I have been writing Science Fiction for over forty-five years, first publishing in 1984. There was a "little" gap for grad school, career and family, say, about thirty years? I came back, first writing novels, one good enough to publish (if you are an agent or publisher, contact me!) Then I started again with shorter works, which clicked. Because there were several Robert Morrell's around back then, I went with Robert Morrell, Jr. on my first publication. After that, being a database nerd who'd struggled with name normalization, I stuck with it when I began writing again. Someone in ISFDB appreciates me. I wasn't quite so careful in my academic publications, so no one at PubMed will ever take me out to lunch.
News (November 2025) Finished proofing the galleys of "Chuck's Gun" which should be out in the online Trollbreath Magazine soon. I'm excited, never published in an ezine before. I feel so modern! The editor called it "a hell of a fun science fiction peice." I certainly had more fun writing it than anything else I have written, and I get paid! Meanwhile, I am prepping for another podcast cohosting gig with Seth Heasly on "Hugos There." We are going to look at one of my favorite hidden gems (pun intended) "Doorways in the Sand" by Roger Zelazny. I've been out of high school fifty years, and here I am again, doing a book report.
(October 2025) While stalled with two other longer stories, a flash piece popped out! Strange format, but we'll see.
(September 2025) Picking up a story I started over forty years ago, put a new spin on it and it took off right away. This is why I write, to see ideas form on their own.
(August 2025) Finished a new story: dark dark dark. Trigger warnings will probably necessary. Still, I am pleased. Doing some final cleanup based on feedback from my critique group. Editing is not as much fun as writing, but with the end in sight, it is exciting.
(July 2025): My Analog flash piece came out! Analog was the magazine I subscribed to in my youth, but could never sell to, so i am psyched.
Reading "Brigands and Breadknives" by Travis Baldree. I was ready for some low stakes comfort reading after stressing through "Some Desperate Glory" by Emily Tesh for a book group. Finished a pre-release copy of "Motus" by P. A Kramer. Hard Science Fiction with an ending that had me up late. Quite a payoff! Recommended.
Cat news: Dusty is growing like... like a kitten fed three to four times a day! The other cats are adjusting, except for Porf, who still hisses. Four cats is a high reward, high cost proposition. Worth it, especially when the kitten falls asleep purring in my lap while I am writing.
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Science Fiction Bibliography (including pending)
Chuck's Gun (short story) Trollbreath (to be published online in their Winter 2025 issue in December.) "Aliens, financial shenanigans, and a connection to our modern gun culture... it's a wonderfully eclectic mix of ideas that shouldn't work but does." (These are the editors' words. I just had fun writing it.)
Your Entry to Paradise™ Memorial Experience (flash fiction) Analog Science Fiction and Fact (July/August 2025). I'd go to a funeral like this, even my own!
A Family Matter (novelette) Asimov's Science Fiction July/August 2024 I knew that DNA genealogy kit was a mistake… Here is an interview about the story for Asimov's blog.
Podcast Guest host: Hugo's There December 2023. A sometimes funny, sometimes gross look at how the COVID pandemic might affect the pandemic subgenre of Science Fiction, with Hugo Award nominee Seth Heasley. This was part of his Hugo nominee packet, which is probably as close as I will ever get to being a Hugo nominee. (Prove me wrong!)
(Here be the embarrassing resume gap. See Academic publications)
The Scarecrow Files (short story) Space and Time, Winter 1987. You can do a lot with shared memory.
Alone in the Forest (novelette) Fantasy Book, December 1984. The world's only known telepathic human tries to help a visiting alien calm down.
The Best Medicine (Short Story) Amazing Stories, July 1984. A comical look at human psychophysiology.
Palaces of the Mighty (novelette) Amazing Stories, March 1984. (Story used for the cover illustration!) An interstellar wildlife documentary show comes to a canyon world to capture the galaxy's largest known flying carnivore. What could go wrong?
Poetry: Down the Long Slope (poem) Pulpsmith, Summer 1985, A New York literary magazine. A shaped poem about skiing and life.
Miscellaneous publications: "What's the Worst Move, a chess comedy column for "The North Carolina Gambit", the publication of the North Carolina Chess Association. "Test Your Chess Aggressiveness" was re-published in the United States Chess Federation magazine, "Chess Life" in 2005.
Also miscellaneous freelance articles in "Triad Style Magazine" including the classic: "Triad Deathstyles."