated by Hayley Patterson, professional doodle-er.   Haley received her B.A. in Animation and Illustration from SUNY Fredonia 2018 and worked as a staff illustrator for the university newspaper. Her work has been featured in galleries in Suffolk County and Long Island, NY as well as the MoCCA Arts Festival in New York City, hosted by the Society of Illustrators. To keep up with her, you can follow her on Instagram @hapdoods.

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Step into the space boots, high heels, spurs, or flippers of unconventional travelers; those who disappear in the blink of an eye or who fight environmental disasters, hide secrets, and believe in true love; those who are looking for a new home or will never go home again. This collection features new voices in sci-fi and fantasy who bring worlds of astonishment and delight, who find the sweet spot for life. And every time, it’s just right. Featuring the following short stories:

 

Eidetic by Amanda Moon

Memory bottling. Better than photographs, perfectly preserving every sensation, allowing you to experience moments over and over again. But what if you swipe a bottle of something (and your ex doesn't want to remember), and what if you go a bit over the dosage recommendations, and what if you still love him?  What then?

 

Water Always Glints in the Sun by Amy Bernstein

What Vera knows, for sure, is that B-Harbor-- the beating heart of the entire Baltimore Watershed (the Atlantic Central Coastline’s undisputed center of power) must be protected at any cost. If her team of enviro allows the titanium-Q infrastructure to fail, a flood of pathogens, chemicals, and algal toxins will invade B-Harbor. Vera won’t let this happen at any cost.  Now, if her team will just stop protecting her and let her do her job!

 

Alia of the Rock by Clementine Fraser

Rescuing an angelic winged woman from a lonely rock in the ocean, Captain Thomas Asham finds Alia, an albatross shifter, stranded. He clothes her, promises undying loyalty and protection and hopes she will never leave. Alia secretly knows she is in danger. Whatever happens, she must not lose her heart to the Captain or his life will be in grave danger.

 

One Way Ticket by R.L. Aseret

Single and Czech, Milena meets Vietnamese-American Vuong when tours her hometown, Olomouc-- where local men, not conscripted, want meaty wives to raise children and vegetables. Vuong, however, makes her laugh and she takes him up on his offer of an arranged marriage. When she arrives in America, she must decide whether to stay and how she will indeed overcome their unusual arrangement.

 

The Displaced by Greg Moravec 

Fleeing an environmental disaster in a refugee starship, Quintas finds solace in his new friend, the lovely Merka. When they meet Bakti, however, he insists that they are not refugees but prisoners, and a ghost army is about to rescue dissenters. Will they join a rebellion—even if it existed, and what or who would they be willing to leave behind?

 

Unclaimed Goods by Brian Buhl

In the not too distant future, at the Kansas City airport, people travel in style--plugging their brains into virtual reality while their bodies are the luggage inside small life support chambers. Baggage Handling future robots and humans work seamlessly together moving “cargo” to the correct layover destination. "Never lost anyone" was Vince’s motto, until his last day on the job, when the new trainee, Tony, finds a body that doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.

 

Specimen by Mikhail Dreygon 

Another day in the far outpost space lab, another specimen to examine then exterminate by the cold and withering Dr. Mae Wong, Dr. Franklin, and their superior, the zeno/plant-based humanoid, Dr. Curax. However, something about this mammal changes Mae’s frosty exterior and she begins to sense there is something more than science happening between herself and her specimen. When told to send “Junior” to his death, Mae must decide whether to risk her career to save him—but little does she expect she would risk her life as well.

 

Time Race by Rebecca Hope

Marcy has experienced quirky correlations all her life, usually, a small incident followed by a parallel larger one. She learns to keep her associations a secret because being able to tell the future in hindsight is just too hard to explain. When she finally confides her unusual insight to her fiancé, he breaks their engagement. Twice burned, she cautiously tries out for a reality TV series on the phenomenon of future sight. At her interview for the program, she seems to truly belong, but one detail about the situation is nagging at the back of her mind. What is it? 

 

The Widowmaker by Alexandra Ames

Trapped in marriage to a venomous man, Yorka finds herself locked in a mysterious house with only one friend, a white spider no one believes exists because the tales surrounding it are too unbelievable to be true. She must decide which poison is worse and who she can trust.

 

Sir Manifred’s Secret by Rebecca Hope

While on an employee retreat at Castle Albion, a modern-medieval resort with a murder mystery theme, Crystal gets word her divorce is final. She spends the week researching ways to get rid of her wedding ring and trying not to fall for a dashing event coordinator, Eric—handsome and married. Crystal decides to leave her ring inside a suit of armor and simply go back to her life. However, she wins the mystery contest and another week at Albion. She goes home and puts Eric and her ex out of her mind. A gift card reminds her that maybe she should return--and possibly hunt down her costly ring again, just for memory’s sake?

 

Sidewalk Slammer by Sol Jacobs

In Louisiana, after taking a birdbath in the Shreveport Library’s bathroom sink, he wipes his hands on dirty overalls, crosses the lobby, pushes open the double doors, and shields his eyes from the sun. Another day on the road. How many has it been? No one knows his name, but will anyone see past the exterior to who he really is and where he's come from?

 

Pay Attention to the Signs by Jerry McCann

It's all fun and games on Kawaii Beach for a vacationing high school student until two girls are pulled away by an undertow of a murderous Hawaiian current. The boy jumps to the rescue and is caught underwater. He knows he has about three minutes to live. Should he go toward the light, or try to get back to the surface?

 

One Last Goodbye by Ashley Reisinger

It becomes obvious everything isn't always as is it first appears when a young woman retraces the steps of what began as a relationship only to become a nightmare; she discovers she's on her way home for the last time--and she will get there dead or alive.

 

The Ketchup by Polly Alice 

Speeding home to host her boyfriend's monthly book club, Lane narrowly avoids an accident on the road. She can't seem to piece together her post-college life, and the groceries for the dinner party are have disappeared. But maybe that doesn't matter, especially when her reality begins to fracture, and she's not sure she will survive, or if survival is the only option.